Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Fasano, Matsui, Orioles
On this date three years ago, Bud Selig announced that MLB would be taking over operations of the Dodgers because of concerns over Frank McCourt’s financial situation. McCourt planned to use the club’s new $2.5 billion, 20-year media-rights deal with News Corp.’s Fox Sports to get out of debt, but Selig interfered. It’s amazing what a difference three years can make. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Blue Jays Plus caught up with Sal Fasano, the Blue Jays’ hidden gem.
- IR Fast introduces you to Yuki Matsui.
- Camden Depot contemplates the 2016 Orioles.
- Inside The Zona reflects on the Kevin Towers saga.
- Mariner Brainstorm reflects on the 2011 draft.
- Hidden Vigorish is bullish on Pedro Alvarez.
- Replacement Level Red Sox runs the numbers on a possible Jon Lester extension.
- Outside Pitch looks at the ten hardest throwers in baseball.
- Chicago Now discusses the usage of Mike Olt.
- MLB Reports talks Moneyball at its best.
- True Sports Blog says the Astros should move Scott Feldman now.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Twins Claim Sam Fuld, Designate Darin Mastroianni
The Twins have claimed outfielder Sam Fuld off waivers, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Fuld was designated for assignment by the Athletics on April 12th.
Fuld, 32, appeared in just seven games for the A’s, hitting .200/.273/.433 in 33 plate appearances. He has a career .233/.312/.334 line in 841 career plate appearances, most of them with the Rays and Cubs. He signed a minor league deal with Oakland in February and made the team out of Spring Training when fellow defensively-savvy outfielder Craig Gentry was injured. Fuld became expendable with a healthy Gentry, who returned to the A’s lineup last week, and Coco Crisp, but he’ll be joining a Twins squad which badly needs outfield depth.
“He can steal a base. He’s a good defender. Puts together pretty good at-bats,” Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said of Fuld (as quoted by Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press). “He’s not a power guy. He is a gamer, a guy who comes to play everyday. Hopefully he can add a little life to the offense and (Twins manager Ron Gardenhire) can use him in different spots in the outfield as well.”
To make room for Fuld on the 40-man and 25-man roster, the Twins announced they have designated outfielder Darin Mastroianni for assignment. Mastroianni has gone 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in seven games since having his contract selected from Rochester on April 10th. The Twins now have 10 days to either trade, release, or outright the 28-year-old, who can opt for free agency instead of accepting a minor league assignment since he has been outrighted previously (per a Berardino tweet). Berardino notes this move may not have been necessary had Jason Bartlett‘s retirement been finalized one day sooner with the Easter weekend also working against the Twins.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Yankees Designate Matt Daley For Assignment
The Yankees have designated right-hander Matt Daley, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). In related moves, New York activated Mark Teixeira, recalled right-handers Preston Claiborne and Bryan Mitchell, placed right-hander Ivan Nova on the 15-day disabled list with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, and sent infielder Scott Sizemore to Triple-A.
Daley, 31, pitched for the Bombers yesterday and allowed six runs (four earned) as a part of their 16-1 blowout loss to Tampa Bay. Daley has spent the bulk of his career at the Triple-A level, pitching to a 3.90 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 124 career appearances. For his big league career, Daley has a 4.72 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 across 100 outings.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Tigers Release Alex Gonzalez
The Tigers announced via Twitter this morning they have released shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The move opened up a spot for utility infielder Danny Worth, who was called up from Triple-A Toledo.
The Tigers acquired Gonzalez in late March in exchange for utility player Steve Lombardozzi, who was shipped to the Orioles less than four months after arriving in Detroit as part of the Doug Fister deal. With Lombardozzi in Baltimore, the Fister deal amounted to Detroit receiving left-handers Ian Krol and Robbie Ray plus a few weeks of Gonzalez. The Tigers had hoped the 37-year-old would serve as a capable replacement for shortstop Jose Iglesias, but his spotty defense and lack of range left much to be desired.
"We thought we'd take a little chance on it," Tigers President/CEO/General Manager Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including MLB.com's Jason Beck. "We thought it was something worth taking the gamble. As we had a chance to watch him, had a chance to get a feel, we just didn't see it getting better, so we thought, with the emphasis on defense for us at shortstop, we thought it was important to get someone who had a little bit more range."
