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Rays Interested In Matt Davidson

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The Rays are showing interest in free-agent corner infielder Matt Davidson as a potential two-way player, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

To this point, the 27-year-old Davidson has mostly made a name for himself on the offensive end. He was a former top-100 prospect who combined for 46 home runs with the White Sox from 2017-18, during which he batted a so-so .224/.291/.345 (94 wRC+) in 939 plate appearances. He’s coming off the better of those two years, though, as he walked a career-high 10.5 percent of the time (up from 4.3 in 2017) and posted a 104 wRC+ across 496 PAs. More interestingly, Davidson was somewhat of a late-season factor out of Chicago’s bullpen, as he tossed 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball in three appearances from June through August.

Since the 2018 campaign ended, Davidson has worked to become more of a legitimate option on the mound, and the White Sox reportedly liked what they saw out of the right-hander’s 92 mph fastball. Still, rather than pay Davidson a projected $2.4MM via arbitration in 2019, Chicago decided to non-tender him in November.

Now, if he joins the Rays, it’s likely Davidson’s main purpose would be to augment the club’s corner infield. It appears Tampa Bay is in OK shape at third base, where Matt Duffy turned in a fine season in 2018, but it may not be as set at first. Since last season ended, the Rays have non-tendered 30-HR hitter C.J. Cron, who’s now a Twin, leaving Tampa Bay with Ji-Man Choi as its projected starter across the diamond from Duffy. The left-handed Choi logged tremendous production last year, but his success came over just 221 PAs, and he was borderline unplayable against southpaw pitchers. The righty-swinging Davidson destroyed lefties, though, meaning he and Choi could form a platoon at first.

On the mound, Davidson may further help the low-budget Rays innovate after they used the opener to encouraging results last season. Plus, as Rosenthal notes, he’d give the Rays another two-way player to join young first baseman/pitcher Brendan McKay, whom the franchise drafted fourth overall in 2017 and who ranks as MLB.com’s 24th-best prospect.

Rangers Notes: Davidson, Profar, Minor

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A few rumblings out of Arlington, courtesy of Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News:

  • Over the past month, the Rangers have lost starting third baseman Adrian Beltre to retirement and traded the legend’s potential successor, Jurickson Profar, to the Athletics. While the Rangers have acquired third base possibilities in Patrick Wisdom and Nolan Fontana during the same span, neither is an established major leaguer. Further, neither power-hitting corner infielder/outfielder Joey Gallo nor catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa will line up at third, general manager Jon Daniels suggested Friday. As such, the rebuilding club plans to add infield help prior to next season, reports Grant, who lists free agents Matt Davidson and Yangervis Solarte as potential options. Texas has shown interest in Davidson since the White Sox non-tendered him last month, according to Grant, but it seems the connection to Solarte is more speculative in nature. Texas is already familiar with Solarte – whom the Blue Jays non-tendered this offseason – as the team signed him to a minor league contract in 2011. Solarte went on to play the 2012 and ’13 seasons with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, though he never cracked their major league lineup.
  • The Rangers did approach Profar’s camp regarding a contract extension at some point, per Grant, who adds that talks “went nowhere.” The Rangers’ choice to not recall Profar from the minors when rosters expanded in September 2017 may have hurt their chances to keep him for the long haul, Grant observes. The decision gained the Rangers another year of control over Profar, but it likely didn’t sit well with agent Scott Boras.
  • The Rangers are in farm-building mode, which figures to make left-hander Mike Minor the next veteran to depart via trade, Grant writes. It seems the plan is to deal Minor for prospects and then replace him with a similarly priced free agent – one the Rangers may be able to flip elsewhere during the season in order to acquire more youth. Minor, set to turn 31 on Dec. 26, has drawn reported interest from the Phillies, Brewers and Mets this winter. He gave the Rangers respectable production in 2018, his first season as a starter since 2014, and has a reasonable $19MM left on the final two years of his deal.

White Sox To Non-Tender Matt Davidson

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The White Sox will non-tender infielder Matt Davidson, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Eligible for arbitration as a Super Two, the slugger was projected by MLBTR & Matt Swartz to earn $2.4MM.

