Quick Hits: Heaney, Blanco, Padres, Ross
Young Angels lefty Andrew Heaney has become the first professional baseball player to sell a piece of his future earnings through Fantex, a company which markets shares of that interest to individual investors, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Heaney, 24, will sacrifice ten percent of all his future “brand” earnings — including dollars earned through his MLB contracts as well as endorsements and appearance fees — in exchange for $3.34MM. (The agreement has been approved by the league and the union, but is still dependent upon financing.) We’ve seen an increasing willingness of players (and teams) to consider creative ways to lock in earnings over recent years. This could be a new frontier in that regard, though the model is obviously still in its infancy and other methods of locking in salary (such as insurance and early-career extensions) have greater traction at present. Heaney has shown plenty of promise in his first year with the Halos, throwing 84 1/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball with 6.6 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9, but he won’t achieve real earning capacity until he qualifies for arbitration in 2018. Free agency will have to wait until 2021, but he certainly has the potential to take down quite a bit of cash over his career — if he can maintain his performance trajectory and avoid injury, of course.
Here are some more notes to round out the evening:
- The Giants have shut down outfielder Gregor Blanco after he was diagnosed with a concussion, as Chris Haft of MLB.com tweets. Manager Bruce Bochy said today that the team may not receive any more contributions this year from Blanco, Nori Aoki, and Hunter Pence, as John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group adds on Twitter. It’s been that kind of year for the San Francisco outfield, with center fielder Angel Pagan also having dealt with a fairly significant injury lay-off. While the club won’t reach the postseason regardless, barring a miracle, that group of maladies represents one of several areas where the team will hope for better fortune in 2016.
- As the Padres look ahead to what could be another offseason of change, the club intends to take its time in addressing its managerial situation, GM A.J. Preller tells MLB.com’s Corey Brock. Interim manager Pat Murphy could get the permanent post, or the organization could look elsewhere, but the latter course would involve competition with a number of other teams that will be looking for new dugout leaders. “It’s an important decision for us,” said Preller. “We just want to make sure we make a good call and we don’t feel pressure from what’s going on in the industry or anything like that. We’ll get to a spot where we’re comfortable making a good decision and we will make a good hire.”
- Among the many other questions facing the Padres, deciding on a course with righty Tyson Ross could be among the most impactful. The 28-year-old has once again been excellent — in part, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes, due to the addition of a cutter to his arsenal. He had used the pitch previously, but relied almost entirely on a fastball-slider combination in the majors before this season. “I just think it’s a different look,” Ross said. “It’s movement (away from) the barrel, trying to get poor contact and just avoiding the hitters being able to sit on anything.” The successful re-introduction of that offering represents another feather in the cap of the sturdy hurler, who was in high demand at the trade deadline and would be again if marketed this winter. Since the start of the 2013 season, he’s thrown nearly 500 frames and carries a strong 3.05 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 to go with a well-above-average groundball rate (61.5% this year). Ross can be controlled for two more seasons via arbitration after earning $5.25MM in his first trip through the process this year. It remains to be seen, of course, whether San Diego will have any real interest in moving him. If not, Ross could profile as an extension candidate.
Heyman’s Latest: Harvey, Cespedes, GM Openings, Offseason Decisions
The Mets expect that they’ll receive calls on righty Matt Harvey, but have no intentions of discounting his trade value based on the recent shutdown controversy, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Harvey is reportedly displeased with some statements from the front office, per Heyman, though it’s far from clear whether there will be any long-term ramifications from the flare-up.
That’s just one of many interesting notes in a column that is chock full of information. Here are some more notable items:
- Also in the news recently, of course, is outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who has thrived with the Mets and just tweaked his contract to make a re-signing possible. Heyman says that the movement on that front was generated by Cespedes’s side, with the team readily agreeing to the proposal. Steve Adams and I discussed this on Thursday’s edition of the MLBTR Podcast, generally agreeing that he’s unlikely to return despite that agreement given other needs and the presence of Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares, and Michael Cuddyer. But Heyman hears that New York is “expected to make a serious play” for the soon-to-be free agent. Certainly, that’s an important open market storyline to watch this fall and winter. Despite the presence of several other highly-regarded players on the coming market, Heyman says a deal of $175MM (or even more) for the Cuban star would not be surprising.
