Neal Huntington

NL News & Rumors: Cubs, Schwarber, Mets, Giants, Bucs, Braves

By Connor Byrne | December 9, 2018 at 3:48pm CDT

The Cubs, who have always been bullish on Kyle Schwarber, continue to spurn inquiries for the slugger, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Still only 25 years old, Schwarber just turned in a 3.2-fWAR season in which he batted .238/.356/.467 (115 wRC+) with 26 home runs in 510 plate appearances and unexpectedly received positive marks in left field (two DRS, 9.8 UZR). Schwarber will play his first of three potential arbitation seasons in 2019, when he’s projected to earn just $3.1MM.

Here’s more from the National League:

Unsurprisingly, the Mets aren’t willing to part with both Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo in a trade for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. Moreover, the Mets don’t want to trade young infielder Amed Rosario at all, Heyman adds. As great as Realmuto is, it wouldn’t make sense for the Mets to trade Conforto and Nimmo – their most valuable outfielders – for two years of control over him. Conforto still has another three years of control left, while Nimmo has four more – including a pre-arb season in 2019.
The Giants hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations a month ago, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was among the candidates they spoke with before then, according to Heyman. It’s unclear how serious the Giants’ interest in Huntington was, but it is known that he’s under contract in Pittsburgh through 2021. Next season will be Huntington’s 12th as the Pirates’ GM.
More on the Mets, who – along with the previously reported Chili Davis – have added Chuck Hernandez and Luis Rojas to their coaching staff, Heyman tweets and the the team has since made official. Hernandez will be their bullpen coach, while Rojas will serve as a quality control coach. Hernandez worked as the division-rival Braves’ pitching coach from 2017-18. They dismissed him after last season.
Speaking of the Braves, they’ve hired Gary Rajsich to work in professional and amateur scouting, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Rajsich had been the Orioles’ scouting director since 2011, bu they booted him from their front office last month.

NL Central Notes: Epstein, Cubs, Pirates, Martinez

By Mark Polishuk | July 22, 2018 at 9:20pm CDT

The latest from around the NL Central…

“Pitching is our main need” heading into the trade deadline, Theo Epstein told 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine and other reporters. The Cubs were known to be looking for bullpen help even before Brandon Morrow hit the DL with biceps inflammation, and since Morrow’s injury isn’t expected to keep him out for long, Epstein said that the closer’s absence didn’t impact the team’s deadline plans. Yu Darvish’s return from the DL theoretically helps a rotation that has been inconsistent, though Epstein gave a realistic view of what Darvish could contribute, given the right-hander’s own struggles this season. “You can’t be overly reliant on someone who hasn’t been able to go out there and perform this year….if you put yourself in a position where you are overly reliant and defending on it at this point, it is on you then,” Epstein said.
Beyond pitching, Epstein also noted that “we will probably look in August for someone who can play defense or steal a bag.” He predicted multiple moves prior to September 1, and felt the team would make one more trade prior to the July 31 deadline. Though the president of baseball operations doesn’t “think it’s impossible” that the Cubs make a big-ticket transactions, smaller deals seem more likely, as Epstein felt “we are going to be a little more selective and opportunistic” with their options after dealing top prospects in other trades in recent years. For instance, the Athletic’s Patrick Mooney writes that it seems “highly unlikely” that the Cubs would move catching prospect Miguel Amaya for a rental player like Baltimore’s Zach Britton.
With the Pirates on a run of 10 wins in their last 11 games, GM Neal Huntington said in a radio appearance today (hat tip to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) that his team “would love to add” at the trade deadline. “If there’s something out there that makes sense and makes us better, we’re absolutely open to that,” Huntington said. The Pirates are still just a modest 51-49 on the season and are battling several other teams in a crowded NL playoff picture, though the Bucs are now four games back of the Braves for the final wild card slot (and 4.5 games behind the struggling Brewers, who hold the first wild card position).
Jose Martinez’s poor defense has made him a part-time player with the Cardinals, despite 13 homers and a .295/.361/.471 slash line this season. Martinez tells Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he understands the team’s decision, and that he “would love to be a Cardinal for my career” even though he seems far more suited for a DH role with an American League team. With the Cards not really positioned to be buyers or sellers, Frederickson suggests that the club could approach the coming trade deadline as “an overdue round of roster maintenance that addresses the easiest-to-solve problems and optimizes returns on pieces that don’t fit into the puzzle moving forward.” This would include dealing Martinez, as “his value to AL teams might never be higher” given his current success and his long-term controllability through the 2022 season.

