Mets Notes: Harvey, Duda, Lagares, Wheeler
The Mets will keep Matt Harvey on a rough limit of 90 pitches for his April starts, manager Terry Collins told reporters (including Adam Rubin of ESPN New York) following Harvey’s final Spring Training start today. The club’s plans to be fairly cautious with Harvey in his return from Tommy John surgery haven’t changed, GM Sandy Alderson said, despite how Harvey has dominated opposing batters in spring competition. Harvey threw four shutout innings of work today to drop his Spring Training ERA down to 1.19 over 22 2/3 innings. Here’s the latest on the Amazins….
- It seems “unlikely” the Mets and Lucas Duda will reach agreement on an extension before Opening Day, a source familiar with the talks tells CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Another source says there has been “not a lot of movement” in negotiations, and both the player and team have set the opener as the unofficial deadline for talks.
- Alderson told Adam Rubin that “I think that’s hard to say” when asked to comment on the progress of the Duda negotiations. “There will be resolution by Monday, one way or the other,” Alderson said.
- The Mets’ four-year, $23MM extension with Juan Lagares is “pretty much a can’t-lose” deal for the team “even if he never gets better than he was in 2014,” Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines. I agree with Sherman that Lagares’ new deal is a pretty reasonable price to pay for elite-level center field defense.
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News also likes the Lagares contract, and between that extension and recent trades for Jerry Blevins and Alex Torres, Martino feels the Mets are entering the season on a positive note.
- Zack Wheeler also had surgery to repair a torn tendon in addition to his Tommy John procedure this winter, so the right-hander need more time than usual to recover, he told Newsday’s Marc Carig. The combination of the two procedures could push his return back to June or July 2016, though Wheeler hesitated to cite a firm date this early in his rehab process.
Arodys Vizcaino Suspended 80 Games For PED Usage
Braves right-hander Arodys Vizcaino will be suspended for 80 games after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. The league has since announced the suspension, citing Stanozolol as the banned substance in question.
The Braves re-acquired the 24-year-old Vizcaino from the Cubs this offseason, swapping him straight up for second baseman Tommy La Stella. As Passan notes in a second tweet, the former top prospect was throwing significantly harder in spring this year and will serve his suspension at the Triple-A level, where he was optioned on Monday.
Vizcaino has just 22 1/3 innings of experience at the big league level, having allowed 12 runs in that time with a 21-to-12 K/BB ratio. Vizcaino had Tommy John surgery in 2012 and underwent a second elbow surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow the following year. He split the 2014 season across three levels in the Cubs’ Minor League system, working to a 3.54 ERA with 42 strikeouts against 18 walks in 40 2/3 innings. One would think that a strong start to the season could have positioned Vizcaino to surface in the Majors as a bullpen option for the Braves.
The suspension is particularly detrimental to Vizcaino due to service time implications. While he was slated to start the season in the Minors, Vizcaino has two years, 77 days of Major League service time, meaning he needed just 95 days of big league service to reach three total years and somewhere in the vicinity of 53 days to put him on the bubble of Super Two status. Both of those distinctions will be difficult to reach now, as he’ll sit out half the season and would likely need to prove himself in the Minors following that suspension before warranting consideration at the Major League level.
Added To The 40-Man Roster: Thursday
With rosters being finalized around the league, it’s a busy time for players departing and ascending to the 40-man roster. Here’s the latest:
- The Twins announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Shane Robinson, who had been in camp on a Minor League deal. The 30-year-old Robinson had previously spent his entire career in the Cardinals organization and will presumably serve as the right-handed half of a center field platoon with Jordan Schafer. Minnesota entered Spring Training hoping that Aaron Hicks would show progress and win the center field job outright, but he struggled throughout the month and was optioned to Triple-A, paving the way for Robinson to make the roster. In parts of five seasons with St. Louis, Robinson is a .231/.303/.308 hitter in 452 plate appearances. He’s received strong marks at all three outfield spots, per UZR and DRS, and he hit .283/.340/.370 in Grapefruit League action this year.
Earlier Updates
- The Reds are set to add several veterans to their 40-man roster, as John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Veteran righties Kevin Gregg and Jason Marquis will be joined by reserves Brennan Boesch and Chris Dominguez on the Opening Day roster, and all will need a 40-man spot. That crunch already led the team to outright reliever Sam LeCure, and several other slots will need to be created before things are official.
- The Rockies have selected the contract of right-hander Rafael Betancourt, the team announced last night (on Twitter). Betancourt, who will turn 40 at the end of this month, has gone through a somewhat remarkable comeback, recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent as a 38-year-old to return to the 40-man roster. The former Rox closer has had an excellent spring, yielding just one run on eight hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. He adds another arm with closing experience to what is looking like a fairly murky bullpen situation in Colorado. It’s worth mentioning that setup man Rex Brothers was optioned to Triple-A and won’t be a factor in the ‘pen in the season’s early stages.
