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Brewers To Interview Rays’ VP Chaim Bloom On Thursday

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With Doug Melvin transitioning from general manager to an advisory role, the Brewers are on the hunt for a new GM. To this point, it’s known that Pirates director of player development Tyrone Brooks was in line for an interview. Additionally, reports have indicated that the Brewers have received permission from the A’s to interview assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz. Scouting director Ray Montgomery stands out as an internal candidate. Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio is said to be eyeing a younger GM with a base in analytics. That brief recap aside, here’s the latest on Milwaukee’s GM search…

  • The Brewers will interview Rays vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom on Thursday, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Rosenthal had reported last week that it was expected that the Brewers would ask permission. Bloom, formerly Tampa Bay’s director of baseball ops, was bumped to VP last offseason after Andrew Friedman made the jump to the Dodgers. The 32-year-old Yale grad would seem to fit the team’s preference for a rising young executive that can bring a familiarity with analytics to their revamped front office.

Carlos Pena To Sign Contract To Retire As Member Of Rays

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The Rays will sign first baseman Carlos Pena to a contract in order to allow him to retire as a member of the organization, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The 37-year-old Dominican native has not played with any organization this year.

Though he ultimately made many stops along the way in his 14 big league seasons, Pena enjoyed his longest and most successful stint in Tampa Bay. After originally signing there as a minor league free agent, Pena put up a monster 2007 season in which he swatted 46 home runs and carried a 1.037 OPS. He inked a three-year, $24.25MM extension thereafter.

Though he never quite reached that peak again, Pena put up a .230/.360/.483 slash over his five years with the Rays, the last of which came after a one-year stop with the Cubs. He was also a significant contributor to the club’s 2008 and 2010 playoff teams, compiling a .269/.388/.522 batting line with four home runs in his 80 post-season plate appearances.

Before heading to Tampa Bay, Pena spent an extended stretch with the Tigers. Though he was an above-average hitter, he didn’t consistently produce there as he did later. Pena also made a stop in Chicago, as noted above, and had short tenures with the Rangers, Royals, Red Sox, Astros, and Athletics. He had an unsuccessful late-season run last year in Texas, and it appears as if that will represent his final work at the MLB level.

While Pena was born in the Dominican Republic, he played high school and college ball in the United States, making him draft-eligible. He was taken with the tenth pick of the 1998 draft by the Rangers and soon became one of the game’s highest-rated prospects. But Pena was dealt twice in 2002, not long after reaching the majors, first heading to Oakland and then on to Detroit (as portrayed in the Moneyball book and film).

It took some time until Pena made good on his full promise, but he certainly did that for the Rays. MLBTR offers its congratulations on an outstanding career, and wishes him the best as he moves on to other pursuits.

East Notes: Williams, Cespedes, Boxberger, Kelly, Tazawa

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Star Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper provided a ringing endorsement for embattled skipper Matt Williams, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports. “Truly, I love him as a manager,” said Harper. “Flat out I absolutely do. If I didn’t, everybody would know.” Player sentiment only goes so far, of course, but the comments do seem particularly meaningful with Harper set to finish off a compelling, breakout season as one of the lone bright spots on a disappointing team.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • While there was a report yesterday that the Braves could have interest in Yoenis Cespedes as a free agent, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears (Twitter link) that the team has no such intentions. As I noted at the time, that match seemed curious on paper not because Cespedes wouldn’t be an appealing target for the team — he would — but because his price tag seems likely to move quickly into a range that the Braves would not find palatable.
  • Rays closer Brad Boxberger says that his recent struggles may be the result of inconsistent usage earlier in the year, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Another strong campaign from Boxberger, 27, has started to trend downward in recent weeks, and he said that could be due to “all of the early use in non-closing situations.” While Boxberger says he does not want to place blame on the team’s lack of a designated closer role — which he has filled, de facto, for much of the year — he obviously seemed to suggest that as a possibility. Boxberger will still be a season away from reaching arbitration eligibility after this year, though his saves tally this year will set him up for a big payday thereafter — if he can remain healthy and effective.
  • Red Sox righty Joe Kelly has flipped the narrative on his season, but as Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reports, he may have thrown his last pitch of 2015. While that decision has yet to be made, the 26-year-old exited his outing last night with shoulder tightness — obviously not an area that the team will want to take any chances at the tail end of a lost season. Kelly’s solid late-year results have surely given nsew president of baseball operations plenty to think about in planning next seasons rotation.
  • Another Red Sox right-hander, reliever Junichi Tazawa, has already been declared shut down for the rest of the year, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports. The move is not related to any injury, says interim manager Torey Lovullo. Instead, Boston wants to avoid too much stress on the 29-year-old’s arm after he topped sixty frames in each of the last two years. The steady Tazawa has faded down the stretch this year after a typically strong first half. He’ll enter his final year of arbitration in the offseason.

Central Notes: Cubs, Holland, Larkin

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The Cubs and Pirates are squared off in a key double-header today at PNC Park as the teams jockey for position in the NL Central — and, quite possibly, the rights to host an all-or-nothing Wild Card game. Let’s check in on the latest notes from that division and its corresponding grouping from the American League side.

