Which 15 Players Should The Tigers Protect In An Expansion Draft?
In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR. Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams. You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.
So far, we’ve done the Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles. The Tigers are next.
We’ll start by removing free agents Jordan Zimmermann, Cameron Maybin, Ivan Nova, Austin Romine, Jonathan Schoop, and C.J. Cron from consideration.
Miguel Cabrera goes on the protected list by virtue of his no-trade clause. We’ll also add the Tigers’ vaunted trio of pitching prospects, who have a 2020 ETA: Casey Mize, Matt Manning, and Tarik Skubal. I’ll put Matthew Boyd on the list as well. So we’ll lock these five down:
Casey Mize
Matt Manning
Tarik Skubal
Matthew Boyd
Miguel Cabrera
With a lot of flexibility on their protected list, the Tigers would be in a good position to make some trades with other clubs with tighter lists. We’re left with 10 spots for these 23 players:
Tyler Alexander
Jeimer Candelario
Harold Castro
Willi Castro
Jose Cisnero
Travis Demeritte
Buck Farmer
Michael Fulmer
Bryan Garcia
Niko Goodrum
Grayson Greiner
Eric Haase
Joe Jimenez
JaCoby Jones
Dawel Lugo
David McKay
Daniel Norris
Victor Reyes
Jake Rogers
John Schreiber
Gregory Soto
Christin Stewart
Spencer Turnbull
With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below, select exactly ten players you think the Tigers should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft. Click here to view the results.
K-Rod Plans Another Comeback Effort
Former star reliever Francisco Rodriguez is plotting another MLB comeback attempt, he tells Venezuelan journalist Guillermo Arcay (Instagram links; h/t Evan Woodberry of MLive.com).
That’ll be a tall order for a 38-year-old who hasn’t touched the majors since 2017. But Rodriguez is setting his sights higher still.
It seems that part of the motivation here for K-Rod is the possibility of burnishing his Hall-of-Fame resume. If possible, he says, he’d like to meet or exceed Lee Smith in total saves … which would mean adding another 41 to an already impressive tally of 437, fourth-most in MLB history.
Sound implausible? Well, it’s hard to come to a different conclusion. It’s not even clear precisely how Rodriguez would launch a new effort in the current climate of uncertainty. But he suggests he has already considered and rejected that line of thinking.
Rodriguez isn’t taking this lightly. He acknowledges he’ll have to earn another shot at the majors. And he’s certainly familiar with the difficulties of a late-career comeback, having tried for years already to launch one.
The last time Rodriguez appeared in the affiliated ranks, things didn’t go well. He turned in a brutal showing with the Tigers in 2017, leading to his release. The Nats gave him a brief look in the minors but weren’t impressed. Rodriguez spent the ensuing spring with the Phillies but didn’t make the team and was cut loose.
Rodriguez has since pitched for the indy ball Long Island Ducks and Mexican League’s Acereros de Monclova. Though he was reasonably effective in both stints, the once-great hurler didn’t show enough to prompt renewed interest from MLB clubs.
Even if he isn’t able to build it further, Rodriguez has already compiled a case for Cooperstown. He may not have logged quite as many saves as Trevor Hoffman, but the two put up awfully similar careers. K-Rod owns a 2.86 ERA in 976 innings over 16 seasons, while Hoffman hung ’em up with a 2.87 ERA in 1,089 1/3 frames through 18 campaigns.
Bartolo Colon Still Hopes To Pitch One More Year In MLB
Just days shy of his 47th birthday, Bartolo Colon isn’t quite ready to step away from the game. The big righty spoke to ESPN’s Marly Rivera this week, telling her that he’s holding out hope for one final run in the Majors — ideally with the Mets. “Big Sexy” praised the organization from top to bottom, lauding everyone from the front office to the clubhouse staff while delivering some heartfelt memories of the Amazins’ fanbase:
Mets fans are the best. In the beginning, when they laughed at me every time my helmet fell off, at first I felt uncomfortable. But when I saw how much the fans enjoyed it, I asked for a bigger batting helmet so that it would fall more because it was so much fun for them!
That said, Colon made clear that he’s willing to pitch with any team, in any role, so long as it means one more run in the Majors. The well-traveled righty has already suited up for 11 clubs to this point in his big league career: the Indians, Expos, White Sox, Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Athletics, Mets, Braves, Twins and Rangers.
