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Quick Hits: Peavy, Orioles, Healy, Dombrowski

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Jake Peavy is planning to return to baseball, and is aiming to throw in a scouting showcase around May 1, Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller writes.  The timing of the showcase is due to his son Jacob’s school schedule, an example of how Peavy’s family life took priority over his career last year in the wake of a tumultuous 2016.  Peavy dealt with the dual stresses of a divorce and losing $15MM-$20MM of his money to a financial advisor who faced a lawsuit from the the Securities and Exchange Commission for misappropriating funds from Peavy and other clients.  Peavy stepped away from the game in 2017 to deal with both matters and spend time with his four children, and he is now ready to attempt a comeback to wrap up his career on a happier note.

Here’s more from around baseball….

  • Now that the Orioles have avoided arbitration with Kevin Gausman, the team has settled all its offseason arbitration business, allowing Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun to calculate how much the O’s may have left to spend this offseason.  With roughly $121.2MM now on the books for 2018, the Orioles have over $43MM in available payroll space assuming they’re willing to spend as much as they did last season.  That, of course, is no given, since the team hasn’t gotten much in return from recent big expenditures, and have now gained some financial relief now that some big contracts (i.e. Ubaldo Jimenez, J.J. Hardy, Chris Tillman, Wade Miley) have expired.  Still, the O’s have some major needs that need to be addressed, most notably in the starting rotation.
  • Newly-acquired Mariners first baseman Ryon Healy has been bothered by an offseason hand injury and received further tests today, manager Scott Servais told the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish and other media.  The seriousness of the injury isn’t yet known, though rather the problem’s rather uncertain nature is certainly a concern to an M’s team that was positioning Healy as its first baseman of the future.  Dan Vogelbach and Mike Ford are internal options at the position, plus several free agent options are available if Healy was sidelined for a significant amount of time.
  • The Red Sox are continuing to monitor the market for outfielders, as Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne and NBCSports.com’s Evan Drellich), and they haven’t given any type of deadline to J.D. Martinez or other free agents for signing with the team.  Dombrowski admitted that the team intended to have more lineup options in place by this point (“From a positional player perspective, no, that wasn’t, per se, our plan“) but noted that even a normal offseason is hard to predict, and this winter’s free agent freeze has made things particularly unusual.  The lack of free agent activity has led to more trade talks, Dombrowski said, as teams are trying to prepare themselves if and when any of these free agents eventually come off the board.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/14/18

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The latest minor moves from around the game….

Newest moves

  • The Mariners have agreed to sign outfielder Junior Lake to a minor league deal, the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish reports.  Manager Scott Servais said that Lake’s deal contains an invitation to their big league Spring Training camp, and the contract will be official once Lake passes a physical.  Lake, who turns 28 next month, hit .235/.278/.376 over 703 plate appearances with the Cubs, Orioles, and Blue Jays from 2013-16, and he played for the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate and in the Mexican League last season.

Earlier today

  • The Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Daniel Robertson to a minor league deal, according to Baseball Prospectus Kansas City’s David Lesky (Twitter link).  Robertson, 32, has a .262/.314/.328 slash line over 386 career plate appearances in the big leagues, with four different clubs since 2014.  He most recently played for the Indians, appearing in 32 games for Cleveland last season.
  • The Rays have signed right-hander J.D. Martin to a minors deal, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Martin tossed 125 innings for the Nationals as a starter in 2009-10 but hasn’t been back to the majors since, with stints in Korea and independent baseball as well as the affiliated minor leagues.  Rosenthal notes that Martin, who turned 35 last month, is trying to recast himself as a knuckleballer.

David Phelps Hires Jet Sports Management

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Mariners righty David Phelps has hired Jet Sports Management to represent him, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Phelps was one of several MLB players that was left searching for a new agency after parting ways with Jason Wood and Career Sports Entertainment. Wood was fired by CSE and suspended by the MLBPA following allegations of misconduct against his own clients.

The 31-year-old Phelps has already avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $5.55MM deal with the M’s. But he’ll soon be in need of further negotiating assistance, as he’s slated to reach the open market at season’s end.

