Minor MLB Transactions: 11/13/19
The latest minor transactions from around baseball…
- Utilityman Kristopher Negron has retired, as he announced on Twitter on Tuesday. A seventh-round pick of the Red Sox in 2006, the 33-year-old Negron walked away from the game after appearing in the majors in parts of six seasons from 2012-19 with the Reds, Diamondbacks, Mariners and Dodgers. He divided his final season between the Seattle and Los Angeles organizations. Overall, Negron batted .221/.291/.336 with nine home runs across a 416-plate appearance span in the majors. He was more successful at the Triple-A level, where he collected 3,291 PA and hit .256/.323/.403 with 76 homers.
- The Padres have signed Mexican left-hander/outfielder Zayed Salinas for $800K, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs tweets. The 16-year-old Salinas offers a three-pitch mix – an 87 to 90 mph fastball, a curveball and a changeup – and ranks as FanGraphs’ top prospect from Mexico in 2019, Longenhagen notes. Salinas could turn into a “contact-oriented” center fielder if he doesn’t pan out as a pitcher, per FanGraphs’ scouting report.
Clint Hurdle Retires From Managing
Nov. 13: Hurdle says he has indeed decided not to seek in-uniform positions, as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. But that doesn’t mean he’s through with the game. Hurdle says he has spoken with organizations about front-office possibilities, so it seems likely he’ll remain engaged in some capacity.
Nov. 12: Longtime major league manager Clint Hurdle has decided to retire, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres interviewed Hurdle for their hitting coach vacancy, but he decided not to pursue the opportunity, per Acee.
The 62-year-old Hurdle’s just a few weeks removed from the end of a lengthy tenure as the Pirates’ manager. The team fired Hurdle in late September after a disastrous season in which it went 69-93. It was the fourth straight non-playoff season for the Hurdle-led Pirates, though they did have success earlier in his run. Pittsburgh went to the playoffs in each season under Hurdle from 2013-15, but it never won a playoff series. Hired prior to 2011, Hurdle oversaw Pirates teams that went a combined 735-720-1 – which is plenty respectable for a low-budget franchise that has largely struggled over the past few decades.
Before joining the Pirates, Hurdle managed the Rockies to a 534-625 mark from 2002-09. The Rockies only made the playoffs once in that span, in 2007, but they did win the NL pennant that year before falling to the Red Sox in the World Series.
Long before his managerial career started, Hurdle was an outfielder/infielder/catcher for the Royals, Reds, Mets and Cardinals from 1977-87. Hurdle hit a solid .259/.341/.403 across 1,596 plate appearances. Now, if Hurdle’s decades-long stay in the majors truly is up, MLBTR wishes him the best in retirement.
Padres Will Attempt To Extend Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Padres will attempt to work out a long-term deal with budding superstar Fernando Tatis Jr., according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The timing of negotiations and the organization’s spending tolerances aren’t known, but it seems the club will make a real push to agree to terms before the start of the 2020 season.
Tatis is exceptionally youthful; he won’t celebrate his 21st birthday until the new year. And he’s exceptionally talented, as evidenced by a thrilling rookie campaign. The debut effort was cut short by injury, but not before Tatis turned in 372 innings of .317/.379/.590 hitting with 22 home runs and a boat load of highlight reel contributions. He could stand to smooth out his glovework and cut back on the strikeouts, but that showing was a full-blown success regardless.
At this time last year, you could’ve said many of the same things about precocious Braves slugger Ronald Acuna Jr., who ended up signing a stunning $100MM extension that gave the team control over ten seasons of likely superstardom. That pact entered an unprecedented realm for early-career contracts, but it was also arguably the easiest nine-figure deal ever signed by a professional baseball team.
Acee rightly notes the Acuna contract as a highly relevant comp in the case of Tatis. No doubt the team will try to frame it as a ceiling, or at worst a direct comp, while nudging Tatis back down toward the other major contracts inked by burgeoning young stars last winter — the $43MM deal between Eloy Jimenez and the White Sox and the $35MM agreement the Braves scored with Ozzie Albies.
But there’s no question Tatis belongs in the Acuna stratosphere as a player. And his reps at MVP Sports can make an argument that he ought to earn more — supposing his injury woes are just a blip, at least. First and foremost, the Acuna contract doesn’t need to function in any way to limit what Tatis can and should demand for his own services. If he’s interested in a deal, Tatis can do his own math on his future free agent earnings and whether and how he’s willing to discount them. It’s eminently arguable that Acuna is undercompensated for his immense ability; Tatis doesn’t need to make the same bargain.