AL Central Notes: Ingram, Kluber, Tigers, McGowan
Condolences go out to the family and friends of Twins Minor League instructor/manager Riccardo Ingram, who as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes, lost a battle with brain cancer yesterday at the age of 48. Ingram spent 17 seasons in the Twins organization as a manager, coach and roving hitting instructor. “It’s very sad news,” said GM Terry Ryan. “…He’s one of those guys where it would be very difficult for me to find somebody who had a bad thing to say about Riccardo Ingram.” Originally diagnosed in 2009, Ingram overcame his first bout with the disease and returned to his post with the Twins through the 2014 season. Said manager Paul Molitor: “I think we were all blessed we were able to get those five or six years with him after the original diagnosis. But it’s not easy.”
Here are a few more items from around the AL Central…
- There’s been “some progress” between the Indians and ace Corey Kluber on an extension, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link), but it remains unclear whether or not the team will strike a deal by the reported Opening Day deadline. Kluber is not yet arbitration-eligible, but a repeat of anything close to his 2014 Cy Young season would make his first price tag in arb enormous, so there’s some benefit for Cleveland to seek cost certainty at this juncture despite the fact that Kluber is a late bloomer and thus older than most extension candidates.
- Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander will open the season on the disabled list due a right triceps strain, writes MLive.com’s Chris Iott. Incredibly, this will mark the first DL stint of Verlander’s exceptional career. Though the injury is not considered serious, it’s an ominous start for the former ace after he led the AL in earned runs allowed in 2014 and struggled to a 5.63 ERA (10 runs in 16 innings) this spring. He’s tentatively slated to come off the DL on April 12.
- Also opening the season on the DL will be flamethrowing righty Bruce Rondon, who is experiencing biceps tendinitis. The injury appears to be unrelated to last year’s Tommy John surgery, but Rondon didn’t throw back-to-back days all spring and won’t be activated until he is able to do so. Manager Brad Ausmus said he doesn’t know when Rondon will throw again, via Iott. The Tigers already have a precariously thin bullpen, and the loss of Rondon for any significant chunk of time would further cloud the outlook.
- The Twins are “kicking the tires” on right-hander Dustin McGowan, who was recently released by the Dodgers, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). Via Wolfson, the Twins had interest in McGowan back in November, but their interest faded later in the offseason as he remained unsigned. Perhaps disappointing Spring Training efforts from some internal bullpen candidates have rekindled some of that interest. McGowan recorded an uninspiring 4.17 ERA in 82 innings (eight starts, 45 relief appearances) with Toronto last season, but he was much better out of the ‘pen than in the rotation, as he has been throughout his career. McGowan’s 3.79 ERA as a reliever is nearly a full run lower than his 4.78 mark as a starter, though xFIP feels he’s about the same pitcher in either role (4.30 vs. 4.32).
Rangers Claim Rule 5 Pick Logan Verrett From Orioles
1:03pm: Rangers EVP of communications John Blake has announced the move (on Twitter), adding that outfielder Antoan Richardson has been placed on the 60-day DL to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Verrett.
12:58pm: The Rangers have claimed right-hander Logan Verrett off waivers from the Orioles, reports MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (on Twitter). Verrett, a 24-year-old right-hander, had been selected by the Orioles from the Mets organization in December’s Rule 5 Draft.
The Rangers will have to carry Verrett on their 25-man roster all season or expose him to waivers themselves. Should he clear waivers, he’d then have to be offered back to the Mets for $25K before the Rangers even had a hope of outrighting him to the Minor Leagues. Texas could also work out a trade with New York to retain Verrett’s rights and be able to option him to the Minors.
Verrett was a third-round pick of the Mets back in 2011 and reached the Triple-A level for the first time in 2014, where he pitched 162 innings to 4.33 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 over the life of 28 starts. This spring, he’s been excellent, allowing just three earned runs with a 12-to-2 K/BB ratio in 14 innings of work for Baltimore. It seems, however, that he was still unable to crack the Orioles’ bullpen.
Mets Extend Juan Lagares
After a largely quiet offseason, the Mets have sprung into action by acquiring a pair of left-handed relievers and now formally announcing a four-year extension with center fielder Juan Lagares. Lagares’ new contract reportedly calls for a $23MM guarantee. New York will also pick up a $9.5MM club option ($500K buyout) for an additional season.
Lagares, 26, is represented by ACES. The annual breakdown of the deal is as follows: $2.5MM in 2016, $4.5MM in 2017, $6.5MM in 2018 and $9MM in 2019. As that indicates, the contract does not kick in until meaning that New York has locked in salaries for all of Lagares’s arbitration years while picking up a club option over his first season of free agent eligibility. Lagares entered the offseason with 1.160 years of service, meaning he’d almost certainly have qualified for Super Two eligibility next year. All told, New York will stand to gain control over Lagares through his age-31 season.
Lagares established himself last year with an outstanding campaign in the field and solid effort at the plate. There is no doubt that his primary value comes with the glove: Lagares led all qualifying outfielders with 25.3 UZR/150, with Defensive Runs Saved and scouting reports concurring in his excellence.
