Mariners Outright Lucas Luetge
The Mariners have announced that they’ve outrighted lefty Lucas Luetge to Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners’ 40-man roster now contains 39 players.
The 28-year-old Luetge was a relatively productive part of the Mariners’ bullpen in 2012 after they took him from the Brewers in the Rule 5 Draft. He also made 35 big-league appearances in 2013. Since then, though, he’s played sparingly at the Major League level and has struggled with walks in his infrequent appearances. He’s spent most of this season with Tacoma and hasn’t gotten great results, posting a 5.69 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 49 innings there. For his big-league career, Luetge has a 4.35 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 74 innings.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Amaro, Eppler, Keuchel
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video on FOX Sports:
- The Phillies haven’t yet decided what to do with GM Ruben Amaro. On the surface, that seems strange, since other teams could soon hire top GM candidates to fill their open positions. The likely reason the Phillies haven’t made a move, Rosenthal suggests, is that incoming club president Andy MacPhail prefers not to rush decisions.
- Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler is reportedly a top candidate for the open Angels GM job, and he wants the position, even though accepting it would mean working around owner Arte Moreno and influence-wielding manager Mike Scioscia. Eppler is from Southern California and would like to return to the area, Rosenthal says.
- Dallas Keuchel has put himself in a good negotiating position in potential extension talks with the Astros and he ought not to be desperate to accept one, Rosenthal opines. Keuchel will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason and is already set for a significant payout in 2016, one that would only increase if he wins the Cy Young award. On top of that, it’s extremely unlikely that the Astros would non-tender him the following offseason, so he has already nearly guaranteed himself two years of good salaries.
AL Notes: Andrus, Ramirez, Rays
After trying a number of ways of reaching underachieving shortstop Elvis Andrus, including threats of benchings and a trade, the Rangers finally got to him with a simple message, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Following this year’s All-Star break, Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley asked Andrus who his role models were, and Andrus said they were Omar Vizquel and Derek Jeter. In response, Beasley said, “You are not a very good shortstop right now.” Beasley says he challenged Andrus to improve. In the second half this season, Andrus has hit .304/.333/.423, compared to .242/.301/.323 in the first. As Grant points out, it probably isn’t as simple as Andrus having a conversation with Beasley and then automatically improving, but whatever the cause, it appears possible Andrus is back on the right track. That could be crucial for the Rangers, who made a huge investment when they signed him to a $120MM extension in 2013. That deal just kicked in this year, so the Rangers are currently on the hook for significant salaries for Andrus all the way through 2022. Here’s more from the American League.
- The Red Sox announced today that they’ve placed outfielder-turned-first-baseman Hanley Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to August 27. On the surface, it’s a strange bit of roster manipulation, given that placing Ramirez on the 15-day DL doesn’t clear a 40-man roster spot and that active rosters have already expanded to 40 anyway. Via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (on Twitter), though, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says the team placed Ramirez on the DL to “protect us from ourselves.” The move is designed, then, to keep them from inserting Ramirez into game action before he’s ready. When he does come back, it appears Ramirez will play at first base. Allen Craig played that position for the Red Sox yesterday, making his only big-league start at first since April.
- Rays owner Stuart Sternberg hasn’t set the team’s 2016 payroll yet, but he would prefer it to be similar to that of this season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Via Cot’s Contracts, the 2015 Rays had an Opening Day payroll of about $76MM. That total includes relatively expensive deals a few vets who are either already gone or whose contracts will expire, including Grant Balfour, Asdrubal Cabrera and David DeJesus. With a payroll in the $76MM range, though, it appears, unsurprisingly, that the Rays won’t be big spenders on the free agent market this offseason.
AL Notes: Jays, Giavotella, Kelly
The Blue Jays‘ July additions of Troy Tulowitzki, David Price and others fundamentally changed the team, ESPN’s Jayson Stark writes. Prior to yesterday’s 10-2 loss to the Orioles, the Jays had scored 200 runs and allowed just 97 in 32 games since acquiring Tulowitzki. Both those marks were the best in baseball in that time frame. Of course, Tulowitzki himself has a modest .696 OPS since joining the Jays, but GM Alex Anthopoulos suggests that pure numbers are only part of the picture. Earlier in his tenure as GM, Anthopoulos says, “I was mostly focused on production.” But merely acquiring productive players didn’t work if those players weren’t the right fits for the team. “So I’m probably a little more balanced now, between production and fit,” he says. Here are more quick notes from the American League.
