Prospect Notes: Nix, Montero, Barnes, Buxton, Meyer
Toronto will host the Pan American Games this summer from July 11 to July 19, writes Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Team USA could field a potent roster headlined by Byron Buxton, Addison Russell, Corey Seager, and others. To be eligible, players cannot be on a 40-man roster. They also need permission from their parent club to participate. Each team is different, but some will probably allow their top prospects to attend. Rangers prospect Joey Gallo could be among the players asked to participate, and GM Jon Daniels likes the idea of his players competing internationally. One wrinkle to watch: the Futures Game takes place on July 12.
Here are more prospect notes from around the league:
- Pitcher Jacob Nix could be a late first round pick in the upcoming Rule 4 draft, reports Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider required). You may recall Nix’s part in Houston’s Brady Aiken fiasco – he was the player who lost a $1.5MM bonus when Aiken failed to sign. Without Aiken’s expected under slot signing bonus, the club didn’t have the funds to honor Nix’s deal without losing 2015 draft picks and money. Nix is now pitching with IMG Academy, a post-graduate team in Bradenton, Florida.
- Of the prospects in Mets camp, Rafael Montero is the most likely to make the major league roster, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The club has plenty of starting pitchers, but they could use Montero out of the bullpen. Others like Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz will look to make a strong impression while at the big league camp. Remember, an opening day assignment to the majors can affect when a player reaches arbitration or free agency.
- Due to depth at the major league level, the Red Sox aren’t expected to add a prospect to their opening day roster. However, hard throwing righty Matt Barnes could be among the first called up, writes Ian Browne of MLB.com. Barnes pitched a few innings out of the bullpen last season, so he’s already on the 40-man roster. Another prospect with brief major league experience, Garin Cecchini, will work on improving his defensive versatility.
- The Twins will welcome number one prospect Buxton to their major league camp for the second time, writes Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. However, it’s 29th ranked prospect Alex Meyer who has the best chance to break camp with the club. The giant righty will compete for a spot in the rotation, although he’ll face competition from Tommy Milone, Mike Pelfrey, Tim Stauffer, and Trevor May.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Hamels, Arb Cases
The Yankees finalized last summer’s trades for Martin Prado, Josh Outman and Jeff Francis with cash rather than minor leaguers, a team official tells Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog. All three deals (with the Diamondbacks, Indians and Athletics, respectively) were made with either cash or a player to be named later going back to the other team in return. Here’s some more from around the baseball world…
- In an entry from Buster Olney’s latest Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, he notes that talent is a rarer commodity than money in today’s game, which is why he feels the Phillies should consider eating some of Cole Hamels‘ contract to bring back better prospects in a deal. Looking at the Hamels-to-Boston trade rumors, Olney wonders why the Red Sox would deal top prospects for Hamels now when a number of ace-level pitchers will be available for only cash in free agency next offseason.
- This offseason has already seen eight arbitration hearings and seven more outstanding cases could go to a hearing, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi notes. It’s an unusually high number given that there were only 13 arb hearings in total over the previous four offseasons, though Morosi doesn’t yet think this could be an omen about the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
- Former big leaguer-turned-FOX Sports analyst C.J. Nitkowski is no stranger to minor league contracts, and he details some of the many factors that a player must consider before signing such a deal.
- Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron lists his ten least-favorite moves of the offseason, with the Padres‘ trade for Matt Kemp topping the list. Cameron believes the Padres paid far too heavy a price in both talent and salary to acquire Kemp, whose best days are possibly behind him due to a checkered injury history.
Latest On Yoan Moncada
Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada has yet to receive any formal offers from teams, agent David Hastings tells FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link). Despite this, Hastings said it’s “realistic” that his client could sign within the next week.
This represents a slight change from Hastings’ most recent statement about Moncada’s future, as the agent had previously set February 23rd as a rough date to “have all the input we need to make a decision on where he’ll start — and hopefully end — his professional career.” Hastings has expressed an eagerness to get Moncada into a Spring Training camp as soon as possible, so while this shifting timeline may amount to just a day or two, it could possibly hint that Moncada already has some idea of where he wants to play if the right offer is made over the next seven days. As of three days ago, Moncada was still scheduled for four or five more private workouts with teams (including the Diamondbacks and Cubs) and it isn’t believed that he would sign before his workouts are complete.
Given the widespread interest in Moncada, it’s perhaps a bit surprising that no club has officially submitted an offer yet. Then again, considering the high price tag attached to signing Moncada (a bonus between $30MM-$40MM, plus an equal amount in penalty taxes for going over the international bonus limit), I can understand why teams would want to be absolutely sure he’s worth the investment. Moncada has worked out for some teams multiple times, so if one of his forthcoming workouts is another return engagement, I would guess it’s possible that this team will see enough to confirm their interest and then present an offer.
