NL West Notes: Gonzalez, Hill, Arroyo, Morse, Hwang, Stewart
Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is dealing with what he has described as a case of tennis elbow, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports. The veteran says that he suffered the malady due to an active offseason workout program. While he’s set to be shut down for about two weeks, Gonzalez says he expects to be back to full strength after some rest. Chase Utley is expected to see some time in camp at first, McCullough notes, as the team prepares in the event that Gonzalez does end up missing some time early.
Here’s more from the NL West:
- The Giants may have the game’s most interesting aggregation of veterans competing for limited bench roles in camp, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes. “No promises, no guarantees,” GM Bobby Evans said of the signing of Aaron Hill. “Just creating competition. We’ll see how it plays out.” If there is a drawback to the large number of competitors, it’s probably the lack of reps available to young players — particularly top prospect Christian Arroyo. However, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area writes, GM Bobby Evans says that the organization already feels confident that Arroyo is capable of handling the bat at the major league level, suggesting that the club doesn’t need a long look this spring to determine his timeline.
- As Baggarly notes, the right-handed-hitting Hill is competing to some extent not only with the array of infielders, but also players such as Michael Morse for a role as a righty bench bat. Morse returned to San Francisco after unexpectedly hammering out a deal at Hunter Pence‘s wedding — an interesting story that also comes via Baggarly. Perhaps the single most intriguing player in camp, though, is Korean infielder Jae-gyun Hwang. As Baggarly also writes, agent Han Lee says that the KBO star is committed to pitting himself against MLB pitching. “A lot of people assume if he doesn’t make it, he’s just going to run back to Korea, but that’s not his mentality,” says Lee. “I’ve told him it’s very much possible he could start at Sacramento, and if that’s the case, he’ll just have to work his way up.”
- Former Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart discussed his tenure in a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). Stewart expressed disappointment with the fact that he wasn’t given a longer leash in Arizona, suggesting he hadn’t received a “true opportunity to do the job.” That said, he acknowledged the error behind one of the moves that perhaps helped spell the end of his time in Arizona — the infamous deal that sent Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte, and Aaron Blair to the Braves for Shelby Miller. “My gut that whole time said that I should not move Dansby Swanson,” he said, though he stressed that he still believes in Miller. “If anything, maybe substituting [him] with another player” would have been something he would like to “have a redo” on, said Stewart.
East Notes: Hardy, Swihart, Wilson, Johnson, Scherzer
Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy underwent an MRI yesterday and a CT scan today due to back spasms that have been troubling him since late January, Hardy himself told reporters (via Peter Schmuck and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun). Hardy has had back spasms in the past but doesn’t seem overly concerned by the injury, stating that they feel “similar to everything I’ve had in the past.” At this juncture, there doesn’t sound to be cause for significant concern, but the situation is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
A few more notes out of the game’s eastern divisions …
- Spring Training is off to a rocky start for Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. Though it’s obviously still early, Swihart has struggled badly with getting the ball back to the pitcher. As Drellich explains, that’s perhaps of particular concern here: Swihart is reacclimating to life behind the dish after a stint in the outfield (and then on the DL) in 2016 and has always faced questions about his defensive abilities.
- The Rays have some interest in newly knuckleballing righty Brian Wilson, according to Marc Topkin and Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. Once a power late-inning reliever, Wilson has battled injuries and hasn’t pitched competitively since 2014. Tampa Bay has dedicated resources to finding and developing knucklers, and trying out the soon-to-be-35-year-old would at least represent a fun-to-follow experiment.
- Speaking of former closers, Jim Johnson will enter camp with a firm hold on the 9th inning for the Braves, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Atlanta extended the 33-year-old after his strong finish to the 2016 season, which included a run as the Braves’ closer. Johnson finished the year with 64 2/3 innings of 3.06 ERA ball on his ledger, supported by a surprising 9.5 K/9. A repeat of that strikeout rate seems unlikely, as Johnson’s 7.7% swinging-strike rate fell below the league average and right at his career mark, but he continues to induce plenty of groundballs.