Pirates Notes: Deadline, Rotation, Middle Infield, Bullpen

By Connor Byrne | June 17, 2018 at 7:16pm CDT

The Pirates have fallen to earth since a solid start and now sit a game below .500 (35-36), but general manager Neal Huntington told reporters before Sunday’s loss to the Reds that he still has a buyer’s mindset as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches. “We’ve had more conversations about adding players at this point in time than we’ve had about subtracting players,” Huntington said (via Adam Berry of MLB.com), adding that “our intent is to continue to give this club every chance in the world to show us that we can continue to do the things that we did the first six weeks, eight weeks to put ourselves nine games over and that we can dig out of this hole that we’ve dug ourselves over this tough stretch of 30 days.” The Pirates are sitting in fourth place in a tough NL Central, seven games behind first-place Milwaukee, but they’re only 3 1/2 out of a wild-card spot. With several playoff-contending teams on their schedule in the next several weeks, the Bucs will have an opportunity to make up ground on their competitors and end up as buyers. But if the Pirates drop out of the hunt pre-deadline, they could ultimately market some of their shorter-term players, as Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported this week.

Quick Hits: Utley, Hutchison, Int’l Market

By Mark Polishuk | September 17, 2017 at 11:36pm CDT

It was on this day in 1941 that Stan Musial played in his first Major League game, beginning what turned into a legendary 22-year career. It could be said that the Cardinals legend was “The Man” from day one, going 2-for-4 in his first game and posting an 1.023 OPS over his first 49 plate appearances in the bigs. That didn’t end up being too far off from the .331/.417/.559 slash line that Musial contributed over his entire career, cementing his place as one of baseball’s all-time greats. Here’s some notes from around the league…

Chase Utley still enjoys playing but is realistic about the fact that his career is approaching its end, the veteran tells Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Utley said he has been approaching his career on a year-to-year basis, and acknowledging that while he still has the desire to play, “I know the market nowadays isn’t that friendly to older players. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But I feel personally there’s still plenty of ways I can contribute.” Utley turns 39 in December, and he entered the day with a .234/.324/.406 slash line in 328 PA for the Dodgers, which includes an .806 OPS in 162 PA at Dodger Stadium. While his days as an everyday player are over, Utley has been regarded as a major behind-the-scenes contributor, with teammates and coaches praising his clubhouse leadership.
The Pirates’ decision to outright Drew Hutchison was simply due to a pitching surplus, GM Neal Huntington told Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other media. “It was more things beyond Drew’s control. We traded for him with the idea that he was a controllable, young starter that could fill a rotation spot for years to come,” Huntington said. “We just also decided this year that the growth and development of our guys put them ahead of him….we felt like we had guys that we wanted to give the innings to at the Major League level ahead of him. Time will tell if that was the right call.” Huntington praised Hutchison and said that cutting ties with him now will give the young righty more time to find another team, rather than waiting until December to be non-tendered.
Thanks to the strict bonus money cap on international signings in the new collective bargaining agreement, teams are already lining up agreements with international players at younger and younger ages, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. While none of these agreements are technically binding at this point, “teams generally are reluctant to ’raid’ each other’s committed players,” Miller writes, so some deals are being struck years in advance of when these players become eligible to be signed. “Teams are agreeing with players for 2020 now, that’s how far out it is,” Twins VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff said. “Almost all of the best guys for next [July] are locked up already and off the market….It feels like we spend almost as much time trying to find out who’s still available and who’s not as we do going to scout players. And it’s impossible to know what a 13-year-old is going to turn into. Did you know what you would be when you were 13?”

