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Market Notes: Slow Offseason, Bruce, Giants, Cubs, Werth, K-Rod

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As the free agent market continues to plod along, observers have continued to search for explanations. Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that we’ve been weighing this topic this since late November, when it was already apparent that there were some forces at play that were slowing down signings. The full story has yet to be told, and won’t be until the market resolves itself, but it’s still worthwhile to think about the potential causes and ramifications.

In one of his last posts for Fangraphs, Dave Cameron observes that a lack of parity — on paper, at least — may be one cause of the glacial pace of signings. With leading organizations perhaps preferring to wait to see how their needs develop, and their top pursuers left unsure whether even significant investments will be enough, the current competitive imbalance could be helping to slow the market, Cameron argues.

Let’s take a look at a few links as the hot stove perhaps begins to sputter to life:

  • Many others have also tackled the confounding nature of this year’s market in recent days. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggests there’s a “lack of engagement,” not just a lack of deals, in a report that indicates that some agents believe there may be a budding case for collusion. SB Nation’s Marc Normandin takes a historically oriented perspective, examining baseball’s history of collusive behavior and placing the currently stalled market in that context. SI’s Tom Verducci runs through the possible drivers of the slow-down. At Fangraphs, Travis Sawchik wonders if Boras’ approach still works, while Kiley McDaniel (welcome back!) examines the current state of teams’ efforts to find competitive advantage by allocating resources between scouting and analytics. (That last point ties into the view many have expressed that the slow market stems in part from an increasing convergence, as McDaniel terms it, in player valuations and strategies across organizations.)
  • The Giants’ top offer to Jay Bruce was at the three-year level but would have promised about $10MM less to him than the $39MM he ultimately scored from the Mets, according to reports from Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) and Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It seems that San Francisco was hoping to get some pop into the lineup at a bit of a discount, which is certainly understandable given the still-lengthy list of potential targets available in free agency and on the trade market. One additional name that has long been linked to the Giants, Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, remains of interest, Nightengale further notes. There’s also a case to be made that the Giants ought to take the opportunity presented by the slow market development while forgetting about the luxury tax line this year, as Andrew Baggarly writes for The Athletic. Of course, that’s also true for a few other teams, and it’s arguable that such interest will help prop things up once player movement begins in earnest.
  • There are still ongoing signals that the Cubs could make a splash. As Paul Sullivan writes for the Chicago Tribune, surprise winter additions are fairly commonplace in Wrigleyville. Manager Joe Maddon suggested yesterday that he believes the front office is still looking to build out the roster, Madeline Kenney of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Maddon spoke highly of both Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb, Kenney writes, and the skipper also hinted that president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer may not yet be done in adding pieces to the bullpen mix for the 2018 campaign.
  • Seeking value will no doubt still drive Chicago, but it’s an imperative for the Indians. Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer names 15 free agents who might represent highly affordable targets for the Cleveland organization. Buttressing the relief corps and adding a righty bat seem to be the top priorities, Hoynes notes.
  • Free agent outfielder Jayson Werth has given no indication that he’s readying for retirement. To the contrary, he tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that he believes he can play for multiple additional seasons (Twitter links). There’s been little indication to this point that any particular teams are in pursuit of the 38-year-old after a rough and injury-limited 2017 campaign, but that could change once the market gets moving. Werth has posted decidedly subpar offensive lines in two of the past three seasons, but did hit at a league-average-ish .244/.355/.417 clip in 2016 and has continued to hit well against lefties.
  • Veteran righty Francisco Rodriguez tells Jon Heyman of Fan Rag that he’s readying for a return and feels he can bounce back from a miserable 2017 season. The 36-year-old almost always delivered results in his 15 prior seasons of MLB action but was tagged for nine homers and 22 earned runs in just 25 1/3 innings last year, with a swinging-strike rate that dropped out of double-digits for just the second time in his long and excellent career. “I still have plenty left,” Rodriguez tells Heyman. “I am hoping to get an opportunity to help a team win a championship. I’m physically way better than I was last year. I’m ready. If I didn’t have it, I’d say it. I’m a straight shooter – my own worst critic.” Rodriguez is not receiving much interest at this point but says he’ll gladly throw for scouts to earn another chance.

