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Jeremy Pena

Latest On Carlos Correa’s Market

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Carlos Correa remains on the free agent market, as possible suitors like the Yankees, Phillies, Tigers and Rangers have all seemingly decided not to make a serious run at him this offseason. With less than three weeks to go before Opening Day, a resolution on the Correa front seems likely to arrive sooner than later.

The incumbent Astros haven’t abandoned their pursuit. Houston’s initial five-year, $160MM offer to Correa early in the offseason never seemed especially tempting for the star shortstop. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic tweeted earlier this week the Astros were preparing a new offer, noting that players in Houston camp were palpably excited about the possibility the team could bring him back.

Asked about the chances of re-upping Correa this morning, Astros GM James Click demurred (video link from Jason Bristol of KHOU). “It’s not something we’re going to comment on one way or the other,” he said before noting that the recent signing of Niko Goodrum strengthened the club’s overall infield depth. Houston also has veteran Aledmys Díaz and top prospect Jeremy Peña as possible options if Correa heads elsewhere. Skipper Dusty Baker called Peña “the frontrunner” among the in-house players at the position this week (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).

Former Astros scouting director Mike Elias — an instrumental factor in Houston’s decision to select Correa first overall in the 2012 draft — is now running baseball operations with the Orioles. That has led to some speculation the rebuilding O’s could get into the mix for the two-time All-Star. There hadn’t previously been any firm indication Baltimore was considering such a move, but Rosenthal wrote last night the O’s could contemplate a run at Correa “if his price dropped to a level the club deemed appropriate.”

That’d require a change in tone from Elias’ comments earlier this week, when he said he didn’t anticipate the Orioles signing any players to multi-year contracts. Making an exception for Correa, though, makes some sense. Beyond Elias’ personal familiarity with the shortstop, Correa’s young enough to anchor whatever core with which the O’s emerge from their rebuild. He’s only 27 years old, and while Correa wouldn’t single-handedly make Baltimore a contender this year, he’d presumably remain an excellent player during 2023-24 campaigns when the O’s expect to be competitive.

Correa to Baltimore remains a long shot, and the caveat that it may require his asking price falling is a notable one. Still, Raul Ramos of Con Las Bases Llenas linked the O’s with Correa before Rosenthal’s report, writing the club may even had put an offer on the table. There’ll certainly be more clarity on Correa’s eventual destination fairly soon, particularly with the other star free agent option at the position, Trevor Story, reportedly nearing a decision.

Quick Hits: International Signings, Astros, Watson, Nationals

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Though much of the offseason baseball calendar has been shuttered by the lockout, the next international signing period will still open as scheduled on January 15.  This will technically be the 2021-22 signing window, as both this upcoming signing period and last year’s period were pushed back from their normal July 2 date due to the pandemic.  Since many of the eligible international players long ago entered into unofficial agreements with their future teams, there isn’t much mystery about the landing spots or even the signing bonuses for these top amateur.  As such, Baseball America’s Ben Badler is able to rank the top 50 players in the market by their expected signing bonuses in his preview of the 2021-22 int’l market.

Cuban outfielder Cristian Vaquero leads the way, as the 16-year-old has already been linked to the Nationals.  The 16-year-old is a bit of a work in progress at the plate, as Badler notes that Vaquero only somewhat recently became a switch-hitter rather than a pure left-handed hitter, though he does swing well from the left side.  As for glovework, Vaquero is “a dynamic center fielder with plus speed, a strong arm and good defensive instincts for his age.”

More from around baseball…

  • “I think bringing back [Justin] Verlander is probably going to go down as the Astros’ biggest move of the offseason,” The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan writes as part of a reader mailbag.  The exception might be if a notable remaining free agent was open to the type of short-term, high-average-annual-value contract the Astros seemingly prefer, yet barring such a move, it doesn’t seem like Houston would pivot towards a longer-term deal.  To that same end, this would seemingly indicate that the Astros won’t pursue Trevor Story or a reunion with Carlos Correa, and instead head into 2022 entrusting rookie Jeremy Pena with at least a share of the regular shortstop job.  Though there’s some obvious risk involved, Kaplan notes that the Astros tried this same tactic last season when George Springer left in free agency, and the club found adequate in-house center field replacements in Myles Straw, Chas McCormick, and Jake Meyers (Houston even had enough depth at the position to deal Straw at the trade deadline).  The Astros could acquire a lower-tier veteran shortstop to provide some extra backing for Pena and utilityman Aledmys Diaz.
  • The Nationals have spent the last several months looking to overhaul their player development practices, and they went in-house to elevate De Jon Watson to the role of director of the player development department.  In a two-part interview with The Athletic’s Maria Torres (part one, part two), Watson discusses the many steps both already made and in the works, plus he also shares his thought on some of the Nats’ most interesting prospects.

