Chase Utley Seeks Playing-Time Assurance To Waive No-Trade
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has drawn interest on the trade market after clearing revocable waivers, making him eligible to be dealt to any team. But he does possess full no-trade protection by way of ten-and-five rights, and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports that Utley will only authorize a deal if he receives certain assurances of playing time. (Links to Twitter.)
In part, it seems, that preference is motivated by the fact that Utley is planning to play in 2016, per the report. It’s likely that he’ll be looking for a new deal as a free agent. Utley’s deal includes a vesting option for next year, but he will almost certainly not meet the plate appearance threshold required for the option to vest. And it’s unlikely that Philadelphia or an acquiring team will pick up the club option (which has a floating value depending upon how much time he spends on the DL).
With a $2MM buyout on next year’s option and about $4.5MM to go the rest of the way in 2015, it’s expected that the Phillies will need to pay down a good portion of the contract to facilitate a trade. Of course, that’s strongly implied by the fact that Utley was not claimed on waivers.
Several clubs are reportedly interested in the veteran second baseman, who has turned things on at the plate since coming off the DL. Olney notes that the Cubs have had conversations about Utley with the Phils for some time. And he observes that Chicago would conceivably be able to slot Utley into a regular role, though one wonders whether the team would still prefer some kind of time-share. (It’s not clear exactly what kind of situation would hold appeal to the 36-year-old.)
The Giants, meanwhile, are also interested, but may have a harder time promising playing time. Incumbent Joe Panik is expected to return from the DL before the end of the regular season. While acknowledging his team’s interest, San Francisco GM Bobby Evans noted that it may be difficult to add a player of Utley’s stature for part-time work, as Carl Seward of the Bay Area News Group tweeted yesterday, seemingly hinting at the issue raised by Olney.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams polled readers earlier today about Utley’s likely destination. You can head over to the poll to participate.
AL West Notes: Martinez, Wilson, Astros, Davis
The Rangers optioned right-hander Nick Martinez to Triple-A following yesterday’s poor outing versus the Twins, and as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News points out, it looks like the option will be a costly one for Martinez. The 25-year-old has already spent 18 days in the minors this season, and barring a quick recall due to an injury, his collective time at the Triple-A level will likely be large enough to prevent him from accruing a full year of service time, thus delaying his free agency by a season. However, as Grant stresses, this isn’t an instance of a team manipulating service time. Rather, Martinez’s poor outing exhausted the bullpen yesterday and eliminated the possibility of working with a short relief corps for a few days. Martinez’s recent play hasn’t done him any favors, either; he’s pitched to a 6.25 ERA over his previous 11 outings after a brilliant start to the season.
Here’s more from the AL West…
- There’s been no final decision made on whether or not Angels lefty C.J. Wilson will undergo season-ending surgery, writes MLB.com’s Greg Garno. Wilson had a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache recently, and while the meeting revealed nothing new, per manager Mike Scioscia, the decision is solely up to Wilson. “Once he gets all the information, I’m sure we’ll get the results from it and see what C.J.’s decision is,” said Scioscia. The Angels are currently waiting for Wilson to “digest” all of the info and make the call, according to Scioscia. Wilson reportedly has eight bone spurs in his elbow which will need to be surgically removed at some point.
- The Astros have had a rough stretch of games on the road, but GM Jeff Luhnow tells the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich that he’s confident due to the quality of pitching he’s received as well as the quality of upper-level players who will join the team in September. The Astros currently have a logjam of corner/DH options that will be magnified by the return of George Springer. As Drellich writes, though, it’s difficult to justify the loss of a player like Chris Carter for little to no return (that is, by way of DFA or waiver claim) when expanded rosters are just under two weeks away.