- After telling reporters yesterday that he was still experiencing symptoms from his broken right ring finger, Nationals righty Max Scherzer took part in a seemingly productive long toss session today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post was among those to tweet. While it still seems likely that he’ll be delayed, and may not quite be ready to take the ball on Opening Day, it’s encouraging that Scherzer is not being held back entirely from throwing. The reigning National League Cy Young winner had been expected to participate in the World Baseball Classic, but those plans were already iced when the news emerged that he had been diagnosed with the fractured digit.
Camp Battles: Colorado Rockies
The Rockies made several moves this winter geared toward putting a contender on the field, but face a tall task to unseat the Dodgers and Giants as the leading team in the NL West. While there’s not a ton to sort out in camp, there are a few notable battles that could impact Colorado’s hopes.
Here are the key camp competitions for the Rockies, who are the second entrant in MLBTR’s new Camp Battles series.
CATCHER
Tony Wolters
Age: 24
Bats: L
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’21 season
Options remaining: 2
Tom Murphy
Age: 25
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
Dustin Garneau
Age: 29
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
After relying heavily on veteran Nick Hundley for the past two seasons, the Rox are set to hand off the field generalship to some much less experienced players. Wolters emerged after coming over through a waiver claim, providing solid defense behind the dish while adding value on the basepaths. He’s not much of a hitter — he posted a 75 wRC+ over 230 plate appearances and never did much more in the minors — but seems to have the trust of the organization.
Vying with each other to share time with Wolters, or possibly even take primary duties, are Murphy and Garneau. The former has shown quite a bit of bat in the upper minors and in his brief MLB time, though he’s still a work in progress behind the plate. The latter raked last year at Triple-A, but seems clearly third in line.
There’s still perhaps an outside chance that Colorado will make a move for Matt Wieters — if not some other veteran — before camp breaks. But if that doesn’t come to pass, the plan likely involves hoping that Murphy takes charge while leaning on Wolters to the extent necessary.
Prediction: Murphy is given every opportunity to win semi-regular time, but ends up in a time-share with Wolters.
CLOSER
Adam Ottavino
Age: 31
Throws: R
Contract Status: 2 years, $9.1MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Greg Holland
Age: 31
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $6MM with 2018 mutual option ($10MM or $1MM buyout)
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Jake McGee
Age: 30
Throws: L
Contract Status: 1 year, $5.9MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Mike Dunn
Age: 31
Throws: L
Contract Status: 3 years, $19MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Jason Motte
Age: 34
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $5MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
These five veterans all have substantial late-inning experience, with most having handled the ninth inning for at least some significant stretch. The only one that hasn’t — Dunn — just signed a contract that includes incentives for games finished, though that hardly means he’s been promised a full-blown shot at the job.
Ottavino seems the obvious choice: he has been nails over the past two seasons, with a 1.93 ERA and 11.6 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. But he has managed only 37 1/3 total innings in that stretch, owing to Tommy John surgery, and his health will be monitored closely all year long. The veteran Holland is a wild card, as he’s returning from his own TJ procedure and has a long record of dominating from a closer’s role. McGee is looking to bounce back from a subpar 2016 campaign, while Motte could be turned to if he can rebound from his own struggles and the need arises. Unless Ottavino falters, though, it seems the job is likely his.
Prediction: Ottavino
STARTING ROTATION (ONE SPOT)
Jeff Hoffman
Age: 24
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 3
Jordan Lyles
Age: 26
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $3.175MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
German Marquez
Age: 21
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
Kyle Freeland
Age: 23
Throws: L
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 or ’23 season (not yet on 40-man)
Options remaining: 3
The Rockies finally have some hope in the starting staff, but the fifth slot remains undetermined as camp opens. Fortunately, there are a host of intriguing arms that figure to compete for the job, with the losers expected to remain on hand if a leak springs during the season.
Both Hoffman and Marquez struggled in their MLB debuts, but are seen as talented hurlers and obviously have caught the eye of GM Jeff Bridich. If neither grabs the reins in camp, though, it’s plenty possible that they’ll be left in Triple-A for added seasoning when the season opens. That could leave room for a comeback for Lyles, who struggled badly in 2016 and may otherwise end up in the bullpen. Though Freeland has only a dozen Triple-A starts under his belt, that’s more than Marquez, so he too could factor with a big spring — though going to him would require opening a 40-man spot.
