Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Adam Ottavino

Injury Notes: Lambo, Harris, Pearce, Mahtook, Brantley, Bautista, Duffy, Richard, Ottavino, Walker

By | at

The Athletics announced that outfielder Andrew Lambo underwent surgery recently to treat testicular cancer. Lambo, 27, has seen limited action in four MLB seasons. He has played mostly at Triple-A over the last four years, posting a strong .264/.332/.467 batting line. MLBTR joins all those around the game wishing him the very best as he recovers; we hope to see him back on the field soon.

Here are some injury notes from around the league:

  • Cardinals righty Mitch Harris required significant elbow surgery to reattach his ulnar collateral ligament, he announced on Instagram. The 30-year-old cracked the majors last year for St. Louis, providing 27 innings of 3.67 ERA pitching. MLBTR wishes the best of luck to the former Naval officer, who has one heck of a back story.
  • The Rays got some more news on the injury front today, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). Steve Pearce will hit the DL with a hamstring injury, and could miss around three weeks. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like the type of hammy issue that is terribly likely to require a truly lengthy absence. Meanwhile, outfielder Mikie Mahtook’s broken hand will not need surgery, meaning that he could return within six weeks — which is better than had been feared.
  • The Indians were relieved to find that outfielder Michael Brantley’s latest discomfort is only a bout of biceps tendinitis, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. There had been some concern that his surgically-repaired shoulder was showing further signs of trouble.
  • Blue Jays star Jose Bautista will need “a couple weeks” in a walking boot after being diagnosed with turf toe, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. That’s largely what was expected when Bautista hit the DL; Toronto will hope that rest and a brief rehab build-up will allow the slugger to return in short order.
  • The Giants may be without Matt Duffy for a bit longer than had been hoped, per Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area (on Twitter). He’s expected to wear his own boot for three weeks, and it would seem likely that he’ll need a bit of a build-up from that point on.
  • Cubs lefty Clayton Richard hit the DL with a blister issue, per a team announcement. Chicago also optioned righty Adam Warren to Triple-A, where he’ll stretch out as a starter for an upcoming heavy stretch of play. Righty Spencer Patton and lefty Gerardo Concepcion will head up to the big league club to fill in. Of course, it’s fair to wonder how long the Cubs will continue to roll with Richard, who has struggled quite a bit thus far after a solid 2015.
  • Adam Ottavino’s rehab has moved to the Triple-A level for the Rockies, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. That’s good news for the righty as well as the team; Ottavino was emerging as a force in the pen before undergoing Tommy John surgery last year.
  • The Mariners announced that righty Taijuan Walker’s foot issue is only tendinitis. He likely won’t require a trip to the DL, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Injury Notes: Jordan, Gray, Ross, Martin, Ottavino, Smith, Chirinos

By | at

Nationals right-hander Taylor Jordan underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team announced. It’s his second time undergoing a UCL replacement for the 27-year-old. Jordan burst onto the scene for the Nats in 2013, but has failed to maintain that promise at the major league level. He did have a strong season in the results department last year at Triple-A, though, and allowed just three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the 2016 campaign. Now, it’ll be at least a year or so before Jordan can try to get back on track.

Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:

