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Yankees Seek Pitching In Potential Gardner Deals

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12:47pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that there’s no talk of Castro/Gardner at this point, as the Yankees’ preference would be to add pitching if they’re to part with Gardner.

9:35am: The Yankees and Cubs have discussed a trade involving outfielder Brett Gardner and infielder Starlin Castro, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. The Yankees have discussed Gardner with many other clubs as well, a source tells Feinsand.

Castro, 26 in March, lost his job as the Cubs’ starting shortstop this past season and eventually took over at second base after a stretch in which he was primarily a bench option. The former All-Star salvaged what was shaping up to be a second dreadful season three years by hitting .366/.390/.643 over his final 119 plate appearances — most of which came as a starter. While a .389 BABIP in that stretch served to artificially inflate his batting line, Castro did slug six homers in that stretch, so something very clearly did click for him at the plate. His bat was largely dormant in the postseason, though, as he hit just .176/.200/.294 (35 plate appearances).

Castro signed a seven-year, $60MM extension with Chicago back in August of 2012 at the tail end of what was a second consecutive All-Star season for the then-22-year-old. Since that time, he’s sandwiched an excellent 2014 campaign in between a pair of awful seasons at the plate, leading to a cumulative .265/.303/.383 batting line from 2013-15.

The remaining $38MM on Castro’s contract is an exact match with the remaining $38MM on Gardner’s deal, though Castro is guaranteed that sum over the life of four full seasons, whereas Gardner is promised $38MM over the next three years. Both players have a club option on their deal — a $16MM club option for the 2020 season ($1MM buyout) in Castro’s case and a $12.5MM club option for the 2019 season ($2MM buyout) in Gardner’s case.

Gardner, 32, is considerably older than Castro but has had much more recent success. The 2015 season was the worst in recent memory for Gardner, although Yankees hitting coach Alan Cockrell recently told the Journal News’ Chad Jennings that a wrist injury submarined Gardner’s second-half production. Gardner was hit by a pitch on the wrist in April, and the effects of the injury lingered all season. As Cockrell explained, a player can only receive three cortisone injections over the course of a single season, and once Gardner was no longer able to receive cortisone treatment in the second half, his bat completely evaporated, leading to his dismal .203/.288/.290 batting line in the season’s final two months. (Overall, Gardner’s .259/.343/.399 triple-slash was still plenty respectable.)

While other pieces may or may not need to be included to bring this trade from discussion to fruition, the framework makes some degree of sense on paper. The Yankees are open to adding help at second base, where the primary internal option is the largely unproven Rob Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley, who hasn’t played second base regularly since 2012. The Cubs, meanwhile, may very well lose Dexter Fowler to free agency and have no immediate in-house replacement in center field. It should also be noted that the Yankees recently acquired a highly athletic young outfielder in Aaron Hicks, who could step into the outfield in Gardner’s stead on an everyday basis. While Hicks hasn’t proven much at the plate after initially being rushed to the Majors, he made some strides offensively in 2015 and is seen as a potentially elite defender in the outfield. The swap would also lessen the Yankees’ luxury tax ledger and decrease the 2016 payroll, perhaps opening the team to further spending. Castro is set to earn $7MM next year compared to Gardner’s $13MM salary.

Mariners Designate Danny Hultzen For Assignment

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The Mariners announced that they have designated left-hander and former No. 2 overall draft pick Danny Hultzen for assignment. Additionally, the team has purchased the contracts of infielder Patrick Kivlehan and outfielder Boog Powell, thereby adding them to the 40-man roster and protecting them from the Rule 5 Draft.

Selected second overall back in 2011, Hultzen’s career has been plagued by consistent shoulder problems that have limited the soon-to-be-26-year-old to a total of just 167 2/3 innings as a professional. He’s out of options and can be outrighted to the minors if he clears waivers. While Hultzen would technically be available for selection in the Rule 5, he was shut down due to shoulder issues this past July and didn’t pitch again after that point.

Mariners Acquire Luis Sardinas From Brewers

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The Mariners and Brewers announced the completion of a relatively minor trade, with infielder Luis Sardinas going to the Seattle in exchange for outfielder Ramon Flores.

Luis Sardinas

Sardinas, still just 22, has been traded twice within the past year, originally going from the Rangers to Milwaukee in the Yovani Gallardo trade. The former Top 100 prospect struggled this past season in both the Majors and may have been deemed expendable by the new front office following yesterday’s acquisition of infielder Jonathan Villar from the Astros.

