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MLBTR Podcast: Nick Piecoro on the Diamondbacks, Charlie Wilmoth on the Pirates

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On this week’s podcast, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic joins host Jeff Todd to talk about A.J. Pollock’s injury, finding playing time for the D-backs’ glut of infielders, the possibility of adding to the payroll via the summer trade market, and the recent chatter about a new stadium. Following that, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth hops on to discuss Gregory Polanco’s five-year, $35MM extension with the Pirates, his long-term upside, and Juan Nicasio’s 2016 outlook on the heels of a dominant spring and first start.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

Rays Claim Jake Goebbert From Pirates

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The Rays have claimed first baseman/outfielder Jake Goebbert off waivers from the Pirates, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Goebbert has been optioned to Triple-A Durham, according to Topkin.

Pittsburgh signed Goebbert, 28, to a Major League deal this offseason and carried him on the roster through Spring Training, but the club designated him for assignment late in camp in order to clear roster spot for the final wave of non-roster invitees that had made the club (Cole Figueroa, Matt Joyce and Cory Luebke).

Last season, the left-handed-hitting Goebbert spent the year with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, where he batted .294/.392/.452 with 10 home runs. While the Pacific Coast League is known as an exceptionally hitter-friendly environment, Goebbert has long shown a discerning eye at the plate, walking in 11.1 percent of his plate appearances since being selected by the Astros in the 13th round of the 2009 draft. Goebbert does have a bit of big league experience, having batted .218/.313/.317 in 115 PAs with San Diego in 2014. He’ll give the Rays some additional depth in the outfield corners and at first base, though neither of those is a particularly thin area for Tampa Bay’s big league club.

NL Central Notes: Gonzales, Pena, Polanco

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Here’s the latest out of the National League Central:

  • Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales is being assessed for a left elbow injury, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports. The 24-year-old is slated to visit orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache — one of the foremost experts on pitching elbows — for a second opinion. Per GM John Mozeliak, Gonzales did not report discomfort until after he had been moved to minor league camp this spring, which might suggest that the club will be able to avoid allowing Gonzales to accrue service time during any DL stint. The young southpaw has previously battled through shoulder issues, but this appears to be a new problem. Though he’s only managed a 4.82 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 over his 37 1/3 MLB innings, Gonzales had been expected to factor into the club’s major league rotation depth in 2016 and beyond.
  • In other Cardinals injury news, reserve backstop Brayan Pena is expected to miss a month after undergoing knee surgery, Langosch reports. While there was some positive news, in that no additional problems were discovered beyond the loose piece of cartilage that had been identified, the absence is somewhat longer than had been hoped. Eric Fryer will hold down the fort in Pena’s stead, but certainly the Cards will look forward to Pena’s return, having signed him to a two-year, $5MM deal before the season.
  • The Pirates’ extension of Gregory Polanco represents the club’s latest long-term deal with a key outfielder. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports questions whether the youngster gave up too much — namely, three years of potential free agency, the latter two via option — in taking a $35MM guarantee. On the one hand, Polanco is regarded as a quality defender and an excellent baserunner, giving him a solid floor even if he’s only an average hitter, and there’s certainly upside in the bat. Of course, for a player who has yet to finish a season with an above-average batting line, and didn’t land a big bonus when he signed initially, it’s hard to turn down that kind of commitment even if it mans sacrificing some future earning power. Indeed, there are plenty of players who earned quite a bit more than they would have without the benefit of an early-career extension, with former Bucs outfielder Jose Tabata being a prime example.
  • Meanwhile, John Perrotto of TodaysKnuckleball.com chronicles some of the background considerations and back-and-forth over the years between Polanco and the Pirates. The youngster took his time before finally signing on the dotted line, of course, as there had been reports of negotiations stretching back for over two years. But with the ink now dry, both sides expressed excitement at the arrangement in their press conference announcing the deal.

Pirates Extend Gregory Polanco

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2:42pm: Heyman has the full breakdown, via Twitter: after a $3MM signing bonus, Polanco will receive a $1MM salary next year, then consecutive paydays of $3.5MM, $5.5MM, $8MM, and $11MM. The options are for $12.5MM (with a $3MM buyout) and $13.5MM ($1MM buyout).

10:50am: In a move that seemed years in the making, the Pirates have announced a five-year extension with outfielder Gregory Polanco. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client receives a reported $35MM guarantee in the contract, which includes two option years (with performance escalators) that could boost its total value to $60MM over seven seasons.

Gregory Polanco

Polanco, 24, was previously controllable through the 2020 season. The extension, which begins with the 2017 campaign, will guarantee those seasons and extend control through the 2021 campaign, thus buying out his first season of free agency. If Pittsburgh picks up both options, he can reach free agency after the 2023 season, when he would be headed into his age-32 season.

