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Jarred Cosart, Christian Friedrich Elect Free Agency After Clearing Outright Waivers

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Two Padres hurlers, Jarred Cosart and Christian Friedrich, have elected free agency after being outrighted off of the team’s 40-man roster. The club announced the moves today.

Cosart, 27, was projected to earn $1.3MM via arbitration. The Friars obviously weren’t willing to stake that much on a rebound for a pitcher that has dealt with arm problems. Cosart will spend the winter working back from elbow surgery, the details and outlook of which are not really clear.

Since landing in San Diego — as a buy-low candidate included in everyone’s favorite quirky 2016 deadline deal — Cosart has posted a 5.58 ERA through 61 1/3 innings. With as many strikeouts as walks (42 apiece) on his ledger, there were clearly concerns about performance even when he was healthy.

Meanwhile, Friedrich was slated to take home something in the ballpark of his projected $1.79MM arbitration value. The 30-year-old lefty did not appear in 2017 while dealing with elbow problems of his own. In total, he owns 5.37 ERA across 296 2/3 MLB innings.

Coaching Notes: Pads, Yanks, Astros, BoSox, Bucs, Mets

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The Padres are set to name Skip Schumaker their first base coach, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune was among those to report (Twitter link). Schumaker, who had been the Padres’ assistant to baseball operations and player development, will take over for the reassigned Johnny Washington. As part of his new role, Schumaker will also be in charge of the team’s baserunning and work with its outfielders, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. Schumaker garnered plenty of firsthand experience on the bases and in the field as a utilityman with three major league teams from 2005-15.

  • The manager-less Yankees sent an email to the majors’ other 29 teams Friday granting them permission to contact any of their coaches who served under Joe Girardi, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). So far, third base coach Joe Espada has interviewed with the Astros and Red Sox for openings on their staffs, per George A. King III of the New York Post (on Twitter). While King didn’t specify which position(s) Espada spoke those clubs about, the scribe reported earlier this week that he’s a candidate to be the next bench coach for either team.
  • There was speculation that Pirates third base coach Joey Cora would join younger brother Alex Cora’s staff with the Red Sox, but that won’t be the case, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag (Twitter link). Joey Cora will return to Pittsburgh for a second season in 2018.
  • Former major league hurler Jason Bere could interview to become the Mets’ pitching coach, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com writes. Bere spent the previous 12 years in the Indians organization, including the past three as the team’s bullpen coach, giving him familiarity with ex-Tribe pitching coach and newly minted Mets manager Mickey Callaway. Cleveland and Bere parted ways earlier this week after it didn’t consider promoting him to Callaway’s vacated role. Bere and the Mets have been in contact since then, Hoynes relays.

AL Notes: O’s, Cobb, Profar, Yankees

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With the Orioles looking to add multiple starters this offseason, they “most definitely will be keen observers” of impending free agent Alex Cobb’s market, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. However, the soon-to-be former Rays right-hander is likely to price himself out of Baltimore’s range, according to Kubatko. Meanwhile, Orioles left-hander Wade Miley is hoping to return to the National League after the team declines his $12MM option in favor of a $500K buyout, Kubato hears. The majority of Miley’s success has come in the NL, where he began his career with the Diamondbacks and pitched from 2011-14.

A bit more from the American League…

  • Rangers infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar could draw offseason trade interest from the Reds, Padres and other teams, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News observes. The Reds scouted Profar “at length” when he was at Triple-A this season, per Grant, who notes that Padres general manager and ex-Rangers executive A.J. Preller is already familiar with the former top prospect. The switch-hitting Profar, 24, spent most of 2017 in the minors, where he hit .287/.383/.428 in 383 plate appearances. He has been far less successful across 718 career major league PAs, having batted .229/.309/.329. Thanks to his underwhelming performance with the Rangers and his out-of-options status, Profar looks like a strong trade candidate heading into the winter.
  • The Yankees may hire a new head of player development before finding ousted manager Joe Girardi’s replacement, George A. King III of the New York Post relays. The club has been on the hunt for a new player development boss since Gary Denbo departed to take a job with the Marlins on Oct. 9. Thus far, New York has interviewed four in-house candidates to succeed Denbo – Kevin Reese (director of professional scouting), Eric Schmitt (director of minor league operations), John Kremer (director of performance science) and Carlos Mendoza (field coordinators) – King reports.

