West Notes: International, Leake, Morneau
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times breaks down the international bonus pool game undertaken each year by major league clubs. The Mariners, for instance, were able to free some extra spending capacity in the recent Austin Jackson deal, taking a slot from a team (the Cubs) that had already committed to exceed its own limit and take on the resulting penalties. It’s a good breakdown of a somewhat convoluted system for those who wonder how it works.
Here are a few notes from out west to end the evening:
- There appears to be some mutual interest in a continued relationship between the Giants and recently-acquired righty Mike Leake, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports on Twitter. Manager Bruce Bochy likes what he’s seen from the 27-year-old workhorse, who has pitched to a 3.16 in his 25 2/3 frames with his new club. And it appears that Leake is pleased thus far with his new environs. Of course, he figures to receive a wide range of interest on the coming free agent market. Though he’s never been a dominant pitcher, Leake offers a nice package of youth, health, and consistently solid production.
- Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau discusses his latest comeback effort with MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby, saying that he understands the need to careful given his history of concussions. Those unfortunate injuries changed his career trajectory, of course, but he’s still a useful big league player at age 34. Morneau says he’s increasingly worked to take excellent care of his body as he’s gotten older, but like most regulars has always played through typical bumps and bruises. He will return to the open market after the season unless both he and Colorado exercise a $9MM mutual option.
AL West Notes: Zych, Zito, A’s, Astros
Mariners right-hander Tony Zych made his Major League debut on Friday night and gained an unusual distinction in the process. Of the thousands of players who have appeared in an MLB game, Zych is now alphabetically last on the list, replacing past Dutch Zwilling (who last played in 1916). “Breaking a record is pretty cool. I really didn’t have to do much for that one,” Zych tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. As Dutton notes, the Mariners have also previously employed the first player alphabetically in baseball history (David Aardsma) and the first player with a hyphenated name (Ryan Rowland-Smith). Here’s more from around the AL West…
- Barry Zito has heard from the Athletics that he won’t be called up this month, the veteran southpaw tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Zito last pitched in the majors in 2013 and sat out 2014 before signing a minor league deal with the A’s last February. He’s posted a 3.48 ERA, 5.9 K/9 and 1.50 K/BB rate over 137 innings this season though he hasn’t pitched in over a month due to shoulder tendinitis. Zito will complete his recovery throwing program to give himself the option of continuing his career, though this could well be it for the former Cy Young Award winner.
- Also from Slusser, she notes that a number of scouts were in attendance to specifically watch A’s righty Jesse Chavez in his most recent start. Chavez is “coveted by many teams for his versatility” and is “unlikely to be in next year’s rotation,” Slusser writes. Chavez drew some trade buzz prior to this year’s deadline and eligible for free agency after the 2016 season, so it makes sense that the A’s could explore dealing him now with so much interest in his services.
- The Astros‘ run to the top of the AL West has produced only a modest increase in attendance, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. A number of factors are cited, perhaps chiefly that Houston fans may simply be a bit slow to jump back on the bandwagon since the Astros had been so terrible in recent seasons. Drellich also looks at some of the ways in which all MLB teams share marketing and ticketing strategies with the rest of the league.
- Astros closer Luke Gregerson finished his 45th game of the season today, earning him an extra $250K in salary for 2016, as noted by Drellich (Twitter link). Gregerson has pitched very well in the first year of his three-year, $18.5MM deal with Houston and with the bonus, his 2016 salary now jumps to $6.5MM. More bonus money is still available, as he’ll earn another $250K at each of the 50-, 55- and 57-finish thresholds.
- Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times breaks down the pros and cons of four candidates for the Mariners‘ GM job. Of the names listed, Divish thinks former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto could be the favorite, as Dipoto was a finalist for the Seattle job before Jack Zduriencik was hired.
- Shane Victorino has embraced his platoon role since joining the Angels in the name of helping the club, he tells MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. Still, the veteran outfielder says he hopes to return to full-time action next season and is planning to retrain himself to switch-hit after injuries forced him to become a full-time righty bat in 2013.
Mariners Outright Lucas Luetge
The Mariners have announced that they’ve outrighted lefty Lucas Luetge to Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners’ 40-man roster now contains 39 players.
The 28-year-old Luetge was a relatively productive part of the Mariners’ bullpen in 2012 after they took him from the Brewers in the Rule 5 Draft. He also made 35 big-league appearances in 2013. Since then, though, he’s played sparingly at the Major League level and has struggled with walks in his infrequent appearances. He’s spent most of this season with Tacoma and hasn’t gotten great results, posting a 5.69 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 49 innings there. For his big-league career, Luetge has a 4.35 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 74 innings.
