Sandy Alderson Diagnosed With Treatable Form Of Cancer
The Mets announced that general manager Sandy Alderson has been diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer (via Newsday’s Marc Carig). Alderson will undergo eight to 12 weeks of chemotherapy and miss the upcoming Winter Meetings, according to the club. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that he will continue his duties as GM of the team, however.
Alderson, 68, was named general manager of the Mets following the 2010 season and has played a vital role in the Mets’ return to contention and, in 2015, to the World Series. Alderson’s personal health, however, is clearly a far more important matter than his lengthy and impressive track record as a baseball executive.
MLBTR expresses its best wishes to the Mets organization, the friends and family of Alderson, and of course to Alderson himself as we join the baseball community in hoping for a speedy recovery.
White Sox Sign Dioner Navarro
The White Sox continued to reshape their catching corps on Friday, officially announcing the signing of veteran switch-hitter Dioner Navarro to a one-year, $4MM contract.
Chicago has now completed a total overhaul of its backstop situation this winter. The club signed Alex Avila to a one-year deal, non-tendered Tyler Flowers last night, and has now brought in Navarro to share time with his fellow free agent signee.
Navarro, a client of MDR Sports Management, served as the Blue Jays’ primary receiver in 2014 after signing a two-year deal. He put up a solid .274/.317/.395 slash with 12 home runs. But he lost his starting role last year when the Jays added Russell Martin. In his 192 turns at the plate in 2015, Navarro slashed .246/.307/.374, which was still good for an 88 OPS+.
On the defensive side of the ledger, Navarro was one of the league’s worst-rated pitch framers in 2014. But he’s generally rated more as a below-average framer than an awful one, and he returned to that status last year. More broadly, Defensive Runs Saved has pegged Navarro right at league average in terms of overall performance behind the plate.
It remains to be seen exactly how the South Siders will deploy this two-backstop unit, but presumably both were enticed to join the team by the promise of significant time. Avila, who hits from the left side, is much more productive against right-handed pitching, slashing .251/.348/.423 over his career with the platoon advantage. The opposite is true of Navarro, who has hit lefties to the tune of .270/.336/.439. GM Rick Hahn would surely be thrilled to get that kind of combined production from the position for a limited overall investment.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (on Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
White Sox Re-Sign Jacob Turner
The White Sox announced on Friday that they have re-signed the recently non-tendered Jacob Turner to a one-year contract that will pay the right-hander $1.5MM.
It seems curious, at first glance, that Chicago declined to tender Turner a contract at yesterday’s deadline but then struck a deal with him today. Turner, after all, was projected to earn $1MM in arbitration this year, as it’s standard for players to receive an identical salary to the previous year after sitting out a season due to injury.
However, Turner’s situation was rather unique, as the former top prospect signed a Major League contract out of the draft (an outcome that is no longer possible under the since-revamped collective bargaining agreement). Turner’s big league deal out of the draft — he was selected ninth overall in 2009 — included a $4.7MM signing bonus, and an annualized portion of that sum has to be included when calculating his salary. As such, the White Sox and Turner have most likely split the difference between what he might’ve netted in arbitration and what the team would have filed.
The White Sox claimed Turner off waivers just over a month ago from the cross-town Cubs, who carried him for most of the season on the 60-day DL as Turner dealt with arm issues. Turner is out of minor league options and will have to stick on the club’s 40-man roster this spring or be exposed to outright waivers, but the Sox will hope that he can maintain better health in 2016 and realize some of the potential that once made Turner such a highly touted arm.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported the agreement (on Twitter).
Angels In Talks With David Freese
The Angels and third baseman David Freese are said to be “making progress” in talks on a new contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register adds (via Twitter) that GM Billy Eppler acknowledged yesterday that the two sides have continued to talk but wouldn’t specify how close the two sides were to an agreement.
Freese, 32, has spent the past two seasons as the Halos’ everyday third baseman after coming over from the Cardinals alongside right-hander Fernando Salas in a trade that sent Randal Grichuk and Peter Bourjos to St. Louis. Eppler and his staff decided against extending a one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offer to Freese, though the team reportedly considered tendering the QO due to Freese’s solid production and what looks to be a barren market at third base.