Coaching Notes: Bosio, Honeycutt, Espada, Padres

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The latest on some coaching vacancies (or potential vacancies) around baseball…

  • The Tigers are “close” to hiring Chris Bosio as their next pitching coach, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.  The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal previously reported that Bosio was Detroit’s top choice for the job.  Bosio worked as the Cubs’ pitching coach for the previous six seasons before being fired after Chicago’s elimination in the NLCS.
  • It isn’t yet certain if longtime Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt will remain in his current job in 2018, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times reports.  Honeycutt’s two-year contract is up after the World Series and, at the time of the contract’s signing, it was believed that Honeycutt would into a front office job at deal’s end.  GM Farhan Zaidi, however, said that “If there’s mutual interest in him continuing in this role, I wouldn’t rule it out,” noting that “We just want to leverage his expertise and experience however we can, with whatever [job] makes the most sense.”  Both Zaidi and Honeycutt said that no decisions would be made until after the season is over, with Honeycutt adding “I’m enjoying it as much this year as I ever have.  I still enjoy what I do.”
  • Yankees third base coach Joe Espada could be a candidate to be the next bench coach for either the Astros or Red Sox, George A. King III of the New York Post writes.  Espada has worked in his current role for three seasons, and has previously worked as a Yankees scout, a manager in the Puerto Rican Winter League and as a minor league coach in the Marlins organization.  Espada has also been mentioned as a potential contender for the Yankees’ managerial vacancy.
  • The Padres will move first base coach Johnny Washington to the assistant hitting coach role and outfield coach Jon Matthews has been reassigned to a new role, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter links).  2017 was Washington’s only season as a first base coach; he spent the rest of his nine-year coaching career as a hitting coach at various levels of the Dodgers’ and Padres’ farm systems.  Lin notes that the Padres will fill their first base coaching vacancy from within the organization.

Padres To Hire Matt Stairs As Hitting Coach

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The Padres are hiring Matt Stairs as the team’s new hitting coach, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Earlier today, FanRag’s Robert Murray reported that Stairs was the “strong favorite” for the job.

Stairs made his pro coaching debut in 2017, working as the Phillies’ hitting coach and drawing praise for his role in helping the team’s many young hitters.  Still, with Philadelphia’s coaching staff in limbo after Pete Mackanin was removed from the manager’s job, there was already speculation that Stairs could depart for a more stable position elsewhere.  Stairs will now move into another rebuilding situation with another collection of young players in San Diego, plus the added challenge of generating offense in traditionally pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

Stairs spent the 18th of his 19 big league seasons with the Padres in 2010, hitting .232/.306/.475 with six homers over 111 plate appearances.  The Canadian slugger played for 12 different teams over his career, hitting 265 homers and posting a very solid .262/.356/.477 career slash line, while also setting a new MLB record with 23 career pinch-hit home runs.

Agency Notes: Fernando Tatis Jr., Andrew Toles

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A couple of recent agency switches over in the NL West…

  • Padres top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. is represented by MVP Sports, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. There had been indication that Tatis was changing representation, but it seems that is not the case. The 18-year-old wunderkind raked at a .281/.390/.520 pace as one of the youngest regulars in the Class-A Midwest League before receiving a late-season bump to Double-A. Tatis ranks as one of the game’s top overall prospects (No. 15 on Keith Law’s midseason top 50; No. 51 on MLB.com’s top 100; No. 101, per Baseball America). While Tatis has yet to make his MLB debut, it’s not inconceivable that the highly touted second-generation talent could do so late in the 2018 campaign. He figures to open next year in Double-A, so a midseason move to Triple-A or even a jump directly to the Majors from Double-A is plausible.
  • Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles, who missed the majority of the season with a torn ACL, is now a client of Marc Anthony’s Magnus Sports, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Toles burst onto the scene with the 2016 Dodgers, hitting .314/.365/.505 in 115 plate appearances down the stretch before shining with an .878 OPS in 11 postseason contests. He was off to a slower but still-solid start in 2017, batting .271/.314/.458 with five homers in 102 PAs when he suffered the ligament tear while trying to preserve Julio Urias’ no-hit bid with a running grab in the left-field corner. Toles spent the remainder of the season on the 60-day disabled list, accruing big league service time after undergoing surgery to repair the ligament. He’ll finish out the year with a year and 87 days of MLB service time, meaning he’d be eligible for arbitration (at the earliest) following the 2019 season and eligible for free agency following the 2022 campaign.

