Josh Johnson To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Padres right-hander Josh Johnson will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow and miss the entire 2014 season, tweets MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
It’s a blow to a Padres pitching staff that was hoping for big things in a rebound campaign for Johnson, though the injury does trigger a $4MM club option that the Padres will now be able to exercise. Due to his extensive injury history, Johnson’s contract — a one-year, $8MM pact — contained language that gave the Padres a $4MM club option were he to make fewer than seven starts in 2014.
Johnson didn’t take the mound for the Padres after signing the deal, as he opened the year on the disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his right arm, which, upon further examination by Dr. James Andrews, led to the recommendation to undergo the Tommy John operation. Johnson becomes the latest in a long line of injured hurlers to undergo the procedure this year, as he is now incredibly the 16th Major League starter to need the operation in 2014 alone.
Despite the loss of Johnson (and fellow Tommy John victim Cory Luebke), San Diego’s rotation has been excellent this season. The quintet of Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy, Eric Stults and Robbie Erlin have combined for a 3.12 ERA (ninth in the Majors) and a 3.26 FIP (fifth in the Majors).
Padres In Active Trade Talks Involving Nick Hundley
The Padres are engaged in active trade discussions regarding catcher Nick Hundley, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hundley, 30, has seen only limited action this year.
Hundley is in the final year of his three-year, $9MM extension, which comes with a $5MM club option for 2015 (no buyout). He has lost playing time to both 25-year-old Yasmani Grandal and journeyman Rene Rivera. With the club facing a looming active roster crunch, it appears that it is testing the market for a player who once was the team’s primary backstop.
Hundley’s best year came in 2011, when he posted a .288/.347/.477 line with 9 home runs in 308 plate appearances. He signed his extension before the following season, but has compiled only a .211/.267/.348 line since. He is, however, off to a solid start in just 21 plate appearances in 2014, with a .333/.333/.619 line.
Several teams could conceivably be interested in adding Hundley, who makes a relatively modest $4MM this year. The fact that he has a risk-free option for next year is also attractive, as it conveys upside if he turns things around. Of course, his recent track record is such that San Diego could need to contribute cash in a trade, if they hope to receive much value in return, as Lin notes.
Padres Acquire Tyler Greene From Braves
The Padres have acquired infielder Tyler Greene from the Braves in exchange for a player to be named later, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
Greene, 30, was playing at Triple-A for the Atlanta organization. He has seen action at the MLB level in each of the last five seasons, though never more than the 116 games he appeared in over the 2012 campaign. For his career, Greene has a .224.289/.356 triple-slash in 746 plate appearances. He has appeared mostly at short and second, but has seen time at every other position on the diamond except the battery.
Minor Moves: Buckner, Martinez, Edlefsen, Carter, Ramirez, Hauser, Scammell
The Padres have sold the contract of Triple-A right-hander Anthony Carter to the Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports (via Twitter). The 28-year-old Carter appeared in just three games for Triple-A El Paso this season, allowing a pair of runs in three innings of work. The former 26th-round draft pick (White Sox) has punched out more than a batter per inning in his minor league career and owns a 4.93 ERA with a 2.51 K/BB ratio in 680 1/3 innings. In addition to the Sox and Padres, he spent the 2013 season — arguably his best year — with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate. In Pawtucket, he posted a 3.47 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings. Here are the rest of today’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Padres have inked righty Billy Buckner to a minor league deal, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. Buckner, 30, has tossed 155 2/3 MLB innings in parts of five MLB seasons, splitting his appearances about evenly between starting and relieving. His lifetime ERA stands at 6.07, and he has averaged 6.4 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 44.7% ground-ball rate.
- Two former big leaguers decided to hang up their spikes rather than continue on at the Triple-A level, according to the PCL transactions page. Joe Martinez of the Angels and Steve Edlefsen of the Dodgers both retired today. The right-handed relievers had both seen relatively minimal MLB action over their professional careers, and were off to rough starts in the season’s early going.
- The Reds have signed right-hander Elvin Ramirez, per Cincinnati’s official transactions page. The 26-year-old struggled in 61 innings with the Angels’ minor league affiliates last season but had a strong 2.13 ERA in 55 innings with the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the Mets in 2012. In 422 2/3 career innings in the minors, the Dominican native has a 4.02 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.