Nationals Not Expected To Re-Sign Jayson Werth

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The Nationals don’t have Jayson Werth in their plans for next season, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reported earlier this week, “barring an unexpected development.”  There had been some rumors that Werth could return to the team on a one-year deal for 2018, a scenario that GM Mike Rizzo “wouldn’t close the door on” in a recent interview, though it seems as though the team is ready to move on.

Werth was limited to just 70 games last season, perhaps emblematic of his overall injury-plagued tenure in Washington.  The outfielder played in 808 out of 1134 games over his seven seasons in D.C., missing the equivalent of over two full seasons of action due to a variety of maladies.  Despite the injuries and the criticism that often followed Werth in the wake of his seven-year, $126MM free agent deal with the club, Werth was an overall valuable asset when he did play, batting .263/.355/.433 with 109 homers in a Nationals uniform.  As Castillo notes, Werth also provided a big boost off the field; Werth’s signing was seen as a pivotal moment in Nationals history as the club began to shape into a contender, and Werth brought a hugely-respected veteran presence into a young clubhouse.

The Nats will use Adam Eaton in Werth’s old left field position, with Michael Taylor becoming the regular center fielder and Bryce Harper holding down right field.  Brian Goodwin, Andrew Stevenson, and top prospect Victor Robles all represent additional outfield depth for Washington, and if the team did decide to bring in another veteran outfielder, it would likely be a player with more positional versatility than Werth can provide.

It remains to be seen what kind of market will develop for Werth, 38, as he prepares for his 16th big league season.  It should be noted that Werth hit .262/.367/.446 with eight homers over 196 plate appearances prior to suffering a bone bruise and fracture in his left foot in June, and he was likely still bothered by that injury after returning from the DL, given how his numbers fell off down the stretch.  Werth could best stay healthy and productive by joining an American League team that can offer DH at-bats, though he joins a long list of DH/first base/corner outfield types on the free agent and trade markets this winter.

NL East Notes: Stanton, Phillies, Mets Needs, Nats, Werth

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With the GM Meetings underway, we’ll be rounding up the key bits of information from around the league. Let’s get things started with the NL East:

  • While the Marlins haven’t yet committed to trading Giancarlo Stanton, his pursuit could be the first major piece of the offseason puzzle. As Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports, Miami president of baseball operations Michael Hill acknowledges that the front offices has “a sense” of where Stanton would be willing to go via trade. While the team isn’t disclosing that publicly, it’ll obviously be a key factor as the team tries to craft a trade that will meet its needs and receive approval from Stanton, who can veto any swap through his no-trade clause. Hill did also say it’s “definitely a possibility” that Stanton won’t be dealt, though the team’s payroll plans make him an exceedingly tough fit. [RELATED: MLBTR’s breakdown of Stanton’s market and compilation of the latest rumors]
  • One team that has been tied to Stanton, the Phillies, may not be that realistic a suitor after all. Per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia organization has not engaged the Marlins in “substantive talks” and do not see the slugger as a fit. As Gelb notes, GM Matt Klentak emphasized today that the club is “pretty comfortable with our position-player group right now” and prefers to “let those young players play” — barring, at least, “a pretty unique set of circumstances.” Klentak also acknowledged that “this offseason is the first time since I’ve been here that we will explore contracts of more than one year with free agents.”
  • As they seek to modernize the use of their pitching staff, the Mets seemingly hope to improve the rotation without necessarily spending resources on new acquisitions. As Marc Carig of Newsday writes, GM Sandy Alderson plans both to buttress the training approach and to improve the team’s bullpen. New York could be a player for pitchers such as Brandon Morrow, Mike Minor, and Bryan Shaw — each of whom MLBTR predicts to land a three-year deal. That said, achieving depth will surely involve multiple additions. The team is considering righty Wily Peralta as one swingman candidate, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.
  • Of course, the Mets also have other needs, and committing resources to the pen will make for sacrifices. Second base is an obvious need, though Carig suggests the club may not look to commit too big a chunk of salary to filling that hole. The Mets will also look for a quality hitter that can play right field and/or first base, helping to cover for the questions surrounding Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith (the latter of whom was the recipient of some blunt words from Alderson). It sounds like the team is more or less seeking the same thing it was when it inked Michael Cuddyer a few years back. A righty bat would make the most sense from a platoon perspective, though that could mean giving the lion’s share of time in center to Juan Lagares — a possibility that Carig credits.
  • Nationals president of baseball ops Mike Rizzo downplayed the possibility of the organization landing a top-flight starter, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. He did, however, say that depth in the rotation and the pen were on his offseason wish list. It’s interesting to hear that Rizzo isn’t keen (at least publicly) to pursue more significant additions to the pitching staff. After all, the lineup is also mostly set; on the whole, the ballclub has few holes in terms of its major contributors (with catcher arguably representing a major exception). But with a mandate to pursue an elusive, deep playoff run, that has left some wondering where the team will look to improve. Perhaps building out a strong supporting cast will be the focus; then again, it could be that larger moves could be pursued in a stealthier manner.
  • Rizzo said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the Nationals would retain Jayson Werth, as Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. “We haven’t really discussed that or gone down that road yet,” said Rizzo, “but I wouldn’t close the door on it.” He did note that such a move would “have to fit into what we want to do,” likely hinting at a much-reduced role for the veteran. In honesty, it’s somewhat difficult to see just how Werth would fit in with the team’s current alignment, though perhaps it’s possible he’d mostly work as a bench bat and depth option.