In 105 plate appearances at the Major League level this season, Sardinas batted .196/.240/.216 — a notable step back from the more palatable (albeit still below-average) .261/.303/.313 line he posted in a similar sample size (125 PAs) in 2014 with Texas. Of course, Sardinas is still considerably younger than the average Triple-A player, so it’s not entirely surprising that he’d be overmatched by big league pitching.

Sardinas appears to fit GM Jerry Dipoto’s oft-stated goal of improving the Mariners’ defense. Last winter, Baseball America ranked Sardinas seventh among Rangers prospects (prior to his trade to Milwaukee, obviously), calling him a plus runner and “talented shortstop with nimble feet, smooth actions, good instincts and an above-average arm.” BA notes that Sardinas profiles as at least a utility player, if not a defensive-minded starter that can hit at the bottom of a big league lineup.

The 23-year-old Flores was acquired by the Mariners in the trade that sent Dustin Ackley to the Yankees. Flores made his big league debut with the Yankees this season but batted just .219/.219/.250 in 33 plate appearances. He has a better minor league track record (.282/.376/.449 in Triple-A) and got off to a torrid start with the Mariners’ Triple-A club, hitting .423/.534/.654 in 14 games. However, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times points out (links to Twitter), Flores broke his leg in that 14th game and had season-ending surgery as a result. Flores is out of minor league options and might not be ready for Spring Training, so he’s seemingly ticketed for the disabled list to open the 2016 season. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweets that this is an “ideal roster construction modification trade,” noting that Flores has a much better bat than Sardinas, who has considerably more defensive value than Flores.

Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the two sides were nearing a trade. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the players involved (links to Twitter). 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bidding Deadline For Ah-Seop Son Pushed To Monday

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NOV. 20: The deadline to submit bids for Son has been pushed to Monday at 5pm ET, according to a report from Yonhap (Korean link). The reason for the delay is that while Lotte requested Son to be posted on Nov. 16, MLB didn’t formally process the request until Nov. 17. At the time the posting was formalized, it was already Nov. 18 in Korea (as noted below, Korea is 14 hours ahead of United States Eastern Time).

The delay creates an uncomfortable situation for Son, who will begin his mandatory four-week military training next Monday (which would put the end date on Dec. 18). As Yoo noted in his column below, Son doesn’t have to actually serve in the military because of his status as a Gold Medal winner from the 2014 Asian Games, but even pro athletes who earn their way out of the requirement must still complete the training. It’s possible, then, that Son won’t immediately know the results of his own posting due to his training schedule.

NOV. 16: Son was officially posted yesterday, Yonhap’s Jee-ho Yoo writes. The bidding process on Son will be open until Nov. 20, and the Giants will learn of the accepting bid on Nov. 21. They’ll then have until Nov. 26 to make their decision on whether or not to accept. If a bid is accepted, the winning team will have 30 days from the time it is accepted to negotiate a contract with Son. It should be noted that South Korea is 14 hours ahead of United States Eastern Time, meaning those deadlines will actually pass at 10am ET on those days in North America (as we saw when the Byung-ho Park news broke early Monday morning last week).

Those interested in Son can check out a highlight reel recently compiled by his agents and posted to YouTube.

NOV. 9: Outfielder Ah-seop Son of the Korea Baseball Organization’s Lotte Giants is expected to be posted for MLB clubs this coming Sunday, reports Daniel Kim of KBS Sports (via Twitter).

As was the case with Byung-ho Park of the KBO’s Nexen Heroes — a first baseman for whom the Twins secured negotiation rights with a $12.85MM posting fee earlier today — big league clubs will have five days to bid on Son. After that point, Lotte will have to decide whether or not to accept the bid. An announcement as to which team posted the winning bid — if an acceptable bid is indeed made — would come one week from the date of his posting. From the point the bid is accepted, the winning team would have 30 days to negotiate a contract with Son and his agent, Rick Thurman of the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Son is a 27-year-old corner outfielder that has consistently posted strong marks in batting average and on-base percentage over the past five seasons in KBO. In that time, he’s batted .333/.409/.476, averaging 12 home runs and 16 stolen bases per season. This past season was one of Son’s best, as he .317/.406/.472 with 13 homers and 11 steals. Son makes plenty of contact, striking out in just 15.6 percent of his career plate appearances in Korea and drawing more walks (80) than strikeouts (78) in 2014. He’s walked at a 10.8 percent clip in his KBO career.