Pirates Announce Extensions Of Neal Huntington, Clint Hurdle

By Jeff Todd | September 5, 2017 at 1:07pm CDT

The Pirates have announced matching, four-year extensions for both GM Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle. Both are now under contract through the 2021 season; salary terms are unreported.

Hurdle’s deal was reported yesterday, though Huntington’s situation remained unclear. As we covered at the time, both of these key organizational figures were entering an offseason of uncertainty, with the Bucs possessing team options for the 2018 campaign.

Rather than simply taking the one year already contemplated in their prior contracts, Pirates president Frank Coonelly decided to reward both Huntington and Hurdle with yet greater commitments, calling each “selfless leaders who have made us a far stronger organization, both on and off the field.” Both had previously worked for one or three-year terms.

Some fans will find some cause for consternation in the timing of the move. After all, the Bucs are again failing to play to expectations after a 2013-15 run of success that reinvigorated hopes and fan interest. And the club has drawn fairly persistent accusations of being unwilling to spend when necessary. Most recently, hackles raised with the club’s curious move at the end of August to dump the salary of quality reliever Juan Nicasio. (At least as public perceptions go, it probably doesn’t help that Nicasio was claimed by the cross-state-rival Phillies, who had even less reason to pay his salary at this stage of the year.)

Still, it’s hard not to credit the work of the Huntington-Hurdle duo. The former came over from the Indians organization in advance of the 2008 season; while it took some time, and awaited the arrival of Hurdle a few years later, the club finally broke its long-running losing streak. Utilizing creative methods worthy of a book, Huntington’s front office — with Hurdle chipping in from the clubhouse and dugout — managed to field a roster that won 280 and lost 206 games from 2013 through 2015.

While those teams never advanced in the postseason, and things haven’t gone as well since, that doesn’t necessarily fall entirely on the shoulders of the GM and manager. The team’s exciting trio of outfielders was seen as perhaps the game’s best entering 2016; for a variety of reasons, they’ve combined to put up just 12 WAR over the last two years. Unlike some other organizations that have emerged in recent seasons, too, the Bucs have continued to carry less than $100MM in Opening Day payroll.

While the team has just not quite gotten enough from a variety of spots on the roster, Huntington has done well in acquiring and re-signing Ivan Nova, getting Felipe Rivero for pending free agent Mark Melancon, and acquiring and then extending the solid David Freese (who has been especially important with the unexpected loss of Jung Ho Kang). Every recent move hasn’t been a winner — the signings of Daniel Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong, for example — though perhaps the most strident complaints have been about opportunities that may have been missed owing mostly to payroll constraints.

All told, the current roster still holds plenty of talented players on appealing contracts. But some of the organization’s biggest stars — McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, in particular — are nearing free-agent eligibility, posing major questions (fraught with complicated baseball and public relations elements) to the front office and ownership group. How the Bucs will navigate the potentially turbulent waters remains to be seen, but the helmsmen will remain the same — albeit now with significant contractual protection to weather any short-term disappointments.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heyman’s Latest: Yanks, Mets, Darvish, Astros, Twins, Bucs

By Connor Byrne | August 10, 2017 at 7:56pm CDT

The Yankees showed interest in Mets second baseman Neil Walker before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. The crosstown rivals actually had a deal for Walker in place, tweets Mike Puma of Newsday, but it fell through over medical concerns. Walker suffered a partially torn hamstring in mid-June and returned shortly before the deadline. At that point, the Yankees had recently lost second baseman Starlin Castro to a hamstring injury of his own, but he’s now nearing a rehab assignment, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (Twitter link). As for Walker, the impending free agent has already cleared revocable waivers this month, making him eligible for a trade, though he’s owed sizable sum (around $6MM) through season’s end.

