Rays Claim Jumbo Diaz From Reds
The Rays have claimed right-hander Jumbo Diaz off waivers from the Reds, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (on Twitter). Diaz had been designated for assignment late last week when the Reds claimed Christian Walker from the Braves. The Rays placed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who will miss the 2017 season following Tommy John/flexor surgery, on the 60-day disabled list to create a spot on the roster.
The 33-year-old Diaz posted a seemingly palatable 3.14 earned run average in 43 innings out of the Cincinnati bullpen last season, but the hard-throwing righty also displayed some troubling trends. Diaz posted career-worst marks in K/9 (7.7), BB/9 (4.0), swinging-strike rate (10.4 percent) and average fastball velocity (95.9 mph). A .239 BABIP and a strand rate just north of 80 percent also contributed to that impressive 3.14 mark but prompted ERA alternatives like like xFIP (4.60) and SIERA (4.24) to forecast a more pessimistic outlook.
Diaz logged significantly better strikeout and walk rates in his only other two seasons in the Majors, however (2014-15). All told, he carries a 3.65 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, a 43.7 percent ground-ball rate and a heater that has averaged 96.9 miles per hour. Diaz is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to break camp with the Rays at the end of the month or once again be exposed to waivers before he can be sent to the minors. However, the Rays’ opportunity to see Diaz up close will be somewhat limited, as he’s currently pitching for the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Injury Notes: Brito, Skaggs, Boxberger, Duffy
D-backs outfielder Socrates Brito suffered a dislocated finger while sliding headfirst into home plate today, tweets MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. He’s being further evaluated, though Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that manager Torey Lovullo wouldn’t rule out surgery as a possibility. Brito is behind Yasmany Tomas, A.J. Pollock and David Peralta on the Diamondbacks’ outfield depth chart, but he certainly has a chance to make the team’s roster (or to re-emerge in the Majors midseason) if healthy. While Brito hasn’t hit much in his brief taste of the Majors, the 24-year-old has been fairly productive in Double-A and Triple-A in each of the past two seasons.
A few more injury updates from around the league…
- Lefty Tyler Skaggs has been scratched from his upcoming Cactus League start due to weakness in his left shoulder, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. While the Angels are calling the setback minor in nature, DiGiovanna notes that there’s some cause for trepidation given Skaggs’ lengthy injury history. Shoulder troubles limited Skaggs as recently as 2016 — his first campaign back from Tommy John surgery that was performed late in the 2014 season. Furthermore, DiGiovanna cites scouts who attended Skaggs’ first outing of the spring in reporting that the southpaw’s fastball dipped from 89-92 mph early in that outing to the 86-88 mph range near the end of his day. Skaggs walked four hitters and didn’t complete one inning in that outing, though obvious Spring Training caveats come along with that unsightly outing. The current plan is for Skaggs to throw a ‘pen session this weekend.
- Right-hander Brad Boxberger had “a little bit of a setback” with his right lat muscle, Rays manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). The pitcher himself tells Topkin that he’s not concerned by the issue and isn’t feeling any discomfort in his arm. Both player and team are still hopeful that Boxberger can be ready for Opening Day. The now-former Rays closer — Alex Colome seized that role in 2016 — missed the majority of the most recent season due to groin and oblique issues.
- Topkin also reports that shortstop Matt Duffy‘s target to appear in Grapefruit League games has been pushed back from its original mid-March placement (Twitter links). Duffy, whose 2016 season ended when he underwent surgery to repair the injured Achilles tendon in his left heel, tells Topkin that his progress has been a bit slowgoing. Topkin notes that the delay in his return to the playing field could impact Duffy’s Opening Day availability, though Cash wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Duffy could be ready by that point. Nevertheless, one can imagine that the Rays aren’t keen on rushing the 26-year-old back to the field, so a backdated DL stint to begin the year seems plausible. Tampa Bay acquired Duffy alongside prospects Lucius Fox and Michael Santos in last summer’s Matt Moore swap with the Giants.
Multiple Teams Interested In Brett Lawrie
TUESDAY: The Mets “don’t have any real interest” in Lawrie, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). As he notes, New York does have quite a few depth options in the infield, and it seems the team is pleased with the quality on hand to provide protection for the questionable status of David Wright.
As for the Rays, the club wouldn’t be looking to utilize Lawrie at his accustomed positions of third and second, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Rather than competing for time in those areas, he’d be expected to appear at first base, DH, and perhaps even in the outfield.
