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Central Notes: Moustakas, Knebel, Taveras, Cubs

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The Royals announced today that they have optioned struggling third baseman Mike Moustakas to Triple-A Omaha. The move marks a significant fall for the former top prospect, who has yet to show any sort of consistency at the Major League level. Royals fans were optimistic when “Moose” hit .269/.314/.425 over his final 78 games last season and posted strong numbers in Spring Training, but the 25-year-old hit just .152/.223/.320 in 40 games this season despite being platooned for much of the year. Moustakas has turned in elite defensive numbers throughout his career, but he’ll need to show more at the plate to ever deliver on his lofty prospect status.

Here are some more items pertaining to baseball’s Central divisions…

  • The Tigers today optioned left-hander Robbie Ray to Triple-A Toledo and announced that they will purchase the contract of right-hander Corey Knebel prior to tomorrow’s game. Knebel, a right-handed reliever, will become the second player from the 2013 draft to reach the Major Leagues (Cleveland’s Kyle Crockett debuted on May 16). He’s posted a brilliant 0.90 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 50 innings across three levels since being selected 39th overall less than one year ago.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that playing time for Cardinals top prospect Oscar Taveras could present itself shortly in the Majors, as the team begins a stretch of seven games in AL parks in early June. However, the Cardinals could also recall Randal Grichuk, who has been on an otherwordly tear since being sent back to Triple-A, having slashed .347/.418/.776 with six homers in 12 games. GM John Mozeliak wouldn’t rule out the possibility of either player being promoted when asked by Goold.
  • Grantland’s Jonah Keri spoke with Cardinals pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, ace Adam Wainwright and former Redbird Kyle Lohse about the intricacies of former pitching coach Dave Duncan’s philosophy and approach to the game. Keri writes that Duncan’s influence still runs through the veins of the Cardinals’ organization, which is a driving force behind the team’s extended success. Wainwright said Duncan was “borderline maniacal” in terms of advance scouting and analytics. Keri notes that Duncan never cared much for pitcher-versus-batter data, as such small samples led to misguided decisions.
  • Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts will submit a revised proposal for renovations to Wrigley Field, writes MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. If approved, they are prepared to move forward with the plans, which include additional seating in the Budweiser Bleachers, new outfield lights to reduce shadows, four additional LED signs of up to 650 square feet and a 2400 square foot video board in right field. Ricketts says negotiations with rooftop business owners have gone nowhere, so “It has to end. It’s time to move forward.” He hopes they can avoid going to court with the rooftop owners.

Quick Hits: Taveras, Samardzija, Hammel, Amateur

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Speculation has heightened as to when the Cardinals will call up top prospect Oscar Taveras.  He is part of a special trio of Triple-A outfielders, along with Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk, a scout tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). That same scout said that Taveras needs a new challenge at this point. “He’s on cruise control,” he said. “Gives away at-bats. Needs to play with more urgency. He’ll get a wake-up call but it will take [the] big leagues to do it.” Of course, whatever his level of motivation and effort, Taveras has played well; he entered the day with a .304/.354/.509 line through 175 plate appearances.

Here are some more stray notes to round out the evening:

  • While he remains winless, Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija continues to drive up his stock with an outstanding start to the season. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes that the club should shop him this summer at peak value; as a GM tells Heyman, Chicago will “want top, top guys” in return. Heyman lists the ten clubs that could possibly match up on Samardzija, topped by the three northernmost A.L. East clubs.
  • While Heyman puts the Yankees first among possible Samardzija suitors, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post says that fellow Cubs starter Jason Hammel may make more sense for New York. Samardzija may price himself out of the Yanks’ reach in terms of a prospect package, says Davidoff. While Cliff Lee of the Phillies would also be of interest — and, presumably, be more achievable for the Yankees given his hefty contract — he now has significant arm issues for the first time in his career.
  • The early-agreement trend on the July 2 international market has not only changed the dynamics of the market itself, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America, but has made it more difficult for prospect watchers to scout players. When players reach terms, they tend to steer clear of showcases and tryouts. As Badler notes, increasingly aggressive signing tactics also “elevate[] the risk and uncertainty” for teams, because young players can change so much in a short period of time.
  • Now a decade in the past, the 2004 amateur draft understandably looks quite different in retrospect. ESPN.com’s Keith Law takes a look back in two Insider pieces (subscription required). There were many misses, of course, headlined by first overall pick Matt Bush. If teams had perfect foresight at the time, says Law, the first three choices would have brought Justin Verlander to the Padres, Dustin Pedroia to the Tigers, and Jered Weaver to the Mets.