- Alex Hall of Athletics Nation makes a case for the A’s to cut ties with Ike Davis sooner rather than later. As Hall notes, Davis hasn’t hit since coming off the DL in May, and his $3.8MM salary figures to increase even after a down season simply due to the nature of the arbitration process. Davis only has a year of team control remaining anyhow, so he’s not likely to be a long-term piece in Oakland, and the A’s could do well to replace him with a cheaper set of lottery tickets in 2016 as opposed to paying him north of $4MM. Davis was already acquired for very little last offseason, Hall points out, and a season marred by injury and more poor performance at the plate will sap him of any meaningful trade value this winter. Releasing him now would give Davis a chance to latch on with a contending team that wants to roll the dice on his previous success in the season’s final six weeks, which would be beneficial to both Davis and the A’s, Hall concludes.
Marlins Remain Open To Dealing Martin Prado
Though the non-waiver trade deadline came and passed with Martin Prado remaining in a Marlins uniform, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that the Miami front office is still “certainly open” to trading Prado. However, Miami’s price tag on the veteran appears to remain exorbitant, as Frisaro notes that interested teams would have to overpay in order to acquire him.
Miami clearly places a huge value on Prado’s leadership and clubhouse presence, as the common refrain for a long time leading up to the non-waiver deadline was that the Marlins weren’t interested in trading him at all. Shortly before the deadline, it was reported that the Fish would be open to dealing Prado for a “big return,” and that’s apparently still the case (despite his lackluster offense since that report).
While Prado is a solid player, to be sure, it’s ambitious to seek a significant return. At 31 years old (32 in October), he’s on the wrong side of his prime. He’s also not particularly cheap, nor has he been all that productive in 2015. Prado is earning $11MM this season and next, although the Yankees are paying $3MM of that sum each year as part of the offseason trade that sent Prado to Miami and Nathan Eovaldi to New York.
Prado is hitting .270/.315/.353 on the season, and while some of the poor power numbers can be attributed to his Yellowstone-esque home environment(only AT&T Park and Kauffman Stadium have suppressed right-handed home runs more than Marlins Park), his park-adjusted batting line is still about 15 percent below the league average, per metrics like OPS+ and wRC+. An elite shortstop with that bat might warrant a fairly sizable return, but third base and even second base typically contribute more offensive output than Prado has in 2015.
It’s unclear whether or not Prado has already been run through waivers, but if he’s claimed on waivers, that would seem to further reduce the chances of a team striking a deal for him, as the Marlins would lose the benefit of competition in their trade efforts. Frisaro speculatively lists the Yankees as a fit for Prado, and while the fit makes sense, Hal Steinbrenner said yesterday that he was against trading the organization’s top prospects, and that would seemingly be the price to acquire Prado.
There’s no doubt that Prado would improve a large number of contending teams; he has a history of solid, albeit unspectacular offense to go along with defensive versatility and an excellent reputation as a teammate. All of these components make him a desirable piece to other teams, but not necessarily one for which an opposing club will pay a premium in a trade. If the Marlins weren’t overwhelmed by an offer prior to July 31, it’s tough to envision that scenario playing out in August.
Front Office Notes: Dombrowski, Chernoff, Avila, Tigers
There’s been plenty of front office turnover this summer, with Dave Dombrowski’s departure from the Tigers’ front office, the beginning of Doug Melvin’s transition to an advisory role with the Brewers and the abrupt resignation of Angels GM Jerry Dipoto (who has since taken a temporary consulting position with the Red Sox).
Here’s the latest buzz pertaining to executives around the league…
- The Nationals, Blue Jays and Mariners appear to be the most likely landing spots for Dombrowski, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The Blue Jays and Mariners were immediately speculated upon landing spots, as Toronto has long been on the hunt for a president to replace the retiring Paul Beeston, and Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik’s job security has been questioned in the wake of a disappointing season for the Mariners. The Nationals don’t have an immediate need and seem a somewhat curious fit, given the fact that the well-respected Mike Rizzo currently holds the president of baseball operations title in D.C. The combination of Rizzo and Dombrowski, though, would give Washington a pair of very accomplished baseball minds atop their decision-making pyramid, if the two were to work together.