Freese would fill a notable void with a familiar face for those in the clubhouse. Over the past two seasons, he’s been a steadily productive player at the hot corner in Anaheim, batting a combined .258/.322/.401 with 24 homers in 981 plate appearances. Those numbers don’t jump off the page (or screen, in this instance), but when paired with respectable defense at third base (in the estimation of Ultimate Zone Rating, anyhow), that’s made Freese about a two-win player per year.
Outside of Freese, the free-agent market at third base contains Korean slugger Jae-gyun Hwang, who is currently posted for MLB clubs (bids are due at 5pm ET today) and possibly Daniel Murphy. However, Hwang is obviously an unproven commodity in the Major Leagues, and Murphy has considerably more experience at second base than at third base (even though some scouts feel he’s better suited to play third than second). Trades are another avenue for teams like the Angels that have glaring holes at third base, though one target in whom the Halos were said to have interest, Trevor Plouffe, may not on the market after all, per Twins GM Terry Ryan.
Tigers, Mike Pelfrey Agree To Two-Year Deal
10:15am: Sherman tweets that the contract is a two-year, $16MM deal. MLB.com’s Jason Beck hears the same (Twitter link). Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets that Pelfrey’s physical is scheduled for today.
10:08am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears differently (Twitter link), as he’s been told the contract is a two-year deal.
9:15am: MLive.com’s James Schmehl reports that the contract is a one-year deal that will pay Pelfrey roughly $8MM. The deal is pending a physical.
9:08am: The Tigers are in agreement on a contract with free agent right-hander Mike Pelfrey, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Pelfrey is represented by agent Scott Boras.
Pelfrey, 32 in January, is coming off a three-year stretch with the Twins that saw him struggle in a return from Tommy John surgery in year one, battle further arm injuries in year two but bounce back to deliver solid, if unspectacular results in his final season in Minnesota. His 2015 campaign included 164 2/3 innings of 4.26 ERA ball with 4.7 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 51 percent ground-ball rate. Pelfrey’s addition figures to round out a Tigers rotation that will also include Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez and Daniel Norris.
While Pelfrey struggled throughout most of his time in Minnesota, the 2015 season saw his average fastball velocity climb back to 93.3 mph — its fastest mark since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2012. Pelfrey’s ground-ball rate was also the highest it’s been since his TJ operation, and if he can maintain a mark north of 50 percent, that should play well with a strong defensive double-play tandem of Jose Iglesias and Ian Kinsler behind him in Detroit. (Of course, the corner infield situation — Miguel Cabrera and Nick Castellanos — certainly leaves something to be desired, from a defensive standpoint.)
Tigers GM Al Avila recently indicated that Detroit would look to add another starter in addition to Zimmermann, who signed a five-year, $110MM contract, however a back-of-the-rotation arm was the implied likelihood. I speculated at the time that Pelfrey would fit the bill, given his 2015 results and the typically strong relationship between the Tigers and Boras.
Detroit could have elected to pursue more upside to fill out its rotation, but the team is still eyeing bullpen upgrades and already projected to have a roughly $152MM committed to just 11 players even before this signing. Pelfrey’s contract will push the payroll to about $160MM (plus another $6.5MM or so for league-minimum players), bringing the team within striking distance of last year’s record $172MM Opening Day payroll.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
KBO’s Hyun-Soo Kim Has Multiple Offers From MLB Clubs
Korean outfield star Hyun-soo Kim has received “multiple offers” from Major League teams, his agents in Korea tell Daniel Kim of KBS Sports (Twitter link). Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency also hears from a source that the soon-to-be 28-year-old Kim has “concrete offers” from MLB. While neither reporter lists specific teams, a second source tells Yoo that the Athletics are taking a long look at Kim, as their regional scout in Korea compiled a “glowing report” on Kim, who is nicknamed the “Hitting Machine” in Korea. The Braves have also scouted Kim extensively, according to Yoo, though their outfield situation may not have much room if Hector Olivera is permanently slotted into left field.