More from Heyman via a trio of columns, all of which are worth reading in full:

The Rangers don’t expect to reunite with Yu Darvish in free agency, suggests Heyman, who adds that they decided a couple days before the non-waiver deadline that they were going to trade the ace. Texas ended up dealing Darvish to the Dodgers right before the clock ran out. The Astros were a rumored Darvish suitor leading up to then, but they didn’t make a real effort to land him, reports Heyman.
Speaking of the Astros, their talks with the Tigers regarding Justin Verlander are all but dead, per Heyman, which jibes with a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “It never got close,” a personal familiar with the discussions told Heyman, and that source expects Verlander to still be in a Tigers uniform when the 2018 season begins. Houston was unwilling to deal any of its best prospects for the expensive, aging Verlander (or any of its other deadline targets), but a Tigers official told Heyman, “You’re trading an icon, you’ve got to get something back.” The Astros have been conservative in terms of making acquisitions this summer, surely because a 71-42 team doesn’t need a ton of help, but GM Jeff Luhnow’s lack of bold moves has led to frustration within the organization, writes Heyman. Ace Dallas Keuchel voiced some displeasure immediately after the club’s quiet deadline (only scuffling lefty Francisco Liriano came aboard), and outfielder Josh Reddick followed suit Thursday in an interview with MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). Astros players were “down in the dumps” after the deadline, Reddick revealed.
The Twins reportedly listened to offers for righty Ervin Santana in advance of the deadline, but their interest in dealing the solid mid-rotation starter was minimal, relays Heyman. Santana is under control through next season on fair $13.5MM salaries (his deal also features a $14MM club option for 2019), making it unlikely he’d go unclaimed on waivers this month, notes Heyman.
Although GM Sandy Alderson is in the last year of his contract, people around the Mets expect him to return in 2018. There’s less certainty surrounding manager Terry Collins, who’s also in a contract year. Heyman lists Mets bench coach Dickie Scott, Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren (who previously held that post with the Mets) and Athletics third base coach Chip Hale as potential replacements for Collins if he’s not back next year.
Meanwhile, both Pirates GM Neal Huntington and skipper Clint Hurdle appear safe. As long as the two want to return in 2018, the Pirates will exercise their options.
The White Sox would like to deal veteran hurlers Derek Holland, Miguel Gonzalez and Tyler Clippard, which isn’t surprising considering they’re impending free agents on a rebuilding team. Given the seasons they’re having, Holland and Gonzalez probably won’t carry much appeal to rotation-needy contenders, though Clippard has put up six straight scoreless appearances out of Chicago’s bullpen. Across that seven-inning span, Clippard allowed three hits and three walks, with nine strikeouts. MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted Wednesday that Clippard’s a prime August trade candidate.
The Diamondbacks were in on reliever Joe Smith before the Blue Jays dealt him to the Indians, but David Hernandez “seemed to be” Arizona’s top target, Heyman writes. The D-backs ended up acquiring Hernandez from the Angels, making this his second stint in Arizona. Hernandez has only thrown 2 2/3 innings in his return to the club, but they’ve been spotless (no runs, hits or walks allowed).

Trade Rumors: Dodgers, Luhnow, Astros, Pirates, Melky

By Mark Polishuk | July 24, 2017 at 12:03am CDT

The Dodgers were reported to be interested in Yu Darvish even before today’s news broke that Clayton Kershaw is very likely headed to the disabled list. Regardless of whether Kershaw’s injury proves to be serious or not, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times argues that the Dodgers should still acquire Darvish or a similar front-of-the-rotation starter. With the team having a legitimate chance at a World Series title, Hernandez feels the time has come for the Dodgers front office to make a bold trade of valued prospects to add an ace that could at least help lessen the postseason load on Kershaw or (worst case scenario) replace Kershaw entirely if his back problems are serious.