Colon didn’t pitch in the big leagues last season and last appeared with the 2018 Rangers, tallying 28 games (24 starts). However, he hasn’t had an above-average campaign on the mound since his age-43 season with the Mets back in 2016 (191 2/3 innings, 3.49 ERA, All-Star appearance). Over his past two seasons in the big leagues, Colon has worked to an ERA just north of 6.00 while soaking up 289 1/3 frames for Atlanta, Minnesota and Texas. To his credit, Colon had plenty of sharp outings with both the Twins and Rangers — they were just mixed in with numerous clunkers that outweighed much of the good he did when at his best.
Seeing Colon back in the big leagues is a long shot at this point, but teams will need more depth than ever as rosters expand to accommodate a shortened ramp-up period to the 2020 season. And Colon was already set to play in the Mexican League prior to the pandemic shutting down pro sports around the globe, so perhaps he’d explore alternatives if a deal with a big league organization can’t come together.
Which 15 Players Should The Indians Protect In An Expansion Draft?
In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR. Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams. You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.
So far, we’ve done the White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles. The Indians are next.
We’ll start by removing Cesar Hernandez, Oliver Perez, and Sandy Leon from consideration since they’ll be free agents after the season. Carlos Santana has a relatively pricey $17.5MM club option, so we’ll remove him as well. Roberto Perez has more affordable club options on 2021 and ’22, so we’ll include him in the poll. I’m only going to lock in these five players:
Francisco Lindor
Mike Clevinger
Shane Bieber
Jose Ramirez
Brad Hand
That means you get most of the control here, as you can choose 10 of the following 26 players:
Greg Allen
Logan Allen
Christian Arroyo
Jake Bauers
Bobby Bradley
Carlos Carrasco
Yu Chang
Adam Cimber
Emmanuel Clase
Aaron Civale
Delino DeShields
James Hoyt
James Karinchak
Jordan Luplow
Phil Maton
Oscar Mercado
Tyler Naquin
Roberto Perez
Zach Plesac
Adam Plutko
Franmil Reyes
Jefry Rodriguez
Domingo Santana
Nick Wittgren
Hunter Wood
Bradley Zimmer
With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below, select exactly ten players you think the Indians should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft. Click here to view the results.
Giants’ Bargain Pickup Looks More Valuable With Universal DH
With the likely implementation of a universal DH in 2020, we’ve been taking a team-by-team trip through the NL and looking at how those clubs could handle the rule change. To this point, we’ve looked at the Dodgers, Reds, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Braves, Nationals and Brewers. The Giants are up next.
When Hunter Pence bid farewell to the Giants after the 2018 season, there were questions about whether the affable slugger would ever have his name penciled into a big league lineup again. Heading into his age-36 season, he’d posted a combined .249/.297/.368 batting line in 787 plate appearances across the two prior campaigns.
Pence persevered, heading to the Dominican Winter League to work on a revamped swing and ultimately landing a minor league deal with his hometown Rangers. He parlayed that non-guaranteed pact into a prominent role with the Rangers, hitting .297/.358/.552 with 18 dingers in 316 plate appearances before an oblique injury cut his season short. That effort was enough to generate multiple offers, and late in the offseason, Pence signed up for a reunion tour in San Francisco.
The stage seemed set for Pence to hold down a part-time role — an occasional outfielder and frequent pinch-hitter who could serve as a mentor for some younger players as they graduated to the big leagues on a rebuilding club. That could still be the idea, but with the DH likely on its way to the NL, Pence could also be a more prominently used piece now. He started 46 games at designated hitter for Texas last season and surely would have been in that spot more, were it not for the presence of 37-year-old Shin-Soo Choo, who got the DH nod on 62 occasions of his own.
The Giants have other players they can rotate through the DH spot and might look at its addition as a means of getting longer looks at each of Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson and Jaylin Davis — each of whom is best suited for corner outfield work. Against left-handed opponents in particular, the Giants might favor using the DH spot as a means of getting righties Pence, Davis, Austin Slater and Wilmer Flores into the lineup together. Former first-rounder Chris Shaw logged a combined .294/.360/.559 slash with 28 homers in 492 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He’d add a lefty stick to the mix.
Let’s also not forget a pair of notable minor league signings made by San Francisco this winter: Pablo Sandoval and Darin Ruf. The Kung Fu Panda has batted .259/.311/.466 with 23 homers and 33 doubles in 548 plate appearances since returning to the Giants in 2018. He’s on the mend from Tommy John surgery but should be ready to go if play is able to resume in 2020. Ruf, 33, is returning stateside after dominating the Korea Baseball Organization with a .313/.404/.564 slash through three seasons with the Samsung Lions (2017-19).
