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NL East Links: Realmuto, Nats, Phillies, Kimbrel

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Giancarlo Stanton connected on his first homer of the season tonight — a two-run blast off Mets righty Dillon Gee that marked the 155th round-tripper of his career. The home run had particular significance for Stanton, who now moves past Dan Uggla into sole possession of the Marlins’ all-time franchise home run record. Given his 13-year contract, one can expect that Stanton will occupy the top spot on that list for quite some time.

Another Marlins item and some news from around the division…

  • Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto had two hits in the team’s win yesterday and started again on Thursday, and the top prospect could be ticketed for a more significant role on the team moving forward, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Manager Mike Redmond said he spoke with Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who is earning $7MM in 2015, about the division of playing time already. “I think it’s always a touchy situation anytime you have conversations with guys, and you have to give them a break,” Redmond explained. “…[W]e’re trying to win ballgames. If giving Salty a few extra days here or there helps him and helps us, then it will be worth it.”
  • The Nationals have had quite a bit of bad luck in terms of injuries early in the season, but Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets that GM Mike Rizzo is focusing on internal options to patch up the bullpen. Of course, Janes’ tweet did come prior to the announcement that Craig Stammen may be lost for the season, but the Nats likely were prepared for bad news on Stammen at the time of her tweet.
  • Without a left-handed reliever in the bullpen beyond Jake Diekman, the Phillies could use an upgrade in that area but are short on internal options, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. seemingly expressed a bit of frustration that lefty relief option Andy Oliver elected free agency rather than remaining with the club when he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. Zolecki writes that Oliver would’ve been on a short list of potential call-ups, and Amaro spoke candidly about the 27-year-old Oliver’s decision to leave: “We offered him a pretty good deal to come back. He just decided to go somewhere else. I think it was a very foolish move on his part, but that’s OK. He had a choice. He had that right.”
  • Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez spoke with Steve Phillips and Todd Hollandsworth of MLB Network Radio about the conversations he had with president of baseball operations John Hart prior to the finalization of the Craig Kimbrel trade (audio link). Gonzalez learned of the strong possibility of a trade 48 hours prior to its completion, and he called that time “maybe the toughest two days.” Gonzalez said it was difficult to see Kimbrel leave because of his talent and what he meant to the organization, and he also discussed the conflict he felt as a manager. “I’m going to have to put on two different hats here,” said Gonzalez. “You’re asking me to trade the best closer in the game, and you’re asking me to win ball games and I’m in the last year of my contract. But then you’re telling me the reasons of why we’re doing it and why it’s going to help the organization. … I took a step back and digested for a day and a half — I think it was going to happen whether I said yes or no — but I said, ’You know what John, this is what’s best for the organization. This is what we have to do.'”

Minor Moves: Jimenez, Tuiasosopo, Schlereth, Jones

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Matt Eddy of Baseball America has released the latest installment of his Minor League Transactions roundup, which contains several yet-unreported moves, as usual. All transactions in today’s Minor Moves post are via Eddy, unless otherwise noted…

  • The Phillies have announced that left-hander Cesar Jimenez has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Jimenez was outrighted over the weekend to clear a roster spot for right-hander Sean O’Sullivan, but he’ll accept a third outright assignment from the Phillies and hope to get another look in the big league bullpen soon. Jimenez did have the option to reject the outright in search of other employment, but he elected to remain with the organization.

Earlier Moves

  • The White Sox have added utility man Matt Tuiasosopo on a Minor League deal after he was released by the Orioles earlier this month. The 28-year-old infielder/outfielder hasn’t appeared in the Majors since posting a solid .244/.351/.415 batting line in 191 plate appearances with the Tigers. Those numbers are significantly better than Tuiasosopo’s career numbers in the bigs, and he batted a less convincing .240/.357/.379 in 487 PAs between the Triple-A affiliates of the White Sox and Blue Jays in 2014.
  • Daniel Schlereth’s name is among a slew of farmhands released by the Tigers. Detroit inked Schlereth to a Minors deal back in January (without a camp invite), but he didn’t pitch in a game in Detroit’s system before being released. Schlereth was a useful member of Detroit’s bullpen back in 2010-11 after being included in the Max Scherzer/Ian Kennedy/Curtis Granderson three-team blockbuster, but shoulder injuries have derailed his career.
  • The Orioles have re-signed right-hander Devin Jones on a Minor League pact, which is of particular note due to the fact that Jones was the pitcher traded to the Padres in exchange for righty Brad Brach. The 24-year-old Jones made 25 starts between the Class-A Advanced and Double-A levels of Baltimore’s system in 2013, but he pitched just 37 1/3 innings with the Friars’ Double-A affiliate last year, working to a 7.23 ERA with an unsightly 20-to-12 K/BB ratio.