Kim is an unrestricted free agent, having completed nine full seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization despite his relatively young age. After debuting and receiving a single plate appearance as an 18-year-old with the KBO’s Doosan Bears, Kim established himself as a regular just 19 years of age, hitting .273/.335/.398 with five homers and five steals in 99 games.
From that point forth, Kim has batted above .300 in all but one season — he hit .291 in 2012 — and posted outstanding on-base percentage marks while showing some power. The left-handed hitter has authored a .318/.406/.488 hitter as a professional in Korea and is coming off his best season: a .326/.438/.541 batting line with a career-high 28 home runs. Kim struck out just 63 times in 630 plate appearances in 2015 (10 percent) against an impressive 101 walks. That should come as no surprise, considering Kim has walked more often than he’s struck out in six of his nine seasons and has 597 walks to 501 strikeouts over the life his tenure in the KBO. Yoo describes Kim’s defense in left field as “solid,” noting that he also showed a bit of versatility by filling in at first base a few times in 2015.
Kim’s Korean agent, Esther Lee, will travel to the United States for next week’s Winter Meetings in Nashville. He is co-represented by the Wasserman Media Group, writes Yoo, who will of course have agents at the meetings as well. In addition to Oakland, some clubs that could be in the market for a left-handed bat in left field include the Angels, Royals, Reds. Orioles, Indians and Giants, though that list is simply speculation on my behalf.
Padres, Angels, Dodgers Showing Most Interest In Utley
The Padres, Angels and Dodgers are showing the most interest in second baseman Chase Utley, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark. Utley has told friends that his preference is to play in his native California, Stark hears, adding that the Los Angeles area native now resides in northern California but still has family in the southern portion of the state.
Some believe that the Padres’ interest could be a precursor to a trade of some kind, Stark writes, as the team has internal second base options in the form of Jedd Gyorko and Jose Pirela. (Additionally, I’d list Cory Spangenberg, Yangervis Solarte and recently acquired Carlos Asuaje in that mix.) Given the depth of options the Padres have at second, the Utley connection is perhaps a bit surprising, but Stark nonetheless characterizes the team’s interest as “strong.”
The Angels, he notes, could look to use Utley both at second base and designated hitter next season depending on matchups. Johnny Giavotella manned second for most of the 2015 season in Anaheim while batting .272/.318/.375 and delivering suspect defense. Of course, Utley himself is coming off a mere .212/.286/.343 batting line between the Phillies and Dodgers. And, at 37 (later this month), it might not be wise to count on plus defense from the veteran, though metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved pegged him as only slightly below average and much preferred his work to that of the younger Giavotella.
Stark writes that the Dodgers could use Utley as a short-term stopgap to prospect Jose Peraza — a former Top 100 prospect with the Braves that debuted with the Dodgers in 2015 but received just 25 plate appearances in the Majors. Peraza has considerable speed, but his combined .293/.316/.378 line between the Triple-A affiliates for L.A. and Atlanta wasn’t as impressive as his work at the lower levels in the minors. Then again, he’s also still just 21 years of age, making him significantly younger than the bulk of his competition in Triple-A.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Dodgers have more interest in Utley than they do in Ben Zobrist, which would seem to mesh with the notion that a short-term bridge to Peraza is the preferred route for the team. An outside addition isn’t necessarily needed at all, thanks to the presence of Enrique Hernandez, although adding Utley in a stopgap capacity would allow the Dodgers to continue leveraging Hernandez’s versatility in somewhat of a super-utility capacity.
Diamondbacks CEO Hall On Pollock, Cueto
Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall met with the media in Arizona tonight, and among the topics addressed was the status of center fielder A.J. Pollock, whose name has frequented the rumor mill in recent weeks, most prominently in connection to Braves right-hander Shelby Miller. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes, however, Hall more or less shot down any plausibility of Pollock being dealt to another team in a trade.
