Quick Hits: Harvey, Giants, Red Sox, Orioles, Soroka, Cubs
As the legendary Willie Mays celebrates his 87th birthday, here are some notes from around the baseball world…
- The Giants could be a potential fit as a suitor for Matt Harvey, as the former Mets ace’s arm intrigues some members of San Francisco organization, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via Twitter). Rather than take on the extra salary that would come with claiming or trading for Harvey during his DFA period, Schulman figures the Giants will wait until he hits the open market before considering a pursuit. The Giants have little salary room to spare as they aim to stay under the $187MM luxury tax limit, so their obvious preference is to sign Harvey for a prorated minimum salary.
- While a Matt Harvey-for-Blake Swihart trade doesn’t seem to be in the cards, The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey (subscription required) wonders if the Red Sox could still have interest in Harvey as a reclamation project given assistant pitching coach Brian Bannister‘s recent success in reviving struggling veteran starters. The Sox also have some experience in dealing with pitchers returning from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in the form of Tyler Thornburg, though Bannister notes that “we’re all kind of still learning about” how to best rehab pitchers after the TOS procedure.
- With an 8-26 record, it’s seemingly only a matter of time before the Orioles start making some necessary changes, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required) in a follow-up to his piece last month about Baltimore’s evolving front office and ownership dynamic. Since executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette seems to be losing influence within the organization, Rosenthal asks “why would they keep Duquette at all?” as the team approaches some critical long-term decisions at the trade deadline. Duquette considered firing pitching coach Roger McDowell after last season in the wake of the poor performance of Baltimore’s arms, though it isn’t known whether moves like coaching changes are still under consideration, or if Buck Showalter could step in to prevent firing members of his coaching staff. Whatever changes are made, fans aren’t buying into the current (lack of) direction, as attendance is way down at Camden Yards.
- Braves pitching prospect Mike Soroka‘s second career MLB start wasn’t nearly as impressive as his first, as Soroka allowed four earned runs over four innings today against the Giants. Manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link) and other media that Soroka is scheduled to make his next start, with an implication being that Atlanta isn’t planning to demote the 20-year-old anytime soon. Anibal Sanchez is still sidelined with a hamstring injury, and will likely be moved to relief pitching when he returns so the Braves can give Soroka a fuller look in his first taste of the majors.
- Phillies hitting coach John Mallee “was totally surprised” at being replaced as the Cubs‘ hitting coach after last season, he tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Though manager Joe Maddon praised Mallee’s work, the Cubs’ decision to part ways with Mallee and hire Chili Davis seemed due (as Maddon and Theo Epstein explain) to an organizational preference for more of a well-rounded hitting attack, as opposed to Mallee’s more launch angle-based philosophy. It seems like there could be a bit of a learning curve to the new approach for Cubs hitters, as the team’s offensive numbers are down over the first six weeks of the season.
East Notes: Mets, Orioles, Red Sox
The Mets would like to re-sign left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins, who was terrific in 2016, and perhaps add another southpaw to their bullpen, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. However, they’re unlikely to make any commitments without having answers from their top two free agents – outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and second baseman Neil Walker. General manager Sandy Alderson said earlier this week that he wants clarity on Cespedes’ intentions by Dec. 8, the end of the winter meetings. Cespedes will surely reject the Mets’ qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline, but Walker “could go either way,” per Rubin (click for Twitter links).
Now for a few AL East notes:
- The Red Sox sent a Manuel Margot-headlined haul to San Diego for closer Craig Kimbrel last Nov. 13, but the deal looks good for Dave Dombrowski & Co. exactly one year later, opines Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Although Kimbrel wasn’t elite this past season, having delivered a 3.40 ERA to go with a bloated 5.6 BB/9 in 53 innings, Mastrodonato argues that the Sox struck at the right time to acquire him. The price to land high-end relievers either through trades or free agency has skyrocketed since then, as evidenced by the midseason deals involving Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller and the record contracts Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon will soon receive on the open market. “We have a closer now, we had to pay a heavy price for it but we felt it was worth it,” Dombrowski told Mastrodonato. Barring a sharp decline, Kimbrel should serve as the Red Sox’s closer at least until his current contract runs out after the 2018 season.
- The Orioles could tab Roger McDowell or Frank Viola to replace the departed Dave Wallace as their next pitching coach, per Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. Kubatko cautions that the Orioles will have to act quickly if they want to hire McDowell, who is also drawing interest from other clubs. McDowell served as the Braves’ pitching coach over the previous 11 seasons, while Viola has held that role for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate – Las Vegas – since 2014.
- The Red Sox need to start considering long-term contract extensions for their young standouts, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Teams like the Cubs, Astros and Pirates have benefited from locking up core talent to club-friendly deals in recent years, and the Red Sox could do the same with shortstop Xander Bogaerts, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and right fielder Mookie Betts, Britton contends. Boston hasn’t yet initiated extension talks with any of them, and Britton notes that one potential holdup is the lack of a new collective bargaining agreement. It’s worth noting, too, that all three players are already under control for the next few years. Their days of playing for minimal salaries are about to end, though, as Bogaerts and Bradley are now eligible for arbitration and Betts will join them next year.