Son’s posting is worth keeping an eye on, as Korea’s Giants actually have a pair of players that asked to be posted this offseason: Son and third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang. However, KBO rules stipulate that a team can only accept a bid on one player per offseason and can only post one player at a time. If the team does not receive a bid to its liking on Son, or if Son and BHSC aren’t able to come to terms with a team that does make an acceptable bid in the allotted 30-day negotiation window, the Giants will reportedly immediately post Hwang for MLB clubs.

Due to the fact that Son has two remaining years of service time remaining, Lotte needn’t feel any pressure to accept the highest bid. The club could pass on the bids if none is deemed strong enough to part with two years of one of the team’s better hitters, which would mean that Son would simply return to the team in 2016. He could then be posted again next winter. The same cannot be said of Hwang, who would qualify for free agency following the 2016 season and could make himself available to MLB clubs without the restrictions of the posting system.

Added To The 40-Man: Reds, Padres, Braves, Jays, Cards, Nats

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The deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster and thereby protect them from this year’s Rule 5 Draft is tomorrow night at 8:00pm ET. As such, there will be a large volume of players added to 40-man rosters in the coming day as well as a handful of moves to clear 40-man space for those new additions. The Astros’ trade of Jonathan Villar and release of Robbie Grossman and Luis Cruz earlier today, for instance, created three new spots on their 40-man for the purpose of protecting prospects. Players who signed at 18 or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five years of signing or be exposed to all 29 other teams in the Rule 5 Draft. Players who were 19 or older at the time they signed must be added within four seasons.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has more specifics on the intricacies of the Rule 5 Draft for those that are interested. Mayo also notes that 11 of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects are in need of protection from the Rule 5 Draft, and he goes on to list the players from each organization’s Top 30 prospects who must be added by tomorrow night in order to be protected.

With all of that said, here’s today’s list of players that have been added to the 40-man roster…

Earlier Updates

Latest On Market For Darren O’Day

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10:56pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman hears differently from Rosenthal, tweeting that the Braves’ early interest in O’Day has dwindled as his price has risen.

10:26pm: There’s been no shortage of teams connected to Darren O’Day this winter, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Dodgers are in “big time” pursuit of the former Orioles setup ace, noting that two sources have said as much to him in the past week. A more surprising team now being linked to O’Day, though, is the Braves, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Atlanta is in the midst of a rebuilding phase but is nonetheless eyeing O’Day as well as left-hander Matt Thornton, Rosenthal writes, adding that execs from other clubs feel that the Braves could actually submit the largest offer for O’Day’s services.

O’Day is said to be seeking a four-year pact in the range of $28-36MM total and reportedly left last week’s GM Meetings with multiple offers in hand. Presumably, none of the offers extended to him in Boca Raton were in that range, but the Dodgers have been connected to O’Day from the onset of the offseason and were said by Crasnick last week to have “significant” interest, which seemingly hasn’t waned as widespread interest potentially works in O’Day’s favor.

While Atlanta makes a curious fit, it should be noted that despite the fact that 2014-15 was an offseason spent largely rebuilding, the team did add veteran Nick Markakis on a four-year deal. Adding O’Day would be a similar win-now move amidst a slew of other re-tooling maneuvers, though any multi-year deal agreed to would extend into the 2017-18 window in which Atlanta aims to contend with a rebuilt staff of impressive young pitchers.

Thornton’s asking price isn’t known at this time, but the 39-year-old vet did just conclude a 2015 campaign that saw him work to a pristine 2.18 ERA in 41 1/3 innings. While Thornton’s strikeout numbers (5.0 K/9) are down considerably from his peak years with the White Sox, he held left-handed opponents to a miserable .198/.205/.279 batting line and was also reasonably effective, albeit not dominant against right-handers as well (.229/.333/.357).

Los Angeles and Atlanta are just two of many teams that have reportedly shown interest in O’Day. He’s also been linked to the Tigers, Mets, Cubs, Nationals, Red Sox and Royals. Of course, Boston and Detroit have already acquired help for the back of their bullpens and may not wish to spend to this extent to further bolster their relief contingents.