Then there’s the fact that Tatis is a season ahead in the service-time game than Acuna was this time last year, owing to the Friars’ decision to put him on the Opening Day roster in 2020. That surprising decision by the San Diego organization last spring was a notable gambit that could factor heavily in this new contract push. It gave leverage to Tatis, who’s a full year closer to the open market than he would have been had the team waited a few weeks to call him up. But the risky ploy may also have been part of the team’s now-evident effort to do everything it can to ensconce Tatis as a franchise-defining star for the bulk of his career. The goodwill generated by the on-time promotion might help the team secure a monster contract that’s laden with value for the organization. The tens of millions more it could in theory cost to get the deal done? That’s secondary to the ability to complete such a pact with a player of this kind.
Cole Hamels Drawing Significant Interest
Free-agent left-hander Cole Hamels has indicated he’s open to signing a one-year deal, but that doesn’t mean the veteran is nearing the end of his career. On the contrary, agent John Boggs told Jon Morosi of MLB.com that the soon-to-be 36-year-old Hamels aims to pitch “at least five more seasons” in the majors.
Whether Hamels has another half-decade left in him is up for debate. What’s not debatable? Hamels is one of the best, most accomplished starters on this year’s open market. Unsurprisingly, there has been plenty of interest in the former Phillie, Ranger and Cub. Thirteen teams have already reached out in regards to Hamels, according to Boggs. The identities of those clubs are unclear, though Hamels has made it known his preference is to sign with a contender. It’s also worth noting Hamels is from San Diego, and though the Padres are mired in a painfully long playoff drought, he seems open to signing with his hometown team.
“It’s cool for him to think about coming home to San Diego,” Boggs told Morosi. “More than anything, he wants to compete for a championship. The chance to win is what’s going to drive his decision-making.”
The Padres happen to be among a slew of teams in line to chase starting pitching this offseason. Hamels isn’t a top-end free agent like Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, nor is he even a second-tier type like Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu or Jake Odorizzi, but he still looks capable of improving just about any team’s staff. While injuries limited Hamels to a mere 141 2/3 innings in 2019, he did give the Cubs a 3.81 ERA/4.09 FIP with 9.08 K/9, 3.56 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent groundball rate. Now, with no qualifying offer weighing him down, a large selection of teams seem to be zeroing in on the still-effective Hamels.
Padres Intend To Focus On Trades Over Top Free Agents
12:16pm: In a follow-up piece today, Acee writes that the Friars expect to land at a payroll of $130MM to $140MM. Given the team’s existing commitments, that doesn’t leave space to tack on a top-shelf free agent.
Indeed, per Acee, the Friars simply “don’t see a way to fit another mega contract.” With Boras asking for $180MM or more for Strasburg, over a six-year term, the San Diego organization may be tapping out early. Acee does note that Zack Wheeler could still be a consideration, though he seems increasingly likely to top nine figures himself with widespread early interest.
8:16am: We know the Padres are going to do something to get better this winter — or, at least, that’s the strong indication emanating from the club — but it’s still to be seen what, when, and how GM A.J. Preller will strike. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune-Review describes the sense of anticipation in the San Diego organization, explaining that top-level free-agent pursuit and/or major trades involving highly regarded prospects are likely to be pursued vigorously in the coming weeks.
Unsurprisingly, Acee views the trade market as the “most likely way” for the Friars to press the go button. While the team has pounced on major free-agent signings and is expected to explore them again — local product Stephen Strasburg is a particularly enticing possibility — the team already has quite a lot of its payroll committed.
There are still some ways to change that situation. The organization could boost its spending now that it’s ready to win. It could also utilize some of its prospect base to help move unwanted contracts off the books, thus freeing salary space to buy other players. We broke down the many factors and possibilities in our recent preview of the Friars’ offseason.
Regardless, Preller is surely exploring a wide variety of trade scenarios — and doing so with a different mandate than he has previously. Chairman Ron Fowler has already made clear his expectations for the 2020 campaign, and he explained further how the team’s strategy will change as a result.
Fowler explains that the club is now largely finished with assessment of young talent and is ready to view its prospects as “currency.” The Padres, he says, have “a lot of guys we can package and come up with what we need to be a better team that can win a lot more games in 2020, and that’s our objective.”
That statement is laden with possibilities. With loads of talent at all levels of the farm system, as well as younger MLB players that could hold appeal, the Friars have a stock of trade chips that could unlock the doors to an awful lot of quality big leaguers.