Meanwhile, it’s worth wondering whether Toronto’s interest could be impacted by the slow progress being made by Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets, skipper John Gibbons says the club expected Travis to have advanced further by this point but will continue “to be cautious.”
SUNDAY, 4:10pm: The Royals, Mets and Blue Jays also have interest in Lawrie, according to ESPN’s Jim Bowden. A native of Canada, Lawrie played in Toronto from 2011-14.
12:33pm: The White Sox released Brett Lawrie on Friday, but the infielder might not be without a team for long. The Rays will at least consider signing Lawrie, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Now 27, the version of Lawrie who served as one of baseball’s top prospects before torching opposing pitchers as a rookie with the Blue Jays in 2011 (.293/.373/580 in 171 plate appearances) is long gone. A career .261/.315/.419 hitter in 2,417 lifetime PAs, Lawrie slashed a pedestrian .248/.310/.413 in 384 plate trips last season and failed to provide defensive value at second base (minus-4 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-5.5 Ultimate Zone Rating).
Lawrie has spent his career at both the keystone and third base, where the Rays have far better starting options in Brad Miller and Evan Longoria, but they find his right-handed bat intriguing, according to Topkin. Moreover, because of injuries, infielders Matt Duffy (shortstop) and Logan Morrison (first base) aren’t locks for Opening Day, so Lawrie could provide the club depth if they do end up unavailable. Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource projects that Tampa Bay will enter the regular season with two out-of-options players, Nick Franklin and Tim Beckham, and minor league signing Rickie Weeks as its infield-capable bench choices. Like Lawrie, all three bat from the right side (Franklin’s the only switch-hitter of the group).
AL East Notes: Jays, Rays, Red Sox, Orioles
The Blue Jays have shown interest in outfielder Angel Pagan, one of the best free agents left on the market, but it’s unlikely he’ll end up in Toronto, according to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. The club is content to stick with Steve Pearce, Melvin Upton Jr., Ezequiel Carrera and Dalton Pompey as its left field options and doesn’t want to disrupt their competition by adding Pagan to the mix on a major league contract, per Chisholm.
More from the AL East:
- The Rays have so far gotten the worst end of the three-team, 11-player deal from 2014 that saw them send then-outfielder and now-first baseman Wil Myers to the Padres and acquire outfielder Steven Souza from the Nationals, who picked up Trea Turner and Joe Ross from the Friars. Unlike Myers and Turner (and arguably Ross), Souza hasn’t established himself as a cornerstone player for his club. That means first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers could be the Rays’ best hope to salvage the trade, observes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The team’s front office has long been bullish on the ex-Padres prospect, with president of baseball operations Matt Silverman telling Topkin: “Our staff had raved about him after seeing him that season. We’re thrilled we were able to acquire him. You don’t see many prettier swings.” Bauers used that swing to slash .274/.370/.420 in 581 Double-A plate appearances last season, and he now ranks as a top 80 prospect in the opinions of Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. The Rays expect the 21-year-old to continue impressing. “His maturation and ability to handle the game at a young age is fascinating to me,” said farm director Mitch Lukevics. “Generally that’s not the case.”
- Dating back to last summer, the Red Sox have lost high-level prospects like Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech and Anderson Espinoza in trades, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski isn’t ruling out further deals, he told Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. At the same time, Dombrowski is aware that “you have to quit trading young guys” sometime. With the Red Sox’s collection of “good young players” in the big leagues and the minors, Dombrowski believes the team has the “foundation to be good for a long time.”
- Orioles closer Zach Britton had been feeling discomfort in his left side since Feb. 21, but that’s no longer the case, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. The star left-hander will throw off a half mound Monday and a full mound Wednesday, and if he doesn’t experience a setback, he’ll make his Grapefruit League debut later in the week.
Heyman’s Latest: Nationals, Alvarez, Cubs, CarGo, Yankees, Colome
The latest notes column from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports kicks off with an extremely early look at the potential market for Bryce Harper in two years, with Heyman listing the Yankees, Nationals and Phillies as teams that many within the industry think will vie for the 2015 NL MVP in free agency. The in-depth look at Harper focuses on the 24-year-old’s improved clubhouse demeanor and maturity in recent years and also adds more fuel to the rumors that Harper played part of the 2016 season through a shoulder injury that he’s reluctant to discuss. Heyman also touches base on Derek Norris later in the column, noting that there may be a better chance that Norris is simply released than traded. Washington agreed to a $4.25MM salary with Norris to avoid arbitration, but because arb contracts aren’t fully guaranteed, they could cut Norris before March 15 and only pay him 30 days termination pay — about $688K, by my math.
