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AL East Notes: Rays, Hanley, Red Sox, Matusz

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The Yankees’ postseason didn’t last long, as the team fell, 3-0, to the Astros in tonight’s American League Wild Card game. Their focus will now shift to the offseason, but here are some notes on the other teams in the AL East that have already been plotting out their winter game plans…

  • The Rays are having conversations about payroll constraints, general manager Matthew Silverman told reporters, including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). As Silverman points out, the top 10 teams in the league averaged a payroll that was $100MM greater than the Rays’ 2015 mark of $75MM. Payroll restrictions typically prevent the Rays from significant free-agent expenditures, and they also prevent Tampa Bay from being able to hang onto many of their homegrown stars. A look at MLBTR’s arbitration projections shows that the Rays could have some tough calls on their hands this winter, as their 11 arb-eligible players project to earn a combined $28.9MM.
  • The Red Sox are asking Hanley Ramirez to drop 15 to 20 pounds this offseason, interim manager Torey Lovullo told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The organization feels that as an infielder, it’ll pay off to be more agile than was required in left field. Ramirez was listed at 225 pounds this season, though Lauber notes that he reported at 240 pounds — 10 pounds heavier than he was in 2014. While the Sox will likely make an effort to trade Ramirez his offseason, he’ll be penciled in at first base if he returns to the club in 2016.
  • Lauber’s colleague, Jason Mastrodonato, asks five critical questions for the Red Sox as they head into the offseason. Among them are whether or not Christian Vazquez will be able to throw right away next season (the young catcher had Tommy John surgery earlier this year), if Rusney Castillo’s bat will merit regular playing time and if the team can effectively develop starting pitching or if changes are needed.
  • Arthroscopic surgery on the right (non-throwing) shoulder of Orioles lefty Brian Matusz went as planned today, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Matusz said that the recovery process should take about a month, which should give him time to recover and have a typical offseason. Matusz is arbitration eligible for the final time this offseason and will be a free agent next winter.

AL East Notes: Buehrle, Blue Jays, Red Sox

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On Saturday night, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber gave the Red Sox a reminder of what they’re missing, Timothy Britton of The Providence Journal writes.  The reigning AL Cy Young winner is the type of frontline pitcher that Boston will seek this winter and interim manager Torey Lovullo fully understands how important a strong ace is to a ball club.

“When a pitcher of his caliber starts working, getting in a rhythm, and has that special day going, it’s going to be a long day for the offense,” Lovullo said. “He was feeling very good and wasn’t throwing any pitch in the middle of the zone.”

Here’s more from the AL East..

  • Mark Buehrle’s short start against the Rays today could wind up being his last, an MLB source tells Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM (on Twitter).  While the Blue Jays are advancing to the playoffs, Buehrle is not expected to be a part of the team’s postseason roster.  Buehrle, 37 in March, tried to go two innings today in order to notch his 15th straight year of 200 innings pitched.  However, a rough start and bad defensive play led to Buehrle getting the hook before the end of the first.  Heading into today’s game, Buehrle owned a 3.82 ERA with 4.1 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9.  Since August 1st, however, the veteran has posted a 4.92 ERA and a ghastly 5.67 ERA across his last five outings.
  • Matt Silverman overhauled the Rays after taking over last year but he expects things to go a little bit differently this winter, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  “We are champing at the bit for a ’normal’ offseason during which we can focus all our efforts on advancing the organization,” Silverman said. “One byproduct from last offseason was the emergence of many new thoughts and ideas, and now is the time to fully explore them.”
  • John Farrell’s battle with cancer has forged an even stronger bond between him and Lovullo, as Gordon Edes of ESPN.com writes.
  • On Sunday morning the Red Sox announced that Farrell will be back as manager in 2016. Lovullo, meanwhile, will return as bench coach for 2016 and will not pursue any managerial openings this winter.

AL East Notes: Rays, O’s, E-Rod, Porcello, Hanley

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Though the Rays are on pace for their second straight losing season, the team’s pitching depth gives them hope for a turn-around in 2016, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi will be joined in the rotation by the now-healthy Matt Moore and Drew Smyly.  The fifth spot will be contested between Erasmo Ramirez, Nate Karns or top prospect Blake Snell, with Alex Colome and Matt Andriese on hand as further depth options.  That’s not even counting Alex Cobb, who will be back from Tommy John surgery late next season.  While Tampa certainly may want to hang onto its pitching depth given the team’s recent injury issues, I would think the Rays may also considering dangling an arm or two as trade bait this winter to add some offensive help.

Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Adam Jones plans to speak to owner Peter Angelos about the Orioles’ offseason plans, the outfielder tells the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly.  It will be a challenging winter for the O’s with eight free agents, though Jones feels most of them would come back for the right offer since “it’s a great place to play.  I know they all like being here.”  If some leave, Jones notes that the silver lining is freed-up payroll space.  “It’s going to be exciting to see what goes on this offseason because I know when you have a lot of free agents that means you have a lot of money to spend,” Jones said.  “And so, hopefully, I can influence some officials to spend a little bit of that money.”
  • Last winter saw the Orioles also lose Nelson Cruz, Andrew Miller and Nick Markakis to free agency, and another free agent exodus could threaten this competitive chapter in O’s history, as closer Zach Britton notes to Connolly.  “If you look at it, our window was a three- to four-year window that everyone was talking about. ’OK, if we’re going to do it, now is the time.’ So, yeah, if we lose every single guy [to free agency], it’s going to be a real challenge to have to replace them,” Britton said.  “You have to do it through the draft, you’ve got to do it through trades or do it through signing free agents. We’ve got to do it somehow.”
  • Two of those free agents say they want to return to the Orioles.  Steve Pearce tells Connolly that “I’d love to be back. I’d love for everybody to be back,” while Matt Wieters tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski that he knows this could be his last few days in a Baltimore uniform.  “I’m trying to embrace it and enjoy this last bit of the season,” Wieters said. “I’ve been very fortunate being able to to be here as long as I have and would love to stay here. But that is all stuff that will be controlled and talked about in the offseason.”
  • There is “healthy skepticism” around baseball that the Red Sox will fully explore having Hanley Ramirez as a full-time first baseman next year, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.  This and the hefty $66MM still owed to Ramirez will make it difficult for the Sox to get any kind of decent return if they want to trade him.
  • Eduardo Rodriguez isn’t technically a homegrown prospect (the Red Sox acquired him from the Orioles last summer in the Andrew Miller trade), though CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam believes the young southpaw can be the first front-of-the-rotation arm produced from Boston’s farm system since Clay Buchholz.  Rodriguez, 22, has posted a 3.85 ERA, 2.65 K/BB rate and 7.2 K/9 over 121 2/3 IP for the Sox in his rookie season.
  • It’s been a trying year overall for Rick Porcello, but the right-hander tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he’s learned some lessons from his first year with the Red Sox and is going into 2016 on a high note.  Porcello signed a four-year, $80MM contract with Boston prior to the season and became a target of fan ire after his early struggles, though he’s pitched well since coming back from a DL stint in August.

AL East Notes: Hanley, Ellsbury, Orioles, Moore

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Here’s the latest from around the AL East…

  • The Red Sox have given Hanley Ramirez permission to begin his offseason rehab process at his home in Fort Lauderdale, which ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes feels is a curious and perhaps telling move from the team.  While Ramirez has been shut down for 2015 due to a shoulder injury, Edes notes that the likes of Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa all remained with the club despite being shut down with past and current injuries in order to keep supporting their teammates.  It could just be a case of bad optics, or it could be a hint that the Red Sox don’t have Ramirez in their future plans and will try to trade him this winter.
  • The Red Sox aren’t missing Jacoby Ellsbury given the wealth of young outfield talent on the roster, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes.  “Ellsbury was not viewed by the Red Sox as a must-sign,” Silverman said, as the outfielder went on to sign a seven-year, $153MM free agent deal with the Yankees.  Given how Ellsbury has struggled this year, it’s no surprise the Sox would prefer to look to the future with Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rusney Castillo.
  • Some teams are already inquiring if Orioles pitching coach Dave Wallace will be available this winter, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  Wallace and the rest of the O’s coaching staff are still without contracts for 2016, though executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette recently told Kubatko that the club was in “the process” of getting those deals worked out.  The highly-regarded Wallace has been Baltimore’s pitching coach for two seasons and Kubatko speculates that if he were to leave, bullpen coach Dom Chiti could leave as well since the two are good friends.
  • Matt Moore tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he feels he’s turned a bit of a corner in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and should be fully back to normal by Spring Training.  Moore badly struggled in his first six starts back and was demoted to the minors, though since returning to the Rays he has pitched better, posting a 3.86 ERA and a 22-to-5 K/BB rate over his last 23 1/3 innings.
  • The Yankees will replace Dave Miley as the manager of their Triple-A affiliate, George A. King III of the New York Post reports.  Miley, who managed the Reds from 2003-05, just completed his 10th season managing the Yankees’ Triple-A team.