Might the universal DH spur the Giants to finally take the plunge on a signing of Yasiel Puig? The two sides have been connected at numerous points over the past several months, and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is quite familiar with Puig after spending five years as the Dodgers’ general manager. Puig could potentially add some life to what was a listless Giants lineup in 2019, ranking in the bottom four of all MLB teams in terms of runs scored, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and wRC+. Of course, he’d also take playing time away from some more controllable pieces.
Even if the Giants don’t add to their current group, a new way to increase Pence’s at-bats while keeping him fresh should help that deal to pay dividends. And if there’s some form of updated trade deadline, the addition of a DH spot for the other 14 other NL clubs would only increase interest in acquiring an affordable veteran who is lauded as one of the game’s great clubhouse personalities. There’s also a scenario, as explored by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman, where ballyhooed catching prospect Joey Bart could make his debut and get some additional work thanks to the forthcoming DH slot in the NL.
Reds Expect Suarez, Senzel To Be “Full Go”
Third baseman Eugenio Suarez and center fielder Nick Senzel, both key figures in a bolstered Reds lineup, are expected to be “full go” whenever play is able to resume, president of baseball operations Dick Williams told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon this morning. Both players were recovering from shoulder surgery.
Suarez, 28, went under the knife in late January after injuring his shoulder while swimming during an offseason workout. There was some hope that he’d be ready for Opening Day, but that was a best-case and rather aggressive scenario. He didn’t appear in a Spring Training game, although Sheldon notes that he was on the cusp of getting some DH work in Cactus League play when Spring Training was shut down.
The 24-year-old Senzel underwent a much more serious procedure last September to repair a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder. He’d gotten into some spring games as a designated hitter as well but had yet to play in the field.
Given where both were in Spring Training, it’s not exactly a surprise that both are expected to be full strength when “spring” training relaunches — be it in mid-June under the current best-case scenario or a bit further down the road. Still, this is the first public update on the pair’s health provided by the Reds since late March, so the confirmation is of some note.
Both Suarez and Senzel will be prominent factors as the Reds look to snap a playoff drought that dates back to 2013, when they fell to the Pirates in the NL Wild Card game. Suarez took his game to a new level last year, clubbing a surprising 49 home runs — a figure that trailed only Pete Alonso for the NL lead. The slugger has five guaranteed seasons remaining (including 2020) on the seven-year, $66MM extension he inked two years ago, and the Reds control him for 2025 as well via a club option.
Senzel, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft, ranked among baseball’s elite prospects from the time he was drafted until last year’s rookie season. He didn’t exactly take baseball by storm, hitting .256/.315/.427 through 414 plate appearances, but between the September shoulder surgery, a March ankle injury and an elbow procedure that caused him to miss the Arizona Fall League in 2018, Senzel dealt with a number ailments that might’ve weighed down his performance.
Drafted as an infielder, Senzel has worked all over the diamond but was moved to center field last spring. He fared well there, particularly considering his inexperience, and the Reds envision him lining up there more often than not, with the likes of Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama flanking him. Of course, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently noted, if the Reds are comfortable bouncing Senzel all over the diamond in a super-utility role, that versatility and the likely implementation of the DH in the National League could leave skipper David Bell with innumerable mix-and-match opportunities on a daily basis.
Which 15 Players Should The White Sox Protect In An Expansion Draft?
In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR. Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams. You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.
So far, we’ve done the Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles. The White Sox are next.
First, we’ll take Edwin Encarnacion, Gio Gonzalez, Steve Cishek, Kelvin Herrera, Leury Garcia, Alex Colome, and James McCann out of consideration, because they’ll be free agents after the season (although some have club options). We’ll lock in Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, and Jose Abreu on our protected list due to no-trade protection in their contracts. I’m also going to lock in these eight players:
Yoan Moncada
Lucas Giolito
Eloy Jimenez
Luis Robert
Michael Kopech
Nick Madrigal
Tim Anderson
Dylan Cease
That leaves four spots for the following 14 players:
Carlos Rodon
Nomar Mazara
Evan Marshall
Reynaldo Lopez
Adam Engel
Jace Fry
Aaron Bummer
Carson Fulmer
Jose Ruiz
Jimmy Cordero
Zack Collins
Ian Hamilton
Danny Mendick
Seby Zavala
With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below, select exactly four players you think the White Sox should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft. Click here to view the results.
