NL East Notes: Halladay, Phils, Harvey, Scherzer, Lee
Roy Halladay is in camp with the Phillies as a special guest instructor this week and tells Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com that he’s enjoying his time working with the team’s younger pitchers. Halladay, who also coaches his son’s 12-U team and his other son’s varsity high school team, seems to enjoy passing his knowledge on to younger arms but tells Lawrence that he’s not yet sure if this current position will lead to a more permanent role with the Phillies organization. “I think that’s something we’re still talking about,” the former Cy Young winner tells Lawrence. “There are all kinds of options. … I’m going to enjoy this first week here, being a guest coach, and see where things go. We’ll continue talking, but, you know, I think it’s always trying to find a good fit, too.” Young Philadelphia righty Jake Thompson lauded Halladay’s baseball acumen and explained to Lawrence that he and the team’s other young arms relish the opportunity to learn from one of the best arms of the past generation.
Here’s more from the NL East…
- The Phillies may have hoped that Thompson (wrist) and fellow righty Zach Eflin (knee) were a bit further along in their injury rehab timelines by this point, but at least the club is seeing progress, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Both are throwing live BP sessions, with the possibility of reaching game readiness by next week. Eflin says he’s feeling stronger than ever as he continues working back from surgery to both knees, while Thompson says he’s healthy but is “still knocking off a little rust.” It remains to be seen whether either will be ready to open the season on time, but surely both are destined for Triple-A regardless.
- Matt Harvey‘s spring debut for the Mets didn’t go as hoped, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. There’s little reason to get too caught up in the uninspiring results, of course, particularly since Harvey says he was dealing with a stiff neck. (That could be its own source of concern, though it sounds as if it’s just a low-level problem and Harvey expects to make his next start.) The bigger concern, perhaps, is that Harvey was limited to working in the low-90s with his fastball. That, too, can be chalked up to the neck along with the fact that Harvey is still dialing in his mechanics after a long layoff. Club sources tell Ackert they don’t want the prized righty to come out of the gates too quickly anyway.
- Nationals ace Max Scherzer felt good in a live BP session today, as Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com reports. The veteran righty is still using a three-fingered fastball grip to protect his injured finger, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing him down. Scherzer worked up to 44 pitches in the session, so it seems as if he could be ready soon for a Grapefruit League appearance.
- Another Nationals hurler, lefty Nick Lee, is looking at a much lengthier absence. As Kerzel tweets, the 26-year-old has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his left arm. Lee was hoping to spend the spring working to find the control that long has eluded him. Last year, he worked to a 4.32 ERA over fifty Double-A frames, striking out 9.9 and walking 7.6 batters per nine. The Nats obviously like his arm, as he had been added to the 40-man before losing his spot last summer.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/7/17
We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves right here:
- In a surprise move, lefty John Lannan is heading back to the Nationals on a minors pact., Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports in his latest compilation of moves from around the league. Now 32, Lannan provided the Nats with 783 2/3 innings of 4.01 ERA ball from 2007 through 2012, but didn’t exactly leave the organization on the best of terms. He appeared briefly in each of the next two seasons, and has toiled in the upper minors since. With few apparent opportunities for Lannan to regain his prior standing, it seems there’ll be some interesting changes afoot. Upon his return to the Nats organization, he’ll be working to re-make himself into a submariner relief pitcher, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (via Twitter)
- Righty Matt Buschmann will join the Blue Jays on a minor-league deal, as Eddy further reports. The 33-year-old debuted in the majors last year with the D-Backs, though he received only three outings. He spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, throwing 142 innings of 5.26 ERA ball with 5.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
- The White Sox have added a pair of players on minors deals, Eddy adds, with righty Jake Dunning and utilityman Tyler Ladendorf joining the mix. The 28-year-old Dunning had spent his entire career with the Giants organization. He hasn’t been up to the majors since 2014, and pitched to a 4.85 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 at Triple-A last year. Ladendorf, who tuns 29 today, received brief time in the majors in each of the last two seasons. The former second-round pick offers plenty of defensive versatility, but hasn’t shown much bat in the upper minors. He owns a lifetime .261/.327/.349 slash at Triple-A.
