AL Notes: Profar, Young, Jays’ Farm, Twins, Ausmus
In theory, Jurickson Profar could stay up for the Rangers even after Rougned Odor returns from his suspension, functioning in some kind of utility capacity. But as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains, the likelihood remains that he’ll head back to Triple-A: while Profar could well represent an upgrade over Hanser Alberto, it would be tough to find sufficient action for a player who still needs reps after a long layoff. It is worth noting that Texas slotted Profar right into the leadoff spot tonight, and he could conceivably play his way into a bigger role.
More from the American League:
- Righty Chris Young will join the bullpen upon his return to the Royals, manager Ned Yost told reporters including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Yost did add, though, that he foresees Young returning to the starting staff at some point this year.
- In addition to addressing other topics, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins raised some concerns with the state of talent in the team’s farm system, he tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While he sees “some guys who could be everyday major league players,” Atkins says he’s concerned that the organization lacks “the depth of those guys that could turn into major league players, that larger number of what we call in the industry a Role 4 player, someone who is maybe not an everyday player but a solid contributing player, who could turn into a five.” That could tell when it comes to deadline additions, the new general manager suggests. “There’s no question that it impacts it,” he said. “We will have to keep our eyes on the future, but we recognize this window and opportunity. … I think fortunately we do have enough assets that if we wanted to make a move like that, we could. I think the question then becomes at what expense and at what level of sacrifice.”
- The Twins spoke with the reps for Yadiel Hernandez, but the team doesn’t seem inclined to pursue him, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether Minnesota has interest in fellow Cuban free agents Jose Miguel Fernandez and Lazaro Armenteros, but Wolfson adds that the club did have eyes on them in their recent showcase.
- Tigers GM Al Avila tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link) that he stands behind embattled skipper Brad Ausmus. After tonight’s win, Detroit is on a 9-and-2 run since dropping to a season-worst 15-21 record recently. That leaves the club well within striking distance in the AL Central, which still looks to be a four-team dogfight.
Royals Place Young, Medlen On DL; Moylan’s Contract Selected
The Royals announced today that they’ve placed 40 percent of their starting rotation on the 15-day disabled list, with Chris Young going on the shelf due to a strained muscle in his forearm and Kris Medlen landing there due to a inflammation in his right rotator cuff. The Royals have recalled lefty Scott Alexander from Triple-A and also selected the contract of right-hander Peter Moylan from Triple-A, thus adding another member to their 40-man roster. (A 40-man vacancy was created earlier this week when prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. was suspended for 50 games due to a failed PED test.)
Indications last night were that Young may not require a full 15 days to allow his forearm to mend, but because he could require a week or more of rest, the Royals opted to DL him in order to avoid playing a man short for the next week. The outlook on Medlen is less certain, as there’s been no indication as to what type of timeline he is facing to return from his latest arm troubles. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets that an update on his status is expected later this afternoon, though. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes that Dillon Gee will start this Saturday in Young’s place in the rotation, and he tweets that Sunday’s start will probably go to one of two lefties currently in the ‘pen: Danny Duffy or Brian Flynn.
The 36-year-old Young inked a two-year, $11.5MM contract this offseason on the heels of a pair of strong years with the Mariners (2014) and Royals (2015). However, he’s been shockingly prone to the home run early in 2016, surrendering 13 long balls in just 32 1/3 innings en route to a 6.68 ERA. Young told Flanagan and others in the KC media earlier this week that he’s been experiencing some forearm discomfort since Spring Training, though primarily in between starts. However, it’s certainly plausible that the injury has been hampering him throughout his first six starts of the season.
As for Medlen, the 30-year-old is no stranger to arm injuries, having twice undergone Tommy John surgery in the past. However, this is the first time he’s landed on the disabled list due to a shoulder injury. Medlen is in the second season of a two-year, $8.5MM contract that also contains a mutual option for the 2017 season. To this point, he’s limped to a 7.77 ERA with more walks (20) than strikeouts (18) in 24 1/3 innings pitched. Medlen has completed six innings just once this season and has only thrown two innings in each of his past two starts.
The 37-year-old Moylan is a survivor of two Tommy John surgeries himself and made a return to the Major Leagues in 2015 for the first time since the 2013 campaign. He’s kicked off this season by allowing one earned run with a 10-to-5 K/BB ratio in 12 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Alexander, 26, made his big league debut with the Royals last season and tossed six innings in the Majors. He started the 2016 season in the bullpen at Omaha, where he’s allowed four runs with eight strikeouts against four walks in 14 innings. Lefties batted a miserable .152/.243/.163 in 103 plate appearances against him last year between the Majors and Triple-A.