- “I’ve had a number of people tell me today they think [Indians assistant GM Mike] Chernoff will be the one to beat,” Peter Gammons replied to the MLB Network’s Chris Russo yesterday when asked who will be the new GM of the Brewers (video link, with Brewers talk beginning at about the 4:00 mark). Gammons also lists Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen as a possibility and notes that he believes Melvin could very well remain on board with the Brewers as a club president.
- New Tigers GM Al Avila spoke at length with Tony Paul of the Detroit News about his new position. While Avila didn’t want to get too in-depth about the differences between him and his friend/predecessor, Dombrowski, he did tell Paul that the Tigers’ front office will take more of an analytical approach to roster construction. “One thing I will bring different is expanded analytics,” said Avila. “I will tell you that I feel that we have a ways to go to catch up with the industry. We have been making some strides, but we’ll fast-forward a little bit and add to that department. You’ll see a big difference there.” However, Avila also stressed the importance of maintaining a balance between traditional scouting and the statistical component of player analysis. As Paul notes, the presence of J.D. Martinez on the Tigers can be chalked up to traditional scouting, and Avila played a huge role in bringing Martinez to Detroit.
- Lastly, the Tigers announced three more front office promotions earlier this week. Major League scout Dave Littlefield (the former GM of the Pirates) has been promoted to vice president of player development. Scott Reid has been bumped from special assistant to senior advisor, and Dick Egan is now a special assistant to the executive VP and general manager.
Poll: Trading Chase Utley
The Chase Utley rumors have been fairly plentiful since he returned from the disabled list last weekend. The longtime Phillies second baseman was put on revocable trade waivers almost immediately, and he cleared earlier this week, making him eligible to be traded to any team.
The Giants are said to be in talks for Utley and even discussing specific prospect names that would head back from San Francisco, and he’s also been connected to the Cubs, Dodgers and Yankees, each of which has had various second base issues. The Giants are currently without Joe Panik, who won’t even begin baseball activities until next week. The Cubs have moved Addison Russell to shortstop and seem likely to keep him there, but they have both Starlin Castro and Chris Coghlan to handle second base (though neither’s played there at all in recent seasons). The Dodgers recently lost Howie Kendrick to the disabled list and have filled his roster spot with the promising but inexperienced Jose Peraza for now. And the Yankees have struggled at second base all season, with Stephen Drew receiving the bulk of playing time at the position.
Utley, once one of the most consistently potent bats in the National League, has faded significantly in 2015, though injuries have played a part to some extent. He’s appeared in five games since returning last Friday and hit in all five, and he’ll have the rest of the month to convince interested teams that he’s healthy (though a trade may not take that long to come to fruition). Utley’s $15MM vesting option is a non-factor now, as he should fall comfortably shy of the 500 plate appearances required to trigger that hefty payday even if he were to jump into an everyday role. Instead, the option will be valued between $5-11MM and come with a $2MM buyout. He has about $4.43MM in remaining salary plus a $2MM buyout on that option, so the Phillies will have to kick in some money in order to facilitate a deal, but they’ve been previously willing to do so.
All of that said, let’s open this one up for public debate (App users, you can cast your votes here)…
Where Will Chase Utley Be Traded?
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Giants 43% (6,823)
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Nowhere. He'll stay with the Phillies. 22% (3,451)
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Yankees 15% (2,362)
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Cubs 9% (1,412)
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Dodgers 6% (943)
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To a team not listed here. 5% (786)
Total votes: 15,777
AL East Notes: Gillick, Dipoto, Yankees, Jones, Jennings
Earlier today, it was reported that former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto had joined the Red Sox‘ front office on an interim basis to serve in an advisory capacity in the offseason. That came from Peter Gammons, who also said today in an MLB Network appearance (video link, with Red Sox talk beginning at about 5:15) that he can “see them at least making overtures to bringing in Pat Gillick” as an adviser to be another voice in the front office. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that the Red Sox haven’t yet sought permission to speak to the 77-year-old Gillick, who is stepping down as Phillies president at season’s end and giving way to Andy MacPhail. As Cafardo notes, the idea in the addition of some extra advisers is to bring some fresh sets of eyes to the Red Sox’ decision-making process.
