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Phillies Decline 2017 Options For Ryan Howard, Charlie Morton

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The Phillies have declined their 2017 club options for first baseman Ryan Howard and right-hander Charlie Morton, per a team announcement. Philadelphia will now pay Howard a $10MM buyout in lieu of the $23MM that it would have owed the slugger had it picked up the option. Morton would have made $9.5MM next season, but he will receive a far more modest $1MM buyout instead.

The club’s decision to move on from Howard comes as no surprise, but it’s the end of a long era that was quite fruitful at times. A fifth-round pick in 2001, Howard debuted in earnest in 2005 and served as one of the majors’ preeminent home run threats from then until 2011. Howard clubbed at least 45 home runs in four seasons during that span, including a majors-best 58 in 2006 en route to National League MVP honors. Two years later, Howard once again paced the league with 48 long balls in a season that ended with the Phillies’ first World Series championship since 1980.

On the strength of his early success, the three-time All-Star signed a five-year, $125MM extension with the Phillies in April 2010, but the deal was mostly disastrous for the team. From that point forward, Howard batted an underwhelming .240/.314/.452 in 3,386 plate appearances, though he did add 160 more homers to give him 382 as a Phillie – second in club history to Mike Schmidt’s 548. Between his declining offense and inability to contribute as a baserunner or defender, Howard combined for a microscopic 0.4 fWAR during his final seven years with the franchise. The soon-to-be 37-year-old indicated in September that he wants to continue his career, but it’s likely his only hope will be to catch on as a designated hitter with an American League team. Even that might be a stretch, though, as Howard slashed just .196/.257/.453 in 362 PAs this year while ceding at-bats to Tommy Joseph.

Morton should fare better than Howard on the open market, but injuries have beset the 32-year-old throughout his career and that continued in 2016. After making just four starts, Morton underwent season-ending surgery on a torn left hamstring. The Phillies hoped Morton would serve as a veteran anchor to their young pitching staff upon acquiring him from the Pirates last December, but the injury prevented that from happening. When healthy, Morton has been a usable back-end option, having pitched to a 4.54 ERA while inducing grounders at a 55.4 percent clip in 893 career innings. From 2013-14, his best two-year stretch, Morton logged a 3.52 ERA and 58.9 percent ground-ball rate in 273 1/3 frames.

Charlie Morton Requires Hamstring Surgery, Out For Season

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Phillies righty Charlie Morton will require season-ending surgery on a torn left hamstring, the club announced. He is expected to require a six to eight month recovery time after undergoing the procedure.

Indications were that an MRI had revealed more extensive damage than was initially hoped, and today’s news certainly reflects that. It’s obviously a disappointing turn of events for the veteran starter, who was acquired over the winter for righty David Whitehead.

The Phils had added Morton in hopes that he’d help to stabilize a young rotation while getting his career back on a positive trajectory. He seemed on track to do just that, contributing a 4.15 ERA through 17 1/3 innings in four starts with promising peripherals. Morton had a 19:8 K:BB ratio with an outstanding 62.8% groundball rate in the early going.

Philadelphia owes Morton $8MM for the 2016 campaign. He also has a mutual option at $9.5MM for 2017 that comes with a $1MM buyout. (That was originally a club option under the extension he signed with the Pirates, but converted with the trade.) While mutual options are rarely exercised by both sides, the promising start and subsequent injury could theoretically lead to a match if both sides see the value in a one-year arrangement.

With Morton down, the Phillies will need to find alternatives to fill out the staff. Young hurlers Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Vince Velasquez have all shown real promise, while Jeremy Hellickson was added for much the same reason as was Morton. But the fifth starter’s role will now likely go to another internal option. Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice noted yesterday that 26-year-old southpaw Adam Morgan was scratched from his upcoming Triple-A start, likely in anticipation of a call-up, so it seems he’ll get the first crack.

Injury Notes: Sandoval, Hedges, Boxberger, Morton, Dodgers

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Here are various notes on injuries from throughout the game.

  • Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval will have Dr. James Andrews examine his injured shoulder on Monday, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. Last week, a scheduled exam was canceled because Sandoval’s shoulder was too sore, with the idea that Sandoval would attempt to meet with Andrews at a later date. The Red Sox placed him on the disabled list two weeks ago.
  • Padres catcher Austin Hedges will have surgery to address a hamate fracture and will likely be out six to eight weeks, tweets MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Hedges spent much of 2015 as the Padres’ backup catcher, but this year, he began the season with Triple-A El Paso (where he was hitting quite well in a small sample) after the Friars acquired Christian Bethancourt. Regardless, it sounds like Hedges, who’s still just 23, will miss a significant chunk of development time.
  • Rays closer Brad Boxberger, who’s missed the entire season so far after having core muscle surgery in March, has been cleared to resume baseball activities, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweets. Boxberger remains on track to return to the Rays in mid-May. Alex Colome has collected four saves in his absence.
  • Phillies righty Charlie Morton didn’t receive positive news from an MRI on his injured hamstring on Monday, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Morton strained the hamstring on Saturday and was placed on the DL the next day. “Apparently, his MRI wasn’t as good as we were hoping,” says manager Pete Mackanin. “We’re going to see what happens in the next two or three days and see what the next step is. I really don’t know what the next step is, I just know it’s not as good as we were hoping.” Adam Morgan is expected to take Morton’s place in the starting rotation for the time being.
  • Dodgers righty Brandon McCarthy threw a bullpen for team officials yesterday, tweets MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. The throwing session was the latest step in McCarthy’s recovery after having Tommy John surgery early last season.
  • Another injured Dodgers starter, Hyun-jin Ryu, threw a 30-pitch bullpen today and could soon begin facing live hitters, ESPN’s Doug Padilla writes. Ryu, who is recovering after having labrum surgery last year, had his throwing program delayed after he suffered a groin strain earlier this month. It’s still unclear when he’ll return, Padilla notes.
  • The Dodgers have also announced that they’ve reinstated outfielder Carl Crawford, who had been on the DL for the past two weeks with a back injury. To clear space on their active roster, they optioned righty Zach Lee to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
  • Brewers infielder Scooter Gennett was scratched from tonight’s lineup due to oblique tightness, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. There’s no immediate word on the severity of the injury. Gennett is off to a hot start this season, batting .258/.361/.516 this year after mostly struggling in 2015.

Phillies Send Charlie Morton To DL With Strained Hamstring

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The Phillies have placed right-hander Charlie Morton on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring and recalled fellow righty Luis Garcia, the team announced. Morton sustained the injury during his start against the Brewers on Saturday. As a result, he pitched just one inning, allowing three hits and a run while striking out three.

So far this season, the ground-ball-heavy Morton has been a solid veteran addition to the Phillies’ young rotation. After joining Philadelphia via trade with the Pirates during the offseason, Morton has begun his Phillies tenure by inducing grounders 62.8 percent of the time and posting a 4.15 ERA/3.01 FIP/2.87 xFIP in his first four starts (17 1/3 innings). Morton also fanned 19 batters and walked eight during that span. His spot in the rotation could now go to Brett Oberholtzer or Adam Morgan, who’s in Triple-A.

Garcia, 29, has been a member of the Phillies organization since 2013. He made his major league debut that season and has since racked up 112 innings, including a career-best 66 2/3 frames of 3.51 ERA ball last year. Overall, Garcia owns a 3.94 mark with a 7.88 K/9 and 5.57 BB/9.

NL Notes: Cubs, Heyward, Pirates, Morton, Span

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The Cubs have several players, including Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler and Trevor Cahill that turned down more money elsewhere to sign in Chicago, tweets Jon Heyman. The Cardinals’ best offer is to Heyward is “thought to [have been]” $200MM over 10 years, while the Nationals, as previously reported, offered the outfielder $200MM+ over 10 years, albeit with significant deferrals, Heyman tweets. The three bids between the two teams were pretty much comparable (link), but Heyward simply preferred the Cubs over the other clubs. The outfielder, he adds, liked the team’s nucleus and, personally, he has a good history of playing at Wrigley. Heyman also notes that the other teams would have been willing to give him an opt-out as well.