NL West Notes: Ziegler, Dodgers, LaRussa, LaRocque, Hawkins

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Diamondbacks submariner Brad Ziegler is one of the most fascinating, and most effective, relievers in the game, Rany Jazayerli writes for Grantland. Tracking the notable successes of the small number of soft-throwing, under-handed throwers in baseball history, Jazayerli wonders whether there could be some value in looking for more such pitchers. Of course, as he explains, Ziegler is even more unique than most in that he has figured out how to retire opposite-handed hitters. Here’s more from the National League West:

  • For all its talent, the Dodgers’ roster lacks flexibility, writes Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. That, in turn, complicates any possible maneuvers to upgrade the team, which is off to an uninspiring start. But if upgrades are difficult to identify with regard to the team’s key roles, that could be because they may not really be needed. Los Angeles has an enviable rotation that is not likely to be altered substantially, and actually stands at fifth in the bigs in position player fWAR to date. While it is arguable that the team could stand to enjoy stronger performances out of the bullpen and bench, those are the spots most readily upgraded over the summer. The Dodgers can certainly look to do just that if the struggles continue over the summer, and might also consider displacing or supplementing A.J. Ellis behind the plate. (Of course, the more drastic move of shipping out a high-priced outfielder could also be on the table, even if the return is minimal.)
  • The unyielding Tony LaRussa is a poor fit for the Diamondbacks, opines Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. As Passan notes, he will become the game’s oldest head of baseball ops in his first time in the role, and will need to maintain a much broader focus than he did in the dugout. Moreover, while prominent owner Ken Kendrick has cited the need for the organization to better utilize analytics, says Passan, LaRussa is driven first and foremost by his gut and vast experience.
  • LaRussa talked about his view of sabermetrics today in an appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (via Vince Marotta of ArizonaSports.com). “My opinion is that it’s a valuable tool, but mostly a tool to help you identify talent and then prepare the talent,” said LaRussa. “I think the biggest problem I see is there are teams that have gone way overboard and they are really interfering with the way the managers and coaches conduct strategy during the game by running the analytics and forcing them into it.”
  • If and when LaRussa moves to replace Kevin Towers as the team’s general manager, current Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque could be a prime candidate, reports Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com (Twitter links). LaRocque has an extensive scouting background, and has overseen the fast-tracked development of many of the Cards’ impressive young players.
  • Rockies closer LaTroy Hawkins says he does not expect his age-41 season to be his last, tweets Morosi. “If I stay healthy, I’ll play [in 2015],” said Hawkins. The veteran righty has worked to a 4.11 ERA in 15 1/3 innings, though he has struck out only 3.5 batters per nine (against 1.8 BB/9). He is earning $2.25MM this season, and Colorado has an equally-priced option ($250K buyout) for next year.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Cards, Yanks, Phelps, Asche, Turner

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In his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports quotes one rival executive that said Cardinals GM John Mozeliak “realizes he has more talent than anyone else — and he’s reluctant to get rid of it.” (That reluctance is illustrated by Mozeliak’s comments to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as the GM told him that external changes aren’t much of a consideration at this time.) Rosenthal looks at some of the recent improvements in the Cardinals’ offense and echoes Goold’s initial report that patience seems the likely route for St. Louis at this point.

More trade-, draft- and prospect-related highlights from a lengthy piece that also looks at slow starts in the AL East and a surprising start from the Twins…

