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NL East Links: Marlins, Amaro, Betemit

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The Nationals' acquisitions of Doug Fister, Nate McLouth and Jerry Blevins may be enough to make them the NL East favorites for 2014, MASNsports.com's Dan Kolko opines.  Kolko feels the Marlins and Mets are still rebuilding, the Phillies lack depth and the Braves have been weakened by the losses of Brian McCann and Tim Hudson, opening the door for Washington reclaim the NL East crown after their disappointing 2013 campaign.

Here's some more from around the division…

  • The Marlins are still looking for a veteran reliever to add experience to their bullpen, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes.
  • Ruben Amaro Jr. sees a lot of risk in the free agent pitching market, the Phillies GM told reporters (including Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com). "With the way the market is set up right now, I’m not real comfortable with going the extra mile for some of the guys that are still out there still that may improve us a little bit, but in the long run may be detrimental to us," he said.  Amaro's statement likely includes top pitchers such as Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Ervin Santana.
  • The Braves and Indians have interest in Wilson Betemit, CSNBaltimore.com's Rich Dubroff reports (Twitter link).  The Marlins were also linked to Betemit earlier this week but their signing of Casey McGehee probably ended that interest.

MLBTR's Zach Links contributed to this post

East Notes: Doumit, Blue Jays, Drew, Valle

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Braves GM Frank Wren says he viewed Ryan Doumit as the best player available to fill his bench need because "he's almost two players in one," tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Atlanta acquired Ryan Doumit from the Twins in exchange for left-hander Sean Gilmartin earlier today.  More out of the AL and NL East..

Phillies Sign O’Sullivan, Sappelt, Gwynn, Marson

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The Phillies announced that they've signed right-hander Sean O'Sullivan, outfielders Dave Sappelt and Tony Gwynn Jr. and catcher Lou Marson to minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training.

O'Sullivan, 26, posted a 3.96 ERA in 25 innings (three starts, four relief appearances) for the Padres last season. However, the former Angel and Royal also walked more batters (14) than he struck out (12) in that time. O'Sullivan has struggled overall at the Major League level, pitching to a 5.89 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 218 2/3 innings. The former third-round pick has a 4.40 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 486 1/3 career innings at Triple-A.

Sappelt, 27 in January, batted .240/.269/.280 in 78 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2013. One of three players acquired by Chicago in the trade that sent Sean Marshall to the Reds (the others were Travis Wood and Ronald Torreyes), Sappelt is a career .251/.301/.343 hitter in 274 big league plate appearances. He's been much better at Triple-A, batting .279/.332/.402 in 1356 PAs.

Gwynn spent the bulk of the 2013 campaign with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, where he batted .300/.393/.384 with a pair of homers and 12 steals in 391 plate appearances. The 31-year-old is an outstanding defender in center field, making him a nice depth piece for the Phils.

Marson, 27, was drafted by the Phillies in the fourth round of the 2004 draft. Philly traded him to the Indians along with Jason Knapp (who is attempting a comeback), Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald in the 2008 blockbuster that netted Cliff Lee. Marson spent most of the 2013 season on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Yan Gomes' breakout with the Indians displaced Marson as the team's backup catcher. He is a .219/.309/.299 career hitter in 882 Major League PAs.

Phillies Sign Roberto Hernandez

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The Phillies added to their rotation on Wednesday by officially announcing the signing of right-hander Roberto Hernandez to a one-year, $4.5MM contract. In addition to that base salary, Hernandez can earn $1.5MM via incentives. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned that Hernandez will earn $200K for reaching 140 and 155 innings pitched, $300K for reaching 170 and 185 innings pitched, and $500K fo reaching 200 innings pitched. Hernandez is represented by Charisse Espinosa-Dash and Jorge Brito of Draft Pix Sports.

Hernandez-Roberto

On the morning that the agreement was reported, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told reporters that he had an agreement in place with a starter but didn't wish to disclose the pitcher's name until a deal was finalized.

Formerly known as Fausto Carmona, the 33-year-old Hernandez pitched to a 4.89 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a healthy 53.2 percent ground-ball rate in 151 innings, marking his first full season since 2011. Hernandez will join a rotation that is fronted by Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels and also figures to include Kyle Kendrick and Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez as well.

Though his ERA wasn't all that impressive, Hernandez was primarily done in by the fact that 20.9 percent of his fly-balls left the park — a rate that is nearly twice as high as his career mark. Assuming that trend was an anomaly, it could be reasonable to expect a 2014 ERA that more closely resembles Hernandez's 3.60 xFIP or 3.66 SIERA — both of which reward him for solid command and a plus ground-ball rate.

Hernandez's best season came in 2007 when he finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting after posting a 3.06 ERA in 215 innings for the Indians. A hip injury derailed his 2008 campaign and likely impacted his 2009 season as well, but he came back strong with Cleveland in 2010, posting a 3.77 ERA in 210 1/3 innings and earning his first All-Star selection.