Pitching Notes: Arrieta, Matz, Strasburg, Bailey, Royals
On a night when Max Scherzer turned in one of the most dominant starts in history, striking out 20 Tigers batters (video link) to tie a Major League record, here are a few notes on pitcher contracts and injuries…
- Cubs ace Jake Arrieta won’t offer the team a discount in extension talks, he told reporters, including ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. According to previous reports, the Cubs have been hesitant to commit to anything greater than a four-year term, and that length clearly isn’t of interest to the 30-year-old reigning Cy Young winner. “Aces get seven years,” Arrieta candidly said in the interview. Asked what he felt his market to be, Arrieta declined to answer directly, instead telling reporters: “I’ll let you judge that. Just look at the numbers.” Arrieta again emphasized that his preference is to remain with the Cubs but that being compensated at the same level as the game’s other elite arms is also a factor. “Financially I’m fine, regardless,” he said. “You want to be paid in respect to how your peers are paid. I don’t think that changes with any guy you ask. It happens around baseball every year.” As Rogers points out, Scherzer and David Price are likelier comparables than the recently extended Stephen Strasburg, who secured a seven-year, $175MM deal.
- Mets left-hander Steven Matz will miss his next start due to soreness in his pitching elbow, manager Terry Collins told the media (via ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin). Right-hander Logan Verrett will take Matz’s turn in the rotation on Saturday, and Matz will be examined by doctors in New York next Monday. As the lefty himself explained (via the New York Post’s Mike Puma), he tried to pitch through similar soreness last season and ultimately had to spent two months on the shelf. The issue seems relatively innocuous at the moment, though given Matz’s considerable injury history it’s not surprising to see Puma write that there is “some level of concern” about Matz.
- MLB.com’s Bill Ladson spoke to Strasburg about his extension with the Nationals, (Twitter link to audio download), his motivation to sign now with free agency looming, the influence Tony Gwynn (his favorite player growing up and coach in college at San Diego State) has had on his desire to remain with one club and the team’s decision to shut him down in the midst of the 2012 playoff push in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. “He definitely had that sense of loyalty,” Strasburg said of Gwynn. “I think there were certainly times in his career where he could’ve gone other places, but the city, San Diego, kind of grew on him, and he became an icon in that city. I’m not about to say that I’m going to be on his level here in D.C., but I think you do have some sort of sense of loyalty to the team that did draft you, at least speaking for myself. So, when the opportunity presented itself that, here’s a fair deal presented to you, it didn’t really take long to make my mind up.”
- Reds right-hander Homer Bailey is “taking a step back” in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, writes C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Bailey explains to Rosecrans that he had a second opinion on his elbow on Monday, 366 days after his surgery, and is slowing his pace as a precaution. Bailey recently experienced some pain and took 10 days off from throwing and is being extra cautious. “One of the things that was brought to my attention was there’s a lot of research about guys who come back at the 12-month mark have a higher probability of it happening again, as opposed to maybe 14 months then the numbers are (better),” he adds. Bailey made throws of 110-120 feet on Tuesday without pain, but he tells Rosecrans he’s still about a month away from a rehab assignment.
- Chris Young, who underwent an MRI today due to forearm soreness, has been diagnosed with a muscle strain on the top of said forearm, tweets the Kansas City Star’s Rustin Dodd. Young is a candidate to land on the 15-day disabled list, even though (via MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan, on Twitter) manager Ned Yost said that Young may not need 15 whole days to recover from the issue. The club may simply not have a choice, especially due to the fact that right-hander Kris Medlen is also scheduled to have his shoulder examined due to some soreness (via Dodd). Medlen’s Sunday start is in jeopardy, though the severity of the issue remains unclear.
Injury Notes: Young, Peralta, Canha, Hendriks
Royals right-hander Chris Young is leaving the team to travel back to Kansas City, where he’ll receive an MRI on his right forearm, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Via Flanagan (link), Young says that he’s felt some soreness in his forearm since Spring Training ended. However, he adds that the club’s medical staff has informed him that the “serious stuff checks out OK,” though it remains to be seen what the MRI will reveal. Young’s fastball velocity is actually up from previous seasons, but the increased zip hasn’t done him any favors; the 6’10” righty has been roughed up to the tune of a 6.68 ERA in 32 1/3 innings this season and has been astonishingly homer-prone, serving up 13 long balls in that time.