The first option year is for $12.5MM and includes a $3MM buyout, while the second is priced at $13.5MM ($1MM buyout). Both could increase by a combined total of $2MM if Polanco can reach the as-yet unreported escalators.

Polanco is entering his third Major League season, though he has not yet reached two full years of service time. He’s a career .249/.316/.369 hitter in 964 plate appearances. Scouts expect him to grow into his fledgling power. A center fielder in the minors, Polanco has mostly played right field due to the presence of Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte. Polanco drew rave reviews for his right field defense last season, rating at 6.8 runs above average per Ultimate Zone Rating and 11 runs above average per Defensive Runs Saved.

Considered a consensus Top 25 prospect league-wide prior to the 2014 season in which he was promoted, Polanco has certainly shown flashes of promise but hasn’t yet emerged as the star many believed him to be capable of becoming. In particular, he’s displayed some potentially concerning struggles against left-handed pitching. Same-handed opponents have held Polanco to a paltry .183/.239/.264 batting line in 228 big league plate appearances. Clearly, he’s young enough to make some strides in that department, but the tight-budgeted Pirates will hope that Polanco doesn’t continually require a platoon partner and can instead combine with McCutchen and Marte to form one of the league’s best outfield trios.

The Pirates are known for locking up pre-arbitration eligible talent. McCutchen and Marte both inked similar extensions early in their careers. McCutchen signed a six-year, $51.5MM extension with one option while Marte accepted $31MM over a six-year term with two options. The club also worked out a four-year, $27.3MM extension with Josh Harrison prior to the 2015 season. That deal also includes two options.

This is far from the first time in which the Pirates have attempted to lock up Polanco. Pittsburgh, in fact, reportedly made a seven-year offer to Polanco before he was even promoted to the Major Leagues, and those talks continued into the summer following his promotion that June. The Bucs took another run at extending Polanco last spring but ultimately tabled extension talks early in the season. With this new agreement in place, the Pirates now control Polanco longer than any other member of the active roster.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported the deal on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) had financial parameters, while MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter links: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5) added finalized value and details on the pact.

 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Central Notes: Cubs, Nolin, Torres, Pirates

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The Cubs never made the big offseason deal to acquire a starting pitcher that many expected of them, but president of baseball operations Theo Epstein tells Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago that his team will be ready to pounce on a deal should the right opportunity present itself during the season. “We built in a little bit of room for in-season,” says Epstein. “We built in some (budget) flexibility, but I wouldn’t expect a very aggressive winter next year. I think we’ve been open about the fact that we really did two offseasons worth of spending and acquisitions in one winter, knowing that we like the players available this winter more than next winter.” Epstein also tells Mooney that any trade in which he surrenders young talent would have to land someone that fits “both for now and probably for the long-term if it’s going to be a bigger deal.”

Here’s more from the NL Central…

  • Brewers lefty Sean Nolin has been officially diagnosed with a UCL sprain and not an elbow strain, GM David Stearns told reporters, including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter link). Nolin will rehab the injury for the next six weeks before making a decision on Tommy John surgery. Milwaukee picked up Nolin from the A’s this offseason and had expected to use him in the ’pen prior to his injury.
  • Via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt (Twitter link), Stearns also revealed that he had interest in signing right-hander Carlos Torres earlier this offseason upon his release from the Mets. Torres, however, inked a minor league contract with the Braves and headed to camp with Atlanta. While the Brewers weren’t prepared to offer a big league deal at the time, they clearly had a change of heart late in camp, as Milwaukee signed Torres to a Major League pact over the weekend after he opted out of his deal with Atlanta. The Brew Crew can control Torres through 2018 via the arbitration process if he excels in his new environs.
  • While many Pirates fans have focused on the losses of Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and second-half surprise J.A. Happ this offseason, Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that not enough emphasis has been placed on retaining an expensive closer in Mark Melancon — a decision that kept a dominant Pirates relief corps intact. Cook spoke to GM Neal Huntington about the decision to hold onto his All-Star closer. “I know first-hand,” Huntington told Cook. “One year I was with Cleveland, we lost more late leads in a month than most teams do all season. I know that’s hard to come back from. That’s a big part of our decision to keep Mark.” Huntington said that he never got any offers to his liking for Melancon this winter and didn’t see many ways to effectively reallocate the $9.65MM Melancon earned in arbitration to definitively improve the 2016 club. Notably, he discussed the loss of Happ and explained that part of the reason the front office felt Happ was so successful was that he was asked to throw more than six innings just once with the Bucs — due in large part to Pittsburgh’s strong bullpen.