Cardinals Notes: Mikolas, Freese, Molina
Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas tossed a bullpen session last Friday and expects to be ready to go whenever play resumes, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon (subscription required). Mikolas feels he’ll have time to get in another “eight to ten” bullpen sessions between now and the reported mid-June target for a reboot of Spring Training, at which point he’d be able to kick things off with a two- or three-inning appearance. A flexor strain slowed the right-hander back in February and likely would’ve cost him a notable portion of the season under normal circumstances, but like many others, he’s been able to use the extended time off to heal up. Mikolas also chats with Saxon about the likely addition of the designated hitter in the NL and gives his reasons for welcoming that change.
More out of St. Louis…
- St. Louis native and postseason hero David Freese plans to be with the Cardinals’ fantasy camp next year, and the recently retired corner infielder tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’s open to coaching in the future but not fully committed to the idea. “I always think about it, just because baseball is a part of me,” says Freese, who goes on to marvel at the manner in which the workload of Major League coaches has expanded over the past several years. A managerial role, even at the minor league level, has a bit more appeal to Freese than a coaching job, but the 37-year-old is currently focused on his family, with a second child due next month. Cards fans will want to check out the interview to read Freese’s personal recollection of a legendary postseason showing in 2011, when he rallied back from an icy NLDS showing to hit a combined .444/.528/.889 with four homers, six doubles and an unforgettable triple in just 53 plate appearances between the NLCS and World Series. He was named MVP of both series.
- ESPN’s Marly Rivera recently spoke with Yadier Molina about his willingness to test free agency and sign elsewhere if a reunion with the Cardinals doesn’t work out. Those comments were understandably the focus of her initial piece from their talk, although a lengthier transcript of the interview was published last week — one in which Molina discusses his Hall of Fame aspirations, his journey from a “defensive catcher” to a well-rounded All-Star performer, his pursuit of the 2,000 hit milestone and the change in the way that catchers have been valued since his MLB debut. There’s no additional context or change in his thoughts on potentially playing elsewhere; those comments were published in their entirety from the get-go, and it’s clear that Molina hopes to remain in St. Louis but wants another two years whether as a Cardinal or not. Still, as with the Freese interview, Cards fans will surely enjoy the personal stories and recollections from a revered player looking back on his career and discussing his future in the game.
Quick Hits: Howe, Johnson, Boras, Wright
After five days in hospital, Art Howe is back at home and continuing to recover from a COVID-19 diagnosis. The longtime former manager and player told ESPN.com and other media outlets that he is “finally feeling a little bit better” following a harrowing week that included time in the intensive care unit. While Howe is “still not able to eat real good, taste buds are giving me a hard time,” the 73-year-old said “it’s just nice to be back home and hopefully continue to progress.” On behalf of the MLBTR staff, it’s great to see Howe on the mend, and we wish him all the best in his recovery.
More from around baseball…
- Former Rockies right-hander DJ Johnson signed with the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball over the offseason, and Johnson tells the Denver Post’s Kyle Newman that he also received interest from Japanese teams in each of the previous two winters. The decision to play ball overseas didn’t come lightly to Johnson, though “it came down to, I had realized my dream of making the major leagues after all those years of grinding and sacrifice. Now, it’s time to start taking care of my family.” Johnson will earn close to $1MM for the 2020 season, considerably more than he was slated to make even if he had spent the whole year on Colorado’s Major League roster (even before player salaries were reduced as part of the league shutdown). Similar seven-figure paydays could also be in the offing for Johnson, as Hiroshima holds a club option on his services for the 2021 season and the two sides have a mutual option for 2022. Johnson posted a 4.88 ERA over 35 games and 31 1/3 innings with the Rockies in 2018-19, which represents the extent of his MLB experience over a nine-year career. It’s a pretty solid resume for a player who wasn’t even drafted coming out of Western Oregon University, and Johnson is now looking forward to “embracing the culture change” of playing in Japan and helping the Carp win some games.
- While Scott Boras is a household name in the baseball world, many fans may not be familiar with Boras’ early days as a ballplayer. Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein looks back at Boras’ time as a member of the Cardinals’ and Cubs’ farm systems, as the future agent played four seasons (1974-77) before recurring knee problems ended his playing career. Boras made it as far as the Double-A level, and a look at his Baseball Reference page reveals some impressive averages and on-base numbers for the future agent.
