Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Al Avila

A.J. Hinch Under Contract With Tigers Through 2025

By | at

Just before the 2020 season concluded, the Tigers finalized agreement with A.J. Hinch to take over as manager. At the time, the club announced the hiring only as a “multi-year” deal, and it’d remained unclear for how long he was under contract until this week. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that Hinch signed a five-year pact, taking him through the end of the 2025 campaign. Rosenthal adds that general manager Al Avila’s deal wraps up before that point, although its specific terms are still unreported.

The five-year term for Hinch is a fairly lengthy commitment for a manager, but it reflects the atypical track in which he was hired. Generally regarded as one of the sport’s best skippers for much of his tenure with the Astros, Hinch was suspended for the entire 2020 season after the extent of the club’s 2017 sign-stealing operation became public. Houston dismissed both he and GM Jeff Lunhow almost immediately thereafter, but Hinch became an in-demand managerial candidate virtually the second his suspension was up.

The 48-year-old oversaw 100-win teams for each of his final three seasons in Houston. The Astros claimed a pair of pennants during that stretch and won the 2017 World Series. Those teams’ star-studded rosters obviously played a big role in that success, but the manager had drawn plenty of plaudits for the Astros’ excellence before the sign-stealing revelations.

Since landing in Detroit, Hinch has endured quite a bit more losing. That was to be expected last season as the club neared the end of a massive rebuild. The Tigers were coming off their third last place finish in four years, and a dismal April killed any chance they had of hanging in contention in 2021. Detroit played fairly well from May onwards, however, leading to some optimism they might turn a corner this year.

Instead, the Tigers have begun the season at a 26-43 pace. They’re virtually certain to finish below .500 for a sixth straight year, and they’ve been outscored by 100 runs through play Thursday. Detroit’s rotation has been gutted by injuries, with only Tarik Skubal staying healthy all season. Spencer Turnbull also underwent Tommy John surgery last year and was always expected to miss most or all of the season. Virtually any team would have a tough time overcoming the losses of six of its top seven starters, but the Tigers’ problems have gone beyond rotation woes.

The bigger indictment for the organization has been a generally anemic offense that ranks last in MLB with 198 runs scored. (Every other team has plated at least 220). Detroit has a .226/.281/.327 slash line that translates to a 75 wRC+, indicating they’ve been 25 percentage points worse than the average hitting team. That figure is tied with the A’s for worst in the league. The Detroit lineup has been problematic essentially top to bottom; of 11 players with at least plate appearances, Miguel Cabrera and Austin Meadows are the only two with a wRC+ better than the 100 league average. Cabrera (.299/.336/.374) and Meadows (.250/.347/.328) have only been marginally above par themselves.

The team’s disappointing first half is magnified by the aggressiveness with which Avila and his staff attacked this past offseason. Detroit signed Javier Báez to a $140MM guarantee with a post-2023 opt-out opportunity. That came on the heels of a $77MM investment in starter Eduardo Rodríguez, while the club picked up Meadows and Tucker Barnhart via trade. Most public projection systems still viewed Detroit as a longshot to contend for a playoff spot, but few would’ve forecast them struggling to this extent.

Avila has overseen the entirety of Detroit’s rebuild. A longtime member of the front office, he took over baseball operations in August 2015 when Dave Dombrowski left the organization. Avila assumed an aging roster with a bottom-tier farm system, so it wasn’t surprising the club embarked on a retooling effort. Detroit has had a top ten draft pick in five of the last six seasons.

Players like Casey Mize, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Matt Manning have all reached the majors and still have plenty of long-term promise, but they’ve not yet pushed the team especially close to contention. Mize and Manning have dealt with injury issues — including a recent Tommy John procedure for the former — while Torkelson has stumbled to a .191/.282/.291 showing through his first 63 big league games.

As the August 2 trade deadline approaches, Avila and his staff look likely to serve as at least moderate sellers. Relievers Andrew Chafin and Michael Fulmer are each nearing free agency (Chafin after 2023, Fulmer following this season) and should draw interest from contenders. Barnhart, Robbie Grossman and Michael Pineda all are impending free agents and could be dealt for cost savings and/or a minimal prospect return. The Tigers won’t be offering the kind of impact talent of some other sellers this summer, but they seem likely to move a few shorter-term players for help in 2023 and beyond.