- The Red Sox‘ GM hiring appears to be wide open, with Heyman writing that Diamondbacks senior VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson presents one possibility from another organization and AGM Mike Hazen could be an internal option. Other names that have come up include the frequently-mentioned Frank Wren and Brewers VP of amateur scouting Ray Montgomery.
- There is a “prevailing belief” that Reds GM Walt Jocketty will keep his position, says Heyman, though manager Bryan Price seems somewhat more likely to lose his job after a rough season. On the other hand, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale did suggest today on Twitter that Jocketty could be shifted into an advisory role, with Cincinnati hiring a new general manager.
- Yankees GM Billy Eppler is seen as the favorite to take the GM position with the Angels, says Heyman. Rangers GM Thad Levine could also get a long look, per the report.
- The Phillies‘ GM position just opened, of course, and Heyman says it will be in high demand among young executives — not only because of Philadelphia’s resources, but because the new general manager could be handed fairly broad authority. Possible names have been filtering out since even before Ruben Amaro Jr. was let go, and Heyman lists Angels AGM Matt Klentak, Giants scouting director John Barr, Royals AGM J.J. Piccolo, and the aforementioned Levine as some of the possibilities.
- Fans calling for the Braves to replace manager Fredi Gonzalez may not get their wish, says Heyman. Gonzalez is “said to be in no jeopardy,” per the report.
- The Tigers have a lot of work to do under new GM Al Avila, and Heyman says their “winter wish list” includes an outfielder — possibly Cespedes, though he may be too expensive, along with two starters and several bullpen arms. Detroit expects to plunk down some cash in the offseason, he adds.
- It’s always seemed likely that the Blue Jays would pick up their $12MM option over veteran righty R.A. Dickey, and Heyman says that is highly likely as things stand. Toronto will also at least attempt to retain lefty David Price, who has obviously been outstanding (even by his lofty standards) since being acquired at the deadline.
- The Dodgers will likely extend lefty Brett Anderson a qualifying offer. The 27-year-old has been well worth the $10MM that Los Angeles paid him this year, putting up a 3.36 ERA over 158 innings — his highest tally since his rookie campaign way back in 2009. Given his age and the fact that he has a nice platform to work from, it would seem likely that Anderson will decline a QO (if extended), though he’ll face a crowded market.
- Padres president Mike Dee tells Heyman that the organization is frustrated, but has good relationships in its upper front office and is looking forward rather than looking back at last winter. San Diego will need to make a permanent decision with its field staff, and is said to be undecided on whether to retain interim skipper Pat Murphy.
- Meanwhile, the Padres are assessing “whether to tweak or completely retool” its roster. Interestingly, Melvin Upton has played well enough that he could end up with a regular role as a platoon partner in center alongside Travis Jankowski. San Diego will face a somewhat difficult decision on whether to make starter Ian Kennedy a qualifying offer, but it appears the organization is leaning towards doing so.
NL West Notes: D-Backs, Hudson, Giants, Gyorko
Though the Diamondbacks have a strong anti-analytics reputation, team president Derrick Hall told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that they’ve hired a pair of full-time employees and two interns recently to add to their growing analytics department. Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa disputed the notion to Rosenthal as well, noting that he feels the data provided by D-Backs analysts is important for game preparation. La Russa wants manager Chip Hale and his coaches to employ “observational analytics” during games, though — that is, to adjust based on what they see on the field and in their guts. That, of course, sounds like a decisively non-analytical approach. The additions to the staff are noteworthy, to be sure, but it’s worth questioning how much buy-in there is at the top of the food chain given quotes such as this one from La Russa: “But once the game starts, you’ve got to really make sure that you don’t let some of the preparation change what your guts and brain are telling you when you look out at the field. During the game, you observe. That supersedes what you would have learned from the preparation going in. … You have to allow your managers and coaches to make adjustments. That’s how you can win extra games.”
Here’s more from the NL West…
- Daniel Hudson has spent the season in the Diamondbacks‘ bullpen and seen his velocity tick up to triple digits while working in relief, but the former starter and two-time Tommy John victim tells the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro that he believes he can return to the rotation. “I’d really like to try it again and if we get to a point where we say, ‘Well, we don’t know if this is the smartest thing to do,’ then I’ll be perfectly fine doing whatever they need me to do and just going like that the rest of my career,” says Hudson. As Piecoro notes, the righty was initially placed in the ‘pen because doctors didn’t want him tossing more than 80-90 pitches per outing, and there were questions about how deep he could work into games early on as he reestablished his control.