  • Athletics staff ace Sonny Gray is readying to throw from a mound tomorrow, per Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California (via Twitter). It’s certainly good to hear that Gray feels good enough to begin working his way back from a trapezius issue, though his timeline remains completely unknown.
  • Padres skipper Andy Green says that righty Tyson Ross may be ready to begin throwing within one week’s time, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. It’s been a slow process for Ross, as the Pads seek to ensure that his shoulder issues don’t worsen. While the trade deadline remains two months away, leaving some time to turn him back into a potentially valuable trade chip, it’s worth bearing in mind that Ross will need a full build-up and rehab stint before returning to the major league hill.
  • The Mariners have placed outfielder Leonys Martin on the 15-day DL today with a hamstring strain, the club announced. The team had believed he might avoid such an outcome altogether, so it doesn’t seem as if there’s any reason for significant concern. Stefen Romero will take Martin’s roster spot for the meantime. Martin, an offseason trade acquisition, had been off to an eye-opening .262/.339/.483 start at the plate for Seattle.
  • Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is nearly ready to throw live batting practice, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. He’s still working back from Tommy John surgery, but it’s encouraging to hear that his rehab could soon begin in earnest. Colorado, meanwhile, will no doubt be excited to look forward to receiving a return on the team’s investment in Ottavino over the winter.
  • Southpaw Will Smith is expected to return to the Brewers by next week, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. That’s great news for Milwaukee, which has been without the excellent 26-year-old reliever all year long. He’ll join Jeremy Jeffress at the back of the pen — and, perhaps, on the trade block.
  • Rangers backstop Robinson Chirinos will begin a rehab stint tomorrow with hopes of returning to the majors on June 9, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan was among those to tweet. Texas has been blessed with surprisingly productive starts from the catching position, but Chirinos had been expected to handle most of the duties before suffering a forearm fracture.

NL West Notes: Tomas, Padres, Matsuda, Ottavino, Story

By | at

The Diamondbacks’ inclusion of Ender Inciarte in the Shelby Miller trade has pushed Yasmany Tomas back into the spotlight, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Tomas’ disappointing rookie season was overlooked, to an extent, because the D-backs had three excellent outfielders with Inciarte, A.J. Pollock and David Peralta all delivering excellent contributions. That won’t be the case in 2016, as Tomas will now be asked to step up and contribute on an everyday basis. As Piecoro notes, Tomas is still young and didn’t play in 2014 as he defected from Cuba, nor had he ever faced big league pitching. Any of those factors could have contributed to his struggles, but Tomas will need to improve in the field and also show better plate discipline and increased power output if he’s to live up to the expectations that came with his $68.5MM contract.

Here’s more from the NL West…

  • The Padres’ top priority is still finding a shortstop, general manager A.J. Preller tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Preller notes to Lin that the offseason is still relatively young. Teams do have more than two months before position players report to camp, of course, and most of the shortstop options that were available to Preller back in October are indeed still available now. (Notably, Asdrubal Cabrera has come off the board, and Brad Miller has gone to Tampa Bay in a trade — though he could of course be moved again.) Ian Desmond remains the top name on the free-agent market, though Preller hasn’t been shy about making trades in his short time as GM, and that avenue presents more options.
  •  In a full column, Lin notes that the Padres never made third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda a formal offer. Matsuda reportedly has a five-year offer to return to Japan, and the Padres are under the impression that he’ll do just that, Lin hears. Lin also spoke with Preller about the team’s surprising Major League deal for career minor-leaguer Buddy Baumann, and Preller also told him that Brandon Morrow will be competing for a rotation job rather than a bullpen spot this spring.
  • Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post spoke to both Rockies GM Jeff Bridich and rehabbing closer Adam Ottavino about Ottavino’s recent three-year extension. The contract turned some heads, as multi-year deals for relievers always come with risk, and on top of that inherent risk, Ottavino is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery. “We believe in him, we believe in his rehab progress,” said Bridich. “We believe that the risk was a good one, based on his talent, his health prognosis and the shared interest in an extended deal.” Ottavino said that he had assumed he’d be going year-to-year, especially after the injury, so he was pleasantly surprised to be approached by the team. “I have been playing for a really long time and I’ve never had anything more than a one-year situation,” said Ottavino to Saunders. “So it feels good to know that coming back from the injury that I don’t have to be back by a certain date.” Ottavino said he knows he won’t break camp with the club and isn’t placing an exact timeline on when he thinks he should return. Bridich said Ottavino could return by June or July, though that’s obviously a very early estimate.
  • Rockies shortstop prospect Trevor Story has the potential to impact the Major League team in 2016 and possibly even on Opening Day, depending on the outcome of Jose Reyes’ domestic violence investigation, writes MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. Story, 23, rebuilt his stock in dramatic fashion last season, slashing a combined .279/.350/.514 with 20 homers between Double-A and Triple-A after falling off the prospect map somewhat with an ugly showing at Double-A in 2014. Story spoke to Harding about how much of an impact that Troy Tulowitzki had on his career and how much he learned from the former franchise cornerstone.