- Right-hander Matt Hauser has signed a minor league deal with the Orioles, according to the team’s transactions page. A former seventh-round pick of the Twins (2010), Hauser enjoyed strong minor league numbers until posting a 5.09 ERA between Double-A and Class-A Advanced last year. The 25-year-old has a career 2.95 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
- The Royals have inked outfielder Cory Scammell to a minor league contract (also via the club’s transactions page). The 20-year-old Canadian was a 35th-round pick of the Mariners in the 2011 draft and spent two seasons with the team’s Rookie-level affiliate, slashing a solid .274/.349/.355 in 358 plate appearances.
West Notes: Padres, A’s, Angels
Jason Lane, a 37-year-old converted outfielder pitching at the Padres‘ Triple-A affiliate, is turning heads early in the season after posting a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings. Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego suggests that Lane could be an option for the big league club if the Padres need to add depth later in the year. “If you took away the age factor, I think people would be really fired up about him,” Padres Farm Director Randy Smith said. “But for us, age is irrelevant because his arm is fresh.” Here’s more out of baseball’s Western divisions …
- Sean Doolittle‘s five-year deal with the Athletics is out of step with Billy Beane’s traditional approach to relief pitching, SBNation’s Steven Goldman says, adding that it’s generally advisable not to go long-term with relievers. However, Doolittle does have his merits, Goldman says, noting his lack of a platoon split and relatively fresh arm. Ultimately, the move may be aimed at saving on arbitration costs if Doolittle starts racking up saves for the A’s as the team’s closer, his article notes. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd offered the same theory in his writeup of the Doolittle deal.
- Albert Pujols doesn’t want to distract his Angels teammates as he nears 500 career home runs, but tells MLB.com that he’s “pretty sure I’m going to be pretty emotional about” reaching the milestone. As MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez notes, Pujols is at 498 total homers after adding his sixth of the season today.
West Notes: Trout, Kazmir, Padres
Mike Trout's extension with the Angels was a compromise, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes. Trout wanted a contract that was either shorter (four years, which would not have delayed his free agency eligibility) or much longer (up to 13 years). The Angels wanted the deal to be between those two numbers, but wanted to sign Trout for longer than the six years they eventually got. Trout's deal still allows him to become a free agent at age 28. Here are more notes from around the West divisions.
- Scott Kazmir says he strongly considered signing with the Astros last offseason before ultimately signing with the Athletics, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Kazmir attended Cypress Falls High School in Houston. "Yeah, it was serious," Kazmir says. "This is a great group of guys that are going to come up together and be a solid organization, a solid team in the big leagues. Definitely had interest." Days after Kazmir picked Oakland instead, the Astros signed Scott Feldman to a three-year deal.
- The Padres were bidders for Cuban middle infielders Erisbel Arruebarrena and Aledmys Diaz, Jeff Sanders of the Union-Tribune writes. Now the Padres are close to a deal with another Cuban player, pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne. The Padres' money from their TV deal has allowed them now only to get involved on players like Arruebarrena and Diaz, but to sign, for example, Josh Johnson and Joaquin Benoit. The Padres also recently signed infielder Jedd Gyorko to a long-term deal.
Padres Notes: Gyorko, Headley, Cashner
Here are a few notes on the Padres, who opened the day a full three games back of the division-leading Dodgers and Giants in the National League West:
- The Pads have been one of the few MLB teams to have been burned by early-career extensions in recent years, notes Dave Cameron in a piece for FOX Sports. One issue — putting aside the injury and performance issues that have cropped up — is that San Diego has made several of its bets on players whose expected future market value (through arbitration and free agency) was simply not that high. That, in turn, limited the amount of upside (in terms of cost savings) that the team could realize through those contracts. The team's recent extension of Jedd Gyorko, Cameron argues, is of the same ilk: he is not a high-average hitter or stolen base threat, and his power is less impressive if he plays at third in the future. Cameron opines that, while the deal is not necessarily a bad contract, the team still took on significant risk without getting a real chance at landing a "huge bargain."
- Current third baseman Chase Headley, meanwhile, reportedly turned down his chance at a new deal, and looks destined for the open market at the end of the season. MLB.com's Corey Brock noted that Headley had told him late in the spring that he "just [didn't] think it was ever the right time" to strike an extension. "There's enough ground in between us to where it wasn't going to work out right now," Headley said. "We just couldn't find that common ground." As Brock explains, the likely options now for San Diego look to be a trade, qualifying offer after the year, or another run at a contract. Headley addressed the QO himself with Brock: "We weighed that [in discussions with the team] and it's not a great system for the player. You have to play six full seasons just to get to free agency. … When you get to that point in your career, I don't think it's necessarily fair to have this one shot at free agency affected by that. At some point, someone is going to take one of those." Of course, Headley added that accepting the QO is "not a bad way to go" because "that's a pretty big number for one year."