Central Links: McCutchen, Zito, Albers, Herndon
The expensive costs of youth travel leagues are an obstacle to attracting young talent to baseball, Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen writes in a piece for The Players Tribune. The full scholarships provided by college basketball or football make them more appealing sports than the long, usually financially-unrewarding path to the majors that the vast majority of prospects face — McCutchen himself admits that, were it not for an ACL tear when he was 15, he would’ve likely pursued NCAA football and not been a big league star today. He argues that kids from low-income families need more entry points into the game, with one possible solution being a new system similar to the academy program for international prospects.
Here’s the latest from around the NL and AL Central divisions…
- The Indians don’t have interest in signing veteran southpaw Barry Zito, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The Tribe were one of multiple teams who recently saw Zito throw during a workout session.
- Right-hander Matt Albers threw at the same session and the Indians were interested in signing him, Pluto reports, but Albers instead chose a minor league deal with the White Sox.
- David Herndon is happy to finally be healthy and pleased to have signed a minor league deal with the Brewers, the right-hander tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We had dialogue with them throughout the offseason and at the end of the day we got it done. It’s been a long road but we’re going to get back on track this year,” Herndon said. He also mentioned that the Padres were interested in his services, and he threw a workout for San Diego earlier this offseason.
- In less than a year’s time, catcher has gone from a weak spot within the Cubs organization to a position of potentially great depth, CSN Chicago’s Tony Andracki writes. The Cubs have Miguel Montero, David Ross and Welington Castillo at the big league level, and prospects Victor Caratini, Kyle Schwarber and Mark Zagunis developing in the minors.
- Between the big contracts David Robertson and Andrew Miller earned in free agency and Aroldis Chapman‘s sizable $8.05MM deal for 2015, the Twins‘ extension with Glen Perkins is looking better and better for the club, 1500 ESPN’s Derek Wetmore writes. After earning $4.025 MM for another strong season in 2014, Perkins is owed $18.15MM through the 2017 campaign. It’s worth noting that Perkins was shut down in September with a left forearm strain, though he has said his arm has felt good in offseason workouts.
Rangers Sign Jamey Wright To Minor League Contract
The Rangers have signed right-hander Jamey Wright to a minor league contract, the team announced in a press release. The deal contains an invitation to Texas’ Major League Spring Training camp. Wright will earn $1MM if he makes the Rangers’ big league roster, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reports (Twitter link). Wright is represented by Excel Sports Management.
The well-traveled Wright has pitched for 10 different teams over his 19-year career, and this is his second stint in Texas, having previously pitched for the Rangers from 2007-08. The team was known to be looking for bullpen depth options, though they’d recently been linked to left-handed options like Joe Thatcher and Phil Coke.
Wright threw 70 1/3 innings for the Dodgers last season, all but two of them (coming in a spot start) out of the bullpen. Wright posted a 4.35 ERA, 6.91 K/9 and a 2.0 K/BB rate for the Dodgers, turning in reverse-splits numbers by limiting left-handed batters to a .620 OPS while allowing a .737 OPS against right-handed hitters. The ground-ball specialist posted a 56.3% grounder rate last year, right in line with his 55.9% career mark. Though Wright is entering his age-40 season, he is still very durable, having averaged 71 innings per season from 2008-14.
Trade Candidate: Dioner Navarro
Catcher didn’t seem to be an obvious area of upgrade for the Blue Jays heading into the offseason, yet the team made a big splash by signing Russell Martin to a five-year, $82MM free agent deal. This immediately turned incumbent Jays catcher Dioner Navarro into a possible trade candidate, and indeed, at least three teams asked about Navarro in the wake of Martin’s signing. Navarro himself even inquired about being dealt somewhere where he could receive everyday playing time.
This trade speculation was certainly not what Navarro was expecting coming off his solid 2014 campaign. After signing a two-year, $8MM deal with the Jays in December 2013, the switch-hitting Navarro hit .274/.317/.395 with 12 homers last season, reaching new career highs in plate appearances (520) and games played (139). Defense, however, was another story, as Navarro ranked near the bottom of the league in terms of pitch-framing and throwing out baserunners.
As he’s scheduled for free agency next winter, Navarro obviously wants a better platform than a backup catcher/part-time DH role to boost his value as he looks ahead to his next trip into the open market. Keeping Navarro as a backup makes a lot of sense for Toronto despite the presence of another catcher (Josh Thole) on the roster. If Martin can handle R. A. Dickey‘s knuckleball, then Thole’s role as Dickey’s personal catcher becomes redundant, and Navarro offers far more hitting value than Thole.