- The Mets drafted David Wright with the 38th pick of the 2001 draft, beginning the long association between the Amazins and their future captain. More indirectly, however, the Mets got Wright because they….drafted Jon Matlack fourth overall in 1967? MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo takes an entertaining deep dive through the transactional path that began with the Matlack pick and ended with Mike Hampton leaving the Mets to sign with the Rockies in the 2000-01 offseason, thus netting New York the compensatory pick that resulted in Wright’s selection.
Remembering The Best Minor League Signing In Rays History
After six seasons in the big leagues, Carlos Pena found himself at a crossroads heading into the 2006-07 offseason. Heading into his age-29 season, Pena had hit .243/.331/.459 with 86 homers over his first 1925 plate appearances in the Show, good for an above-average 109 wRC+ and 111 OPS+. Yet while it was incorrect to say that Pena had truly struggled, there was certainly a sense that the 10th overall pick of the 1998 draft had underachieved.
Five different organizations, after all, had already parted ways with Pena over those first six seasons. The Rangers (Pena’s original draft team) and A’s both dealt him, and the 2006 season saw the Tigers and Yankees both release the slugger. An 18-game stint with the Red Sox ended up being Pena’s only taste of Major League action in 2006, and he headed into free agency that winter again looking for another opportunity.
That next chance came in Tampa Bay, as Pena signed a minor league deal with the then-Devil Rays in February 2007. Since player payroll was as much of an issue for the Rays then as it is now, the club was constantly on the lookout for low-cost acquisitions, and a minors deal for Pena seemed like a worthwhile flier. That said, Pena had been reassigned to Tampa’s minor league camp and could potentially have been an expendable piece once again had Greg Norton not suffered an injury just prior to Opening Day. With a sudden vacancy at first base, Pena was inked to a Major League contract and found a place on the 25-man roster.
The rest, as they say, was history. As Pena celebrates his 42nd birthday today, he can look back with pride on a big league career that spanned 14 seasons, with the apex of that career coming in a Rays uniform. From 2007-10, Pena went from being an under-the-radar signing to a major contributor to Tampa becoming a winning franchise.
After a bit of a slow start in April, Pena caught fire the rest of the way over the 2007 season. He hit .282/.411/.627 over 612 PA, ranking second among all batters in OPS+ (172) and fourth in both home runs (46), and wRC+ (167). Fangraphs’ isolated power metric also indicated that Pena boasted the most pure power of any hitter in baseball that season, with a league-best .345 mark.
That enormous breakout earned Pena a Silver Slugger Award, AL Comeback Player Of The Year honors, and a ninth-place finish in AL MVP voting. It also earned him a three-year, $24.125MM extension that offseason, giving him some security after beginning his career in such itinerant fashion. From the Rays’ perspective, they were making a sizeable commitment by their standards, yet that contract also yielded a huge return for the team.
While Pena never again matched his huge 2007 numbers, he delivered three more quality seasons over the length of the extension, hitting .224/.353/.479 with 98 homers from 2008-10. In addition to that big bat, Pena also provided some excellent glovework at first base, earning a Gold Glove in 2008.
Perhaps most importantly, of course, Pena also helped the Rays (who were now officially the Rays, having dropped the “Devil” portion of their name after the 2007 season) finally become relevant. After 10 straight losing seasons, Tampa Bay shocked the baseball world by not just getting over the .500 mark, but also winning the AL East and the American League pennant before losing to the Phillies in the World Series. After dipping to an 84-76 record in 2009, the Rays won another division title in 2010, though they were beaten by the Rangers in the ALDS.
These two postseason trips ended up being the only playoff baseball of Pena’s career. While he didn’t hit much during the World Series, Pena was an otherwise stellar performer in October, hitting .269/.388/.522 with four homers over 80 postseason PA.
Pena’s career arc is a prime example of why every offseason sees teams hand out minors contracts and Spring Training invitations to all manner of veteran players. While many of those veterans end up being roster filler or don’t make it to the end of camp, there’s virtually no risk involved on the club’s part, it only takes one of those minor league deals to hit for a front office to look like geniuses — you never know when a change of scenery could turn an underachiever into a late bloomer. Just when Pena’s career looked to be on the downswing, his revival in Tampa led to eight more seasons in the majors and a special place in the memories of Rays fans.