Davidson, 28, made some positive strides with the White Sox last season, as he more than doubled his walk rate from 4.3 percent in 2017 to 10.5 percent in 2018. Davidson managed to cut back on the alarming 37.2 percent strikeout rate he posted in 2017 as well, though his 2018 rate of 33.3 percent was still far too high. Although the slugger’s overall offensive output improved from .220/.260/.452 to .228/.319/.419, his markedly improved on-base skills came with a noted downturn in his power production.

Defensively, Davidson played a respectable first base, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, but he saw limited action at his original position, third base, and was primarily a designated hitter when in the lineup. A player with such limited defensive value and questionable contact skills was apparently a tough sell in the White Sox’ front office, but Davidson could hold some value as a corner-infield bat off the bench elsewhere. He did post impressive platoon numbers, clobbering lefties at a .289/.382/.500 clip. That, however, was accompanied by a corresponding .206/.296/.391 slash against righties.

Central Notes: Schoop, Davidson, Cardinals

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Second baseman Jonathan Schoop has endured a dreadful couple months since the Brewers acquired him from the Orioles at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Nevertheless, considering what the the Brewers gave up for Schoop, they’re “unlikely” to non-tender him in the offseason, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Schoop’s projected to earn $10.1MM in his final trip through arbitration, and that salary figures to help weigh down the 27-year-old’s trade value if Milwaukee tries to move him. Schoop was one of the game’s best second basemen in 2017, but his numbers dipped in the first half of this season with the Orioles and have gone in the tank in Milwaukee, with which he batted .202/.246/.331 in 134 regular-season plate appearances. And while the Brewers will advance to the World Series if they win Game 7 of the NLCS on Saturday, Schoop hasn’t been a factor in their playoff run, having gone hitless in seven at-bats. Unsurprisingly, Schoop’s not in the starting lineup for the Brewers’ series-deciding game against the Dodgers.

A bit more from the majors’ Central divisions…

  • Fresh off his second straight 20-home run season, one which featured unspectacular overall production (104 wRC+) across 496 plate appearances, White Sox DH/corner infielder Matt Davidson would like to do more pitching in 2019. Davidson, who chipped in three scoreless innings of one-hit ball as a reliever in 2018, will spend the offseason working to become a legitimate two-way player, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports. The White Sox have okayed Davidson’s plan and will be able to monitor his progress in the offseason, given that he lives close to their Arizona-based complex, according to Levine. Davidson was a high school pitcher, notes Levine, who writes that Chicago’s coaching staff sees “decent movement” in his 92 mph fastball. Should Davidson achieve his goal, the soon-to-be 28-year-old would work out of the bullpen – albeit not in high-leverage situations – as a way to help keep the team’s conventional relievers fresh, per Levine.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier this month that the Cardinals would seek left-handed relief help in the offseason. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak confirmed as much this week, saying (via Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com): “When you’re looking at last year versus this year, I do feel like we’re looking at more depth than we had a year ago at this time. I also recognize that I think the biggest Achilles’ [heel] right now in our bullpen is the left side.” The Cardinals shuffled through numerous southpaw relief options during the season, but none inspired much confidence, as Langosch details; moreover, they don’t seem to have a dominant lefty under control going into 2019, Langosch points out. Notably, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd took a look at the lefty relief market for the upcoming offseason earlier this week. That piece should be of particular interest to Cardinals fans in light of Mozeliak’s comments.

White Sox Place Matt Davidson On DL, Designate Ricardo Pinto, Select Matt Skole

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June 2nd: Pinto has been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports on Twitter.

May 28th: The White Sox have placed designated hitter/corner infielder Matt Davidson on the disabled list, designated right-hander Ricardo Pinto for assignment and selected the contract of corner infielder Matt Skole, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com.

Back spasms have already kept Davidson out of action for nearly a week, so his DL placement is retroactive to May 25. The former well-regarded prospect had finally been enjoying a breakout season when healthy. In his age-27 campaign, Davidson has slashed .243/.368/.521 with 11 home runs in 171 plate appearances to perhaps emerge as a long-term piece for the rebuilding White Sox.

While Davidson has continued his high-strikeout ways, having fanned 32.2 percent of the time, he has also notched a personal-best 15.8 percent walk rate – up from the paltry 4.3 mark he posted in 2017. Moreover, Davidson ranks in the league’s upper echelon in exit velocity on fly balls and line drives, barrels per plate appearance and xwOBA (.419), according to Statcast.