On the other hand, the Jays are looking to add relievers despite limited payroll space; moving Navarro and his $5MM 2015 salary seems like a logical way to free up some money for further transactions. The Jays are reportedly asking for pitching in return in any Navarro trade, so they’re clearly exploring this strategy already.
The Diamondbacks and Tigers are two teams who have been linked to Navarro on the rumor mill this winter, though Detroit’s interest has been limited to internal discussions at this point. Gerald Laird and Tuffy Gosewisch project as Arizona’s starting catching combo in the wake of Miguel Montero‘s departure, and while the team may think prospect Peter O’Brien is their future at the position, one year of Navarro would both give the D’Backs an upgrade now and still clear the path for O’Brien beyond 2015. The Tigers, meanwhile, look to have Alex Avila and one of Bryan Holaday or James McCann splitting time at catcher. Avila is a question mark due to his concussion history while Navarro would certainly provide a more proven bat than Holaday or McCann.
Catching depth is thin enough around baseball that a number of teams could also be fits for Navarro’s services. In my opinion, the White Sox and Pirates stand out as teams whose hopes of contending would be improved behind the plate by Navarro’s presence, though both clubs already have several catchers battling for those jobs. (In Pittsburgh’s case, admittedly, their focus on catcher defense might keep Navarro off their radar.) The Rangers could see Navarro as a more proven option than their current selection of Robinson Chirinos, Carlos Corporan, Tomas Telis and Chris Gimenez. The Rays could platoon Navarro with the defensive specialist Rene Rivera, though the prospect of an inter-division trade and Tampa taking on a $5MM salary for a part-time player made this seem somewhat unlikely.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement/USA Today Sports Images
AL East Notes: Hardy, Blue Jays, Edwards, BoSox
J.J. Hardy made an early exit from the free agent market when he re-signed with the Orioles before the ALCS, but the shortstop would’ve preferred to have inked his new contract even sooner. “It kind of went a lot longer than I wanted it to,” Hardy told Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. “I didn’t think it needed to go that long, but it did. But I told my agent, ‘Listen, this is what I want and I like it in Baltimore. Let’s get to what is fair and make this happen.’ Now that it is done, I’m glad everything worked out as it did.” Hardy also said he was hampered by a bad back last season, and hopes to deliver more of his customary power now that he’s feeling healthier. Here’s some more from around the AL East…
- Canadian-born Russell Martin, Dalton Pompey and Michael Saunders are slated to play major roles for the Blue Jays, though team president Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos tell Robert MacLeod of the Globe & Mail that this increase in Canadian talent is a coincidence in roster-building, not a promotional gimmick. “The city and the fans and the country embrace great players because great players help you win. And I think winning is what promotes the sport and baseball in Canada,” Anthopoulos said.
- Rays minor leaguer Spencer Edwards has been issued an 80-game suspension for a PED violation, the league announced. Edwards was Tampa’s second-round pick in the 2012 draft, selected 88th overall. The 21-year-old shortstop/center fielder has a .558 OPS in 569 PA over his first three pro seasons, none above the A-ball level.
- Rough seasons for Xander Bogaerts, Will Middlebrooks and Jackie Bradley were a big reason why the Red Sox suffered through a last-place finish in 2014. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe examines both why these players struggled and takes a broad overview of how the Sox are adapting their player development system as part of an in-depth four-part series of articles.
- The main takeaway from Speier’s piece is that the Red Sox felt empowered by their 2013 World Series title to deploy so many youngsters in last year’s starting lineup, and realistically, the team didn’t even expect all three to contribute right away. The larger roster flaw, according to Speier, may have been that Boston didn’t acquire enough veteran depth last winter to account for some growing pains by their three young starters. In response, the Red Sox began adding notable veterans even before last season ended, and now theoretically have protection should Bogaerts, Bradley or other unproven talents like Mookie Betts or Rusney Castillo underperform.
- Speier’s piece also explores some bigger-picture topics, such as how the Red Sox are dealing with the age-old problem of how to best prepare each individual prospect to be ready for the majors. This is complicated by the fact that the quality gap between Triple-A and MLB has never been wider, yet top prospects are coming into the game with higher expectations than ever thanks to media hype and fan interest.
Braves, Eric Young Jr. Agree To Minor League Deal
TODAY: Young will receive a $1MM base salary if he makes Atlanta’s Major League roster, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter). The contract also contains $750K “in easily attainable incentives.”