Rockies Extend Adam Ottavino

By | at

DEC. 21: The Rockies have officially announced the deal (Twitter link).

DEC. 19, 1:55pm: The deal was actually completed earlier this week, Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets.

12:44pm: The Rockies have agreed to terms with reliever Adam Ottavino to a three-year, $10.4MM extension, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). The deal includes yearly salaries of $1.3MM, $2.1MM and $7MM and contains no options. Ottavino is a client of All Bases Covered.

USATSI_7335176_154513410_lowresThe 30-year-old Ottavino had Tommy John surgery in May and missed most of the 2015 season. We was projected to make just $1.6MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, and he would have been eligible for free agency following 2017. The extension, then, provides him with a considerable guaranteed payday in exchange for delaying his free agency eligibility by a year.

Before his injury, Ottavino was a valuable cog in the Rockies’ bullpen, most recently posting a 3.60 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 65 innings in a fine 2014 campaign. He was off to an even better start in 2015 before his injury, striking out 13 batters in 10 1/3 innings, posting an excellent 63.2% ground ball rate in a small sample, and increasing his average fastball velocity to over 95 MPH.

Needless to say, it might be awhile longer before he’s able to contribute at a top level again, which is perhaps one reason why the Rockies felt an extension made sense from their perspective — as it stood, Ottavino’s recovery period would have consumed a meaningful chunk of the remainder of the Rockies’ team control over him. Again via Heyman (on Twitter), Ottavino says he’s recovering well and will return at some point near the middle of the summer. Assuming he’s eventually able to return to something resembling his prior form, though, his $10.4MM deal doesn’t seem exorbitant given the rising costs of good setup men on the free agent market.

It’s possible that the terms of Ottavino’s extension were partially inspired by the White Sox’ recent deal with Nate Jones, which is similar in many respects. It’s the differences between the two hard-throwing righties’ deals, however, that are most striking. Like Ottavino, Jones had a recent Tommy John surgery (although Jones actually returned to action last season and pitched well, while Ottavino’s recovery is ongoing) and was in his second-to-last year of arbitration eligibility.

Jones, however, was projected to make less next season, which perhaps explains why Ottavino got a more significant guarantee ($10.4MM vs. $8MM) over three years. Jones’ contract also contains two team options, plus the possibility of a third if he continues to have UCL trouble; Ottavino’s deal does not include any such options. There are doubtless many differences between the two pitchers’ situations (perhaps including differences in medical reports to which we aren’t privy). But probably the most crucial one is that Jones’ injury troubles occurred before he entered his arbitration seasons, while Ottavino’s occurred after he entered his. The divergence between the two contracts, then, illustrates what a difference timing can make.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Notes: Cobb, Magill, Bailey, Ottavino

By | at

Here’s the latest on some injury situations around the game, including several pitchers who will face 12-16 months of recovery time from Tommy John surgery…

  • Alex Cobb discussed his injury situation with reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) and the Rays righty admitted that he is “still going back and forth on what to do.”  Cobb received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow and will wait a few weeks before testing, though if the procedure doesn’t take, Cobb will have to undergo TJ surgery.  If he waits and has to get the surgery anyway, however, Cobb risks missing all of 2016, whereas if he gets the surgery now, he believes he’ll be able to return late next season.
  • Right-hander Matt Magill will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, according to the Reds’ official Twitter feed.  Magill’s Major League career consists of six starts for the Dodgers in 2013 that saw him post a 6.51 ERA, 26 strikeouts and 28 walks over 27 2/3 innings.  A 31st-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2008 draft, Magill owns a 3.99 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 700 2/3 minor league innings.  He was traded from Los Angeles to Cincinnati in December in exchange for outfielder Chris Heisey.
  • From that same Reds tweet, Homer Bailey will also undergo his own Tommy John surgery tomorrow.
  • Rockies closer Adam Ottavino underwent Tommy John surgery this morning, according to Nick Groke of the Denver Post.  Ottavino was going to get a second opinion to be sure, yet was fully expecting to get the operation to repair his partially torn UCL.

