Blue Jays Catcher Reese McGuire Arrested
Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire was arrested over the weekend near the team’s spring camp in Dunedin, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (via Twitter). He has a criminal appearance scheduled for mid-March.
This is obviously not the way the Toronto organization anticipated launching an important Spring Training. McGuire has been expected to pair with Danny Jansen behind the dish in 2020.
It isn’t yet clear how this matter will progress from a criminal perspective and with regard to the team and league. McGuire was charged with “exposure of sexual organs;” it seems the illicit action occurred inside a vehicle parked in a retail parking lot. Further alleged facts aren’t yet known.
The team issued a statement indicating that it is aware of the arrest and working to gather more information, but otherwise declining comment. The league has not issued any statement (and it may not).
McGuire, 24, is a former first-round draft pick who had run into some struggles on his way to the majors. He does not have a history of high-end offensive performances in the upper minors but has been successful thus far in the big leagues, with a .297/.343/.539 batting line through 138 plate appearances over the past two seasons.
Blue Jays’ Catchers Drawing Trade Interest
Pitching is the Blue Jays’ top priority this winter, and Toronto has already made one notable move on that front with its acquisition of Chase Anderson from the Brewers. It remains to be seen whether the Jays will look to free agency or further trades to upgrade its staff, though in regards to the latter option, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports that Toronto’s “catchers have also been drawing interest from other clubs” in preliminary trade discussions.
Danny Jansen handled the bulk of the work behind the plate for the Jays last season, hitting only .207/.279/.360 over 384 plate appearances but displaying some excellent defensive prowess in his first full MLB campaign. Both StatCorner and Baseball Prospectus cited Jansen as one of the league’s best pitch-framers, with BP also highly praising Jansen’s blocking skills. The 24-year-old held his own at throwing out baserunners, stopped 19 of 61 stolen base attempts.
It was quite a performance for a player who was more touted for his offensive skill coming up through the farm system, and if Jansen can improve to even average production with the bat, he’ll be a very valuable catcher going forward. This could also make him an interesting trade chip, though since Jansen is controlled through the 2024 season, the Jays would certainly want a solid return for his services. It could ultimately make for a tough negotiation since a rival team could rightly argue that Jansen hasn’t yet shown much hitting skill at the big league level.
Ultimately, there’s probably more evidence that the Jays still see Jansen less as a trade chip and more as their catcher of the future, so that could make Reese McGuire more expendable. An oblique injury sent Luke Maile to the injured list in July and limited him to just three games for the remainder of the season, as McGuire went on a hot streak and more or less entered into a timeshare with Jansen down the stretch.
Selected 14th overall by the Pirates in the 2013 draft, McGuire was rather surprisingly traded to Toronto in a 2016 deadline deal, packaged with fellow prospect Harold Ramirez and veteran lefty Francisco Liriano for right-hander Drew Hutchison. The trade was mostly about unloading Liriano’s $18MM in remaining salary for the Bucs, leaving the Jays to potentially reap the benefits from a catcher who has hit very well (.297/.343/.539 with seven homers in 138 PA) in his brief Major League career. McGuire also has above-average blocking and framing grades — something of the opposite of Jansen, McGuire was considered more of a glove-first catcher during his time in the minors.
This leaves Maile looking like a potential non-tender candidate unless the Jays can find a trade partner. The veteran is projected to earn only $800K in arbitration this winter, though may no longer have a spot on Toronto’s roster if Jansen and McGuire are the new regular duo. Maile turns 29 in February, and hit a respectable .248/.333/.366 over 231 PA in 2018, though that solid season was sandwiched between two very poor years at the plate in 2017 and 2019.
The Blue Jays could also look to move younger catchers from within their farm system. Gabriel Moreno (#8), Alejandro Kirk (#12), and Riley Adams (#27) are all ranked within MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 Jays prospects. Adams is the most developed, with 81 games at Double-A last season, while Kirk reached the advanced A-ball level and Moreno spent all of 2019 at Single-A Lansing.