A few more notes from around the NL…

  • Charlie Morton is hopeful that his groundball-inducing ways will translate to hitter-friendly Citzens Bank Park, PhillyVoice’s Ryan Lawrence writes. Morton produced a 4.81 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 pitching with the Pirates, although with an excellent 57.3% ground ball rate. “I had a theory about smaller parks, and the ground that outfielders have to cover, it’s minimized when you have a smaller park,” Morton says. “So if you can pitch to contact and pitch to weak contact, especially ground balls, I think you’ll do really well. Knock on wood, but I’ve had some success at Great American Ball Park, Great American Small Park. I think some of the reason why that is is because if I’m inducing weak contact or ground balls.” Morton has, indeed, posted a career 3.83 ERA in 54 innings at “Great American Small Park,” better than his career 4.54 ERA. That could merely be a sample-size issue, however. In any case, if Morton succeeds in the tight confines of Citizens Bank Park, he could perhaps, as Lawrence points out, fetch a prospect or two for the Phillies this summer.
  • Highly touted minor league right-handers Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow represent options this season should any pitcher in the Pirates’ rotation fall to injury or struggle significantly, GM Neal Huntington told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, while the Pirates recognized that Taillon and Glasnow could factor into the club’s rotation in 2016, they didn’t bank on that fact. Pittsburgh added veterans Jon Niese (via trade with the Mets) and Ryan Vogelsong (via free agency) to round out the rotation. Huntington noted that Glasnow still needs to refine his changeup before making it to the Major Leagues, saying Glasnow is “still doing minor league hitters a favor” when he turns to his changeup over his electric fastball. Taillon is now two years removed from Tommy John surgery and will have his innings monitored this year.
  • Giants outfielder Denard Span talked with MLB Network Radio’s Cliff Floyd and Casey Stern about his free agency this winter and his goals for his first season with the Giants (audio link). “This team, they took a chance on me,” said Span. “A lot of other teams were shying away, but the Giants just showed how much they really wanted me, and so it made it an easy decision for me. … The fact that they pursued me and pursued a couple other guys — [Jeff] Samardzija and [Johnny] Cueto — it makes me feel good that they feel like, they didn’t go to the postseason last year, and I’m one of the missing pieces to help them get back there.” Among the other topics covered by Span are his first impressions of future Hall of Fame skipper Bruce Bochy and how he plans to work on outfield communication with the man he displaced in center field — Angel Pagan (who will now slide over to left field).

NL East Notes: Phillies, Gio, Yelich, Cespedes, Freeman

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Phillies GM Matt Klentak must see upside in bounceback starters like Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton, tweets ESPN’s Jayson Stark (1, 2). Both pitchers are a year from free agency. As Stark puts it, the club gave up replaceable parts for the chance to re-market them to contending clubs at the trade deadline. From my perspective both pitchers also give the Phillies the opportunity to compete in the weak NL East. Philadelphia took some momentum into the offseason with a solid second half. While a hypothetical rebound campaign would probably ultimately sputter like the Braves’ 2015 season, it doesn’t hurt to put some parts in position just in case. The Phillies also have several pitching prospects due to debut during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Hellickson and Morton can hold the door just long enough for the next guy.

Here’s more from the rest of the division:

  • The Marlins inquired about Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Talks promptly concluded when the Nationals asked for outfielder Christian Yelich in return. It’s possible the Marlins see Gonzalez as a match for Marcell Ozuna (my speculation), but it’s always hard to work out an in-division trade – especially when both teams aim to contend.
  • Even though former Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer is now off the books, the club isn’t likely to jump on top outfielders like Yoenis Cespedes, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The $12.5MM saved from Cuddyer (assuming there was no buyout), will probably be used on quality bench depth. The team improved dramatically when they acquired Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. Ensuring that similarly valuable players are available to fill cracks in the roster will better serve the Mets hunt for contention.
  • It may be time for the Braves to trade Freddie Freeman, suggests Mike Petriello of MLB.com. The trades of Shelby Miller and Andrelton Simmons have focused the club’s talent in the minor leagues. Freeman could be used to acquire another impressive haul. The Braves are already gearing up for a lengthy rebuilding process, so they might as well get top dollar for Freeman before he begins to decline.
  • Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa wants to start at shortstop next season, writes Todd Dybas of the Washington Times. After two consecutive bad seasons, Espinosa rebounded in 2015 with a 2.3 WAR campaign. Good defense in a utility role plus an improvement at the plate to roughly league average helped. He improved his plate discipline which looks like a sustainable fix. Even with the solid season, Espinosa will have to hold off top prospect Trea Turner. Acquired in the Steven Souza trade, Turner appears ready for a major league opportunity.