Phillies Designate Cesar Jimenez For Assignment

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The Phillies announced that they’ve designated left-hander Cesar Jimenez for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Sean O’Sullivan, who will start today’s game against the Nationals.

The 30-year-old Jimenez pitched just two-third of an inning in the early stages of the 2015 season but has been up and down with the Phillies in each of the past two seasons. Jimenez has worked to a very strong 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings dating back to 2013, though his ratios of 5.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 and 4.27 FIP tell a less favorable story than his bottom-line results. Jimenez has been more effective against lefties than righties, but he hasn’t exactly dominated same-handed hitters; lefties have batted .238/.310/.357 against him in 143 big league plate appearances.

Jimenez was the only lefty in the bullpen behind setup man Jake Diekman, and the loss of Mario Hollands to Tommy John surgery removed another option for Philadelphia. They’ll likely hope that Jimenez can clear waivers and remain in the organization — an outcome that has already happened twice in the past calendar year.

Quick Hits: Rays, Valentin, Hamilton

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The Rays tied a franchise record by using 21 players against the Marlins in a 10-inning, 10-9 loss on Friday, writes MLB.com’s Bill Chastain. That included two players making their big-league debut, outfielder Mikie Mahtook and righty Matt Andriese, as Chastain notes. Mahtook, a first-round pick in 2011, is perhaps the more likely of the two to make a long-term impact. He hit .292/.362/.458 for Triple-A Durham last season. “I think everything happened so fast yesterday, you don’t realize what was going on,” says Mahtook. “So in the moment, I wouldn’t even say I was super nervous. I was just kind of going with it.”

  • Phillies prospect Jesmuel Valentin has been arrested and suspended indefinitely for his role in a domestic violence incident, writes Jim Salisbury of of CSNPhilly. GM Ruben Amaro said the team was “getting the young man some help, but we take this very seriously as does the Commissioner’s office.” Valentin, the son of former major leaguer Jose Valentin, was acquired by the Phillies last August as part of the return for Roberto Hernandez.
  • Angels pitcher and union player rep C.J. Wilson commented on the ongoing Josh Hamilton saga, per Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (two tweets). Wilson said, “it doesn’t seem like any bridges are being built. It’s a fairly contentious situation.” Wilson added, “Josh went through the whole process. It should be about him rehabbing and playing baseball again.” Per Pedro Moura of the Orange Country Register (also Twitter), Wilson also suggested that performance is driving owner Arte Moreno’s plans to take action against Hamilton. In case you missed the latest kerfuffle involving Hamilton, here’s a detailed summary from MLBTR’s Jeff Todd.

Heyman’s Latest: Kimbrel, Howard, Perez, Salty, Soriano, Cueto

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has penned a lengthy column that’s chock full of Hot Stove related items as the season gets underway. First and foremost, he chronicles the Braves’ trade of Craig Kimbrel at length. Heyman spoke to president of baseball ops John Hart, who candidly told Heyman that the team took a hard line of refusing to trade Kimbrel unless Melvin Upton Jr. was involved in the deal. “We were not going to separate Kimbrel and trade him by himself,” Hart told Heyman. Atlanta reached out to the Cubs, Astros, Dodgers and Padres, among others, this winter in an effort to move Upton, and despite the Dodgers’ bullpen needs, they weren’t willing to add Upton’s contract to that of Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier, having already shed Matt Kemp’s contract. The Padres trade didn’t heat up until about four days before it was agreed upon, Heyman writes, with Hart even remaining in Orlando to finish negotiations rather than fly with the team to Miami at the end of Spring Training. Hart credited assistant GM John Coppolella for doing much of the legwork and his creativity in getting the trade finalized.