Davidson’s injury creates room for Skole, who inked a minors deal with the White Sox in the offseason. Skole, a fifth-round pick of the Nationals in 2011, is now in position to make his major league debut at the age of 28. Once a promising prospect, Skole owns a .241/.336/.440 line in 1,168 PAs at Triple-A, including a .259/.360/.442 showing in 172 tries this season.

The addition of Skole could cost the White Sox the 24-year-old Pinto, whom they acquired from the Phillies in March. Pinto hasn’t exactly turned in great results at Triple-A Charlotte, having logged an 8.10 ERA with 8.10 K/9 and 7.2 BB/9 over 10 innings. He was far more successful last year at the minors’ highest level with the Phillies, as he recorded a 3.86 ERA, 6.82 K/9 and 2.67 BB/9 across 60 frames. Pinto even racked up 29 2/3 innings in Philly, but he struggled to a 7.89 ERA during that span.

White Sox Notes: Castillo, Abreu, Smith, Santiago, Davidson

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“I see as much young talent here as I’ve ever seen anywhere,” White Sox catcher Welington Castillo told Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times about his new team’s spring camp, and that includes Castillo’s previous stint on the north side of Chicago.  “In 2013, when I was with the Cubs, we weren’t even close to what we’ve got here,’’ Castillo said. ‘‘In 2014, [the Cubs] started changing; you started to see more about the big prospects.  But they still weren’t really coming to the big leagues.  The White Sox, our prospects are already here, and they’re building together.  This organization is still a step ahead of the Cubs [in 2014].”  It remains to be seen if the current Sox core can possibly match up with what the Cubs have accomplished over the last three seasons, though given the amount of top-tier young players the White Sox have acquired in their rebuild, there is no shortage of promise for a quick return to contention for the franchise. 

Here’s more from the White Sox camp…

  • Both Jose Abreu and Kevan Smith made early exits from today’s Cactus League game with the Rangers, as MLB.com’s Alyson Footer and others reported.  Left hamstring tightness forced Abreu out of the game after two innings, while Smith suffered a left ankle sprain in the fifth inning.  More will be known about both injuries tomorrow, though manager Rick Renteria doesn’t believe either issue is particularly serious.  X-rays on Smith’s ankle already came back negative, yet any missed time could hurt the catcher in his battle with Omar Narvaez for the backup catcher’s job behind Castillo.  Abreu’s roster spot obviously isn’t in question, though any type of injury to their best hitter is worrisome for the White Sox.
  • Renteria hinted that Hector Santiago may have won himself a 25-man roster spot, telling The Athletic’s James Fegan (Twitter link) and other reporters that he likes to use a left-hander (like Santiago) in relief of a right-handed starter, and noted Santiago’s ability to provide multiple innings out of the pen.  Chicago signed several veteran relievers to minor league deals this winter, though Santiago is standing out from the competition with excellent spring numbers, posting an 0.75 ERA over his first 12 innings.  Santiago’s minors contract with the White Sox will pay him $2MM should he crack the Major League roster.
  • Matt Davidson is “not paying attention to anything else other than really my contact rate” this spring, the third baseman tells James Fegan of The Athletic (subscription required).  Davidson hit 26 homers in 443 PA last season, but contributed little else besides that pure power, with an overall .220/.260/.452 slash line and a whopping 165 strikeouts against just 19 walks.  Davidson knows he has to become a more well-rounded player in order to stick with the Sox given the strong competition for jobs in camp and during the regular season.

Matt Davidson Changes Agencies

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White Sox third baseman Matt Davidson has changed representation and is now a client of agent Dan Lozano and the MVP Sports Group, reports Yahoo’s Tim Brown (via Twitter).

A former top-tier prospect, Davidson initially came to the White Sox organization in the 2013 trade that sent Addison Reed to the Diamondbacks. After struggling mightily with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte in 2014-15, Davidson put together a solid 2016 campaign there and eventually found his way onto the big league roster for the rebuilding South Siders in 2017.

Davidson, 27 in March, slugged 26 homers for the ChiSox in just 118 games/443 plate appearances this past season, though he did so while hitting .220/.260/.452 on the season as a whole. Davidson punched out an alarming 165 times in what was roughly three quarters of a season (37.2 percent of his PAs), so he’ll clearly need to improve his contact skills if he is to carve out any sort of long-term role with the Sox.