Pirates Notes: Morton, Pitching, Melancon, Niese, Nicasio, Kang

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The Pirates are one of several teams holding a FanFest today. Reporters, including MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth, were on hand for the Q&A with GM Neal Huntington. The Pirates’ GM admitted that today’s Morton swap was mostly about payroll relief, although the club does like David Whitehead.

Here’s more Pirates notes:

  • Today’s trade of Charlie Morton will likely instigate “multiple moves,” tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. After the move, the Pirates payroll is around $88MM with a target of about $105MM per Biertempfel (tweet). Huntington told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam Berry (tweet), “A big part of the motivation was to free some dollars to allow us to deepen the club, to reestablish some depth.“
  • Industry sources implied to Biertempfel (tweet) that pitchers like Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake, or others over $10MM per season are not on the Pirates radar. However, there is no doubt that at least one starting pitcher is on the agenda. The rotation presently consists of Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jon Niese, and Jeff Locke. Presumably, the club prefers for Locke or Niese to fill a long relief role with Allen Webster serving as minor league depth. Top prospect Tyler Glasnow is not expected to reach the majors early in the season.
  • Closer Mark Melancon is expected to earn $10MM in arbitration per MLBTR estimates, but the club is under no pressure to trade him, tweets Biertempfel. The team could potentially get by in the late innings with Tony Watson, Arquimedes Caminero, and new acquisition Juan Nicasio. However, a bullpen with Melancon is certainly more robust. With the market for quality closers at a premium, Pittsburgh would find it difficult to replace Melancon. Per Huntington, “if somebody steps up and gives us a return that’s significant enough to motivate us to get a little bit uncomfortable, then we get a little bit uncomfortable.” (h/t to Wilmoth for the quote).
  • In commenting on Nicasio, Huntinton told Wilmoth, “We do think there are some things we can help him with. Now, is it going to be enough to make him a good starter? Time will tell. Is it going to be enough to make him a really good reliever? Time will tell.” The Pirates have developed a reputation as a haven for reclamation projects which could make Nicasio an interesting player to watch.
  • Comparing recent acquisition Jon Niese to the market, Huntington said “he’ll continue to put up numbers similar to guys who are getting sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety million dollars in free agency — we have three, essentially, one-year contracts with Jon Niese.” While Niese comes with less cachet than somebody like Mike Leake, it’s true that they project to perform similarly. As such, Huntington may very well beat the market with this swap.
  • Huntington says Jung-ho Kang is more likely to return in April than May, per Berry (tweet). If true, this is a lucky break for the club. They currently have some combination of Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Alen Hanson, and Pedro Florimon penciled in for second base, shortstop, and third base. An injury or poor performance from Hanson could leave the club scrambling for reinforcements.
  • The Pirates will retrench in 2016 with an aim to contend again in 2017, writes John Perotto of the Beaver County Times. While the club will still pursue a postseason berth next year, they’ll have their eyes on developing top prospects like Josh Bell, Glasnow, and Jameson Taillon.

Phillies Acquire Charlie Morton From Pirates

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11:35am: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan brings to light an “interesting wrinkle” in Morton’s contract (tweet). The trade triggered a clause that converts his $9.5MM 2017 team option into a mutual option. As Passan notes, Morton is now very likely to hit the free agent market after the season.

9:39am: The Phillies have acquired right-handed starting pitcher Charlie Morton from the Pirates, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal on Twitter. The Pirates will pick up right-handed pitcher David Whitehead in the swap. The Phillies will pick up the tab for Morton. He is signed for $8MM in 2016 with a $9.5MM club option for 2017 ($1MM buyout). In a related move, the Phillies designated pitcher A.J. Achter to make room on the 40-man roster, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (tweet).

Morton, 32, is a veteran of eight major league seasons. He has a career 4.54 ERA with 6.28 K/9, 3.38 BB/9, and a 55 percent ground ball rate. Phillies fans will find his delivery uncannily familiar – Morton almost perfectly mimics the throwing motion of former Phillies star Roy Halladay.

