Quick Hits: Craig, Red Sox, Colletti, Coke
Hector Olivera‘s newly-reported free agency could make for an interesting weekend. While we await further word on his market, let’s have a look at a few stray links to round out the evening:
- The Giants do not appear to have interest in pursuing a trade for Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig to fill in for the injured Hunter Pence, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. While that could change if the asking price is “oddly low,” per Heyman, San Francisco is not inclined to make a move of that magnitude with Pence expected to return around the first of May. While a prior report had suggested the possibility of a Craig acquisition, the team would have no apparent role for him upon Pence’s return.
- Alex Speier of the Boston Globe takes a close look at the evolving ownership and leadership situation with the Red Sox — and, in particular, Fenway Sports Group part-owner and president Michael Gordon. Though some speculated that Gordon was attempting to build his influence over the ballclub as he gained control of the second-largest stake of the FSG umbrella entity, Speier explains that the notion of a power struggle in Boston is just not true.
- Displaced Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is enjoying his “respite” from the decisionmaking seat, as Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times writes in a fascinating look at the former top baseball man in Los Angeles. Now working as a senior advisor to club president Stan Kasten — who actually extended his contract through 2016 — Colletti says that he is enjoying a more grass-roots role than he could ever have hoped to play in the GM position. At the same time, he indicated that he does not intend to slowly ease out of the game. “The song isn’t over,” says Colletti. “It is just a pause.”
- Addressing the facially odd decision of lefty Phil Coke to take a minor league deal with the Cubs rather than a reported MLB deal elsewhere, CJ Nitkowski of FOX Sports says it is all about opportunity. Nitkowski says that he, too, made the decision to take a better opportunity on a non-guaranteed deal, though in his case it did not work out as hoped.
Hector Olivera Declared Free Agent
Cuban infielder Hector Olivera has officially been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports on Twitter. That means that Olivera is free to sign at any time.
Olivera, 29, has widely been tabbed as likely to sign quickly after officially reaching the open market. Certainly, any team hoping to add him will be doing so with expectations that he’ll play a significant role in 2015, and will therefore want to get him into camp as soon as possible.
Sources close to Olivera vehemently denied a report yesterday suggesting that Olivera may have a UCL problem in his throwing arm. It is not yet clear whether any arm issues are a concern for teams with interest, though Olivera does have some prior medical concerns that will certainly be explored in detail by the club that signs him. Olivera discussed his health and other topics in a recent interview with Ben Badler of Baseball America.
Since Olivera was not technically allowed to negotiate with clubs before being made a free agent by the league, his market and market value remain somewhat hazy. But numerous reports have indicated that he could potentially score a significant guarantee, with estimates ranging from $30MM all the way up to $70MM+. And Olivera has been connected with teams such as the Dodgers, Braves, Mariners, A’s, Giants, Padres and Yankees at various points.
Needless to say, his late entry onto the market — while widely expected — makes for an interesting final twist to this year’s free agent market. He is considered to be a starting-caliber asset after impressing in his recent showcases, though the uncertainties inherent in his situation will no doubt play a role in his ultimate contract.
Rule 5 Draft Spring Update
It may seem early, but there is less than a month before teams will need to set their final rosters for the start of the season. We often hear about players with opportunities to win jobs, and that is never more true than in the cases of Rule 5 picks, whose new teams have a unique incentive to keep them to start the year. Last year, for instance, three teams kept players on the roster all year and earned their rights going forward: the White Sox (Adrian Nieto), Rockies (Tommy Kahnle), and Brewers (Wei-Chung Wang). Click here for complete 2014 results.
With that in mind, let’s see how things are shaping up for some of this year’s selections:
- First overall choice Oscar Hernandez still appears to be on track to get a chance as the Diamondbacks‘ backup, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports. “There are some things to work out,” said manager Chip Hale. “We’re up for the challenge and I think he is, too.”
- Slugger Mark Canha started out ahead of Nate Freiman in the competition for a roster spot given his Rule 5 status, manager Bob Melvin told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle recently (Twitter link). An unfortunate back injury to Freiman only increases Canha’s edge, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports. (It probably does not hurt, either, that Canha is off to a four-for-six start at the plate.)
- Righty Jason Garcia has impressed the Orioles thus far with a smooth delivery and easy velocity, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry recently reported. Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons tweets that the preliminary word is that the O’s are looking for ways to fit him on the roster.
- Right-hander J.R. Graham is making an impression with the Twins, as Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports. Graham worked consistently up to 96 mph in two scoreless innings in his first outing, though he did struggle with command in his first frame. “I’m sure he was a little amped up being a Rule 5 guy,” said skipper Paul Molitor. “But he’s got some velocity. It was good to see him get through two clean innings.”