  • The Yankees have better pitching depth than many realize, Rosenthal opines, noting that Adam Warren could be moved into the rotation when Shawn Kelley is healthy again. He also points to a quartet of hard-throwing relievers at Triple-A — Diego Moreno, Jose Ramirez, Danny Burawa and Branden Pinder. A trade is still something the Yanks will likely explore, but despite the aforementioned depth, the team likely doesn’t have the firepower to land someone like Cliff Lee, in Rosenthal’s eyes. They have little more to offer than relief help and high-end catching talent and could be competing with at least two other AL East teams in the Orioles and Blue Jays.
  • David Phelps wasn’t the Yankees’ priority when scouting director Damon Oppenheimer went to see Notre Dame play prior to the 2008 draft. Oppenheimer was scouting Phelps’ teammate Kyle Weiland, but Phelps impressed him with his competitiveness, prompting Oppenheimer to push for him in the 14th round, which looks to be a nice bargain pickup six years later.
  • The Phillies are having internal discussions about moving Cody Asche to the outfield in 2015 in order to clear room on the 25-man roster for top prospect Maikel Franco at third base.  Though Rosenthal doesn’t mention this, that does raise the question of what will become of Domonic Brown, the team’s left fielder who is once again struggling after what looked to be a breakout 2013 season.
  • Rosenthal hears that NC State shortstop Trea Turner is drawing interest from teams in the No. 6-10 range of the upcoming draft. The fleet-footed shortstop also has pop in his bat (he’s second in the ACC in homers), but some scouts wonder if he can stick at shortstop. Rosenthal points out that both the Mariners (No. 6) and the Mets (No. 10) have needs at shortstop heading into a draft that is light on college shortstops.
  • Analysts from the Pirates and Marlins made the same comment to Rosenthal in the past week: the most useful data regarding defensive shifts comes from where hitters put the ball in play against a team’s own pitchers. The Marlins aren’t particularly focused where batters hit the ball against soft-tossers, due to the flamethrowing nature of their rotation. Likewise, the Pirates’ shifts are based largely on batted ball data against Francisco Liriano, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton.

Quick Hits: Mets, Feliciano, Drew, Rays

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Saul Katz is denying reports that he wants to share his stake in the Mets but a baseball exec tells Josh Kosman of the New York Post that he wanted to do even more.  Katz, according to the exec, tried to get Fred Wilpon to join in so that they could sell majority control.  Wilpon said no in part because he wants to turn the team over to his son, Jeff.  Here’s more from around the league..

  • The Cardinals are close to a minor league deal with free agent left-hander Pedro Feliciano, a source tells Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (on Twitter).  Steve Nations of KSDK Sports reported yesterday that St. Louis was giving the 37-year-old a hard look.  Feliciano has seen time in nine MLB campaigns, returning to the bigs for 25 appearances (but just 11 1/3 innings) with the Mets last year, putting up a 3.97 ERA. His career mark stands at 3.33 earned per nine over 383 2/3 innings.
  • Signing Stephen Drew would help the Red Sox’s cause, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  Drew, he argues, would give Boston some much needed competition by moving Xander Boegarts over to third where he’d fight Will Middlebrooks for playing time.  The Red Sox are the one team that can sign Drew without surrendering a draft pick, but that window closes once the draft begins on June 5.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times looks back to reassess the Rays’ offseason decisions.  The three-team deal that brought Ryan Hanigan to Tampa Bay was still worthwhile, Topkin argues, despite having to eat the $5.5MM owed to Heath Bell.   Meanwhile, the deal sending left-hander Alex Torres and right-hander Jesse Hahn to San Diego doesn’t look as good right now.

Free Agent Notes: Burres, Carbonell, Coffey, Feliciano

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Three clubs were willing to offer major league deals to Kyle Farnsworth, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Farnsworth chose the Astros in part because he could see high leverage chances and due to his relationship with manager Bo Porter. Here are some notes on a few other players who are still looking for their next professional opportunity:

  • Brian Burres, who has been throwing well this year in the independent Atlantic League, has recently received interest from a few clubs, MLBTR has learned. The 33-year-old southpaw carries a 1.80 ERA through 20 innings, striking out 6.3 and walking 1.8 batters per nine. Burress has 358 1/3 MLB innings under his belt; he last saw MLB time in 2011 with the Pirates.
  • The Yankees and Mariners are two of the five finalists to sign Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. The Twins attended Carbonell’s most recent showcase, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, and are “monitoring” him. Carbonell, 23, was declared a free agent back in April.
  • The Phillies are in on Todd Coffey, a source tells Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish (via Twitter).  The Orioles, meanwhile, are likely out on Coffey after signing Heath Bell (link).  Coffey has multiple offers in hand and could decide soon, according to sources.
  • Lefty Pedro Feliciano is getting a hard look from the Cardinals, according to Steve Nations of KSDK Sports. Feliciano threw live BP to Cards minor leaguers yesterday, and will appear in a simulated game today in hopes of convincing the St. Louis brass to give him a minor league deal. The 37-year-old has seen time in nine MLB campaigns, returning to the bigs for 25 appearances (but just 11 1/3 innings) with the Mets last year, putting up a 3.97 ERA. His career mark stands at 3.33 earned per nine over 383 2/3 frames.

