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2017 Vesting Options Update

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Each year, the free-agent class is impacted by the performance of players with vesting options (as is the financial future of players with said provisions in their contract). For those unfamiliar with the option, a vesting option is typically a club option that can automatically trigger based on the player’s health and/or performance. Meeting pre-determined criteria for games played, innings pitched, plate appearances, etc. are the most common means of triggering vesting options, though as you’ll see below, there have been some more creative approaches to vesting options in the past as well.

We’ll check in on these players periodically throughout the season, and here’s the first look…

  • Chris Iannetta: The Mariners hold a $4.25MM club option over Iannetta for the 2017 season, but that option can also vest at $6MM if Iannetta starts 100 games in 2016 and does not finish the season on the disabled list due to an injured hip, back or right elbow. Having started 30 of the Mariners’ first 39 games, Iannetta is on pace to clear the 100 start threshold with ease, and if he can continue to post an OPS in the mid-.700s, the Mariners probably won’t mind having him back for another season at that price. One factor that could throw a wrench into his playing time: Mike Zunino is demolishing Triple-A pitching thus far, batting .305/.357/.580, though the former first-round pick has cooled off considerably in the past two weeks.
  • Kurt Suzuki: Another backstop with a $6MM vesting option, Suzuki needs to reach 485 plate appearances in 2016 for that option to trigger. The big 2014 first-half that earned Suzuki that extension never seemed sustainable, and he has batted just .242/.294/.330 since signing the deal. The Twins probably don’t want to see this one vest, as evidenced by the fact that he’s on pace for 349 plate appearances, which would be his lowest total since signing in Minnesota.
  • Matt Holliday: The 36-year-old Holliday has a $17MM club option for the 2017 season that automatically vests if he places within the Top 10 of this season’s NL MVP voting. Holliday isn’t the hitter he once was, and even in his best years with the Cardinals, he (somewhat surprisingly) never landed inside the Top 10 in NL MVP voting. At 36 years of age and off to a good but unspectacular .250/.325/.485 start to the season, it seems safe to assume that his option won’t vest. The club will have the choice of exercising the option or paying Holliday a buyout of $1MM.
  • Coco Crisp: Crisp, also 36, has a more complicated vesting option tacked onto his two-year, $22MM deal. The option is valued at $13MM and will automatically kick in if Crisp receives 550 plate appearances or appears in 130 games this season. The option initially could also have vested based on combined playing time from 2015-16 (1100 PAs from 2015-16 or 260 games from 2015-16), but Crisp spent most of the 2015 campaign on the DL, so he’ll have to hope to trigger the option based solely on his 2016 health. He’s appeared in 31 of Oakland’s 41 games and picked up 126 plate appearances, so he’s a bit shy of the pace for either threshold. Clearly, though, there’s still plenty of time to make up ground. He’s batting .234/.304/.405.
  • Yusmeiro Petit: The one-year, $3MM contract signed by Petit this winter came with a $3MM club option ($500K buyout) that vests if Petit reaches 80 innings pitched. Petit has occupied a role similar to the one in which he thrived for a few years as a member of the Giants’ bullpen, and he’s picked up 21 innings through the Nationals’ first 40 games. If that pace holds, he’ll indeed clear 80 innings and see that salary lock in. With a 1.71 ERA and 3.28 FIP through his first 21 frames, the Nats probably wouldn’t mind that at all.
  • CC Sabathia: The 35-year-old Sabathia’s vesting option is tied to the health of his shoulder. He’ll lock in a $25MM salary for the 2017 campaign if he doesn’t end the 2016 season on the DL due to a shoulder injury or spend 45+ days on the DL this year due to a shoulder injury. Sabathia is currently on the disabled list, but it’s due to a groin injury, so it doesn’t impact the option’s status. While he’s certainly no longer an ace, Sabathia did have a 3.81 ERA through his first five starts of the season, though his strikeout and walk numbers weren’t particularly encouraging.

It’s perhaps worth noting, as well, that both Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher had vesting options for the 2017 season worked into the four-year deals they originally signed with the Indians. However, with each player having been released from that contract and signing new deals (with the D-backs and Yankees, respectively), those options are no longer in play. (The lack of playing time for each player this season would’ve made them a non-issue anyhow.)