Adam Ottavino Has Partially Torn UCL

By | at

4:40pm: Ottavino says he is resigned to undergoing a UCL replacement, but will see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion, Groke further reports.

4:24pm: Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino has a partially torn UCL, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. Ottavino is likely going to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, per the report.

Entering the year, Ottavino was coming off of two straight seasons of quality production — over 143 1/3 innings in 2013-14, he owns a 3.08 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 — making him an obvious candidate to take over 9th inning duties. He earned the chance with an excellent start to the year, and had just been installed as the Colorado closer when he went down with triceps soreness.

In his 10 1/3 frames thus far in 2015, the 29-year-old righty allowed just three hits and two walks (and, unsurprisingly, no runs). On the other side of the ledger, he had already racked up 13 strikeouts.

It is unlikely that the Rockies will move to replace Ottavino with an outside addition, though perhaps a bullpen move could be made over the summer if the team is in the hunt. If Ottavino does in fact undergo the TJ procedure, Colorado will be without him until at least next summer.

The timing couldn’t be much worse for all involved. That includes, especially, Ottavino, who took home a relatively modest $1.3MM in arbitration this year. He would have stood to capture a big raise had he continued to dominate and rack up saves. For the Rockies, the loss takes away a big piece of their pen as well as a potentially significant trade chip. It also potentially sets the club up for a tough arbitration question next winter, though it seems likely that Ottavino’s price tag will be cheap enough — and his upside (including another year of control) great enough — to warrant a tender.

Injury Notes: Bradley, Moreland, Ottavino, Montero

By | at

The D-Backs announced today that they’ve placed right-hander Archie Bradley on the 15-day DL with a sinus fracture that was sustained in a frightening scene during last night’s game. Bradley was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez, though he was eventually able to leave the field under his own power. The situation could have been much worse, considering the reported 115 mph exit velocity on the Gonzalez line-drive; indeed, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com writes that the D-Backs’ promising young righty should be able to return right after his DL stint. To this point in the season, Bradley had been a bright spot for the Snakes, working to a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings.

A few more injury-related notes worth keeping an eye on…

  • Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland underwent surgery today to remove bone chips from his elbow and will be out for at least two to three weeks, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. This is already the second time that the issue has plagued Moreland this season, though the first occurrence was treated with anti-inflammatory medication and rest. However, the problem flared back up after Moreland made a diving play in the field, and he’s undergoing to procedure to prevent the elbow from “locking up” again.
  • Rockies closer Adam Ottavino told MLB.com’s Barry Bloom that he’s worried about the arm injury that landed him on the disabled list. Originally placed on the DL with triceps inflammation, further tests have revealed that the source of Ottavino’s discomfort is closer to his elbow. Ottavino will see team doctor Thomas Noonan when the team returns to Denver on Monday.
  • Mets right-hander Rafael Montero will have an MRI performed after reporting right shoulder discomfort following his most recent start, writes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Montero was optioned to Triple-A following the outing, but as DiComo notes, the option would be rescinded if it’s determined that Montero is injured and would require a DL stint. The Mets have already lost Zack Wheeler for the season, and though Montero isn’t currently being counted on to contribute to the Major League rotation, an injury would thin their pitching depth and perhaps reduce the chances of a potential Dillon Gee trade down the line.

13 Role Changes That Have Impacted Earning Power

By | at

Each offseason, teams and fans alike spend the winter projecting a 25-man roster on paper in an attempt to plot out as accurately as possible the way in which a season will progress. Oftentimes, a roster is more or less set from an early standpoint. Those expectations fluctuate based not only on player movement — trades and free agency, of course, have a strong impact on roster construction — but also on elements such as spring performances, injuries and early season success/struggles. Rarely do rosters, and the roles occupied by the players on that roster, shake out the way in which most pundits expected.