“It’s clear that every team knows that [Paul Goldschmidt] is off limits,” Hall told reporters. “It’s almost time to send a message that A.J. is off limits. … It’s no surprise that he’s the first name that comes up, really in every conversation we have. It’s like Goldy two or three years ago. He came up in every conversation. I think it’s safe to categorize him as almost untouchable.”
Not only are the Diamondbacks strongly opposed to discussing Pollock’s name in trades, according to Hall, they’ve also had discussions about trying to work out a long-term contract with the standout center fielder. Talks to this point have been internal, Hall said, but he added that it makes sense for the D-backs to consider an extension given “who he is, what he means to this team, where he is right now service time-wise.”
Pollock’s service time could make an extension difficult to reach, as the D-backs don’t have the same leverage they’d have with a younger player that was still years from arbitration. Pollock has accrued more than three years of Major League service, thus making him arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. With a projected payday of $4.3MM (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), Pollock has achieved a small amount of financial security (well, “small” relative to his veteran peers) and probably doesn’t feel as much pressure to take a long-term deal as he would if he had to get through another pre-arb season or two before earning much more than the league minimum.
Also factoring into the discussion is Pollock’s age; with his 28th birthday around the corner (Dec. 5), Pollock currently projects to hit free agency entering his age-31 season. If he continues his current trajectory — Pollock has batted .311/.363/.498 with 27 homers, 53 steals and elite defense in 232 games since 2014 — he could be in line for an enormous six-year contract. On the flip-side, if he takes a long-term deal that affords immediate financial security but also delays his free agency by a year or two (something Arizona would surely want to achieve in a theoretical extension), Pollock would be hitting the open market at 32 or 33. While that’s not to say that he couldn’t still be paid handsomely, teams would be more reluctant to commit to a longer term at an advanced age — especially for a player who derives much of his value from plus center field glovework.
It’s possible, perhaps, that the two sides could merely work out a three-year deal to lock in Pollock’s arbitration salaries, giving him advanced financial security and giving the D-backs a slight bit of savings and cost certainty over their payroll through the 2018 season.
Cost certainty may not sound like a sizable advantage, but it’s beneficial for clubs as they look to map out their next several years and can make it easier to spend on more expensive free-agent options. Hall’s comments on right-hander Johnny Cueto are a testament to that. Cueto reportedly rejected a six-year, $120MM offer from the D-backs, and Hall said on Thursday that it’s “difficult for a team like ours to even go six years,” adding that even five-year commitments are a challenge for the D-backs, who have traditionally operated with a mid-range payroll. (Although, the Diamondbacks did ink a new $1 billion TV contract earlier this year.) While the D-backs reportedly aren’t out of the mix on Cueto entirely, Piecoro notes that Hall did hint at the fact that the team might be moving on to other options.
“It’s debatable,” said Hall. “Look, we’ll see. We’ll cross that bridge. There’s Plan B and Plan C, and if we move on, we probably couldn’t revisit it if we move on to those other moves.”
While Hall, naturally, left “Plan B” and “Plan C” to the imagination, it’s probably safe to assume that one fallback plan for Cueto is Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda, who we now know will be posted for MLB clubs this offseason. GM Dave Stewart publicly voiced his interest in Maeda last offseason and said this winter that the team has continued to monitor him. Arizona has also been connected to right-hander Mike Leake, an Arizona State grad, on multiple occasions. Given the payroll parameters within which the D-backs typically operate, it stands to reason that signing Maeda, Leake or a similarly priced free agent would indeed, as Hall alluded to, prevent them from further bolstering their rotation with an increased offer to Cueto.
Craig Gentry Elects Free Agency
Center fielder Craig Gentry elected free agency on Wednesday this week after refusing an outright assignment from the Athletics, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweeted. The move was expected, as Gentry has more than three years of service time (four years, 152 days, to be exact), giving him the right to test the free-agent market in lieu of an outright.