- An early look at right-hander Jandel Gustave and his high-octane stuff had the Royals contemplating an eight-man pen to fit him on the roster, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reported a few weeks back. Gustave has a history of command issues, however, and was roughed up pretty badly in his first outing — though he allowed only one baserunner in his most recent chance.
- The Phillies have two Rule 5 picks in converted outfielder Odubel Herrera and lefty Andy Oliver, and Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com recently looked at both players. Herrera is already showing off his tools and would create some valuable flexibility for the team now and in the future, Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley explains.
- Marlins manager Mike Redmond was among those impressed with the first live action from lefty Andrew McKirahan, as Juan Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel writes. McKirahan’s odds increased when the Fish failed to land Phil Coke, though it still seems he’ll have to overcome out-of-options lefty Brad Hand to join Mike Dunn in the bullpen.
- Mets skipper Terry Collins has indicated that prospect Rafael Montero is a long-shot to be added to the pen if fellow starter Dillon Gee ends up there, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. DiComo noted then that, should Gee in fact work in relief — which seems rather likely — Rule 5 pick Sean Gilmartin would appear to have an inside track to a pen slot.
- This is not an update, but more a reminder. Braves‘ selection Daniel Winkler is coming off of Tommy John surgery and therefore has quite a unique situation, as J.J. Cooper of Baseball America explains.
Trade Candidate: Welington Castillo
The idea of the Cubs trading catcher Welington Castillo is not a new one: it began to make sense when the team endeavored to sign Russell Martin, became highly plausible when Chicago acquired Miguel Montero, and became an apparent fait accompli when the team added veteran backup David Ross. But over two months have passed since the new backstop tandem was installed, and Castillo remains on the Cubs roster.
True, Castillo says that he hopes to remain with the only professional organization he’s known. And manager Joe Maddon says he could be on the roster, while president of baseball operations Theo Epstein recently insisted that three catchers on the 25-man is a realistic possibility. But the smart money remains on a deal.
After all, Castillo has yet to turn 28 and comes with two more seasons of control through arbitration. (He’ll cost $2.1MM for 2015.) Though he swung the bat at a slightly-below-average rate last year, Castillo is a league-average hitter over his career and slashed a combined .271/.345/.404 over 2012-13.
Castillo does come with some defensive questions. In particular, framing measures are not kind. Then again, he has been slightly above-average at eliminating would-be base-stealers and at handling balls in the dirt, resulting in fairly strong overall ratings in the non-framing departments.
A league-average hitting catcher who can at least hold his own defensively — and could theoretically improve in the receiving department — certainly has value, especially at arbitration rates. (Remember, players like Ross and Nick Hundley commanded two-year deals in free agency.) The primary question, really, is one of market demand. With Spring Training in full swing, most teams have obviously largely settled their budgets and their roster situations.
While an injury or significant performance could be necessary to drive interest, there are no shortage of clubs that appear even at present to be viable suitors, at least in theory. Some clubs might view Castillo as a legitimate starting option in the near future. For instance:
- For the Phillies, an aging Carlos Ruiz does not have an established reserve mate — or, perhaps more to the point, mid-term replacement.
- In spite of their insistence that they are pleased with their current group and believe that Peter O’Brien can stick behind the dish, the Diamondbacks remain an obvious possibility.
- The Orioles have dabbled in the catching market frequently, and could see some merit to bringing in Castillo as a complement and heir apparent to free agent-to-be Matt Wieters.
And several teams might conceivably consider Castillo as a bench upgrade or frequent platoon mate:
- The resurgent Marlins have received replacement-level work from Jeff Mathis over the past two seasons, and Castillo would create an all-bat, defensively-questionable backstop partnership with Jarrod Saltalamacchia (who struggles against lefties).
- Similarly, the Angels may be comfortable with Drew Butera as a defensive player, but their offensive production would receive a boost with Castillo on board.
- Though Castillo does not look like the prototypical Rays backstop, but Tampa could use another option behind the dish and might go against its own convention if it smells a deal.
- Likewise, the Cardinals seem content with Tony Cruz backing up Yadier Molina but could stand to improve upon the .580 OPS production that he has delivered over the last four seasons.
- The Royals have relied so heavily on Salvador Perez that a stronger second option than Erik Kratz and Francisco Pena might make sense.
- Castillo would not only offer the Mariners protection if Mike Zunino does not continue to progress, but would provide a much stronger hitting backup than Jesus Sucre (career .634 OPS in the minors).
- And it would probably be unwise to discount the Athletics, who could roll with a Stephen Vogt–Josh Phegley pairing but have proven a lack of inhibition in either introducing depth/competition or going with a three-catcher arrangement.
Of course, interest is heavily dependent upon how these teams view both Castillo and their internal options. But the list does demonstrate that it is still exceedingly difficult to find high-quality options to don the mask, making Castillo a valuable commodity (albeit one with potential trade market competition in Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro). How much value Castillo might return to Chicago will be a function of how the spring progresses, but it seems reasonably likely that more than one team could ultimately decide that pursuit is worthwhile.