A move to the National League for the first time in his career will likely benefit Hernandez, and his career 57.8 percent ground-ball rate will play well in the small dimensions of Citizens Bank Park. Dierkes reports (on Twitter) that the Cubs were also very competitive on Hernandez, but Hernandez really wanted to pitch in Philadelphia.

Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly first reported the agreement with Hernandez (on Twitter). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes was the first to report the terms of the contract and the incentives structure (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Designate Sebastian Valle For Assignment

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The Phillies announced that they have designated catcher Sebastian Valle for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Roberto Hernandez, whose one-year contract with the team is now official.

The 23-year-old Valle ranked among the Phillies' top 10 prospects heading into each of the 2010-12 seasons, per Baseball America, but his performance has slipped in recent seasons. Valle followed up a lackluster .253/.271/.428 performance in 2012 with a .203/.245/.359 performance in 379 Double-A plate appearances last season. Following that 2012 campaign, BA said that he should end up as at least an average defender behind the plate, praising his lateral movement, receiving skills and strong arm.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Rollins, Marlins

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The Phillies have a contender's payroll, and therefore Ruben Amaro Jr. is still in win-now mode despite an aging and declining core, writes CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury. However, the Phils may be just one bad half away from Amaro finally conceding to a rebuild, says Salisbury, who recalls a quote from Amaro at the Winter Meetings where Amaro acknowledged the possibility.

  • Salisbury's colleague, Corey Seidman, opines that the Phillies are stuck with Jimmy Rollins, much like they are with Jonathan Papelbon. Though there are a few contenders in need of a shortstop upgrade, but Rollins' $11MM salary plus his 10-and-5 rights make it nearly impossible to move him.
  • The Marlins are willing to trade from their wealth of starting pitchers to acquire a third baseman, president of baseball operations Michael Hill told MLB.com's Joe Frisasro. Said Hill: "This is why you build and try to create depth, to allow you to do what you need to do to win games at the Major League level."
  • Since Mike Rizzo took over as Nationals GM in 2009, he’s seven different trades with A's GM Billy Beane of the Athletics.  Chase Hughes of CSNWashington.com looked back on all of the deals that have gone down between Oakland and Washington.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Phillies “Very Willing” To Move Jimmy Rollins

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Reports have already surfaced that the Phillies are aggressively shopping closer Jonathan Papelbon, and ESPN's Buster Olney now reports (via Twitter) that the club is "very willing" to move shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Olney notes that Rollins has a no-trade clause, however.

Rollins, 35, struggled at the plate in 2013, batting .252/.318/.348 with a career-low six home runs despite playing in 160 games. He did swipe 22 bases in 28 attempts, but his defense also slipped, based on his -2.7 UZR/150 and -15 Defensive Runs Saved (per The Fielding Bible).

Rollins is owed $11MM in 2014 — the final guaranteed season of a three-year, $33MM contract. That deal contains an easily attainable vesting option for a fourth year at $11MM, however, which will trigger if Rollins reaches 1100 plate appearances between 2013-14 and is not on the disabled list to close the 2014 season. Rollins tallied 666 PAs in 2013, meaning he will only need 434 trips to the plate in 2014 to secure an $11MM salary in 2015. Should the option not vest, the Phillies will then hold an $8MM club option on Rollins. In the event that the Phillies decline that option, Rollins would then have a $5MM player option.

Reports this summer indicated that Rollins was not willing to waive his full no-trade clause, so the fact that the Phillies are open to moving him at this time might be a non-issue. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was asked in late August if he thought Rollins would benefit from a change of scenery, to which he replied, "You'd have to ask Jimmy," before going on to state: "Jimmy is our shortstop. We signed him for a reason."

Phillies May Have Reached 2014 Payroll Limit

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Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. left the impression at the Winter Meetings that the club would look to keep its payroll in line with last year's. As he told reporters, including CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury: "We should be contending with this kind of payroll, at $165MM or $170MM, wherever it shakes out." 

After taking a look at the team's current obligations, writes Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com, it appears that Philadelphia has already spent up to that level after accounting for pre-arb players and projected arbitration salaries. (Seidman's rough math shows the team currently standing at $165MM for 2014, which is the low end of the band suggested by Amaro.) The free agent signings of Carlos Ruiz, Wil Nieves, Marlon Byrd, and Roberto Hernandez tacked on over $22MM to the club's payroll for the coming season, seemingly coming close to exhausting Amaro's war chest. 

As I explained in breaking down the Phils' offseason needs, one option was for the club simply to tick through its list of needs by adding non-premier veterans. That seems to be essentially what has taken place, with the aforementioned players occupying the gaps found at catcher, the corner outfield, and the starting rotation.

Of course, as I also argued in that piece, the Phillies have roughly 17.5 wins above replacement to make up (as against their 2013 total) to look like a playoff team. If these signings work out, and things break right elsewhere, the Phillies should have the overall talent level to make a run at the post-season. But, on those kinds of favorable assumptions, so do many other clubs.

