Eric Sogard Likely To Have Knee Surgery
Athletics infielder Eric Sogard seems set for knee surgery and could be out six to eight weeks, according to various reporters, including the Bay Area News Group’s John Hickey. “They found some loose bodies in the knee near the patella tendon,” Sogard said after an MRI. “And they have to take them out. I’ve played through the pain the last couple of years, but this is the time.” Sogard will seek a second opinion, but surgery seems likely, manager Bob Melvin says.
Sogard began the season on the disabled list with a shoulder problem that is (perhaps obviously) unrelated to his current health issues. He played in 120 games, mostly at second base, for the A’s last season, and he batted a disappointing .247/.294/.304 but with strong defensive numbers. He’s currently on the outside looking in for either Athletics starting infield job, since the team now has Jed Lowrie at second base and Marcus Semien at shortstop.
AL West Notes: Furbush, Sogard, Guthrie, Rangers, Stassi
There’s growing concern among Mariners brass about the health of left-hander Charlie Furbush‘s shoulder, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Furbush’s 2015 season ended in July due to biceps tendinitis and a minor tear in his rotator cuff, and it was decided then that he would pursue a non-surgical rehab route. Now, however, he feels continued tightness in the shoulder the day after throwing sessions. Furbush will play catch on Tuesday, but manager Scott Servais voiced some concern about Furbush’s availability for Opening Day. Dutton reports that Mike Montgomery could be the beneficiary of the situation, as the out-of-options starter is being converted to a bullpen role and will vie for a relief job with the Mariners over the remainder of Spring Training.
Here’s more from the AL West…
- A numbers crunch on the Athletics‘ roster could leave versatile infielder Eric Sogard without a roster spot, as Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area writes. Sogard is the second-longest tenured member of the roster, but the addition of Chris Coghlan, whom the A’s plan to use all over the diamond in a Ben Zobrist type of role, makes it tougher to carry the defensively gifted Sogard. GM David Forst didn’t rule out a trade of some kind to alleviate a perceived roster logjam at the time of adding Coghlan, Stiglich notes, though Sogard also has minor league options remaining, so he could be sent down and begin the season at Triple-A.
- Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie can opt out of his minor league deal with the Rangers on March 28 if he’s not going to make the Opening Day roster, reports MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The veteran righty could be the “safe bet” to win the club’s fifth starter job right now, per Sullivan, although both A.J. Griffin and Cesar Ramos have looked sharp as well, he notes. Chi Chi Gonzalez, Nick Tepesch and Nick Martinez are all vying for the spot, too, as are righties Anthony Ranaudo and Phil Klein, though Sullivan notes that the latter two are at the back of the pack.
- Astros catcher Max Stassi flew to Houston yesterday to have an injury in to the hamate in his left wrist examined by a hand specialist, writes Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. Stassi, who turns 25 tomorrow, entered Spring Training as the favorite to back up Jason Castro behind the plate, though this injury certainly clouds the likelihood of that scenario playing out. Manager A.J. Hinch voiced confidence in Alfredo Gonzalez, the lone alternative on Houston’s 40-man roster, as well as non-roster invitees Tyler Heineman and Roberto Pena, praising each catcher’s defensive abilities. Designated hitter Evan Gattis has plenty of experience at catcher as well, of course, but he got a late start to Spring Training due to surgery to repair a hernia.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12-2-2015
We’ll use this post to keep tabs on arbitration deals struck today in advance of the non-tender deadline. Here’s the latest, with all projections via MLB Trade Rumors:
- The Padres and Brett Wallace have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2016 season, according to a team announcement. Wallace will earn $1MM next season, tweets MLB.com’s Corey Brock, placing him just shy of his $1.1MM projection.
- Backstop Chris Gimenez has agreed to a deal to avoid arbitration with the Rangers, per a team announcement. Gimenez will earn $975K while in the majors, but the deal is a split contract, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.
- The Orioles announced that they’ve agreed to terms with outfielder Nolan Reimold on a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration. Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic.com reports that Reimold will land a $1.3MM salary (Twitter link). He cleared MLBTR’s projection by $400K.
- The Indians have avoided arbitration with newly acquired outfielder Collin Cowgill by agreeing to a $1MM salary for the upcoming 2016 season, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. That’s an exact match with his projected salary.
- The Athletics announced that they’ve avoided arb with second baseman Eric Sogard, outfielder Sam Fuld, and newly acquired southpaw Marc Rzepczynski (Twitter link). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported Sogard’s contract (via Twitter), adding that he receives a $1.5MM salary, which is a bit shy of his $1.7MM projection.
- The Cubs announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with lefty Clayton Richard, who, as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat reports (on Twitter), will take home a $2MM salary next season. That’s a sizable increase over the $1.1MM at which he was projected.
Earlier Updates
- The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with first baseman Justin Smoak, per Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). He’ll earn $3.9MM next season with the Jays. That number drastically outpaces the $2MM projected by MLBTR.
- Jose Lobaton and the Nationals have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.3875MM, reports James Wagner of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Lobaton’s deal comes in just shy of the $1.5MM he was projected to earn.
