Giants Release David Hernandez
The Giants have released veteran righty David Hernandez, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area was among those to report on Twitter. Hernandez asked to be cut loose upon being informed that he would not crack the active roster to start the season.
Hernandez, 31, always faced an uphill battle to make the club with a variety of righties ahead of him in the pecking order. And he didn’t do enough to impress in his 5 2/3 spring frames, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks while recording four strikeouts.
San Francisco took a shot on Hernandez with a minors deal that would have paid him $1.5MM had he made the roster. Last year, with the Phillies, he worked to a 3.84 ERA over 72 2/3 innings. With a 94.0 mph average fastball and 9.9 K/9 on the year, there were some positives, though he also walked 4.0 batters per nine with a meager 37.3% groundball rate while permitting 1.36 home runs per nine.
Giants Release Gordon Beckham
5:05pm: The Giants have officially released Beckham, the club told reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group).
4:10pm: The Giants will release Gordon Beckham from his minor league contract with the club as per Beckham’s request, MLBTR has learned. Beckham originally joined the Giants in a late-September trade with the Braves and re-signed with the club in February, joining a very crowded battle within the Giants’ camp to decide the third base and utility infield jobs.
The 30-year-old Beckham will now look for a clearer opportunity elsewhere with teams in need of infield depth. Most of Beckham’s MLB experience has some at second base dating back to his days as a regular with the White Sox, though he has also seen substantial action at third base over the last three seasons and even some action at short, starting seven games at the position for Atlanta in 2016. Beckham has hit .211/.285/.340 over 516 PA since the start of the 2015 season, though he does own a career .260/.360/.458 slash line coming off the bench (in 114 PA) over his career.
NL West Notes: Morse, Dahl, Rockies, Padres
Mike Morse suffered a hamstring strain that will keep him out of action for at least two weeks, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic). That timeline essentially eliminates Morse’s chances of making the Giants’ Opening Day roster, bringing a sour end to what had been an impressive spring for the veteran. After signing a minor league deal with the Giants this offseason, Morse spoke openly about retirement if he didn’t make the team, though he isn’t yet sure if he’ll now pursue a Triple-A rehab assignment. “If it gets to that point, I’ll think about it, but right now it’s (about) how I feel every day. I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Morse said. With Morse and Mac Williamson both sidelined with injuries, Jarrett Parker is now the clear favorite for the starting left field job and the Giants’ extensive battle for bench jobs has somewhat narrowed.
Here’s more from around the NL West…
- David Dahl is still around 10 days away from resuming baseball activities after an MRI revealed that his right rib was still healing, Rockies manager Bud Black told media (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post). Dahl was revealed to have a stress fracture in his ribcage earlier this month, already leaving him questionable for the start of the season and the latest news should all but confirm Dahl for the 10-day DL come Opening Day. The 22-year-old was expected to be Colorado’s starting left fielder this season, though Gerardo Parra is slated to handle the job in Dahl’s absence.
- Could the Rockies go from arguably the league’s worst bullpen in 2016 to a potentially dominant pen in 2017? Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan thinks it could happen, though Colorado will clearly need a lot of bounce-backs and good health from Adam Ottavino, Greg Holland, and Jake McGee. All three pitchers have high ceilings, however, and with Carlos Estevez, Mike Dunn and others in the mix, the Rockies could make a big turnaround in their relief corps.
- There’s a small, if unlikely, possibility that the Padres will open the season with four catchers on the roster, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes. Austin Hedges is San Diego’s starter behind the plate, and Christian Bethancourt (who is out of options) is being tested out as a hybrid utility player able to catch, play some outfield, and pitch in relief. With Bethancourt being used differently than a normal backup catcher, that opens the door for Rule 5 pick Luis Torrens or Spring Training star Hector Sanchez to receive some playing time.
Giants Hire Barry Bonds As Special Advisor To CEO
The Giants have announced that former superstar Barry Bonds will rejoin the organization as a special advisor to CEO Larry Baer. Most recently, the controversial slugger served as the Marlins’ hitting coach, but the team elected not to continue the relationship past the 2016 season.
Bonds, now 52, spent 15 of his 22 major league seasons in San Francisco. Though he was already a two-time MVP winner when he came over from the Pirates, Bonds only elevated his game in his new environs. All told, he provided the Giants with a mind-boggling .312/.477/.666 batting line and 586 home runs in nearly 2,000 games.