Prediction: Hoffman
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/17/17
Plenty of players are still looking for opportunities as Spring Training gets underway in earnest. Among them is former White Sox lefty Scott Snodgress, who worked out for teams this week and will likely choose his landing spot tomorrow, per MLBTR’s Zach Links (via Twitter). Snodgress played indy ball last year after a rough 2015 season in the upper minors with the Angels.
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, featuring a host of other southpaws:
- The White Sox have added lefty Tyler Matzek on a minors pact, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). A 2009 first-rounder, Matzek worked through control problems and showed promise upon reaching the majors in 2014 with the Rockies. But his struggles with the strike zone returned with renewed vigor the next year, and Matzek was ultimately diagnosed with anxiety. Though he was able to make 33 minor-league appearances in 2016, he was outrighted off of Colorado’s 40-man and ended up issuing as many walks as strikeouts (11.1 per nine) on the year.
- Former first-round pick Chris Reed has decided to retire from the Marlins, Eddy tweets. Just 26 years of age, Reed worked to a 3.65 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 81 1/3 innings in the upper minors last year. That represented progress after he struggled badly with control in 2015, but it seems that Reed will move on to other pursuits. The Dodgers, who originally took him 16th overall in 2011, will still get something out of their investment, though, as the trade that sent Reed to Miami netted southpaw Grant Dayton.
- Outfielder Slade Heathcott has landed with the Giants on a minor-league deal that includes a camp invite, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The 26-year-old, who was taken after Reed in the first round in 2009, has long been viewed as a talented player but hasn’t yet earned a full MLB opportunity. He showed well in his lone stint in the bigs, in 2015, but hit only .254/.359/.380 in his 247 Triple-A plate appearances last year.
- Lefty Hung-Chih Kuo is attempting a comeback with the Padres, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County-Register reports on Twitter that he has struck a minor-league deal with San Diego. Now 35 years of age, the Taiwanese native provided the division-rival Dodgers with 292 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball over 2005 through 2011. Kuo has been pitching in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League for the past two campaigns.
Nick Swisher Retires
Long-time MLB outfielder Nick Swisher has announced his retirement in a post at the Player’s Tribune. The 36-year-old will join FOX Sports as a studio analyst — in addition to spending time at home with his kids, he writes.
Swisher, one of the game’s most jubilant personalities, was a first-round pick by the Athletics out of Ohio State. The switch hitter made it up to the majors in his third professional season, and went on to play in a dozen MLB campaigns.
Over his four years in Moneyball-era Oakland, Swisher provided the team with nearly 2,000 plate appearances of .251/.361/.464 hitting. Renowned for his plate discipline, he took 260 walks against 404 strikeouts in that span.
Despite signing an extension with the A’s, Swisher was dealt to the White Sox early in 2008. The deal sent Gio Gonzalez and others back to the Oakland. But Swisher fell shy of expectations in Chicago, and was flipped at season’s end to the Yankees.
In New York, Swisher thrived once again. He compiled 2,501 plate appearances there, slashing a robust .268/.367/.483 and swatting 105 home runs over four campaigns. Swisher was a model of consistency with the Yanks, taking over 600 plate appearances in every season and posting OPS+ marks between 120 and 129.
After declining a qualifying offer following the 2012 season, Swisher hit the open market for the first time entering his age-32 season. He ultimately landed a four-year, $56MM pact with the Indians. While the first year went reasonably well — Swisher hit .246/.341/.423 in 634 trips to the plate — that represented the end of his productivity in the majors.
Swisher endured an injury-plagued 2014 season that ended with double knee surgery. He made it back the following year, but was ultimately dealt to the Braves along with Michael Bourn in a salary-swapping deal that sent Chris Johnson to Cleveland. While he showed a bit of life late in 2015 with Atlanta — he hit just .195 and didn’t hit for power, but drew 27 walks and posted a .349 OBP — Swisher was cut loose late in camp in 2016 and never made it back to the bigs after inking a minor-league pact with the Yankees.