In many cases, the changes within a roster can come with significant financial implications for the players who find themselves in a more prominent role. Those who find themselves receiving the short end of the stick, of course, can see their future fortunes diminished.

It’s early in the 2015 season, but already we’ve seen some shifts in role and/or playing time that will make some players considerably wealthier in arbitration, as well as some that figure to severely damage a player’s arbitration case.

Rising Earning Power

Adam Ottavino: Typically, players like Ottavino are the ones that the Cardinals find rather than let go, but St. Louis tried to get the now-29-year-old Ottavino through waivers in 2012 and lost him to the Rockies. Ottavino has been a revelation in the Colorado bullpen, boosting his velocity and ditching his changeup for a devastating slider that has turned him into a late-inning weapon. Ottavino was recently named the new closer by manager Walt Weiss, and he’ll have a chance to head into his second trip through arbitration with a bucket of saves under his arm. The difference between entering arb as a setup man and entering as a closer could be worth millions.

Jeurys Familia: The same role change that benefits Ottavino will do the same for Familia, who entered the season setting up for Jenrry Mejia. However, an 80-game suspension for Mejia and Bobby Parnell’s recovery from Tommy John surgery have opened the door for Familia to take the reins in the ninth inning. He’s notched a 6-to-1 K/BB ratio in his first 4 2/3 innings this season, and while he hasn’t necessarily secured the job through season’s end — Parnell or Mejia could reclaim the job later in the year — a season resembling last year’s 2.21 ERA in the ninth inning would yield a significant arbitration payday. Zach Britton, for example, parlayed one elite season as a closer into a $3.2MM payday this year, though the two aren’t perfect comparables. (Britton was a Super Two and didn’t have multiple strong seasons under his belt, as Familia theoretically will.) Ottavino landed a $1.3MM salary his first time through arb after a strong season of setup work, however, giving a rough idea of the potential gap between the two roles.

Lorenzo Cain: Entering last season, Cain was the Royals’ No. 8 hitter and didn’t get into the lineup on an everyday basis, as he split time with Jarrod Dyson in center field. Cain didn’t hit higher in the batting order than sixth until June 17 last season, but he’s batted third every day and started in center each game for the Royals this year. Cain doesn’t have the power one would typically expect from a No. 3 hitter, but his preposterous defense will keep him in the lineup every day, and hitting in the heart of the order will lead to plenty of RBI opportunities. A Gold Glove and a career-high in RBIs (which wouldn’t be hard to come by, as it currently stands at 53) will go a long way toward bolstering his $2.725MM salary.

Evan Gattis: The transition from catcher/outfielder in the National League to DH/outfielder in the American League should afford Gattis with the opportunity to see more playing time and therefore accumulate more counting stats to pad his first arbitration case this winter. While it’s true that he probably has more value behind the plate — that type of offense from a catcher is indeed quite rare — defense isn’t as highly rewarded via the arbitration process as good old fashioned homers and RBIs. Gattis has struggled to open the year, but career-highs in home runs, RBIs and most other counting stats wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

Leonys Martin: Martin’s role may not appear different on the surface, as he still figures to man center field on an everyday basis if healthy. However, Martin received just 40 games in the leadoff spot in 2014, spending the bulk of his time occupying the 7th and 8th slots in the Rangers lineup. Manager Jeff Banister declared Martin his leadoff hitter and voiced confidence in his ability to handle the role, even after struggling out of the gate in 2015. Martin’s dropped to eighth in each of the past two games, but Banister said that decision was “tinkering” to give the lineup “a different look,” rather than anything permanent. Martin averaged 3.76 plate appearances per game in 2014 but has averaged 4.4 per game in 2015. Over the course of 150 games, that comes out to an extra 150 to 155 games, that’d be an extra 96 to 100 plate appearances for Martin — a valuable increase in opportunities to boost his counting stats as he wraps up a five-year, $15.5MM contract and heads into arbitration for the first time.