This agency news is now reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/25/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all via Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:

  • Likewise, the Red Sox will bring back outfielder Aneury Tavarez on a minors pact. The 25-year-old qualified for minor-league free agency after a 2017 season in which he missed significant time due to injury. Tavarez had been taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Orioles, but was returned to Boston before playing in the Baltimore organization. He ended up slashing .244/.292/.400 in 145 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Braves lefty Ian Krol has elected free agency following his outright, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick first tweeted. The 26-year-old reliever worked to a 5.33 ERA over 49 frames in 2017, with 8.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. The results weren’t exciting, obviously, but Krol did still average a healthy 93.7 mph with his fastball and recorded a career-best 11.4% swinging-strike rate, so he’s likely to draw plenty of interest from organizations looking for bullpen competition and depth in camp.
  • Similarly, Athletics righty Chris Smith took free agency after being outrighted off of the 40-man roster. The 36-year-old handled 55 2/3 MLB innings in Oakland over nine starts and five relief appearances, but surrendered 2.6 homers and 6.79 earned runs per nine innings. Smith had never before topped 46 innings in a single season over his unusual career.
  • Other right-handed pitchers taking free agency include Jacob Turner of the Nationals and Jose Valdez of the Padres. The 26-year-old Turner made it back to the majors with the Nats, but managed only a 5.08 ERA in his 39 frames of action. A former top prospect, Turner averaged better than 95 mph on his fastball for the first time in his career, but carried a marginal 6.0% swinging-strike rate. Valdez, 27, was knocked around for 15 earned runs on seven home runs in 17 MLB frames last year, though he did record 16 strikeouts against just four walks. He has spent time in the bigs with three organizations in the past three campaigns.

Elected Free Agency: Siegrist, Edgin, Hutchison, Locke, Bolsinger, Van Slyke, Maness

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The indispensable Matt Eddy of Baseball America provides an overview of a vast number of players electing free agency following the 2017 season in his latest Minor Transactions roundup. Eddy largely focuses on players with big league service time (significant service time, in some cases) that were outrighted off the roster that are now hitting the open market for the first time. (Players with three-plus years of service that are not on the 40-man roster at season’s end can elect free agency, as can any player that has been outrighted on multiple occasions in his career.)

While the vast majority of these players seem likely to sign minor league pacts this winter — they did, after all, go unclaimed by 29 other teams on waivers — a number of them are still intriguing with recent success in their past and/or multiple years of arbitration eligibility remaining. Eddy’s rundown also contains a number of re-signed minor leaguers and released minor leaguers without big league experience as well as Arizona Fall League assignments on a per-team basis, so it’s well worth a full look.

We’ve updated our list of 2017-18 MLB free agents accordingly, and here are some of the new names now checking in on the list…

Depth options in the rotation

Josh Collmenter, Asher Wojciechowski, Drew Hutchison, Jeff Locke, Kyle Kendrick, Mike Bolsinger, Christian Bergman, David Holmberg

Collmenter is just two seasons removed from being the D-backs Opening Day starter but hasn’t had much success of late. Hutchison had solid Triple-A numbers and once looked like a long-term rotation piece in Toronto before Tommy John surgery. He can be controlled for another three seasons in arbitration. Locke was injured for most of an ugly first (and likely only) season in Miami, and Kendrick made just two starts for the Red Sox.

Wojciechowski (6.50 ERA in 62 1/3 innings with the Reds), Bolsinger (6.31 ERA in 41 1/3 innings with the Jays), Bergman (5.00 ERA in 54 innings with the Mariners) and Holmberg (4.68 ERA in 57 2/3 innings with the White Sox) all soaked up innings for injury-plagued pitching staffs. Bolsinger has had the most MLB experience of the bunch.

Corner Bats

Scott Van Slyke, Tyler Moore, Cody Asche, Conor Gillaspie, Jaff Decker

Van Slyke has long been a solid bat against left-handed pitching but appeared in just 29 games with the Dodgers and didn’t hit well with their Triple-A affiliate or with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. (He was included in the Tony Cingrani trade to balance out the financial side of the deal.) Moore, also a right-handed bat, showed power but struggled to get on base.

Once one of the Phillies’ top prospects, Asche hit well in Triple-A Charlotte but flopped in a brief stint with the ChiSox. Gillaspie was unable to replicate his 2016 rebound with the Giants, while Decker showed some on-base skills in the Majors and minors but didn’t hit much overall. (He can play center but hasn’t graded well there in the Majors.)

Utility Infielders

Ruben Tejada, Phil Gosselin, Dusty Coleman, Chase d’Arnaud

Each of the four can play all over the diamond, but none provided offensive value in 2017. Tejada has the most big league experience but hasn’t received much playing time since 2015 (and hasn’t performed well when he has gotten opportunities). Gosselin has a solid defensive reputation but a light bat through 551 MLB PAs. Coleman hit four homers in 71 PAs in his MLB debut this year but logged a .268 OBP. d’Arnaud saw his fair share of 2016 action with the Braves but has never produced much at the plate.