- Staff ace Andrew Cashner is showing signs that he could be developing into a true ace, writes Scott Miller for FOX Sports San Diego. Acquired from the Cubs in exchange for young slugger Anthony Rizzo, in what was a bold trade for both clubs, the 27-year-old has made clear that he wants and expects to be a dominant force. "I definitely want a no-hitter," said Cashner, calling it "one of my goals." Indeed, he has looked capable of that recently. Cashner has allowed just 10 hits and three earned runs through his first 21 innings (over three starts) in 2014, striking out 9.4 against 3.0 free passes per nine while holding opposing hitters to a .363 OPS. After re-discovering his slider last year, Cashner worked to a 2.14 ERA in the second half. As he plays out his first arb-eligible season, the big righty looks like a prime extension candidate in his own right.
NL Notes: Johnson, Cubs, Bradley
ESPN.com's Jim Bowden took a look back (Insider link) at his free agent predictions to see where he hit and missed. Most of his accurate guesses came on players who signed early, while the opposite holds true of those that he was off on. By far the biggest difference among actual and estimated deals came with Ervin Santana, who Bowden had tabbed for a five-year, $75MM deal but ultimately signed for a lower AAV and just one season.
As we join the rest of the game in celebrating the legacy of Dodgers great Jackie Robinson, here's more from the National League:
- Padres starter Josh Johnson, who is struggling to overcome a right forearm strain, will visit Dr. James Andrews for an assessment, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock. According to a report from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the team is increasingly concerned that Johnson may require his second Tommy John surgery. GM Josh Byrnes said that, at this point, he is "not sure" if Johnson will be able to throw for the club this year, but that the team hopes to "know more next week." Johnson's one-year, $8MM deal with San Diego includes a conditional $4MM club option for next year that is triggered if the righty makes less than seven starts.
- With a farm system full of top-end talent in the field, the Cubs are focused on adding to a group of arms that may be too lightly regarded, writes Gordon Wittenmyer for Baseball America. "Our arms are probably a little bit underrated," said president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. "That said, we need at least twice as many of them as we have now. But I think we’ve done a nice job through the last couple drafts and, especially, through some trades adding to that reserve." But that does not mean that Epstein is content with the talent he has brought together. "We need to keep pounding it," he said. "Every trade we make, we try to get an arm. Every time we have a draft pick, we look closely at the best available arm who we can add to the organization."
- Meanwhile, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said today that the team is focused on upgrading Wrigley Field rather than taking a shot at a suburban ballpark, even if that might be more financially advantageous, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). He also said that the club was focusing on the overall development of its international prospects, not just teaching basic English but working to address broader educational needs.
- Addressing the recent comments by the agent of top pitching prospect Archie Bradley, Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers made clear that he had no intentions of being influenced, as MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports (Twitter links). "We're going to run our business and not let anybody else dictate how we do our business," said Towers. "I'm a straight shooter, too," he added. "If we felt at the start of the season that this guy was ready he would have been here."
Padres Offered Headley Three Years, $33-39MM In Offseason
The Padres extended one infielder yesterday when they locked up Jedd Gyorko through the 2019 season for a total of $35MM, and today, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports shines some light on San Diego's efforts to do the same with another of their infielders this past offseason. According to Heyman, the Padres offered third baseman Chase Headley a three-year extension worth $33-39MM. The deal would have gone into effect beginning in 2015, bringing Headley's four-year guarantee to a maximum of $49.525MM (Headley is earning $10.525MM in 2014).
The two sides are said to be nowhere close to finding a middle ground, writes Heyman, which isn't particularly surprising considering the fact that just one year ago, the Padres were prepared to make Headley an offer that would make him the highest-paid player in franchise history (topping Jake Peavy's $52MM guarantee). Headley, however, responded by stating that he didn't wish to dicuss contractual matters during the season.