AL Notes: Avila, Tigers, Angels, Vazquez

By | at

Tigers president/CEO Christopher Ilitch said in August that his team was willing to go after “high-impact players” this offseason, and spend as necessary (or if necessary) to obtain such talent.  Ilitch reiterated those comments again speaking with The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters recently, while GM Al Avila made further remarks hinting at a busy offseason, if not necessarily an all-in push for the 2022 season in particular.  “Just rest assured we’re going to try to improve this team for next year and make a big push,” Avila said.  “We feel we are very close to being in the playoffs.  We’re not too far away.”

Detroit improved to 75-79 with today’s 5-1 victory over the Royals, so the Tigers still have a shot at their first winning season since 2016.  The Tigers essentially sunk their season by starting out with only nine wins in their first 33 games, yet they’ve quietly been one of baseball’s better teams every since, going 66-55 since that ugly 33-game start.  With the Twins and Indians taking a step backwards in 2021, the Royals still waiting for their latest rebuild to bear fruit, and the White Sox playing well but hardly dominating on their way to the AL Central title, the Tigers may feel the opportunity is ripe to return to contention.  It remains to be seen how extensive the Tigers’ shopping spree will be this winter, but after several years of rebuilding, Detroit fans are surely excited to see what headlines their club can generate in the offseason.

More from around the American League…

  • The Angels have needs in both the rotation and at shortstop, though a source tells Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times that the team is more willing to spend big on pitching, and the Angels could “perhaps scrimp a bit at shortstop.”  This could indicate a shortstop acquisition akin to the Halos’ pickup of Jose Iglesias from the Orioles last winter, with the Angels obviously hoping for much more than Iglesias’ underwhelming performance in Anaheim.  Though several star shortstops will be available in free agency, it is hard to argue against pitching as the greater need, considering that Los Angeles has long been hampered by a lack of healthy and productive arms.  Manager Joe Maddon believes the Angels need two front-of-the-rotation starters, telling The L.A. Times’ Bill Shaikin and other reporters that while he thinks his team has a “championship-capable” core of position players, “it’s almost impossible for it to happen” without an upgraded rotation.  Maddon used his former organization as a comparison point, noting that the Cubs wouldn’t have won the 2016 World Series without their signings of Jon Lester and John Lackey.
  • 2021 is the last guaranteed year of Christian Vazquez’s contract, as the Red Sox hold a $7MM club option ($250K buyout) on the catcher’s services for next season.  Vazquez is certainly eager to see that option exercised, as he told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith that he would like to remain in Boston for the remainder of his career.  Vazquez has already spent his entire pro career in the organization, delivering generally quality defense behind the plate and some offensive production, though his bat has been very inconsistent.  This hasn’t been one of Vazquez’s better years, with a modest .261/.313/.354 slash line and six homers through 480 plate appearances entering today’s play, and his framing numbers are also down, as Smith notes.  Still, it doesn’t seem likely that the Red Sox would just let Vazquez walk, as Boston could pick up the option and still look for catching upgrades, with Vazquez on hand as either a Plan B or as a potential trade chip.  It would also seem like Vazquez is a natural extension candidate if the Sox want to keep him in the fold for years to come, though catching prospects Ronaldo Hernandez and Connor Wong are knocking on the door for future playing time.

Tigers GM Al Avila Discusses Deadline

By | at

Chris McCosky of The Detroit News recently spoke with Tigers’ general manager Al Avila about the trade deadline. Avila discussed the circumstances that led to a relatively quiet deadline for the club. The only move they made was sending lefty Daniel Norris to the Brewers in exchange for righty Reese Olson.

Players like Jonathan Schoop and Michael Fulmer received some interest, but not enough to get a deal done. Avila credited the relatively quiet deadline to injuries, such as those to Fulmer, Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull. “We had a couple of guys who would’ve been of interest,” Avila said. “But as always, the injuries that we’ve suffered played into us not being able to do a whole lot.”