Heyman’s Latest: Williams, Collins, ChiSox, Keuchel, Halos, Dietrich
In today’s edition of his weekly Inside Baseball column, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports begins by highlighting the fact that the NL East division title race will determine the fate of Nationals manager Matt Williams and Mets manager Terry Collins. Heyman writes that while Nats GM Mike Rizzo has repeatedly backed Williams, Rizzo is something of a “chorus of one” — publicly, at least. Ownership is extremely frustrated with the team’s recent play, and Heyman points out that it may also be telling that amid multiple reports of players disliking his rigid demeanor, not one player from the Nats has stepped forward to defend Williams. Ownership has already discussed dismissing Williams, Heyman adds. Collins, on the other hand, is in line for a new contract if and when the Mets reach the postseason. Falling behind the Nats and missing the playoffs, though, would harken back to 2007’s epic collapse and almost certainly cost Collins his job. Then again, the Mets have remaining series against the Reds, Braves, Phillies and Marlins, as Heyman points out, so a collapse seems particularly unlikely.
Some other highlights from the column…
- Jeff Samardzija and another unknown White Sox player were both claimed on the same day that the Yankees claimed David Robertson, Heyman reports. However, the Samardzija claim was, like the Robertson claim, primarily a blocking tactic. Heyman notes that while Samardzija has had a very poor contract season, scouts still love his build, athleticism and competitiveness.
- Dallas Keuchel and the Astros have tabled extension talks until after the season, per Heyman. Houston hopes to lock its ace up on at least a four-year deal — that’d cover his arbitration years and one free agent season — though as I noted when word of discussions between the two sides broke, Keuchel’s currently slated to hit the open market heading into his age-31 season. Delaying his free agency by even one year would probably put a five-year max on the free-agent deal Keuchel could secure, as teams rarely guarantee pitchers’ age-37 seasons in long-term deals.
- Regarding the Angels‘ GM vacancy, Heyman characterizes recent interviews of internal candidates Matt Klentak and Scott Servais (both assistant GMs) as “perfunctory,” believing an outside hire to be the probably outcome. Klentak could stay on in a role similar to his own, whereas Servais is said by Heyman to be more at odds with manager Mike Scioscia. Kevin Towers, Ned Colletti and Yankees AGM Billy Eppler are all listed as speculative candidates by Heyman.
- The Dodgers took on about $150K of the remaining $450K on Justin Ruggiano‘s salary when they acquired him from the Mariners.
- The Marlins are coming around on the idea of Derek Dietrich as a Ben Zobrist/Josh Harrison type of player that can play everyday in part due to his versatility. While Dietrich’s defense isn’t on the same level as that highly valuable duo, the Marlins see him as an athletic bat with 25-homer upside. The 26-year-old Dietrich is hitting .263/.359/.514 in spite of a cavernous home park (138 OPS+) and has smashed 10 homers in 64 games while seeing time at first base, third base and in the corner outfield. None of those are even his natural position, but he’s blocked at second base by Dee Gordon, of course.
Front Office Notes: Dipoto, Hazen, Cherington, Angels
The Mariners plan to interview current Red Sox consultant and former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Seattle recently parted with former GM Jack Zduriencik and is on the hunt for a replacement. Seattle appears likely to choose a baseball operations leader with prior experience in a general manager role, though it’s also said to be considering internal options.
Here are more notes on the front office and managerial changes expected to take place this fall and winter:
- Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen is a candidate for the Brewers‘ general manager position, Rosenthal and colleague Jon Morosi report (Twitter links). Milwaukee has not yet begun a formal interview process, he adds. The Brewers say they’ll take their time in finding a new GM, but could be leaning toward a young, analytically-minded candidate.
- Outgoing Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, meanwhile, may not be in a rush to reclaim that position with a new team, according to another tweet from Rosenthal. Cherington has received interest from clubs in unspecified opportunities, and he’s “in listening mode” rather than actively pursuing another GM post.
- MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez discusses the Angels‘ GM search, which as recently reported is expected to move quickly. The club has stayed quiet on its thinking thus far, says Gonzalez, but it seems reasonably likely that it will look to go with a first-time GM from another organization. Gonzalez lists a wide number of theoretical candidates.
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today provides an overview of the actual and potential front office openings around the game. He breaks down the latest rumblings among all of the clubs that seem reasonably likely to pursue change.