Yadier Alvarez Establishes Residency In Haiti
Well-regarded young Cuban right-hander Yadier Alvarez has established residency in Haiti, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. (Note that Badler spells his last name “Alvares”; various outlets have utilized both spellings in reference to the same player.)
That clears one hurdle for Alvarez to become eligible to sign, but others remain. Most notably, having been born after September 1, 1995, Alvarez missed the deadline to register for the upcoming July 2 signing period. He was understandably unable to do so when required (May 15 of last year) because he was still in Cuba at that time. Thus, as things stand, Alvarez would be on track for eligibility as part of the 2015-16 class (assuming he otherwise qualifies).
Alvarez is reportedly seeking a waiver to avoid an otherwise lengthy delay. MLB’s rules allow players to seek a waiver for “a compelling justification for his failure to register,” but the league has not yet been required to address a situation in which a Cuban youngster was unable to apply in time.
Should Alvarez obtain the necessary waiver before the close of the current July 2 period, he would be able to decide whether to sign within it or wait until the opening of the 2015 period. If he is not able to do so, then he would enter a market in which the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Diamondbacks, and Rays are all prohibited from agreeing to a bonus of greater than $300K, effectively taking those clubs out of the running.
Minor Moves: Gamel, Carpenter, Solis, Thurston
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league, all via the Twitter account of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy …
- First baseman Mat Gamel will make another attempt at a comeback, this time with the Yankees, Eddy tweets. Now 29, the former Brewers prospect had been set to try for a return last year with the Braves, but was released after yet another knee injury. Gamel has not had a full season of action since 2011, when he was productive at Triple-A.
- Righty Chris Carpenter has inked a minor league pact with the Reds, per Eddy. The 29-year-old worked to a 4.73 ERA over 32 1/3 innings in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league last year. He has spent time with the Cubs and Red Sox previously, briefly cracking the bigs in both 2011 and 2012.
- After being released in late February, backstop Ali Solis has re-signed with the Dodgers, according to Eddy. The 27-year-old has just 11 MLB plate appearances to his name, and owns a .237/.266/.337 line in 404 Triple-A plate appearances.
- The Red Sox have signed veteran infielder/outfielder Joe Thurston to a minor league deal, tweets Eddy. The 35-year-old has a bit of big league experience, most of which came with the 2009 Cardinals when he hit .225/.316/.330 in 307 plate appearances. Thurston has spent the past two seasons playing in the Mexican League and the independent Atlantic League. He has a career .292/.356/.429 batting line in parts of 12 Triple-A seasons.
NL Notes: Pence, Marlins, Soriano, Tomas, Lopez
Hunter Pence will be out six to eight weeks after a Corey Black fastball broke his arm in yesterday’s Cactus League contest against the Cubs. However, the Giants are expected to look at their in-house options to replace Pence while he is on the shelf, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio. That’s not necessarily a huge surprise, considering the fact that six to eight weeks could mean that Pence will miss only a few weeks of in-season action. ESPN’s Buster Olney wondered (on Twitter) last night if the Giants might use Buster Posey at first base more, with Brandon Belt sliding into the outfield, given the team’s need for power.
More notes from around the Senior Circuit…
- The Marlins missed out on James Shields and Francisco Rodriguez late in the offseason, but the money that would have been allocated to that pair of arms could be reinvested in trade acquisitions midseason, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. President of baseball operations Michael Hill says that owner Jeffrey Loria has made it “abundantly clear” that he will provide the Marlins’ front office with the resources necessary to make trades, should an area of need arise.
- Frisaro also reports that despite the fact that the Marlins were clearly in the market for a bullpen upgrade (as evidenced by their pursuit of K-Rod), they don’t have interest in free agent right-hander Rafael Soriano.
- Yasmany Tomas has looked comfortable in early auditions at third base, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. He hasn’t been perfect, particularly with his throws, but if Tomas can iron out the kinks at the hot corner, it would keep the D-Backs‘ outfield logjam from getting out of hand. As it stands, Arizona has David Peralta, A.J. Pollock, Cody Ross, Ender Inciarte and Mark Trumbo all vying for time, and adding Tomas to that mix would further complicate matters. Regardless, it’s possible, in my eyes, that we see Arizona move one of its outfield options later this spring, although Peralta and Inciarte do have minor league options remaining.
- Fangraphs’ Eno Sarris has some brief video of another highly regarded Cuban inked by the D-Backs this offseason: Yoan Lopez. Sarris captures just a couple of pitches, but his colleague, Kiley McDaniel, provides a more complete breakdown of Lopez in a brief scouting report. Per McDaniel, Lopez has good arm speed on a 92 to 95 mph fastball to go along with an above-average slider and an average changeup. However, the 21-year-old also has some control issues and is likely headed to the minors to begin his career here.