Bonds retired as MLB’s all-time home run leader and unquestionably rates as one of the very best players in history. His legacy, though, has long been clouded by his high-profile role in the game’s sordid PED history. And his playing career didn’t exactly come to a happy conclusion; Bonds slashed a hard-to-fathom .276/.480/.565 in his age-42 season, but didn’t suit up after that point and brought an ultimately unsuccessful collusion case.
As per the Giants’ press release, Bonds “will represent the organization at various community and organizational events in San Francisco.” His duties also involve some baseball-related work, as Bonds will attend the team’s Spring Training camp this week and also work with prospects during visits to the Giants’ minor league affiliates.
“I am excited to be back home with the Giants and join the team in an official capacity,” Bonds said. “San Francisco has always been my home and the Giants will always be my family. I look forward to spending time with the team, young players in the system as well as the Bay Area community.”
Will Smith To Receive Second Opinion After MRI Shows Ligament Concern
Giants reliever Will Smith did not get the news he hoped for after undergoing an MRI last night. GM Bobby Evans told reporters that the scan showed possible ligament damage that will require a second opinion, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area was among those to report via Twitter.
It’s not yet clear whether there’ll be a need for a surgical procedure, and there’s evidently some hope that a rehabilitation approach will be possible, but the team is bracing itself for a significant loss of time. Evans says that “there are things on [the] MRI that didn’t necessarily show up on [the] last MRI,” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (links to Twitter).
Smith, 27, underwent testing earlier in the spring, likely providing a rather clear baseline for the more recent imaging. While he was cleared to resume throwing at that time, the southpaw exited his outing yesterday with renewed elbow pain.
It’s not clear at this point what options are on the table, and we likely won’t know more until Smith’s forthcoming evaluation. There are an increasing variety of possible treatments for UCL injuries, ranging from rehab (sometimes supplemented by platelet-rich plasma and/or stem cell injections) to ligament repair to full-blown ligament replacement (the legendary Tommy John procedure). While the best-case scenario involves a few months’ downtime, the most serious outcome can require more than a year-long layoff — and isn’t always fully successful in allowing a return.
Needless to say, losing the high-quality lefty for any stretch would represent a blow to the Giants’ pen. There are several interesting southpaw fill-in options on the 40-man. Relievers Steven Okert and Josh Osich have each shown their talent at the game’s highest level, and starter Ty Blach could also represent a versatile option.
Will Smith Headed For MRI After Experiencing Elbow Pain
Giants lefty Will Smith is headed for an MRI after leaving today’s outing with pain in his pitching elbow, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters including Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link).
This isn’t the first time that Smith has dealt with elbow problems this spring. In fact, it’s not the first time that he required an MRI this spring, though the first one did come back clean. Smith missed quite a bit of time last year, though that occurred due to a knee injury.
Still, the fact that Smith is again dealing with discomfort isn’t a great sign. And as Pavlovic notes, it make it rather unlikely that the southpaw reliever will be ready for Opening Day, as his prior issue delayed his progression. In fact, today’s appearance was just his second of the spring.
San Francisco added Smith at last year’s trade deadline, giving up righty Phil Bickford and catcher Andrew Susac to control Smith through 2019 via arbitration. The club is paying him $2.5MM this year; Smith earned $1.475MM in 2015 as a Super Two.
Upon joining the Giants, Smith threw 18 1/3 innings of 2.95 ERA ball with 12.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9. He has largely produced quality results ever since a poor rookie stint as a starter. Over the course of the 2016 campaign, though, Smith averaged just 91.9 mph with his four-seamer, about a mile and a half below his prior two seasons. He also dipped to an 11.5% swinging-strike rate after posting a career-best 15.2% rate in the prior year.
While a setback at this time is obviously disappointing, there is a clear glimmer of hope here. Smith reported only similar discomfort to what he had experienced previously, and didn’t experience a “pop.” (Via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle; Twitter links.) The lefty says he hopes it’s just a continuation of that prior issue, adding that he’s “trying not to panic.”
For the Giants, there also now seems likely to be an extra spot open in the Opening Day bullpen. According to Pavlovic, it’s likely that Josh Osich and Steven Okert would both take roster spots, though he adds that Ty Blach could also shift to the pen. Other possible competitors include Michael Roth and Kraig Sitton, notes Pavlovic, while veteran minor-league signee Matt Reynolds is also in camp.