- Angels infielder Johnny Giavotella has been out the past two weeks, and he said yesterday that he has fourth nerve palsy, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. The condition causes Giavotella to have double vision when he looks down or to the left. Giavotella says that the symptoms have improved, however, and that the condition will not be permanent. He hopes to return this season.
- Red Sox starter Joe Kelly has had a frustrating season that’s included a demotion to Triple-A, but he’s fared much better lately and could be pitching his way into Dave Dombrowski’s plans for the 2016 Sox, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Kelly has made adjustments lately — via Brooks Baseball, he increased his total usage of breaking balls and changeups from about 28% of pitches in June to about 42% in August. He’s only allowed 14 runs spanning 43 innings in his last seven starts. “It’s something that I’ve learned that you can’t just throw fastballs, especially in this division with hitters we see all the time and are very good hitting ballclubs,” he says. “You’ve got to throw hitters offspeed throughout the whole entire game. It’s something that, hopefully going into next year, realizing what I’m doing, I just have to keep pitching like that.” Lauber notes that the team is likely to try to add a top starter this offseason, and Eduardo Rodriguez could join Clay Buchholz (whose option the Red Sox will likely pick up as long as he doesn’t have any trouble in his recovery from an elbow strain) and Rick Porcello in the 2016 rotation. Kelly could then potentially compete with Wade Miley and Henry Owens for a starting job. Of course, much remains to be determined — Dombrowski’s plans to remake the Red Sox in his first offseason on the job might turn out to be more extensive than the blueprint above suggests.
Week In Review: 8/29/15 – 9/4/15
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Trades
- Dodgers – acquired OF Chris Heisey from Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash; acquired OF Justin Ruggiano from Mariners for a player to be named later or cash
- Royals – acquired OF Jonny Gomes and cash from Braves for IF Luis Valenzuela
- Giants – acquired OF Alejandro De Aza and cash from Red Sox for P Luis Ysla
- Cubs – acquired OF Austin Jackson and cash from the Mariners for a player to be named later and the rights to international bonus spending
- Mets – acquired P Addison Reed from Diamondbacks for P Matt Koch and P Miller Diaz (link)
Top Prospect Promotions
- Dodgers – IF Corey Seager (link)
- Braves – IF Hector Olivera (link)
Claims
- Phillies – P Ken Roberts (from Rockies)
Designated For Assignment
- Indians – OF Carlos Moncrief (link)
- Dodgers – 1B Andy Wilkins (link)
- Giants – OF Justin Maxwell (link), OF Ryan Lollis (link)
- Rangers – P Roman Mendez (link)
- Cubs – P Rafael Soriano (link), IF Mike Olt (link)
- Rays – IF Hak-Ju Lee (link)
- Astros – P Jake Buchanan (link)
- Blue Jays – P Colt Hynes (link), IF/OF Ty Kelly (link)
- Yankees – OF Tyler Austin (link)
- Diamondbacks – P Kevin Munson (link)
Outrights
- Angels – P Drew Rucinski, OF Alfredo Marte (link)
- Reds – P Dylan Axelrod (link)
- Rockies – 1B/OF Matt McBride (link)
- Padres – P Caleb Thielbar, P Chris Rearick (link)
- Cubs – P James Russell (link)
- Yankees – IF Cole Figueroa (link)
- Tigers – P Josh Zeid (link), P Jason Wheeler (link)
- Mets – P Vic Black (link), IF Daniel Muno (link)
Front Office Notes: Angels, Eppler, Marlins, Jennings
The front office rumblings are coming at a steady pace now. Needless to say, there are a lot of moving parts in the multiple front offices in the midst of turnover around the league. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs breaks down some of the names and considerations that will be in play over the coming months.
On to the latest news and rumors:
- Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler seems to be an oft-spoken name early in the GM hiring season, and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that Eppler is “expected to be a strong frontrunner” for the Angels‘ opening. While Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added on Twitter that Los Angeles had yet to request permission from New York to speak with Eppler, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times later tweeted that the clubs have been in contact regarding that matter.