Astros Select Jeremy Pena, Three Others

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The Astros announced they’ve selected infielders Jeremy Peña and Joe Perez, right-hander Shawn Dubin and left-hander Jonathan Bermudez to the 40-man roster. Infielder Freudis Nova has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Sugar Land, while Houston lost southpaw Kent Emanuel on waivers to Philadelphia. Houston’s 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need to make another move once their re-signing of Justin Verlander becomes official.

Peña is the most notable of the group, as he’s regarded by both FanGraphs and Baseball America as one of the top two prospects in the Houston system. Originally a third-round pick out of the University of Maine in 2018, Peña has handily outperformed that draft status as a professional. Always regarded as a high-end defensive infielder, the right-handed hitter has offered quite a bit more than expected at the plate over the past few seasons. He’s been an above-average hitter at every minor league stop by measure of wRC+.

While Peña’s still regarded as a glove-first prospect, his plate discipline and passable raw power should give him a chance to be an everyday shortstop in the future. The 23-year-old missed most of this past season recovering from wrist surgery but returned late in the year to hit .287/.346/.598 with ten homers over 133 plate appearances with Sugar Land. That came with an elevated 26.3% strikeout rate, and the Houston front office may want to give him a little more time at the minors’ top level before he makes his big league debut.

Still, Peña was a lock to be protected from the Rule 5, and it seems he’ll be in the majors before too long. With Carlos Correa potentially departing in free agency, the Astros have to weigh how confident they are in Peña’s ability to assume a key role on a contending club in 2022. The front office’s confidence in the talented youngster could well impact how hard they try to retain or replace Correa this offseason.

Perez was a second-round pick out of a Florida high school in 2017. Primarily a third baseman, he draws praise for his power and arm strength but has some questions about his bat-to-ball skills. The 22-year-old mashed over 109 plate appearances with High-A Asheville this year. He hit at an average .267/.322/.420 clip with eight homers and a 26.1% strikeout rate over 307 plate appearances upon a promotion to Double-A Corpus Christi. BA placed the right-handed hitter sixth in the Astros’ system midseason.

Dubin, 26, was a 13th-rounder in 2018 out of Georgetown College in Kentucky. The right-hander has posted strong numbers in a swing capacity over his pro career, topping out at Sugar Land this past season. BA credits him with a low-mid 90s fastball and plus slider, in addition to a fringe-average curveball and changeup. BA suggests he has a chance to stick as a starter, while FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote that he’s likelier to end up in relief. Either way, Dubin’s bat-missing abilities should get him a major league look relatively soon. He punched out 35.4% of opponents against a 9.7% walk rate in 49 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, working to a 3.44 ERA in the process.

Bermudez, meanwhile, was a 23rd-rounder out of Southeastern University in that same 2018 draft. The 26-year-old southpaw has never appeared on an organizational ranking at FanGraphs or BA, but he’s the owner of a strong minor league resume. He split the 2021 campaign between the minors’ top two levels, working to a 3.24 ERA over 111 innings. Bermudez punched out a lofty 31.9% of batters faced while walking just 7.4%, setting himself up for a potential big league debut in 2022.

Nova was formerly one of the top prospects in the organization as well. He’s struggled with underperformance and injuries in recent seasons, and he underwent surgery to repair an ACL tear in September. The 21-year-old will remain in the organization and hope to work his way back onto the 40-man roster once he’s healthy.

Astros Notes: Correa, Verlander, Meyers

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At the GM Meetings in Carlsbad, California, Astros’ general manager James Click spoke to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle about the team’s shortstop vacancy, although he claims not to see it that way.