Heyman’s Latest: Kapler, Hosmer, Kennedy, Werth, Ibanez, Bell

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The Phillies’ choice of Gabe Kapler as manager has drawn mixed reviews from around the game, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman writes, as Kapler’s unique approaches to baseball have brought him praise as an innovative thinker but also led to clashes with some players and personnel within the Dodgers organization.  It should be noted that this didn’t extend to Dodgers front office heads Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, both of whom are big fans of Kapler and made calls to the Mets and Phillies recommending him for their managerial openings.  The Dodgers themselves almost hired Kapler as manager two years ago, though the fact that some players reportedly lobbied the team to instead go with Dave Roberts also stands out as a possible red flag.  The article is well worth a full read to get a sense of the criticisms lobbied against Kapler, and why the Phillies’ hire “may be the biggest gamble of the winter.”

Some more from Heyman, as per his latest collection of notes from around baseball…

  • The Royals’ pursuit of Eric Hosmer could decide their immediate future, as the team could decide to forego re-signing any of their other free agents and rebuild if Hosmer can’t be brought back into the fold.  It will take a sizeable offer to re-sign Hosmer, however, and while K.C. has been willing to spend to keep is championship window open, “their payroll is starting to press the limits.”
  • Ian Kennedy won’t exercise his opt-out clause, and will remain with the Royals for the three years and $49MM remaining on his contract.  While no official announcement has come from Kennedy or the team, the decision is an unsurprising one given the righty’s subpar season.  Kennedy said himself in September that “it would be pretty stupid” to head into free agency on the heels of an injury-hampered year that saw Kennedy post a 5.38 ERA over 154 innings.
  • Jayson Werth could potentially return to the Nationals on a one-year deal.  Werth was hitting a solid .262/.367/.446 through his first 196 PA before missing almost three months due to a fracture in his left foot.  He still seemed bothered by the injury after his return, leading to subpar numbers down the stretch.  The Nats could conceivably use Adam Eaton as both a left fielder and center fielder next year, opening up playing time for Werth or Michael Taylor to fill whatever position Eaton isn’t occupying on any given day.
  • Raul Ibanez was seen as a potentially strong contender to become the Yankees’ next manager, though Ibanez reportedly likes his current position with the Dodgers (special advisor to Andrew Friedman) and doesn’t want to leave.  Yankees GM Brian Cashman reportedly has 20-25 names on his list of managerial candidates.
  • Newly-hired Giants VP of player development David Bell could potentially be a candidate to eventually take over the manager’s job from Bruce Bochy.  Bell previously worked on the Cardinals’ and Cubs’ coaching staffs and worked as a manager in the Reds’ farm system, not to mention his 12-year career as a player.  Bench coach Hensley Meulens has also been often cited as Bochy’s heir apparent.  Bochy’s current contract runs through the 2019 season, and while his track record has likely given him the job as long as he wants, he also turns 63 in April and has dealt with some health issues in recent years.

Heyman’s Latest: Royals, Cobb, Hendry, Snitker, Dickey, Werth

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Within his latest AL Notes column, FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes that Royals GM Dayton Moore doesn’t appear to be going anywhere despite rumors about him possibly taking over the Braves’ front office. Moore, who cut his teeth in the front office world as a Braves exec, has been an oft-rumored replacement for John Coppolella in Atlanta following his resignation as general manager.