AL East Notes: Miller, Papi, Orioles, Blue Jays, Yankees

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Andrew Miller’s name has been floated in trade rumors in the early stages of the offseason, and two Major League execs tell Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that Yankees GM Brian Cashman does indeed seem at least open to the idea of moving him. The Yankees would be comfortable with Dellin Betances serving as their closer, Feinsand writes, but the execs to whom he spoke stressed that Cashman would need to be overwhelmed to deal Miller. Still, Feinsand notes that with the team reluctant to part with any of Luis Severino, Greg Bird or Aaron Judge and a lack of money coming off the books, Miller is one of the team’s most appealing assets that could be used to add talent to the Major League roster. Feinsand writes that the Yankees probably won’t pursue any top-of-the-market free agents this winter and are also unlikely to add any free agents that come tied to draft pick compensation, meaning previous connections to Wei-Yin Chen and Jeff Samardzija may no longer be apt.

A few more notes from the AL East…

  • Starting pitching is the Blue Jays’ top priority even after re-signing Marco Estrada, interim GM Tony LaCava told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. While LaCava recognized a need for bullpen help, he said the rotation is the primary focus, adding: “We may let the bullpen come to us a little bit.” Nicholson-Smith aptly notes that the relief market typically features many bargains later in the offseason, with names like Ryan Madson, Franklin Morales and Carlos Villanueva all among players who parlayed January minor league deals into strong 2015 seasons. Regarding internal rotation options, LaCava noted that Aaron Sanchez is more likely to transition to a starting role than Roberto Osuna, if the club decides to shift either’s role at all. LaCava explains that Sanchez has more experience starting, whereas health issues have prevented Osuna from going through a full five-month stretch as a starter.
  • Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star relays some quotes from Estrada at the press conference to announce his new contract. Estrada told the Toronto media that his preference was always to come back, and once talks began moving toward a two-year deal following the qualifying offer, he barely considered testing the market at all. Estrada added that the number of key contributors returning to the club in 2016 also made re-upping in Toronto an appealing scenario: “I think even if they left [the roster] alone we’re going to do pretty well this next year. But I’m sure they’re working on stuff.”
  • Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post spoke to former Red Sox scout Dave Jauss (now with the Pirates) about his strong push to convince the Red Sox front office to take a chance on David Ortiz back in 2003. Ortiz had been let go by the Twins, who didn’t want to risk paying him a raise in arbitration after having nearly been contracted by the league. Jauss tells Kilgore that he was aware of all the red flags with Ortiz at the time — problems with left-handed pitching and an inability to stay healthy — but he firmly believed from his time spent managing in the Dominican Republic that Ortiz could flourish in an environment that didn’t force him to be so pull-conscious (i.e. Fenway Park). Kilgore’s piece chronicles Jauss’ workouts for Ortiz in the Dominican Republic while he was a free agent as well as what Jauss saw from Ortiz in winter ball early in his career.
  • In light of the Giants’ recent extension of Brandon Crawford, MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski explores whether or not now is the time for the Orioles to try to secure one of their own homegrown stars: Manny Machado. Crawford inked a six-year extension while he was two years from free agency, but the fact that Machado is still three seasons away and the Orioles have so many other pressing needs this winter mean that an extension isn’t near the top of their priority list at this time, Melewski writes. Melewski’s colleague, Roch Kubatko, tweets that GM Dan Duquette said again today that he is trying to re-sign Chris Davis but can’t handicap the chances of it happening at this time.
  • The Yankees announced their complete coaching staff this week. Mike Harkey will take the bullpen coach job, while Tony Pena will instruct the catchers while also handling first base. Per prior announcements, Alan Cockrell will serve as the hitting coach with Marcus Thames as his assistant.

Braves Notes: Freeman, Allard, Bethancourt

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Prior to the emphatic comments by Braves general manager John Coppolella in which he denied that his team will trade Freddie Freeman, Freeman’s name came up in trade talks with the Astros, three sources told Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. The scenario being discussed is described by Passan as a blockbuster that would’ve included five other players, but he also adds that the discussions “went nowhere” when Freeman’s name was brought up. Passan goes on to examine the Braves’ rebuild situation, noting that the team is poised not only to pick third in next year’s draft but is also rumored to be preparing for massive expenditures on the international prospect front, as others have suggested as well. While there’s risk in centering a rebuilding effort around young pitching due to the generally volatile nature of pitching prospects, the Braves are doing so at a time when the next winter’s free-agent market is bereft of quality arms, which could prevent them from the feeling the frantic need to add arms that so many clubs experience each winter.

