David Denson Becomes First Active MLB-Affiliated Player To Come Out Publicly As Gay
History was made recently when David Denson, a minor leaguer in the Brewers system, revealed his orientation to teammates. Now, after relaying his story to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the first baseman is now the first active player in affiliated professional baseball to publicly reveal he is gay.
Denson had an impromptu coming out party just weeks after joining the Brewers’ rookie affiliate in Montana when a teammate jokingly referred to him using a derogatory term for a gay male. The teammate didn’t know that the 20-year-old was actually gay, but Denson decided right then to make his announcement, as Haudricourt writes. Soon, the crowd around Denson built to the point where he was addressing most of the clubhouse. By the end of his speech, his teammates offered their support.
“Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them,” the California native recalled to Haudricourt. “They said, ‘You’re still our teammate. You’re still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You’re still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don’t treat you any different. We’ve got your back.’
Brewers president and GM Doug Melvin released the following statement earlier today regarding Denson, writing:
“David is a highly-respected member of the Milwaukee Brewers family, and he is a very courageous young man. Our goal for David is to help develop him into a Major League player, just as it is for any player in our system, and we will continue to support him in every way as he chases that dream.”
Denson, as detailed in Haudricourt’s article, went through bouts of depression before finally opening up to his teammates and members of the Brewers’ minor league affiliate. After coming out, Denson says that he is greatly relieved and hopes that his story will encourage others in a similar situation to take that same step.
White Sox Designate Emilio Bonifacio For Assignment
The White Sox have designated Emilio Bonifacio for assignment, as Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Manager Robin Ventura told reporters, including Kane, that the way Trayce Thompson has played since coming up played into the club’s decision to remove Bonifacio from the 40-man.
Bonifacio, 30, has struggled mightily in 2015. In 82 plate appearances for the White Sox, the veteran owns a dismal .167/.198/.192. The versatile Bonifacio has given the White Sox innings at second base, center field, left field, and third base this season, but his performance at the plate has negated his contributions as a utility player.
Bonifacio, a client of agent Gene Mato, signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the White Sox back in January. That pact included a club option for the 2015 season but he’ll instead collect on a $1MM buyout. The switch-hitting Bonifacio played second base, third base, shortstop, and all three outfield positions between the Cubs and Braves in 2014, batting .259/.305/.345 with 26 steals in 426 plate appearances along the way.
Bonifacio now joins Jose Dominguez, Chris Capuano, Brad Mills, Drew Stubbs, Garrett Jones, Dale Thayer, Taylor Lindsey, and Justin Masterson in DFA limbo. To keep track of everyone in DFA limbo, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.
Rays Designate Jose Dominguez For Assignment
The Rays have designated Jose Dominguez for assignment, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). The move will make room on the 40-man roster for the return of pitcher Drew Smyly.
Dominguez, 25, came to the Rays in the November deal that sent Joel Peralta and Adam Liberatore to the Dodgers. Tampa Bay also acquired minor league pitcher Greg Harris in that swap.
Dominguez received a brief taste of Major League action in each of the past three seasons – two with L.A. and one with Tampa Bay. Baseball America once ranked him 11th among Dodgers prospects, calling him a “pure power arm” whose fastball sits 97-100 mph and can touch 102. However, BA noted his erratic command and a 50-game suspension for PED use on his minor league track record in their scouting report. In 25 appearances with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate this season, Dominguez has posted a 6.26 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 6.3 BB/9. Still, he’s shown a propensity for strikeouts in the minors, averaging 9.9 punchouts per nine innings for his career.
To keep track of Dominguez and everyone else in DFA limbo, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.
Cafardo On Chapman, D’Backs, Utley
In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looked at several managers who could be out of a job this winter. Among the skippers listed is Nationals manager Matt Williams, who has come under fire at times for his in-game decisions. Still, in his defense, Cafardo notes that Williams has had to deal with poor performances by players like Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth, not to mention injuries. Other situations to monitor include the Reds (Bryan Price), Phillies (Pete Mackanin), Tigers (Brad Ausmus), and Mariners (Lloyd McClendon). Here’s more from today’s column..
- When the D’Backs and other clubs called on Aroldis Chapman at the deadline, the Reds were asking for an “incredibly unrealistic” return, according to one GM who spoke with Cafardo. “I couldn’t believe it,” the GM said of the asking price for the closer. Still, it sounds like Reds GM Walt Jocketty will at least listen on him this winter and the price tag could be more palatable for interested teams. “I think teams would give up three very good prospects for him,” said one AL GM, “but I think that’s as far as it would go.” Recently, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wrote that many in baseball are questioning Jocketty’s decision to hang on to Chapman past the July trade deadline. Heyman also noted that Arizona could pursue him once again this offseason.