Despite four consecutive dismal seasons with a winning percentage below .400, the Tigers seem to have turned a corner this year, sitting at 51-57, a much more palatable .472 winning percentage. The club’s exciting crop of starting pitching draftees have now reached the majors and started forming into a fascinating core. Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning and Tyler Alexander have all joined the big league club and could potentially be mainstays of the rotation for years to come. Spencer Turnbull was also having a great season before the unfortunate news that he will have to undergo Tommy John surgery. But even if he were to miss the entirety of the 2022 campaign, Detroit would still control him for two more seasons after that.

Young and controllable players have also made encouraging contributions on the offensive side of things. Akil Baddoo, Jeimer Candelario, Eric Haase and Jake Rogers have all been worth more than a win, according to fWAR. Candelario is a free agent after 2023 but the rest of the guys on that list are controlled through at least 2026.

The Tigers also have some more guys on the farm who could be making their way to the big leagues sooner rather than later. Three of the club’s top prospects– Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler— are in Double-A.

And though the White Sox seem built to be a juggernaut for years to come, there’s a clear path for the Tigers to sneak up on them. Cleveland has done more selling than building in recent years. The Royals hoped to push into contention this year but are lagging behind Detroit in the standings. The Twins are hoping for a quick turnaround after this down year but just made it difficult for themselves by trading away Jose Berrios.

“You have to always remember that we want to add,” manager AJ Hinch says. “I hope when we are talking a year from now, we’re talking about adding talent.”

Quick Hits: Tigers, Turner, Rays, Archer, Dodgers, McCullough

By | at

Tigers GM Al Avila wants to remain patient and disciplined this winter when it comes to augmenting their young core through free agency, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. Detroit will look to add a catcher, corner outfielder and first baseman, as well as a pitcher or two – but all in due time. Detroit hasn’t posted a winning record since 2016, and they haven’t reached the postseason since a four-year run ended in 2015. Those playoff teams, of course, were led by formidable pitching staffs that included Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Anibal Sanchez, and others, as well as an all-time bat in Miguel Cabrera still in his prime. These Tigers don’t yet have that kind of offensive force, but they’ve begun to graduate some of their highly-touted arms, such as Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal. For now, let’s take Avila’s lead and not get too far ahead of ourselves. Elsewhere…

  • Justin Turner is seeking a three-year deal, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. That might be a tough sell for the 36-year-old. Three years might be the ask for Turner, who is represented by GEM Agency, but it’s just as likely a starting point to give their side some wiggle room in negotiations. That said, Turner was a central piece for the World Series champs, slashing .307/.400/.460 across 175 plate appearances in 2020. That’s good for a 140 wRC+. The immediate concern, rather, relates to his viability at third base that far into the future. His glovework earned marks of -2 OAA in 2020 and -1 DRS, both of which are palatable marks. But if there’s significant regression coming for Turner, the glove is where to look first. Regardless, for those clubs looking to add an impact bat in 2021, there aren’t many better than Turner.
  • The Rays have discussed the possibility of a reunion with Chris Archer, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Given the Rays’ tendency to limit starter innings, they need the whole of the staff to be capable of soaking up innings. Archer could certainly help in that regard. Besides, if anyone knows what Archer is capable of, it would be Tampa Bay. For the present, however, the Rays are focused on players who might accept minor league contracts. The payroll likely is what it is, notes Topkin, meaning that if they’re going to add much in the way of salary, we should expect a matching expulsion. They need a catcher, of course, probably a couple, and more generally, GM Erik Neander wants the club to make more contact.
  • Clayton McCullough will replace George Lombard as the first base coach for the Dodgers, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Lombard was named A.J. Hinch’s new bench coach in Detroit. The rest of the Dodgers’ coaching staff from 2020 are returning. McCullough has been with the Dodgers for seven seasons, serving recently as minor league field coordinator. Prior to joining the Dodgers, he managed at a number of different levels in the Blue Jays’ system.

GM Trade History: Tigers’ Al Avila

By | at

It’s not always fair to judge baseball operations leaders for free agent signings.  In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership.  The same can hold true of major extensions.  It’s just tough to know from the outside.

There’s obviously involvement from above in trade scenarios as well.  But, when it comes to exchanging rights to some players for others, it stands to reason the role of the general manager is all the more clear.