Here’s some more trade chatter from around the league…

In an interview with Astros Radio (hat tip to MLB.com’s Christian Boutwell), GM Jeff Luhnow said that his team’s deadline plans have changed thanks to Collin McHugh returning from the DL and Dallas Keuchel also expected to soon get back in action. “We were thinking we may have [to] go out and get a depth starter — a fourth, fifth starter guy to help us get through the season,” Luhnow said. “That’s no longer the case. If anything, we’ve going to have to put guys in the bullpen.” Of course, Houston has been linked to bigger names than just back-of-the-rotation types, as names like Sonny Gray, Jaime Garcia and Justin Verlander have been mentioned in connection with the Astros’ trade talks. Luhnow added that the ’Stros are still open to pursuing other options that may help them in the postseason, which could hint at pouncing on a bigger name if a good deal becomes available.
In his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan (hat tip to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Pirates GM Neal Huntington said that the team will keep an eye on the outfield trade market with Gregory Polanco on the DL and Starling Marte ineligible for postseason play. Huntington said that asking prices for outfielders in May and June were too high, and the Bucs still won’t “overpay” for a player that may not be much of an upgrade over their internal options, plus the GM is hopeful that Polanco won’t miss much time recovering from his strained hamstring.
While the White Sox are continuing to trade veterans, Melky Cabrera is hoping to remain with the team, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes. “I like this team and I would like to stay here for a long time, not just until the end of the season. But I don’t have control of those decisions,” Cabrera said via a translator. Cabrera wasn’t garnering much trade interest as of a month ago, though the veteran has continued to post solid numbers at the plate. Cabrera is owed approximately $5.2M in salary for the remainder of the season before hitting free agency this winter.

Quick Hits: Judge, Betts, Nats, A’s, Pirates, Orioles

By Connor Byrne | July 16, 2017 at 10:09pm CDT

In Aaron Judge, the Yankees have a cornerstone right fielder. In Mookie Betts, the Red Sox have a cornerstone right fielder. The 6-foot-7, 272-pound Judge is radically different than the 5-9, 180-pound Betts, but the two American League All-Stars are among the majors’ premier players. To find out who’s the superior building block, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com polled two AL executives, three NL scouts and an AL scout. Each player ended up receiving three votes. One Judge supporter, an NL scout, said of the 25-year-old: “He has gotten shorter and quicker with his swing, more selective and disciplined. I understand that Dave Winfield has really helped him, as they are similarly tall and great athletes. Winfield talked to him about not striking out as much and thinking about RBIs, not home runs.” Meanwhile, an AL executive who prefers Betts, 24, reasoned: “Given the track record of Betts and positional value that likely tracks better during the aging curve, I’d lean in his direction slightly. There’s clearly more upside in Judge if he keeps up this pace and retains such elite value for a longer term of control. But if I had to take one tomorrow, I’d take Betts.”

More reading material from around the majors as you contemplate Judge versus Betts:

The trade the Nationals and Athletics made on Sunday looks like a win-win, opines ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required and recommended). In acquiring Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle, the Nationals managed to land a pair of quality relievers who possess excellent control without giving up any of their absolute best prospects. On the other hand, Law writes that the rebuilding A’s cleared salary, got back a capable big league reliever in Blake Treinen and a couple promising young players, both of whom were high selections in the 2016 draft. Nineteen-year-old Jesus Luzardo, the 35th choice, had the upside of a No. 2 starter before undergoing Tommy John surgery a summer ago, per Law, who notes that the right-hander seems to be bouncing back well from the procedure. Infielder Sheldon Neuse, the 58th pick, boasts “an above-average hit tool and excellent instincts on both sides of the ball,” and could have a future in the middle infield (likely second base), at third base or at a combination of those positions.
Pittsburgh, which sits seven games back of NL Central-leading Milwaukee, will begin a four-game series with the Brewers on Monday. The outcome of that set could have a major impact on the Pirates’ deadline plans, general manager Neal Huntington acknowledged Sunday (via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). “Obviously an 0-4 changes the dynamic pretty significantly,” said Huntington. “We go 4-0, it changes the dynamic in a much more positive direction.” While Huntington’s focused on his team’s performance, his own future is murky, as the club still hasn’t exercised his option for 2018. “They’ve expressed interest in having us continue,” he revealed. “I’ve expressed interest in continuing. I’m sure at the appropriate time, we’ll get down to business and put something together.”
Major League Baseball’s deadline to sign draft picks this year was July 7, yet the Orioles didn’t ink 26th-rounder Cameron Bishop until Sunday, as Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network reported. While the Orioles submitted the deal (worth $605K) five minutes past the 5 p.m. ET deadline on the 7th, Bishop actually agreed to it on the 5th and passed a physical on the 6th, relays Rosenthal. With that in mind, the league determined that it would be unfair to punish the left-hander because of a delay by the O’s, so it signed off on the pact.