On paper at least, Philly still figures to land behind the Nationals and Braves in pre-season NL East forecasts. Indeed, it would not be surprising to see the Mets and Marlins tapped by some to finish ahead of the Phils. (After all, both New York and Miami have made some potentially impactful additions and generally feature younger rosters that may be more likely to make strides.) Not only does it remain unclear whether recent spending is warranted, given the rest of the roster, but the club has also not acted decisively to bolster its future talent pipeline.

It remains to be seen, of course, whether the Phillies have spent all available funds for the coming year, especially since there is still some possibility that they will shed some of Jonathan Papelbon's salary. But as things stand, the team's strategy of adding veteran pieces to its aging core brings with it much the same risk that came to life last year, when the club fell out of contention and suffered a significant attendance drop. For a franchise that faces a young talent deficit and is trying to negotiate a big, new TV deal, the consequences of those risks are increasingly magnified.

NL Notes: Reds, Arroyo, Braves, Giants, Phillies

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Homer Bailey is due to become a free agent after the season, but the Reds are telling other teams that they don't want to trade him, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (via Twitter). The Reds are worried about their depth in starting pitching, and Heyman notes that the return of Bronson Arroyo might be able to help them. Heyman also tweets that the Reds are one of the finalists for Arroyo, along with the Twins and two other teams. Here are more notes from around the National League.

  • The Braves are not interested in Arroyo, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. They would prefer a starting pitcher with better stuff, O'Brien says.
  • One player the Braves do like is sidearmer Luis Vasquez, who they recently signed to a minor-league contract, O'Brien writes. "He’s [Peter] Moylan plus five miles an hour," says GM Frank Wren. "Moylan at his best was probably 92, and this is 94, 97 routinely. It’s definitely a different look." Vasquez, who will be 28 in April, posted a 2.52 ERA with 11.6 K/9 and 7.1 BB/9 in 35 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2013. Clearly, he'll have to improve his control to make an impact in the Majors.
  • The Giants had interest in Omar Infante, FOX Sports' Jon Morosi tweets. Somewhat surprisingly, they were interested in using him as a left fielder in 2014, before eventually moving him to third base. Infante today agreed to terms on a four-year deal with the Royals to be their second baseman.
  • The Phillies are neither rebuilding nor contending, and their plan is unclear, argues Matt Gelb of the Inquirer. Since late July, for example, the Phillies have spent $69MM signing or re-signing aging veterans Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz and Marlon Byrd, and yet they are trying to trade veteran closer Jonathan Papelbon. Meanwhile, Gelb argues, they agreed to sign Roberto Hernandez because they hadn't developed enough pitching on their own.

Blue Jays Notes: Rasmus, Samardzija, Anthopoulos

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Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos spoke with reporters at the conclusion of the Winter Meetings today.  Sportsnet.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith (in two seperate pieces) and the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott have the highlights of Anthopoulos' talk, as well as a few other hot stove items…

  • Anthopoulos didn't say whether or not he'd recently discussed a contract extension with Colby Rasmus, who is eligible for free agency next winter.  Rasmus has raised his value after a big 2013 campaign, though Anthopoulos noted that larger-market teams like Toronto had the luxury of waiting before locking players up.  "We don’t mind paying a little more to be sure we get a little more information," Anthopoulos said.
  • Rasmus' name reportedly emerged in trade talks for starting pitching.  While Anthopoulos noted that "no one is untradeable," he also added that "for us to move an everyday position player and feel like we can get better, that would be hard to do."
  • The Cubs are asking for Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and a third prospect from the Blue Jays for Jeff Samardzija, Elliott reports.  Anthopoulos recently said he was constantly being asked about Stroman and Sanchez, the Jays' top two pitching prospects, in possible deals.
  • The Blue Jays have been approached by teams looking to add power hitters.   "The one thing we have is power and there’s not a lot of power on the market and the free-agent prices don’t work….We haven’t lined up anything,” Anthopoulos said.
  • The Jays have three starting pitchers targeted and Anthopoulos says a fourth pitcher could also be in play.  “We’re not going to close the door on the fourth,” the GM said. “The fourth is a little more challenging, but I think there could be a domino effect with the fourth if we do some other things.”
  • The signing of Tomo Ohka adds another knuckleballer to the organization and Anthopoulos hinted that the team may add more knuckleballers to prepare their catchers for the challenge of handling R.A. Dickey.  “To be honest, we’ll look to add some more guys if we can….We may look to get some other guys that we think can be guys to convert," Anthopoulos said.
  • The Jays are looking to add an international free agent, Nicholson-Smith reports, so the trade of Rule 5 draft pick Brian Moran to the Angels for $244K of extra space under the international spending cap helped Toronto prepare for this potential signing.  The Blue Jays attempted to acquire international cap space from the Phillies earlier this winter but were turned down.
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