In any event, for what it’s worth, it seemed an opportune moment to take a look back at the trade track records of some of the general managers around the game.  After covering the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen, former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, the Brewers’ David Stearns, the Angels’ Billy Eppler, the Rockies’ Jeff Bridich, and the White Sox’ Rick Hahn, let’s check out the work of Tigers GM Al Avila.  Since he took over for Dave Dombrowski in surprising fashion in August of 2015, here’s what Avila has done on the trade market (in chronological order and excluding minor deals; full details at transaction link.)

2015-16 Offseason

2016 Season

  • None

2016-17 Offseason

2017 Season

2017-18 Offseason

2018 Season

2018-19 Offseason

  • None

2019 Season

—

What do you think of Avila’s trade history? (Poll link for app users.)

AL Notes: Tigers, Paxton, Cease, Orioles

By | at

Although Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire has indicated his desire to return to the club next season, the fate of his coaching staff may yet be up in the air, according to Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group. With the season coming to a close, general manager Al Avila and company are apparently still faced with decisions regarding the status of the team’s staff, with announcements to come at season’s end. As The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen speculates, that certainly makes it seem like changes are coming, though of course any relevant announcements will have to wait. Gardenhire previously expressed his hope that his staff would remain intact for 2020, the final year of his contract. That group includes familiar faces like Rick Anderson and Steve Liddle, as well as Lloyd McClendon and Ramon Santiago. However, after such a dreadful year in all facets of the game, the front office will certainly look critically at the coaching.

From elsewhere around the American League…

  • Yankees fans shook their heads in disbelief as starter James Paxton left yesterday’s game after just one inning. However, it seems that the team managed to avoid yet another significant injury; Paxton underwent an MRI this morning that revealed nothing but nerve irritation, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. His removal from the game was merely a precaution and is not expected to affect his availability in the approaching ALDS. The club has faced questions all year about postseason pitching, and an injury to Paxton—the team’s most reliable starter in the second half—would have sent the New York faithful spiraling.
  • White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, according to James Fegan of The Athletic. He was scratched from his schedule start on Thursday, and of course won’t pitch again this season. While the two-to-four week timeline that comes with the injury is of little significance at this time of year, it’s nonetheless good to hear that the promising rookie will be at full health before too long. He’s had some growing pains as a rookie but has shown some encouraging signs, striking out 81 batters in his first 73 innings as a big-leaguer. With 141 1/3 innings between several levels, he’s also amassed his biggest workload as a pro.
  • It’s no secret that Orioles pitching has come up short this year, but first-year pitching coach Doug Brocail expected some struggles when he took the job last winter. As he and a new front office regime attempt to build a pitching staff from the ground-up, Brocail offers some insight into the state of the organization in an interview with Dan Connolly of The Athletic (subscription required). There’s a long way to go for the team, but Brocail is seeing marginal improvements with rookie general manager Mike Elias trying to play catch-up after inheriting last year’s MLB-worst roster. With the emergence of John Means and the continued growth of the organization’s analytics department, there are some positive takeaways from his first year on the Baltimore staff.

Ron Gardenhire Discusses Future With Tigers

By | at

On Saturday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News published an interesting story regarding the ongoing contract situation of Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire. As McCosky points out, both Tigers owner Christopher Illitch and GM Al Avila have been complimentary of Gardenhire’s influence on Detroit’s young roster, and the veteran manager has himself indicated that he expects to return in 2020 to execute the third and final season of his current managerial contract. There may be one thing standing in the way of that goal: the status of Gardenhire’s staff.

When he joined the Tigers before the 2018 season, Gardenhire brought with him a number of familiar faces from his time managing the Twins: pitching coach Rick Anderson, bench coach Steve Liddle, and quality control coach Joe Vavra all worked with Gardenhire in Minnesota. The rest of the Tigers’ staff—a group that includes Lloyd McClendon and Ramon Santiago, among others—has evidently earned Gardenhire’s trust and respect, and he may now look at those coaches as an invaluable part of his working process.

If the 61-year-old will indeed continue to shepherd the Tigers toward eventual contention, it seems like the retention of his current staff is something of a non-starter. “I want to talk about my coaches more than anything else. I defend those guys no matter what happens here,” Gardenhire told McCosky. “That would be hard for me to take–if anything happens to my coaches. Those are the conversations we’re going to have.”