David Aardsma Does Not Exercise Opt-Out

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May 16: Aardsma decided not to opt out yesterday and will stay with Triple-A Memphis for the time being, tweets Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.

May 7: Cardinals right-hander David Aardsma, currently with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, has a May 15 opt-out date in his current minor league contract, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link).

The 32-year-old Aardsma signed with the Cardinals late in Spring Training after asking for his release from the Indians and has been solid for the Redbirds so far. Aardsma has a 1.98 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and three saves through his first 13 2/3 innings in Memphis.

Last season marked Aardsma’s first extensive work in the Majors since Tommy John surgery and labrum repair surgery slowed his career in 2011. He posted a 4.31 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 32.8 percent ground-ball rate in 39 2/3 innings with the Mets in 2013. Though his average fastball velocity was down from his career mark of 93.7 mph, he still averaged 91.2 mph and notched an 11.7 percent swinging-strike rate that was actually better than his career mark of 10.7 percent.

NL Notes: Roark, Weeks, Gregorius, Marlins, Mets, Cards

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The Nationals’ unheralded acquisition of current fifth starter Tanner Roark represents a “triumph of scouting,” writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. With the Nats looking to dump the salary of Christian Guzman back in 2010, the team identified the little-known Roark as a potentially useful arm and picked him up along with righty Ryan Tatusko. While Roark was the real prize of that swap, GM Mike Rizzo says that Tatusko (who owns a 2.15 ERA through seven starts at Triple-A) could reach the bigs himself “somehow, somewhere, with somebody.”

Here’s more out of Washington and the rest of the National League:

  • Much-maligned Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks has been reasonably productive this year, and could potentially be dealt if Milwaukee can find an interested partner, writes Rosenthal. The 31-year-old, who is earning $11MM this year before he reaches the open market, has a .318/.375/.364 line through just 48 plate appearances. Somewhat curiously, and counter to his career tendencies, the right-handed hitter has been knocking around same-handed hurlers (.954 OPS) while struggling against southpaws (.541) in an approximately even number of appearances against pitchers of both sides. Rosenthal mentions the Cardinals and Orioles as possible matches, though the former seems unlikely with Milwaukee leading the division. (Of course, Baltimore already owns the rights to Weeks’s younger brother, fellow second bagger Jemile Weeks.)
  • The Diamondbacks are still in no rush to deal shortstop Didi Gregorius, who is spending some time at second while fellow middle infield prospect Nick Ahmed sees time at short. Rosenthal notes that the team is unlikely to field a double-play combination of Gregorius and Chris Owings unless it saw fit to deal keystone stalwart Aaron Hill, who earns $12MM both this year and next.
  • There is little doubt of the biggest story in baseball right now: the UCL tear of Marlins’ young ace Jose Fernandez. With the club still in the thick of things in the NL East, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro suggests that Miami should consider a bold move: a trade for Jeff Samardzija of the Cubs. While top prospect Andrew Heaney offers some hope of filling Fernandez’s shoes (to the extent that is possible), Frisaro says that Samardzija “could save the season” for the Fish. Of course, acquiring him could well require parting with Heaney — if not more, if the Cubs’ ace continues his current dominance. Samardzija comes with another year of control after the present, though he’ll be fairly expensive after earning $5.345MM in his second trip through arbitration.
  • While weighing a call-up of Heaney, if not a more drastic move, the Marlins will promote Anthony DeSclafani for his first big league action, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel. Baseball America tabbed DeSclafani as the team’s fifth-best prospect coming into the season, saying that the 24-year-old (who came over in the infamous Blue Jays trade) could top out as a number three starter or back-end reliever.
  • Whatever the intentions of Mets’ co-owner Saul Katz, any sale of his portion of the team’s equity is not likely to change the control of the club, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Heyman walks through the reasons that, even if Katz looks to move some or all of his shares, the Wilpon family is quite likely to stay in charge in New York.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledges that he finds the club’s middling start “concerning,” reports MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. While the team has plenty of internal possibilities to shake things up, Mozeliak says that he does not intend to just go with what he has if the situation warrants change. “I can’t imagine us just doing nothing all season and just say our strategy is you’re going to rise up to your mean,” said Mozeliak, who said the club’s 19-20 record may actually be an over-achievement at this point. “For us, there are some things we want to be sensitive to. The month of July is an opportunity to maybe change the look of your club if you have to. The clock’s ticking, but it’s not in a panic mode or a reactionary place where you have to just do something to do something. I think people have to be aware that this is not acceptable baseball at this point.”