Pirates Designate Florimon, Goebbert, Holdzkom For Assignment

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The Pirates have designated right-hander John Holdzkom and infielders Pedro Florimon and Jake Goebbert for assignment, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets.  In related moves, catcher Elias Diaz, right-hander Jared Hughes, and infielder Jung Ho Kang have been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 25th (link).  All of these moves will allow Pittsburgh to promote infielder Cole Figueroa, outfielder Matt Joyce, and left-hander Cory Luebke to active roster (link).

Florimon is regarded as a very strong defensive player and was hoping to break camp with the team as a reserve infielder.  Even though he provides value with his glove, the 29-year-old’s offense leaves much to be desired.  In parts of five big league seasons with the Orioles, Twins, and Bucs, Florimon owns a .199/.262/.295 slash line.  In parts of three Triple-A campaigns, he has posted a stronger .252/.317/.366 slash line.

Goebbert, 28, inked a major league pact with the Pirates in November.  In 2015, the first/baseman outfielder spent the season with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .294/.392/.452 with 10 home runs.  Now, Goebbert will look to hook on elsewhere as a left-handed bat off of the bench, though he may have to settle for a minor league deal this time around.

As shown in MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, Michael Bourn (Braves), Emilio Bonifacio (Braves), Samuel Freeman (Rangers), and A.J. Jimenez (Blue Jays) are also in DFA limbo.

NL Notes: Cardinals, Guerrero, Pirates, Nolin

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Cardinals shortstop Ruben Tejada left Thursday’s game with a muscle strain in his left quadriceps and will begin the season on the disabled list, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). As a result, both infielder Greg Garcia and outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker have made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com tweets. Tejada’s injury is the latest unfortunate news at shortstop for the Cardinals, who signed the ex-Met earlier this month to replace the injured Jhonny Peralta. With Tejada on the shelf, the Cardinals are expected to start Jedd Gyorko at short in their Sunday opener against Pittsburgh, Goold writes. Garcia, meanwhile, has dealt with his own injury – a sore knee – and put up a meager .289 slugging percentage in 52 plate appearances this spring. Hazelbaker has been far more successful at the plate, amassing a .300/.364/.500 line in 44 PAs. The 28-year-old, a longtime minor leaguer, will finally have a chance to see his first major league action since Boston took him in the fourth round of the 2009 draft.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • Righty Matthew Bowman will join Garcia and Hazelbaker on the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, per Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. The injury to Jordan Walden helped clear a path in the bullpen for Bowman, whom the Cardinals took from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft last December. Bowman has allowed seven earned runs in eight innings this spring while striking out five and walking three.
  • Dodgers third baseman/outfielder Alex Guerrero will start the season on the DL after an MRI showed “minimal damage” in his knee, manager Dave Roberts announced (Twitter link via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times). The fact that Guerrero is DL-bound gives the Dodgers time to delay a roster decision on a player whose contract precludes them from sending him to the minors without his permission. The Dodgers reportedly tried to trade Guerrero over the winter, but they didn’t find any takers. If dealt sometime this season, Guerrero will have a chance to void the final year of his contract and become a free agent next offseason. The 29-year-old is slated to earn $5MM this season after compiling a dismal -0.2 fWAR in 106 games in 2015. In 21 plate appearances this spring, Guerrero slashed .238/.238/.571.
  • The Pirates’ decision to give Juan Nicasio their last rotation spot over Ryan Vogelsong was an agonizing one for team brass, general manager Neal Huntington said. “It was the most intense conversation we’ve had,” Huntington stated (via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review). “There were strong convictions on both sides.” In the end, Nicasio’s dominant Spring Training showing – 15 innings, no runs, 24 strikeouts, five walks – was simply too much for the Pirates to ignore.
  • An MRI revealed Thursday that Brewers southpaw Sean Nolin has a left elbow strain, general manager David Stearns said. Nolin will get a second opinion before a prognosis is announced, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. If Nolin’s diagnosis proves correct, McCalvy expects the 26-year-old to avoid Tommy John surgery. Nolin was a candidate to serve in the Brewers’ bullpen before they had to shut him down earlier this month with the injury. He’ll begin the season on the DL.

Notable Opening Day Roster Decisions: Thursday

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With Opening Day fast approaching, and a variety of deadlines hitting clubs around the league, we’re seeing plenty of final roster and initial playing time decisions being made.  While many don’t necessarily implicate control rights or other contractual matters, some are particularly noteworthy….

  • Robbie Grossman will remain with the Indians and go to Triple-A, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link).  The team informed Grossman a few days ago that he didn’t make the team, and Grossman’s minor league deal allowed him to opt out and become a free agent if he wasn’t on the roster.  Grossman played just 24 games with Houston last season and was released in November as the Astros decided to go with other outfield options.
  • Left-hander Cory Luebke has made the Pirates’ bullpen, Bucs GM Neal Huntington told reporters (including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Luebke hasn’t thrown a big league pitch since 2012 due to two Tommy John surgeries and other injuries, though he impressed many as a non-roster invitee in Pittsburgh’s camp.  Luebke had the option of opting out of his minor league contract if he wasn’t placed on the Opening Day roster.  With Matt Joyce also making the team, Brink notes in another tweet that the Pirates will have to make at least two 40-man roster moves to create spaces for both Joyce and Luebke.