- The Nationals announced that catcher Spencer Kieboom has been assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers. He had recently been designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space. Kieboom will remain in camp as a non-roster player, though it’s all but certain he’ll head to the minors to open the year. The 25-year-old actually hasn’t yet played at Triple-A despite a very brief appearance in the majors last year. Kieboom hit .230/.324/.314 in his 359 plate appearances at the Double-A level in 2016.
FOX Sports Hires Alex Rodriguez As Full-Time Analyst
FOX Sports has announced that Alex Rodriguez will expand his role with the organization, becoming a full-time analyst. Rodriguez has agreed to a multi-year deal as he launches his new career in the media business.
Rodriguez confirmed a few weeks back that he’s officially finished with his playing career. While some have wondered whether he’d thrive as a coach and perhaps eventually as a manager, he’s instead firmly moving to the broadcast side — though he is also serving as a guest instructor in Yankees’ camp. In addition to his new role with FOX, which began during his studio work in the postseason last fall, the famed slugger is set to appear on the YES Network and host a CNBC reality TV series.
Poor play led to the end of Rodriguez’s tenure with the Yankees last season, his age-40 campaign. But his playing days largely ended on a positive note, as Rodriguez turned in a high quality season in 2015 and completed a brief farewell tour before the Yanks cut him loose.
Still, Rodriguez’s legacy in the majors remains mixed. He’s an all-time great performer — one of just twenty position players to rack up at least 100 fWAR — who sits fourth on the career home run list. But his history with performance-enhancing drugs, to say nothing of his behavior in the midst of various controversies, no doubt weighs down his undeniable accomplishments.
Whatever one thinks of Rodriguez’s place in the MLB history books, he’ll soon be playing an increasingly prominent role on TV screens around the country. After turning in a well-reviewed performance in the studio last fall, Rodriguez — long renowned for his baseball acumen — will both continue in that capacity and venture into new arenas. Rodriguez will work the booth on some FOX Sports Saturday games and will also function as a “feature reporter” for certain programming, per the press release.
Multiple Teams Interested In Brett Lawrie
TUESDAY: The Mets “don’t have any real interest” in Lawrie, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). As he notes, New York does have quite a few depth options in the infield, and it seems the team is pleased with the quality on hand to provide protection for the questionable status of David Wright.
As for the Rays, the club wouldn’t be looking to utilize Lawrie at his accustomed positions of third and second, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Rather than competing for time in those areas, he’d be expected to appear at first base, DH, and perhaps even in the outfield.
Meanwhile, it’s worth wondering whether Toronto’s interest could be impacted by the slow progress being made by Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets, skipper John Gibbons says the club expected Travis to have advanced further by this point but will continue “to be cautious.”
SUNDAY, 4:10pm: The Royals, Mets and Blue Jays also have interest in Lawrie, according to ESPN’s Jim Bowden. A native of Canada, Lawrie played in Toronto from 2011-14.
12:33pm: The White Sox released Brett Lawrie on Friday, but the infielder might not be without a team for long. The Rays will at least consider signing Lawrie, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Now 27, the version of Lawrie who served as one of baseball’s top prospects before torching opposing pitchers as a rookie with the Blue Jays in 2011 (.293/.373/580 in 171 plate appearances) is long gone. A career .261/.315/.419 hitter in 2,417 lifetime PAs, Lawrie slashed a pedestrian .248/.310/.413 in 384 plate trips last season and failed to provide defensive value at second base (minus-4 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-5.5 Ultimate Zone Rating).
Lawrie has spent his career at both the keystone and third base, where the Rays have far better starting options in Brad Miller and Evan Longoria, but they find his right-handed bat intriguing, according to Topkin. Moreover, because of injuries, infielders Matt Duffy (shortstop) and Logan Morrison (first base) aren’t locks for Opening Day, so Lawrie could provide the club depth if they do end up unavailable. Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource projects that Tampa Bay will enter the regular season with two out-of-options players, Nick Franklin and Tim Beckham, and minor league signing Rickie Weeks as its infield-capable bench choices. Like Lawrie, all three bat from the right side (Franklin’s the only switch-hitter of the group).
Make Or Break Year: Michael Pineda
MLBTR is rebooting its “make or break year” series, in which we analyze players who enter the season with up-and-down track records but also an opportunity to stake a claim to significant future earnings.