Elsewhere in the AL East…
- Red Sox manager John Farrell addressed the addition of Dipoto following today’s loss to the Marlins, as WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford writes. Said the Sox skipper: “He’s come in to review our system, our big league club. I know it’s an objective view to be brought in and give feedback, information to Ben, his assessment and recommendations going forward.” Bradford likens the hiring to that of Allard Baird, the former Royals GM who joined the Red Sox as a consultant after he was dismissed in Kansas City. Baird, though, went on to assume a more permanent position with the Sox, as he’s currently their vice president of player personnel. A similar outcome could conceivably be in store for Dipoto, though as Ken Rosenthal reported earlier today, Dipoto’s free to GM opportunities with other clubs at any time.
- The Yankees elected to hang onto their top prospects rather than make a huge splash at the non-waiver trade deadline, and owner Hal Steinbrenner told the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff that he played a part in that decision. “I don’t think we kind of had the glaring need that you would address by giving up one of your Triple-A prospects,” said Steinbrenner. “…I didn’t want to give those kids up. We’ve been looking at them for two, three years now. They’ve progressed perfectly.” Steinbrenner noted that he was particularly reluctant to do so for a “loaner,” adding that the proximity of much of the organization’s minor league talent to the big league level was another factor.
- Garrett Jones is at somewhat of a crossroads after again being designated for assignment by the Yankees, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. The veteran first baseman/outfielder is well-liked by his teammates and the coaches and told King that the feeling is mutual, making it difficult to leave. However, he’s also wary about having been let go twice, though, King writes. “I have to talk to my agent and wife and see what’s best for my career: Stay here or go to the new team,” Jones said. King also provides health updates on Michael Pineda and Dustin Ackley.
- Desmond Jennings‘ prolonged stint on the disabled list is over, as the Rays announced to reporters, including Sports Talk Florida’s Matt Stein (Twitter link), that Joey Butler will be optioned to make room for Jennings’ return Friday. Jennings has been out since late April due to a left knee injury and underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the issue a little more than two months ago.
NL Central Notes: Brewers’ GM Search, Cubs, Barnhart
The Brewers‘ search for a new general manager has only been officially underway for a day, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today hears (Twitter link) that the team is likely to hire someone from outside the organization, with Angels assistant general manager Scott Servais as one “intriguing name [that’s] surfacing.” MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, however, tweets a different take, noting that he’s heard current scouting director Ray Montgomery has a good chance at being tabbed to fill the vacancy. Yesterday, the team announced that Doug Melvin would transition to an advisory role, with a search for a new GM beginning immediately. (Melvin, for the time being, is still the team’s acting GM though.)
Here’s more from the NL Central…
- Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said today on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) that the bulk of starting pitchers that will be available this offseason impacted the team’s strategy for last month’s non-waiver trade deadline. The Cubs were linked to various controllable starters, but ended up adding veteran Dan Haren on deadline day.
- Of course, the Cubs could still look to add some pitching help this month, but president of baseball operations Theo Epstein tells Bruce Levine of 670 The Score/CBS Chicago that the team isn’t currently close to any deals (Twitter link). As Epstein noted, sometimes things don’t really pick up on that front until the end of August.
- Though the absence of Devin Mesoraco has hurt the Reds this season, it’s also created the opportunity for young backstop Tucker Barnhart to play his way into a future role with the team, writes the Cincinnai Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans. While Mesoraco is still the Reds’ long-term catcher, Rosecrans spoke to manager Bryan Price about how impressed Price has been with the 24-year-old Barnhart. Price said that when it came to Barnhart, the biggest question surrounding him would be if his bat would be good enough to handle an extended stint if something were to happen to Mesoraco, but the team has been impressed with Barnhart in exactly that scenario. Entering play tonight, Barnhart was hitting .259/.338/.353 with three homers. “When he comes to the plate, I feel that he’s going to do something good,” said Price. “…There’s been nothing about his game that’s been disappointing. Offensively, he’s been a lot more than I expected.”