NL Notes: Phillies, Melancon, Holliday

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GM Matt Klentak says that despite Aaron Altherr’s wrist injury and Cody Asche’s oblique troubles, the Phillies are not actively looking for additional outfielders, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. The Phillies do, however, remain open to the possibility of acquiring a player should the right opportunity arise. “I wouldn’t characterize it as active,” says Klentak. “This is the time of the year where most teams are starting to connect with each other to talk about different scenarios that are going to play out at the end of camp — who is going to make the team, who may not. So those conversations have begun — generally, anyway.” With Altherr on the shelf until midseason and Asche possibly missing the start of the season, the Phillies plan to go with Odubel Herrera, Peter Bourjos and Rule 5 selection Tyler Goeddel in their outfield to start the season.

  • The Pirates entered the offseason projecting to pay about 10% of their payroll to Mark Melancon. Paying such a steep price for their closer might not have seemed ideal in theory, but GM Neal Huntington says keeping Melancon was the best move in practice, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Melancon ended up with a $9.65MM deal for the year when the Bucs avoided arbitration with him. “We went into the offseason thinking Mark would be a part of the bullpen until somebody compelled us to think differently,” says Huntington. “No one did.” The Pirates instead made other cost-cutting moves, including parting ways with Pedro Alvarez and trading Charlie Morton to the Phillies. Melancon and Tony Watson were nearly unstoppable in the late innings last season, and the Bucs are hoping that they can be again in 2016, likely Melancon’s last year with the club.
  • Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday is taking well to learning first base, writes MLB.com’s Richard Justice. “I think having played third base for a few seasons in the Minor Leagues definitely helped,” says Holliday. “There’s definitely a little bit of an adjustment period being that close in. But I feel like I’ve played a long time and I’m athletic enough that with the proper training and work, I can do it.” Holliday has never played first in the regular season in his long big-league career, but he’s appeared there in five games this spring. Once the season starts, Holliday still figures to take his share of time in the outfield. Two young outfielders, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty, already are in line for everyday at-bats, but playing Holliday at first on occasion would potentially allow another younger player, Tommy Pham, more playing time. Brandon Moss will also figure into the Cardinals’ first base and outfield mix.

NL Central Notes: Epstein, Holliday, McCutchen, Hamilton

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The Cubs had the best offseason according to FanGraphs’ David Cameron. The additions of Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, John Lackey, and Adam Warren to the talented ball club will help even out the performances of younger boom or bust talents. Cameron had only one critique – signing a true center fielder would have let the Cubs put Heyward in a more comfortable spot while taking pressure off Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler. Cameron graded the offseason of all 30 teams in his post so go ahead and see what he has to say about your favorite. The Brewers rebuild ranked second.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts plans to once again make Theo Epstein the highest paid executive in baseball, writes Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. When Epstein originally joined the franchise on a five-year, $18.5MM contract, it was the largest ever signed by an executive. Since then, others have surpassed him – most notably Andrew Friedman of the Dodgers. Ricketts emphasized that Epstein has delivered on his promises to build a perennial contender and therefore deserves to be compensated as the best. He also noted that it’s a low stress conversation because of their good working relationship.
  • The Cardinals won’t be making any decisions on Matt Holliday’s 2017 club option until after the season, writes Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Dispatch. Holliday is in the final guaranteed year of a seven-year, $120MM contract. Notably, his $17MM option for 2017 comes with just a $1MM buy out making it a $16MM decision for the club. Holliday has also approached the club in the past about deferring money in his contract.
  • Pirates chairman Bob Nutting spoke to reporters about the next CBA, writes Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As a low revenue club, access to talent is the team’s top concern. In the past, they used large amateur budgets to build their current contending roster. The most recent CBA closed off these avenues of spending. Further, the club’s recent success has compounded the issue since they receive lower draft picks and budgets for winning. Nutting declined to comment on specifics. Nutting also reiterated that the club will “try to find an opportunity” to extend Andrew McCutchen.
  • Reds manager Bryan Price hopes speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton can grow into a leadoff role, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Hamilton is just a career .242/.287/.324 hitter. Despite excellent base running, including 126 stolen bases in 1,087 plate appearances, few players could earn regular reps with that triple slash. With Hamilton, his elite defense guarantees him a regular role, per Price. Now it’s just a matter of finding where his bat plays. FanGraphs’ WAR metric agrees with Price. Hamilton has compiled 6.1 WAR putting him on a 3-4 WAR pace per full season.