Blue Jays Notes: Smoak, Galvis, Bichette, Catcher
A day after suggesting that Rowdy Tellez was in line to receive more playing time down than Justin Smoak down the stretch, Blue Jays skipper Charlie Montoyo has walked that assertion back a bit. “Maybe it came out like he’s going to play more than Smoak, but it’s still the same way,” Montoyo told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “Smoak will DH, play first. I don’t see that much of a difference.” Smoak himself was caught off guard by Montoyo’s initial comments, but the first baseman said Montoyo took him aside in an effort to sort things out. It seems that Smoak and Tellez will share first base/designated hitter duties down the stretch, though Montoyo has no shortage of other players he’ll need to try to work into the mix at DH. Davidi adds that the Blue Jays “seem to have no intention” of placing Smoak on outright waivers in the manner they did with Freddy Galvis, who was claimed by the Reds earlier this week.
More out of Toronto…
- The Blue Jays didn’t find much in the way of trade interest for Galvis prior to the trade deadline, writes The Toronto Sun’s Ryan Wolstat, but the arrival (and immediate success) of Bo Bichette prompted the club to give the veteran Galvis an opportunity to be claimed by a club that’d play him every day at his natural position. General manager Ross Atkins said the club and Galvis were open and honest with each other leading up to the move. Montoyo effused praise for Galvis’ professionalism and leadership, and teammates such as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. expressed some sadness in seeing Galvis depart. “He taught me a lot, not just to me, to the rest of the guys and I will always carry that with me,” said Gurriel of Galvis. “Freddy’s a huge mentor for any player.” The Reds will now have the ability to exercise Galvis’ $5.5MM club option for the 2020 season, though they’ll also be on the hook for the $1MM buyout should they not decide to bring him back.
- While Danny Jansen is still the favorite to serve as the Jays’ primary catcher in 2020, TSN’s Scott Mitchell writes that Reese McGuire will be given an opportunity to show he can be a significant piece of the catching puzzle in the season’s final six weeks. Both Jansen and McGuire drew heaps of praise for their defensive prowess from catching coordinator John Schneider, and Jansen indeed ranks among the game’s best backstops in terms of pitch framing, pitch blocking, Defensive Runs Saved and Baseball Prospectus’ fielding runs above average. Jansen has also salvaged what was shaping up to be a miserable season at the plate, hitting .252/.316/.484 dating back to June 1. As Mitchell points out, the Jays have a number of other catching options coming up through the system, giving them some potential trade commodities to address other holes on the club if the Jansen/McGuire pairing is indeed determined to be the long-term catching tandem.
Blue Jays Acquire Francisco Liriano, Two Prospects For Drew Hutchison
The Pirates have announced that they’ve received righty Drew Hutchison from the Blue Jays in exchange for lefty Francisco Liriano, outfielder Harold Ramirez and catcher Reese McGuire. The deal comes as a shock, as the Bucs gave up two legitimate prospects in exchange for a marginal rotation option and relief from the approximately $18MM remaining on Liriano’s contract.
[Related: Updated Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays Depth Charts]
Liriano was a top performer in the Pirates’ rotation in 2013 through 2015, but he has struggled badly in 2016, with a 5.46 ERA and a league-leading 69 walks. The Bucs, much-praised for their reputations for fixing struggling pitchers, evidently felt they wouldn’t be able to fix Liriano, who is making $13MM both this year and next.
Hutchison, formerly a regular in the back end of the Jays’ rotation, has spent most of the 2016 season with Triple-A Buffalo, where he’s posted a 3.26 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. He’s had considerably less success in his four-year big-league career, with a 4.92 ERA, although with a reasonable 8.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. He’s making $2.2MM this season. He’s eligible for arbitration for two more years after this one, should the Pirates choose to keep him.
