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West Notes: Jones, Felix, Gerson, Skaggs, Adell

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There wasn’t much news on Adam Jones’ market this winter, though ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that the Giants and other teams were interested in the veteran outfielder earlier this winter at a price tag of around $2MM-$3MM on a one-year contract.  Jones was looking for more at the start of the offseason, though ultimately landed a contract in that range, agreeing to a one-year, $3MM deal (with $2MM more available in incentives) with the Diamondbacks.  The Giants were a logical suitor for Jones given their unsettled outfield, and San Francisco ended up landing a number of veteran outfielders (Gerardo Parra, Cameron Maybin, Craig Gentry) to minor league contracts, rather than give Jones a guaranteed Major League deal.  Given the timing, it seems like the Giants decided to move on from Jones rather than wait to see if his price dropped.

Here’s more from the western half of the baseball map…

  • Felix Hernandez is entering the last season of his seven-year, $175MM contract, and while the veteran righty obviously won’t receive anything close to that salary in his next contract, it increasingly seems like it will be his last year altogether with the Mariners.  As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times puts it, “neither side seems interested in continuing the relationship” beyond 2019, creating the possibility of an awkward exit for one of the franchise’s greatest players.  After injuries hampered Hernandez’s effectiveness in 2016-17, the 32-year-old suffered through the worst season of his career in 2018, posting a 5.55 ERA over 155 2/3 innings.  As a result, Hernandez has been dropped to the fifth spot in Seattle’s rotation, thus ending his streak of 10 consecutive Opening Day starts.  There appears to be some hard feelings on Hernandez’s part about missing the opener, admitting to reporters that he was upset about the decision, though adding “I’ve got no comment to that,” when asked to give further details.
  • Mariners rookie right-hander Gerson Bautista left today’s game after suffering an injury to his upper arm and/or pectoral muscle.  (MLB.com’s Greg Johns was among those to report the details.)  There’s no word yet on the severity of the injury, though Bautista left the mound in visible discomfort.  Bautista was part of the trade package acquired from the Mets as part of the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade, and the 23-year-old has been making a good case to win a bullpen job during an impressive spring.
  • Top Angels prospect Jo Adell will be out of action for 10-12 weeks after suffering both a Grade-2 right ankle sprain and a Grade-1 left hamstring strain, the team announced (Twitter link).  Adell was a consensus top-14 prospect in preseason top-100 rankings, with Baseball Prospectus going as far as to rank Adell as the second-best prospect in all of baseball.  The outfielder was expected to begin the year at Double-A, though Adell will now be force to miss a a big chunk of his third pro season.
  • Tyler Skaggs missed today’s scheduled Cactus League outing due to forearm fatigue, Angels manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group).  As worrisome as any forearm issue is for a pitcher with Skaggs’ Tommy John history, the injury doesn’t appear to be too serious — Skaggs merely overworked himself while experimenting with a new pitch.  An MRI revealed no problems, and Skaggs is expected to be back on the mound in a few days’ time.  (A follow-up tweet from Fletcher even showed a picture of Skaggs playing catch after his start was shelved.)

NL Notes: Mets, Alonso, Giants, Rodriguez, Nats, Nuno

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A quick look around the National League…

  • Renowned for his offensive ability, Mets first base prospect Pete Alonso has lived up to the billing this spring with a  .423/.464/.885 line and three home runs over 26 exhibition at-bats. But it’s the 24-year-old’s defense which has truly raised manager Mickey Callaway’s eyebrows, per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. “I kind of knew the offense was going to be somewhat special. So for me, the defense and how locked in to a game he is every day (is surprising),” said Callaway, who added, “All the little things that it takes to be a quality major-league player, he’s doing them on defense.” A consensus top 100 prospect, Alonso is competing with Dominic Smith, who was a touted farmhand not long ago, for the Mets’ starting job at first. Smith has also raked this spring (.435/.500/.609 in 23 ABs), and it could help his cause that New York would gain an extra year of control over Alonso by sending him back to the minors until mid-April. The Mets, however, have insisted service time won’t play a role in whether Alonso lands an Opening Day roster spot.
  • After enjoying a stunningly effective rookie year in 2018, Giants right-hander Dereck Rodriguez has earned a place in the team’s season-opening rotation, manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). Bochy noted that he hasn’t set the entire quintet in stone yet, but as Shea points out, Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija, Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz look like locks to accompany Rodriguez in the starting five. Rodriguez was arguably the best member of the group last season, when he turned in a 2.81 ERA/3.74 FIP with 6.77 K/9 and 2.74 BB/9 in 118 1/3 innings (21 appearances, 19 starts).
  • Left-hander Vidal Nuno’s minor league contract with the Nationals includes opt-out chances on March 27 and June 15, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports. Thanks in part to the Nationals’ release of fellow lefty Sammy Solis on Saturday, Nuno’s chances of cracking their 25-man roster by one of those dates have seemingly improved, Dougherty observes. Further, the 31-year-old Nuno has gained an important fan in manager Dave Martinez, who said Saturday: “From what I’ve seen, he’s got a multitude of pitches that he can get people out with. I mean lefties, righties, he’s not afraid of pitching in. I like him. His presence on the mound is good. He attacks the strike zone. I really like what I see so far.”