Gammons On Cubs, Tigers, Verlander, Lowrie, Cole

By Mark Polishuk | July 9, 2017 at 9:15pm CDT

“This is the reality: there are a lot more sellers than buyers right now,” a club personnel director tells Peter Gammons in the writer’s latest piece for his Gammons Daily website. Not only are some teams still wondering if they can get back into the postseason race, other teams further back in the standings are looking to rebound in 2018 and thus won’t engage in full-scale selloffs at the deadline. It makes for a lot of speculation but little hard facts at this point in July. As one GM jokes, “the whole countdown to deadline day has become akin to stores putting Christmas decorations in their showcase windows on Labor Day.” Here are some hot stove items from Gammons…

“The Cubs have called almost every team” in search of starting pitching, including asking the Tigers about Michael Fulmer and Daniel Norris. It would take a blockbuster offer for Detroit to eve consider moving Fulmer, as he has already displayed frontline-starter capabilities over his year and a half as a major leaguer, and he has yet to even reach his arbitration seasons. Norris would come at a lesser but still substantial price since he is controlled through 2022, though the southpaw has battled both injuries and inconsistency during his four years in the bigs. The Cubs are known to be looking for controllable young arms, and may be willing to deal from their surplus of young position players to do so.
One Tigers pitcher that isn’t on the Cubs’ radar is Justin Verlander, as one Cubs official tells Gammons that “no one is going to pay $70MM for him, even though he may still be a very good pitcher.” Chicago reportedly at least asked about Verlander at one point, though with Detroit apparently wanting to both get top prospects and get Verlander’s salary off the books, it isn’t surprising that the Cubs’ interest in Verlander was described yesterday as “more smoke than fire” by the Detroit Free Press’ Anthony Fenech.
Billy Beane told Gammons earlier this week that he hadn’t received any serious interest in Sonny Gray prior to last weekend, and the same goes for any serious calls about Jed Lowrie. The veteran infielder is thought to be a good target for teams in need of middle infield help and the Athletics to find lineup space for prospect Franklin Barreto, though it appears that Lowrie’s market has yet to develop with over three weeks still to go until the deadline. MLBTR’s Connor Byrne examined Lowrie, Gray and other Oakland trade candidates in a Taking Inventory piece earlier today.
Returning to Gammons’ original point about teams not wanting rebuild when they feel they have a chance in 2018, Pirates GM Neal Huntington said that his team isn’t likely to trade young right-hander Gerrit Cole. “We haven’t had a real conversation about Gerrit, and I don’t see us doing so,” Huntington said. “We think we can be serious contenders next year….Our goal is to maintain a level of competitiveness every year, and not to have to jump back and build all over again.”

Rosenthal’s Latest: Pirates, Orioles, Twins, Mariners

By Connor Byrne | June 10, 2017 at 8:12pm CDT

At 27-35, the Pirates on track to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. But the club’s recent woes aren’t threatening the job security of either GM Neal Huntington or manager Clint Hurdle, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who reports that the two are good bets to sign contract extensions before the season ends. Huntington has been at the helm since 2007, Hurdle dating back to 2011, and the team has gone to the playoffs three times during their six-plus-year partnership. The Pirates are now headed for their fourth sub-.500 season under the Huntington-Hurdle tandem, though, and look as if they’ll sell at the deadline, as MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth wrote earlier Saturday.

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