Central Notes: Detroit Ballparks, Forsythe, Hader
In 1895, a ballpark was built on a patch of Detroit grass on the corners of Michigan and Trumbull avenues. 17 years later, the Tigers would make it their home until the turn of the millennium. But after it sat empty and lonely for another ten years, and then, as Jared Wyllys of Sportingnews.com puts it, it was gone.
All that remains now of former Tiger Stadium is a dark green flag pole in center field at the new Corner Ballpark that’s since been built on site. The former home of the Negro League Detroit Stars has been neglected for two decades, too. Ike Blessit, a Tiger for four MLB games back in 1972, has started his own 501(c)3 organization to try and raise money to restore it. It’s a project of considerable size, but Blessit will “tirelessly evangelize any audience” in order to get the attention he feels the endeavor deserves. There are plenty more details within the full piece, which historians and Tigers fans alike ought give a full read.
A couple more items out of the Midwest…
- Twins infielder Logan Forsythe heads into free agency for the first time “surrounded by unknowns,” Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets as an intro to a full piece on the subject. Forsythe has been dealing with a left knee issue, and will have only a small handful of opportunities to reverse a 44-game homer drought when he’s able to return to the lineup. Berardino describes Forsythe’s offense as being on a “downward trend”, citing a .287 slugging percentage with just ten doubles since his last homer on June 10th. While that’s somewhat of an arbitrary endpoint, Berardino brings to light more stable figures to draw from, such as a dip in homers per season and average exit velocity since his peak with the Rays in 2016. “This year going into the offseason, we’re just open ears right now,” Forsythe said on the subject. “When the offers start coming in, it’s going to be based on where our family is at and what’s best for our family. But I’ve always been a fan of Minnesota, coming here to play. It’s a sleeper city.”
- Brewers relief ace Josh Hader broke two more records during Friday night’s contest against the Pirates, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes, which further adds to the splendor of his 2018 resume. Hader’s streak of 16 consecutive outs recorded via the strikeout is the longest by a pitcher in the expansion era, and his 136 K’s on the season are now the most ever for a left-handed reliever in a single season. He’s needed just 77 innings to reach that threshold, making that feat all the more remarkable considering the former record holder needed 150 innings to set the old record of 134. Rosiak lists a slew of other accomplishments by Hader, and details his pitch selection along with some fun facts that diehard Brewers fans will surely enjoy.
Josh Hader To Undergo Sensitivity Training For Offensive Tweets
Major League Baseball announced today that it will require Brewers pitcher Josh Hader to undergo sensitivity training and to participate in the league’s “diversity and inclusion initiatives.” The determination came down quickly, after it emerged last night — in the midst of the All-Star Game — that Hader had sent a variety of offensive tweets before he became a professional baseball player.
Per the league announcement, it was determined that Hader “took the necessary step of expressing remorse for his highly offensive and hurtful language.” Indeed, the now-24-year-old called his own prior statements “inexcusable,” apologizing for what he framed as a youthful mistake — he called himself “young, immature and stupid” — that does not “reflect any of my beliefs going on now.”
Those interested in reading up on the situation can find a worthwhile summation from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, who documents the tweets and Hader’s response. Needless to say, Hader’s words were deeply offensive. It is encouraging that he acknowledged as much, though clearly he has much work to do to make amends.
Hader stated last night that he is “ready for any consequences” that may come. The league evidently will not impose punishment, per se. Nor, perhaps, would that have been appropriate. While many suggested last night that a suspension may have been warranted, that’s a difficult proposition given that the tweets were sent before Hader was even drafted.
A statement from Brewers GM David Stearns (on Twitter) suggests that the team expects Hader to continue “taking full responsibility for the consequences of his actions.” It’s unclear just what precise expectations the club will set, but it does not sound as if any specific disciplinary action is planned. Stearns says the Brewers “will continue to work through this issue with Josh as we prepare to resume games after the [All-Star] break.”
That said, there’ll surely be broader consequences for Hader, who is in his first full season in the majors. Hopefully, he’ll proactively address this matter and seek ways to turn his prior missteps into an opportunity to grow and make a positive contribution.