AL East Notes: Ramirez, Red Sox, Rays

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New Red Sox GM Mike Hazen joined MLB Network Radio (Twitter link) to talk about a wide range of topics, including the divvying up of responsibilities in the revamped front office.  Hazen explained that he’ll be more based in the office while senior VP Frank Wren will have a heavier hand in the evaluation of players.  Unsurprisingly, he says (link) that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will be making the “final decision” on all personnel matters.

Here’s more from the AL East..

  • Hazen (link) says that the Red Sox are tentatively planning to look at Hanley Ramirez as a first baseman in spring training.  Ramirez was recently shut down for the year with a shoulder injury.  He hit just .249/.291/.426 at the plate while advanced metrics labeled him as a weak defender.
  • This offseason, Dombrowski will have to figure out what he’ll do with is trio of major league-caliber catchers, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal writes. Boston could use one of its backstops in a package to land a frontline starting pitcher, but Christian Vazquez’s health might throw that plan into flux.  In order to trade Blake Swihart, the Red Sox would have to have confidence in Vazquez’s recovery from surgery, but his situation could still be murky come December or January.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times took a position-by-position look at how the Rays look heading into 2016.  At first base, the Rays have James Loney signed at an $8MM salary, but Topkin wonders if they might be better off trading him, even if they have to eat some of his contract.  Tampa Bay, he writes, could give themselves additional flexibility while opening a spot for Richie Shaffer, who would need to be paired with a lefty hitter.
  • Rich Hill has been excellent this month for the Red Sox and he could be carving out a spot for himself in the rotation in 2016, as Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe writes.  However, the 35-year-old says that he’s not thinking that far ahead.  “I don’t want to even go there, really,” he said. “Just really kind of focus in on tomorrow and get ready for that next start. You want to get to the finish line and worry about [next year] when it comes around.”  Hill, who previously owned a 4.72 ERA over parts of ten big league seasons, has a 1.17 ERA over three starts with 30 strikeouts and just two walks.

AL Notes: Lewis, Souza, Travis

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Let’s have a look in at a few notes from the American League:

  • The Rangers’ investment in righty Colby Lewis has paid dividends, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. While the 36-year-old’s 4.36 ERA is not overly impressive, he is closing in on 200 innings pitched and has been worth about two wins above replacement (give or take). That’s exactly the kind of steady presence the club hoped for after experiencing an incredible rash of recent pitching injuries. Looking ahead to the offseason, Lewis indicated that he wants to keep pitching and will evaluate his options. “We’ll just have to see how this plays out,” he said. “If they want me back, we’ll go from there. It’s still a business. Everybody’s got to be on board with it. It’s going to be a situation ultimately for this front office and a lot of others. I feel like when I’m healthy and enjoying the game, I’m going to eat up innings and try to give you a chance to win every night.” From the team’s perspective, Daniels heaped praise on the veteran and indicated that there is interest in another contract. “We’ll address that at the end of the year,” Daniels said. “But I don’t think anyone here wants Colby pitching in another uniform.”
  • Steven Souza’s 2015 season hasn’t gone quite the way that he and the Rays hoped, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explains. Souza himself labeled it “a trial,” saying that he hasn’t handled the pressure of being a major trade acquisition as well as he could have. “I was taking a load I didn’t need to take, trying to carry the team and hit a homer every single pitch,” he said. “That’s just not realistic.” As Topkin rightly notes, it’s promising to see the 26-year-old take accountability. And it isn’t as if Souza has had a complete disaster of a season: he owns a 105 wRC+ and has rated well on the basepaths, though his defensive metrics aren’t great. Certainly, there’s plenty of time for him to make good on the club’s investment, and it’s worth noting that Souza has performed well since returning from a fractured hand.
  • Another young player who was recently traded, Devon Travis of the Blue Jays, hit the ground running with his new organization. But his year ended prematurely due to exploratory shoulder surgery. As MLB.com’s Gregory Chisholm reports, the rookie ultimately had a cyst drained and a “general cleanup” in the procedure. It does not appear as if anything more serious was identified, which seems to rate as good news. Expectations are that Travis will be ready for a full spring, when he’ll look to build off of an outstanding start to his career.

