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Sergio Romo

Quick Hits: Romo, Pomeranz, Farm Systems, Saltalamacchia

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The latest from around baseball…

  • The Brewers had some interest in Sergio Romo prior to their signing of Neftali Feliz, Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group.  Milwaukee was known to be looking for relief pitching and landed both Feliz on a big league deal and Joba Chamberlain on a minors contract this week.  The Brewers also made an offer to Romo’s former Giants teammate Santiago Casilla before they signed Feliz.  Romo was known to have received interest from at least two non-Giants teams this offseason, though there hasn’t been much buzz overall about the veteran right-hander’s market.
  • Drew Pomeranz told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal) that he received a stem-cell injection in his left elbow after last season concluded.  The southpaw said he felt some “minor elbow discomfort” last year but is now feeling healthy as he enters his pre-Spring Training preparations.  Pomeranz’s health was a major source of controversy last season, as Padres GM A.J. Preller was issued a 30-day suspension for failing to disclose medical information about Pomeranz to the Red Sox before Boston acquired the lefty for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza.
  • Speaking of Pomeranz, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham (Twitter link) and other reporters that the two sides are getting close to a deal to avoid an arbitration hearing.  Pomeranz filed for a $5.7MM salary while the Sox countered with a $3.6MM offer.
  • The Braves have the top farm system in baseball, ESPN’s Keith Law opines, as he ranks the minor league systems of all 30 teams in a three-part series for ESPN.com subscribers.  The Yankees (#2 on Law’s list) and Padres (#3) also have strong cases for the top spot, though Law gives Atlanta the edge due to the Braves’ sheer volume of talented pitching prospects and position players in the middle of the field.  Coming in at the bottom of the ranking are the Diamondbacks, who Law feels are “several drafts away from getting back into the middle of the pack” thanks to ill-advised trades, draft picks and international signings under the regime of former GM Dave Stewart.
  • Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is now being represented by ACES, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).  Jim Munsey, Saltalamacchia’s former agent, is leaving the business, so we could soon be hearing more about further representation switches from other Munsey Sports Management clients like Sean Burnett or Rafael Lopez.  Check out MLBTR’s Agency Database for an extensive listing of representation information for more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Quick Hits: Lagares, Giants, Lopez, Romo, Holland, Cole

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No-trade protection (whether in the form of contract clauses or 10-and-5 rights) have long been a factor in deal-making.  MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince chronicles some famous instances throughout baseball history of players blocking trades, and some current players mentioned on the rumor mill whose ability to be moved is complicated by their own full or partial no-trade clauses.  Here’s more from around baseball…

  • Mets center fielder Juan Lagares suffered an injury while making a diving catch for his Dominican winter league team, ESPN’s Adam Rubin reports.  X-rays were negative, though Lagares will return to New York to be examined by team doctors.  Lagares has himself received some trade attention this offseason but New York wants to keep the slick-fielding but light-hitting outfielder in a backup role.
  • It doesn’t look like the Giants will be re-signing free agents Gregor Blanco, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez, Angel Pagan, Jake Peavy or Sergio Romo, CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic writes.  Romo has received “at least a couple of offers” from other clubs, according to Giants sources.  Lopez is likely to retire unless he gets “a great offer” from an East Coast team so he can stay close to his home in Georgia.
  • GM David Stearns declined to say whether or not the Brewers were one of the teams Greg Holland personally met with at the Winter Meetings, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports.  The Brewers did scout Holland’s showcase last month, however, so the Crew can be added to the long list of teams that have some degree of interest in Holland after his return from Tommy John surgery.  The Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, Red Sox, Indians, Rays, Mariners, Nationals, Padres, Twins, Mets, Phillies, Tigers, Blue Jays and Royals are all known to have sent scouts to the showcase or have other been linked to Holland this winter.
  • Gerrit Cole tells MLB.com’s Adam Berry that he has yet to talk to the Pirates about his 2017 contract.  MLB Trade Rumors projects Cole to earn $4.2MM in his first time through the arbitration process following a season that saw him post a 3.88 ERA, 2.72 K/BB rate and 7.6 K/9 over 116 innings.  While the numbers are solid, they were also Cole’s worst in his four big league seasons, as he suffered through an injury-plagued year.  This performance dip and rather checkered health history could be reasons why the Pirates aren’t planning to discuss an extension with Cole and agent Scott Boras over the winter, though Cole said he is healthy and will begin his offseason throwing program on Monday.