Some highlights from a lengthy look at all 30 teams around the league…
- Pedro Alvarez still has fans in the Orioles‘ front office, per Heyman, but there’s been “no evidence” of renewed contact between the two sides. The Twins talked to Alvarez’s camp at one point but haven’t been in touch recently, and while Rangers manager Jeff Banister is fond of Alvarez dating back to the pair’s days in Pittsburgh, there’s nothing to suggest the two sides could strike a deal.
- The Cubs met with Scott Boras recently and discussed Jake Arrieta, but there was “no traction” in talks between the two sides. Heyman paints a similar picture to the one that has surrounded extension rumors with Arrieta for the past several months; the Cubs would be amenable to a three- or four-year deal, but Arrieta and Boras are targeting something more along the lines of Max Scherzer‘s seven-year, $210MM contract. Heyman also notes that the Cubs made a play for right-hander Brad Ziegler this winter before he inked a two-year deal with the Marlins.
- Extension talks between the Rockies and Carlos Gonzalez are “on hold” for the time being. The team tried to explore talks with Gonzalez (another Boras client) recently, but with free agency just a few months away, hammering out a new deal has long seemed unlikely (and, I’d argue, unnecessary from the Rockies’ vantage point, given the plethora of outfield options in Denver).
- After spending a combined $99MM on Matt Holliday and Aroldis Chapman at the Winter Meetings in early December, Yankees GM Brian Cashman was told he only had $4MM to work with over the remainder of the winter, Heyman reports. That level of cash prevented the Yanks from luring targets like Travis Wood and Jerry Blevins to the Bronx but did prove to be enough to buy Chris Carter (and perhaps Jon Niese, who inked a minor league deal). Cashman also tells Heyman that he did receive trade offers for Brett Gardner, but the offers simply weren’t enticing.
- Rays closer Alex Colome was oft-rumored to have drawn trade interest last summer and earlier this offseason, though Heyman writes that the Nationals wouldn’t part with top outfield prospect Victor Robles in order to acquire him. Colome was outstanding in his first season in the ninth inning last year, logging 56 2/3 innings with a 1.91 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate. The 28-year-old hasn’t even reached arbitration yet and is controllable through the 2020 season, so if he does eventually emerge as a potential trade chip, the asking price from the Tampa Bay front office would likely be deemed exorbitant by many clubs.
AL East Notes: Tillman, Harvey, Duffy, Red Sox Rotation
There was a bit of news on some Orioles arms this morning, as Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline.com was among those to report (Twitter link). Veteran righty Chris Tillman was able to make it through a flat-ground throwing session without incident, which bodes well as he attempts to get on track to join the rotation early in the upcoming campaign. There’s still a longer way to go for young right-hander Hunter Harvey, who is working back from Tommy John surgery. The organization expects him to be ready for game action by July, per manager Buck Showalter, which would represent a return within a year of his procedure.
- Rays infielder Matt Duffy is expected to be ready to return to the field by mid-March, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. His surgically repaired heel appears to be on the mend, but it’s still not quite clear whether he’ll be ready to go for Opening Day.
- While Red Sox camp has largely been a quiet affair, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing at stake, as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. In particular, the battle over the final two rotation jobs still appears unresolved. Cafardo takes an interesting look at the situation, with Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright discussing their approach this spring. Young lefty Eduardo Rodriguez is the third competitor for a rotation spot.
- Meanwhile, Red Sox southpaw David Price is fully assured a spot on the staff. But he will need to make a slight adaptation to his pitching approach. As ESPN.com’s Buster Olney explains, the league has asked Price (and others with a similar delivery) to make clear to umps whether they are working from the stretch or the windup when there’s a runner on third.
Camp Battles: Tampa Bay Rays
After losing 94 games in 2016, it was no surprise that the Rays traded away Logan Forsythe and Drew Smyly for younger players who can possibly help the team in the future. On the surface, these trades would indicate a willingness to take a step back and move towards a rebuild. However, the Rays are a team with a tremendous amount of depth in the upper minors, especially starting pitching, and trading away two key players has opened the door for some young players to compete for a starting job — while Tampa Bay also welcomes a few interesting veterans who were signed to short-term deals.