AL East Notes: Donaldson, Boxberger, Karns

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The Blue Jays acquisition of Josh Donaldson last offseason has been said to be due to the dogged persistence of Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post echoes that sentiment, noting that Yankees GM Brian Cashman touched base with Billy Beane regarding Donaldson early last offseason. Cashman, however, was told that Donaldson simply wasn’t available in trades. Anthopolous, though, continued his pursuit despite being told the same. “Alex is and was certainly relentless,” Athletics assistant GM David Forst told Sherman. “That is his personality. But we didn’t trade Josh to make Alex go away.” Forst adds that the A’s had a list of Blue Jays players they had strong interest in, and eventually the Jays offered enough from that list to make them cave. Donaldson’s MVP-caliber season notwithstanding, Forst said the A’s still believe the players they got in the deal have bright futures that will even out the transaction in the future. Sherman notes that Franklin Barreto — who is ranked among the game’s top 50 prospects or so — and Kendall Graveman held particular appeal to the A’s.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Brad Boxberger’s recent comments about potential overuse from the Rays sparked some controversy, but agent Scott Boras tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he believes Boxberger is a good fit for the Rays and will benefit from a more defined role in the future. “[Manager Kevin] Cash has given him an opportunity and he’s taken advantage of it and become an All-Star, and when you have things like that happen for a young player, you’re in a good place,” said Boras. The agent, however, acknowledged that the Rays may eventually struggle to keep Boxberger for financial reasons — a comment that is less a reflection on Boras’ reputation than it is of the Rays’ well-documented payroll constraints. Boxberger has saved 36 games this season, and a full 2016 season as the Rays’ closer would set him up for a hefty payday in 2016 which could soar by 2017. Comparatively, Greg Holland received $4.675MM for his first arb-eligible season in 2014 with just 67 career saves under his belt. That figure jumped to $8.25MM in 2015. Boxberger has already saved 39 games in his career and offers similarly high strikeout numbers, albeit with a higher ERA as well.
  • Also from Topkin, the Rays are shutting down Nate Karns for the remainder of the season due to tightness in his right forearm. Karns and Cash both feel that the issue isn’t serious in nature, and Karns added that at a different point in the season he might’ve pitched through the pain. With Tampa Bay having fallen out of playoff contention, though, it makes sense for Karns to focus on his health. Rookie catcher Curt Casali may also see his season shut down, Topkin notes, due to a lingering hamstring injury.

AL East Notes: Sabathia, Red Sox, Jepsen

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Though he gutted out a quality start after a tough first inning last night,Yankees southpaw  CC Sabathia is dealing with bone-on-bone arthritis in his right knee, the left-hander told MLB.com’s Barry Bloom last night. Sabathia told Bloom that he’ll eventually need knee replacement surgery, but “that’s the price you pay.” Sabathia has been wearing a brace on his injured knee which he says prevents the ligaments in the joint from rubbing together when he plants to throw a pitch. As such, he’s able to maintain his mechanics.

A few more notes from around the AL to kick off the week…

  • The Red Sox could use an “alpha dog” atop their rotation, writes Peter Gammons of the MLB Network and GammonsDaily.com. Gammons breaks down a number of options for the Sox, including Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda (whom, according to one scout that spoke to Gammons, is “too slight” to pitch every fifth day in the Majors). Gammons outlines the case for and against the Sox reeling in top free agents David Price and Zack Greinke within his column, and he also looks at Johnny Cueto’s struggles since over the past month with the Royals.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that while the trade of Kevin Jepsen from the Rays to the Twins doesn’t stand out as one of the more memorable deals from this past deadline, it had a significant impact on the Rays’ clubhouse. There was a feeling in the air that the team had given up by trading one of its top setup men to a team they were chasing in the Wild Card race, Topkin hears from people around the clubhouse, especially considering that the return was a pair of low-level minor leaguers who weren’t going to contribute in 2014.