Outfield Notes: Holliday, Hamilton, De Aza, Victorino, Pagan

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All 1663 of Matt Holliday’s career games in the majors have come in left field or DH, but the veteran is getting some time at first base, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Holliday’s offseason workouts at first were initially reported by Heyman in December, as Holliday is hoping to extend his career by adding some positional versatility.  Quad injuries limited Holliday to just 73 games in 2015 but he has been an extremely productive and usually durable player over his six-plus years with the Cardinals, and he tells Heyman that he hopes to remain in St. Louis “as long as possible.”  The Cards will face a decision in the fall about whether to exercise their $17MM club option on Holliday for 2017 or buy him out for $1MM, though the 36-year-old could cause the option to vest with a top-10 finish in MVP voting.  Here’s some more about other prominent outfield names…

  • Josh Hamilton is visiting Dr. James Andrews’ clinic to get what is being termed as a second opinion on his left knee, which led Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News to rhetorically and somewhat ominously wonder “what was the first opinion?”  Hamilton has undergone two knee surgeries in the last six months and another procedure could be an option to relieve the knee soreness and pain that has continued to plague the outfielder.  The Rangers were already known to be looking for outfield depth, but if Hamilton isn’t healthy enough to manage even the platoon role that the team had laid out for him, Grant figures Texas might pursue a regular left fielder rather than a backup center fielder.  The Rangers might also be forced to give such a player a Major League contract if he’s getting regular playing time.
  • Alejandro De Aza finds himself in the unusual position of having just signed with a new team as a free agent but immediately facing trade speculation, yet the maybe temporary Mets outfielder told reporters (including ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin) that he was just focusing on preparing for the upcoming season.  The Mets’ surprising re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes created a surplus in New York’s outfield, and De Aza could already be the odd man out.  He cannot be traded without his permission until June 15, though this may not be an issue if De Aza wants more playing time elsewhere.  The Rangers have notably been linked to De Aza in trade rumors, pending the Hamilton situation.
  • Shane Victorino is yet another name on the Rangers’ list but Texas is reportedly only interested in signing him to a minor league contract.  Victorino is still holding out for a Major League deal, however, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets, that the veteran outfielder could find such a contract within the next few days.  (Again, Hamilton’s health could be a factor if the Rangers remained interested in Victorino’s services.)  On Monday, Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweeted that the Cubs seem like a fit for Victorino, who would fill a reserve role in Chicago.
  • Angel Pagan admitted to reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he “was a little surprised” by the Giants’ signing of Denard Span.  “It’s not like I was mad, but I had to sit down with my family and explore what was going on and accept it and move on,” Pagan said.  With Span on board, Pagan will spend most of his time in left field, and while he admits it’ll be an adjustment not being a regular center fielder, “I’m just being unselfish to make that move. I just want to be able to provide the best I can to this team.”  Pagan is a free agent himself this coming offseason, so 2016 will be an important platform for him to rebound from three injury-plagued seasons and potentially earn another lucrative contract.

Heyman’s Latest: Royals, Kazmir, Dee Gordon, Clippard, Holliday, Padres, Astros

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There are a host of interesting notes in the latest column from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Here are some of the highlights:

  • While the Royals are still interested in free agent starters Yovani Gallardo and Scott Kazmir, as has previously been reported, the club may be most intrigued by Wei-Yin Chen, per Heyman. Kansas City would have to go well beyond its usual spending levels to add the southpaw, but Heyman writes that the club has newfound budget “flexibility” in the midst of its renaissance. Chen, though, is represented by Scott Boras, with whom the Royals have a strong relationship. (Kendrys Morales, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Rios and Franklin Morales are among the current or recent Royals to be Boras clients.)
  • Kazmir already has multiple three-year offers with guarantees in the range of $12MM to $13MM annually, per the report, with teams like the Athletics, Orioles, and Dodgers said to be involved. It seems like the first legitimate four-year offer could land Kazmir, Heyman adds. Of course, it’s unclear if the A’s will still be in the hunt if and when their reported one-year deal with righty Henderson Alvarez is finalized.
  • Meanwhile, the Royals are still pursuing Alex Gordon, but Heyman reports that the team’s initial four-year offer was not met with a very promising response from Gordon’s camp. It’s been surprisingly quiet on the Gordon front for much of the offseason, although with Jason Heyward off the board, it’s easy to imagine the market for him and fellow corner outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton picking up quickly.
  • The Royals are holding extension discussions with backstop Salvador Perez, says Heyman, and there’s interest from team and player in reaching “something equitable.” But K.C. has all the leverage, of course, given its already lengthy and cheap control rights over the sturdy young catcher. Heyman adds that Perez’s representatives have raised the extensions of players like Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, and Ryan Braun in talks, with the Royals not favorably disposed to those concepts. (An observation: those deals certainly don’t seem all that relevant from where I sit. Perez is an excellent player, but hasn’t reached the heights of those stars, and his current contract is far cheaper than the ones Longoria and Braun turned into new deals. Also, as a heavily-worked, large-framed catcher, there are questions about how wise it would be to make a long-term investment in Perez.)
  • The Marlins have continued their extension talks with Dee Gordon, and Heyman says that Miami has put a five-year deal on the table. But Gordon and his reps are looking for seven seasons in an extension. The talks are moving slowly, but still moving, per Heyman.
  • While the Mets do have legitimate interest in Tyler Clippard, they only want him with a one-year guarantee, per Heyman. Clippard is looking for a two-year deal he adds. It certainly seems that the veteran’s market is lagging the rest of the top-end set-up men who hit free agency this year. That could be due to a combination of his heavy recent workload and sub-par peripherals last year, but Clippard should still find a significant contract given his lengthy track record and the high dollars we’ve seen given to inferior arms.
  • Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been working out at first base, with the veteran looking to extend his career by adding defensive versatility. While that’s been done at Holliday’s initiative, Heyman wonders whether the hypothetical possibility of a move could keep St. Louis involved in the hunt for Gordon.
  • The Padres seem unlikely to put together a big offer for Ian Desmond. That would certainly be bad news for the free agent, whose market has yet to develop, as San Diego seems like one of the best fits. The Pads are not getting a lot of interest in James Shields at present and have put a high price on Tyson Ross, per the report. Meanwhile, the club is considering a move for veteran reliever Fernando Rodney.
  • The Astros aren’t done with their bullpen and remain in the market for relievers as well as a corner bat, Heyman writes. Houston non-tendered Chris Carter, and A.J. Reed probably won’t be ready to begin the season, so there does indeed appear to be room for someone capable of taking some at-bats at first base (although Jon Singleton could be given another look there as well).
  • We’ve heard chatter that the Orioles and Rockies have had some talks regarding outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, and Heyman says that Colorado asked for young righty Kevin Gausman in a deal. That was, unsurprisingly, a non-starter for Baltimore. The O’s, meanwhile, tried to get Andre Ethier from the Dodgers last offseason, and Heyman wonders whether another such effort could take place this year as the club continues to hunt for another left-handed-hitting outfielder (per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, on Twitter).
  • The Indians had talks with free agent Austin Jackson before signing Rajai Davis, per Heyman. He adds that there are legitimate concerns that Michael Brantley will be out into June “or perhaps even later” after some undisclosed new shoulder “issue” arose this winter.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

NL Central Notes: Davis, Holliday, Walker, Lee

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The Cardinals didn’t have a strong interest in Chris Davis at the start of December and not much seems to have changed in two weeks, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Cards still aren’t keen on the free agent slugger.  Of course, quite a bit has happened in the last two weeks, as St. Louis has come up short in its pursuit of such top-tier free agents as Jason Heyward and David Price.  Rather than sign Davis, the Cards seem prepared to use a Brandon Moss/Matt Adams platoon at first base this season (not to mention Stephen Piscotty also on hand as an option at first).  Here’s more from around the NL Central…