In other Royals news, the team is planning to give a qualifying offer to center fielder Lorenzo Cain, though the team hasn’t firmly decided on that option just yet, per Heyman. It seems like a no-brainer in my view. Despite the fact that Cain will be 32 next season, he hit .300/.363/.440 season at the plate with15 homers and swiped 26 bases while playing elite center-field defense in 2017. The Royals undoubtedly expect Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas to reject QOs, so the minimal risk of Cain accepting would hardly put an exorbitant strain on payroll, though it’d limit their maneuverability for the remainder of the winter. Cain should be able to shatter that mark even with draft compensation attached to him. Heyman also notes that hitting coach Dale Sveum will now be the team’s bench coach, replacing the departed Don Wakamatsu. As such, the Royals are on the hunt for a new pitching coach and a new hitting coach to step into Sveum’s spot.

A few more items of note…

  • Though payroll is always an issue for the Rays, they’re nonetheless expected to make righty Alex Cobb an $18.1MM qualifying offer, per Heyman. The 30-year-old logged a career-high 179 1/3 innings in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, pitching to a 3.66 ERA with 6.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 47.8 percent ground-ball rate. Cobb should draw widespread interest, though I’d personally imagine that the fact that he’s yet to ever reach even 180 innings in a single season (to say nothing of 2017’s diminished strikeout rate) will limit his marketability to some extent. Still, Cobb should be able to score a more lucrative multi-year deal, and it’s difficult to imagine him accepting a QO.
  • There’s a belief that former Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, currently a special assistant with the Yankees, could be brought over to the Marlins by Derek Jeter, Heyman reports in his NL roundup. He’d work in baseball operations department under president of baseball ops Michael Hill, per Heyman, and while this particular report doesn’t specify a role, MLB Network’s Peter Gammons referred to Hendry as the “anticipated GM” in a column yesterday. Even if Hendry were to assume that title, however, Hill’s status as president of baseball ops would presumably still make him the top decision-maker for the Marlins.
  • The Braves were leaning toward a managerial change before last week’s scandal with now-former GM John Coppolella, Heyman reports. Internal candidates Bo Porter and Ron Washington, both former big league managers, were the leading candidates to take over the dugout, and Heyman writes that one of the two would “likely” have been handed that job. Instead, Brian Snitker will keep his post. Meanwhile, with Moore likely to remain loyal to the Royals, some candidates that are “in the mix,” per Heyman, include former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington, former Marlins general manager Dan Jennings and current Nationals assistant GM Doug Harris.
  • Also on the subject of the Braves, Heyman writes in his NL Notes roundup that the team is waiting for R.A. Dickey to determine whether he wants to play in 2018 or retire. Atlanta would be “happy” to pick up his $8MM option for the 2018 season after he ably served as an innings eater and a veteran mentor to the team’s young pitchers.
  • Though Jayson Werth is 38 years of age and has dealt with injuries in recent years, the well-respected veteran doesn’t appear to have any inclination to call it a career after his seven-year, $126MM contract with the Nationals expires this season. Per Heyman, Werth has stated that he’d like to play another three or four years, at the least, before retiring from the game. Werth struggled in his return from a left foot injury this season but had hit .262/.367/.446 with eight homers, five doubles, a triple and four steals through 196 plate appearances before landing on the shelf in early June.

NL Notes: Martinez, Cardinals, Nationals

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Diamondbacks right fielder J.D. Martinez has been one of majors’ top offensive players over the past few years, but his 2014 breakout wouldn’t have come if not for Los Angeles-based hitting coaches Craig Wallenbrock and Robert Van Scoyoc, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic details. When Martinez first visited the duo four years ago, his swing “was pretty terrible, to be honest,” according to Van Scoyoc. Added Wallenbrock, “We probably made more drastic changes with him than we did with anybody.” Martinez began working diligently with the pair after the 2013 season (before the Astros released him in March 2014), and the fly ball-first approach they preach has paid enormous dividends. As an Astro from 2011-13, Martinez hit .251/.300/.387 with 24 home runs and a 33.3 percent fly ball rate in 975 trips to the plate. Since then, Martinez has combined for 2,143 plate appearances with the Tigers and D-backs and slashed .300/.362/.574 with 128 HRs and a 40.1 percent fly ball rate. The 30-year-old currently stands as one of the game’s premier free agents-to-be, and realizes he wouldn’t be where he is without Wallenbrock and Van Scoyoc. “I am who I am because of them,” Martinez said.