Central Notes: Brewers, Hader, Indians, JDM, Reds
Although Brewers left-hander Josh Hader worked through the minor league ranks as a starting pitching prospect, he has served exclusively as a reliever since making his MLB debut last year. That’s OK with Hader, who has emerged as one of the game’s most dominant bullpen weapons during his 57 1/3-inning career. “I like the idea of coming out of the bullpen and attacking hitters,” he told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “That plays to my strengths a little bit better.” Hader added that “being able to come in 1-2 innings every other day, that keeps me in shape and keeps my pitches more intact” (Twitter links). It’s hard to argue with the results – a 2.04 ERA with 14.13 K/9 against 3.92 BB/9. The 24-year-old is averaging upward of 20 strikeouts per nine early this season, thanks in part to his five-K performance against the Mets over two perfect innings on Saturday. Hader earned the first save of his career in that outing.
More from the Central divisions…
- With Gio Urshela nearing a return from the disabled list, it’s likely the Indians will soon have to decide between him and fellow out-of-options infielder Erik Gonzalez, Ben Weinrib of MLB.com writes. Attempting to send either Urshela or Gonzalez to the minors would leave that player exposed to waivers. Cleveland has been able to put off an Urshela-Gonzalez choice since last month because of the right hamstring strain the former suffered, but he started a rehab assignment Friday and is on track to come back within the next couple weeks. If the Indians make this call based on career offensive production, the edge goes to Gonzalez. While he’s only a .250/.275/.386 hitter in 139 plate appearances, that easily outdoes Urshela’s .225/.273/.314 line in 453 PAs.
- More on the Indians, who tried to bolster their World Series chances last year with a J.D. Martinez deadline addition. They were in on the slugging outfielder before the division-rival Tigers shipped him to Arizona in mid-July, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports. The Indians ultimately ended up getting fellow outfielder Jay Bruce a couple weeks later in a deal with the Mets, and while he was effective in Cleveland, Martinez was otherworldly in regular-season action with Arizona. Still, the Martinez-less Indians managed a ridiculous 22 consecutive victories from late August through mid-September en route to a 102-win campaign. Further, it’s anyone’s guess whether Martinez would’ve made a bigger difference in their five-game ALDS loss to the Yankees than Bruce, who slashed .278/.333/.667 with two home runs in 18 at-bats. Martinez, now with the Red Sox, ended his short D-backs career with a .267/.313/.467 line and a homer in 15 ABs in their four-game NLDS loss to the Dodgers.
- Reds outfielder Scott Schebler, on the DL retroactive to April 6 with a right elbow injury, is slated to play in a Triple-A rehab game Sunday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. If that goes well, it’s possible Schebler will rejoin the Reds on Monday, according to manager Bryan Price. Meanwhile, reliever David Hernandez is getting close to embarking on his own rehab assignment, per Sheldon. The Reds signed Hernandez to a two-year deal in free agency, but right shoulder inflammation has kept him from debuting with the club.
Latest On Brewers’ Rotation
As of now, right-handers Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Jhoulys Chacin are the only locks for Milwaukee’s 2018 rotation, manager Craig Counsell suggested to reporters, including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, on Sunday (Twitter link). Barring further moves, Brandon Woodruff, Brent Suter, Yovani Gallardo, Junior Guerra and Aaron Wilkerson are in line to compete for the final two sports, according to Counsell.
Conspicuously absent from that group is left-hander Josh Hader, a former starter prospect who entered the offseason with his future role in question after he dominated out of the Brewers’ bullpen as a rookie in 2017. General manager David Stearns announced Sunday that the soon-to-be 24-year-old Hader will remain a reliever to begin 2018, meaning he won’t factor into their starting competition (via McCalvy, on Twitter)
While Hader won’t be among the Brewers’ season-opening rotation possibilities, the mix seems likely to feature at least one more newcomer besides Chacin and Gallardo. Owner Mark Attanasio confirmed that’s Milwaukee’s interested in adding starting help, saying, “You can never have enough pitching and David (Stearns) is working on it.” While they’re reportedly unlikely to sign either Yu Darvish or Alex Cobb, Attanasio stated that the Brewers do have the payroll space to pick up a high-end free agent starter (Twitter links via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
After reeling in outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich this week, the Brewers’ commitments for 2018 come in around $92MM – a significant bump over their $63MM-plus Opening Day payrolls from 2016-17. Since 2005, Attanasio’s first season as Milwaukee’s owner, the team has twice exceeded the $100MM Opening Day payroll mark. They’d figure to blow past that figure by signing any of Darvish, Cobb, Jake Arrieta or Lance Lynn.