The 21-year-old Ramirez was batting .306/.354/.401 for Double-A Altoona. He has a stocky build and hasn’t yet developed much home-run power, but is relatively close to the Majors at a young age and has always hit well for average. MLB.com ranks him the Pirates’ ninth-best prospect.
Ramirez’s inclusion in the deal was surprising enough, but the inclusion of McGuire is downright strange — McGuire’s bat hasn’t developed, but he’s a very highly regarded defensive catcher who rated as the Pirates’ No. 8 prospect. MLB.com notes that his plus defense makes him a likely future regular, with potential to be more than just a defensive-minded player depending on how his bat develops. The 21-year-old has batted .259/.337/.346 for Altoona this season.
Overall, the deal is reminiscent of the Diamondbacks’ 2015 trade of Bronson Arroyo and top prospect Touki Toussaint to the Braves for Phil Gosselin and relief from Arroyo’s salary. The Diamondbacks’ end of that trade was harshly criticized by most analysts, and the Pirates’ end of this deal seems likely to suffer a similar fate.
Robert Murray of Fan Rag was first to tweet that a deal had been struck. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweeted that the Jays would receive two prospects. Gideon Turk of BP Toronto tweeted that Hutchison was involved, with Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noting Ramirez’s involvement.
Francisco Cervelli Open To Extension With Pirates
Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli is open to a long-term contract with the club, reports Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. While the notion of a player being open to locking in millions of guaranteed dollars isn’t always headline news, Cervelli’s willingness to sign long-term is more notable, as he’s one season away from hitting free agency, where he’d join Matt Wieters as one of the top catchers on the open market.
Sawchik reports that Cervelli’s asking price is roughly three years and $39MM — a sum that would’ve seemed considerably more lofty a year ago, prior to Cervelli’s breakout 2015 campaign. Last season marked the first time in his career that Cervelli remained healthy for a whole season and served as a team’s everyday backstop, and the results were excellent. Cervelli’s age-29 season yielded a .295/.370/.401 batting line with a career-high seven home runs. The numbers are particularly impressive when juxtaposed with the mere .238/.302/.376 batting line that Major League catchers averaged in 2015 and with his standout receiving skills. While Cervelli struggled to some extent in limiting the running game (22 percent caught-stealing rate), Cervelli trailed only Yasmani Grandal in terms of pitch-framing value, per Baseball Prospectus. Meanwhile, StatCorner.com ranked him as the game’s top pitch-framer.
The $39MM figure (which would begin in 2017, as Cervelli is already signed at $3.5MM in 2016) would be significant for the Pirates, who have long dealt with payroll constraints, but we’ve seen the catching market place a premium on defense in recent years, as evidenced by Russell Martin‘s $82MM contract with the Blue Jays and, conversely, by the fact that Wilin Rosario opted for a deal in the Korea Baseball Organization upon hitting the open market, despite carrying a significantly more powerful bat than the average catcher.
As Sawchik notes, the team is faced with a decision regarding Cervelli. Pittsburgh has two of the game’s top-rated catching prospects in the form of Reese McGuire (the No. 4 catching prospect in baseball, per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com) and Elias Diaz (No. 6 on that same list). Baseball America rated the duo as the Pirates’ No. 6 (McGuire) and No. 10 (Diaz) prospects back in November, and both are nearing Major League readiness. McGuire figures to open the season at the Double-A level, and Diaz received a taste of the Majors last September after slashing .271/.330/.382 as a 24-year-old at the Triple-A level.
The Pirates could conceivably let Cervelli walk after the season — perhaps making him a qualifying offer with a strong enough performance — and then hand the reins over to one of the promising up-and-comers. On the other hand, prospects are no sure thing, and Cervelli looked every bit the part of a high quality starting catcher last season. Were he extended, the club could also utilize Diaz and/or McGuire as highly appealing trade chips in order to address other deficiencies throughout the roster as they arise. Either catcher could also serve as Cervelli’s backup, though the club did just ink fellow defensive standout Chris Stewart to a two-year deal with a third-year option.