Most of Houston’s playing time at shortstop over the past seven seasons has gone to Carlos Correa, who is now a free agent. The club reportedly made Correa an offer before he hit the open market, although it apparently fell well short of the industry expectations surrounding his earning power. The five-year, $160MM offer was exactly half of MLBTR’s recent prediction of 10 years and $320MM, making it not terribly surprising that Correa didn’t trip over himself to get out his pen.

In the article, Rome opines that the offer is merely a way for the front office to claim that they made an effort, and then pivot to free agents that can be had on short-term deals, or no free agents at all, with the aim of keeping the position available to be claimed by prospect Jeremy Pena. Due to wrist surgery, Pena only played 30 games at Triple-A this year, but they went very well. The 24-year-old hit .287/.346/.598, for a wRC+ of 126. He comes in at #42 on the FanGraphs list of top prospects across the league, although he doesn’t crack the top 100 at Baseball America or MLB Pipeline.

Until his arrival at the big leagues, the club could consider the in-house option of Aledmys Diaz, as Click describes him as “more than qualified” to take the job. Diaz has a lot of time at shortstop on his resume, but not recently, just 14 games in the last three seasons. That lack of recent work at short and his roughly league-average offense over the past two seasons would certainly be a downgrade from Correa, who is elite on both sides of the ball.

One option not being taken seriously, however, is moving Alex Bregman from this base to shortstop. When asked about that option, Click said, “I would highly doubt it” and later added, “I don’t want to get too cute by half and try to jam a square peg into a round hole.” Bregman was primarily a shortstop before reaching the big leagues, sliding to third because of the presence of Correa. He saw some significant time there in 2019 when Correa was hurt, getting into 65 games, but hasn’t played there since. The move doesn’t seem to be totally off the table, though, as Click added that he “would have to talk to Alex about it.”

In a separate post, Rome speaks to Click about the pitching situation, with Click saying that the bullpen is a bigger need than the rotation. “I know that people have started probably mentally thinking of Cristian Javier as a reliever, but we don’t think that way,” Click says, “and having him as a starting pitching option is very real for us and creates a lot more depth.” Including Javier as a starter certainly does make the rotation look healthy, with Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy and Jake Odorizzi all on hand as viable options. The club also has an outstanding $18.4 qualifying offer in front of Justin Verlander at the moment, although based on the success of his recent showcase, the odds seem to be in favour of him declining and exploring the market. Click himself spoke positively about Verlander’s performance at the showcase, as relayed by Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. Odorizzi’s level of participation seems to be a question mark, however, as Rome details how the hurler wasn’t happy with his usage at times, displeased with the club’s hesitance at letting him face a batting order for a third time. He’s entering his final guaranteed year as an Astro but has a player option for 2023.

Elsewhere in Astros land, the club got some bad news regarding Jake Meyers, per Rome. Meyers left game four of the ALDS with a shoulder injury and never returned. He recently had surgery to repair a labral tear and isn’t expected to be playing by Opening Day 2022. That will hurt the club’s center field depth, as they had traded away Myles Straw at the deadline, in part because Meyers was ready to step up and take his place. The plan went very well before the injury, as Meyers hit .260/.323/.438 for a wRC+ of 111 in 49 games, along with a good showing in four postseason games. As long as Meyers is on the shelf, Houston’s top options in center will likely be Chas McCormick and Jose Siri, although moving Kyle Tucker from right to center is also on the table. “We have to decide, ‘Do we want to consider moving Kyle to center and then going shopping for a corner guy?’” Click said, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. “‘Do we want to have Kyle in center and have Chas and Siri and Yordan and Brantley be kind of rotating through all those spots?’” The market for free agent center fielders isn’t strong, with Starling Marte representing the only true everyday option. The market for corner outfielders, however, has many more exciting options. If the club feels comfortable with Tucker up the middle, it could make sense to take that route. At the big league level, he’s only played five regular season games in center in his career, although he saw some time there this postseason after Meyers got hurt.

Justin Verlander Still Awaiting Qualifying Offer Decision

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Astros owner and chairman Jim Crane insists that his club has the resources they need to improve their ball club, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Crane did not mince words when speaking of his team needs, simply calling out the fact that the Astros will be looking for pitching and a shortstop, per Rome.