More from the National League:

  • The Cardinals are in search of power, something third baseman Jedd Gyorko provided both last year and this season, but it’s possible he’ll be on another roster in 2018, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. While Gyorko has hit a team-high 50 home runs since 2016 (20 this year) and, in manager Mike Matheny’s words, “played a phenomenal third base,” the Cardinals could shop him if they make changes at his position or elsewhere in in the infield. Gyorko, who’s controllable through 2020 at reasonable costs, wants to stay where he is. “I would love to be here, but who knows?” he said. “If I could spend the rest of my career here that would be great. I can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t want to play here.”
  • Elsewhere in the Cardinals’ infield, the presence of power-hitting shortstop Paul DeJong gives them a leg up on most teams, Benjamin Hochman of the Post-Dispatch argues. Of the top eight shortstops in home runs this year, five ended up in the postseason, Hochman points out. The 24-year-old DeJong was one of the three who didn’t, but the rookie still posted outstanding production with 25 long balls – good for second at his position – to go with a .285/.325/.532 line and a .247 ISO over 443 PAs. But DeJong’s output did come with some good fortune – with 124 strikeouts against 21 unintentional walks, he logged one of the worst ratios in the game. Further, according to Statcast (via Baseball Savant), DeJong’s expected weighted on-base average (.323) lagged far behind his actual wOBA (.365). Sill, Hochman expects DeJong to be the answer for the Cards at short, a position Aledmys Diaz couldn’t lock down this season after unexpectedly bursting on the scene as a rookie in 2016.
  • In a decision that raised eyebrows at the time, outfielder Jayson Werth left the contending Phillies for the upstart Nationals’ seven-year, $126MM offer in December 2010. The Nationals have turned into a winning organization since then, in part because of Werth, Nats GM Mike Rizzo told Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “I brought him here to shape us as a championship-caliber franchise,” Rizzo said. “Slowly, we’ve kind of morphed into a very professional organization. We have a protocol and a process. He has been an instrumental factor in getting us where we’re at.” Werth’s production has been a mixed bag in D.C., but the club “got everything we intended to get out of” signing him, Rizzo contends. Werth, meanwhile, is “proud” of the “first-class organization” the Nats have become during his seven-year run, and he’s content to “leave this organization in a better state than when I arrived.”

Injury Notes: Astros, Kershaw, Price, Richards, Nats, Rays

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Astros superstar shortstop Carlos Correa is progressing toward a return from the torn left thumb ligament he suffered July 18. Correa will take batting practice on the field Tuesday for the first time since succumbing to the injury, and he could then embark on a rehab assignment, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, including Ben DuBose of MLB.com. Teammate Lance McCullers, who has been on the shelf for three weeks with back discomfort, threw a three-inning simulated game Sunday, but there’s no timetable for the right-hander’s return. Hinch informed Mark Berman of FOX 26 (via Twitter) and other reporters that McCullers will need to make multiple rehab appearances before coming back.

More injury updates from around the majors:

  • Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is likely to rejoin their rotation Sept. 1, relays Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter links). Kershaw, who’s rehabbing from a late-July back injury, will throw a three-inning sim game in Pittsburgh on Monday, manager Dave Roberts announced. If all goes well, he’ll make a rehab start at either the Double-A or Triple-A level next weekend (Twitter link via Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times).
  • Arm stiffness has prevented Red Sox left-hander David Price from throwing since Tuesday, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, according to Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com. Price has dealt with forearm problems off and on since spring training, though Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told MLB Network Radio on Sunday that he’s “hopeful” the hurler will be a factor again this season (Twitter link). Time’s running out, however, as McCaffrey notes.
  • The Angels are targeting a September return for righty Garrett Richards, who will face live hitters Sunday for the first time since he made his lone start of the year on April 5, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. Biceps nerve irritation has sidelined Richards, who missed nearly all of last season with elbow troubles. With roster expansion forthcoming, manager Mike Scioscia suggested that the Angels won’t need to stretch Richards out fully in order for him to rejoin the playoff hopefuls’ rotation. “I don’t think it’s realistic to get Garrett stretched out to the 75-, 90-, 100-pitch range, but I do see a scenario if he gets to 60 pitches, we might use him to come to our rotation and see how far he gets because we’ll have plenty of pitching to follow up at that point,” Scioscia said.
  • Along with the previously reported Jayson Werth, Nationals shortstop Trea Turner will start a Triple-A rehab assignment Monday, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Both players have been out since June (Werth went to the DL on June 5, Turner on June 30), and they’re slated to return next week, according to Zuckerman. Turner’s lengthy DL stint came as a result of a broken right wrist.
  • The Rays placed righty Jacob Faria on the 10-day DL on Sunday with a left abdominal strain, clearing roster space for just-claimed outfielder Cesar Puello.  Faria revealed that he has battled the injury over his past several starts, though he doesn’t believe it’ll be a long-term problem or even a season-ending issue, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link). Prior to the DL stint, the 24-year-old Faria was amid a quality rookie season with a 3.32 ERA and 8.81 K/9 against 3.32 BB/9 across 78 2/3 innings.