NL West Notes: Chatwood, Utley, Dozier, Lopez, Romo, Casilla

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Though Tyler Chatwood is entering his last year under contract, there hasn’t been any sign that the Rockies are considering trading the righty, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes as part of a reader mailbag.  Chatwood missed all of 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery and posted solid numbers in his comeback year, managing a 3.87 ERA, 6.66 K/9 and a 57.2% grounder rate over 158 innings.  It’s unclear whether the Rockies can extend Chatwood given his issues pitching at Coors Field, and he’d make a very interesting trade chip in this offseason’s thin free agent pitching market.  That said, given how Colorado has traditionally struggled to find any viable rotation help, the team might prefer to hang onto Chatwood for as long as possible.  Saunders’ entire mailbag piece is well worth a read, as he also addresses such topics as the Rockies’ first base search and new manager Bud Black.

Here’s more from around the NL West…

  • The Dodgers are telling teams they are “very open” to re-signing Chase Utley even as L.A. is still exploring other trades for second base help, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (Twitter links).  At this point, it would seem that Utley could be a backup plan for the Dodgers if they couldn’t land a bigger name like Logan Forsythe, Ian Kinsler or Brian Dozier.
  • Speaking of Dozier, Berardino also tweets that there isn’t much cooking between the Dodgers and Twins in trade discussions.  “I wouldn’t hold your breath,” one team official tells Berardino about the chances of a deal.
  • The Giants haven’t had serious talks with relievers Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo or Santiago Casilla, CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic reports.  Casilla is the least likely to return, as he and the team ended the season on bad terms.  Romo could potentially be an option for San Francisco in January or February if he fails to catch on with another club beforehand.
  • As for Lopez, Pavlovic writes that the veteran southpaw is “said to have a very short list of teams that could keep him out of retirement.”  Lopez has previously hinted at continuing his career, though it appears it could be only under particular circumstances, such as staying with the Giants.  Pavlovic isn’t sure that will happen, as the Giants already have Will Smith, Josh Osich and Steven Okert on hand as left-handed bullpen options.

NL West Notes: Preller, Giants, Rockies, D’Backs

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Padres GM A.J. Preller is back on the job now that his 30-day suspension has ended, though both Preller and the organization may need more time to repair their reputations around baseball.  ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) reports that several teams will adjust how they negotiate with San Diego from now on, while one team has simply refused to consider any trades with Preller and the Padres.  There is also still “a river of industry speculation” that the Padres could face lawsuits about their handling of player medical information.  Here’s some more from around the NL West…

  • In a reader mailbag piece about several Giants-related topics, MLB.com’s Chris Haft doesn’t see San Francisco re-signing free agents Sergio Romo, Javier Lopez, Angel Pagan or Jake Peavy, though there’s a chance Gregor Blanco could return.  The probable departures of Romo and Lopez could be part of a wider bullpen shakeup for the Giants, as GM Bobby Evans has said that finding a closer is a top offseason priority.
  • The Rockies’ managerial search is discussed by Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post as part of his own reader maibag.  Saunders feels the team’s new skipper should come from outside the organization in order to bring a fresh perspective.  It seems like Colorado is more apt to hire a manager who leans more towards the front office’s analytical mindset.  Former manager Walt Weiss “embraced the statistics and analytics to a large degree,” though ultimately preferred to rely on gut-level calls and felt he was being interfered with by the front office.  The well-documented discord between Weiss and GM Jeff Bridich also  didn’t help things, as you might expect.
  • The Diamondbacks lost three members of the scouting department in part due to the front office uncertainty prior to hiring of new GM Mike Hazen, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes.  Assistant director of scouting Brendan Domaracki and longtime scout Howard McCullough (who had been with the D’Backs since the franchise began operations) both left for positions with the Mariners, while amateur scout Frankie Thon Jr. will join the Angels as their new international crosschecker and assistant director of international scouting.