It’s easy to pick pending free agents as “make or break” candidates, so this isn’t a particularly inventive choice. But few players have more boom or bust earning potential than Michael Pineda, the talented 28-year-old Yankees hurler.
Pineda’s recent track record is susceptible of supporting multiple narratives. By one, it’s something of a surprise that the Yanks tendered him a contract and paid him a fairly healthy $7.4MM salary in his final year of arb eligibility. After all, he carries a disappointing 4.60 ERA over his 336 1/3 innings in the past two seasons. That’s far shy of what the club hoped for, no doubt; a pitcher’s essential job, after all, is to keep runs off the board.
There’s another view, of course. For one thing, Pineda finally turned in 32 starts for the first time as a big leaguer in 2016. Given the serious shoulder problems he has dealt with, that’s both notable and quite valuable in and of itself. He also finally restored all of his lost fastball velocity, working at 94 mph for the first time sine his rookie year. Pineda also managed a career-best 14.1% swinging-strike rate and 10.6 K/9 strikeout rate, placing him in elite company (see here and here). His walks were up a smidge (2.7 BB/9) over his prior two years, when he showed top-level control, but that’s hardly a problem. And Pineda continues to generate grounders at a slightly above-average rate.
All of those measures suggest that Pineda is among the game’s most dominant starters. The issues largely lie in the batted ball results and sequencing. For one thing, he allows too many gopher balls. Last year, he coughed up 1.38 per nine while allowing dingers on 17.0% of the fly balls hit against him — well over the league average. And Pineda has surrendered successive .332 and .339 batting averages on balls in play while posting below-average 68.6% and 70.7% strand rates.
There’s probably some poor fortune mixed in there — Pineda’s contact profile (32.7% hard, 17.2% soft) last year landed in range of the league average. But there’s more than just bad luck at play here. Other measures of contact management paint a less optimistic picture. Why? Pineda’s slider is his money pitch. While his change is mostly just a serviceable option, it at least provides another look to lefties. Indeed, the platoon advantage isn’t the issue; while lefties reached base a bit more often against Pineda, due mostly to drawing more walks, hitters from both sides slugged the same (.460 for lefties, .463 for righties).
The bigger problem, it seems, is Pineda’s other pitch: the fastball. He works off of his four-seamer, throwing it 45% of the time. Opposing hitters hammered that offering, resulting in a -20.6 pitch value that more than offset the fantastic results (15.7 pitch value) Pineda generated with his top-notch slider. Nicolas Stellini of Fangraphs took a close look at this issue recently, arguing that the lack of a truly viable third pitch combined with a propensity for grooving the fastball to produce the problems. To be fair, it’s possible to groove a heater with good results — reigning NL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer has a top-shelf four-seamer that he “grooves” quite a bit, though his has quite a lot of horizontal movement and is surrounded by a much more developed set of offerings.
I certainly won’t pretend to know whether that’s simply a permanent limitation for Pineda; indeed, plenty of high-octane fastball-slider hurlers simply end up being relegated to bullpen duty. Lots of tweaks can be imagined. Improving his fastball and/or change are obviously possible, theoretically, if perhaps unlikely at this stage. Further developing alternative fastball versions (two-seamer, cutter) might vary the look. Playing with vertical location could have an impact. Whatever the fix, it’ll need to stick for Pineda to show he’s capable of sticking as a starter.
As things stand, there’s a high degree of variance to Pineda’s future. He’ll play the 2018 season at just 29 years of age, so there are prime seasons to sell in free agency. But will he be marketing those as a top-flight young starter? (With a qualifying offer attached?) As a one-year bounceback candidate? Or perhaps as a versatile, late-inning reliever who’s capable of throwing multiple frames. That last possibility surely is an intriguing one. Pineda’s power arsenal and ability to limit walks compare rather favorably with converted starters such as Andrew Miller, who pared back his starter’s arsenal to a four-seamer/slider mix that has obviously played up in the pen.