East News & Rumors: Sabathia, Stanton, Marlins, Nats

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Yankees left-hander C.C. Sabathia’s right knee was in so much pain during an unsuccessful Aug. 8 start against the Blue Jays that the 37-year-old feared he wouldn’t take the ball again, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports. “I know that he was pretty emotional that night, because I think he thought he was probably headed for surgery,” manager Joe Girardi said.  A clean MRI and a painkilling injection enabled Sabathia to avoid surgery, though, and he returned from the 10-day disabled list Saturday to throw six innings of two-earned run ball in an upset win over Chris Sale and the Red Sox.  Sabathia is due to become a free agent in the offseason, when he’ll have to decide whether to pursue another deal or call it a career. His performance this year would certainly warrant a contract – the former ace has ridden a 50 percent ground-ball rate to a 3.99 ERA over 108 1/3 innings.

More from the East Coast:

  • Home run-hitting machine Giancarlo Stanton is among the game’s absolute best players at the moment, but the Marlins right fielder’s contract and injury history combine to make him a very tough sell around the majors, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Stanton, who’s due $295MM from 2018-28 and has both full no-trade rights and a 2020 opt-out clause, went through revocable trade waivers unclaimed earlier this month. The executives Sherman spoke with aren’t surprised. “This is the problem if you make emotional decisions in the moment. Stanton is playing great now, but three months ago you would have thought he was at least a $100 million liability and three months from now you might feel the same,” one exec said of Stanton, who will create a dilemma for the Marlins’ new ownership group when it takes the reins. On one hand, Stanton’s contract is the biggest contributor to the franchise’s financial woes – the Marlins will lose $70MM-plus this year, per Sherman – so trading him would benefit Derek Jeter & Co. from a payroll standpoint. On the other, Stanton’s contract means Miami likely wouldn’t get the type of return for him that you’d expect for someone of his immense ability and star power. That means trading the 27-year-old would probably send the wrong message to a fan base that outgoing owner Jeffrey Loria has alienated over the years.
  • Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo is an early front-runner to become the Marlins’ general manager once the Jeter group assumes control of the franchise, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links).  Denbo has worked in various capacities with the Yankees since the 1990s, the decade in which Jeter’s professional career began, and was a mentor to the the now-retired shortstop during his Hall of Fame-caliber playing days.  The two remain “close,” Feinsand notes.
  • Injuries have ravaged the Nationals’ outfield throughout the season, but here’s some positive news for the first-place club: Left fielder Jayson Werth is “feeling good” and set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Monday, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman.  Werth has had a tough road back since he landed on the disabled list June 5 with a fractured left foot and a bone bruise.  The 38-year-old free agent-to-be was in the midst of a nice season prior to the injury, as he slashed .262/.367/.446 with eight home runs over 196 plate appearances.

Injury Notes: Tanaka, Angels, Diekman, Wahl, Lugo, Nats

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Masahiro Tanaka is on the disabled list due to some inflammation in his shoulder, but he could be back with the Yankees as soon as next week, per WFAN’s Sweeny Murti (Twitter link). Murti also notes that lefty CC Sabathia is slated to come off the DL on Saturday. Tanaka will throw a bullpen session tomorrow, and if that goes well, he’ll return to the rotation next week against the Tigers. Demonstrating that this is a minor issue will be key for Tanaka and the Yankees; Tanaka has pitched quite well over his past nine starts and been solid dating back to late May, perhaps positioning him to opt out of the remaining three years on his contract. And the Yankees, of course, are currently in possession of an AL Wild Card spot and are also 4.5 games back of the Red Sox in the AL East.