NL Notes: Darvish, Beede, McNeil

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The latest from the Senior Circuit…

  • It’s a big year for Cubs righty Yu Darvish, as The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney explores in an in-depth look at the Japanese star.  Darvish “didn’t feel any power in [his] body” last season, easily the nadir in the righty’s decorated seven-year MLB career thus far. The righty’s season-long search for the root of his struggles came to a head in August, when he was ultimately diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right elbow. Limited to just 8 starts last season, Darvish claims to be flinging the “best stuff of his life” in early Cactus League-play, and his coterie of Cub teammates and coaches agree: “He’s been almost a different person this year,” manager Joe Maddon said. “We all know him. He knows us better. Definitely the self-confidence level seems to be soaring a bit right now. I just think the familiarity with the whole group matters to him, plus he’s healthy. All those factors are pointing the needle in the right direction right now.” Peak performances refrains are all too familiar in Spring Training, but a forthright Darvish may just be the weight that tips the scales in favor of Chicago in this season’s brutal NL Central.
  • Giants righty Tyler Beede, who’s had difficulty harnessing a high-octane arsenal since spurning a huge Toronto offer as a first-round selection in the 2012 draft, may finally be turning the corner, writes Grant Brisbee of The Athletic. The Vanderbilt product, who overhauled his scintillating repertoire at the behest of the old Giants regime, turning himself into a sinker/command guy who sought soft contact, has gone back to his roots: a hard four-seam/overhand curve mix that’s baffled Cactus League hitters thus far. Technology implemented by the new, data-conscious staff under GM Farhan Zaidi (who singled out the righty in an early-spring media chat) appears to have been the catalyst, and the 25-year-old Beede is all ears. Beede’s eventual role remains unclear – there’s talk of him breaking camp with the club as a reliever – but he’s again a name to watch by the bay.
  • Mets IF/OF Jeff McNeil will split time between third base and left field for the remainder of spring, per manager Mickey Callaway (via the NY Daily News’ Deesha Thosar). McNeil, 27 next month, was a virtual non-prospect before mashing his way to the big leagues in 2018: once there, he impressed further, slashing .329/.381/.471 over 248 late-season plate appearances. Much of McNeil’s big-league time came at second base last season, but the lefty has seen time at seven different positions over a six-year minor league career. Veterans Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier are still shelf-ridden, with no concrete timetable for a return, so an opening-day spot at the hot corner appears increasingly likely for the feel-good story of last season.

Tigers To Acquire Cameron Rupp From Giants

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The Tigers have struck a deal to acquire veteran backstop Cameron Rupp from the Giants, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Cash considerations will go back in return.

Rupp had signed on with the San Francisco organization in early December. He was among several competitors for a reserve job at the MLB level but evidently was not likely to earn a nod. Rene Rivera, Stephen Vogt, and Aramis Garcia are all still competing to back up Buster Posey.

It doesn’t seem particularly likely that Rupp will break camp with the Tigers, either. The team appears to be set with Grayson Greiner and John Hicks at the MLB level and already has veterans Bobby Wilson and Hector Sanchez in camp, though the deal could suggest that there’s a desire to take a look at alternatives.

Rupp has never been valued particularly for his defensive chops and doesn’t reach base at a very appealing rate. But he does have over a thousand MLB plate appearances under his belt and is a nice source of power for a backstop.

Farhan Zaidi On Giants’ Outfield Situation

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Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed his team’s outfield situation in the wake of the team’s failed pursuit of Bryce Harper. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Zaidi won’t be rushing out in search of a replacement star.

The Giants’ pursuit of Harper, while clearly genuine, was not premised upon a need to boost the 2019 roster. The club hopes to be competitive in the coming season — Zaidi reiterated the point again today — but obviously also understands it isn’t terribly likely to field a playoff team.

Having missed out, Zaidi says, “the Plan B really takes place over 12 years, not just a couple of days.” In the near-term, the club will be able to engage in “continued pursuit of some guys in the trade or free-agent market [that] probably would’ve been precluded” in the event of a Harper deal.

What might the club be looking for? The preference is for a right-handed hitter, says Zaidi, perhaps reflecting the fact that both Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra appear likely to crack the roster as left-handed-hitting outfield pieces. Veteran free agent Adam Jones makes some potential sense, though Zaidi says that trade scenarios appear more likely at this point.