But does this mean that rival organizations can expect to command overwhelming early trade packages from the Padres? Preller says the club will stick to its guns. “We have specific value on each one of our players and a value on the guys we have a chance to trade for,” he said at the outset of the GM Meetings. If the numbers don’t match up, Preller says the club will be “patient.”
It’s an interesting mix of public statements from the San Diego brass. Preller’s “rock star” status has waxed and waned over the years; on occasion, he has delivered blockbusters. At other times, heavy rumors of big moves have simply petered out. This winter, there’s an argument for bold early action to get the jump on the market … but also for settling into the kind of plodding staring contest that has characterized the past two hot-stove seasons.
Whatever the process, one thing seems clear: when the season gets underway, Preller’s roster will need to deliver good old fashioned, actual MLB wins. The objective, per Fowler, is to “win a lot more games in 2020.” Otherwise, the San Diego organization could be forced into a much broader overhaul.
Padres Outright Jacob Nix
The Padres have outrighted hurler Jacob Nix to Triple-A El Paso, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. The right-handed Nix had been in limbo since the Padres designated him for assignment Nov. 4.
It’s been a difficult several months for Nix, a promising prospect whom injuries and legal issues weighed down this season. While Nix did debut in the majors in 2018, throwing 42 1/3 innings of 7.02 ERA/5.83 FIP ball, he couldn’t improve on that uninspiring production this year because of elbow problems. The 23-year-old ended up combining for 24 1/3 frames among three minor league levels.
When Nix was healthy enough to take the mound in 2019, he was extremely effective, evidenced by his microscopic 1.85 ERA with 10.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. However, an October arrest on criminal trespassing charges represented the latest setback in the former third-round pick’s career. As of now, though, Nix will stay in the San Diego organization and continue trying to work his way back to the majors.
Multiple Teams Pursuing Zack Wheeler At Outset Of Free Agency
7:33pm: The Mets also remain interested in exploring a multi-year arrangement with Wheeler, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’s not evident how serious that possibility is — let alone whether there’s any potential for a pact to come together before Wheeler formally reaches the open market.
We’ve seen plenty of on-again/off-again chatter of a deal with Wheeler over recent months. When the Mets acquired Marcus Stroman, it was generally supposed that the club was going to move on from Wheeler, though the door stayed open when he wasn’t dealt over the summer. With obvious budgetary restrains and other needs, it still feels like a longshot.
Meanwhile, those prior trade talks also came up in reporting today. Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets that the Mets spoke with teams right up until the deadline passed, with the Astros pushing hardest and the Yankees, Rays, and Athletics also involved.
That’s mostly of historical interest, though it could offer some clues for free agency. Indeed, the Houston organization is already engaged with Wheeler’s reps, per Heyman (via Twitter). The ‘Stros talked shop with Jet Sports today. We can only presume that the outfit’s major free agent starter came up in conversation, among other things.
2:29pm: Zack Wheeler technically has another three days to accept or reject his $17.8MM qualifying offer from the Mets, but there’s never been a realistic scenario in which he takes the one-year deal. The right-hander is widely considered to be among the four best pitchers in free agency this winter — No. 3 behind Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, by many accounts — and should have little trouble cashing in on a lucrative multi-year pact. To that end, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports that the Angels, Padres and White Sox are among the teams that have shown early interest in Wheeler. Other clubs have surely checked in already and will continue to do so, of course.
Wheeler, 29, has come all the way back from a lengthy absence stemming from 2015 Tommy John surgery. He’s made 60 starts over the past two seasons and saw his fastball velocity tick up to a career-high 96.7 mph average in 2019 — the second-hardest mark of any free-agent starter on the market (behind Cole).
Wheeler had a rough handful of starts at the beginning of each of the past two seasons, but over his past 55 starts combined, he’s worked to a 3.47 ERA (3.27 FIP) with 9.0 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 349 2/3 innings. Beyond the high-end velocity, Wheeler possesses above-average spin on his heater and curveball, and he’s excelled in terms of minimizing hard contact against him (90th percentile average exit-velocity among MLB starters, per Statcast).
Each of the three listed teams is a natural fit for Wheeler, though that’s true of the majority of rotation-hungry teams in the league. While the likes of Cole and Strasburg will be wholly ruled out by many clubs due to their expected $30MM+ annual salaries and over the next half decade-plus, Wheeler is quite likely someone most teams will view as affordable — even if he’s at the top end of their budget. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman quotes one team executive expressing a similar sentiment, calling Wheeler the best arm of the market’s second tier (beyond Cole and Strasburg) and adding “and everyone pretty much will believe they could afford him.”