Phelps’s future earnings outlook is rather unclear at present. Notably, Phelps made only ten appearances in Seattle following a mid-season swap. His 2017 season ended with elbow surgery, perhaps removing any possibility that Phelps might return to the rotation, though the hope is that Phelps will be ready for a full 2018 campaign.

So long as Phelps can return to health, there’s good reason to think he’ll be one of the most sought-after set-up men on the market next winter. Since the start of the 2016 season, after all, he has thrown 142 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball with 11.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Phelps has a background as a starter, making him a potential multi-inning weapon.

As always, you can keep tabs on the latest agency movement with MLBTR’s Agency Database.

West Notes: Giles, Cruz, Mariners, Avila, Iannetta

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The Astros’ arbitration hearing with right-hander Ken Giles is taking place today in Phoenix, reports Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The team submitted a $4.2MM salary figure for Giles, who countered with a $4.6MM proposal. While the $400K difference between those sums will likely seem trivial to most fans, it’s worth remembering that the salary set today will impact the raises that Giles receives in his next two trips through the arb process. Furthermore, teams are ever cognizant of not inflating the future arbitration market by making too many concessions and often feel a responsibility to take a firm negotiation stance. I spoke with a few different assistant GMs and GMs on the matter a few years back in a lengthier exploration of arbitration from the team vantage point, for those interested in some of the intricacies of the process.

A few more notes on some teams in the game’s Western divisions…

  • Looking to add a bit of versatility to his repertoire, Mariners designated hitter/outfielder Nelson Cruz revealed that he’s been working out at first base this offseason (Instagram link). Seattle already acquired Ryon Healy from the A’s in hopes that the young slugger can hold down their first base spot for years to come, but Cruz could conceivably see some time there when Healy needs a day off or in the event of an injury.
  • Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times takes a lengthy, comprehensive look at the Mariners’ bottom-ranked farm system (by Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law). Divish’s column has extensive quotes from GM Jerry Dipoto, director of player development Andy McKay and a pair of scouts from other clubs, each weighing in on Seattle’s lack of depth. Dipoto, as he has in the past, indicates that his front office has elected to use the bulk of its prospect depth to acquire MLB assets such as Healy, Mitch Haniger, Ben Gamel, Dee Gordon and Jean Segura. The rival scouts are critical of the system, with one calling it “barren.” However, they didn’t condemn the actions of the Dipoto-led front office as unwise. “It wasn’t a very good system when he got here so you use what you can to build for the big league and then down,” a scout from an AL club tells Divish. “I see their vision. They’ve traded a lot of midrange prospects, but you can’t replenish them as quickly as they’ve traded them off and that affects depth.”
  • The Diamondbacks’ signing of Alex Avila over Chris Iannetta (at a near-identical price) came down to simple timing, GM Mike Hazen tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The D-backs, according to Piecoro, made a two-year, $4MM offer to Iannetta before he signed for slightly more than twice that with the Rockies, but that came back in early December. Arizona wasn’t ready to make an $8MM+ commitment at that time, preferring first to explore the trade market for a longer-term solution. When that didn’t materialize, the club circled back to the still-available Avila. Hazen, according to Piecoro, added that the D-backs are likely to carry three catchers on their roster early in the season. Jeff Mathis, John Ryan Murphy and Chris Herrmann are all on the 40-man roster, though Murphy and Herrmann are out of minor league options. The D-backs could still add an outfielder as well, per Hazen.

Quick Hits: Freeman, LeVangie, NPB/KBO, Aces

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Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman feels great about the strength of his left wrist; strength he believes he lacked at the end of last season. Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote a detailed article that includes plenty of confident words from Freeman, who told reporters he began hitting earlier than he usually does, and even took batting practice in 25-degree whether just to see if he experienced any pain. “I have had zero problems.” Freeman said. “Everything feels great and everything feels strong.” Though he doesn’t regret coming back early after being hit by a pitch in May, Freeman experienced some frustration when his wrist fatigued during August and September. Notably, the two-time All-Star also had Lasik surgery to help alleviate some eye irritation issues he experienced while wearing contact lenses. Freeman also expressed his excitement to see top prospect Ronald Acuna arrive at the MLB level.