- We’ve touched upon the state of uncertainty in the Giants future rotation several times recently, and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle is the latest observer to offer his take of the situation. The upcoming rotation market has a lot of talent, of course, but many of its better arms of it will at least start out looking for nine-figure guarantees. Schulman says the “most likely scenario” for San Francisco is to try to bring back Mike Leake, who he pegs in the six-year, $90MM range, while also looking to deal for another mid-rotation arm.
- The Padres face ongoing shortstop questions, and Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune takes a look at the early returns from the latest player under consideration at the position: Jedd Gyorko. Still just 26 and locked up for years to come, Gyorko has come alive at the plate in recent months. While he’s only logged 103 frames at short, Lin suggests that he’s shown enough at least to merit a continued look the rest of the way. With an upcoming shortstop market that is fronted by players like Ian Desmond, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jimmy Rollins, and Alexei Ramirez, there are certainly some free agents that could warrant consideration as everyday options — to say nothing of the possibility of a trade. But Gyorko’s work at short potentially gives the team some flexibility in its acquisition plans.
Injury Notes: Zimmerman, Alonso, Hamilton
There’s not much of the regular season left, meaning that even relatively minor injuries incurred at this point could end a player’s 2015 campaign. With that in mind, a few notable injury reports from around the league…
- Ryan Zimmerman could miss “a significant amount of time” due to an oblique injury, a pair of sources tell MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Zimmerman injured the oblique this weekend and hasn’t played in the Nationals‘ past two contests. He did play through the injury on Monday, but oblique ailments often lead to prolonged absence from the playing field, which could bring the remainder of Zimmerman’s season into question, speculatively speaking. As Ladson notes, the Nats would not confirm the oblique issue.
- The Padres have shut down first baseman Yonder Alonso after a bone scan revealed a stress reaction in his lower back, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune (via Twitter). As Lin notes, that sounds like a season-ending injury for Alonso, who is no stranger to the notion of missing time due to injury. Alonso has spent notable periods on the disabled list in each of the past three seasons, averaging just 95 games per year dating back to 2013. He’s due a raise on his $1.65MM salary in arbitration this season, but despite a pair of injuries this year, it’s tough to envision him being a serious non-tender candidate. Alonso posted a solid .282/.361/.381 batting line when healthy and can be controlled through the 2017 season. Even if the Padres’ plan were to shift Wil Myers to first base in 2016 and beyond, Alonso would surely figure to draw some trade interest.
- Josh Hamilton will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee, the Rangers announced today, but the team remains hopeful of Hamilton returning to the lineup in 2015, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Hamilton has appeared in just 40 games since returning to the Rangers, batting .257/.299/.431 with six homers and seven doubles in 154 plate appearances.
Marlins Claim Tommy Medica
The Marlins have claimed first baseman/outfielder Tommy Medica off waivers from the Padres, Miami announced. Medica will not immediately report to the organization, per the announcement.
Also announced today by the Marlins were the recall of righty Scott McGough and the transfer of starter Henderson Alvarez to the 60-day DL.
Medica, 27, is a right-handed hitter who has seen 338 career plate appearances at the major league level. He’s slashed .246/.308/.417 in those chances, spread over 2013-14, with 12 home runs and six stolen bases.
After several big seasons in the minors, Medica has fallen off since moving up to the Triple-A level. This year, he owns a .259/.314/.364 batting line with just five long balls in 363 plate appearances. Medica has, however, hit lefties well; in theory, then, he could be part of an affordable platoon situation at first base next year alongside the left-handed-hitting Justin Bour.
NL West Notes: Johnson, Rockies, Anderson
After Josh Johnson ended a Friday rehab start after four pitches due to elbow discomfort, the Padres confirmed that they’ve shut Johnson down for the rest of the season, assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr. told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Johnson will meet with Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday for further evaluation. The right-hander is trying to return from his second Tommy John surgery, and Friday’s abbreviated start marked the first competitive pitches Johnson has thrown since August 2013. Here’s some more from around the NL West…
- Rockies GM Jeff Bridich tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that despite Carlos Gonzalez‘s red-hot bat, there has been only “a little uptake on calls” from teams interested in acquiring the outfielder. Suitors may be more eager in pursuing Gonzalez this winter now that he’s stayed healthy and kept hitting, though Bridich notes that the Rox weren’t and aren’t actively shopping Gonzalez. “It wasn’t like we were doing a full-court press internally to make the trade. We treated him like everyone else on the team,” Bridich said. “We would think about it and have a discussion when it was warranted. It wasn’t like it was some huge orchestrated effort on our part. And, with the pedigree of CarGo, it can be tough to find dance partners in a trade.” For another interview with Bridich, check out his recent appearance with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast.