At the time of the report, I speculated on Headley's chances at earning $100MM or more. Coming off a .286/.376/.498 season in which he belted 31 homers with 17 steals and elite defense, there seemed to be a case. Headley regressed to a still-solid batting line of .250/.347/.400 this past season (116 OPS+, 113 wRC+) and played his typically strong defense, but that platform year is far less enticing for a club than his MVP-caliber 2012 season. Headley and his agents at Excel Sports Management likely want to be compensated based on something closer to his ceiling (i.e. 2012), while the Padres look to be trying to leverage his decreased production into financial savings — a logical and understandable stance for each side.
A big year for Headley could persuade the Padres to up their offer, but they'd be doing so with Headley's first run through free agency nigh, and other, deeper-pocketed teams may be willing to outspend to secure the switch-hitter's service. Headley said earlier in Spring Training that he wasn't planning on discussing his contract until after the season. He's said in the past that his preference is to remain in San Diego, but the prospect of free agency may alter that thinking when the time comes in six months. Even without a return to his 2012 peak, Headley figures to be one of the most sought-after free agents on next year's open market.
Padres Extend Jedd Gyorko
5:03pm: MLB.com's Corey Brock explains the reasoning behind announcing the contract as a six-year deal despite only adding five new years (Twitter link). Though Gyorko's 2014 salary remains unchanged, there is language in the deal which adds both insurance and benefits to Gyorko's 2014 contract.
3:48pm: The Padres have locked up one of their infielders for years to come, but it isn't the one whose extension status has grabbed the most headlines over the past couple of years; San Diego announced today a six-year extension for second baseman Jedd Gyorko that will keep the ACES client in San Diego through the 2019 season and contains a club option for the 2020 season.
Gyorko's deal appears to be a six-year extension in name only, as the reported breakdown of his contract doesn't include a change to his previously agreed upon 2014 salary. He will earn $2MM in 2015, $4MM in 2016, $6MM in 2017, $9MM in 2018 and $13MM in 2019 before the Padres have the option of retaining him for $13MM for 2020 or paying him a $1MM buyout. Gyorko's deal also reportedly contains escalators that pertain to the option year, meaning the value of that option could rise over the course of the deal.
"We are happy to sign Jedd and secure the rights to two free agent years," said general manager Josh Byrnes in the press release issued to announce the deal. "Jedd is a homegrown player in his fifth season with the Padres organization and has been a consistent performer every step of the way. He has shown us a real commitment to this organization and to the city of San Diego."
Gyorko, 25, had a solid rookie season in which he batted .249/.301/.444 with 23 homers in 525 plate appearances. That effort, which was more impressive than it would appear at first glance due to his pitcher-friendly home stadium, was enough to earn him a sixth-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
A natural third baseman, Gyorko has moved over to second base in San Diego due to the presence of Chase Headley at the hot corner for the Friars. Advanced defensive metrics both felt that he did an admirable job there, with The Fielding Bible's Defensive Runs Saved pegging him at -1 runs, while Ultimate Zone Rating estimated that he saved 1.8 runs per 150 games. That defensive flexibility is crucial for the Padres, who could lose Headley to free agency at season's end. Should that happen, Byrnes will have the freedom to pursue both second base and third base options to fill the void, knowing that Gyorko can handle whichever position is not filled by a potential new addition.
The Padres already controlled Gyorko through the 2018 season via the arbitration process, so the Padres have effectively secured an additional two years of control over Gyorko (though only one is guaranteed). His contract is the largest signed by a second baseman with between one and two years of service time, though not the largest deal ever for a player in that service class. Andrelton Simmons, Ryan Braun and Anthony Rizzo have topped that figure. Regardless, that is an impressive group of peers for the slugging infielder to join.
Byrnes isn't shy about pursuing extensions for his young players, though a few of them have gone awry due to injuries in recent years. As can be seen via MLBTR's Extension Tracker, the Padres have recently extended Cameron Maybin (five years, $25MM), Cory Luebke (four years, $12MM), Carlos Quentin (three years, $30MM), Nick Hundley (three years, $9MM), Huston Street (two years, $14MM), Will Venable (two years, $8.5MM) and Chris Denorfia (two years, $4.25MM).
ESPN's Buster Olney was the first to report the deal (via Twitter), with ESPN's Keith Law adding (via Twitter) that it was a six-year deal with a seventh-year option. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added that the deal ran 2015-19 with a club option, and Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reported the $35MM guarantee and $13MM option value (Twitter links). ESPN's Jayson Stark tweeted about the escalators, with Cotillo adding that they applied only to the option year. Jeff Passan of Yahoo sports reported the year-to-year breakdown (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.