Some other interesting items from around MLB as we near the end of January…

  • Count Rick Porcello among those in the Red Sox organization who are excited about working with new pitching coach Dana LeVangie. A piece by Tim Britton of the Providence Journal gives some insight into a phone call between the two earlier in the offseason. “A couple of days after he got the pitching coach job, he called me and we talked for an hour on things he had mapped out for me coming into the season that I need to work on and get better with,” Porcello told reporters last week. Indeed, it seems as though relievers Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel have already had a great experience working with him during his time as the team’s bullpen coach.  As for LeVangie, he says his time as the Red Sox’ bullpen catcher allowed him to get a feel for movement and spin rate of pitches, as well as identify specifics of a pitcher’s strengths and weaknesses.
  • The pursuit of financial security causes a handful of players to give up MLB 40-man roster spots every year in order to pursue opportunities in the NPB and the KBO, writes Kyle Glaser of Baseball America. Glaser tells the short version of Seth Frankoff’s story, though he’s just one of more than 100 ex-major or minor leaguers who played in Asian baseball leagues in 2017. While minor-league players on a 40-man roster earn just over $40K per year, players can make nearly 20 times that amount playing overseas. Other benefits of playing in the NPB and KBO include luxury apartments for foreign players, exceedingly high energy levels from people in the crowd, and a potential path back to the majors if they can improve their skill sets.
  • Zach Crizer of MLB.com lists right-handers Danny Salazar (Indians) and Jake Odorizzi (Rays), and left-hander Ariel Miranda (Mariners) as pitchers with the potential to reach “ace” status in 2018. Crizer uses some incredibly specific stats to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these three pitchers, showing a potential path to a breakout for each one. The piece includes videos and heat maps as well; it’s an intriguing read, particularly considering that Salazar and Odorizzi have been mentioned in trade rumors.

West Notes: Mariners, A’s, Duensing, AJax, Giants

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Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and other reporters this week that the club’s largely content with the work it has done this winter to improve its roster. While the Mariners haven’t addressed their rotation in any noteworthy way, Dipoto’s confident their starters are at least on par with most AL rotations, “with the exception of last year’s playoff teams — the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros.” Whether Felix Hernandez will be able to amass 25-plus starts, as opposed to the 16 he made last year, will go a long way toward deciding how Seattle will fare in 2018, Dipoto believes.

With a couple months left until the start of the season, the Mariners could still complement Hernandez & Co. with more starting help – payroll’s “not an issue,” according to CEO John Stanton. However, if we’re to take Dipoto’s word, it doesn’t seem likely. “We are doing the best we can to develop our system, not to clog it,” Dipoto said. “Could we go out and sign a free agent that would be better than our current fifth starter? Absolutely. Would that be the best thing for the present of the Mariners? Maybe. Would it be the best thing through the wider lens for the present and future of the Mariners? Probably not. We’ll be able to address those needs as we go. Because the one thing we’ve not had to deal with here is a lack of resources.”

More on a couple other West Coast clubs:

  • In search of left-handed relief help, the Athletics “made some offers to some guys; we just weren’t able to get them here,” manager Bob Melvin informed Jane Lee of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday (Twitter link). One offer went to Brian Duensing, who turned down a deal worth $3MM more than the two-year, $7MM pact he took to re-up with the Cubs, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The A’s also attempted to pick up outfielder Austin Jackson on a one-year deal, but the Giants reeled him in with a two-year, $6MM contract. Now, Oakland’s not discussing any “significant free agents,” Slusser writes.
  • Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic has an excellent, free-to-read piece on new Giants hitting coach Alonzo Powell, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer Jan. 2 and will undergo prostate removal surgery on Tuesday. Powell’s support system includes his wife, Jana, as well as both the San Francisco and Houston organizations (he was the Astros’ assistant hitting coach from 2015-17), which Baggarly details. The Giants have been invaluable to Powell, as they took over his medical care after scans showed his cancer had spread to his bones. Had that been accurate, surgery would not have been an option for Powell, who would have instead had to go through a year of chemotherapy and radiation. But the Giants’ chief internist, Dr. Robert Murray, was skeptical of those results, and he had Powell undergo another bone scan that ultimately returned good news. After his surgery, Powell will need “daily radiation treatments for several weeks,” Baggarly writes, but the hope is he’ll be with the Giants when their pitchers and catchers report to spring training Feb. 13. We join those around the game in rooting for Powell to achieve that goal.