Guessing at trade targets is difficult, since roster battles are still taking shape and other moves could drive the final decisions. Zaidi says he anticipates exploring roster changes right up through the end of camp, so it seems he’s ready to wait out the market if needed.

Cameron Maybin Arrested On DUI Charge

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Outfielder Cameron Maybin, in camp with the Giants as a non-roster invitee, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol last Friday, according to ABC 15 News, citing a Scottsdale police report. Per the report, Maybin was arrested at 2:43am with a .127 blood-alcohol content, which is north of the legal limit of .08. Maybin was cooperative when arrested, officers noted within their report. Maybin has since appeared in multiple games for the Giants. The team issued a statement today indicating that it is “aware and monitoring the situation.”

The 31-year-old Maybin, signed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training back in February, had hoped to secure a spot in a thin Giants outfield mix. Currently, San Francisco has Steven Duggar, Mac Williamson, Austin Slater, Chris Shaw and Rule 5 pick Drew Ferguson as options on the 40-man roster. Gerardo Parra, Craig Gentry, John Andreoli and Mike Gerber are among the Giants’ non-roster options, in addition to Maybin.

Giants CEO Larry Baer Taking Leave Of Absence

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March 4: The Giants announced Monday that Baer is taking a leave of absence. The team issued the following statement on the matter:

The Board of Directors of San Francisco Baseball Associates is closely monitoring the matter involving Giants President and CEO Larry Baer. Pursuant to League policy, Major League Baseball is taking the lead in gathering all facts surrounding the situation. The organization is cooperating fully with the process. Mr. Baer has acknowledged that his behavior was unacceptable, apologized to the organization and is committed to taking steps to make sure that this never happens again. He has also requested, and the Board has accepted, his request to take personal time away from the Giants beginning today. The Board has asked the Giants executive team to manage the day to day operations of the Club during this period, reporting directly to the Board. As leaders in the community, we at the Giants hold ourselves to the highest standards and those standards will guide how we consider this matter moving forward. We have no further comment at this time.

March 1, 9:11pm: Pam Baer has also released a secondary statement through her attorney, detailing the incident: “I would like to clarify the events of today. My husband and I had an argument in public about which we are quite embarrassed. I took his cellphone. He wanted it back and I did not want to give it back. I started to get up and the chair I was sitting in began to tip. Due to an injury I sustained in my foot three days ago, I lost my balance. I did not sustain any injury based on what happened today. Larry and I always have been and still are happily married.”

8:03pm: Larry Baer has released another statement, as per a Giants press release: “I am truly sorry for the pain that I have brought to my wife, children and to the organization. It is not reflective of the kind of a person that I aspire to be, but it happened and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that I never behave in such an inappropriate manner again.”

4:57pm: Giants chief executive officer Larry Baer was involved in an altercation with Pam Baer, his wife, earlier today at a downtown San Francisco public plaza, Matthias Gafni and Evan Sernoffsky of the San Francisco Chronicle report.  Video of the incident was captured by a bystander, and was made public by TMZ Sports (links to the video are included in the Chronicle’s piece).

Both of the Baers commented on the situation to the Chronicle.  Pam Baer described the incident as, “We were having a family fight about someone in my family and that’s it.”  Larry Baer went into slightly more detail, saying “My wife and I had an unfortunate public argument related to a family member and she had an injured foot and she fell off her chair in the course of the argument. The matter is resolved. It was a squabble over a cell phone. Obviously, it’s embarrassing.”

Through the Giants, the couple also released a joint statement to the media: “Regrettably today we had a heated argument in public over a family matter. We are deeply embarrassed by the situation and have resolved the issue.”

The league weighed in on the matter in another statement, saying “Major League Baseball is aware of the incident and, just like any other situation like this, will immediately begin to gather the facts. We will have no further comment until this process is completed.”  Larry Baer (like all MLB owners, players, and personnel) is subject to the joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy introduced by Major League Baseball and the players’ union in 2015.

California Notes: Giants, Baer, A’s, Lucroy, Angels, Dodgers

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A few items from the Golden State…