Jordan Schafer: The former top prospect broke camp with the Braves as a reserve outfielder in 2014 and started just 13 games all season before the Twins claimed him on waivers in early August. Schafer impressed the Twins enough that there was never any real thought to non-tendering him (despite a marginal track record), and he outplayed Aaron Hicks in Spring Training to earn a regular role in center field to begin the season. Schafer is in a platoon with Shane Robinson, and he’ll have to hold off Hicks, Eddie Rosario and perhaps even Byron Buxton to keep his playing time, but he’s unquestionably been presented with a better financial opportunity than he was in Atlanta.

Declining Earning Power

Wilin Rosario: After spending the bulk of the past three seasons as Colorado’s everyday catcher, Rosario will now transition to a part-time role in which he’ll be used as an occasional first baseman against left-handed pitching. Rosario will also make sporadic appearances in the outfield and behind the plate. Rosario’s power has never been in question, but he’s regarded as one of the game’s worst defensive backstops and will be without a regular role of which to speak. The decrease in playing time is a critical blow to his earning potential, as his $2.8MM salary won’t be increasing by much if the early stages of the season are any indication of his playing time. Rosario has seven plate appearances in six games thus far.

Welington Castillo: Manager Joe Maddon can refer to the Cubs’ combination of Miguel Montero, David Ross and Welington Castillo as his “three-headed catcher,” but Castillo, formerly Chicago’s starting catcher, and his agent would likely describe the situation much more colorfully behind closed doors. Castillo took home a $2.1MM payday in his first trip through the arb cycle this winter, but like Rosario, he’s seen virtually no plate appearances in 2015. Castillo has appeared in four games and picked up seven PAs. Now that they’ve been through the arb process once, the raises awarded to Rosario and Castillo will be based almost solely upon their 2015 results, so their pay bumps figure to be rather paltry in nature.

Brett Cecil: Cecil was tabbed to as the Blue Jays’ closer to enter the season, but he relinquished those duties to 20-year-old Miguel Castro almost instantly. Cecil’s diminished velocity played a role in that decision, and while he may work his way back into the ninth inning, he looks like he’s tabbed for a setup role in the immediate future. A full season of saves would be a boon for next winter’s arbitration case, but that looks unlikely now.

Ruben Tejada: The Mets have had a hole at shortstop since Jose Reyes departed, and while Tejada got the chance to fill the void last year, it’s Wilmer Flores getting that opportunity this year. Tejada started 105 games in 2014, but it seems highly unlikely that he’ll come anywhere near that number in 2015, barring injuries around the diamond. Tejada’s light bat limited his earning power in the first place, but a lack of regular at-bats will further limit the raise he’ll receive on this year’s $1.88MM salary.

Peter Bourjos: Lights-out center field defense gave Bourjos a chance to pick up quite a few plate appearances early in his Cardinals tenure, but the club quickly departed from the notion of giving him more regular at-bats in 2014, promoting Randal Grichuk and giving more playing time back to Jon Jay. To this point, Bourjos has had just two plate appearances, though his glove has gotten him into five games. The complete evaporation of playing time makes a significant raise on his $1.65MM salary difficult to envision. Bourjos’ elite glove is strong enough that he could start for a number of teams, but it’s also a luxury and a late-inning weapon for St. Louis, so it’s difficult to envision them moving him into a more financially favorable situation.

Jesse Chavez: Despite the fact that he excelled in the rotation for Oakland last year, Chavez lost his starting spot midseason after the acquisitions of Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel and, eventually, Jon Lester. Many, myself included, believed he had a strong case for the rotation heading into 2015, but the final three spots behind holdovers Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir went to Jesse Hahn, Drew Pomeranz and Kendall Graveman. Chavez’s 2014 breakout should indicate that he’ll be a perfectly useful reliever in 2015, but 20-30 starts would’ve done quite a bit more for his earning power.

Everth Cabrera: Cabrera’s fall in San Diego was somewhat remarkable, as he went from leading the NL in steals in 2012 and earning a 2013 All-Star nod to a 50-game suspension for PEDs, a dismal 2014 season and an eventual non-tender. He’s latched on in Baltimore and has been starting at shortstop with J.J. Hardy rehabbing from injury, but a reserve role is in the cards for E-Cab, making it difficult to envision a substantial raise on his $2.4MM salary, which was a slight decline from last year’s $2.45MM in the first place.