As things currently stand for the Sox, Davidson should once again be in line for a healthy share of plate appearances. He spent 60 games at DH last season and could share time with Nicky Delmonico there in 2018, and he can also spell both Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu at the infield corners.

Davidson currently has a year and 145 days of MLB service time, meaning he’d likely qualify as a Super Two player next offseason he accrues a full year of big league service in 2018. The White Sox can control him through the 2022 campaign, should he prove capable of holding down a big league spot in the long term.

Davidson’s switch in representation has been reflected in the MLBTR Agency Database, which contains representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and minor league players. If you see a notable error or omission, please let us know: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Rick Hahn Disputes Reports Of Discord, Talks White Sox Plans

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The White Sox sit at five games under .500 as September nears, which is certainly not what the organization expected coming into the season. With a disappointing campaign all but assured at this point, GM Rick Hahn discussed several notable topics with the media today.

Hahn vehemently denied that there is any discord in the Chicago front office, as has been suggested, saying that the members of the organization’s upper management “are of a similar mindset as to how best to proceed.” Collen Kane of the Chicago Tribune provides the full quote on Twitter. “We’ve had a number of conversations, both [president Kenny Williams] and I, as well as Kenny, [owner Jerry Reinsdorf] and I, about the best way to approach the offseason and what we want to accomplish,” said Hahn. “And once the offseason rolls around, we will start executing that plan.”

The big question remains whether the South Siders will push to supplement their talented core, embark upon a rebuild, or perhaps take a middle course of some kind. Hahn wasn’t inclined to tip his hand, but did suggest it should be rather easy to divine the team’s direction after it begins making moves this winter, as Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets. Reading between the lines a bit, that would seem at least to hint that the team will chart a generally aggressive buying or selling course.

Hahn did make clear that selling off veteran pieces has at least received serious consideration from the organization, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports (Twitter links). “There also comes a point where there is a level of frustration with the way things have played out over the last couple of years,” said Hahn. “I’m not saying [a rebuild] is the route we’re going to go, but I assure you there is absolute openness from Jerry, Kenny, myself.”

Meanwhile, the veteran executive passed along some notable injury news. Center fielder Austin Jackson is almost certainly done for the year after failing to show sufficient progress from his meniscus tear, as Hayes was among those to report. He had signed with Chicago in hopes of re-entering the free agent market this year with a better platform season, but a rough start and lengthy injury absence have only further harmed his standing.

The Sox also expect that third baseman Matt Davidson will be out the rest of the way given the seriousness of his foot fracture. He had finally earned a big league promotion right before getting hurt, but will need to wait until next year for a full chance at an audition. Infielder Brett Lawrie, meanwhile, is dealing with what is now being called a knee and calf problem; he doesn’t have a specific timeframe to return but is expected back this year.

AL Central Notes: Twins, Davidson, Indians, Fulmer

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The Twins are baseball’s most disappointing team at 25-53, but owner Jim Pohlad voiced continued confidence in manager Paul Molitor when speaking to Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in a recent interview. “I would say ’no’ to that definitely,” said Pohlad when asked if Molitor’s job was in danger. Pohlad told Hartman that Molitor will return for the 2017 season, though Hartman notes that there slightly more open-ended answer when asked about GM Terry Ryan. “…I mean we have to figure out what we’re doing wrong, what we’re doing wrong in the system,” said Pohlad. “If that points to the need to change personnel, I guess I would have to say we’d look at everything. But there has been no identification of anything like that. We’re beginning to discuss the process of how we examine doing things throughout our system.” While those comments certainly don’t indicate that the GM is on the hot seat, they’re a bit less firm than recent reports indicating that the team is “100 percent committed” to Ryan. Pohlad went on to emphasize that money isn’t an issue for the Twins despite a number of underperforming veterans and expressed frustration and disappointment that top prospects Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios have struggled so greatly upon reaching the Majors after dominating Triple-A.