Jon Morosi of FOX Sports notes (via Twitter) the Tigers will pay Gonzalez $1.1MM for only nine games. In that small sample size of 32 at-bats, Gonzalez slashed .167/.219/.233. For his career, Gonzalez owns a .245/.290/.395 line across 16 big league seasons.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Prospects, Pirates, Brewers
Service time is often among the most important factors when determining when to promote a top prospect, a new analysis by Baseball Prospectus suggests (via FOX Sports). For followers of teams such as the Astros, who recently netted themselves an extra year of control of George Springer by waiting two weeks into the season to call him up, the findings don't come as a surprise. The study did produce an interesting data point, however. "Fourteen times in the last seven years, a player who ranked No. 1 on one of our Top 10 prospect lists debuted in April," BP's Zachary Levine writes. Among that group, eight were on their club's Opening Day roster, meaning the team valued that player's potential early-season contributions over the possibility of an extra year of control down the road. While the gaming of service time of top prospects is common, it's perhaps not as rampant as you might expect, the study suggests. Here's a look elsewhere around the majors:
- Being traded to the Pirates is an excellent opportunity for Ike Davis to maximize his considerable talent, Richard Justice writes for MLB.com, praising the clubhouse environment, management and fan support in Pittsburgh.
- The Brewers and Mets had several conversations about a potential Davis trade, but never got close, Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash tells Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. McCalvy reports that the Mets wanted young starting pitching, such as righty Tyler Thornburg, in return.
- Fangraphs' Jeff Sullivan examined what might be fueling Edinson Volquez's early-season success for the Pirates. In addition to showing an improved ability to throw strikes, the right-hander is also throwing better-quality balls when he does miss the zone, Sullivan concludes. If Volquez can maintain these improvements, it'll be yet another successful reclamation project for Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage.
NL East Notes: Mets, Braves
Mets manager Terry Collins says he expects Lucas Duda to settle in and produce now that the Ike Davis trade has opened up the club's full-time first base job, MLB.com's Spencer Fordin reports. Duda, however, says he doesn't feel much has changed. "If I don't produce, I'm not going to play. No matter what the situation is, if I don't get the job done, somebody else will," the slugger commented. More NL East links …
- A competing GM told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) that the Mets were right to choose Duda instead of Davis. "They're both platoon guys, but Duda [is] a little better against lefties," the GM said.
- One MLB executive speaking with Newsday's David Lennon (Twitter link) guesses that the Mets may receive either the Pirates' 2013 fifth- or sixth-rounder as the player to be named later in the Davis deal. That would be either fifth-round pick Trae Arbet, a shortstop drafted out of high school, or sixth-round draftee Adam Frazier, a college shortstop. Neither player was ranked among the Pirates' top 30 prospects by Baseball America this offseason.
- The Braves brought on Aaron Harang near the end of Spring Training to eat innings in the season's early going, but now that he's posted a Majors-leading 0.70 ERA in four starts, their plans have changed. In fact, Harang was removed after giving up zero hits through seven innings against the Mets yesterday to help preserve his arm. Manager Fredi Gonzalez says he wants 25-27 more starts from the veteran, according to David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
West Notes: Padres, A’s, Angels
Jason Lane, a 37-year-old converted outfielder pitching at the Padres‘ Triple-A affiliate, is turning heads early in the season after posting a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings. Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego suggests that Lane could be an option for the big league club if the Padres need to add depth later in the year. “If you took away the age factor, I think people would be really fired up about him,” Padres Farm Director Randy Smith said. “But for us, age is irrelevant because his arm is fresh.” Here’s more out of baseball’s Western divisions …
- Sean Doolittle‘s five-year deal with the Athletics is out of step with Billy Beane’s traditional approach to relief pitching, SBNation’s Steven Goldman says, adding that it’s generally advisable not to go long-term with relievers. However, Doolittle does have his merits, Goldman says, noting his lack of a platoon split and relatively fresh arm. Ultimately, the move may be aimed at saving on arbitration costs if Doolittle starts racking up saves for the A’s as the team’s closer, his article notes. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd offered the same theory in his writeup of the Doolittle deal.