  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says he’s not worried about the possibility of losing front office talent to other organizations this winter, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “I think we have a pretty tight-knit group, and this is a great time to be a Chicago Cub,” he explained, going on to add that, “but if we do [lose front office staff], I think we have a really deep organization, that there’s another layer ready to step up.” Epstein’s own contractual status is set to move towards the front of the burner for Chicago, of course. He says that he’s not giving any thought to the matter at present, and it’s hard to blame him: with organization’s baseball operations department firing on all cylinders, his leverage only seems to be on the rise.
  • There is some real cause for concern with Royals closer Greg Holland, writes MLB.com’s Mike Petriello. His fastball velocity and spin rate have both fallen off a cliff of late, and a recent ten-day rest did not reverse the trend. That not only creates questions the rest of the way for the World Series-hopeful Royals, but adds to the offseason intrigue for the 29-year-old righty. Kansas City already has a ton of cash (relative to its overall payroll) committed to the pen, and Holland will line up for a raise on his $8.25MM salary in his final year of arbitration. He had seemed a plausible trade candidate, but will need to answer some questions over the final weeks of the season and the postseason before his offseason outlook can be assessed.
  • Former Reds great Barry Larkin has seen his name mentioned frequently as a hypothetical candidate to take over in the Cincinnati dugout, though it’s not clear yet whether Bryan Price will be retained for 2016. Larkin said today on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that he interviewed for the Rays job last year and had preliminary discussions about the Tigers’ most recent opening, which at least gives credence to the idea that the Hall-of-Famer has interest in such a position.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Strasburg, Cespedes, Phils, Brewers, DePodesta

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Here are the latest notes from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

  • The Rangers and Nationals had trade talks involving Stephen Strasburg over the winter, per Rosenthal. Nothing ever came close to getting done in those “wide-ranging” talks, in which Steven Souza (later dealt to the Rays) and Jurickson Profar (later scratched for the season) also came up. It’s not clear from the report what kind of scenarios were considered. Looking forward, it remains to be seen whether there will be any consideration given this winter to a deal involving the 27-year-old righty. Strasburg’s value is down, due both to an inconsistent 2015 season and to the fact that he now has only one season left before hitting free agency, but it’s still hard to imagine the Nats letting him go unless the return was rather significant.
  • The Braves could line up a pursuit of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes in free agency, a source tells Rosenthal. While it’s not hard to see the appeal — he’s a power bat at a position of need, and could line up with the team’s timetable for contention — such a move would still rate as a surprise. Atlanta only just got out from under the ill-fated Melvin Upton contract, which showed the risk of such a free agent signing given the team’s recent payroll restrictions, and Cespedes could well cost twice or more what Upton did ($75MM).
  • Early returns on the summer trade hauls of the Phillies and Brewers have been positive. There is some nice buzz around Philadelphia’s system, especially with all the depth its added in recent months and the intriguing players that came over for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s return for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers has looked rather compelling, with Domingo Santana raking in his early MLB action and the trio of other players finishing strong at Double-A. (Remember: the key player in that deal, Brett Phillips, joined the MLBTR Podcast just after being swapped, as did righty Zach Davies, who is now in the big leagues after being acquired for Gerardo Parra.)
  • Mets VP of player development and scouting Paul DePodesta has been plugging away at that post for five years, and the fruits of his labors are now showing at the big league level. Rosenthal reports that the former Dodgers general manager “would consider returning to a GM’s role” with another organization, if the circumstances were right, though many still believe he’ll ultimately take over in New York for Sandy Alderson at some point.

AL East Notes: Sanchez, Davis, Nava

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The Yankees have announced that they’ve promoted catcher Gary Sanchez and outfielder Slade Heathcott from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Heathcott has played in the bigs before, but Sanchez hasn’t. Sanchez isn’t likely to play much, but his arrival will surely pique the interest of Yankees fans. The organization gave Sanchez a $3MM bonus out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, and since then, he’s shown good power (with 89 minor league home runs) and a very strong throwing arm, although he hasn’t received great reviews for other aspects of his work behind the plate. MLB.com currently ranks Sanchez as the Yankees’ seventh-best prospect. His climb through the minors has been relatively slow, but he’s still just 22 and has hit .274/.330/.485 between Scranton and Double-A Trenton this season. Here’s more from the AL East.

  • Chris Davis’ big second half with the Orioles has him primed to land a nine-figure contract, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com writes. Davis has hit a ridiculous .307/.413/.704 in 223 plate appearances since the break, bringing his full-season numbers up to .262/.355/.558 with 41 homers. In a recent edition of the MLBTR Newsletter, Tim Dierkes suggested that Davis’ agent Scott Boras could ask for eight years this winter. It seems unlikely he’ll get it, but as Dierkes noted, even a six-year deal would push Davis past $100MM.
  • Rays outfielder Daniel Nava was surprised when the Red Sox designated him for assignment in May, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. Nava struggled with a hand injury and hit just .152/.260/.182 in 78 plate appearances with Boston this year, but he points out that he had hit much better in the second half in 2014 — he batted .238/.330/.310 in the first half and .297/.359/.405 in the second. “The reason why I didn’t (see it coming) is because the previous year I was in the same situation and I had turned it around,” he says. (Of course, Nava is already 32 and in the midst of his arbitration seasons, so he no longer even if he were to have improved somewhat, his utility to a last-place Boston team would have been limited.) Nava adds that he misses Red Sox fans and the historic environment of Fenway Park.  “Just feeling this, it’s not like Boston,” he says. “It’s not a knock on this. It’s just different. That’s a fact. Those fans are special.”