NL West Notes: Padres, Rollins, Ethier
Here’s the latest from the NL West…
- Service time considerations could play a role in the Padres‘ Opening Day roster decisions on Luis Perdomo and Manuel Margot on the Opening Day roster, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Perdomo, a Rule 5 Draft pick last offseason, clocked a full year of MLB service time in 2016, posting a 5.71 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 2.28 K/BB rate and a whopping 59% grounder rate over 146 2/3 innings. Margot, one of the game’s top prospects, had a 12-day cup of coffee in the bigs last season. Keeping both Perdomo and Margot in the minors for a few weeks to begin 2017 would allow the Padres to gain an extra year of control over both players. In Margot’s case, the extra minor league seasoning could be necessary since Margot has missed the last two weeks of camp with a knee injury.
- Jimmy Rollins is off to a slow start in the Giants‘ camp, with just three hits in his first 26 at-bats for an ungainly .113 average. Despite the lack of production thus far, the veteran infielder tells Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group that he isn’t yet feeling a crunch to perform given his non-roster status. “I’d love to start driving some balls. But pressure? No, it’s not pressure. You start doing that, then you’re really starting to go the wrong way,” Rollins said. As Baggarly notes, Rollins’ performance is somewhat difficult to evaluate since he appeared in only 41 games last season and none after June 8, so “the Giants must determine whether Rollins’ lack of results is due to diminished skills or whether he’s a veteran who needs a little extra time to regain his stroke.” Rollins gave no hints as to how he would proceed in his career if he didn’t make the Opening Day roster.
- Andre Ethier will undergo an MRI on his back on Monday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Ethier has been bothered by lower back stiffness over the last two weeks and, since this is an unfamiliar injury for the veteran outfielder, Roberts said the club will “take it slow” in giving Ethier time to recover. Ethier played just 16 games last season due to a broken leg, and he is entering his last guaranteed year under contract with L.A. He needs at least 550 plate appearances for his $17.5MM option to vest for 2018, and while that much playing time may have been questionable anyway given the crowded Dodgers outfield, a significant back injury would certainly put it out of reach.
NL Notes: Cubs, Mets, Pirates, Marlins, Giants
As of now, 38-year-old Cubs right-hander John Lackey doesn’t expect the 2017 season to be his last. “At this point, I think I’m more likely to pitch next year than not pitch,” Lackey told Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. “But we’ll see at the end of the season.” Lackey will be a free agent next winter, and while the Cubs unsurprisingly aren’t ready to commit to bringing him back as a 39-year-old, they’re keeping the door open. “It’s not a decision that you make right now,” said general manager Jed Hoyer. “But certainly we love having him. I think his edge, his swagger is fantastic for our team. And we’re certainly glad that we signed him last winter.” In 2016, the first season of a two-year, $32MM deal, Lackey recorded a 3.35 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 2.53 BB/9 over 188 1/3 frames for the World Series champions.
The latest on four other National League teams:
- All three of the Mets’ fifth starter candidates – Robert Gsellman, Zack Wheeler and Seth Lugo – have fared well this spring, leaving the team with “a pleasant puzzle to solve” by Opening Day, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. “It’s a great problem to have,” manager Terry Collins said. “We came into this camp knowing we have depth in the rotation. We didn’t know where Zack was going to be, but we felt with the other four guys and Robert and Seth, we had some depth here. And they have stepped up and shown us we weren’t wrong.” Wheeler hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2014 because of March 2015 Tommy John surgery, but he ran his fastball up to 97 mph on Wednesday. That “certainly” got the Mets’ attention, Collins noted. It’s possible Wheeler will open the season in extended spring training or the bullpen, though, as the Mets try to limit his workload. Lugo, meanwhile, is “a strong candidate” to begin the year in the bullpen, sources told Puma.
- Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang remains in South Korea, where’s waiting to obtain his United States visa, per Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kang, who received an eight-month suspended prison sentence on March 3 stemming from an offseason DUI in South Korea, is working out on his own, but he hasn’t faced live pitching. “He’s going to need some work, some game at-bats,” GM Neal Huntington told Nesbitt. “We can set up some sim games, we can set up a lot of at-bats for him in a short period of time. But it’s hard to say until we get him here.” Because the Pirates placed Kang on the restricted list last week, he’s not currently occupying a roster spot; further, he won’t receive pay for any regular-season action he might miss.
- Marlins third baseman Martin Prado suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain during Venezuela’s loss to Team USA in the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday and is likely to miss some regular-season time, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. While that’s disappointing, Prado is relieved that he didn’t receive a far worse diagnosis. “I was not sleeping,” he informed Frisaro. “I was like, so worried about myself, worried about the team, worried about the future and everything. After I talked to the doctors, it was a big relief for me.” Until Prado comes back, Miami will turn to Derek Dietrich and Miguel Rojas at the hot corner.