Beyond the four best available hurlers, free agency is lacking impact starters, which could point the Brewers toward a trade if they don’t sign one of the top names. They’ve shown reported interest this offseason in Chris Archer (Rays), Patrick Corbin (Diamondbacks) and Danny Salazar (Indians), though it’s unclear how willing any of those teams are to move those starters. There’s plenty of speculation the Brewers will try to parlay their outfield logjam into rotation help by dealing Domingo Santana, Keon Broxton and/or Brett Phillips, but it’s an open question whether any of those three would help the club land a coveted front-end starter in return.
With 2017 ace Jimmy Nelson recovering from a serious procedure (surgery on a partially torn right labrum) and unlikely to return until the summertime, it’s fair to say the Brewers could use another proven option for their rotation. Although Milwaukee’s starters finished eighth in the majors in fWAR (13.3) and 10th in ERA (4.10) during its near-playoff season in 2017, Nelson’s work over 175 1/3 innings (4.9 fWAR, 3.49 ERA) significantly contributed to those rankings. It’s now anyone’s guess what he’ll provide in 2018, which could help lead to the Brewers making a splash on the pitching market.
NL Notes: Nationals, Hamilton, Stanton, Brewers
The Nationals are checking over the market for starters, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). While the team’s potential targets aren’t yet clear, Rosenthal does list two interesting options, both of whom were among the names we floated as hypothetical candidates in our review of the Nats’ offseason outlook. Gerrit Cole of the Pirates could be a name to watch on the trade market, says Rosenthal. And the Nationals are “kicking around” a pursuit of free agent Jake Arrieta, per the report. Certainly, the club’s numerous dealings with Scott Boras make that possible match one to keep an eye on. It’s certainly still possible the Nationals will go in any number of different directions in filling out their rotation, though the report does suggest the team shouldn’t be ruled out for a significant addition.
Here’s more from the National League:
- Billy Hamilton is generating the most interest of any potential Reds trade pieces, Rosenthal also reports. Hamilton, obviously, is a limited offensive player due to a lack of power and on-base skills, but his baserunning and defensive skills are among the game’s elite. If the Reds do ultimately find an offer to their liking for Hamilton — he’s arb-eligible for two more years and projected to earn $5MM next season by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz — Rosenthal writes that they’d likely sign a short-term stopgap in center field rather than play a corner option out of position.
- Both the Giants and Cardinals are now out of the running to land Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins, but their pursuits still carry some information worthy of note. In the case of San Francisco, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links) that many of the players rumored to have been in the teams’ agreed-upon trade package were not, in fact, slated to be moved. None of Joe Panik, Tyler Beede, Chris Shaw, Heliot Ramos, and Christian Arroyo would have been dealt, per the report. Meanwhile, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that the Cards would have absorbed about $250MM of the $295MM still owed to Stanton.
- Brewers GM David Stearns chatted with the team’s beat writers, including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, in advance of the Winter Meetings. Regarding the team’s rotation needs, Stearns says that the organization’s “market and history” under his stewardship are “a better indicator of the types of moves we’re seeking than some of the external speculation.” That seemingly hints that the organization won’t be chasing high-end free agents, though perhaps some of the top pitchers could still be considered in the right circumstances. He noted that lefty Josh Hader could yet end up “in a multi-inning relief role, similar to last year, or a more conventional starter role.” While the team wants to ensure Hader is able to “accumulate innings,” its winter moves could dictate his precise usage. Generally, Stearns said the club has many talks at various stages of development, though nothing that is nearing completion as of this particular moment.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Phillies, Marlins, Brewers, Padres
Given their prospects and resources, the Phillies are in position to make at least one big offseason splash, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal observes (video link). “It’s no secret” the Phillies have interest in Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich, and teammate Giancarlo Stanton could also be on their radar, Rosenthal says. Elsewhere, they’ll “actively” seek starting pitching, with Rosenthal naming impending free agent Rays right-hander Alex Cobb as a logical target, and may dangle shortstop Freddy Galvis to address a need in another area. (Earlier Saturday on MLBTR, Mark Polishuk broke down the Phillies’ three biggest needs heading into the offseason.)
More from Rosenthal:
- Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun wouldn’t have been minded going to the Dodgers had the teams’ talks last summer led to a trade, per Rosenthal. Now, Braun’s happier than ever in Milwaukee, which has unexpectedly turned into a playoff contender this season. “I do love it here. If I didn’t, I probably would have been out of here a long time ago,” Braun told Rosenthal. Playing his age-33 season, in which injuries have limited him to 394 plate appearances, Braun has slashed .274/.345/.503 – somewhat modest production by his standards. With $57MM left on his contract, including a $4MM buyout in 2021, he’d be a difficult player for the low-payroll Brewers to move even if they wanted to part with him. Braun also has a full no-trade clause and 10-and-5 rights, further decreasing the likelihood of a trade.