Bullpen options

Kevin Siegrist (L), Josh Edgin (L), Seth Maness, Kevin Quackenbush

Siegrist and Edgin are intriguing names for clubs in need of left-handed bullpen help. Both have recent success on their track records, though Edgin wasn’t as sharp in 2017 as he was prior to 2015 Tommy John surgery. Siegrist’s control eroded in 2017 as he missed time due to a back/spinal injury and tendinitis in his left forearm, but he was one of the Cardinals’ top setup options in both 2015 and 2016. Both lefties are controllable through 2019.

Maness drew headlines for returning from a torn UCL in roughly seven months thanks to an experimental new “primary repair” procedure, but while he stayed healthy in 2017, the results weren’t great in the Majors and especially not in Triple-A (6.13 ERA in 47 innings). Quackenbush was excellent as a rookie in 2014 and solid in 2015-16 before imploding in 2017 (7.86 ERA in 26 1/3 innings). He was better but not great in Triple-A (3.90 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9). Maness could be controlled through 2019, while Quackenbush would have three more years of control.

Agency Changes: Chad Green, Dinelson Lamet

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As always, we track agency changes here at MLBTR in our Agency Database. Here are the latest notable changes in player representation, both courtesy of ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links):

  • Yankees righty Chad Green is moving his business to Frontline, per the report, joining a pitching-heavy client list led by Dallas Keuchel and Andrew Miller. Though he showed promise with intriguing strikeout and walk numbers in 2016, Green’s 2017 campaign came as an eye opener. In 69 frames over 40 appearances, he punched out 13.4 batters per nine while walking just 2.2 and carrying a sterling 1.83 ERA. Green sat at about 96 mph with his average heater and racked up a strong 15.0% swinging-strike rate.
  • Meanwhile, intriguing young Padres righty Dinelson Lamet has hired Magnus Sports, an agency known for its long list of clients from Latin America. Among the outfit’s most recognizable players is a trio of notable Yankees (Aroldis Chapman, Gary Sanchez, and Starlin Castro). Lamet exhibited some walk and home run difficulties in his debut season, but also racked up 10.9 K/9 and produced a 4.57 ERA in 114 1/3 innings. If he can build upon that opening work, Lamet could become a key part of a hopeful new rotation core in San Diego.

Dugout Notes: Cora, Baker, Phils, Wedge, Sveum, A’s, Chili

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With the Tigers reportedly settling on Ron Gardenhire as their next manager, attention has focused on the Red Sox’ managerial opening. All indications are that Astros bench coach Alex Cora will receive the nod, as Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston writes, though there’s still no firm reporting tying Cora to the position. Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes echoes that it’s quite likely Cora will end up in Boston, but says any formal word will need to wait at least until the conclusion of the ALCS.

A few more notes from big league dugouts…

  • Dusty Baker is keen to stay with the Nationals after another postseason disappointment, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Though there will surely be some contractual details to hammer out, it seems that the key question at this point is simply whether the Nats wish to retain Baker. We recently polled the MLBTR readership on the matter, with a slight majority suggesting that the team keep its skipper.
  • As the Phillies weigh a new managerial hire, Heyman says the team is not giving out much information. But he notes that Athletics bench coach Chip Hale has been interviewed. Red Sox coach Gary DiSarcina is receiving some consideration, Heyman adds.
  • Before settling on Gardenhire, the Tigers met with Eric Wedge about the team’s openings, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter). It isn’t clear whether the former Indians and Mariners skipper — who’s now with the Blue Jays — was under consideration for the managerial post, or whether he could still be pursued for another job in Detroit.
  • The Royals have formally named Dale Sveum their new bench coach and Mitch Maier as their new first base coach, GM Dayton Moore tells reporters (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan). Former first base coach Rusty Kuntz will remain with the organization but will have a new, yet-unspecified role. Sveum’s promotion means that the Royals will be in the market for a new hitting coach in addition to a new pitching coach following the decision to part ways with Dave Eiland.
  • The Athletics announced that they’ve promoted Triple-A manager Ryan Christenson to the Major League staff and named him the new bench coach to manager Bob Melvin. The aforementioned Hale, who moved from third base coach to bench coach partway through the 2017 season, will return to his post as the team’s third base coach, barring an offer to manage another big league club. Christenson’s teams have gone 391-307 in his five-year tenure as a manager in Oakland’s minor league ranks.
  • Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis is drawing interest, as has previously been suggested. He is among several names in contention for the same gig with the Padres, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, San Diego will also need to find a new infield coach after deciding to part ways with Ramon Vazquez. Davis is also sitting down with the Giants, Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group reports. Thus far, San Francisco hasn’t made clear its plans for the coaching staff for the coming season, but Baggarly discusses some of the considerations at play.
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