Here are some notable position battles to keep an eye on. Click here for prior entries in MLBTR’s Camp Battles series.
STARTING ROTATION (TWO SPOTS)
Blake Snell
Age: 24
Throws: L
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
Matt Andriese
Age: 27
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’21 season
Options remaining: 1
Jose De Leon
Age: 24
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 or ’23 season
Options remaining: 3
Erasmo Ramirez
Age: 27
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $3.13MM; projected to become a free agent after ’19 season
Options remaining: Out of options
Chase Whitley
Age: 28
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’20 season
Options remaining: 1
Jacob Faria
Age: 23
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’23 season
Options remaining: 2
Other candidates: Chih-Wei Hu, Austin Pruitt, Jaime Schultz
Despite a long list of viable candidates in the mix for a rotation spot, Snell should be able to lock up a spot with a halfway-decent spring. In 19 MLB starts in 2016, Snell was wild (5.1 BB/9) and inefficient (less than 6 innings in 15 starts), but he also struck out 98 batters in 89 innings while posting a 3.54 ERA. He has the talent to take a big step forward in 2017, but he could end up back in Triple-A if he continues to struggle with his control.
Andriese has nothing left to prove in the minors—he has a 2.83 ERA, 17 walks and 113 strikeouts over his last 95.1 Triple-A innings—but he’s also not overpowering enough to stand out from the other rotation candidates. He can separate himself with a strong spring, but there’s also a chance that he gets buried on the depth chart (or goes to the bullpen, where he spent time in each of the last two seasons) if he doesn’t.
Out of several rookies that will potentially make starts for the Rays in 2017, De Leon is the one to watch. He is one of two Rays prospects, along with Brent Honeywell, with frontline rotation potential. Honeywell only has 10 Double-A starts under his belt, though, and De Leon reached the Majors in 2016. Even though he struggled in his late-season stint with the Dodgers, he dominated in 16 Triple-A starts (2.61 ERA, 2.1 BB/9, 11.6 K/9). If he proves that he’s ready this spring, the only question is how much of a workload he can handle in 2017 and if it’s easier to manage if he begins the season in the minors.
Faria also boasts some impressive numbers in the upper minors, allowing less than seven hits per nine innings and striking out more than a batter per inning. He also might be the prospect most likely to handle the 162-game grind after he logged 151 innings in 27 starts last season.
As is the case with Andriese, Ramirez and Whitley both offer the Rays more experienced back-of-the-rotation options if none of the younger pitchers can prove that they’re up to the task. Ramirez was actually quite effective as a starter in 2015 (3.51 ERA, 151.1 IP, 135 H, 37 BB, 116 K), but only made one start in 2016 as he was utilized heavily out of the ‘pen. Whitley returned from Tommy John surgery in 2016, making four relief appearances in September before an effective four-inning start (2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K) in the season finale.
Prediction: Snell, Andriese
FIRST BASE or SECOND BASE (*Brad Miller will occupy one of the spots)
Logan Morrison
Age: 29
Bats: L
Contract Status: 1 year, $2.5MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Nick Franklin
Age: 26
Bats: S
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’20 season
Options remaining: Out of options
Tim Beckham
Age: 27
Bats: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $885K; projected to become a free agent after ’20 season
Options remaining: Out of options
Casey Gillaspie
Age: 24
Bats: S
Contract Status:Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’23 season
Options remaining: 3
This won’t be much of a battle if Morrison, who recovered nicely from an awful start to the 2016 season by slashing .270/.355/.478 over his final 330 plate appearances, proves that he’s healthy after September wrist surgery. If he picks up where he left off, Brad Miller, who finished the season as the starting first baseman, would slide over and become the regular second baseman. With Morrison’s inability to stay healthy or be productive over a full season, though, the Rays will leave the door cracked open for another player to win this competition.
Franklin is deserving of an opportunity after finally showing some of the offensive ability (.270/.328/.443 in 191 plate appearances) that the Rays were hoping for when he was acquired from the Mariners in the three-team David Price trade back in July 2014. He also proved to be one of the more versatile players in the league, making starts at five different positions (1B, 2B, SS, LF, RF). He’ll get a shot to earn a steady role at either first or second base, but a super-utility role is most likely, allowing the Rays to continue moving him around the diamond while giving him semi-regular playing time.