A couple more injury situations around the league that merit keeping an eye on…
- Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta is meeting with hand specialist Dr. Don Sheridan in Phoenix on Thursday this week, he tell Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Peralta was hit by a pitch on the right wrist/forearm area last week and was out of Arizona’s lineup both Sunday and Monday, though he did pinch-hit in Sunday’s contest. He’s out of the lineup again tonight, Piecoro notes, and it seems reasonable to expect that he’ll be sidelined at least until he meets with Sheridan later this week. The 28-year-old indy league reclamation has been a revelation with the D-backs since first working his way onto the big league club in 2014, hitting a combined .295/.347/.485 in 999 plate appearances. This season, he’s batting .260/.321/.439 with three homers.
- Athletics first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha is heading back to the Bay Area tomorrow and will undergo an MRI on his left hip, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Canha says he feels fine when running, but hitting is currently “excruciating,” adding that he can’t get any rotation in his hips and as such cannot swing very hard at the moment. “You don’t want to hope for something bad like a labrum tear to come up but at the same time, I want an answer about what’s wrong so we can pinpoint the problem,” said the 27-year-old. Canha has gotten off to a dreadful start to the season, hitting .122/.140/.341 in 44 plate appearances , though the hip troubles certainly help to explain the downturn in his productivity. He was placed on the disabled list today.
- MLB.com’s Jane Lee writes that right-hander Liam Hendriks, also placed on the DL by the Athletics today, will receive an MRI on his right elbow as well. Hendriks explained that he’s having difficulty getting full extension on his arm and has periodically experienced pain in the elbow since undergoing surgery to remove bone chips a few years ago.
AL & NL East Roster Decisions
The Red Sox intend to use Brock Holt as their primary option in left field against left-handed pitching, Ian Browne of MLB.com tweets. That means that high-priced Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo will be battling with Chris Young for playing time against righties. While both could certainly be in the lineup at the same time, manager John Farrell suggested that he sees both Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as more or less everyday options, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. That certainly could leave few options for Castillo, who is looking to make good on the big contract he signed as a free agent out of Cuba.
Here’s a look at more notable roster moves to come from the East divisions:
- It’s “a given” that Juan Lagares and Yoenis Cespedes will both be in the Mets‘ lineup against left-handed pitching, ESPNNewYork.com’s tweets. It’s not yet clear whether Michael Conforto or Curtis Granderson will see the lion’s share of time in right field when a southpaw is on the mound, he adds, but the scenario figures to cut into their time. As for Alejandro De Aza, it’s unclear when and how he’ll get action, though a late-spring trade still seems possible.
- Meanwhile, the Mets appear not to have any cause for concern with righty Matt Harvey, who is dealing with blood clots in his bladder but is expected to open the season on the active roster, according to WFAN’s Ed Coleman (h/t to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, via Twitter). Alarm bells were rung after the team announced an undisclosed medical issue for the star hurler, but it seems he’s still in line to take the ball on April 3rd.
- Erasmo Ramirez will start out in the pen for the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). He’ll presumably move back into the rotation when the need for a fifth starter arises, but Tampa Bay is set to use four starters for most of the first five weeks of the year.
Royals “Focused” On Kennedy, Talking With Gallardo
The Royals are still pushing to add a rotation arm, according to multiple reports this morning, and appear to have their sights set upon the top of the remaining free-agent market. Kansas City “seems very focused” on Ian Kennedy, Jon Heyman tweets, but is still “talking” to Yovani Gallardo as well, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Signing either Kennedy or Gallardo would, of course, require Kansas City to part with its top draft choice. While that’s not as painful as it would be for most teams, as the Royals won’t pick until the end of the first round, it’s obviously necessary for the team to take account of that sacrifice.
The Royals were said to have interest in free agent Wei-Yin Chen, but he just agreed to terms with the Marlins. If nothing else, though, that pursuit showed the seriousness of the Royals’ efforts as well as its willingness to punt a pick. Chen’s signing also showed that there’s still hope that the other top remaining free agents can match the lofty contract expectations that led them to decline qualifying offers.
As things stand, K.C. will run out a staff fronted by Edinson Volquez and Yordano Ventura. The three leading candidates for the remaining slots are the recently-re-signed Chris Young along with Danny Duffy and Kris Medlen, either of whom could also function as swingmen. There’s some minor league depth, including pitchers like John Lannan, Chien-Ming Wang, and Brian Flynn, but it isn’t hard to see why the Royals would want to add another option.