- Eppler will have competition, of course, and DiGiovanna further tweets that the Angels have been in touch with other teams seeking permission to speak with their executives. It’s still unclear at present how many will get serious consideration for the role, he adds.
- The Marlins‘ lower-level front office changes continued today, as the team fired pro scout Mikey White, per Rosenthal (Twitter links). White was close with GM-turned-manager (and possible future GM) Dan Jennings, says Rosenthal, as was recently-reassigned VP of player personnel Craig Weissman.
- It’s not clear that anything should be read into those tea leaves, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports that there were “strong indications” today that Jennings is likely heading back into the Marlins‘ general manager position after the season. Jennings had a meeting yesterday regarding the organization’s future direction, though he declined to discuss it. He’s also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Seattle opening.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/4/15
Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the league…
- Two Angels ballplayers — righty Drew Rucinski and outfielder Alfredo Marte — have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The pair was designated on September 1st as Los Angeles cleared out 40-man space for its September call-ups.
- Righty Dylan Axelrod was outrighted by the Reds, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old, a former starter with the White Sox, has worked 30 2/3 innings of 4.70 ERA pitching out of the Cincinnati pen over the last two seasons.
- The Phillies announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Brian Bogusevic and transferred left-hander Elvis Araujo to the 60-day disabled list in order to clear a spot for him on the 40-man roster. Bogusevic, 31, has had a nice season at the Triple-A level with Philadelphia, hitting .296/.359/.424 with 12 homers and 24 steals. He has a fair amount of MLB experience under his belt — most recently with the Cubs in 2013, when he slashed .273/.323/.462 in 155 plate appearances. Araujo strained his groin and landed on the 15-day DL late last month, so by transferring him to the 60-day DL, the Phils have effectively ended his season.
Latest On Matt Harvey And Mets
We learned earlier today, in a report from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, that some disagreement has arisen between the Mets and agent Scott Boras regarding the handling of 26-year-old righty Matt Harvey. Boras claims that the club is risking an injury to Harvey, who underwent Tommy John surgery in October of 2013, by not adhering to a 180-inning limit this season. (Harvey has already thrown 166 1/3 frames on the year, and has never before exceeded 178 1/3 innings in his career.) In turn, Mets GM Sandy Alderson countered that the team does not believe a hard innings cap should apply.
There’s been plenty more back and forth in the hours since that report emerged. Here’s the latest:
- Mets assistant GM John Ricco addressed the media, saying that the team will not shut down Harvey — who is obviously a key piece of the club’s rotation — down the stretch, as ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin was among those to report. (Rubin also reported earlier that the team would abide by this approach.) Harvey will have at least one start skipped, with the team moving to a six-man rotation, and is expected to end up with between 190 and 195 regular season innings.
- Ricco also said that Harvey will throw a “reasonable” number of innings in the postseason, with the team monitoring how he feels as things proceed. He added that the Mets believe they have only received recommendations from doctors regarding innings totals, as opposed to firm mandates. There is a chance, per Ricco, that Harvey “could end up being shut down” in the course of the playoffs, though he said that same possibility applies to some extent “with all our pitchers.” (That last quote came courtesy of Matt Ehalt of The Record; Twitter links.)
- Boras has made several comments to additional media outlets, including MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio links) and The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio New York 98.7 FM (audio link). While many of his comments reflect what Heyman already reported, those sources are worth a listen for those who are particularly interested in the topic.
- According to Harvey’s representative, determining when to shut down a player under these circumstances “always should be a doctor’s decision.” Going into the year, per Boras, there was agreement on all sides that there should be limits, which “had to be defined by doctors as the season unfolded.” When the subject was addressed in August, says Boras, even the club’s own physician expressed that the advice of the surgeon — in this case, the esteemed Dr. James Andrews — should be followed.