Note: This post isn’t including role changes for players who will not be arbitration eligible following the 2015 season. Players such as Carlos Martinez and Tony Cingrani, for example, will certainly see their future arbitration outlooks impacted if their recent role changes are permanent, but it’s difficult enough to know whether or not all of these changes will hold throughout the current season, let alone through the 2016-17 seasons.

NL West Notes: Tomas, O’Brien, Kennedy, Ottavino

By | at

Despite the high-profile signing of Yasmany Tomas this winter, the D-Backs will use him primarily off the bench in his first taste of Major League action, GM Dave Stewart told reporters, including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Tomas was promoted today, due in part to a lack of other options on the 40-man roster, Piecoro writes. Arizona had few other position players both healthy and on the 40-man, but despite that fact, Stewart said he didn’t consider transferring injured pitchers Matt Stites or Patrick Corbin to the 60-day disabled list. Stewart feels that each is close enough to being healthy that he didn’t want to risk a move to the 60-day DL. The GM also noted that he has not considered making a trade to alleviate some of his logjam of outfielders.

More on the D-Backs and their division…

  • D-Backs prospect Peter O’Brien will go about a month without playing behind the plate, manager Chip Hale tells MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. O’Brien will see some time in left field and at first base but is apparently receiving a mental break from catching after developing an issue throwing the ball back to the pitcher late in Spring Training. Clearly, that’s not the type of issue that any team wants to see from a player it has dubbed the “catcher of the future.” Common consensus among scouts and other organizations has been that O’Brien isn’t a good enough defender behind the plate to remain at the position, though he’s certainly hitting well enough to garner some attention early in the year. Through a small sample of 28 plate appearances, O’Brien’s batting .333/.357/.519 with a homer and two doubles. Many felt Arizona should have traded for catching help this offseason, but Stewart stated on multiple occasions that such a move was not the plan, partly because the club believed O’Brien could handle the position eventually.
  • Padres right-hander Ian Kennedy is nearing a rehab assignment, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock. Kennedy is slated to throw a bullpen session on Friday, and if all goes well, he’ll join a Minor League affiliate and look to throw 75 to 90 pitches in a rehab start. It’s possible that Kennedy will need a couple of rehab outings, though he’d probably prefer to return to the field sooner rather than later. As a pending free agent, Kennedy has quite a bit riding on his 2015 performance.
  • Adam Ottavino has been named the new closer for the Rockies, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Manager Walt Weiss wasted little time this season in swapping the hard-throwing 29-year-old and former closer LaTroy Hawkins, who will now pitch in a setup or middle relief role. An effective season as a closer would do wonders for Ottavino in arbitration next offseason, as he’d stand to see a sizable raise from this year’s $1.3MM salary if he can accumulate a year’s worth of saves. Ottavino’s numbers over the past two seasons indicate that he can indeed thrive in the role, as he’s pitched to a 2.97 ERA with 158 strikeouts against 48 walks in 148 2/3 innings dating back to 2013. Of course, as a closer, he’ll be more exposed to lefties, who have given him trouble in the past, but Ottavino tells Saunders that he feels more comfortable against opposite-handed batters after making some adjustments and keeping them in check during Spring Training. Fantasy players, remember that you can keep up with all closer trends and performances by following @closernews on Twitter.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday

By | at

Here are the players who have avoided arbitration today:

  • The Rockies have agreed to terms with righty Adam Ottavino, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports on Twitter. He receives $1.3MM, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). MLBTR/Matt Swartz projected an even $1MM payday for the 29-year-old, first-time-eligible reliever. The club filed at the projected value, while Ottavino countered at $1.425MM, as MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows. Ottavino has both posted solid results and even better peripherals over the past three seasons, with good strikeout and groundball numbers seemingly making him a nice fit at Coors Field.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top