AL Notes: Martin, Twins, Eppler

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Former Rays shortstop prospect Brandon Martin has been arrested in the shooting deaths of two men, including his father, Ali Tadayon of the Press-Enterprise writes (via Cork Gaines of Rays Index). Two men were found dead Thursday, and another, Martin’s uncle, was badly injured. Officers apprehended Martin after a chase Friday. Martin was the 38th overall pick in the 2011 draft, but he struggled in the minors — he received good reviews for his defense but batted .211/.281/.371 in parts of three seasons from 2011 through 2013. The Rays technically released Martin this spring, although Baseball America’s Matt Eddy noted at the time that Martin retired before the 2014 season. Here’s more from the American League.

  • Of the 15 remaining active Major Leaguers who were drafted in 1997 or earlier, four (LaTroy Hawkins, Torii Hunter, A.J. Pierzynski and Michael Cuddyer) were selected by the Twins, Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out. That doesn’t include Kyle Lohse, who was drafted in 1996 by the Cubs but played his first several big-league seasons with Minnesota.
  • Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler has an edge as a candidate for the Angels GM job, Sherman writes. The Angels liked him in 2011, when he was a candidate for the GM position before it eventually went to Jerry Dipoto. “There is a strong sense that Arte [Moreno] and [team president] John Carpino liked [Eppler] a lot then and nothing has changed now four years later,” a source tells Sherman. “That feels like a huge advantage in this process — to have a head start with the people making the decision.”

AL East Notes: Yankees, O’Day, Pena, Snell

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Though many Yankees fans have grown weary of Stephen Drew’s low batting average at second base (and “grown weary” is admittedly an understatement), Chad Jennings of the Journal News offers a well-reasoned explanation for the team’s decision to stick with Drew and Brendan Ryan over the likes of Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela. Jennings notes Refsnyder’s poor second half at Triple-A and questionable glovework and also points to the fact that Ryan has been an ideal platoon-mate at second base, providing good defense and a hefty .286/.333/.500 batting line against lefties this year. Jennings dispels several oft-used myths, such as the Yankees’ reluctance to rely on young talent or the claim that only manager Joe Girardi would continue relying on a struggling veteran such as Drew.

A few more notes from the AL East…

  • Darren O’Day’s time with the Orioles is quite possibly winding down, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Despite being a bit older than typical free agents — he’s 32 and will pitch next season at 33 — O’Day is primed to cash in on a nice free-agent deal due to his recent string of dominant seasons. Manager Buck Showalter offered high praise for the sidearming setup man: “Darren, there’s no doubt he’s the leader of that bullpen,” said Showalter. The manager noted O’Day’s role in keeping the bullpen a tight-knit unit, noting that his shoes would be tough to fill if he ultimately signs elsewhere upon hitting the open market.
  • Carlos Pena is humbled and grateful for the opportunity to sign a contract and retire as a member of the Rays organization, he tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. “As much as the Rays have meant to me, for me to even believe that I meant the same to the Rays as well, I couldn’t be more grateful,” said Pena. “This is a dream come true to end my career in such a way, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
  • Rays top prospect Blake Snell was disappointed not to be called up in September, writes Topkin in a separate column, but the left-hander nonetheless has hopes of making the team out of Spring Training in 2015. Snell, 22, hadn’t pitched above A-ball heading into the season but broke out with an absurd 1.61 ERA, 10.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 134 innings between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. Baseball America named Snell its minor league player of the year as a result of the strong performance. Snell could very well have a chance at cracking the roster next season, especially considering the fact that Topkin has recently said it seems likely that Tampa Bay will deal from its surplus of rotation options this offseason.
  • Baseball America’s Matt Eddy examines Snell’s historic minor league season, noting that he’s tied for the second-lowest composite ERA for a starter since 2003, trailing only Justin Verlander. Of the 10 pitchers to have posted a composite 1.60 ERA or better across multiple minor league levels, Snell is the only one who reached Triple-A in his dominant season; the others spread their dominance across lower levels. Snell’s season, Eddy writes, was one of the best in recent minor league history.
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