While he was never much of a defender or baserunner, Swisher managed to contribute 25.4 fWAR and 21.7 rWAR over his career. At his best, between 2006 and 2013, he was a steady 3-to-4 win player. Swisher’s sole All-Star berth came in 2010.
MLBTR wishes Swisher a pleasant retirement and the best of luck with his new gig.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals To Re-Sign Peter Moylan
The Royals have struck a minor-league deal with righty Peter Moylan, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal comes with a $1MM salary if Moylan can crack the MLB roster, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. It also includes $250K in available incentives, and allows Moylan to opt out on March 28th if he hasn’t been added to the 40-man.
Moylan, 38, surprisingly resurrected his MLB career in 2015 with the Braves after working back from Tommy John surgery. Signed partly as a pitching instructor, he ended up throwing 10 1/3 MLB frames, posting a 3.48 ERA and compiling eight strikeouts without a single walk.
After landing with the Royals on a minors deal, Moylan again surprised. In 44 2/3 innings, his most extensive major league action since 2010, he worked to a 3.43 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Though he doesn’t have much in the way of velocity, Moylan managed a solid 9.6% swinging-strike rate with his sinker-slider combo. Of course, he’s best limited to seeing opposing righties, as southpaws feasted on him last year.
Despite his contributions to Kansas City in 2016, Moylan will have to battle for a roster spot this spring. The Royals may need to stash some starters in the bullpen, and have already lined up a long list of former MLB hurlers to compete in camp with some of the team’s internal options. That includes Seth Maness, Bobby Parnell, Al Alburquerque, and Brandon League.
Reds To Sign Ryan Raburn
The Reds have agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran outfielder Ryan Raburn, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). He’ll earn $900K if he can crack the MLB roster, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets.
Raburn is now 35 years of age and is coming off of an uninspiring 2016 showing with the Rockies, in which he carried only a 77 OPS+ over 256 plate appearances. But the on-again, off-again lefty masher was spectacular just one year prior, as he provided the 2015 Indians with 201 plate appearances of .301/.393/.543 hitting. That’s part of a pattern for Raburn, who has rather inexplicably alternated between highly productive and roundly disappointing complete seasons for the better part of his career.
Of course, Cincinnati can’t exactly bank on a full rebound from the veteran. But if he’s able to show well in camp, Raburn could earn a chance to stick as a bench bat to help balance out an otherwise youthful roster. He and Desmond Jennings, both of whom are righty hitters who could spell Scott Schebler in right field, could battle with younger options for the final active roster spots in camp.
Rangers Sign A.J. Jimenez To Minor League Deal
The Rangers announced that they’ve signed catcher A.J. Jimenez to a minor league deal and invited him to Major League camp in Spring Training. The 26-year-old Jimenez was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays last week and released earlier this week, but it didn’t take him long to find a new home.
Jimenez was once one of the top prospects in the Blue Jays organization, but he’s struggled at the plate in three consecutive minor league campaigns. The former ninth-round pick spent the 2016 season with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, hitting .241/.290/.377 with four home runs in 248 plate appearances. Overall, he’s a .242/.295/.355 hitter in parts of four seasons at that level. To his credit, Jimenez has thrown out 40 percent of attempted base thieves in his minor league career, and he’s typically been average or better in terms of pitch framing, per Baseball Prospectus (though he had a down season in that regard in ’16).
Texas is set at catcher with one of the game’s best, Jonathan Lucroy, set to receive the lion’s share of the playing time in 2016. Robinson Chirinos is on hand as a quality backup option, and the team also has veteran Brett Hayes in camp on a minors pact. Both Lucroy and Chirinos are likely to play in the World Baseball Classic, however, so in addition to a potential opening on the Triple-A roster for a catcher, the Rangers also simply need some depth to get through Spring Training.
Tyler Austin Out Six Weeks Due To Foot Fracture
The Yankees will be without Tyler Austin for the majority of Spring Training after the 25-year-old suffered a small fracture in his left foot, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (Twitter link via Joel Sherman of the New York Post). Austin sustained the injury when he fouled a ball off his foot in batting practice yesterday. He’ll be in a walking boot for the next three weeks and will be shut down from all baseball activity for six weeks, Sherman adds.