Of course, Lagares had already showed that kind of capability in center. What last year did more than anything was show his capacity on the offensive side of the equation. Lagares slashed .281/.321/.382 over 452 plate appearances, an approximately league average line, while contributing four home runs and 13 stolen bases.
There may not be much upside left in the bat given his age, but the aggregate package has obvious appeal. Lagares was worth 4 fWAR and an even more impressive 5.5 rWAR last year, making him the type of well-above-average player that any team hopes to be able to lock in up the middle.
In terms of the payday, which is yet to be reported precisely, Lagares obviously had some reasonably anticipated caps on his earning capacity since his skillset is presently not valued highly in arbitration. The most obvious comp for this deal is the recent Adam Eaton extension — a five-year, $23.5MM pact (plus two club options) for a center fielder who had one less year of club control but who was on track to qualify for arbitration just three times. Eaton is also 26, and both players have missed some time due to injuries over the last few years. While they profile differently, and appear to have agreed to differently-structured deals, the overall value of the two players is arguably fairly similar.
Another way of looking at it, though, would be to compare this agreement to the Andrelton Simmons extension from last winter. Simmons, of course, is also an elite defender whose bat is slightly below average to average. The Braves cornerstone, then 24, got seven years and $58MM in exchange for his age-24 through age-31 seasons. With this deal, the Mets appear set to control Lagares through his age-31 season with a more modest annual guarantee and lower overall risk.
ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden first reported the deal and its parameters (links to Twitter). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the final terms (via Twitter; web link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jose Valverde Opts Out Of Deal With Padres
12:28pm: Valverde tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune (Twitter link) that his agent has informed him that a new deal may come quickly. Given the fact that Valverde opted out of his deal (as opposed to being released) and has pitched reasonably well this spring, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s drawing interest from other clubs.
10:03am: Righty Jose Valverde has opted out of his deal with the Padres and will be given his release, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports on Twitter. The 37-year-old was in camp on a minor league deal.
Valverde enjoyed a long stretch as a quality reliever who racked up a lot of saves. But his struggles over the past two years have been rather pronounced: over 40 innings, he owns a 5.63 ERA. Though the veteran still has a useful K:BB ratio in that stretch (9.5 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9), he has been exceedingly home run prone. Among the major ERA estimators, only SIERA values Valverde as an average or better reliever since 2013.
It seemed at one point that Valverde could be headed toward a job with the Pads. He has maintained quite a bit of fastball velocity into his later years, but reportedly was working into and above the mid-90s at times this spring. He allowed four earned runs in 8 2/3 spring innings, but fanned eight while walking only one batter.
Reds Outright Sam LeCure
11:00am: LeCure has cleared waivers but may still elect whether to decline the assignment, Fay tweets. Of course, doing so would mean giving up his guaranteed salary, and LeCure himself tweets that he is heading to the organization’s Triple-A affiliate in Louisville.
10:34am: The Reds have outrighted reliever Sam LeCure, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. LeCure, 30, has not seen minor league action since a brief stint back in 2011.
Cincinnati has leaned heavily on LeCure’s right arm over the past four years. On average, he’s thrown 63 innings of 3.35 ERA ball in that span, averaging 8.8 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. But those numbers all took a downturn last year, when LeCure struck out 7.6 and walked 3.8 batters per nine. His ERA fell below league average, with estimators backing that assessment.
LeCure was not able to secure a place in the pen despite a solid Cactus League stat line. He K’ed twelve and walked four over 8 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs. The move is somewhat surprising given LeCure’s track record, but the club has apparently decided to go in another direction.
Though he loses his roster spot, LeCure will not go without his salary. He signed a two-year deal last year guaranteeing him $3.05MM, the majority of it coming in 2015. (In fact, LeCure’s guaranteed 2015 base salary of $1.85MM has increased to$1.9MM due to escalators.) Depending upon how much big league service time he ends up accruing this year — he enters the year with 4.072 years of service — LeCure will be eligible for one more season of arbitration before hitting the open market.
Pirates Acquire Hunter Morris From Brewers
The Pirates have acquired first baseman Hunter Morris from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later, the clubs announced. The 26-year-old had already been outrighted over the offseason.
Morris has spent most of his time at Triple-A over the last two seasons, slashing .260/.315/.453 and hitting 35 home runs in 902 plate appearances. He earned the organization’s minor league player of the year award back in 2012. A left-handed hitter, Morris will presumably land with the Bucs’ top affiliate.
Blue Jays Sign Felix Doubront
The Blue Jays have signed lefty Felix Doubront to a minor league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Doubront spent all of camp with the Cubs before he was released on Saturday.
Doubront agreed to a $1.925MM salary to avoid arbitration, but Chicago will pay him around $473K by cutting him loose before the season. He had a rough spring and lacked options, making it hard for Chicago to keep him.
For a Jays club that has been in need of pitching depth, Doubront represents a welcome and risk-free investment. The 27-year-old has certainly had his struggles at times, but has shown the ability to miss bats at the big league level even in a starting capacity. Presumably, he could ultimately see time in the rotation or pen for Toronto if he can prove his worth at Triple-A.