Payroll considerations figure to heavily impact the Pirates’ ultimate course of action. While the club will shed a fair bit of payroll next offseason when Mark Melancon reaches free agency, the team will likely need to add to its bullpen to replace Melancon, and beyond that, ace Gerrit Cole will reach arbitration eligibility following the 2016 season. The three years of a theoretical Cervelli extension would coincide with Cole’s three arbitration seasons and with two of the same seasons for right fielder Gregory Polanco, further complicating matters for Pittsburgh. The Pirates will also need to make a call on newcomer Jon Niese‘s $10MM and $11MM club options for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. And looking even further down the road, the future of franchise face Andrew McCutchen has to be considered, although McCutchen is controlled through 2018 as it as, at which point he’ll be 32, so that issue isn’t as immediate a concern for the Bucs.
Prospect Rumor Roundup: Early Draft Returns
The 2013 amateur draft is now fully in the rearview mirror and a new wave of talent has filtered into the professional ranks. Some of the '13 draftees have been riding the buses for more than a month now, while others have only recently pulled on their spikes. Below is a look at first round picks who are off to impressive starts with their new organizations. Standard warnings about reading too much into small sample sizes apply.
Mark Appel, RHP, Astros (1st overall): The top selection in the 2013 draft has made four starts in the minors and has already earned a promotion, moving from the New York Penn League to the Midwest League. Despite a bit of a layoff between the college season and his first pro appearance, the Stanford alum has displayed good control with just one walk in 13 innings while striking out 13 batters. Curt Rallo, writing for MiLB.com, recently caught up with Appel and spoke to him about the adjustments he's making as a professional baseball player.
Kohl Stewart, RHP, Twins (4th): The highest drafted prep product, 18-year-old Kohl has acclimatized well to his new life as a pro ball player. Stewart, a Texas native, features a 1.80 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10 innings of work over four appearances (two starts).
Clint Frazier, OF, Indians (5th): The 18-year-old Frazier is stinging the ball through his first 18 pro games. He's hitting more than .300 with nine extra base hits. On the down side, he's whiffed 24 times, including nine strikeouts in his last four games. Clearly, he has some further adjustments to make if he hopes to see continued success on the diamond.
Hunter Dozier, SS, Royals (8th): The Royals' first pick received a lot of attention for being an overdraft so the club could later afford pitcher Sean Manaea, who slipped out of first round consideration due to injury concerns. Dozier, though, is making the decision to pick him eighth overall look inspired. He has an .856 OPS and 20 of his 37 hits have gone for extra bases during his time in the Pioneer League. Dozier has also walked more than he's struck out (19-16). His first professional baseball club, the Idaho Falls Chukars, recently published an audio Q&A with the first rounder.
D.J. Peterson, 3B, Mariners (12th): Peterson was promoted from the Northwest League to the Midwest League on Tuesday and he will leave behind some impressive numbers. The third baseman popped six home runs and posted a .915 OPS in 29 games. He also showed solid contact skills with a strikeout rate of just under 15%, which is impressive given his power output.
Reese McGuire, C, Pirates (14th): The Pirates had two first round selections in 2013 and McGuire has gotten off to a quicker start than his new teammate Austin Meadows. The young catcher is hitting more than .400 with a 1.012 OPS through his first 15 games. He's also impressing behind the plate by catching 50% of base runners attempting to steal. John Lembo of the Bradenton Herald spoke to both McGuire and Meadows about their thoughts of growing up in the Pirates organization.
J.P. Crawford, SS, Phillies (16th): Philadelphia has been snakebitten over the past few years when it comes to their first round draft picks, and the organization is clearly hoping for bigger and better things from Crawford. He's off to a good start in Rookie ball where he's compiled 25 hits and seven walks in 18 games, good for a .427 on-base percentage. By getting on base at such a good clip, it should allow him to pile up some steals thanks to his above-average speed.
Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox (18th): Anderson is the third shortstop on this list who's off to a quick start to his career. Playing in low-A ball, he's getting on base at a solid clip (.371 OBP) while nabbing 12 bases in 15 attempts through the first 32 games of his pro career. One red flag, though, is his strikeout rate of 25%, especially given that power is not a big part of his game right now; an improvement in his contact rate would likely help him improve his on-base percentage even further. Anderson could move quickly through the Sox system, which could help to explain why the club may be willing to part with incumbent shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Michael Teague of MiLB.com spoke to the young prospect shortly after he was named the top junior college athlete in the country for 2013.
Jonathon Crawford, RHP, Tigers (20th): Crawford has opened his pro career in the New York Penn League and he's expected to be one of the first college-groomed draft picks to reach the Major League level. Through six appearances, he's looking good with a 2.03 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings of work. He was downright unhittable in three of those appearances (totaling six innings). Lynn Henning of the Detroit News spoke to Crawford's manager in Connecticut about the recent draft pick's positive start to his career.
Billy McKinney, OF, Athletics (24th): After batting just .242 with a .558 OPS in June, McKinney has heated up in July and currently has a .367 average and .861 OPS. The left-handed-hitting Texas native has improved his game in part by making more contact and lowering his strikeout rate. He's also holding his own against southpaws, which is impressive to see from such a young hitter.
Pirates To Sign Reese McGuire
TUESDAY: McGuire received $2.369MM from the Pirates, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis (on Twitter), so the Pirates saved about $200K.
MONDAY: The Pirates have agreed to a deal with first round draft pick Reese McGuire, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. According to Mark Zender, McGuire's high school coach, McGuire is on his way to Pittsburgh in order to take his physical and will officially sign tomorrow. The contract is believed to be worth close to the assigned slot value (via Baseball America) for the 14th overall pick, which is just under $2.57MM. McGuire is advised by Adam Karon and Tripper Johnson of Sosnick Cobbe Sports.
McGuire, a left-handed hitting catcher, was rated as the draft's 10th-best prospect by both MLB.com and Baseball America, and was rated 19th by ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required). The Kentwood High School product drew praise for his throwing arm, defensive skills and overall game-calling abilities behind the plate. While his hitting is still somewhat unpolished, BA notes that "even if he doesn't reach his offensive ceiling, McGuire's defense will allow him to be a big league backup, but if he hits he has all-star potential."
Once McGuire's deal is finalized, he will be the 16th of 33 first rounders to sign. One of the unsigned is Austin Meadows, the Pirates' other first round selection — the Bucs received the ninth overall pick as compensation for failing to sign Mark Appel following the 2012 draft.
Twins Notes: Draft, International Free Agents
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN has a tremendous amount of information on the upcoming MLB draft in the most recent edition of his weekly "Scoops" column. Here are some highlights from his highly informative piece (though there is much more to see in the full column)…
- Twins VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff spoke with Wolfson at length Wednesday afternoon and said that the team's draft board for the No. 4 overall pick is down to four players: "We have enough guys we have no problem taking," Radcliff said. "Dollars, risk, creativity, we can go many ways."
- Wolfson adds that at least one of the potential players would be someone the Twins could sign well below slot value, in order to spend more heavily on their second- and third-round picks. He adds that that player is likely high school catcher Reese McGuire, as has been rumored occasionally over the past few weeks. Asked about McGuire, Radcliff side-stepped the question a bit: "Well, we want a catcher every draft," he said. "Looking for a star catcher is the hardest thing to find."
- The Twins have had a scout in attendance to see "every pitch" from Kohl Stewart over the past couple of years. Radcliff and scouting director Deron Johnson have seen him multiple times.
- The Twins have a great relationship with Matt Sosnick and Adam Karon, who are advising McGuire and Nevada right-hander Braden Shipley. They're believed to be more interested in McGuire than Shipley. Sosnick, the agent for current Twins Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit, also advises high school arms Matt Krook and Andrew Church, plus San Francisco right-hander Alex Balog and Cal infielder Andrew Knapp. Each of those prospects ranks in the Top 100, per Baseball America.