AL Notes: Yankees, Tigers, Mariners, Pompey

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The Yankees would like to set aside roughly $10MM of payroll space to save for in-season promotions and additions at the non-waiver trade deadline, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. As such, the actual amount of money they have left to spend this offseason is less than it would appear on the surface. (Morosi suggests that New York has $15MM to spend, though they’re currently at about $176MM in luxury tax considerations, and subtracting the $10MM figure he mentions would leave them closer to $11MM to spend.) Rather than a significant splash like jumping back into the Yu Darvish mix, then, the Yankees are likelier to add some veteran complements either to their rotation or their infield; the Yankees have been oft-connected to free-agent second basemen in recent weeks as the team eyes a bridge to prospect Gleyber Torres, who is returning from Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing elbow.

Here’s more from around the American League…

  • Tigers GM Al Avila said this week that his team could still make some additions to the 40-man roster, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. The GM didn’t cite a specific area of need, indicating that he could have room to add a starter, a position player or a reliever. What’s clear, though, is that the Tigers don’t plan on making any kind of move that would come with long-term ramifications. “I’m not trying to come across as saying we’re going to try to pick up a pitcher here, a pitcher there and it’s going to make us so much better that we have a chance to win a championship,” Avila stated. “At this point, we might try to pick up a player here or there to, quite frankly, get us through the season, and hopefully have a guy have a bounceback and be able to make a trade later on and acquire a younger player, a piece here, a piece there, to make ourselves better little by little.” Comments like that, of course, make the MLBPA and agents alike bristle, as they’re the type of non-competitive remarks that have often been cited as a reason for the historically slow free-agent market. The Tigers have spent a bit of cash this offseason, signing Leonys Martin and Mike Fiers to Major League deals, but they won’t come anywhere near their previous levels of spending as they embark on what figures to be a lengthy rebuilding effort.
  • Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma has been cleared to begin throwing as he rehabs from 2017 shoulder surgery, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (all Twitter links). Divish was among the reporters on hand when Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto spoke to the media about a wide variety of topics, including health updates on a number of Mariners. In addition to Iwakuma setting out on a throwing program, righty David Phelps and outfielder Guillermo Heredia are expected to be at or very close to 100 percent when Spring Training opens. Dipoto also said that lefty Marco Gonzales, who is out of minor league options, “will be given every opportunity to make our club.” Dipoto has taken some heat from fans for trading prospect Tyler O’Neill to acquire Gonzales from the Cardinals, though O’Neill’s .254/.304/.548 slash and 27 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A following the trade raise questions of their own.
  • Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey spoke with Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet about his lost 2017 season. The former top prospect was once heralded as the center fielder of the future in Toronto but struggled in his first exposure to the Majors and was scarcely able to play at all last season. Pompey suffered a concussion playing for Canada in the World Baseball Classic that effectively prevented him from any sense of normalcy for the first few months of the season. The outfielder explains that he had to wear sunglasses everywhere he went, wasn’t able to use his phone or watch television and, certainly, was not participating at baseball activities for several months. A knee injury in his first rehab game back from the concussion more or less ended his 2017 campaign entirely. Pompey still has a minor league option remaining, Zwelling notes, but he has a long way to go to prove he can still be a long-term piece for the Jays. The column is well worth a full look, as it features an in-depth look at concussion symptoms, featuring interviews with not only Pompey but also recently retired first baseman Justin Morneau, whose career trajectory was dramatically altered by a 2010 concussion.

Mariners Claim Chasen Bradford

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The Mariners announced that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Chasen Bradford off waivers from the Mets, who had designated him for assignment yesterday. Seattle’s 40-man roster is now full.

The 28-year-old Bradford reached the Majors for the first time this past season and racked up a fair amount of time in the Mets’ bullpen. Bradford appeared in 28 games with New York and tallied 33 2/3 innings of work. In that time, the former 35th-round pick posted a solid 3.74 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a hefty 55.9 percent ground-ball rate.

Bradford averaged just 90.6 mph on his fastball in that rookie season, but he has a history of limiting walks (1.6 BB/9 in parts of four Triple-A seasons) and has routinely turned in ground-ball rates north of 50 percent in the minor leagues. He also has multiple minor league options remaining, so the Mariners will be able to shuttle him back and forth between Seattle and Tacoma throughout the year, if needed.