- As of Friday, the Giants had no idea how their pursuit of Phillies second baseman Chase Utley would go. GM Bobby Evans acknowledged over the weekend that he’s still in pursuit of Utley, but one has to wonder how far they’re willing to go with Joe Panik on the verge of returning.
- If the Nationals wind up replacing Ian Desmond this winter, they have a very capable replacement on deck in Trea Turner. “He’s a baseball player,” one veteran AL scout said of Turner. “He’s going to be an All-Star player in the big leagues. I don’t see how he misses. He has great instincts for the position and the game in general. He’s got those [Dustin] Pedroia qualities.” Turner, rated as the No. 65 prospect in baseball heading into the 2015 season, is hitting .306/.349/.422 at Triple-A Syracuse.
- Nationals director of player development Doug Harris could emerge as the frontrunner for the Brewers‘ GM job, Cafardo writes. Doug Melvin, who has stepped down as president/GM to take on an adviser role, was the GM in Texas while Harris was an exec there.
- As team president Theo Epstein enters his walk year in 2016, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts is expected to start discussing a new deal with him soon. If he can’t offer him enough money to stay in Chicago, Cafardo wonders aloud if he could go elsewhere or maybe even circle back to the Red Sox.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Price, Maeda, Orioles
Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Blue Jays Plus looked at the adjustments David Price has made to remain an ace.
- Inside The ‘Zona thinks the D’Backs are gearing up for a run at Kenta Maeda.
- Baseball Hot Corner brought us the story of Phil Marchildon.
- Camden Depot looked back at Dan Duquette’s August deals.
- Scout spoke with Josh Geer and Tim Stauffer of the Sugar Land Skeeters.
- Baseball Essential says Jonathan Schoop could redefine the second base position.
- The Point of Pittsburgh sees the pros and cons in a September Tyler Glasnow callup.
- BASTA warns you not to sleep on Gregor Blanco.
- Reviewing The Brew ran down some candidates for the Brewers’ GM job.
- Some Fair Weather took a closer look at the floundering Marlins.
- Outfield Fly Rule defended Christian Bethancourt.
- A’s Farm gave us their top minor league performers of the year.
- Outside Pitch talked about Yankees prospect Greg Bird.
- Fantasy Pros looked at what to expect from Carlos Gonzalez the rest of the way.
- Fueled By Sports says the Yankees are putting their faith in the farm system.
Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Quick Hits: Smyly, Utley, Ross
We’ve seen several recent cellar dwellers climb to contention this season, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The Cubs, Mets, and Astros are playing meaningful August baseball for the first time in years. Davidoff looks ahead at five more struggling franchises that could surprise us all in 2016. Purely for enjoyment, my favorite picks are the Twins and Phillies. Minnesota hopes to surge on the young bats of Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, and recent breakout Aaron Hicks. They also have sneaky upside in their rotation although the bullpen could use work. Philadelphia is the obvious long shot. Their rebuilding phase is incomplete, but they’ve identified a few key building blocks. A couple surprise breakout performances and a handful of lucky wins could at least allow the club to perform similarly to the Braves.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Drew Smyly will start for the Rays on Sunday, tweets Bill Chastain of MLB.com. The 26-year-old southpaw has spent most of the 2015 season on the disabled list with a torn labrum. Since joining the Rays in the David Price trade last season, Smyly has a 1.96 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 in 64 and 1/3 innings. Although the Rays remain in the thick of the playoff race, expect them to proceed carefully with Smyly.
- We learned earlier tonight that the Angels still hope to acquire Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. The Giants remain involved with the bidding, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Giants GM Bobby Evans cleverly commented that “the Chase for Utley continues.” As Baggarly notes, every day is one closer to the return of Joe Panik. At that point, Utley may be redundant for San Francisco. It’s already been announced that Utley will rest tomorrow, so trade speculation should remain rampant.