More highlights from Heyman’s article (though the entire piece is well worth your time)…

  • While some reports late in Spring Training indicated that the Phillies would be willing to eat up to $50MM of the remaining $60MM on Ryan Howard’s contract, two GMs tell Heyman they hadn’t heard that figure. One of those GMs was of the belief that the Phillies’ top offer was to pay about $35MM, which, Heyman speculates, may have been a large reason that the Royals opted to sign Kendrys Morales for two years and $17MM rather than pursue a Howard trade.
  • Speaking of the Royals, Heyman hears that the team is open to pursuing a second extension with catcher Salvador Perez and would be happy to make him a Royal for life. Heyman notes that some in the organization even have some sympathy for Perez, whose five-year, $7MM contract is widely considered the most team-friendly deal in all of baseball. Perez’s deal contains three startlingly low club options valued at $3.75MM, $5MM and $6MM for the 2017-19 seasons — two of which would have been free-agent seasons beginning at the age of 28.
  • The Marlins tried to trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia this winter after the catcher’s first season on a three-year, $21MM pact was a struggle, but his salary was too great a deterrent. The Marlins presumably feel that top prospect J.T. Realmuto could step into the catcher’s role in the not-too-distant future.
  • The Tigers are believed to be at least monitoring Rafael Soriano’s workouts at the Boras Sports Training Institute in Miami, per Heyman. However, Soriano has seen his stock suffer not only due to ineffective innings late int he 2014 season but also due to perceptions about his personality and negative clubhouse impact. At least one club that was taking a hard look at late-inning relievers ruled out Soriano entirely due to that perception, Heyman reports.
  • The Reds felt the odds of extending Johnny Cueto prior to Opening Day were so slim that it’s not even clear if they made a formal offer, writes Heyman. Cueto is seeking a figure in the range of $200MM following Max Scherzer’s mammoth contract this offseason, he adds. Heyman also opines that David Price would probably be selling himself short if he took much less than $200MM from the Tigers at this point as well.
  • Anecdotally, Heyman tells the story of how Cody Ross’ career began when he was sold to the Marlins from the Reds in exchange for “cash considerations” of precisely one dollar. Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky spoke to Heyman about the deal, explaining that they didn’t have room on the Cincinnati roster back in ’06 but genuinely wanted to get Ross into the best possible position to have a chance at a Major League roster spot. Ross has gone on to earn more than $52MM in the game of baseball.

Phillies Notes: Hamels, Giles, O’Sullivan, Roster

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that it’s time for the Phillies to accept that they won’t receive Mookie Betts, Blake Swihart or a prospect of that ilk (e.g. Corey Seager, Addison Russell) in exchange for ace Cole Hamels. He feels the team should restart talks with the Red Sox and focus on the slew of near-MLB-ready talent they have beyond those top two names, including Garin Cecchini, Deven Marrero, Henry Owens, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brian Johnson. While one could certainly construct an appealing package of those prospects, I’ll respectfully disagree with Rosenthal’s assertion that the Phillies should now drop their demands on Hamels. He struggled on Opening Day, but there’s little reason to expect those woes to continue, unless the team feels that there’s a risk for injury, which would complicate trade discussions in an entirely different fashion. A summer trade of Hamels could create more suitors, and if the demand for aces outweighs the supply — as is almost always the case — it’s easy to envision a team going beyond its current comfort zone at that time. As my colleague Jeff Todd has previously pointed out, the Phillies are in far less of a “must-trade” situation with Hamels than the Rays were with David Price, for example. Philadelphia has the resources to wait and see, unlike smaller-market teams that are forced to make a deal for fear of injury or rapid decline.