- Speaking of potential Brewers trades, they weren’t willing to deal rookie left-hander Josh Hader in a package for White Sox southpaw Jose Quintana back in July, Rosenthal reports. The Sox ended up sending Quintana to one of the Brewers’ NL Central rivals, the Cubs, for a return including outfielder Eloy Jimenez and right-hander Dylan Cease. Milwaukee might not have topped that in the White Sox’s eyes even if it offered outfielder Lewis Brinson and righty Luis Ortiz, as the South Siders were bent on landing Jimenez, Rosenthal suggests. As for Hader, the 23-year-old has turned in 44 relief innings of 1.64 ERA ball, with 12.48 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9, making him one of the Brewers’ best players this season.
- At 69-85, the Padres have fared better than expected in the win-loss department this year (though their minus-182 run differential ranks last in the majors). In hopes of making more progress next season, they’ll look to the trade and free agent markets over the winter for “complementary” starting pitchers, help at shortstop and a veteran lineup stabilizer, according to Rosenthal.
Brewers Promote Josh Hader
The Brewers have promoted top pitching prospect Josh Hader, FanRag Sports’ Robert Murray reports. Hader will begin his MLB career as a relief pitcher. Right-hander Paolo Espino was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs in a corresponding move, the team announced.
[Updated Brewers depth chart at Roster Resource]
Hader, 23, was originally a 19th-round pick for the Orioles in the 2012 draft, and he has already been part of two notable deadline trades in this career — the 2013 swap that sent Bud Norris from Baltimore to Houston, and the 2015 deal that sent Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers to the Astros. That latter deal has already paid big dividends for Milwaukee in the form of Domingo Santana, and could continue to pay off with top prospects Brett Phillips and now Hader both making their MLB debuts this season.
From his humble draft slot and multiple organizational changes, Hader has emerged as a highly-regarded young arm. Baseball Prospectus ranked the southpaw as the 19th-best prospect in the entire sport prior to the season, with Baseball America (#33), MLB.com (#38), and ESPN’s Keith Law (#71) also touting Hader as a minor leaguer to watch. Hader has a 3.26 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.56 K/BB rate over 541 career IP in the minors, with 95 of his 127 games coming as a starting pitcher.
That impressive strikeout rate has come at the cost of some control (4.0 BB/9), and the 2017 Baseball America Prospect Handbook cited Hader’s control and inconsistent changeup as possible impediments to his potential. On the plus side, Hader has a unique delivery that makes it difficult for hitters to see his tough slider and a fastball that clocks in the 92-97mph range.
It’s worth noting that Hader hasn’t performed very well at the Triple-A level both this season and last, with a 5.28 ERA over 121 frames, though that could be due to Colorado Springs’ elevation and the generally hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League. Bringing him up as a reliever will allow the Brewers to ease Hader into a big league environment, while also giving the team some much-needed left-handed balance in the pen; Hader is now the only southpaw on the Brew Crew’s entire 25-man roster.
Should Hader spent the rest of the year on the Major League roster, he’ll clock only 115 days of service time and likely fall short of Super Two eligibility (given the Super Two cutoff points of recent years). This would extend Milwaukee’s control over Hader an extra year, so the lefty wouldn’t be arbitration-eligible until after the 2020 season and couldn’t become a free agent until after the 2023 season. Given the lack of left-handed options on the Brewers’ roster, there certainly appears to be opportunity for Hader to stick in the bigs if he performs well.
Quick Hits: Baez, Baker, Prospects, Market
Barring a late-breaking move as the ball drops, this’ll be the last post of 2015 on MLBTR. Thanks for another great year! Be sure to join us bright and early tomorrow for a new one that will start with an arguably unprecedented slate of unsigned free agents.