Quick Hits: Ichiro, Orioles, Duffy, Twins

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Ichiro Suzuki’s agent, John Boggs, tells Barry Bloom of MLB.com that he’s still holding out hope that the 44-year-old will land an offer from a big league club this offseason rather than return to Japan. Boggs had talks with both the Mariners and Padres, but neither of those now looks likely to come to fruition. He also notes that he’d spoken to the Mets before they signed Jay Bruce, as well as the Reds when they were more heavily exploring the market for Billy Hamilton. Boggs tells Bloom that there are still a half-dozen teams that continue to tell him to check back later in the winter once it’s clearer how the market will play out, but it remains unclear whether Ichiro will have a legitimate opportunity to return for an 18th Major League season.

A few other notes as another quiet week of free agency nears its conclusion…

  • Though the stagnant offseason has been frustrating across the board, it may be particularly exhausting for Orioles fans, as the club is known to be looking for two or three starters, an outfielder, a utility infielder and some catching depth. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that all of that is still in the works, and he spoke with manager Buck Showalter about the team’s offseason pursuits at length. Showalter suggests that the O’s are “down the road real deep on a lot of guys,” adding that GM Dan Duquette has discussed “offers and physicals” with one particular right field target. Showalter adds that a Chris Tillman reunion remains possible. The free agent has been working out at the Orioles’ spring complex in Sarasota, Fla. — a favor granted by the team to their longtime rotation stalwart.
  • Royals left-hander Danny Duffy has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence after initially filing a plea of not guilty upon being cited for a DUI last August, according to the Kansas City Star’s Rustin Dodd. The 29-year-old has been placed on probation and must refrain from drinking and using illegal drugs over the course of a one-year term. He’ll be subject to random breath, blood and urine tests as part of his probation, Dodd adds.
  • The Twins have hired three-time All-Star Jim Kaat as a special assistant in their front office, the team announced. The 79-year-old Kaat enjoyed an excellent 25-year career, starring for the Senators/Twins franchise in 15 of those seasons (3.34 ERA, 133 complete games, 23 shutouts over the life of 3014 1/3 innings). He joins Twins legends Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Tom Kelly and Kent Hrbek in a role that will see him “engage in various Twins community and business initiatives both in Minnesota as well as Southwest Florida,” per the Twins’ press release announcing the hiring.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/16/18

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Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Mariners announced 22 players that have received non-roster invitations to Major League Spring Training. Many of the minor league deals in that announcement have already been reported, though it’s of note that Seattle will bring veteran catcher Tuffy Gosewisch back to the organization. Right-handers Ryan Garton (who was outrighted off the 40-man roster in October) and Ryan Cook (who missed 2017 due to Tommy John surgery) will both be in big league camp as well. The 34-year-old Gosewisch went just 2-for-28 with the Mariners last season, though one of those two hits was a homer. He’s a career .190/.228/.271 hitter in 447 MLB plate appearances, though he’s also slashed a drastically superior .258/.318/.406 in his Triple-A career. Garton, 28, has a 4.55 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 44 percent ground-ball rate in 61 1/3 innings between the Rays and Mariners over the past two seasons. Cook, of course, was briefly the closer in Oakland and looked like one of the game’s more promising young relievers in 2012-13. He’s pitched just 8 2/3 innings in the Majors dating back to Opening Day 2015 due to injuries, however.
  • The Angels have granted catcher Curt Casali his release from the organization, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The former Rays backstop signed a minor league pact with the Halos earlier this winter with the intent of competing for a backup job in Spring Training, but those hopes were dashed when the Angels signed Rene Rivera to a Major League deal to pair with 2017 Gold Glove winner Martin Maldonado. Casali will again hit free agency in search of a new landing spot.
  • Cotillo also tweets that righty Gonzalez Germen is signing a minors pact with the White Sox after spending the past year in Japan. Germen, 30, posted a 2.68 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 in 47 innings of relief in his lone season in Japan, where he pitched for the Orix Buffaloes. In parts of four MLB seasons between the Rockies, Mets and Cubs, he’s worked to a 4.63 ERA with 129 strikeouts against 81 walks over the life of 144 innings.
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