Giants Designate Mike Broadway, Activate Sergio Romo

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The Giants have designated righty Mike Broadway for assignment, the club announced (h/t Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Twitter). His 40-man spot was needed to activate veteran reliever Sergio Romo, with righty Albert Suarez being demoted to free up an active roster spot.

[Updated Giants Depth Chart]

Broadway, 29, was one of many inexperienced arms to start the year on the San Francisco 40-man, but the team has faced multiple roster needs over the season’s first half. Over the last two years, he has thrown 22 2/3 major league frames, posting a 6.75 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. After averaging just over 95 mph with his heater last year, though, Broadway had lost two ticks in his brief time in the majors in 2016.

San Francisco will hope that Romo can return to being a quality set-up man after missing several months with a forearm injury. He figures to provide a much-needed boost — particularly if he can pitch anything like he did in 2015, when he ran up a 2.98 ERA that undersold his true value. Romo posted 11.2 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 over 57 1/3 innings a season ago.

Injury Notes: Dodgers, Joseph, Romo, Perkins, Minor

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The Dodgers will place left-hander Alex Wood on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his left elbow and will recall fellow lefty Julio Urias from Triple-A just a few days after optioning him back to the minors, reports Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). McCullough tweets that Wood’s injury is not structural, though he informed the team earlier in the day that he’s has some lingering soreness in his triceps. It’s not entirely certain that Urias will step into the rotation for Wood, McCullough notes. That decision will be impacted by righty Kenta Maeda, who has some swelling in his right hand after being hit by a comeback line drive over the weekend.

A few more notes on some injury situations from around the league…

  • The Orioles have placed backup catcher Caleb Joseph on the 15-day disabled list after he underwent surgery for a testicular injury sustained over the weekend when he took an unfortunately placed foul ball, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Encina wrote earlier in the day that the injury was sustained on a foul tip in the eighth inning of yesterday’s contest. As MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes, the O’s have recalled Francisco Pena from Triple-A, and he’ll receive an equal workload to the one that had been shouldered by Joseph. In other words, Matt Wieters’ workload will not increase in light of Joseph’s absence. “We’re not going to start pushing up his load and jeopardize something down the road,” said manager Buck Showalter of Wieters. “He may feel differently, but we’ll take it day to day. Shouldn’t change anything about that, but we’ll see.”
  • Giants right-hander Sergio Romo has had a setback in his rehab from a flexor strain in his right elbow, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (Twitter links via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). Romo has been experiencing tenderness in his right elbow, which prompted the Giants to order an MRI on their longtime late-inning reliever. On the positive side, Schulman notes that the MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage. However, he’ll still be backed off for four to five days, making it unlikely that he’ll be back with the team anytime soon.
  • Twins closer Glen Perkins suffered a setback in his return from a shoulder injury earlier this month, but assistant GM Rob Antony told reporters, including Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link), that Perkins’ throwing program since that time has been going well. The Minnesota native and career-long Twin will throw his first mound session since hitting the DL back on April 13 this coming Saturday. He’s pitched in just two games this season — a significant factor the Twins’ season-long bullpen woes.
  • Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes that Royals left-hander Mike Minor returned to Kansas City today to have his surgically repaired left shoulder checked out by the Major League training staff. Minor, who signed a two-year deal this winter on the heels of the aforementioned surgery, has been dealing with some fatigue in that shoulder. Manager Ned Yost said the team doesn’t consider the injury to be serious at this time and isn’t calling the fatigue a setback, though as Dodd notes, he’s just over a week away from the end of his 30-day rehab window, which comes to a close on June 9.