Here are some more notes on the Phillies…

  • Setup man Ken Giles was flat out dominant as a rookie in 2014, but he was plagued by back tightness in spring and struggled in his debut, showing diminished velocity. Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to skipper Ryne Sandberg about the issue, and Sandberg said that Giles feels the lost velocity was due to a mechanical issue and not to anything physical. As Kaplan points out, Giles’ velocity topped out at 96.6 mph in his shaky debut — a far cry from his 101 mph peak and 98 mph average fastball from last season. Kaplan adds that Giles’ erratic command may be a bigger issue, as the presumed closer-in-waiting struggled with walks in the Minors but seemed to eliminate the problem in last year’s four-month big league debut.
  • Kaplan also notes that right-hander Sean O’Sullivan has been tabbed as Sunday’s starter for the Phils, but he’s not on the 40-man roster, so a 40-man move is forthcoming. Both Cliff Lee and Mario Hollands are already on the 60-day disabled list, so transferring either of them is not an option. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com wrote last night that O’Sullivan is essentially a placeholder until righty Chad Billingsley’s pitch count is built up to around 100. Billingsley will throw 50 or so pitches tonight, per Salisbury, and could be ready for the big league rotation late this month or early in May. Billingsley spoke optimistically about his health and recovery from two elbow surgeries when asked by Salisbury.
  • The Phillies’ current roster serves as a case study in the dangers of committing to a core for too long, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Britton looks not only at the club’s decision to extend Ryan Howard too long but also the expensive forays into aging free agents and the trade of young players such as Michael Bourn, Carlos Carrasco and Travis d’Arnaud. Britton acknowledges that few of the prospects traded by Philadelphia have panned out, but the exodus of young players has left the Phillies with few viable replacement options, which may have played a role in their decision to extend veterans like Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley rather than trade them. (Then again, the Phils did nab a pair of solid pitching prospects for Rollins in the end, which has to be counted as a point in their favor.)

Phillies’ Mario Hollands Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Phillies have announced that left-handed reliever Mario Hollands underwent Tommy John surgery earlier today.

Late last month, it was reported that the 26-year-old Hollands would likely require elbow surgery, but the fact that it was Tommy John surgery wasn’t known until this evening. At the time, it was reported that Hollands had a torn flexor tendon — the same injury as teammate and fellow left-hander Cliff Lee.

Tommy John surgery in early April means that the Phillies will not only be without Hollands for the entirety of the 2015 season, but likely for the early portion of the 2016 campaign as well. Prior to word of his injury, Hollands was expected to be a regular contributor in the Phillies bullpen after pitching to a 4.40 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 51.8 percent ground-ball rate in his rookie campaign last year. Hollands averaged a strong 93 mph on his fastball and was effective, albeit not dominant, against left-handed hitters, yielding a .241/.307/.316 batting line. A poor July tanked Hollands’ overall stats, and his 3.88 FIP, 4.10 xFIP and 3.97 SIERA each suggested that his ERA could’ve been slightly lower.

While on the 60-day disabled list, Holland will accrue Major League service time, meaning he’ll pick up a full year’s worth of service in 2015, bringing his total to exactly two years. That would put him on track to have most of the 2016 season to build a case for his first trip through the arbitration process, if he pitches well enough when healthy. (There’s also no guarantee that he’ll jump right back onto the MLB roster upon completing a theoretical rehab stint.)

With Hollands out for the season, Cesar Jimenez was given the first crack at the opportunity to be the second left-handed option behind Jake Diekman in manager Ryne Sandberg’s bullpen.

NL East Notes: Mejia, Phillies, Span, Braves

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The Mets announced today that closer Jenrry Mejia will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 5, due to posterior elbow inflammation. Mejia’s injury adds another to a long list of pitching injuries for the Mets early in the season, but his injury does appear to be of the short-term variety. Jeurys Familia will step into Mejia’s spot in the closer’s role in the interim. (Fantasy players looking to stay on top of closer situations can follow MLBTR’s fantasy-focused @closernews handle on Twitter.)

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg explained to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki the team’s thought process in its final roster decisions at the end of Spring Training. Signing right-hander Dustin McGowan upon his release from the Dodgers was a welcome move for Philadelphia, as they’d had interest in him earlier in the offseason before he signed in L.A. Jeff Francoeur was selected for a roster spot despite others performing better in spring because the team wanted a right-handed bat on the bench and felt that Francoeur’s clubhouse presence would benefit the young players on the roster. Cesar Hernandez was outperformed by Cord Phelps, but the Phillies wanted a shortstop on the bench, and Hernandez was out of Minor League options, paving his way to the Opening Day roster.
  • Nationals center fielder Denard Span may be back from core muscle surgery sooner than expected, writes MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Span has already begun performing hard sprint drills and has played defense in a pair of Minor League games. Span tells Ladson that he he thinks he could potentially return to the lineup before the calendar flips to May, potentially putting him about two weeks ahead of schedule.
  • Freddie Freeman was among the Braves players to speak to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman about the difficulty of losing Craig Kimbrel as a teammate following Kimbrel’s trade to the Padres. “He got sent down from High A to Low A, and then all of the sudden became Craig Kimbrel,” Freeman reminisced. “It’s the craziest thing. When a guy gets traded, you think about all those stories in the Minor Leagues. … It’s definitely tough seeing him go. But I think everybody’s mentality in this clubhouse is to prove everybody wrong.” Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he felt the players handled the news well, and veteran Jonny Gomes worked to make sure that the trade wasn’t something dwelled upon as the team geared up for Opening Day, Bowman adds.