NL West Notes: D-Backs, Dahl, Upton, Padres, Dodgers
After suffering a concussion during a simulated game and missing three weeks, 2015 first overall draft pick Dansby Swanson is ready for his first professional game. MLB.com’s Chad Thornburg reports that Swanson will play tonight for the Diamondbacks‘ Class-A affiliate in Hillsboro. Here’s some more from around the NL West…
- The Diamondbacks‘ trades of Oliver Perez and Cliff Pennington both came together rather quickly, GM Dave Stewart told Zach Buchanan of AZCentral.com. Stewart hadn’t had any talks with the Astros or Blue Jays, respectively, about either player prior to the July 31 trade deadline. Stewart doesn’t expect to make any more deals in August, though “I didn’t think I was going to make those…. You never know.”
- Baseball America’s Jack Etkin spoke with Rockies director of player development Zach Wilson about the frightening early-season injury to top outfield prospect David Dahl and the decision Dahl made to have his spleen removed following an outfield collision (subscription required). “The best thing for David’s life was to get that spleen out of there,” said Wilson, who went on to add that the splenectomy has allowed Dahl to play without fear. Dahl, who lacerated his spleen and suffered a concussion in the collision, would have had to play the rest of his career with a protective covering and would have been at risk of rupturing the spleen in the event of another collision. As Etkin notes, that’s a frightening proposition for a “hellbent” player like Dahl, who does not shy away from the outfield wall when roaming the outfield. Dahl is hitting .284/.301/.432 in 86 plate appearances since rejoining the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate.
- The Padres will take a shot at re-signing Justin Upton this winter, GM A.J. Preller told MLB.com’s Barry Bloom. “He’s made a very positive impression here,” said Preller. “We’re going to sit down in the offseason and see what we can do with him.” As Bloom notes, though the Padres haven’t panned out as they’d hoped, the team still has a core in place which can be built upon in future seasons, and improved ticket sales could help boost the team’s payroll heading into a season in which the Padres are set to host the All-Star Game.
- The Dodgers‘ July pitching acquisitions haven’t worked out whatsoever to this point, writes ESPN Los Angeles’ Mark Saxon. Though Luis Avilan has tossed four reasonably effective relief innings, Mat Latos and Alex Wood have both struggled, while Jim Johnson has reverted to his disastrous 2014 form. As Saxon points out, Johnson did have very strong numbers in Atlanta, so it’s tough to fault the team for targeting him. He also points out that Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi must be a fan of Johnson, as he’s now been part of two front offices that have traded for Johnson in two years.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Shortstops
It’s often dangerous to read too much into a hot streak, as the endpoints of the streak will often be arbitrary, and shrinking the sample size makes the data more susceptible to randomness. Though it’s dangerous to use them as a predictive tool, hot streaks can hold some significance for upcoming free agents — particularly ones that have struggled for much of the season. A well-timed hot streak can take a player’s numbers from good to great or from terrible to passable. A huge second half following a disastrous first half can demonstrate that a player hasn’t suddenly lost all of his skill, giving offseason suitors hope for more consistent production in the season(s) to follow.
The overall numbers on the following players may not quite look appealing, but here are three that could be in the midst of bolstering their offseason earning power after dreadful starts to the year (coincidentally — they’re all shortstops!)…
- Ian Desmond, Nationals: Perhaps no player looked to be costing himself as much money as Desmond entering the All-Star break. Heading into his contract season, there was a legitimate case to be made for Desmond as the game’s most productive shortstop over the past three seasons, but he slumped to a .211/.255/.334 batting line in the first half and endured an awful error-prone stretch in the field early on. He’s tightened up the errors after those first few weeks, though, and is finally showing signs of life at the plate. Over his past 21 games, Desmond is hitting .312/.376/.636 with seven homers and four steals. The question for him will become whether or not a huge second half can make his first half simply look like an anomaly and convince a team to invest more than $100MM.