Front Office Notes: Jennings, Mariners, Beinfest, Scioscia
The Marlins will ask manager Dan Jennings to relinquish his managerial role and return to the GM position he occupied previously, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. That’s largely a confirmation of expectations at this point — Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com each indicated in early August that such a move was likely. The more intriguing elements of the situation appear still to be sorted out. Yesterday, a report from the Herald’s Clark Spencer indicated that Miami has a lot of internal tension. Per the report, Jennings could end up as GM, in another front office role, or out of the organization altogether. And there are shakeups in the offing in the club’s scouting and player development departments.
Here’s more on the still-developing front office landscape around the league:
- Jennings has “strong interest” in pursuing the Mariners‘ open GM position, Rosenthal adds. Of course, he’s still under contract in Miami. But it’s not clear at all what kind of front office alignment might be utilized were Jennings to move back upstairs. While Jennings has served as skipper, assistant GM Mike Berger has largely filled his role.
- Former Marlins GM Larry Beinfest is another name that could figure in the executive market this fall. He sat down recently with Spencer, explaining that he’s ready to get back in on “the everyday competitiveness” of MLB front office work. It’s a long and interesting interview with plenty of discussion of Beinfest’s time in Miami. “I was never frustrated by low payrolls,” he said. “What was more challenging than the lower payrolls was the roller coaster of the payrolls. They go up. They go down. It made it very hard to plan.”
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia says that he will not play a significant part in the club’s GM hiring process, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. That would certainly be the case for most managers, but a highly-publicized feud with former GM Jerry Dipoto reportedly led to his departure from the organization, leading many to believe that the 16-year-veteran skipper holds outsized influence in the Halos organization. “I don’t plan on being part of any selection committee,” said Scioscia. “I know the role of a manager in an organization, and I love that part of it. It’s not to go pick a GM. I just think, just like any team, you have to be philosophically on the same page, all the way down from ownership to the general manager’s seat to the manager to the Minor Leagues and scouting director, everything that’s important in fueling your Major League roster. You have to be on the same page.” While Scioscia said that he is not sure what the organization is looking for in its new hire, he again reiterated that he would “imagine” they’ll seek “somebody who will be philosophically lined up with what we’re trying to do.”
West Notes: Zduriencik, Profar, Morneau, Angels
Over at Fangraphs, Jeff Sullivan takes a look at the just-ended tenure of former Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik. Seattle changed course in the middle of his tenure, says Sullivan, with the organization moving from a focus on finding value and prioritizing defense to a grab for power bats. The club also failed to develop its best-regarded talent to its full potential, Sullivan notes, even if it’s hard ultimately to pin down a cause for that failure. All said, whatever the reason, Zduriencik was never able to turn the club into a regular contender.
Here are a few more notes from out west:
- Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar could join the big league club in September, GM Jon Daniels acknowledged yesterday, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. While the former top prospect still is not ready to play the field — he’s recovering from a series of significant shoulder problems — he could hit and run. Texas is considering an Arizona Fall League placement, if Profar seems ready to begin making full-speed throws.
- First baseman Justin Morneau could still suit up for the Rockies this year, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post writes. Manager Walt Weiss said that the situation was different than most injuries, given Morneau’s somewhat tricky neck and concussion issues. Morneau has previously indicated that he hopes to play next season, so returning to show his health and some productivity would obviously be quite a boon to his stock. While his deal includes a $9MM mutual option for next year, Colorado seems quite likely instead to pay him a $750K buyout.
- As the Angels reportedly begin what is expected to be a quick-moving GM search, Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler is one name that has been “heard frequently” by MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez (Twitter link). Eppler featured rather prominently in last year’s round of general manager hirings, though obviously he ended up staying in New York.
Dodgers To Acquire Justin Ruggiano
The Dodgers have acquired outfielder Justin Ruggiano from the Mariners, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports on Twitter. A player to be named later or cash considerations will head back to Seattle in the deal.
Ruggiano, 33, has spent much of the season at Triple-A after a slow start to the year. He agreed to an arbitration salary of just over $2.5MM over the winter (with about $465K left to go on that salary), and will be eligible for another arb year if his new club tenders him a contract.
While Ruggiano failed to match his productive 2014 in the earlygoing, he wasn’t actually that bad, putting up a .214/.321/.357 batting line over 81 plate appearances. And he’s slashed .296/.385/.514 with ten home runs in 205 plate appearances at Triple-A since being outrighted.
Most importantly, even during his MLB time this year, Ruggiano continued to hit lefties hard, as he has throughout his career. He’ll presumably be looked upon as an option against southpaws in Los Angeles. The Dodgers were in need of another right-handed-hitting outfield bat down the stretch after seeing both Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez go down to injuries in recent days.
Cubs Acquire Austin Jackson
6:26pm: The deal is now official, with the Cubs making an announcement.