For the time being, the possibility of an extension beyond 2020 seems to be the last thing on Gardenhire’s mind. That conversation will happen in due time, assuming there is mutual interest. Avila inked a “multi-year” contract extension earlier this season, which will keep him in Detroit for an as-yet-unreported length of time.

“It’s always up to the boss and Al has said I want you back; I don’t have to worry about that,” Gardenhire said Saturday. “Now we’ll have to have a conversation on the rest of it. Not about an extension; I don’t (care) about that. That’s to be determined.”

For his managerial career, Gardenhire holds an 1175-1240 record, including playoff berths in six of the thirteen years he spent in Minnesota. Since joining the Tigers, though, it’s been a different story: in nearly two full seasons in Detroit, Gardy’s teams have managed just a .347 winning percentage as the club has jettisoned productive veterans like Mike Fiers and Nicholas Castellanos from the active roster in pursuit of a prospect-oriented setup.

Tigers Extend Al Avila

By | at

The Tigers have struck a new deal with general manager Al Avila, with the team announcing the move following a report from Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. It’s said to be a multi-year deal.

Avila’s precise new contract terms aren’t yet known, but he had previously been working under an agreement that ran though the 2020 campaign. Clearly, then, ownership has given him a strong vote of confidence and clear mandate to continue the organization’s rebuilding effort.

Outwardly, the Detroit organization has struggled massively since it installed Avila following the ouster of long-time GM Dave Dombrowski in the middle of the 2015 season. The Tigers made a run at contending in the ensuing season, but fell short of the playoffs. Ever since, the club has been dreadful, racking up two-straight 98-loss campaigns and carrying a 28-54 record entering play today.

There obviously have been positive developments in the team’s talent pipeline, which was notably dry at the time Avila took the helm. The Tigers cracked the top-ten farm rankings of MLB.com at the start of the 2019 season, though they didn’t fare quite so well in the most recent rankings of Baseball America and Fangraphs. All would agree that the Tigers have some premium talents now in the system, led by recent 1-1 draft choice Casey Mize and fellow hurlers including Matt Manning, Franklin Perez, Beau Burrows, Kyle Funkhouser, and Alex Faedo. All but Perez, who was picked up in the Verlander swap, were recent top Tigers draft choices.

Some would argue those improvements have not been substantial enough, or haven’t come as quickly as they should have. There’s a case to be made, to be sure, but it’s also fair to point out that Avila had an exceptionally difficult slate of contracts to deal with. Unlike the division-rival White Sox, whose best veterans were relatively youthful and playing under appealing extensions, the Tigers hit the reset button with a host of massive contracts. The returns achieved for the Tigers’ veterans don’t seem terribly fruitful at present, but it’s also hard to say in retrospect that Avila could or should have done better at the time for well-compensated players such as Justin Verlander (link), Justin Upton (link), Ian Kinsler (link), Justin Wilson and Avila’s own son, Alex Avila (link). It’s not as if the Tigers ever had much hope of moving Miguel Cabrera and Jordan Zimmermann — or Victor Martinez and Anibal Sanchez, whose contracts have since expired — which has made it hard to fully draw down the club’s payroll.

If there’s one deal that’s really raised questions, it’s the J.D. Martinez swap. But indications were at the time that the market was much more limited than was generally supposed from the outside; perhaps the most questionable aspect of the organization’s decisionmaking was not to move Martinez earlier. The timing question is certainly relevant also to now-injured hurler Michael Fulmer, who might have brought back a haul had the Tigers marketed him early in his career. There’s an argument to be made that the team also missed a window on Nicholas Castellanos, who was in at least some demand at previous points but can now only be marketed as a rental piece this summer.

It remains to be seen how Avila will handle not only Castellanos, but controllable pitchers Matthew Boyd and Shane Greene, at this year’s deadline. But he’ll enter the summer trading period with the full backing of ownership and a lengthy timeline upon which to cast his gaze.

Whatever one’s perspective on Avila’s work to date, Tigers chairman Chris Ilitch made clear that Avila has handled his position as the organization prefers. As Ilitch put it in a prepared statement: “It’s clear to anyone that follows Tigers baseball that our organization is undergoing a significant transformation. I’ve been impressed with Al’s leadership and focus, and the steadfast way he has led our baseball operations since becoming GM.”