NL Notes: Lyles, Aybar, Diaz, Giants

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The Rockies have optioned righty Jordan Lyles to Triple-A, per a club announcement. Things have not gone as hoped for the 25-year-old, who missed much of last season with a toe injury. Through four starts, he’s lasted only 17 2/3 innings while allowing 11 earned runs on 22 hits and 11 walks, with just eight strikeouts on his ledger. To be fair, Lyles has been hurt badly by a sub-50% strand rate, and he’s still hovering around 50/50 in terms of generating grounders on balls in play. But his swinging strike rate is sitting at a career-worst 5.2% despite a career-high 92.9 mph average four-seamer, and advanced metrics haven’t seen much cause for optimism. (Lyles owns at a 4.85 FIP, 5.50 xFIP, and 5.73 SIERA.) Colorado will hope that Lyles can turn things around at Triple-A; otherwise, he could be headed for a non-tender. It’s worth noting that the right-hander entered the season with 4.060 years of service to his credit, so he could fall shy of reaching his final year of arb eligibility if he doesn’t return for a sufficient stretch of major league action. Lyles is earning $2.98MM in 2016.

Here are a few more notes from the National League:

  • Shortstop Erick Aybar has been a huge disappointment early on for the Braves, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. While the Atlanta front office emphasized that it valued his inclusion in the Andrelton Simmons trade, Aybar has been one of the league’s least productive offensive players over the first several weeks of the season. Hopes were that the 32-year-old would help keep the team competitive and, perhaps, turn into a mid-season trade chip before hitting the market after the season. Instead, he’s followed up on a down year in 2015 with a remarkable -1.1 fWAR thus far, the worst mark in the majors by a full half-win.
  • Interestingly, it’s been quite the opposite tale at short for the Cardinals, who were noted as an organization with hypothetical trade interest in Aybar after losing Jhonny Peralta this spring. Instead, Aledmys Diaz has knocked the cover off of the ball, as ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon explains. Diaz is hitting at a ridiculous .480/.509/.860 clip through 53 plate appearances, and while his .477 BABIP will undoubtedly fall, he’s also recorded only three strikeouts on the year to go with three walks. And though he has recorded five errors at short, his metrics grade out at average (in an undeniably tiny sample). All told, Diaz has already racked up 1.4 fWAR, checking in at fourth in the big leagues by that measure of total value. Trevor Story may have occupied the early headlines, but Diaz has actually been much more productive overall and has perhaps shown a more sustainable, better-rounded offensive skillset.
  • Giants relievers Sergio Romo and George Kontos are both beginning to test out their injured elbows, with the latter slightly ahead of the former, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. Kontos is still at least two weeks away, and the club may get a better read on Romo once he attempts to throw for the first time later this week.

Sergio Romo Headed To DL With Flexor Strain

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Giants reliever Sergio Romo will be placed on the 15-day DL after being diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right elbow, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report on Twitter. Romo will not even resume throwing for two weeks, at which time he’ll be reevaluated before being cleared, so he’ll almost certainly be out longer than the minimum.

Romo had been generating typically strong results in his first several outings, but there were some warnings signs. His swinging strike rate is down quite a bit, and Romo has only recorded one strikeout in four appearances. Of greater concern, he has lost around 1.5 to 2 miles per hour on all of his offerings as against his 2015 average velocities.

It’s not clear at this point how long of an absence is to be expected, but as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com notes, a similar malady cost righty Matt Cain a full three months last season. Of course, Cain had to rebuild his pitch count in a way that Romo won’t need to, but that experience shows the potential that this kind of injury has. Fellow reliever Carson Smith of the Red Sox is still working back from his own version of the impairment suffered over three weeks ago.