- Padres starter Tyson Ross is happy to have remained with the club through the trade deadline, writes Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Ross, 28, was a heavily rumored trade candidate. He’s in the midst of a solid season including a 3.40 ERA, 9.58 K/9, and 4.14 BB/9. Ross is glad the club made no moves at the deadline. He believes the current roster is “a good group” with “a lot of promise.” He’s controlled through the 2017 season.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hamels, Cain, Girsch, Utley
The Phillies actually preferred the Astros offer for starter Cole Hamels, but the lefty ultimately used his no-trade protection to block the trade, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in his latest video. Included in the rejected deal were outfield prospect Brett Phillips and pitcher Josh Hader, both of whom went to the Brewers in the Carlos Gomez trade. The Astros may have been willing to guarantee Hamels’ fourth year, but he ultimately decided against the option.
- The Royals will have a tough time re-signing several key players. Lorenzo Cain might be the easiest, but he’ll first want to see how Jason Heyward performs on the free agent market. While Heyward is four years younger than Cain, the average annual value “could be instructive” per Rosenthal. Cain is under control for two more seasons. Meanwhile, Alex Gordon can opt out after this season, and he looks like a lock to do so. Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, both clients of Scott Boras, are also under club control for two seasons.
- Cardinals assistant GM Mike Girsch was a candidate for the Padres GM job opening last year. That posting was eventually filled by A.J. Preller. Girsch may be considered for other top jobs, but the Cardinals hacking scandal may put a damper on his market.
- Chase Utley will use his no-trade rights to pick his next team. Per Rosenthal, Utley may not make an obvious decision. For example, he may or may not be interested in playing for his home town Giants. As was reported repeatedly over the past few days, Utley will seek to find a home where he’ll continue to play regularly both this season and next.
Angels Still Hope To Acquire Utley
The Angels thought they were close to acquiring Phillies second baseman Chase Utley yesterday, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. The club still hopes to add the veteran second baseman per Gonzalez although the team is more pessimistic than yesterday per reports. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal points out that it’s a complicated trade (via Twitter). The Phillies have to agree on a prospect, the two sides have to work out the roughly $6MM guaranteed left on his contract, and Utley has full no-trade protection. He plans to use it to ensure he’ll have an active role on his new club.
Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times adds (tweet) that Utley is also considering the 2016 season with regard to his no-trade rights. Since his $16MM vesting option is out of reach, Utley will have a club option valued between $5MM and $11MM based on time spent on the disabled list. This is my speculation, but it’s possible Utley may ask to have the option guaranteed.
While many assume an acquiring team will opt to use his $2MM buyout, the 2014 version of Utley was well worth a one-year deal of no more than $11MM. Per FanGraphs’ WAR metric, Utley was worth 4.5 wins last season. While his 2015 numbers are obviously miserable, Utley reportedly made a mechanical fix related to his injured ankle. FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan has the details with some video. As of this writing, Utley is 13-for-25 since returning from the disabled list with six extra base hits (including a double and a home run tonight). For now, it’s believable that he’s reverted to his previous talent level.
Orioles Hope To Re-Sign Davis
The Orioles plan to re-sign at least some of their impending free agents, GM Dan Duquette told fans and reporters at an annual event including Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore. Duquette highlighted one power hitter by name, saying “we do want to sign some of our key players for the future, and Chris Davis is one of them.” In addition to Davis, Baltimore currently has seven impending free agents including Matt Wieters, Wei-Yin Chen, Gerardo Parra, Darren O’Day, Steve Pearce, and Nolan Reimold. The club probably can’t sign them all, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
Specifically regarding Davis, the Orioles may have to compete in a thin market for first baseman. Our free agent tracker lists just eight potential free agents at the position. Of those, Edwin Encarnacion will be retained unless he sustains a major injury. Justin Morneau also has an affordable $9MM option although he has missed most of the 2015 season with injury. Mike Napoli and Pearce are probably the next biggest names at the position.
The lack of free agent first basemen could push Davis’ value north of $100MM, according to Mike Petriello of FanGraphs. The 29-year-old is in the midst of his second best season, slashing .257/.341/.541 with 32 home runs. However, Davis showed last year that there is some downside to his power happy approach. The club may have to weigh whether it makes better sense to commit to Davis or sign multiple other players.
Among the other free agents, Wieters, Chen, and O’Day will be the most difficult to replace. Wieters, 29, missed the early portion of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s battled a few nagging injuries since his return. He appeared to be breaking out in 2014 prior to sustaining the elbow injury. This season, his strikeout rate has spiked to 24.6 percent – up from a career average of 18.7 percent. It’s worth wondering if that number will regress with full health.