- Johnson has seen Arkansas righty Ryne Stanek numerous times, and the Twins have done more work on him than any team in this year's top 10.
- High school lefty Hunter Green, who ranks as the draft's No. 31 prospect (per BA), is among the prospects who will attend a workout for the Twins on Monday. High school outfielder Austin Meadows did not attend a recent workout the team held for Georgia-area prospects.
- The Twins aren't likely to pursue Minnesota high school outfielder Ryan Boldt with their second pick (No. 43). They will look at another hometown product in Gophers lefty Tom Windle at that spot, however. Boldt was considered a first-round talent before a meniscus tear ended his season. He hopes to be ready to play by August.
- The Twins have the fourth-largest pool to sign international prospects this year, and Radcliff says they will be "major players" in this year's market. Wolfson adds that the Twins very much like Dominican outfielder Lewin Diaz.
- The team didn't have scouts in attendance to watch Japanese hurlers Shohei Otani and Masahiro Tanaka in Japan this past week.
Draft Notes: Gray, Manaea, Ball, Twins
Oklahoma pitcher Jonathan Gray's strong performance in the Big 12 conference tournament increased the likelihood that the Astros will pick him No. 1 overall, ESPN.com's Christopher Crawford writes (Insider-only). Crawford also quotes a scout who says that Indiana State's Sean Manaea — thought to be a top pick before the season — is "not a first-round prospect to me," and suggests Manaea may be best served by not signing and returning to school. Manaea was pulled from a recent start with shoulder tightness. Crawford's piece also contains details about Mark Appel and many of this draft class' top hitters. Here are more notes on the draft.
- Indiana high-schooler Trey Ball tops the list of two-way players available in this year's draft, Baseball America's Jim Callis says. Teams now prefer Ball as a pitcher, and it looks likely he'll be selected in the first 10 picks or so. Another two-way player is Cal State-Fullerton's Michael Lorenzen, who will be drafted as a center fielder, Callis says.
- If the Twins wish to avoid Scott Boras with the No. 4 overall pick in the upcoming draft, their best bets are high school pitcher Kohl Stewart or high school catcher Reese McGuire, ESPN1500's Darren Wolfson tweets. Stewart is being advised by Derek Braunecker and McGuire by Matt Sosnick, Wolfson says.
Draft Links: Manaea, McGuire, Prep Catchers
Kevin Gausman, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2012 draft, made his Major League debut for the Orioles last night. In a poll on Wednesday, roughly 39 percent of MLBTR readers agreed that Michael Wacha of the Cardinals would be the next first-round pick from last year's draft to make the leap to the big leagues. There are less than two weeks until the 2013 draft, and we'll keep track of today's draft-related news here…
- The first mock draft from Jim Callis of Baseball America had the Astros taking Mark Appel No. 1 overall, but his newest version has the Astros taking Jonathan Gray. That leaves Appel to go to the Cubs at No. 2, but it's not clear right now who the Cubs would take between the two pitchers if Houston winds up taking a hitter instead.
- Callis views Sean Manaea as a complete wild card in this year's draft (Twitter link). He likens the Indiana State lefty to Lucas Giolito, who the Nationals drafted 16th overall last year. Like Giolito, Manaea was once considered a possible No. 1 overall selection, but injuries have caused his stock to fall and it's highly difficult to predict where he'll land.
- Prep catcher Reese McGuire will have to make a tough choice between attending college and going pro, but he's eager for the draft nonetheless, writes MLB.com's Doug Miller. While McGuire has a great opportunity to play ball at the University of San Diego, he might not be able to resist the pull of the majors if goes as high as he is projected to. MLB.com currently has the catcher going No. 11 to the Mets.
- McGuire isn't the only high school catcher who is drawing interest from clubs at the top of the draft, writes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Behind him are Jon Denney from Oklahoma and South Carolina's Nick Ciuffo.
Zach Links contributed to this post.