A few more injury updates of note from around the league…

  • The Angels have received some good news on the rotation front, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Left-hander Andrew Heaney will return to the mound on Friday in Baltimore — his first big league appearance in roughly 16 months. Heaney underwent Tommy John surgery last year — one of many blows to what had looked on paper to be a promising Angels pitching staff. Now 26 years of age, Heaney turned in 105 2/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball with 6.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in his first season with the Halos back in 2015. A healthy Heaney would be a boost to a surging Angels club that now finds itself in the thick of the AL Wild Card race. Fletcher also tweeted yesterday that, per manager Mike Scioscia, right-hander Garrett Richards will face hitters later this week, though it’s not yet clear when Richards could return to a big league mound.
  • Left-hander Jake Diekman is getting closer to returning to the Rangers’ bullpen. Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that Diekman will begin a rehab assignment with the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate on Thursday, during which he’s slated to throw 15 pitches. The 30-year-old southpaw was a key piece of the Texas bullpen in 2015-16 after coming over from the Phillies alongside Cole Hamels, but he’s yet to pitch this season due to a trio of surgeries he’s undergone to combat ulcerative colitis.
  • The Athletics announced yesterday that right-hander Bobby Wahl’s season is over after he underwent surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome. TOS surgery has become increasingly popular in recent seasons, though the success rate on it doesn’t appear to be as high as other common surgeries for pitchers. The 25-year-old Wahl posted terrific numbers in Double-A and Triple-A last season, and he made his big league debut with Oakland earlier in 2017. In 7 2/3 frames, he allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks with eight strikeouts.
  • The Mets placed right-hander Seth Lugo on the 10-day DL yesterday with an impingement in his right shoulder, and Lugo emphasized today that he doesn’t feel surgery is required for either his previously injured elbow or his shoulder, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. Lugo is hopeful of missing just one or two starts with his current issue. “The doctors said this is an inoperable situation,” said Lugo. “…Surgery’s not even a though.” Lugo missed the first two months of the season after being diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
  • Nationals manager Dusty Baker gave some quick updates on a number of ailing players, writes Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com. Outfielder Jayson Werth is still going through a running program and isn’t yet ready for a rehab assignment, per Baker. Werth will need to play consecutive nine-inning games before being activated. Baker also revealed that while he initially thought right-hander Ryan Madson was dealing with a blister issue on his finger, it appears that is not the case. Madson has “something in his finger” that the Nats are currently analyzing. Bryce Harper, meanwhile, is traveling with the team as he gets treatment on his injured left knee.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/23/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • Rangers infielder Pete Kozma cleared waivers and has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake tweets.  Kozma was designated for assignment on Thursday.  The veteran has appeared in 39 games with the Rangers and Yankees this season, filling in at all four infield positions and hitting .111/.200/.178 in 51 plate appearances.
  • The Nationals announced some roster moves prior to today’s game, including selecting the contract of outfielder Andrew Stevenson and calling up catcher Pedro Severino.  In corresponding moves, Jayson Werth was shifted to the 60-day DL, Ryan Raburn went on the bereavement list and Chris Heisey was placed on the 10-day DL with a left groin strain.  Stevenson, a second-round pick out of LSU in the 2015 draft, is getting his first taste of big league action after hitting .280/.335/.366 over 1216 career PA in the minors.  Most of that success, however, came at the lower rungs of Washington’s farm system; Stevenson has posted only a .612 OPS over 306 PA at the Triple-A level.  Stevenson will serve as a backup in left, center and right field, and he should get a decent amount of playing time with the Nats short-handed in the outfield.
  • The Yankees outrighted first baseman Ji-Man Choi to Triple-A, the team announced prior to today’s game.  Choi signed a minor league deal with New York last winter and collected on that contract’s $700K guaranteed salary when he was promoted to the Yankees’ roster earlier this month.  He made a strong impression during his short time in the Bronx, posting a 1.067 OPS over 18 plate appearances.  Choi will continue to provide the Yankees with first base depth in the minors.
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