After being sent to the minors in late August due to a lack of hustle and not brought back at all in September, it’s a surprise that Beckham is still on the roster, let alone in the mix for a starting job. But as long as he’s around—he was in midst of a strong 2nd half (.327/.365/.520 in 105 plate appearances) when the Rays sent him packing—the former No. 1 draft pick has too much talent to exclude from this competition. Like Franklin, though, he’s likely to remain in a utility role as long as Morrison is healthy.
Gillaspie is a long shot to make the Opening Day roster, but it’s hard to ignore how quickly he’s moved up the ladder. The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, he began last season in Double-A, where he slashed .270/.387/.454 in 357 plate appearances, before finishing the season with an impressive 47-game stint in Triple-A (.307/.389/.520 in 203 plate appearances). Even if he doesn’t win the starting job on Opening Day, he could force his way into the picture very quickly.
Prediction: Morrison in a 1B platoon with Rickie Weeks Jr.
CATCHER
Curt Casali
Age: 28
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 1
Luke Maile
Age: 26
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 or ’23 season
Options remaining: 2
Michael McKenry
Age: 32
Bats: R
Contract Status: MiLB deal; $900K in he’s on the MLB roster; can opt out on 3/30 or 6/1
Options remaining: Out of options
Jesus Sucre
Age: 29
Bats: R
Contract Status: MiLB deal
Options remaining: Out of options
Until Wilson Ramos is healthy enough to catch on a regular basis—even if he can return sometime in the 1st half, he’ll likely serve as the designated hitter more often than not—the Rays are hoping to get some production out of the catcher position. While it wouldn’t be a surprise if they added another catcher before Opening Day—Derek Norris would be a logical target—they’re heading into Spring Training with an uninspiring group of options.
Casali has shown some power (18 HR, 16 2B in 369 plate appearances in 2015-16), but he also has a .202 batting average and 116 strikeouts over that span. Defensively, Casali threw out 36% of attempted base stealers in 2016 and has above average numbers as a pitch framer.
Like Casali, Maile is a good defensive catcher who will need to show a lot more offensive ability—he’s slashed .214/.234/.338 in 161 MLB plate appearances—if he’s ever going to be considered more than a backup.
McKenry and Sucre have a chance, if only because Casali and Maile aren’t likely to run away with the starting job.
Prediction: A player not currently on the Rays’ roster
Rays, Tommy Hunter Agree To Minor League Deal
FEB. 22: Hunter’s deal comes with a $1.4MM base in the Majors and another $1.5MM worth of incentives available to him, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman.
FEB. 16, 9:41am: The two sides have an agreement in place, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter).
9:28am: The Rays are closing in on a minor league contract with right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). An agreement with the Moye Sports Associates client could be finalized today, he adds.
The 30-year-old Hunter, long a member of the division-rival Orioles’ bullpen, split last season between Cleveland and Baltimore, pitching to a combined 3.18 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate. Hunter opened the 2016 season on the shelf due to offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia, and he also missed a stretch of time this past summer after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his back in a fall at his home during the 2016 All-Star break.
Over the past four seasons, Hunter has worked to a collective 3.24 ERA and averaged 6.8 strikeouts against 1.8 walks per nine innings across 241 1/3 frames with the Orioles, Indians and Cubs. He’d bring another experienced right-handed arm to a crowded Tampa Bay bullpen mix. Currently, the Rays are set to deploy Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger, Danny Farquhar, Shawn Tolleson and Erasmo Ramirez as right-handed options out of the ‘pen, with Xavier Cedeno lined up as the team’s primary left-handed option.
East Notes: Wieters, Rays, Mets, Phillies, Orioles
The offer the Rays made to catcher Matt Wieters before he agreed to join the Nationals on Tuesday fell well short of Washington’s $21MM guaranteed proposal, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays were willing to hand Wieters $6MM in guarantees and give him a chance to exceed the $10MM mark via incentives on a one-year contract. While Tampa Bay would have been happy to reel in Wieters at that price, it’s not too broken up about losing out on his services, per Topkin. As the Rays await the return of injured free agent signing Wilson Ramos, they’ll be “very content” with Curt Casali, Luke Maile and Jesus Sucre as their top options at catcher, manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday.