NL Notes: Papelbon, Kimbrel, Padres, Castro

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The Padres expressed some mild interest in Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon earlier in the offseason, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. Obviously, San Diego no longer looks like an even hypothetical landing spot for Papelbon. It seems likely that Papelbon’s greatest appeal will ultimately lie with a club that suffers an injury or wants a chance to add late-inning depth over the summer.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • With the Padres having taken on significant salary commitments and given up young talent to acquire Craig Kimbrel from the Braves, reactions to the move have been divided somewhat between front office and uniformed personnel, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes (Insider link). Atlanta has the backing of most executives, says Olney, while players and coaches have understandably focused on the impact that Kimbrel could have in San Diego.
  • The Padres received immediate trade interest in their bullpen after adding Kimbrel, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. “Within minutes, probably, of the (Kimbrel) deal, four or five teams have checked in,” said GM A.J. Preller. “So that’s part of making the deal. Hopefully, you add depth and it may help us in another area down the road.” Of course, that depth could be put to use either to fill in the pen or to shore up another area of need via trade.
  • The shortstop position is an obvious area to watch for the Cubs, but Olney says (in the above-linked piece) that it may not all be positive. Starlin Castro has proven he can hit, but Olney says there are real concerns about how committed he is to grinding things out on defense. Chicago informed other teams this winter that it was open to trade scenarios involving the 25-year-old.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Sunday

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The rosters for Opening Day have been officially submitted this afternoon. Several minor league signees have won jobs with their clubs and earned 40-man roster spots. Here are today’s additions:

  • The Orioles will purchase catcher Ryan Lavarnway’s contract on Monday, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. The 25-man roster that the Orioles announced today included Caleb Joseph and Steve Clevenger at catcher, but not Lavarnway, who they had reassigned to the minors.
  • The Padres have announced that they’ve purchased the contract of catcher Wil Nieves. With Tim Federowicz out with a knee injury, Nieves will back up Derek Norris. As we noted when Nieves signed, his big-league salary will be $850K.
  • Ryan Madson has made the Royals’ Opening Day roster, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Madson caps his comeback from multiple elbow injuries and his first appearance for Kansas City will be his first in the Majors since 2011.
  • The Nationals have announced on Twitter that second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder Reed Johnson have made their Opening Day roster.
  • The Braves announced they have officially purchased the contracts of outfielders Eric Young, Jr. and Kelly Johnson, left-hander Eric Stults, and right-hander Cody Martin. The Braves cleared space on their 40-man roster by placing right-hander Arodys Vizcaino and outfielder Dian Toscano on the restricted list.
  • One name missing from the Braves’ roster is Pedro Ciriaco, who was reported yesterday to have made the club. This is likely a procedural move, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter links), because the Braves placed Josh Outman on the 25-man roster instead of releasing him after the left-hander complained of shoulder tenderness. The move will also buy the Braves some time to look for an upgrade over Ciriaco, tweets Bowman.
  • The Phillies have announced outfielder Jeff Francoeur and infielder Andres Blanco have made the team. Francoeur is just one of four outfielders on Philadelphia’s Opening Day roster, so he could see time as Grady Sizemore’s platoon partner in right field. The Phillies are now at their 40-man limit.
  • The Marlins have selected the contract of utility player Don Kelly, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Kelly earned his spot with solid Spring Training line of .270/.357/.324 in 42 plate appearances. Frisaro reports the 35-year-old will backup both the corner infield and outfield spots, as well as serving as the team’s emergency third catcher.
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