Of course, even in the current market, the relief ace profile doesn’t pay quite as well as that of a quality #2 or #3 starter. And it remains to be seen whether Pineda will have a chance — or will be forced — to showcase himself in such a role in 2017. All in all, there’s plenty riding on the season to come.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Central Notes: Brantley, Rosenthal, Brewers Catchers, Haley
Indians outfielder Michael Brantley partook in a live batting practice session yesterday, which seems to have gone as hoped. The resulting optimism was still guarded, however, given his history. As Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets, skipper Terry Francona heaped praise upon Brantley while remaining wary of how things will proceed. “I mean, if this ends up where he’s not healthy, there is nothing more that he could have done,” said Francona. “He has worked his [tail] off. I’ve been proud of him. Now, I’m starting to get excited for him, because he’s getting closer. But, I think you have to temper it … .”
Here’s more from the central divisions:
- There was a bit of a scare for the Cardinals when righty Trevor Rosenthal went in for an MRI after experiencing discomfort in his shoulder and back, but as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the news was good. The hope is he’ll be ready to begin throwing again by the end of the week, though GM John Mozeliak noted the hurler will begin “preventative care” right away. It’ll hopefully be little more than a blip, but the time off does impact Rosenthal’s effort to work as a starter in camp. Whether he’ll move back to relief work upon his return isn’t yet known.
- The Brewers are pushing their trio of catching competitors hard in camp, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. Manager Craig Counsell says that’s by design, as the club seeks to find out just what it has in backstops Manny Pina, Andrew Susac, and Jett Bandy. With the Brewers still haven’t tipped their hand as to which will make the roster and how the time will be shared, but Counsell says he’s pleased with how things have gone thus far. “As young players, we’re putting a lot of responsibility on them, also,” he said. “We’re all pleased with how they’ve accepted that responsibility.”
- Twins Rule 5 pick Justin Haley is impressing the organization with his attitude in camp, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes. Skipper Paul Molitor praised the righty’s quiet competitiveness, which seems to be by design. “I’ve definitely made it a point, to kind of put it crudely, to shut up and listen,” Haley explains. “I came over here with open eyes and open ears.” Haley will be looking to carve out a role in the pen, but could still factor as a starter if he’s able to stick on the roster. He split his time last year between Double-A and Triple-A, combining for 146 2/3 innings of 3.01 ERA ball with 7.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
East Notes: Kolek, Owens, Bautista, Gurriel
Righty Tyler Kolek, who the Marlins selected second overall in the 2014 draft, remains an important part of the club’s long-term plans — even though Tommy John surgery and performance questions cloud his outlook. As Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reports, Kolek is embarking upon the all-important ramp up back toward competitive pitching. He’s frustrated by the inevitably slow progress, but seems to be putting in all the work that has been demanded of him. Miami farm director Marco DelPiano says he still believes that Kolek has the talent to excel in the majors, though clearly there’s a long way to go to realizing that potential.
Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:
- The Red Sox continue to see less-than-ideal results from lefty Henry Owens, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes. Once a highly regarded prospect, and still an important part of the organization’s rotation depth, Owens most recently coughed up four free passes in an inning of work. Though the 24-year-old got a head start on throwing over the offseason, in hopes of a smooth launch with his mechanics, he acknowledges that “it hasn’t carried over yet.” Manager John Farrell says it’s a continuation of a long-known issue. “It’s something we talked about before camp,” he said. “The improved command is a primary objective. Today it wasn’t there.”
- Jose Bautista spurned a much bigger contract offer to return to the Blue Jays, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. The veteran outfielder could have scored a three-year deal with “well over $50MM in guaranteed money,” per the report, but chose to head back to Toronto for one year at a $18.5MM guarantee (combined with a mutual and then a vesting option). While it’s not clear from where it issued, the offer is said to have materialized in mid-January, which is particularly notable when considering the oft-discussed narrative that sluggers like Bautista weren’t able to generate much interest this winter. Bautista, 36, says he considered all relevant factors. Ultimately, he says, “this is here I’m happy and comfortable.”
- Meanwhile, John Lott of The Athletic takes an interesting look at one of Bautista’s newest teammates in the Blue Jays organization, youngster Lourdes Gurriel. Though he’s not expected to factor at the MLB level this year — it’s still not even clear where he’ll end up in the field, though he’ll start out as a shortstop — the 23-year-old had a significant role in the club’s offseason approach. Gurriel ultimately turned down an offer from the Cardinals that was similar to the $22MM he got from Toronto. Of course, he’ll have to pay the people who brought him out of Cuba out of that contract; Gurriel says the cost is “in the millions.” Lott explores the interesting path taken by Gurriel (and older brother Yulieski) in a story that’s well worth a full read.