- The Giants entered the spring without a clear No. 1 option in left field, but Jarrett Parker has separated himself from Mac Williamson in the battle for the role, observes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. “Coming into this spring, he knew what was at stake and he’s doing the job,” manager Bruce Bochy said of the 28-year-old Parker, who the skipper believes is “maturing as a hitter” and “playing well on defense, too.” Last season was Parker’s first extensive action in the majors, and he batted an above-average .236/.358/.394 in 151 plate appearances.
Olney’s Latest: Machado, Harper, Tigers, Jays, Giants
Given that Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper are scheduled to reach free agency after the 2018 season, high-payroll teams will spend the next two years deciding the more worthy target, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. With that in mind, Olney polled seven evaluators on which potential $400MM player they’d prefer to sign. Six chose Machado, whom the evaluators regard as a more well-rounded player. “Harper gets credit and gets a huge part of his reputation for how far he hits home runs, but they still only count for one run,” one evaluator told Olney. “Machado is an entire field hitter who hits to the situation. He can hammer majestic homers, but can also do other things to help a team win.”
More from Olney:
- If the Tigers don’t begin the season well, there’s a sense around the majors that they could consider moving the likes of second baseman Ian Kinsler and outfielder J.D. Martinez. Both veterans came up in offseason trade rumors and aren’t under team control for much longer. The 34-year-old Kinsler is controllable for the next two seasons at $21MM, including a $10MM option for 2018. Martinez, 30 in August, will make $11.75MM this year and then become a free agent during the winter. Notably, the slugger suffered a foot injury Saturday and will undergo an MRI on Sunday.
- The Blue Jays “are said to be” in the market for outfield help, per Olney. Toronto is set in center (Kevin Pillar) and right (Jose Bautista), but left is questionable with Steve Pearce, Melvin Upton Jr., Ezequiel Carrera and Dalton Pompey as its in-house options. The top free agent outfielder left on the board is Angel Pagan, whom the Jays are reportedly unlikely to sign. They do have interest in free agent utilityman Kelly Johnson, though he’s primarily an infielder.
- Free agent catcher Derek Norris has a reputation of “sometimes clashing with pitchers,” according to Olney, who notes the 28-year-old will have to overcome that as he searches for his next employer. There are reportedly “about a half-dozen teams” interested in Norris, whom the Nationals released this week after they weren’t able to find a taker in a trade. An acquiring club would have had to take on his $4.2MM salary, of course, whereas signing him should come at a cheaper price.
- There’s concern in Giants camp regarding the play of center fielder Denard Span, who’s not hitting or, to some evaluators, moving well. The 33-year-old fared decently at the plate in 2016 (.266/.331/.381 in 637 trips); however, he’s coming off back-to-back subpar campaigns in the field, during which he combined for minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-13 Ultimate Zone Rating. The Giants owe Span $22MM over the next three years, including a $4MM buyout for 2019.
NL West Notes: Thole, Giants Outfield, Padres, Dodgers
News and rumblings from around the NL West…
- Josh Thole suffered a “significant” hamstring tear that Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo expects will sideline the catcher for the season, Lovullo told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Thole is getting a second opinion on the injury and surgery is a possibility. The veteran catcher was in Arizona’s camp on a minor league deal battling for the backup role, though signs pointed to Thole starting the year at Triple-A.
- While the Giants have many homegrown stars on their roster, the team has been strangely unsuccessful in their attempts to draft and develop everyday outfielders, Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group writes. Marvin Benard (a 50th round pick in 1992), was the last Giants draftee to play as a full-time starting outfielder for more than one season. Part of the issue is that San Francisco has acquired so many notable outfielders in free agency and trades, ranging from Barry Bonds to Hunter Pence. “There are things that you do that de-emphasize young players at those outfield positions,” GM Bobby Evans said. “At the same time, I still think you should require opportunity for these guys to break through. It may be an area where we haven’t emphasized it as much because we’ve had other options from other sources. I just think it’s harder to patient sometimes with outfielders because there are so many other alternatives in terms of the free agent market and trades.” Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson are looking to break the “curse” as the two youngsters battle for the left field job this spring.
- The Padres have so many prospects in camp after their international spending splurge that some players (including highly-touted Cuban lefty Adrian Morejon) have been used in simulated games since they don’t have enough roster space for proper minor league games, ESPN’s Keith Law writes in his latest subscription-only piece. Law provides an in-person analysis of several Padres and Dodgers prospects, with particularly good reviews given to Morejon, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Dodgers righty Walker Buehler.