- Asdrubal Cabrera, Rays: Cabrera settled for a one-year deal this winter, and through the first eight to 10 weeks of the season, he looked like a player that didn’t deserve anything more. However, since mid-June, Cabrera’s hitting .357/.393/.579 with four homers, 13 doubles and a triple. It’s easy enough to see that his .418 BABIP in that stretch is inflating his numbers, but there’s been some improvement as well. Cabrera struck out at a 23.1 percent clip through June 18, but since that night he’s at a more palatable 18.4 percent. He’s also hitting the ball with more authority, as evidenced not only by his spike in power but by his decrease in soft contact and increase in medium and hard contact (per Fangraphs). Surprisingly, Cabrera grades out as a plus defender at shortstop in 2015 as well, though it may take more than a few hundred innings to overturn his previous reputation as a poor defender. At the very least, he’s positioning himself to land the multi-year deal that eluded him this past winter.
- Jimmy Rollins, Dodgers: Suffice it to say, the 2015 season hasn’t gone as the Dodgers or Rollins had hoped. In his first season sans Phillies pinstripes, Rollins has flirted with the Mendoza Line and carried a sub-.600 OPS for much of the year. His current line is about 20 percent worse than the league-average hitter (80 wRC+, 78 OPS+), but a good deal of his struggles have also been BABIP-related, and his fortunes have begun to turn. Dating back to July 1, Rollins is hitting a much-improved .256/.315/.453, including hits in 15 of his past 18 games. Though his steals are well down, he’s already sporting a double-digit home run total. Rollins has not drawn strong ratings on his defense this year, but he does have a lengthy track record of high-quality glove work on which he can fall back. If he can continue his late surge at the plate and continue to make the first half look more like a blip, he should draw plenty of interest from teams looking for a sturdy veteran option up the middle.
- Alexei Ramirez, White Sox: Not long ago, Ramirez’s $10MM club option looked like a no-brainer to be bought out. Glancing at his overall numbers, that’d still be the case, but like the others on this list, he’s looked like a different player over the past month-plus. Ramirez was hitting .212/.235/.281 on June 30, but he’s hitting .291/.321/.480 with five homers and six steals in 34 games since. He’s not walking much (4.4%), but he’s also not striking out (7.4%), so his solid production comes with a very sustainable .283 BABIP. Ramirez can’t erase his ugly numbers through June 30, but if he sustains this production through season’s end, the White Sox or another team could easily be convinced that a .234 average on balls in play was responsible for his poor first half than a total collapse of his skill set.
Clearly, these four can’t all sustain their recent production (especially in the case of Desmond and Cabrera). However, it’s worth keeping an eye on each player’s production over the final seven weeks of the season, as none of the four looks as lost as he did even six weeks ago. In Desmond’s case in particular, that could mean the difference of tens of millions of dollars.
Blue Jays To Sign Chris Heisey
The Blue Jays and outfielder Chris Heisey have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The 30-year-old Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon client was recently released by the Dodgers. He’ll report to Triple-A Buffalo for the Blue Jays, where he’ll be assessed as a potential bench option for the Jays.
Heisey received just 34 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2015 after coming over from the Reds in exchange for right-hander Matt Magill. Heisey spent the bulk of the season at the Triple-A level, where he batted .236/.355/.481 with 14 homers. Prior to his brief time with the Dodgers, Heisey spent parts of five seasons in Cincinnati, serving as a high quality part-time player for much of his tenure. He had a poor year in 2014, but from 2010-13, Heisey slashed .254/.308/.433. He was particularly impressive at the plate in an 18-homer 2011 campaign.
Though Heisey hits right-handed, he’s showed a reverse platoon split throughout his career. His power and K/BB numbers are virtually identical versus lefties and righties, though, so the reason for his poor production against left-handed pitching may simply be BABIP-related. Heisey has a .309 BABIP against right-handers in his career but just a .251 mark versus left-handers.