- Albert Pujols doesn’t want to distract his Angels teammates as he nears 500 career home runs, but tells MLB.com that he’s “pretty sure I’m going to be pretty emotional about” reaching the milestone. As MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez notes, Pujols is at 498 total homers after adding his sixth of the season today.
Lannan Accepts Mets’ Outright Assignment
SATURDAY: Lannan has accepted the assignment, ESPN's Adam Rubin tweets.
WEDNESDAY: The Mets have outrighted left-hander John Lannan to Triple-A Las Vegas and purchased the contract of right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, tweets MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Lannan will have the option to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency. ESPN New York's Adam Rubin tweets that Matsuzaka will work out of the bullpen for now.
Lannan, 29, appeared in five games for the Mets this season, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in four innings of work. Of those seven hits, three cleared the fence for a home run. The veteran has never pitched outside of the NL East, but he's donned the uniform of three teams in that division: the Mets, the Phillies and the Nationals. After posting a 4.01 ERA in 783 2/3 innings with the Nationals from 2007-12, Lannan has struggled. With Philadelphia and New York, he's managed a combined 5.86 ERA with a 40-to-29 K:BB ratio in 78 1/3 frames.
Matsuzaka spent some time with the Mets in 2013 after signing a minor league deal midway through the season. He started slow but fared well down the stretch, yielding just four earned runs over his final 26 1/3 innings while striking out 21 and walking nine. Matsuzaka then signed another minor league deal with the Mets this winter. He's allowed two runs and punched out 12 hitters in 12 Triple-A innings this season. Matsuzaka's minor league deal calls for a $1.5MM base salary in the Major Leagues, and he also received a $100K retention bonus at the end of Spring Training after he did not make the Opening Day roster.
NL Notes: Braves, Mets, Cubs, Willis
The Braves don't get as much attention as the Cardinals, Athletics or Rays for being well-run teams, but perhaps they should, the New York Post's Joel Sherman suggests. The Braves' relative lack of postseason success may be one factor, says Sherman, but they've made the postseason three times in the past five seasons. Consistency may be one secret to their success. "They have had strikingly little turnover on the baseball side and their philosophy has been consistent throughout," says one NL scout. "They are very clear about the type of player they are looking for and acquire those types." The Braves are off to a great start this season despite losing Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to Tommy John surgery, and Sherman contrasts the Braves' decision-making heading into the season with that of the Mets. When Medlen and Beachy went down, the Braves acted decisively to replace them, quickly signing Ervin Santana even though he had declined a qualifying offer. The Mets, meanwhile, still have a need at shortstop, and Stephen Drew is still available on the free-agent market. Here are more notes from throughout the National League.
- Cubs GM Theo Epstein will watch NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon pitch on Friday, 670TheScore.com's Bruce Levine tweets. Rodon currently appears highly likely to be the first overall pick in the draft in June, and the Cubs pick fourth. Much can change between now and then, however, and it makes sense for the Cubs to do due diligence.
- Dontrelle Willis, who was recently released by the Giants, is considering becoming a pitching coach, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. That might seem a little surprising, given Willis' own unorthodox mechanics (as MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez joked), but coaching isn't merely teaching what one used to do, so there's no reason a pitcher with an idiosyncratic delivery couldn't teach pitchers whose deliveries are more typical.
White Sox Place Donnie Veal On Outright Waivers
SATURDAY: The White Sox have outrighted Veal to Triple-A Charlotte, MLB.com's Scott Merkin tweets.
FRIDAY: The White Sox placed Veal on outright waivers yesterday, meaning that he has 24 hours to be claimed or clear waivers from that point, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.
THURSDAY: The White Sox have designated southpaw Donnie Veal for assignment, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Zach Putnam had his contract purchased to join the big club, which used every one of its relievers in last night's ballgame.
After a strong (albeit brief) 2012 campaign in which he posted a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings, Veal has struggled to repeat his success. In 35 1/3 innings since, Veal has worked to a 5.09 ERA in 35 1/3 frames. While he managed to carry an impressive 4.75 K:BB ratio in 2012, the lefty has averaged 8.9 K/9 against 5.9 BB/9 over 2013-14.