San Francisco will surely also try to avoid risking further injury by rushing a return. Certainly, it’s far from uncharted territory, and there are clear risks. Doug Fister suffered a velocity decline after his return from a flexor strain last year, while Cliff Lee was shelved for the year in 2014 after he suffered a flexor tear upon his return from a two-month DL stint for a strain.

It appears that Cory Gearrin will move up the depth charts into a more prominent set-up role in Romo’s stead. Of course, the club can also turn to high-powered righty Hunter Strickland in front of closer Santiago Casilla, so there’s sufficient depth on hand for the time being. It’s not yet clear which minor leaguer will be summoned to occupy Romo’s active roster spot, but San Francisco appears to be weighing a variety of options.

West Notes: Romo, Harrison, Athletics, Padres

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Giants reliever Sergio Romo left no doubts about how glad he is to be back with San Francisco, as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com reports (Twitter links). “It was like, we can get this done in five minutes, for real,” Romo said of his free agent stance towards the Giants. “Call me up.” Though other clubs offered him a chance to return to a closing role, Romo says he “just didn’t want to go anywhere.”

Here’s more from the game’s western divisions:

  • Rangers lefty Matt Harrison feels increasingly confident in his ability to make it back to the big leagues, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. Now working his way up to a full-size mound, Harrison still faces a difficult road in his return from spinal fusion surgery. “I don’t think about [retirement] anymore,” Harrison said. “It would definitely be hard to do without giving it another shot. The more I learn and the more I understand the rehab, I feel good about the possibility of getting back to a five-day rehab.” Obviously, any future contribution from Harrison — who is owed owed $41MM between now and 2017 (including a buyout on an option for 2018) — would be welcome news for a Texas club that has been beset by a variety of pitching injuries in recent years.
  • New commissioner Rob Manfred says a new ballpark for the Athletics is a priority, as the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). While Major League Baseball will remain involved, Manfred said that he is not sure how much influence it can have on the process and said he prefers the team to work with Oakland on a solution.
  • Padres owner Ron Fowler vetoed a June 2013 proposal from the team’s baseball executives to make a bid to acquire Cliff Lee, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Then just ten months into his chairmanship, and overseeing a front office led by then-GM Josh Byrnes, Fowler decided the move did not make sense given the team’s overall situation and Lee’s expense. San Diego had been hovering at .500 at the time, but quickly fell back and out of contention that year, and obviously the move could have had significant long-term repercussions as things turned out.

Sergio Romo On Re-Signing With Giants

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Sergio Romo was one of several big name relievers on the open market this winter and had plenty of chances to pitch elsewhere.  However, at the end of the day, he opted to stay with “the only organization” he has ever known on a two-year, $15MM deal with incentives.  I asked Romo if clubs other than the Giants came to the table with the opportunity to close or three-year offers.

“To be honest with you, yes,” Romo said.  “Being a closer, that title doesn’t really matter to me…that third year would have meant a lot to me, but you’ve got to go to a place where you’re happy and excited to go to work every day.  The Giants gave me an opportunity to be somebody. I enjoy going to work and I’m really glad that I was wanted back.”

Though it took a move to the closer role for Romo to achieve widespread recognition for his abilities, he says that he approaches his job the exact same way, regardless of whether he’s called upon in the sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth inning.  That’s good news for the Giants, who are happy to have the personable reliever back in the mix as a bridge to presumptive closer Santiago Casilla.

Romo may not have changed uniforms in his first trip through free agency, but he feels that it was an “eye-opening” experience that he will remember when he’s eligible again in two years.  The 2016/2017 offseason is a long way away and there are a number of factors at play, but right now Romo does not sound like a man who is interested in relocating anytime soon.

“We can literally count ten seasons now in the minor leagues and big leagues. I’m very thankful for every opportunity I’ve gotten. This is the place where I was able to make a name for myself and I’m really thankful that I’ll be able to continue here,” Romo said. “My heart really has been in San Francisco since I got drafted – so let’s do it.”

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