While the 32-year-old is coming off a dreadful season in which he batted just .120/.196/.200 in a small sample of 56 big league PAs and .256/.319/.327 at the Triple-A level, he’s still an intriguing addition to the market. Age difference notwithstanding, Gentry isn’t entirely dissimilar from Peter Bourjos, who was just claimed off waivers by the Phillies. In 1860 career innings in center field, Gentry has logged an eye-popping 40 Defensive Runs Saved and been worth 26.7 runs above average per 150 games played in the estimation of Ultimate Zone Rating. Though he’s nearing the end of his physical prime, if Gentry can still approximate that level of defensive acumen, he’s an intriguing fourth outfield option at the least.
A minor league deal and invite to Spring Training may be the ultimate outcome for Gentry, who went unclaimed despite a fairly modest $1.6MM arbitration projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. But, as a career .265/.338/.339 hitter with a lifetime slash of .274/.354/.366 against left-handed pitching, Gentry does offer skills that make him a desirable part-time player at the very least.
Angels Notes: Luxury Tax, Skaggs, Wilson, Calhoun, Heyward
With the Angels sitting only $22MM underneath the $189MM luxury tax threshold and holes to fill at second base, third base and in left field, owner Arte Moreno may have no choice but to incur luxury tax penalties for just the second time since purchasing the team in 2003, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times. When asked about the possibility, general manager Billy Eppler sounded open to the concept. “There are scenarios where you can see it being reasonable, and there are scenarios where you can see it not being worth it,” Eppler told DiGiovanna and other reporters. “Undetermined is probably the best way to put it,” added Eppler, who said scenarios which put the team over the luxury tax will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Eppler did admit that he’s had a wide number of trade and free-agent discussions in his search for an outfield upgrade, including names at the top of the market. While he declined to discuss specifics, players such as Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes are all available in free agency, and the former two would give Anaheim a much-needed left-handed bat to help balance out the lineup.
A few more notes on the Halos…
- Tyler Skaggs recently threw a 90-pitch bullpen session in Arizona, Eppler also told DiGiovanna today. The GM said the plan for Skaggs, who missed the entire 2015 season recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in late 2014, is to “let him roll” in Spring Training, indicating that he won’t have much in the way of limitations placed on him. Eppler added that C.J. Wilson is expected to be “unrestricted” in Spring Training as well. The 35-year-old Wilson underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow in August. DiGiovanna points out that Wilson could become a trade candidate in Spring Training if he can demonstrate his health on the mound.
- If the Halos do make a run at Heyward, fellow Gold Glove right fielder Kole Calhoun won’t complain one bit about moving across the diamond to left field, he told MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. “If our team is going to get better, and that’s the way we’re going to get better, I’m all for it,” Calhoun said to Gonzalez when asked about a possible shift to left. Calhoun did go on to discuss the difficulties of such a switch, elaborating on the difficulty of essentially being forced to read swing paths and calculate routes in reverse. Gonzalez speculates that Heyward is the best fit among the potential free-agent outfielders for Anaheim, though he noted he’ll also be the most expensive of the bunch.
- It should also be noted that both DiGiovanna and Gonzalez note that Eppler expressed satisfaction with the Angels’ rotation and bullpen, so if further additions are made to the club, expect it to be on the position-player side of the equation. As Gonzalez writes, Eppler and the Angels will head into the Winter Meetings without a set target in mind. Rather, they’ll entertain a wide variety of scenarios to address multiple holes, but Eppler would only state that the goal “is to walk out the door with more information than you walked in with.”
- Though he notes that any club in baseball could use a star-caliber outfielder set to enter his age-26 season, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello lays out a case for his belief that the Angels need Heyward more than any other club in the Majors. The Halos’ left fielders were collectively the least-productive unit at the position in 2015, and they have at least three pitchers in their rotation — Jered Weaver, Andrew Heaney and Hector Santiago — who were among the top 25 in fly-ball percentage for starting pitchers, making Heyward’s glove all the more valuable to them. (Matt Shoemaker, too, was in the top 25 he notes, though Shoemaker isn’t necessarily guaranteed a rotation spot.) Also, with a poor farm system that was thinned out further with the acquisition of Andrelton Simmons, the Angels probably can’t add an elite talent by way of trade. It’s a well-reasoned case and well worth a full read.