  • The Cardinals’ interest in Alex Gordon is complicated by Matt Holliday’s presence in left, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi writes.  Aside from a handful of games at DH, Holliday has never played anywhere other than left field during his 12-year career, so someone like Gordon would have to be okay with playing in center or right for 2016 — Holliday is only under contract through this season.  Holliday has a no-trade clause, and he’s probably unlikely to waive it to go elsewhere this late in his career.  Morosi also floats an interesting little conspiracy theory, noting that Holliday and Davis are both represented by Scott Boras; so if Holliday refuses a trade and blocks a Gordon signing, that could theoretically make St. Louis a suitor for Davis if the club is intent on adding another big bat.
  • The history of Neil Walker’s long-term extension talks with the Pirates is compiled in a very interesting piece from Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Walker turned down a multi-year offer from the Bucs in his 2010 rookie year and talks didn’t pick up again until last winter.  The Pirates offered a three-year, $27MM extension that would’ve covered Walker’s last two arb years and his first free agent year; that was countered by a two-year, $19MM offer from Walker’s camp but the Pirates wanted a team option on that 2017 free agent year.  “The offer wasn’t very realistic.  And there was no negotiating in between. It was, ‘Here it is.’ When we countered, there was no response, so we went to the [arbitration] hearing,” Walker said.  That hearing ended up being “probably the point when I lost all faith in the organization,” as Walker was put off by the Pirates’ assessment of his play and figured his days were numbered in Pittsburgh.  Walker’s tenure with the Bucs ended last week when he was traded to the Mets for Jon Niese.  On the Walker negotiations, GM Neal Huntington said that “every agreement has to find a common middle ground. We’ve been successful on other fronts. This one was not successful. We’re as much at fault as anybody.”
  • The Pirates have some level of interest in Korean first baseman/DH Dae-ho Lee, according to Biertempfel (on Twitter).  Lee met with GMs from four clubs in Nashville, per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (on Twitter), though it’s not clear whether the Pirates were one of those teams.  Lee feels that he might not have a deal by the end of 2015, though he could sign sometime in January (link to Yoo’s Twitter).
  • The Cubs “had a lot of lines in the water” on the trade market, an NL executive tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  “The expectation is,” as Sherman writes, that the aggressive Cubs will make another big move to add a front-of-the-rotation young starter, and are dangling Jorge Soler and/or Javier Baez to make such a deal happen.

MLBTR’s Zach Links also contributed to this post

Quick Hits: Holliday, Davis, Price, Cubs, Padres, Relievers, CBA

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In response to a reader question about Matt Holliday as a possible trade candidate, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch doubts the Cardinals would move a such strong bat since the team’s main winter goal is to add offense.  Langosch isn’t sure if the Cards have any interest in dealing Holliday or if he would accept a trade via his 10-and-5 veto rights.  Even at age 35 and battling injuries last season, Holliday still posted a very respectable .279/.394/.410 line over 277 plate appearances.  2016 is his last guaranteed year under contract (St. Louis has a $17MM club option on him for 2017) so it’s also not like Holliday is a long-term roadblock for the club’s upcoming young outfielders.  Here’s some more from around baseball as we look forward to leftover turkey tomorrow…