For most of the offseason, the expectation surrounding Austin was that he would compete with Greg Bird for at bats at first base with the Yankees. Given Austin’s minor league experience in the corner outfield, he could’ve conceivably mixed in some occasional time in right field (where Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks are set to compete for the starting role). The signing of Chris Carter (another right-handed first base/DH candidate) certainly diminished Austin’s chances of making the roster, but the news of this injury seems to all but assure that he’ll head to the minors to open the regular season.
Austin made his Major League debut in 2016 and showed off plenty of power, hitting .241/.300/.458 with five homers and three doubles in just 90 plate appearances. He also struck out a troubling 36 times in that stretch, though, suggesting that his approach at the plate could still use some refinement. Austin is coming off an excellent season between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he posted a combined .294/.392/.524 batting line and 17 homers in 444 plate appearances.
As MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets, the Yankees will also be without Mason Williams for the next two weeks due to inflammation of his left patella tendon. Williams is a long shot to make the roster due to the presence of Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Hicks, Judge and Matt Holliday on the roster. He’s played in just 51 Triple-A games (plus 20 MLB contests) and has an option remaining, so further work in the minors seems likely.
AL Central Notes: Cuthbert, Royals, Frazier, Gimenez
Though he lacks experience at the position, Cheslor Cuthbert will be in the mix for the Royals‘ second base job this spring, writes Rustin Dudd of the Kansas City Star. The 25-year-old Cuthbert is out of minor league options, so the Royals will need to carry him on the roster this season or risk losing him on waivers. Cuthbert worked out with Royals special assistant Rafael Belliard this offseason to familiarize himself with the new position, and he played about 15 games at second base in winter ball in his native Nicaragua as well, per Dodd. Even if he’s not a long-term answer at second, the Royals likely want to keep Cuthbert as a potential long-term option at third base. With Mike Moustakas slated to hit the open market next winter, Cuthbert could inherit the team’s everyday job at the hot corner as soon as 2018. Cuthbert hit .274/.318/.413 with a dozen homers and 28 doubles in 510 plate appearances last season as he played third base regularly in lieu of the injured Moustakas.
More from the AL Central…
- The Royals aren’t simply conceding that this will be their last year with free-agents-to-be such as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. While it’s obviously not realistic to expect the Royals to re-sign each of those players — Rosenthal notes that the team may even prefer to replace Escobar with the younger Raul Mondesi — Kansas City executives feel there’s some hope of retaining some of their core pieces. The Royals have already locked up left-hander Danny Duffy (who was also on track for free agency next winter) on a new five-year, $65MM deal. Hosmer, Moustakas and Cain could all prove more expensive than that next offseason, depending on their 2017 performance, though with at least some from that group likely to sign elsewhere, the Royals will have some payroll flexibility. The Royals currently have about $104MM of payroll commitments to the 2018 roster, $78MM in 2019, $51MM in 2020 and $32MM in 2021.
- White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier tells reporters that the sprained finger, for which he was wearing a splint late last month, is healed (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times). Frazier said that he’s been hitting every day, and it doesn’t seem as if he expects the issue to hamper him this season. Set to hit free agency next winter, Frazier declined to speak at length about his future. “Chicago is a nice place to play and I’d like to play here,” he said after noting that his focus is primarily on the upcoming season.
- Chris Gimenez‘s ties to Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey (formerly an assistant GM with the Indians) and general manager Thad Levine (formerly an assistant GM with the Rangers) made it an decision for the new Minnesota execs to sign him this offseason, writes Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Gimenez isn’t in camp as a mere depth option, either, as he’ll be given a legitimate chance to emerge from Spring Training as the backup to offseason addition Jason Castro. While Gimenez doesn’t come with a strong track record at the plate, he’s a solid defender that hits lefties well (.263/.358/.403 in his career), making him a nice on-paper fit with the left-handed-hitting Castro. Miller and Gimenez also discuss the catcher’s winding career, which has included seven organizations in the past nine seasons.