The latter need is the more finite and interesting of the two. Carlos Correa will presumably walk as a free agent, despite the resources that Crane touts as being available to his club. Certainly, for a club that has made three World Series appearances over the past five years, there should be no shortage of financial might.

The decision to let Correa walk, should they do so, is more a calculated evaluation of resource allocation. Still, it’s interesting for Crane to voice that position as one of need. Jeremy Pena has shown promise in the minor leagues, but it would be a tall order for Pena to step directly into the starting lineup for Correa, a franchise icon and two-time All-Star. The 24-year-old his an impressive .287/.346/.598 over 133 plate appearances at Triple-A.

On the pitching side, the Astros have already shifted to a new generations of arms led by the likes of Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, and Luis Garcia. Former ace and rotation stalwart Justin Verlander is still awaiting a possible qualifying offer, however. Despite missing all of last season because of Tommy John surgery, the 38-year-old would be a high ceiling, short-term use of the Astros’ financial might, were they to go ahead and extend the qualifying offer. The deadline to extend that offer is Sunday, and the Astros are still considering their options, tweets Rome.

Free Agent Notes: Correa, Iglesias, Rodriguez

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The upcoming free agent shortstop market has been talked about for awhile now, and we’re still a few months off from seeing how the whole thing plays out. Perhaps the most coveted of the soon-to-be available shortstops is the Astros’ Carlos Correa. One potential match for Correa’s services will be the Tigers, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

The Tigers are an up-and-coming team with plenty of financial flexibility, and it’s certainly interesting to think about Correa once again teaming up with his former skipper A.J. Hinch. As hard as it is to imagine Correa leaving Houston, they do have prospect Jeremy Pena waiting in the wings, making an exit at least feasible. The Tigers, meanwhile, have one of the most open shortstop situations in the game, with incumbent Niko Goodrum easily able to shift into a super-utility role.

Angels’ closer Raisel Iglesias figures to be another in-demand free agent this winter. His priority, however, is re-signing with the Angels, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange-County Register. Iglesias made the most of his first season with the Angels, tossing 69 innings in 64 appearances with a 2.61 ERA/2.87 FIP. He has notched 34 saves, a mark that will look attractive to contenders this offseason.

In terms of rotations arms, there are few with the upside of the Red Sox’ Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez and the Red Sox spoke about a possible extension earlier in the year, but there wasn’t much progress made and the two sides ultimately decided to table talks until the offseason, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. After complications from COVID-19 cost Rodriguez all of 2020, he has returned to his usual stable workload, making 31 starts for the playoff hopefuls.

Rodriguez hasn’t quite pitched to his pre-2020 level, though his 4.77 ERA may be a touch inflated. A 3.33 FIP suggests the 28-year-old hasn’t lost a step. He’s tossed 156 2/3 innings with an above-average 27.4 percent strikeout rate, 7.0 percent walk rate, 44.2 percent groundball rate, all numbers that will look good on Rodriguez’s free agent resume this winter.

West Notes: Solano, Crawford, Rendon, Fiers, Pena

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Giants second baseman Donovan Solano exited their game against the Phillies on Wednesday with a right calf strain, manager Gabe Kapler announced (Twitter links via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). Kapler admitted that the injury could lead to an IL stint for Solano, who’s off to a .300/.333/.380 start in 54 plate appearances this year. Should he land on the shelf, Tommy La Stella, Mauricio Dubon and Wilmer Flores would be candidates to fill in at the keystone. Brandon Crawford was also removed from this afternoon’s game early, but it seems his issue isn’t as severe. The longtime San Francisco shortstop felt some tightness in his side and was pulled for precautionary reasons, Kapler said (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic).

More from the West divisions:

  • Anthony Rendon is “getting really, really close” to returning to the Angels, manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). The star third baseman landed on the injured list April 12 due to a left groin strain. There’s still no specific date for Rendon’s anticipated return, but it doesn’t seem they’ll be without him too much longer. Because of a trio of postponements, the Angels have only played seven games without Rendon so far, going 3-4 while relying on José Rojas, Jack Mayfield and Luis Rengifo at the hot corner.
  • The Athletics could activate right-hander Mike Fiers from the IL in the coming days, according to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A’s have gone the first few weeks of the season without Fiers after he suffered a lumbar strain that was initially diagnosed as hip inflammation. Fiers, 35, had a rough 2020 – 4.58 ERA/5.41 SIERA in 59 innings – but the A’s still brought him back on a one-year, $3.5MM guarantee in free agency. He figures to slot back into the A’s rotation when he returns, though it’s unclear whom Fiers will replace if the team sticks with a five-man starting staff.
  • Astros shortstop prospect Jeremy Pena will undergo surgery on his left wrist, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Astros announced that Pena will require “approximately five months” to recover, meaning his minor league season is likely over before it even began. Pena hadn’t played above High-A ball coming into this year, but Rome notes that he was expected to start this season at the Triple-A level. The 23-year-old, who is regarded as one of the Astros’ best prospects, combined for a terrific .303/.385/.440 slash with seven home runs and 20 steals across 473 plate appearances between High-A and Low-A in 2019.

Quick Hits: Sanchez, Correa, Torres

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Anibal Sanchez continues to prepare himself for the 2021 season. This upcoming Saturday in Miami, he will throw a bullpen session for a few teams, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The Phillies were linked to Sanchez this winter, while the Nationals have more recently expressed an interest in bringing the 37-year-old back to DC for a third season. Given the level of comfort between the two sides, the Nats certainly make for a logical match. Their need is clear enough with Patrick Corbin and Jon Lester on the injured list as part of the COVID-19 protocols. The team has not revealed whether either player tested positive or if they are currently out because of contact tracing protocols. Either way, the organization lacks rotation depth. It’s worth mentioning that one of the reasons that Sanchez didn’t sign one of the Major League offers he received this winter was because of concern about COVID, however. Even so, given the need for pitching around the game and Sanchez’s 15-year career as a Major League starter, a signing shortly after Saturday’s bullpen certainly seems on the table. Let’s check in elsewhere around the game…

  • There are few issues more central to the Astros’ future than Carlos Correa’s impending free agency. The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan addresses some of the complexities facing the Astros’ future at short. If Correa were to leave in free agency, prospect Jeremy Pena “is an excellent defender and he’s improved enough offensively in the last two years that he has everyday player potential,” writes Kaplan. Pena has not yet appeared above High-A, so his performance this season will provide a key data point. Given the plethora of shortstops about to hit the open market, however, the Astros could considering trying to snag one of them as a one-year stopgap as the Twins did this winter with Andrelton Simmons and the Blue Jays did with Marcus Semien. Banking on one of those players being available at that price point is risky, however. Still, now that Francisco Lindor has tied his long-term future to the Mets, there may be even more uncertainty for those shortstops behind him in the pecking order. To dig in further, definitely check out Kaplan’s full piece here.
  • Thinking about that future shortstop market, one has to wonder if the Yankees might be a prime player in next year’s shortstop market. Questions persist about Gleyber Torres’ ability to stick defensively at shortstop, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The Yankees chose to bring back DJ LeMahieu this winter, thereby blocking Torres’ most natural position and locking him into shortstop. That said, there are always ways to re-assemble a roster, especially with a player as malleable as LeMahieu. Still, keep an eye on the 24-year-old Torres this season. If he’s not able to pick up his defensive play, the Yankees might find themselves in a position to exploit a robust shortstop market next winter.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/8/2020

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The latest minor moves from around the sport…

  • The Astros have added shortstop Jeremy Pena and catcher Korey Lee to their 60-man player pool, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Both players (Pena at No. 6, Lee No. 7) rank among the Astros’ best prospects at MLB.com. The 22-year-old Pena was a third-round pick of the Astros in 2018 who batted .317/.378/.467 in his first 185 plate appearances at High-A last season. Lee, 22, joined the Astros as the 32nd selection in the 2019 draft. After that, Lee hit .268/.359/.371 over 259 PA during his low-A debut.
  • The Padres have released left-hander Travis Radke, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. He had been a part of the Padres’ 60-man player pool. Radke will now look for a second organization after spending the first several years of his pro career with the Padres, who chose him in the 25th round of the 2014 draft. The 27-year-old had a successful minor league tenure as a member of the Padres, with whom he recorded a 3.24 ERA in 183 1/3 innings. He ended his Pads stint last year with 71 2/3 frames of 2.64 ERA pitching and 9.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 among their High-A, Double-A and Triple-A levels.

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