Rangers Sign Joe Beimel
2:19pm: Beimel would earn $1.5MM if he breaks camp with the club and can earn more via incentives, per Grant.
1:03pm: Beimel’s deal is an MLB contract but is not guaranteed, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
12:41pm: The Rangers have signed left-handed reliever Joe Beimel to a one-year, Major League contract, executive vice president of Rangers communications John Blake announced today (on Twitter). Beimel is a client of agent Joe Sroba.
Beimel, who turns 38 next month, spent the 2014 season with the division-rival Mariners, working to an excellent 2.20 ERA in 45 innings of relief. He worked primarily as a lefty specialist, as evidenced by the fact that his 45 innings came over the life of 56 appearances. In 85 plate appearances against Beimel last year, left-handed hitters mustered a putrid .188/.217/.288 batting line. Right-handed bats had a much easier time against Beimel, batting .282/.367/.424.
Beimel’s peripheral stats don’t look as exciting as his ERA, as the lefty struck out just 5.0 hitters per nine and walked 2.8 per nine. His .250 batting average on balls in play and 86.8 percent strand rate were both significant outliers, relative to his career marks, suggesting that some regression is possible. Metrics such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA all pegged Beimel in the 4.09 to 4.18 range.
The Rangers have been known to be on the lookout for left-handed help in the bullpen, as they were reportedly connected to Phil Coke prior to his minor league deal with the Cubs. Texas also briefly claimed left-hander Edgar Olmos off waivers from the Mariners but had the claim reversed after learning of injury problems with Olmos. With Beimel in the fold, he’ll likely join Alex Claudio as a left-handed option in manager Jeff Banister’s bullpen.
Royals Sign Casey Kotchman To Minor League Deal
The Royals have added first baseman Casey Kotchman on a minor league deal, tweets Baseball America’s Matt Eddy.
The 32-year-old Kotchman didn’t play last season but appeared in the Majors every year from 2004-13, with most of his time coming as a member of the Angels. The Halos flipped Kotchman to the Braves as part of a deal to acquire Mark Teixeira in 2008, but Kotchman wasn’t able to recreate the offensive success he’d had a year prior to the trade. He’s had a pair of relatively strong seasons at the dish in his career (119 OPS+ in 2007, 127 OPS+ in 2011), but overall he’s been a below-average hitter at a position that’s expected to produce above-average offense. In parts of 10 seasons, Kotchman is a .260/.326/.385 hitter. Presumably, he’ll serve as minor league depth for the Royals, who have Eric Hosmer entrenched at first base with Kendrys Morales serving as a possible backup.
AL West Notes: Hamilton, Angels, Darvish, Mariners
The Major League Baseball Players Association yesterday voiced its displeasure that information pertaining to Josh Hamilton‘s treatment program and potential disciplinary situation has been leaked to the media. Per an MLBPA press release: “It is regrettable that people who want to see Josh Hamilton hurt personally and professionally have started leaking information about the status of his treatment program and the confidential processes under our Joint Drug Agreement. These anonymous leaks are cowardly, undermine the integrity of our collectively bargained agreements and in some instances have been wholly inaccurate. The Major League Baseball Players Association will use every right we have under the collective bargaining agreement to make sure Josh gets the help he needs, and the fair and confidential process to which he is entitled.”
Some more news from Hamilton’s division…
- Garrett Richards is progressing well and could get into a Cactus League game for the Angels as soon as March 13, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. While there was initially some fear that Richards could miss more than a month to open the year, Fletcher writes that he could be ready to pitch by the season’s second or third week. Fletcher also notes that Josh Rutledge got the first start at second base this spring and entered camp as the favorite to win the second base competition. Others in the mix include Grant Green, Johnny Giavotella and Taylor Featherston.
- Rangers ace Yu Darvish will have an MRI on his right triceps tomorrow after experiencing tightness in his first outing of Spring Training yesterday, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Darvish first felt tightness when warming up, and it did not improve (though it also did not worsen) during his outing. Darvish, who threw just one of 12 pitches above 90 mph, said he felt much better today, but assistant GM Thad Levine said the team will proceed with the MRI anyhow as a precaution.
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to a scout who likes the Mariners‘ offseason moves enough to label Seattle a 93-win club. While that’s just one opinion, Crasnick writes that the Mariners did indeed drastically change their roster this winter, but the moves came without all of the fanfare of the Padres’ retooling. Of course, aside from Nelson Cruz, most of the names added by the Mariners were of the complementary variety, whereas San Diego more household names. Crasnick also spoke to the Mariners’ players about their excitement for the coming year, with Robinson Cano giving a glowing review of his friend and now-teammate Cruz.