  • The Astros aren’t likely to be big players for Chris Davis, a source familiar with the situation tells Evan Drelllich of the Houston Chronicle.  Davis will command a big price and Houston already has a lot of high-power, high-strikeout hitters.  I myself speculated that Davis and the Astros could be a fit in my Astros Offseason Outlook piece, under the logic that the team needs a big left-handed bat, Davis is a Texas native and first base would be open if Chris Carter and Evan Gattis were non-tendered.  Drellich’s piece looks at that first base situation for the Astros, and the presence of prospects Tyler White and A.J. Reed might also make a Davis signing unlikely.
  • Six general managers who recently spoke with Peter Gammons believe the Red Sox will sign David Price this offseason.  “Boston will go $30-40M above anyone else” to land Price, one NL GM opines.  This is just the latest chatter connecting Price to the Sox, and while Gammons writes that “some feel he is uneasy about Boston, but David is so sophisticated, so talented and so intelligent he will make the best of any situation.”  Another GM, however, speculates that the Cardinals could be the ones to make the big play for Price, passing on re-signing Jason Heyward in the process.
  • Gammons shares some more chatter from his sources, including “a lot of John Lackey and Alex Gordon to the Cubs speculation.”
  • Recently designated players like John Axford, Daniel Nava, A.J. Griffin, Danny Hultzen and Wilin Rosario could all be intriguing targets for the Padres, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune opines.  The first three are free agents, Hultzen was outrighted off the Mariners’ 40-man roster and Rosario is still in DFA limbo.
  • Fangraphs’ Eno Sarris tries to identify some of the smaller-name or underrated relief arms on the open market that could blossom into bargain pickups.  The Cubs are one example of a club that has built an entire bullpen (and a strong one, at that) out of such under-the-radar pitchers, as Sarris notes.
  • One of the underlying stories of 2016 will be the negotiations between MLB and the players union over the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, ESPN’s Jayson Stark writes.  Stark’s piece highlights some of the major issues that are likely to play a big role in the upcoming talks, ranging from revenue sharing, free agency and the qualifying offer, the length of the season, a possible international amateur draft and more.  Another interesting topic could be how the league may address teams “tanking” several seasons in an attempt to rebuild, and possible solutions include a draft lottery or a rule prohibiting teams from drafting in the top five in consecutive seasons.
  • The good news about the CBA talks is that multiple sources on both sides tell Stark that everyone wants to keep the labor peace that baseball has enjoyed for over two decades.  “It’s a 9-and-a-half-billion dollar industry.  Nobody is going to want to blow it up,” one source tells Stark.

Cardinals Notes: Heyward, Martinez, Moss, Bourjos, Matheny, Coaches

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The Cardinals’ 2015 season came to an end this week after the team fell to the division-rival Cubs in Game 4 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. That means that club’s immediate focus now becomes the offseason, and the chief question with which St. Louis figures to be faced is whether or not the team can re-sign Jason Heyward. Whether or note Heyward remains in St. Louis is up for debate, but GM John Mozeliak made clear today that the Cards want to bring Heyward back into the fold on a long-term deal, writes MLB.com’s Jen Langosch. Heyward “was a tremendous fit on this club [and] did exactly what we wanted him to do,” said Mozeliak, who added that the team’s wait for a Heyward decision in free agency won’t handcuff its other offseason pursuits.

A few more notes on the Cards as they gear up for the winter…

  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also has a breakdown of issues discussed by Mozeliak when talking to the media today. The GM gave good news when it comes to young right-hander Carlos Martinez, revealing that there are no plans for the 24-year-old to undergo surgery to repair his ailing shoulder. Rather, he’ll spend the offseason at the team’s spring complex in Jupiter, Fla. and go through what Goold terms a “more regimented” offseason under the guidance of the club’s training staff.
  • Also from Goold, the Cardinals have interest in bringing Brandon Moss back for at least a bench role. “Obviously Moss was someone we acquired because we like his power potential and we like his flexibility he gives you being able to play outfield or first,” said Mozeliak. “He’ll have a spot at some point.” The question facing the Cardinals when it comes to Moss, I’d imagine, is whether they can find a way to bring him back at a cheaper price. Moss earned $6.5MM in 2015 and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.9MM in 2016. That seems too expensive for a part-time player with limited defensive upside.
  • Mozeliak was more vague when it came to the team’s interest in retaining outfielder Peter Bourjos. Acquired from the Angels alongside Randal Grichuk in the 2013-14 offseason, Bourjos has received inconsistent playing time and undergone hip surgery since his acquisition, either of which may have contributed to diminished performance. “As far as Peter goes, I don’t think it ever worked to the point where we were hopeful of,” Mozeliak explained. “That doesn’t mean we’re at the point to give up either. We’ll reassess and look at what our opportunities look like over the next six weeks or so.” Bourjos is projected to earn an affordable $1.8MM in arbitration, but with Matt Holliday, Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty, Jon Jay and Tommy Pham all in the fold, it’s certainly easy to envision him being traded to another club. (Moving Holliday to first base, Mozeliak said, isn’t a consideration.) A non-tender strikes me as unlikely, simply because Bourjos’ defensive ceiling is so high. A team in need of center field options such as the Brewers, Indians, Mariners or Padres would make some sense to me as a fit.
  • Tyler Lyons or Marco Gonzales could emerge as left-handed relief options in next year’s bullpen, according to Mozeliak (via Goold). The Cardinals like the idea of using either in the bullpen because they’d be less-specialized options than Randy Choate was over the past few seasons.
  • As Langosch notes, the team hasn’t made a decision on Jaime Garcia’s $11.5MM option, but the Cardinals feel he exceeded their expectations in 2015. “You think back to Garcia, and the impact that he made on our roster was extremely positive,” said Mozeliak. “If we were having this conversation in February, I don’t think any of us would have thought he was going to contribute, especially the way he did.” I’d expect the option to be exercised, especially considering Mozeliak’s August comments on Garcia.
  • Don’t expect many (or any) changes in the Cardinals dugout, as Goold writes that the entire coaching staff has been invited back for the 2016 season.
  • Bernie Miklasz of 101 ESPN examines the difficulties of managing in the social media era as part of a lengthy piece on manager Mike Matheny. While Miklasz notes that he has often been critical of Matheny himself, he also opines the onslaught of criticism Matheny received during the NLDS wasn’t necessarily deserved, as Matheny alone was not the reason for the Cardinals’ early exit from the playoffs.