Pirates Notes: Nicasio, Luebke, Hurdle

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Juan Nicasio has made the Pirates’ rotation, according to various reporters, including MLB.com’s Adam Berry (on Twitter). That means Nicasio will join Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jon Niese and Jeff Locke, and veteran Ryan Vogelsong — who had been competing with Nicasio for the last rotation spot — will head to the bullpen. It’s been an interesting spring for Nicasio, who struggled with control while pitching for the Rockies and Dodgers in recent years but whiffed 24 batters against just five walks in 15 innings of Spring Training action. The Pirates will see if he can join a long line of hurlers who have rejuvenated their careers in Pittsburgh. Here’s more on the Bucs.

  • It was previously reported that lefty Cory Luebke’s opt-out was yesterday, but it’s actually today, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. That means the Bucs will have to decide today whether Luebke has made their bullpen. It appears likely he will after a spring in which the previously injury-ravaged Luebke earned praise for his stuff, including a 94-MPH fastball and hard breaking ball.
  • The Pirates appear to be pursuing a new model for their starting pitching reclamation projects, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Previously, they looked for pitchers with good fastballs and the ability to get strikeouts, and tried to help them with their command. But Vogelsong and Niese don’t fit that model, Sawchik notes (although it certainly looks like Nicasio does). “Jonathan might be of a different style than pitchers we acquired in the past,” says GM Neal Huntington. “But if you only stick to (one model) especially at the major league level, especially given how the market has evolved, you are really going to limit your options.”
  • Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chronicles the baseball career of Bucs manager Clint Hurdle, which he began as a phenom with the Royals. Hurdle was mostly a bust as a player, and he fought a long battle with alcoholism, but he reemerged on the other side as a manager and is now one of the game’s most respected.

Article XX(B) Free Agents Update: Tuesday

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Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement contains a provision that allows certain free agents who are signed to minor league contracts to receive a $100K retention bonus if they are not on the team’s 25-man roster or the Major League disabled list five days prior to the season.

Free agents who qualify for this distinction are those who have at least six years of Major League service time and had a Major League contract expire at the end of the previous season, but signed a minor league deal ten or more days prior to Opening Day.

The deadline for teams to decide on these players is today at 11am central time. By the deadline, teams with these players in camp need to decide whether to:

  • Add the player to their 25-man roster or Major League disabled list (or agree to do so in writing).
  • Grant the player his outright release from the minor league contract so that he may pursue opportunities with other teams.
  • Pay the player a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization beyond the deadline and send him to the minors.

Here’s the latest news from around the league on Article XX(B) signees and their roster statuses with their respective teams (newest updates on top):

  • Matt Thornton has been told that he’ll break camp with the Padres, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The veteran southpaw signed fairly late in camp after failing to find a big league deal, ultimately reaching a minor league pact that will pay him $1.6MM at the MLB level. He can also take home up to $1.9MM in incentives depending upon how many appearances he makes.

Earlier Updates

  • Outfielder Ryan Raburn will be added to the Rockies’ 40-man roster, Nick Groke of the Denver Post clarifies (Twitter links). He figures to play an important part-time role on the club, which features three left-handed outfielders in its regular lineup.
  • The Braves have announced that outfielder Jeff Francoeur has made the Opening Day roster, with the team purchasing his contract. He’ll play a reserve role in his return to Atlanta, where he once featured as one of the most exciting young players in baseball.
  • The Padres appear set to pay Brandon Morrow the $100K retention bonus to remain with the organization, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Morrow, 31, still needs to stretch out after getting a late start this spring.
  • The Nationals have officially added righty Matt Belisle to the club’s 40-man roster and will be active on Opening Day, the team announced. He represents a somewhat surprising victor in the pen battle, and his addition seemingly leaves the organization with just one open job to give to minor league free agent lefty Sean Burnett or optionable righties Trevor Gott and Blake Treinen.
  • Veteran outfielder Matt Joyce has made the Pirates’ Opening Day roster and will be added to the 40-man, GM Neal Huntington told reporters including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). He had a forgettable 2015, but put up strong numbers in camp.
  • Likewise, the Indians announced yesterday that southpaw Tom Gorzelanny will remain in the organization in the minor league system. He’ll be due a $100K bonus for the privilege.

This post originally incorrectly listed Alex Torres as an Article XX(B) free agent.

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