FEB. 13: The Braves and outfielder Eric Young Jr. have agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The fleet-footed Young will compete with Zoilo Almonte for a role as Jonny Gomes‘ platoon partner in left field, Bowman notes. Young is represented by MVP Sports Group.
Young, 30 in May, offers blistering speed but struggled with the bat in 2014, hitting .229/.299/.311 in 316 plate appearances. Despite the low on-base percentage and limited at-bats, however, Young still managed to swipe 30 bases, and he stole 46 bags the year prior in 598 PAs. Over the life of his career, Young has batted .252/.320/.332 with 138 steals in 171 attempts (81 percent).
Left field has been Young’s primary position over the past two seasons, and it’s also his best position, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. Last year, DRS valued him at +5 runs, while UZR pegged him at 8.8 in 577 innings. UZR has generally graded Young’s left field work better than DRS, pegging him at eight runs per 150 games, but DRS has given him a positive mark for three consecutive seasons. Young also has some experience at second base, and given Atlanta’s unstable situation at the keystone, it’s possible that he’ll see some time there as well over the course of the 2015 campaign.
The Mets non-tendered Young this December rather than pay him a projected $2.3MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), and he was one of a handful of free agents with arbitration eligiblity remaining that I identified last week. Because he has just four years, 123 days of big league service, Young can be controlled next winter via arbitration if he performs well. He is eligible for free agency following the 2016 campaign.
AL West Notes: Angels, Weeks, Crane
Happy birthday to A’s right-hander Tyler Clippard, who turns 30 years old today. The newly-acquired bullpen arm received a pretty nice gift earlier this week when he and the Athletics avoided going an arbitration hearing by agreeing to an $8.3MM contract for 2015. Here’s some more from around the AL West…
- The Angels are “not aggressive” in their pursuit of any available Cuban players in the Dominican Republic, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets, though the club has had scouts watching. The Halos have already made one major international acquisition this offseason, signing Cuban infielder Roberto Baldoquin to an $8MM bonus. Baldoquin’s deal already put the Angels over their signing pool threshold for this international signing period, though I’d argue that since the team is already being penalized for that overage (limited to only $300K signings for each of the next two int’l signing periods), Anaheim might as well make a push to add more international talent before their penalty kicks in on July 2.
- Rickie Weeks could end up playing all over the diamond in a depth role for the Mariners, GM Jack Zduriencik told reporters (including Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune), including both corner infield and outfield positions. Weeks has never played anywhere in the field besides second base over his 11-year career, but said as his free agent market developed, “teams were thinking about me playing other positions, and I just opened up to it, really.”
- Astros owner Jim Crane’s recent divorce settlement won’t have any impact on the club’s payroll or operations, team attorney Giles Kibbe told Evan Drellich and David Barron of the Houston Chronicle. “During our purchase of the Astros, MLB requested that the documents include certain language that would address these types of issues,” Kibbe said. The league’s approach stems from how Frank McCourt’s 2011 divorce proceedings affected the Dodgers, an MLB official confirmed to Drellich and Barron, though Crane’s situation is far different than McCourt’s.
Minor Moves: Rosenberg, Troncoso, Borbon
Here are some recent minor league transactions, all from Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise cited…
- The Dodgers signed right-hander B.J. Rosenberg to a minor league contract. The 29-year-old owns a 5.72 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 1.73 K/BB rate over 56 2/3 career innings, all with the Phillies from 2012-14.
- The Dodgers also signed Ramon Troncoso, bringing the right-hander back for a second stint with the club. Troncoso posted a 3.92 ERA, 2.07 K/BB rate and 6.4 K/9 over 197 1/3 relief innings for L.A. from 2008-11, highlighted by a 2009 season that saw him notch a 2.72 ERA over 82 2/3 IP. He last appeared in the bigs with the White Sox in 2013 and Troncoso spent last season with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate.
- The Orioles re-signed outfielder Julio Borbon to a new minor league deal. After being picked off the Cubs roster in the minor league Rule 5 draft last winter, Borbon hit .288/.342/.356 with 34 steals in 44 chances over 512 plate appearances for Triple-A Norfolk in 2014. Borbon, the 35th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft, last played in the majors with the Cubs in 2013 and he owns a career .272/.318/.347 slash line over 863 PA with Chicago and Texas.
- The Reds re-signed catcher Lou Marson. The 28-year-old first joined the Reds on a minor league deal last May but was limited to just seven Double-A games due to injuries. Marson slashed .219/.309/.299 over 882 career PA for the Phillies and Indians between 2008-13.
- The Cubs re-signed longtime farmhand Jonathan Mota. The infielder has spent his entire 10-year pro career in Chicago’s farm system, posting a .258/.317/.362 career slash line.