Holliday Placed On DL; Cards Unlikely To Pursue Outfield Trades

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JULY 30: Holliday has been placed on the disabled list, and GM John Mozeliak has announced that he has Grade 2 strain of the quadriceps muscle, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (Twitter link). Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that the Cardinals have no plans to jump back into the outfield trade market, however.

JULY 29: Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday left tonight’s action with a right quadriceps injury, Kevin Modelski of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. It remains unclear at present how serious the injury is, though it occurred to the same muscle that Holliday tore. He missed five weeks for the initial tear.

Obviously, a similar absence would increase the Cardinals’ need to add a bat. The team has long been expected to make a move to fill in for first baseman Matt Adams, and recently called up top prospect Stephen Piscotty to add support. St. Louis has been said to be weighing a move for Adam Lind (or someone of his ilk), and that seems all the more likely now.

The 35-year-old Holliday hasn’t posted his usual power numbers in 2015, but he’s still batting an excellent .291/.411/.422 in 253 trips to the plate. An update on his health will be made tomorrow morning, at which time we’ll know more on whether or not the unfortunate news will prompt the Cardinals to jump into what has already been an exceptionally active trade market this week.

Injury Notes: Holliday, Odorizzi, Morrow

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The Cardinals tonight placed left fielder Matt Holliday on the disabled list with a quadriceps injury, the team announced. It’s not known what type of timeframe Holliday will need to recover, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Holliday has a Grade 2 tear of his right quad and will be reevaluated two weeks from now (Twitter links). Losing Holliday would be the second blow to the middle of the Cardinals’ order, as St. Louis has already lost Matt Adams for the remainder of the season to a similar injury, though Adams had a complete tear of his quad that required surgery. Unlike that scenario, however, the Cards do have a plethora of internal replacement candidates for Holliday. Randal Grichuk, Jon Jay, Jason Heyward and Peter Bourjos are all on the big league roster, and well-regarded prospect Stephen Picsotty is waiting in the wings as well.

A couple more injury-related notes…

  • Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi landed on the 15-day disabled list tonight as well, thanks to a left oblique injury. Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Odorizzi feels the injury is less serious than the oblique issue that sidelined teammate Alex Cobb for five-and-a-half weeks last year. However, Odorizzi also isn’t sure how long he’ll be sidelined and doesn’t have a timetable for his return at present. Odorizzi called the strain “mild to moderate” and said he’ll play catch later this week.
  • Padres right-hander Brandon Morrow’s return to the mound has been slowed, as a setback in his recovery means he’ll be shut down from throwing entirely for the next two weeks, via the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Odrisamer Despaigne has stepped into the rotation in Morrow’s absence, but he’s been incredibly hit-or-miss in his past six outings. Despaigne yielded eight runs in his return to the rotation in early May, and he’s surrendered seven, two, zero, one and four runs, respectively, in five subsequent start. The outcome for Despaigne has been a 5.82 ERA over six starts. San Diego also has Josh Johnson rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but it seems unlikely that the team would bank on Johnson taking the ball every fifth day through season’s end upon his return; Johnson has long struggled with injuries and has not thrown a pitch in the Majors since Aug. 6, 2013.
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