More from the AL/NL East:
- Meanwhile, Wieters’ agreement bolstered the confidence of an NL East rival – Mets backstop Travis d’Arnaud – because it ended speculation that the former would end up in Queens, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “For them to back me up like that means a lot,” d’Arnaud said. “I definitely worked harder to prove them right, to show them that I do care about it. I want to be here, to help this team get to the World Series and win it all.” The Mets didn’t seriously pursue Wieters, according to DiComo, and manager Terry Collins explained Tuesday that there’s plenty of belief in d’Arnaud within the organization. “If you’re a player and your front office and your manager support you and believe in you, you’d better have a good feeling about yourself,” Collins stated. “When you talk to Travis, you say, ‘Hey look, when you first came here, everybody talked about potential, potential. We’ve seen it in action, so we know it’s in there. We’ve just got to get it back out.'” The 28-year-old d’Arnaud is a former high-end prospect who was terrific as recently as 2015, though he has an extensive injury history and is coming off a highly disappointing season.
- In the weeks between the opening of free agency in November and Andres Blanco‘s December re-signing with the Phillies, the utility infielder refused to entertain other teams’ advances, he told Matt Gelb of Philly.com. “Just wait. They will call,” Blanco advised his agent, referring to the Phillies. They finally did – with a $3MM offer – in part because Blanco’s a respected figure in the team’s clubhouse and a favorite of manager Pete Mackanin, per Gelb. It helps that the 32-year-old has also been quite productive in Philadelphia, having slashed .274/.337/.457 in 523 plate appearances since 2014.
- Orioles closer Zach Britton won’t pitch in Wednesday’s intrasquad game because he’s showing symptoms of an oblique injury, manager Buck Showalter told reporters, including Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Showalter downplayed the severity of the ailment, saying the O’s are only holding out the star left-hander for precautionary reasons. While oblique injuries often lead to disabled list stints during the year, Showalter indicated that Britton would be able to pitch through this if it popped up in the regular season.
West Notes: Romo, Hahn, M’s, D-Backs
Newly minted Dodgers righty Sergio Romo discussed his interesting journey to joining his hometown team with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Personal trials and the strain of an increasingly high-profile role in the Giants bullpen put a strain on the veteran hurler, he tells Rosenthal. He credits several former teammates, including lefty Javier Lopez, with helping him to find his footing once again. Also of note, Rosenthal says that Romo “reject[ed] a higher offer from the Rays” to head to Los Angeles, due in part to the ability to live closer to his family.
Here’s more from out west:
- Righty Jesse Hahn is set to receive the Athletics‘ first start this spring, as Susan Slusser notes on Twitter. That’s a solid indication that he’s under serious consideration for the fifth starters’ role, she notes. The 27-year-old is looking to bounce back after a rough 2016 campaign in which he pitched to a 6.02 ERA with just 4.5 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in his 46 1/3 MLB innings. Hahn had generated quality results in his first two MLB campaigns, which occurred on both sides of a trade that sent him to Oakland from the Padres in exchange for catcher Derek Norris. But elbow troubles interrupted his 2015 campaign, and he has yet to get back on track.
- Mariners president Kevin Mather issued a statement to MLB.com in advance of the 2017 campaign, expressing high hopes for the organization. While any executive would express an intention to win a championship, his words seem to carry a certain set of expectations for the near term. “It is time to play October baseball in Seattle,” writes Mather. “Our fans deserve playoff baseball, and I’m not just talking about a Wild Card Game. Once in the playoffs, our goal is to win the World Series. Period. And having said that, we don’t want to win just one.”
- New Diamondbacks exec Amiel Sawdaye — whose title is senior VP and assistant GM — spoke with David Laurila of Fangraphs about the organization’s new approach. Sawdaye is only one of several key figures in Arizona with deep ties to the Red Sox, so it’s not surprising to learn that Boston’s approach will be reflected. He describes the intended decisionmaking process as “more of a flat hierarchy.” Sawdaye emphasized, though, that the D-Backs had strong player development and scouting units, good young front office people, and a “decent infrastructure” for analytics already in place. There are several other topics covered in the interesting chat, including the Jean Segura trade and the team’s possibilities for 2017.
- Jorge De La Rosa is among the players competing for a role with the Diamondbacks this spring, and as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert notes, he’s hoping to finally crack the big league roster there in his third stint with the organization. Of course, De La Rosa had only previously actually suited up for a few minor-league outings as an 18-year-old; his second run with Arizona only lasted a few days. Now 35, the veteran southpaw will be looking for a chance to pitch against his former club, the division-rival Rockies. “I have always liked this team, and I like the talent we have here,” says De La Rosa of the D-Backs. “I know we can do some really good things. That’s why I chose to be here.”