- The Phillies announced deals with infielder Andres Blanco and just-claimed outfielder Peter Bourjos. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that Bourjos will receive a $2MM salary and Blanco will be paid $1.45MM in 2016. MLBTR had projected Blanco at $1MM while Bourjos came with a projected tag of $1.8MM.
- Jordan Lyles has a $2.975MM deal with the Rockies, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. The righty will earn a minor bump over his $2.8MM projection.
- The Athletics announced that the team has agreed to a deal with lefty Felix Doubront on a contract for 2016. The value is not known at this time, but he was projected at $2.5MM.
- Backstop A.J. Ellis will receive $4.5MM next year with the Dodgers after striking a deal, Heyman tweets. That’s an exact match for the rate projected by MLBTR and Matt Swartz. The 34-year-old, who had a nice bounce-back campaign in 2015, will hit the open market after the coming season.
- Righty Vance Worley has signed on with the Orioles for $2.6MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. That falls just $100K shy of his projected value as a first-year-eligible player. Baltimore added Worley earlier in the winter from the Pirates and figures to utilize him in a swingman capacity.
- The Cubs have agreed to a $1.42MM deal with just-added lefty Rex Brothers, Heyman tweets. Brothers was projected at $1.5MM and will land just south of that figure. Brothers was recently designated by the Rockies and then shipped to Chicago in a minor trade.
- And the Nationals will pay $900K to outfielder/first baseman Tyler Moore for the 2016 season, also per Heyman (via Twitter). He’ll land a bit shy of his $1MM projection, but the more relevant matter here is the fact that Moore will keep his roster spot. That has at times seemed at doubt, particularly with Ryan Zimmerman now entrenched at first base.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday
Earlier today, the Twins avoided arbitration with Jordan Schafer by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.55MM. We’ll keep track of the remainder of today’s smaller moves to avoid arb here in this post (with all projections courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)…
- First baseman Mitch Moreland has reached agreement on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration with the Rangers, the club announced in a press release. Moreland will earn $2.95MM with the chance at $25K in bonuses, Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram reports on Twitter. Moreland filed at $3.35MM and the team countered at $2.75MM, with the 29-year-old landing just below the midpoint but just above his $2.8MM projection. After struggling to a .246/.297/.347 slash in just 184 plate appearances and missing significant time to ankle surgery, Moreland and his employer will hope for better things in 2015.
- The Astros and shortstop Marwin Gonzalez have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal that will pay the Octagon client a salary of $1.0625MM, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Gonzalez, who filed for $1.4MM and received a $900K counter-offer from the team, settled for somewhat less than the $1.15MM midpoint between the figures, though he did still top his $1MM projection by about $60K. The former Rule 5 pick enjoyed his best season as a big leaguer in 2014, batting .277/.327/.400 with six homers, although defensive metrics were split on his work at short. Ultimate Zone Rating pegged him at four runs below average, while Defensive Runs Saved thought he was four runs above average. With Gonzalez’s case settled, the Astros are done with their arbitration class this offseason.
- The A’s have avoided arbitration with infielder Eric Sogard by agreeing to a one-year, $1.075MM contract, tweets Heyman. Sogard filed at $1.425MM, while the A’s countered at $900K, as can be seen Sogard, 28, batted .223/.298/.268 with a homer and 11 steals in 329 plate appearances last season. Known more for his glove than his bat, Sogard played his usual brand of excellent second base defense for 721 innings, and he also filled in at shortstop a bit, chipping in 108 innings there. The Octagon client will receive $75K more than his $1MM projected salary. Oakland still has some work to do in arbitration, as the team has yet to reach an agreement with right-handers Tyler Clippard and Jarrod Parker as well as lefty Fernando Abad.
Note that you can monitor the arb situations of each team/player using MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
Athletics Acquire Kevin Kouzmanoff
The A's acquired Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard from the Padres for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham. Oakland GM Billy Beane dealt from outfield depth to add certainty at third base, while San Diego GM Jed Hoyer strengthened his outfield with a former Padre.
Kouzmanoff, 28, hit .255/.302/.420 in 573 plate appearances for the Padres last year. He's arbitration-eligible for the first time. His glovework grades out as slightly above average, according to UZR/150.
Baseball America ranked Sogard as San Diego's 17th best prospect coming into the 2009 season, before he hit .293/.370/.400 with more walks (58) than strikeouts (47) in Double-A.
Former Padres GM Kevin Towers dealt Hairston to the A's in July. Now the 30-year-old heads back to San Diego. He hit well with the Padres last year but struggled with the A's. He's arbitration-eligible for the second time.
Cunningham, 24 in April, spent most of '09 at Triple A where he hit .302/.372/.479. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick mentions in a tweet that Cunningham recently underwent surgery for a sports hernia. This is Cunningham's third time being dealt.
MLBTR first reported the trade, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle naming the players involved and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports pointing to the deal's completion.
Our apologies for initially naming Gio Gonzalez as part of this deal.