The ground ball specialist has struggled with health in recent seasons, but he’s been modestly effective when on the field. Although he posted a 4.81 ERA in 129 innings last season, ERA estimators like xFIP (3.87) and SIERA (3.89) were more positive. While Morton had a rocky start to his early career, he’s actually projected to contribute a sub-4.00 ERA in 2016.

Morton joins a suddenly deep Phillies rotation that includes Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Jeremy Hellickson, Vincent Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer, and Matt Harrison. It’s unclear what, if any, role Harrison can fill. Even if Harrison spends the season on the disabled list, the club seems prepared to avoid forcing an unready pitcher like David Buchanan or Alec Asher from making regular starts.

In Whitehead, the Pirates acquired a former 34th round pick from the 2013 draft. Last season at High-A, Whitehead pitched to a 4.44 ERA with 6.24 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9 in 25 starts. Scouting reports describe him as a ground ball pitcher with a low-90’s sinker. He may have a back-of-the-rotation ceiling.

For Pittsburgh, this deal was mostly about escaping the $9MM guaranteed to Morton over the next two seasons. After dealing Neil Walker last week, the club has the necessary resources to pursue a starting pitcher in free agency. The Pirates are often tied to inexpensive reclamation projects like Justin Masterson or Mat Latos.

The swap necessitated the Phillies to make a 40-man roster move. Achter drew the short straw. The right-handed reliever was acquired off waivers from the Twins earlier in the offseason. The 27-year-old has a 90 mph fastball. He’s posted strong numbers are Triple-A but has yet to succeed at the major league level.

Huntington On Kang, Taillon, Morton

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington met with the media today prior to the team completing its three-game sweep of the Brewers. Here are some excerpts courtesy of Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

  • Echoing manager Clint Hurdle’s comments yesterday about how it is best for Jung-ho Kang to develop in the Majors rather than play everyday at Triple-A, Huntington said, “We believe Kang has earned opportunity to be on this club & is one of our best 25.” Huntington added, “The variables that would be added by dropping him now into Triple-A, in our minds, don’t make sense.“
  • Top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon is making progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and Huntington is looking “forward to getting him against an opposition uniform sooner than later.“
  • Huntington noted Taillon, the second overall selection in the 2010 amateur draft, is “continuing to make progress and continuing to check box after box,” but was mum on whether the right-hander has pitched in extended Spring Training and where he will begin his rehab assignment.
  • Huntington was more forthcoming about Charlie Morton, who threw 55 pitches in a simulated game Friday. Huntington admitted Morton’s “body just didn’t function the way the body functioned before the surgery” he underwent this past offseason to repair a torn labrum in his right hip, but “we’re getting closer to where Charlie feels like he can just go compete and doesn’t have to work through making sure that he feels right.“

NL Central Notes: Gallardo, Morton, Huntington, Alvarez

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Here’s the latest out of the NL Central …

  • The Brewers have decided to exercise a $13MM option over starter Yovani Gallardo, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. As MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently explained, that move was widely expected with the 28-year-old righty coming off of 192 1/3 frames of 3.51 ERA ball. Gallardo would have presented an interesting free agent case; though he would have faced a lot of competition in the mid-tier starter’s market, his age remains intriguing.
  • Pirates starter Charlie Morton has undergone surgery on a torn right hip labrum, the club announced today. That procedure is expected to sideline him for between six and eight months, meaning that he may not be counted on to start the year in the rotation. The 30-year-old righty has posted a 3.72 ERA over 157 1/3 innings this year, after signing a three-year, $21MM extension before the season.
  • As the Morton situation serves to illustrate, things never slow down for Pirates GM Neal Huntington, as Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Regarding the team’s slate of pending free agents, Huntington indicated that he hopes to retain at least some of its players but, if not, will work hard to find the next bunch of undervalued open market assets. Looking back, Huntington said he has continued to wonder what the team missed in not pushing harder to bring back Justin Morneau. “What did we miss in that process that he would go out and have such a great year?” Huntington asked. “That’s been a challenging one, absolutely, especially given our continued challenges at first base and what that production would have looked like in the middle of our lineup.”  
  • As he looks ahead to the offseason, Huntington says that he believes Pedro Alvarez will return to being an important part of the club. The struggling third baseman has taken a step back after two productive seasons, but is still just 27 and comes with two more years of control through arbitration.
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