Beyond the listed teams in Morosi’s report, it’d be a surprise if the Phillies, Twins, Braves, Yankees, Rangers, Nationals (if Strasburg departs), Dodgers, Blue Jays and others aren’t in play for the righty. Wheeler could draw the most widespread interest of any free agent on the market this winter and will probably be connected to a dozen or more additional teams between now and the time he finally puts pen to paper.
NL West Notes: Friedman, Giants, Oracle Park, Padres
As the Padres unveil some sharp new uniforms, let’s look at some news from around the NL West…
- It has been close to a month since Andrew Friedman said he was close to finalizing a contract extension to remain as the Dodgers‘ president of baseball operations, though there hasn’t since been any word about a deal. There doesn’t appear to be any real reason for concern, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets, as the two sides are “still dotting I’s and crossing T’s” on the new contract. Friedman has also been battling the flu for the past week.
- Construction has begun on Oracle Park’s new bullpens, which will result in a slightly moved-in portion of the outfield fence, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Relievers for both the Giants and visiting clubs will no longer have to warm up in foul territory, as the new bullpens will be located behind the center field and right-center field fences. As a result, the area of fence that runs across center field into the “Triples Alley” triangle will be lowered by about a foot and moved four-to-six feet closer to home plate. The apex of the triangle will also be a bit shorter to home plate than its current 421-foot distance.
- Also from Schulman (Twitter links), he reports that as of Friday night, the Giants still hadn’t made a decision in their managerial search, though one should be coming relatively soon. Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler are reportedly the final three candidates in the running.
- The Padres had some interest in Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara last summer, so Dennis Lin and Jamey Newberg of the Athletic (subscription required) tried to figure out a Mazara trade package that could help both clubs, in a lengthy exploration of how San Diego and Texas match up as trade partners. Some obvious links exist between the two franchises — Padres GM A.J. Preller and new manager Jayce Tingler both came to San Diego from the Texas organization, giving the Friars a lot of familiarity with Rangers players on both the MLB and minor league rosters. Lin and Newberg settle on a scenario that would see Mazara and right-hander Jonathan Hernandez go to the Rangers for Joey Lucchesi and catching prospect Blake Hunt.
Padres Release Eric Yardley
The Padres have released right-hander Eric Yardley, per the transactions log at MLB.com. He’d been designated for assignment earlier this week and was cut loose upon clearing waivers.
Yardley, 29, made his MLB debut with San Diego in 2019. The Seattle University grad went undrafted and pitched in the independent Pecos League out of college before signing on with the Padres as a minor league free agent. He’s been in their system since 2013 and long posted sharp numbers without getting a call to the big leagues.
That changed this past season, as Yardley parlayed a 2.83 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.42 HR/9 and 63.8 percent ground-ball rate in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League into his first taste of the Major Leagues. The 6’0″, 165-pound sidearmer acquitted himself well, too, allowing just three earned runs on 12 hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.
As with many sidearm pitchers, Yardley isn’t going to blow anyone away with velocity. His sinker checked in at an average of just 86.2 mph in the Majors this season. But, as has been the case in Triple-A (both this season and in years past), Yardley was a ground-ball machine with the Padres, inducing grounders at a 64.1 percent clip in his limited sample of work.
Padres To Name Larry Rothschild Pitching Coach
The Padres are set to hire Larry Rothschild as their new pitching coach, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The 65-year-old was recently let go by the Yankees with one year remaining on his contract. Rothschild will be replacing one of the game’s longest-tenured coaches, Darren Balsley, who will change gears and work as a special assistant working with the club’s minor league pitchers.
Rothschild has spent the past nine seasons as the pitching coach in the Bronx and spent nine years prior to that as the pitching coach for the Cubs. He has extensive experience working as a minor league pitching coordinator and Major League bullpen coach, and he was also the inaugural manager of the Rays — a role he held from 1998 to 2001. Balsley, according to Acee, is taking on a less-demanding role in the organization to spend more time with his son, who has committed to play for San Diego State once he graduates high school this spring.
It’s the latest of several changes in the San Diego dugout this offseason. Manager Andy Green was fired after four years on the job, and he’s been replaced by the Rangers’ Jayce Tingler. Meanwhile, the Friars are also set to announce the hiring of Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson as their new bench coach.