- The parallels to the Nationals’ shutdown of Stephen Strasburg back in 2012 are hard to ignore, of course. Boras told ESPN Radio that the Nationals never allowed the decision to reach the player, instead deciding to follow the “expert medical opinion” in that case to shut down their staff ace when he reached his specified load (and also to pitch him on regular rest over the course of the season). For the Mets to extend Harvey beyond the medical advice, says the super-agent, is an unprecedented decision that puts the righty in “unfound territory” moving forward — in part because doctors are not sure that he’ll be able to continue his usual level of performance the rest of the way.
- There are no immediate transactional implications for this decision, aside from the fact that Harvey will have an opportunity to increase his 2016 arbitration salary, but the long-term ramifications are potentially broad. Harvey can be controlled via arbitration through 2018. With Boras as his agent, he may be unlikely to reach an extension regardless of whether this matter affects his relationship with the club in any way. (It is worth noting that, according to Boras, Harvey authorized him to discuss the matter with the media.) Any long-term health issues, of course, would potentially impact both Harvey and the club, though it is impossible to weigh that possibility at present.
Three Needs: Arizona Diamondbacks
Last week, I kicked off MLBTR’s Three Needs series by taking a high-level look at the Rockies. As we move down the list of non-contending clubs that are highlighted in this series, we’ll turn to the Diamondbacks, who presently trail the Dodgers by 10.5 games in the NL West and find themselves 11 games back from the second Wild Card spot. As I noted in the Rockies piece, these are mere overlooks of teams, and we’ll go into far more detail on all 30 clubs in MLBTR’s annual Offseason Outlook series. That said, three needs that the D-Backs should look to address this winter…
1. Sort out the rotation. Patrick Corbin‘s going to be in, and Chase Anderson has probably done enough to warrant a role at the back of the starting five. The same goes for Robbie Ray. Anderson’s never topped 153 innings in a pro season, though, and both him and Ray will probably finish the 2015 season around that mark. Corbin threw 200+ innings in 2013 but missed the 2014 season (and much of 2015) recovering from Tommy John. Rubby De La Rosa dominates righties and gets lit up by lefties; he’s been durable, but he’ll need to iron out his platoon splits by honing a third pitch if he’s to remain in the rotation long term. Randall Delgado spent most of the year in the bullpen already. Hopes are high for Archie Bradley, Braden Shipley and Aaron Blair, but none has done much (if anything) in the Majors yet. Allen Webster was a consideration at one point, but his ERA is a stunning 8.37 at Triple-A this season (in 71 innings). Jhoulys Chacin has an opportunity to prove himself, but he’s a one-year option at best, as he’ll have six years of service time following the 2016 season if he spends next year in the Majors.
In the end, the D-Backs have upside but virtually no certainty in the rotation. They could attempt to patch it together, of course, but the lineup has become a fairly complete and cohesive unit, and there are enough interesting arms to fill out the bullpen behind Brad Ziegler and Daniel Hudson‘s suddenly upper-90s arm. With the rest of the team coming together, the rotation certainty takes on greater priority.
Rather than pursue a trade of Aroldis Chapman, as reports have indicated, the D-Backs are better off leveraging this crop of talented-but-unproven arms and their infield depth to pursue rotation stability with some team control. Granted, that’s easier said than done, but the Indians will probably be listening to offers, and one can imagine that the Rays, once again, will be open to the notion of moving pitchers. Mid-level free agent starters make some sense here as well.
2. Find a taker for Aaron Hill‘s contract. The D-Backs have long had a glut of infield options, but the logjam is beginning to clear up. The trade of Mark Trumbo put Yasmany Tomas where he belongs (in the corner outfield). Nick Ahmed‘s glove is an asset at shortstop, and while Chris Owings can play there and has more offensive upside, he’s better suited defensively at second base. Jake Lamb looks like a potential regular at third base. That’s the best infield alignment for the Snakes, and while Hill can theoretically bounce between second and third to spell Owings and Lamb, so, too, could the younger Brandon Drury. (As noted above, that infield depth could also be used for trade purposes, and the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro recently alluded to as much.)