Cafardo’s Latest: Ramirez, Upton, Gallardo, Chen, Ozuna
With the recent Hall of Fame voting out of the way, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at the case for former Red Sox star Manny Ramirez. Obviously, his offensive performance was magnificent, although lousy defense sapped his overall value. With confirmed PED violations after the so-called Steroid Era, voters may find it hard to select Ramirez. He also had a prickly reputation with the phrase “Manny being Manny” coming to represent his often oblivious frame of mind.
Here’s more from Cafardo’s column:
- The Red Sox could consider signing free agent outfielder Justin Upton. Club president Dave Dombrowski is comfortable with a starting outfield of Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts, and Rusney Castillo, but there’s certainly risk involved with relying upon Bradley and Castillo. Either or both players could conceivably fail to produce at a league average rate. The Sox do have depth in the form of Chris Young, Brock Holt, and possibly Travis Shaw. However, Upton would give them a superstar presence in the middle of the lineup, and he won’t have the same difficulty in adjusting to left field as Hanley Ramirez.
- Yovani Gallardo may be the next starting pitcher to sign. Scott Kazmir‘s three-year, $48MM contract is a potential comparable. The teams involved in his market are hoping for a bargain on a two- or three-year contract, per Cafardo. He sees the Orioles, Blue Jays, Pirates, Royals, and Cubs as the best fits.
- Fellow free agent starter Wei-Yin Chen has scared some teams away with a five-year, $100MM asking price. The Nationals and Cardinals “have taken a good hard look.” Chen, 30, can point to success in the always difficult AL East as justification for a nine-figure asking price.
- Ten teams have inquired about Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna, but Miami coaches Barry Bonds and Don Mattingly are campaigning to keep Ozuna. They believe they can shape Ozuna into a star player. While owner Jeffrey Loria is said to be the impetus behind the club’s attempts to trade Ozuna, it’s also plausible he would defer to his newly hired, high profile personnel.
- Some scouts still think there’s something left in Ike Davis‘ tank. The Mets‘ former top prospect has played for three teams over the last two seasons with exactly zero WAR in 666 plate appearances. Davis will likely sign a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.
- The Tigers and Mets are monitoring the market for Yoenis Cespedes. Based on Cafardo’s report, it sounds like both clubs hope to pounce if a strong suitor doesn’t emerge.
- Meanwhile, Dexter Fowler could end up as a bargain. Cafardo predicts a three-year contract below the $31MM signed by Denard Span. He suggests the Rockies (if they make a trade) and Tigers as possible fits. Personally, I disagree with the valuation on Fowler. Like Span, he has a history as a high OBP, top-of-the-order hitter. The draft pick compensation tied to him is a deterrent, but he’s been much healthier than Span in recent seasons.
- Talks between Chris Davis and the Orioles may have a drop-dead date. While the Orioles prefer a big left-handed bat, they may dip into the market for Upton or Cespedes. Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is also a potential fit.
Royals Re-Sign Chris Young
5:06pm: Kansas City has announced the signing. Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets the annual breakdown of the contract, which promises Young $4.25MM in 2016, $5.75MM for the following year, and a $1.5MM buyout on a $8MM mutual option for 2018.
9:10am: Young will earn about $11.75MM over the life of the two-year deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star hears that it’s slightly less: an $11.5MM total over two years (Twitter link).
DEC. 7, 8:15am: Young does indeed have a deal with the Royals, pending a physical, reports MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter), who adds that Young is in Kansas City at the moment, presumably to take said physical examination.
DEC. 6: The Royals are close to re-signing pitcher Chris Young to a two-year deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The deal is likely to be worth around $10MM to $11MM, and it’s likely to be completed by the close of the Winter Meetings. ESPN’s Buster Olney recently reported that it was just “a matter of timing” before Young and the Royals came to terms.
It appears that, as expected, Young’s new deal will be considerably more lucrative than the $675K contract to which he agreed before last season. In the last two seasons, Young has very effective, posting ERAs well below four and pitching a total of almost 300 innings split between the bullpen and the rotation in Seattle and Kansas City.
Young is now 36, and there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of his prospects for future success — he’s an extreme fly ball pitcher with mediocre peripherals and very little in the way of velocity. Those reasons existed before each of the last two seasons too, however, and Young succeeded despite them. Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron broke down Young’s success in a fascinating column earlier this year, noting that Young has demonstrated an ability to repeat a BABIP that is drastically better than the league average due to his extreme fly-ball tendencies and uncanny ability to induce weak contact.