  • Giants officials have taken time this weekend to discuss how to proceed with CEO Larry Baer, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. After Baer was involved in a public altercation with his wife on Friday, it’s possible the Giants will have him temporarily give up day-to-day control of the franchise and replace him with an in-house executive, Schulman suggests. That would enable the Giants to go forth with their business as Baer deals with whatever consequences may come his way. As of now, though, the Giants haven’t made a decision, per Schulman.
  • Catcher Jonathan Lucroy fit in well among the Athletics’ players and coaches last year, but the A’s didn’t show much interest in re-signing him during the offseason, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. While the two sides held talks in free agency, the A’s never approached the $3.5MM offer he accepted from the Angels, Slusser reports. With Lucroy now a member of a division rival, the A’s are down to the unspectacular Josh Phegley and Chris Herrmann as the only catchers on their 40-man roster. The club did add veteran Nick Hundley on a minor league deal, though, and well-regarded prospect Sean Murphy could debut in 2019.
  • Lucroy’s new team is dealing with some mild injury concerns, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes. The Angels scratched southpaw Andrew Heaney (elbow inflammation) and Zack Cozart (left calf tightness) from Sunday’s game because of their issues. This is the second straight spring with elbow inflammation for Heaney, who started last season on the injured list because of it. However, the 27-year-old doesn’t think the inflammation is as serious this time, and it wasn’t much of a detriment in 2018 – after all, Heaney did go on to throw a team-high 180 innings during the regular season. Similarly, Cozart’s injury seems minor, though it’s not what the team wants to see as he begins the second season of a three-year, $38MM contract. Cozart fell flat over 253 plate appearances last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in late June.
  • Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register provides updates on injured Dodgers stars Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager, tweeting that both players are progressing in their recoveries. Kershaw, who has battled shoulder problems this spring, came out of Sunday’s throwing session unscathed. And Seager will play in a game Monday for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last April. It’s a “significant step forward” for the standout shortstop, Plunkett notes.

Giants Claim Merandy Gonzalez

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Per a team release, the Giants have claimed righty Merandy Gonzalez off outright waivers from Miami.

Gonzalez, 23, flashed electric stuff as a fast-rising arm in the Mets system before being shipped to Miami in a 2017 deadline deal for A.J. Ramos. The righty has worked primarily as a starter in a six-year minor-league career, but moved to the bullpen upon promotion to the big club last summer. In 22 IP for the Fish last season, Gonzalez posted a 7.77 K/9 against 3.27 BB/9 in a number of long-relief stints. His early-season work for AAA-New Orleans in the PCL was mostly uninspiring: the hurler struggled to miss bats, perpetuating a troubling trend from the previous season, and exhibited mostly-shaky command throughout.

FanGraphs, which rated Gonzalez 26th in its latest update of the Marlins system, lauds Gonzalez’s fastball/curveball mix, which both feature “nasty” natural movement, but note that his command lags well behind his control; the righty, it seems, isn’t very effective when facing a lineup for the second or third time.

If he sticks on the San Fran 40-man, Gonzalez could compete for the last spot in a deep Giant bullpen, especially if the club decides to dangle lefties Will Smith and Tony Watson as late-spring bait. Travis Bergen, Steven Okert, Fernando Abad, Pat Venditte, Trevor Gott, and Sam Coonrod comprise the bulk of the remaining hurlers in the mix, so perhaps Gonzalez’s status as a swingman could tilt in the odds in his favor.

Quick Hits: Borbon, Holt, BoSox, Wieters, Posey

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Former Major League outfielder Julio Borbon announced his retirement today, via a post on his Instagram page thanking the many people who supported him throughout his 12 professional seasons.  The Rangers chose Borbon with the 35th overall pick of the 2007 draft, and the University Of Tennessee product went on to amass 294 games and 878 plate appearances for the Rangers, Cubs, and Orioles in parts of five MLB seasons between 2009-16.  Now that his playing career is over, Borbon is staying in the game as a coach in the Yankees organization.  MLBTR wishes Borbon all the best in this new phase of his baseball career.

  • Brock Holt is eligible for free agency after the 2019 season, but the Red Sox super-utilityman tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that he “would love to stay here for the rest of my career — I’m happy here, my family’s happy here, I love everything about being a Boston Red Sox.”  Holt’s versatility has made him an important depth piece for the Sox, capable of filling in at multiple positions and also providing some decent production at the plate; Holt’s .362 OBP and .411 slugging percentage last season were both career bests.  There’s certainly value available for Boston in keeping Holt, and an extension would hardly break the bank (Holt is earning $3.575MM this season).  The Red Sox have been discussing extensions with some higher-profile names this spring, which could explain why the team hasn’t yet approached Holt or his representatives about a new deal.
  • The Cardinals were the only team that made Matt Wieters an offer this winter, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets, which is why the veteran catcher signed on with St. Louis on a minor league deal.  Wieters is far from the only veteran who had a tough time finding work in the quiet free agent market, and the former four-time All-Star’s value took a severe hit following three consecutive subpar years with the Orioles and Nationals.  While Wieters had to settle for a non-guaranteed deal, he at least has a solid shot at winning the job as Yadier Molina’s backup.
  • Buster Posey appeared in his first Spring Training game today, catching three innings and generally looking in good condition following last August’s hip surgery.  “It would have been nice to maybe ease into it a little bit but it was also nice to check off some more boxes, and we’ll see how my body responds tomorrow and Sunday.  Overall I was really happy with the way it felt,” Posey told reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.  Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi indicated earlier this month that the team would bring Posey along carefully in his recovery process, though the catcher seems to be making a case to appear in the Giants’ Opening Day lineup.
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