6:20pm: Chicago will cover $1MM of Jackson’s remaining salary, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Mariners will pay the $430K or so of obligations otherwise left on his deal.
5:04pm: The Cubs have agreed to acquire outfielder Austin Jackson from the Mariners, Shannon Drayer of 710 AM ESPN in Seattle reports (Twitter link). Jackson had reportedly cleared revocable trade waivers, and by adding him today, the Cubs will have the option of utilizing him on their post-season roster.
A player to be named later and a $211,100 international signing slot will reportedly head to Seattle in the deal. Chicago also obtains cash to offset some of the remainder of Jackson’s $7.7MM annual salary.
Already set to hit free agency after the season, Jackson will end his disappointing tenure in Seattle earlier than had been planned. He was acquired with high hopes last summer in the three-team David Price deal, with the Mariners sending Nick Franklin to the Rays to add the center fielder from the Tigers. Needless to say, things have not worked out for the player or the team.
At the time, Jackson was putting up slightly-above-average offensive numbers in Detroit. But he’s been significantly worse with the M’s, slashing just .257/.297/.343 over 684 plate appearances between this year and last. Jackson has contributed only eight home runs in that span as his power has fallen off, and he’s been caught 11 times on steal attempts while successfully taking 26 bags.
Jackson remains an approximately league-average defender up the middle. And at just 28 years of age, he still holds at least some promise of more given his quality early-career production. Between 2010 and 2013, Jackson racked up 18.9 rWAR with a .278/.344/.416 cumulative slash, a solid power/speed mix, and defensive ratings that ranged from good to excellent.
Mariners interim GM Jeff Kingston explained that there was relatively little interest in the veteran this month, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times notes on Twitter. While there had been an outside chance that the club would hold onto Jackson and make him a qualifying offer, that is no longer an option with the mid-season trade. That seemed at least plausible given Jackson’s age, but it seems that Seattle decided against the risky move and chose instead to get what it could for him now.
For Chicago, Jackson represents another right-handed-hitting outfield option as Jorge Soler deals with an oblique injury, though it’s worth noting that he traditionally carries fairly neutral platoon splits. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Jackson can play in center, but he seems unlikely to take much time from the switch-hitting Dexter Fowler, who traditionally performs better against left-handed pitching. While Jackson is still owed about $1.43MM of salary this year, at least some of that obligation will remain Seattle’s responsibility.
MLB.com’s Greg Johns first suggested an international slot may be involved (via Twitter), as to which Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (also via Twitter) provided details. Divish first reported that a PTBNL was part of the return (on Twitter) provided details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AL West Links: Freese, Felix, Rangers
Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte earned his first Major League win today, tossing two scoreless frames to help the Athletics notch a 7-4 victory over the Diamondbacks in 11 innings. While Venditte is known mostly for his singular pitching style, he’s also posted a decent 3.31 ERA over 16 1/3 relief innings for the A’s in his rookie season. Here’s more from around the AL West…
- There is a growing sentiment within the Angels front office that David Freese should be re-signed, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports, though things could change once the team hires its new general manager. Freese is admired for his clubhouse leadership, and while the Angels’ slump obviously isn’t solely due to Freese’s DL stint (he’s recovering from a fractured finger), it’s worth noting that the Halos are 11-23 since Freese’s last game. The former World Series MVP has just a .240/.309/.397 slash line and 11 homers in 353 PA this season, though Gonzalez surmises he could strong interest in free agency given the lack of third base options on the market. If the Angels aren’t willing to bring him back, they could turn to Kaleb Cowart or Kyle Kubitza at the hot corner.
- While the next Mariners GM will have to fix some significant weaknesses on the roster and in the farm system, it’s not impossible that the M’s could contend as quickly as next season, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times writes. Perhaps most intriguingly, Stone suggests that the new GM will have to at least consider the idea of trading Felix Hernandez, which would both clear payroll space and restock the farm with some blue chip talent. Stone stops short of advocating that a Hernandez trade would or should happen, however, and it could be a moot point anyway since Hernandez has full no-trade protection.
- Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman didn’t just upgrade the Rangers bullpen by themselves, but their acquisitions also helped reinvigorate Keone Kela, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The righty was demoted to Double-A on Aug. 1 to keep his arm fresh, a move Texas could afford to make with their new arms in the pen. Since being recalled on Aug. 11, Kela has recorded 12 strikeouts (against just one walk and four hits) over 9 1/3 scoreless relief innings. Kela has put up strong numbers in his rookie season, posting a 2.72 ERA, 3.93 K/BB rate and 59 strikeouts in 53 innings.