If the Royals believe in his ability to continue to be useful and versatile, a salary of about $5MM per season does not seem like an unreasonable price to pay. And considering the fact that Kansas City plays in one of the American League’s most expansive ball parks and typically prioritizes outfield defense — Lorenzo Cain is among the game’s best, though they’ll have a significant defensive hole to fill if Alex Gordon leaves — Young’s skill set seems perfectly tailored to succeed with the Royals. It remains to be seen just how many innings Young can handle in a season — the 165 he threw for Seattle in 2014 were his most since 2007, and he’s never even reached 180 — but for the reported price, Young doesn’t need to log 200+ innings in order to more than justify his salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Central Notes: Young, Cardinals, Price, Reds
The perception in the industry is that it’s “only a matter of timing” before veteran starting pitcher Chris Young re-signs with the Royals, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets. Previous reports had indicated the two sides had been in talks, although, after pitching 123 1/3 innings with a 3.06 ERA for $675K last year, Young was looking for a deal better aligned with the quality of his performance. On a runs-allowed basis, the 36-year-old has been very useful the last two seasons despite an 87-MPH fastball and underwhelming peripherals. Here are more quick notes from the Central divisions.
- The Cardinals ultimately did not win the bidding for David Price, but their willingness to shell out big bucks to sign him was telling, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “We felt like we stretched in the Price situation, and we’ll stretch again if we see the right opportunity in someone who has the characteristics that he had. Those are tough to replicate,” says Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. With Price off the board, the Cardinals are now focused on re-signing star outfielder Jason Heyward. They would also still like to add starting pitching.
- The departures of several key reserves have been “addition by subtraction” for the Cardinals, Jeff Gordon of the Post-Dispatch writes. Pete Kozma (.152/.236/.152), Peter Bourjos (.200/.290/.333) and Tony Cruz (.204/.235/.310) have all departed, and the Cardinals almost can’t help but do better with their roster spots, Gordon suggests. Aledmys Diaz, Brandon Moss and Brayan Pena will all play key roles on next year’s bench.
- Heading into the Winter Meetings, Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty says there’s little going on with trade talks for players other than Aroldis Chapman, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. “We really haven’t had a lot of discussion, with the exception of one player, maybe,” Jocketty says. “Other than that, it’s been pretty quiet. I don’t know what’s going to happen when we get to Nashville. It’s been pretty slow since Thanksgiving.” Todd Frazier and Jay Bruce have recently come up in rumors. Both say they would like to remain with Reds (although, of course, Frazier does not have protection from being traded and Bruce has only a limited no-trade clause).
Free Agent Notes: Davis, Heyward, Zobrist, Asdrubal, Young, Cotts
Slugger Chris Davis is not the “top priority” for Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. A source tells Crasnick that St. Louis’s reported interest in the free agent is “overblown.” Of course, it remains tricky to find a perfect fit for the slugger, whose market still seems to be developing. From an analytical perspective, though, he appears to be a fairly solid match with the Cards. Indeed, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes picked the former Oriole to land there.
Here’s the latest from the rest of the free agent market:
- Top free agent outfielder Jason Heyward looks more like a “secondary option” for the Cubs, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets. In other words, Chicago is pursuing other opportunities, but could pivot to chase Heyward if those other possibilities don’t come to fruition.
- The Mets‘ interest in Ben Zobrist is real, but that doesn’t mean the team will promise him four years to get a deal done, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. New York’s pursuit of Zobrist is part of a flexible offseason plan, writes Rubin, in which various types of additions could be considered at the second base position — and elsewhere — as the market dictates.
- Three teams are “in the mix” for free agent middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. He’s expected to ink a deal “within the next week or so,” per Cotillo, which would seem to suggest that the veteran could find his next team by the time the Winter Meetings are wrapped up.
- The Royals have had “encouraging talks” with free agent righty Chris Young about a return, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports. Both the 36-year-old and the team have expressed interest in a continued relationship, though it remains to be seen whether other clubs will make a push for his services — and, if so, whether Kansas City will be willing and able to meet or beat the market.
- Similarly, the Twins have real interest in bringing back lefty reliever Neal Cotts, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Minnesota added Cotts in an August waiver trade. Fellow free agent southpaw Brian Duensing, meanwhile, tells Berardino that he hasn’t heard anything yet from the only professional organization he’s ever played for.