A few more notes on the Braves…

  • Despite the re-signing of A.J. Pierzynski, the Braves haven’t given up on young catcher Christian Bethancourt, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Both Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart spoke highly of Bethancourt when asked by Bowman, but as he writes, few foresaw the defensive struggles Bethancourt has endured in his young career. Bethancourt’s arm — given an 80-grade by some scouts — has lived up to the hype, but he he’s surrendered 14 passed balls in just 73 games as a Major League catcher. His rate of one every 44 innings is far and away the most frequent in the Majors, as Tyler Flowers’ rate of one every 80.4 innings was the next most-frequent among catchers with 600+innings in 2015, Bowman points out.
  • David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, meanwhile, offers a different take on the Braves’ opinion of Bethancourt (Twitter link). O’Brien notes that in spite of whatever kind words the Braves will publicly make in regards to Bethancourt, his sense is that the organization now believes that, in hindsight, he was overrated as a prospect. The team, of course, won’t say that, but Bowman did note in the above-linked column that it was somewhat telling when Bethancourt started only 14 games after being recalled from the minors in August last season.
  • Braves 2015 first-round pick Kolby Allard underwent a second back surgery after the completion of the Gulf Coast League season, the Braves blog ChopCounty.com first reported (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Mark Bowman spoke to a Braves official who said that this surgery was less severe than the last operation that Allard underwent to repair his back (Twitter link). A stress reaction in Allard’s back suffered back in March caused his draft stock to slip, as he had previously been considered a potential top five pick. Allard lasted until the Braves’ No. 14 pick, and he threw six innings of one-hit ball with 12 strikeouts and no walks in his small sample of GCL action after signing.

Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson Win MVP Awards

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Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper and Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson were named the most valuable players in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced today. Harper was the unanimous choice for first place among the 30 who voted, whereas Donaldson took home 23 of the 30 first-place votes. Ballots for MVP voting go 10 deep and are based on a scale that awards 14 points for a first-place vote and then nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two and one respectively down the list.

Paul Goldschmidt was the runaway choice for second place, collecting 18 second-place votes and 234 points. Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew McCutchen, Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke each received second-place votes and finished third through seventh, in that order. Rounding out the remainder of the ballot were (in order) Nolan Arenado, Buster Posey, Clayton Kershaw, Kris Bryant, Matt Carpenter, Yoenis Cespedes, A.J. Pollock, Jason Heyward, Dee Gordon, Trevor Rosenthal, Curtis Granderson, Gerrit Cole and Adrian Gonzalez. (Full voting breakdown here.)

That Harper won shouldn’t come as a surprise, as he was widely believed to be the favorite for the award on the heels of a historically great age-22 season. (Winning in unanimous fashion is perhaps a mild surprise, as there are still voters who prefer their MVPs to come from playoff clubs.) The former No. 1 overall draft pick batted .330/.460/.649 and led the National League in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs (42) and runs scored (118). Harper was consistent throughout the season, never posting a monthly OPS lower than .909, and his all-around contributions were valued at 9.9 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference.com and 9.5 WAR by Fangraphs.

Shifting to the American League, Mike Trout unsurprisingly finished runner-up and received all seven of the other first-place votes that did not go to Donaldson. The top two finishers combined to receive all but one of the first- and second-place votes, with Nelson Cruz receiving one second-place vote. Donaldson’s final point total was 385, with Trout coming in at 304. Rounding out the top 20 (in order): Lorenzo Cain, Manny Machado, Dallas Keuchel, Cruz, Adrian Beltre, Jose Bautista, David Price, Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, Prince Fielder, Chris Davis, J.D. Martinez, Jason Kipnis, Kevin Kiermaier, Kendrys Morales, Chris Sale and Mookie Betts. (Full voting breakdown here.)

Donaldson’s first season with the Blue Jays was everything Toronto could’ve hoped for and then some when trading Brett Lawrie and three prospects for him last offseason. The 29-year-old batted .297/.371/.568 and blasted 41 homers, leading the American League in both runs scored (122) and RBIs (123). In addition to his outstanding offensive contributions, Donaldson ranked among the game’s elite at third base, saving 11 runs above the average defender, by measure of Defensive Runs Saved and nine runs above average per Ultimate Zone Rating. B-Ref (8.8) and Fangraphs (8.7) were more or less in agreement on Donaldson’s value in terms of wins above replacement.

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