- In another piece from Saunders, he thinks the Rockies will try to trade Jose Reyes this winter in order to create a spot for shortstop prospect Trevor Story. Reyes is owed $44MM through 2017, plus his contract has a $22MM club option for 2018 that can be bought out for $4MM. Colorado is prepared to eat a major piece of Reyes’ remaining salary to make a deal happen, Saunders believes.
- Brett Anderson left today’s start in the sixth inning after a trainer’s visit to the mound, yet the injury-plagued southpaw told reporters (including MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) that he only suffered a cramped calf and doesn’t expect to miss any time. Anderson has stayed healthy and effective for the Dodgers this season, posting a 3.36 ERA, 5.92 K/9 and 66.7% grounder rate over 158 innings. Just today, as noted as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Anderson added his second $300K bonus of the year for passing an innings-pitched threshold. He seems like a solid bet to collect a huge chunk of the other $3.4MM still available in total incentives, as per his one-year, $10MM contract.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts (via Twitter) Tim Lincecum will return to the Giants on a minor league deal for 2016. Lincecum recently underwent season-ending hip surgery and since he’ll have trouble finding a Major League contract, it makes sense that he could return to familiar surroundings, especially since Bruce Bochy and CEO Larry Baer both seem open to the idea.
NL Notes: Fernandez, Johnson, Braves
The big story of the day is the Matt Harvey inning debacle. The Marlins intend to avoid a similar issue with their ace Jose Fernandez. Another Scott Boras client, Fernandez returned from Tommy John surgery earlier this season. He’s currently sidelined with a biceps strain. The club expects him to make a couple more starts to close out the season. Over the winter, a suitable plan of action will be put in place to best serve Fernandez and the Marlins.
- Padres starter Josh Johnson has had a setback in his rehab, reports Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. We learned on Thursday that the oft-injured righty was ready for a rehab assignment. That lasted just four pitches before elbow or forearm discomfort forced him to leave the game. We can probably assume Johnson won’t appear in the majors this season. He’s a free agent after the season.
- The Braves will have “more flexibility” to spend on free agents this winter, assistant GM John Coppolella tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We’ll have even more [money] in 2017,” per Coppolella. The Braves are currently suffering through an ugly rebuilding process. At one point this season, they were dark horse contenders in a weird NL East. After a 12-39 plunge since July 7, the club is now just 1.5 games ahead of the basement-dwelling Phillies. Based solely on recent performance, the Braves might be the odds on favorites to land the first pick in the 2016 draft. The club is opening their new stadium in 2017 so it’s no surprised to see their decisions geared a couple years down the line.
NL West Notes: Lincecum, Myers, Castillo, D-Backs
The Giants aren’t ruling out the possibility of a reunion with Tim Lincecum following the 2015 season, CEO Larry Baer and manager Bruce Bochy told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I don’t think Timmy is ruling it out, and I don’t think we’re ruling it out,” said Baer. Bochy added: “My door will always be open for Tim Lincecum. That’s how much I think of him. That’s a decision that’s made on the baseball side, obviously with everybody. I appreciate what he’s done and the time I’ve had to this point with him. It doesn’t mean that won’t continue.” Baer called Lincecum’s contributions to the Giants franchise “endless.” The 31-year-old underwent season-ending hip surgery yesterday that will require about five months of recovery time. A free agent at season’s end, it’s possible that Lincecum’s days with the Giants are done.
Elsewhere in the division…
- Padres outfielder Wil Myers spoke with ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick about the frustration of the past two season’s wrist injuries and the accumulation of the “injury-prone” reputation that’s now become attached to his name. “It’s the worst,” said Myers of the label. “I see it on Twitter and I hear it all the time. Everybody is like, ‘He’s too injury-prone,’ but it’s not like I have a hamstring injury where every time I run, I’m cautious about it. I had a bone spur taken out, and once this heals I won’t have to deal with this injury anymore.” Myers is confident in his ability to rebound once the wrist injury is fully healed, but as Crasnick notes, there’s a question as to where he will play. Myers was probably miscast as a center fielder this season, so he could slide over to left field if Justin Upton departs via free agency. Another possibility is first base, if the Padres are looking for an upgrade over Yonder Alonso’s low power numbers. One NL scout told Crasnick he feels Myers could be a Gold Glove caliber first baseman, based purely on his athleticism.