MLBTR’s Jeff Todd wrote about Chen recently in a free agent profile, comparing his potential earnings to Bronson Arroyo, Jason Vargas, and Ricky Nolasco. Including inflation, that would seem to peg him for a two to four year deal worth about $12MM to $14MM per season. The Orioles plan to make Chen a qualifying offer, per CBS’ Jon Heyman. That may affect the market for his services.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Brett Anderson
Dodgers starter Brett Anderson appears set to enter the 2015-16 offseason as one of the winter’s most unusual free agents. Injuries have limited him to 622 2/3 career big-league innings. 2015 has been his first full season in the big leagues since his rookie year in 2009. He is, in the grand scheme of things, still unproven. And yet he’ll still be highly sought after.
First, the injury record: Since 2011, Anderson has missed significant time with elbow issues resulting in Tommy John surgery; an oblique strain; a stress fracture in his foot; a broken finger; and a herniated disc in his lower back. Many of those injuries haven’t been arm problems, at least, and it’s possible Anderson has partially been the victim of flukes, but that long list is still a scary one.
Despite Anderson’s history, the Dodgers signed him to a one-year, $10MM contract before the season. When signing players with track records as sketchy as Anderson’s, teams frequently secure an option of some kind as a way of guarding against future injury. Anderson’s contract contained relatively little hedging, however, other than a series of $300K-$400K bonuses for innings pitched (many of which Anderson looks likely to achieve). Also, Anderson’s $10MM guarantee looked like a lot for a pitcher who hadn’t thrown even 100 innings in a season since 2010.
Anderson has, nonetheless, proven to be a bargain for the Dodgers. Thus far, he has a 3.43 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. He’s also pitched 128 2/3 innings. If someone had told you before the season that the Dodgers would have an injury-riddled rotation, you probably would have assumed Anderson would be one of the culprits, but he hasn’t missed a start all season (although he left one July outing early with a minor Achilles injury).
Even better, Anderson has posted an exceptional 65.8 percent ground ball rate, a ridiculously high number that makes him very likely to have at least modest success as long as he’s healthy and has a competent infield defense behind him. Anderson’s ground ball rate is the best among qualified MLB starters, with Dallas Keuchel, Tyson Ross, Gio Gonzalez and Felix Hernandez following him in the top five. That’s strong company, even if Anderson doesn’t strike out as many batters as those other four do.
So how might Anderson fare in the market next winter? He will, of course, be on a lower tier than big-name starting pitchers like David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann, Scott Kazmir and Zack Greinke (assuming Greinke opts out of his current contract). There will also be a strong secondary starting pitching market, with Jeff Samardzija, Mike Leake, Hisashi Iwakuma, Mat Latos, Yovani Gallardo and others potentially available.
Still, if Anderson can stay healthy, he will be highly valued. Teams have lately proven willing to gamble on talented starting pitchers, even when they have obvious question marks. For example, Anderson’s current teammate Brandon McCarthy, another ground-ball-prone starter, got a four-year, $48MM deal last offseason after a brilliant 2014 stretch run with the Yankees. McCarthy had previously suffered through periods of inconsistency and injury.
Of course, McCarthy had Tommy John surgery in April, although that injury mostly appeared unrelated to his previous troubles. A more positive recent precedent, though, might be that of the Pirates’ Francisco Liriano, who earned a three-year, $39MM deal after strong 2013 and 2014 campaigns in Pittsburgh, even though he had posted ERAs above 5.00 in the two years before that and had pitched more than 163 innings in a season only once in his career. Liriano is in the midst of a third straight strong season with the Bucs.
Every case is different, of course, and Anderson might not quite have the upside McCarthy or Liriano appeared to, since he doesn’t have the strikeout rate those pitchers had. Anderson also (perhaps sensibly, given his history) hasn’t worked particularly deep into games this year, averaging just 5.8 innings per start.
Health permitting, though, Anderson’s ground ball rate gives him a reasonably high floor (no pun intended), and his age (he won’t be 28 until February) will also work in his favor. Other than Trevor Cahill, there aren’t currently any significant 2016 starting pitching free agents younger than Anderson, and only Latos and Leake even come all that close.
Anderson looks like a strong candidate for a qualifying offer, which might affect his market somewhat — the Dodgers gave Anderson a significant percentage of the value of a qualifying offer when they signed him for 2015, so extending one after what’s been a strong and healthy season looks like a no-brainer. Every player (including starting pitchers like Liriano and Ervin Santana) who rejected a qualifying offer last year got a multiyear deal, however, so it seems likely that Anderson will also be able to land one.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.