Injury Notes: Fernandez, Cisnero, Garcia, Belt, Buxton, Beltran

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Injuries continue to dominate the headlines around the league, led of course by the most impactful UCL tear in a year already full of them. The news that star Marlins hurler Jose Fernandez is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery has capped off a difficult stretch of pitching injuries, leading to reactions from around the game. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports says that understanding and addressing the rash of elbow injuries is in its infancy, and could be decades away from any kind of satisfying resolution. Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link) writes that the club did not mishandle Fernandez, and that the lesson teams have drawn from the rash of TJ procedures is to maximize the innings of young arms before they hit the open market. And Tom Verducci of SI.com argues that the issue is not use at the major league level so much as years of added stress before players become professionals, and explores various possible solutions.

Let’s run through the latest injury news that carries potential hot stove implications:

  • A beleaguered Astros bullpen (collective 5.91 ERA) will be without young righty Jose Cisnero for the rest of the year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. The 25-year-old threw just 4 2/3 ineffective innings in 2014, but tossed 43 2/3 frames of 4.12 ERA ball in his debut season last year. Entering 2013, Cisnero was rated Houston’s 15th-best prospect by Baseball America, which noted that he could become an innings-eating starter.
  • Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia has seemingly defied the odds and worked himself back to the point that he is now a candidate to receive a big league start this weekend, tweets Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Garcia’s most recent problems have been in the shoulder, though he has previously undergone TJ surgery. Garcia, still just 27, has logged just 177 innings under his four-year, $27MM contract, which runs through 2015 and includes club options for the two following seasons ($11.5MM and $12MM, respectively, each with a $500K buyout).
  • The Giants will be without first baseman Brandon Belt for at least six weeks after successful thumb surgery, reports Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter). It appears that the team will utilize a mix of Michael Morse and Hector Sanchez at first while Belt recovers.
  • Twins minor leaguer Byron Buxton — the game’s consensus top overall prospect — learned today that he has re-aggravated the wrist injury that cost him most of the early portion of the season, reports MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter links). Though the team does not believe the wrist is any worse than when it was first injured, but another extended absence would obviously further delay the 20-year-old’s final development push.
  • Outfielder Carlos Beltran, one of the major offseason signings by the Yankees, has been diagnosed with a bone spur in his right elbow. As MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports, the club will see if a cortisone show can allow Beltran to avoid surgery. “They believe it’s an old bone spur,” said manager Joe Girardi. “It’s aggravating his elbow now. If in a couple of days he doesn’t feel better, then my level of concern would be pretty high.”

Central Notes: Cardinals, Chapman, Moustakas

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The Pirates and Cardinals faced off tonight on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, but the matchup meant something different for each team, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes. It was the first time ESPN had hosted the broadcast in Pittsburgh in 1996, and for Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, appearing on the show demonstrates that the Pirates are relevant once again. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, though, doesn’t like playing on Sunday nights, especially given the travel headaches it causes when playing on the road. “I don’t think it’s taken into consideration at all that it makes it harder for us,” Matheny says. “You get in at four o’clock in the morning and … if they tell you that playing the next day that’s not going to affect you, I’d say they’re wrong.” Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

  • Reds closer Aroldis Chapman made his first appearance of the season on Sunday after missing the first six weeks after being struck in the face with a line drive in spring training, and he appears he hasn’t missed a beat. Chapman threw 15 fastballs of at least 100 MPH and topped out at 102 MPH while striking out three batters and collecting his first save against the Rockies.
  • The Royals are considering demoting infielder Mike Moustakas as they open roster space for a reliever, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. It’s been a disappointing season for Moustakas, who’s hitting just .147/.215/.321. The 2007 second-overall pick has struggled since a strong season in 2012 and has been below replacement level in 2014, even though he’s a skilled defensive third baseman.
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