NL West Notes: Gonzalez, Kazmir, Cain/Blach, Vargas, Weaver
Adrian Gonzalez will return to playing first base for the Dodgers tomorrow before joining Team Mexico for the WBC, as Alana Rizzo of Sportsnet LA tweets. The veteran first baseman has been battling a minor injury described as “tennis elbow,” but it seems that it has improved enough to allow participation in the global tournament.
Here’s more from the rest of the NL West:
- We already checked in on Dodgers lefty Scott Kazmir, who left his spring outing today with hip tightness. We’ll need to wait for more news, though it seems he won’t head straight for an MRI; instead, as Eric Stephen of SB Nation tweets, Kazmir will be reevaluated tomorrow. The veteran southpaw clearly wasn’t pleased with the health issue, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. “The frustration is through the roof right now,” said the veteran southpaw, who bemoaned the need to “manipulate my body just to be able to get through an outing.”
- While there’s nominally a competition for the Giants‘ fifth starter role, primarily featuring Matt Cain and Ty Blach, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes that it may not be much of a battle. Though manager Bruce Bochy says nothing has been decided, he did intentionally bring Blach on in the middle of an inning in his most recent outing. Per Bochy, it could be that the young southpaw opens the year in the bullpen, functioning as the club’s long man and/or in a setup capacity. (Certainly, utilizing him to piggyback with Cain could make some sense, if there’s roster space. There are loads of competitors for the club’s few open pitching jobs.)
- There’s little doubt that the Padres are open to multiple possibilities in their rotation. As MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes, though, the club has begun to pare down the number of competitors. Righty Cesar Vargas was the first to go; he was sent down to minor-league camp in part to give him enough time on the hill to build back to full strength after dealing with a flexor strain in 2016. Vargas, 25, had turned in six eye-opening starts before the day of his injury, and could certainly still enter the picture at some point during the season to come.
- One Padres starting job will go to righty Jered Weaver, who Cassavell spoke with about his progress thus far. The 34-year-old says that focusing on flexibility has allowed him to make huge strides in his mechanics, calling it “night-and-day from last year.” He’s hoping the change will make him looser and allow better extension, while also preventing the neck and shoulder issues that plagued him previously.
AL West Notes: Cishek, Maybin, Meyer, Richards, Rangers
While Mariners righty Steve Cishek is progressing as hoped, he doesn’t appear to be on track to be ready by Opening Day, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. While manager Scott Servais said he wouldn’t rule out that possibility entirely, he noted that “a lot of things would have to happen just right for that to happen.” We took a look recently at the M’s camp battles, with a particular focus on the pen — where there are many intriguing contenders who could step in while Cishek finishes his rehab.
Here’s the latest from the AL West:
- Angels outfielder Cameron Maybin was scratched today with right shoulder fatigue, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. That doesn’t mean much in and of itself, but Moura notes that the shoulder issue has also forced the 29-year-old to DH recently. It’s obviously far too soon for any alarm bells to ring, but the injury seems worth monitoring for Halos fans. A slowed-down Maybin could open the door to Ben Revere grabbing a larger share of the playing time to open the year; the two are the prime contenders for the team’s left field job.
- Meanwhile, Angels righty Alex Meyer had a somewhat worrisome outing today, as Moura further tweets. The towering hurler surrendered four walks and two extra-base hits in the first inning, and wasn’t able to complete the frame. One spring outing is hardly something to get too worked up about, but the obvious lack of control lends a bit more concern to the situation. Meyer has long struggled to tamp down the free passes, particularly at the major league level.
- Things went better yesterday for Angels ace Garrett Richards, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register reports. The TJ-avoiding righty was working in the upper nineties in his spring debut, which represented the first time he had lined up against big leaguers in a game setting since he injured his elbow last May. Interestingly, as Hoornstra adds, Richards plans to ditch the change he had worked on in 2016 but will ramp up the usage of his curve.
- The Rangers made their first round of camp cuts today, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Southpaw Andrew Faulkner opened the year on the MLB roster last year, but won’ repeat. As Grant explains, it’s somewhat surprising to see him apparently leave the roster competition this early. Other notable players heading to minor-league camp include prospects Yohander Mendez and Connor Sadzeck as well as veteran Adam Loewen.