Central Notes: Royals, Tigers, Avila, Pirates, Cardinals

By | at

It appears the Royals will have to trudge through 2019 without the face of their franchise, catcher Salvador Perez, who may need Tommy John surgery. While they’ve been connected to free-agent catcher Martin Maldonado in the wake of the Perez news, general manager Dayton Moore said Saturday he’d rather go forward with in-house options Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria and pick up “depth” at the position than add another potential starter, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports. It’s unclear whether that mindset would close the door on a Maldonado signing, however. Even though the 32-year-old Maldonado has accrued plenty of playing time in recent seasons, the defensively adept veteran may not be in position to hold out for a starting job at this juncture.

More from the game’s Central divisions…

  • Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch suggested Saturday the team will attempt to extend general manager Al Avila before his contract runs out after the 2020 season, though discussions haven’t yet gotten underway, Jason Beck of MLB.com relays. Avila, the Tigers’ GM since 2015, is “doing an excellent job” overseeing the rebuilding franchise, said Ilitch, who also spoke highly of manager Ron Gardenhire as he enters his second season with the club. Beyond that, Ilitch hinted the club’s poised to become more active in free agency as its rebuild progresses, per Beck, which jibes with previous statements from Avila.
  • Pirates outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall left the team’s game Saturday with “general lower extremity tightness,” according to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The severity is unknown, but it’s not particularly reassuring news after Chisenhall missed all but 29 games last year with the Indians while dealing with calf problems. The Pirates signed the 30-year-old Chisenhall to a $2.75MM guarantee in free agency, in part because starting outfielder Gregory Polanco will miss at least the beginning of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery last September.
  • Cardinals reliever Brett Cecil will stay out of game action until late next week as he battles mechanical issues, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes. Cecil and the Cardinals insist he’s physically fine, but the southpaw noticed in his Wednesday appearance that he was leaving the mound too early and didn’t have his left arm in the correct position when he came set, Langosch writes He’ll need to fix those issues to have any chance at rebounding from a dreadful 2018 in which he logged a 6.89 ERA with 5.23 K/9 and 6.89 BB/9 in 32 2/3 innings. Cecil’s now in the third season of a four-year, $30.5MM contract that hasn’t worked out as hoped for the Cardinals thus far.

AL Notes: Eovaldi, Gaston, Castellanos, Astros

By | at

As he prepares for the World Series, Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi says he has yet to have any talks with the club regarding a deal that would keep him off of the open market, John Tomase of WEEI.com reports. The hurler says he’d “love to be back,” though unsurprisingly it looks as if he’ll test the open market first. It’s certainly possible to imagine a fit with Boston, though the same could be said of quite a few other organizations as well.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • There’s some belief that the Rays will land Cuban righty Sandy Gaston, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (Twitter links). Two other top players, the Mesa brothers, landed with the Marlins today. The Orioles had been seen as a chief competitor for these and other top young players who are eligible to sign rather than entering the draft. To date, though, the club has largely kept its war chest intact. Frisaro says it’s believed that it would cost Tampa Bay around $2MM to secure the amateur.
  • The lack of a suitable defensive position has long been the primary concern with Tigers slugger Nicholas Castellanos. As Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes, GM Al Avila says the current plan remains to keep Castellanos in right field, where he has “made some strides.” As Fenech writes, though, there are some good practical reasons to consider utilizing Castellanos at first base, where he’d be less of a concern defensively and wouldn’t clog up a spot in the outfield for other other players the club would like to get a look at. Of course, the first base position is spoken for, at least for part of the time, by Miguel Cabrera.
  • Despite a disappointing end to the 2018 season, the Astros enter the winter with a great deal of confidence in their existing roster, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. Unsurprisingly, though, GM Jeff Luhnow identified starting pitching and catching as two areas that will need to be addressed. In other Astros news, the organization is expected to retain all of skipper A.J. Hinch’s coaches, Luhnow tells Rome (via Twitter). All are already under contract, per the GM. Of course, bench coach Joe Espada has received strong interest from other organizations as a managerial candidate, so it’s still possible the club will need to make a new hire.
Show all

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

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top