More from the American League Central…

  • The White Sox called up third base prospect Matt Davidson to make his debut with the team yesterday, and the former top 100 prospect (originally acquired from the D-backs in exchange for Addison Reed) experienced awful luck when he suffered a fracture in his foot while running the bases, as CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes writes. The seemed to occur when Davidson was going from first to third on a J.B. Shuck double, with manager Robin Ventura telling the media that the injury was apparent when he was between second and third base. Davidson was a highly touted prospect when the ChiSox picked up up prior to the 2014 season in the aforementioned trade, but he struggled terribly with Triple-A Charlotte from 2014-15 before rebounding with a .268/.349/.444 slash in 75 Triple-A contests this season. It’s not yet clear how much time Davidson, who collected his first big league hit since September 2013 in yesterday’s game, will spend on the disabled list.
  • Via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Indians GM Mike Chernoff said yesterday that while the club has looked to fill holes in its outfield at various times — most notably when Michael Brantley was injured and when Abraham Almonte was suspended — the team is hopeful that it can patch its outfield internally (Twitter link with screen cap of Chernoff’s full quote). Chernoff praised the recent play of Tyler Naquin and said the team is optimistic about the recent progress of Michael Brantley, whom Chernoff labels the “highest-impact ’acquisition’ [the Indians] could make.” Brantley has scarcely played this season, though Chernoff points out that the current alignment of Rajai Davis, Naquin, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez are all playing well. Naquin’s success is largely fueled by a .462 BABIP, of course, but even if there’s regression around the corner, there’s no denying that he’s bridged the gap nicely if the club is indeed seeing positive signs out of Brantley. Reports yesterday indicated that Jay Bruce would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Cleveland (or any contender), but the outfield may not be as big of a need as it once looked to be with the recent performances of internal options.
  • The Tigers are carefully monitoring Michael Fulmer’s innings to preserve his arm for the long haul, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. Fulmer hasn’t started in eight days and will make two more starts before the All-Star break, and he’ll then wait until July 19 when the Tigers first need a fifth starter after the break. That’ll give him nearly two weeks between starts, after which he’s tentatively scheduled to remain in the rotation on regular rest but with the occasional quick hook to avoid further arm fatigue. Per Beck, the Tigers have discussed a 25 to 30 percent increase over Fulmer’s total of 124 1/3 innings from the 2015 season, which would put him in the range of 155 to 165 innings this season. Fulmer, the centerpiece of last summer’s Yoenis Cespedes trade, has somewhat quietly had a brilliant debut with Detroit thus far, pitching to a 2.40 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 48 percent ground-ball rate in 63 2/3 innings.

AL Notes: Abreu: White Sox, Red Sox, Rays

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Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune (subscription required) chronicles the travails Jose Abreu underwent in leaving his native Cuba for America. Full details of Abreu’s journey remain a secret (Abreu and his agents have declined to discuss his defection and an interview with Abreu’s mother, to which to she had agreed, was cancelled by one of the slugger’s associates), but Hopkins was able to piece together how Abreu and his brother-in-law took a boat from Cuba to Haiti in August 2013 leaving behind his young son and family, reaching out to the Orioles’ Henry Urrutia for help after leaving Cuba, and living in the Dominican Republic for three months before landing his $68MM contract with the White Sox. The article also delves into the role smugglers and their networks play in ferreting players out of Cuba for promises upward of 30% of the players’ first contract. Abreu is expected to be named the AL Rookie of the Year tomorrow.

In other news about Abreu’s White Sox and the American League:

  • Earlier today, we learned the White Sox will meet this week with Pablo Sandoval’s representatives during the GM Meetings in Phoenix. However, if the right third base upgrade cannot be found, the White Sox are comfortable with a platoon of Conor Gillaspie and Marcus Semien, reports CSNChicago.com’s Dan Hayes. The White Sox also have Matt Davidson on their 40-man roster, but Hayes notes the 23-year-old struggled in a homer-friendly park at Triple-A Charlotte (.199/.283/.362 in 539 plate appearances).
  • The free agent expenditures by the Red Sox this offseason could be shaped by who will be available in free agency next winter, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. With a solid free agent class of starting pitchers and a dearth of third baseman next offseason, MacPherson opines the Red Sox may stretch the budget this year for Sandoval, Chase Headley, or Hanley Ramirez.
  • Rays players are rallying around Dave Martinez to replace Joe Maddon as manager, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin.
  • Within the same article, Topkin speculates the trade of left-hander Cesar Ramos was the first of what could be several moves by the Rays to create roster spots by dealing players who may be too expensive or no longer fit and receive something in return. Sean Rodriguez (projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz to earn $2MM through arbitration) could be one of those moves, according to Topkin.
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