Here are a few stray notes from around baseball:
- In a piece for Baseball America, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times explores the question whether Javier Baez can turn into a Ben Zobrist-esque player for the Cubs. Baez has been getting a look in the outfield this spring, as has previously been reported. “It just adds to his versatility,” president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. “He’s someone who always enjoyed taking fly balls during batting practice out in center field shagging, and he’s always looked really good doing so.” Of course, Chicago will enjoy Zobrist regardless, since it just signed the genuine article this winter
- The Cubs have hired former backstop John Baker as a baseball operations assistant, as Wittenmyer also notes. The veteran wrapped up his seven-year MLB career in Chicago with a 68-game run in 2014. MLBTR wishes him the best of luck in his new gig.
- MLB.com’s Jim Callis lists his ten breakout prospects for the coming year. Among the interesting names to watch is Jake Bauers, a little-known piece of last year’s blockbuster three-team trade that sent Wil Myers to the Padres and netted the Rays Steven Souza. The rising youngster could make that deal sting even more for San Diego than it has already. Likewise, pitchers Josh Hader of the Brewers (added in the Carlos Gomez/Mike Fiers deadline swap), Frances Martes of the Astros (who came from the Marlins in the deal that sent Jarred Cosart to Miami), and Cody Reed of the Reds (a part of the Johnny Cueto flip this past summer) could change the calculus of the transactions that brought them to their current organizations, in the estimation of Callis.
- ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden provides his breakdown of the single most important missing piece for every team in the league in an Insider piece. Looking down his list, it’s notable how many clubs he cites as needing a corner outfielder. That market figures to explode at some point early in 2016.
Prospect Notes: Rule 5, Peraza, AFL
Though it won’t take place until the end of the Winter Meetings, the stage has been set for the Rule 5 draft, as teams re-set their 40-man rosters in preparation. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper breaks down the players who weren’t protected and thus remain eligible to be plucked away. Cooper writes that we’re unlikely to see a repeat of last year’s incredible Rule 5 success rate, but still manages to come up with a large group of players who could draw interest. Best of all, they are sorted by player type (e.g., “inexperienced pitchers with great arms”).
Here are a few more prospect-related links to check out:
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo answered reader questions in a mailbag today. Among other topics, he talks about the status of Dodgers second baseman Jose Peraza. The club ought to give him a chance to win regular playing time this spring, Mayo argues.
- Mayo also recently listed ten standout prospects from the just-concluded Arizona Fall League. This group doesn’t reflect the players with the highest prospect standing from the fall league, but rather those that most improved their standing during the short season. Among them is Cardinals infielder Aledmys Diaz, who was outrighted last year but finished with a robust .315/.370/.616 line in Arizona and was added back to the 40-man roster.
- Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Eric Longenhagen took a detailed look at the fall league results. Catcher Gary Sanchez of the Yankees and Rangers center fielder Lewis Brinson were among the players who showed increased promise from a scouting perspective. Also drawing that review was lefty Josh Hader, who was one of several interesting players who went to the Brewers in the Carlos Gomez/Mike Fiers trade.
West Notes: Utley, Kimbrel, Astros, Padres
The suspension appeal for Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley has been delayed, reports the Associated Press. Utley was suspended two games for his role in the play that broke Ruben Tejada‘s leg in Game 2 of the NLDS. However, with the Dodgers eliminated from the postseason, there is less urgency to conduct the appeal immediately. This is the first notable example of a player being suspended for overzealously attempting to break-up a double play. If the suspension is ultimately upheld, Utley will be suspended for the first two contest of 2016. The Dodgers hold a club option on Utley valued between $5MM and $11MM, based on days spent on the disabled list.
Here’s more from the West divisions..
- Utley’s hearing will be postponed until later this year or possibly next spring, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter links). The CBA mandates that the hearing must take place within 14 days after the player has filed the appeal, but the hearings can be postponed upon mutual agreement between the parties involved. The appeal will be heard by MLB’s John McHale, not an independent arbitrator.
- A package of three Astros pitchers – Francis Martes, Josh Hader, and Joseph Musgrove – most likely would have the convinced the Padres to part with closer Craig Kimbrel, a baseball source told Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. However, a third piece, thought to be Musgrove, was too rich for Houston’s blood. The Padres could very well make Kimbrel available once again this winter.
- Meanwhile, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow believes that his club has an opportunity to become an annual contender. “We’re in a great position as an organization because our payroll’s going to continue to increase as revenues increase,” Luhnow said. “Our young players are going to continue to come through the system, and we have some assets. We’ve got some benefits, some advantages that other clubs maybe don’t have. We’ve got one of the top farm systems in baseball still while having a young team at the major league level that’s already competing. That’s the ideal situation. Now, we want to maintain that for a long time to come.”