- Welington Castillo has positioned himself as the Diamondbacks‘ catcher of the future, but as Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Repbulic writes, Castillo nearly gave up baseball at the age of 16 when faced with the realization that his future was behind the plate. Castillo grew up playing shortstop but lacked the speed or quickness to play there at a high level as he grew. When a Phillies scout asked for a private workout based on Castillo’s bat and then asked him to make some throws from behind the plate, Castillo was impressive but also uninterested. He walked away from the game for three months before being coerced into returning, only to receive an offer of just $10K after another Phillies scout deemed him “too short to catch.” Castillo eventually signed with the Cubs for a meager $22K bonus — a number that, in hindsight, looks like a considerable bargain for Chicago.
- Buchanan’s colleague, Nick Piecoro, examines the budding logjam in the D-Backs infield. Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed and Jake Lamb have all shown flashes of potential but lack consistency, Piecoro writes, and now the progress of second baseman/third baseman Brandon Drury has muddied the picture. Manager Chip Hale told Piecoro that teams frequently ask about Lamb in trades, and they’ve also received inquiries on Drury and Owings. The presence of multiple seemingly big-league-ready infielders will give Arizona GM Dave Stewart some options as he navigates the trade market this offseason.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/3/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Two recently-designated Padres lefties have cleared waivers and received outright assignments, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Caleb Thielbar and Chris Rearick will both remain in the San Diego organization. The 28-year-old Thielbar has not received many innings at the big league level after two strong campaigns with the Twins. And Rearick will, it appears, end up back where he started before a recent flurry of claims, DFAs, and outrights.
- Another left-handed reliever, James Russell of the Cubs, has also been outrighted, per MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat (via Twitter). Russell’s return to Chicago has not gone quite as well as hoped, as he’s worked to a 5.29 ERA in 34 frames with 5.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9.
- The Yankees announced today that they have outrighted infielder Cole Figueroa to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yanks designated Figueroa, 28, for assignment earlier this week to make room for a series of September call-ups. He went 2-for-8 in a pair of games with New York at the big league level in 2015 but has spent most of the season at Scranton, where he’s batted .291/.361/.368 in 492 PAs. Figueroa can elect minor league free agency this winter.
Injury Notes: Johnson, Scribner, Blanks
Let’s check in on a few injury situations around the league:
- Padres righty Josh Johnson says he’s ready for a rehab assignment, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Johnson has dealt with a variety of health issues, most recently undergoing Tommy John surgery and experiencing several setbacks in his return, and is currently taking part in simulated games. The former top-of-the-rotation hurler is aiming to make it back to the big leagues this year in a relief capacity. Johnson is still just 31, though he’s now far removed from his last effective big league action — a 191 1/3-frame, 3.81 ERA campaign back in 2012. Given his age and ceiling, Johnson will once again be an interesting name to keep an eye on this coming offseason.
- Righty Evan Scribner will miss the rest of the year for the Athletics after being diagnosed with a torn lat muscle, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Scribner, 30, was in the midst of an interesting — albeit ultimately disappointing — 2015 campaign. Though he maintains a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.6 K/9 against 0.6 BB/9, he’s been touched for 14 home runs (22.6% HR/9) in his 60 innings of work. He’s likely to qualify for arbitration as a Super Two after the season, as he’ll have 2.142 years of service on his clock, but could be a non-tender candidate for Oakland.
- Another player who’ll be out the rest of the way due to surgery is Rangers outfielder Kyle Blanks, who will undergo procedures on both of his Achilles tendons, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The 28-year-old has had quite a tough time staying on the field. That’s especially unfortunate since he could have a productive role on a surprising Texas club that could use his right-handed bat. Blanks slashed a strong .313/.352/.522 in 71 plate appearances earlier this year at the major league level. Signed as a minor league free agent after he was non-tendered last winter by the A’s, Blanks will actually be arb-eligible once again. He entered the season having accumulated 5.005 seasons of service, and has added just 159 more since his contract was purchased on April 29th. (Players must reach 172 days to tack on a new season, so Blanks will still be just shy of six total years of service.) Given his injury issues, of course, it seems unlikely that the Rangers will tender him a contract.