Hill didn’t fit the team’s roster all that well heading into 2015, and he definitely doesn’t heading into 2016. He’s earning $12MM, and while the D-Backs have shown a perhaps misguided willingness to package valuable assets (e.g. Comp Picks, or prospects such as Touki Toussaint) with undesirable contracts in order to shed salary, that’s probably not the best route for a team in their spot. Swapping him for a different unfavorable contract — Hill and White Sox lefty John Danks have similar salaries and are free agents after 2016, for instance — is a better option than sacrificing even more future value for immediate payroll space. If no trade can be reached, releasing Hill to free the roster space and to give him an opportunity for a change of scenery could make sense as well.
3. Pursue a long-term deal with A.J. Pollock. There’s a case to be made that Pollock is the most underrated player in baseball — a star on both sides of the ball that receives nowhere near the attention he deserves. Pollock is hitting .315/.366/.497 over the past two seasons with 162-game averages of 18 homers and 38 stolen bases. A right-handed hitter, Pollock certainly handles left-handed pitchers better than right-handers, but he’s carried an OPS north of .800 against righties dating back to Opening Day 2014. He’s also an elite center fielder and one of the game’s best baserunners. Depending on your preferred version of WAR, Pollock has been the seventh (Fangraphs) or ninth (B-Ref) most valuable player in baseball this season. The former first-round pick is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and is in the midst of his prime. Arizona controls him for three more seasons, but they’d be wise to seek a lengthier pact.
Heyman’s Latest: Williams, Collins, ChiSox, Keuchel, Halos, Dietrich
In today’s edition of his weekly Inside Baseball column, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports begins by highlighting the fact that the NL East division title race will determine the fate of Nationals manager Matt Williams and Mets manager Terry Collins. Heyman writes that while Nats GM Mike Rizzo has repeatedly backed Williams, Rizzo is something of a “chorus of one” — publicly, at least. Ownership is extremely frustrated with the team’s recent play, and Heyman points out that it may also be telling that amid multiple reports of players disliking his rigid demeanor, not one player from the Nats has stepped forward to defend Williams. Ownership has already discussed dismissing Williams, Heyman adds. Collins, on the other hand, is in line for a new contract if and when the Mets reach the postseason. Falling behind the Nats and missing the playoffs, though, would harken back to 2007’s epic collapse and almost certainly cost Collins his job. Then again, the Mets have remaining series against the Reds, Braves, Phillies and Marlins, as Heyman points out, so a collapse seems particularly unlikely.
Some other highlights from the column…
- Jeff Samardzija and another unknown White Sox player were both claimed on the same day that the Yankees claimed David Robertson, Heyman reports. However, the Samardzija claim was, like the Robertson claim, primarily a blocking tactic. Heyman notes that while Samardzija has had a very poor contract season, scouts still love his build, athleticism and competitiveness.
- Dallas Keuchel and the Astros have tabled extension talks until after the season, per Heyman. Houston hopes to lock its ace up on at least a four-year deal — that’d cover his arbitration years and one free agent season — though as I noted when word of discussions between the two sides broke, Keuchel’s currently slated to hit the open market heading into his age-31 season. Delaying his free agency by even one year would probably put a five-year max on the free-agent deal Keuchel could secure, as teams rarely guarantee pitchers’ age-37 seasons in long-term deals.
- Regarding the Angels‘ GM vacancy, Heyman characterizes recent interviews of internal candidates Matt Klentak and Scott Servais (both assistant GMs) as “perfunctory,” believing an outside hire to be the probably outcome. Klentak could stay on in a role similar to his own, whereas Servais is said by Heyman to be more at odds with manager Mike Scioscia. Kevin Towers, Ned Colletti and Yankees AGM Billy Eppler are all listed as speculative candidates by Heyman.
- The Dodgers took on about $150K of the remaining $450K on Justin Ruggiano‘s salary when they acquired him from the Mariners.
- The Marlins are coming around on the idea of Derek Dietrich as a Ben Zobrist/Josh Harrison type of player that can play everyday in part due to his versatility. While Dietrich’s defense isn’t on the same level as that highly valuable duo, the Marlins see him as an athletic bat with 25-homer upside. The 26-year-old Dietrich is hitting .263/.359/.514 in spite of a cavernous home park (138 OPS+) and has smashed 10 homers in 64 games while seeing time at first base, third base and in the corner outfield. None of those are even his natural position, but he’s blocked at second base by Dee Gordon, of course.