Front Office Notes: Red Sox, Kantrovitz, Bloom

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The Red Sox on Wednesday announced a trio of front office promotions, beginning with the promotion of former big league right-hander Brian Bannister to a newly created position: director of pitching analysis and development. He had previously been serving as a pro scout for the Sox. Additionally, amateur scout Chris Mears was bumped to pitching cross-checker, and Gus Quattlebaum was moved up from assistant director of professional/international scouting to director of pro scouting. Quattlebaum will replace former pro scouting director Jared Porter, who reportedly took a job with the Cubs late last month in the wake of Ben Cherington’s resignation.

More front office chatter from around the league…

  • D-Backs senior vice president De Jon Watson and Red Sox assistant general manager Mike Hazen have surfaced as candidates for the GM vacancy in Boston, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Brewers VP of amateur scouting Ray Montgomery’s name has also come up in connection to the Sox, Heyman adds. As Heyman notes, Watson has previously worked under Dave Dombrowski with the Marlins. Frank Wren’s name is still very much in play as well, Heyman hears, but there’s no clear-cut favorite at this point.
  • The Brewers have received permission from the Athletics to interview assistant general manager Dan Kantrovitz, per Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Kantrovitz is in his second stint with the Athletics and served as the Cardinals scouting director in the interim. Those interested in learning more about Kantrovitz will want to check out his interview with Fangraphs’ David Laurila from last October.
  • Rosenthal also reports (Twitter link) that the Brewers are expected to request an interview with Rays vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Tampa Bay promoted Bloom from director of baseball ops to VP of baseball ops last offseason after Andrew Friedman joined the Dodgers organization. A graduate of Yale, Bloom has a background in player development, contract negotiation and international scouting.

Quick Hits: Andujar, Hoffman, Harvey, Rays

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Former Astros, Cardinal and Athletics right-hander Joaquin Andujar passed away on Tuesday at the age of 62 due to complications stemming from a lengthy battle with diabetes. The four-time All-Star was known as a passionate player that never shied away from showing his emotion on the field. Andjuar twice won 20 or more games in a season and was an integral piece of the Cardinals’ 1982 World Series championship, posting a 2.47 ERA in 265 2/3 innings before going on to allow just four earned runs in 20 postseason innings. Pedro Martinez spoke about how Andujar influenced not only him but an entire generation of Dominican baseball players Tuesday on the MLB Network (video link). Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Joey Nowak paid tribute to Andjuar in a lengthy piece that offers quotes from former teammates, managers and executives who knew Andujar well. We at MLBTR extend our condolences to the friends and family of Andujar as well as all who were impacted by his career.

A few more notes from around the game…

  • ESPN’s Keith Law shares some scouting thoughts from the past week, most notably offering his opinion on Rockies top prospect Jeff Hoffman — the key piece in July’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster (ESPN Insider required). Law notes that Hoffman showed a minimal-effort delivery while sitting in the mid-90s and touching 97 mph five times during a five-inning start. However, the fastball has little movement, making it too easy to square up, and Hoffman showed a poor feel for his changeup on the day in question. From a big-picture point of view, Law feels that Hoffman has a lot in common with Jon Gray in that he’s a power arm with great stuff that has yet to show up in his results. Law also discusses Cubs shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres and White Sox righty Spencer Adams, among others.
  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes that while Matt Harvey has come under considerable fire due to the recent drama surrounding his innings limit, he’s in no way a quitter or phony. Rather, Harvey is a 26-year-old that it trying to balance his long-term health with his desire to win a championship with the Mets while hearing varying opinions and advice from doctors, his agent, Mets executives, his teammates and fans. He’s in an unenviable position, Martino points out before opining that no one in the situation need be portrayed as a “hero” or as a “villain.”
  • There are few open jobs on the Rays roster heading into the 2015-16 offseason, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, with Asdrubal Cabrera and John Jaso being the club’s primary free agents. That will leave some uncertainty at shortstop, and there’s already uncertainty at catcher, Topkin notes. One way the Rays could plug either hole will be to trade from their rotation depth, and Topkin feels that it’s “likely” the front office will do just that this winter. The Rays have Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Drew Smyly, Nate Karns, Matt Moore, Erasmo Ramirez, top prospect Blake Snell and, eventually, Alex Cobb as rotation options, giving them an enviable surplus of serviceable arms.

Quick Hits: Diversity, Edwards, Corbin, Cash, Rays

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A continued lack of diversity in front office hirings remains a point of focus for the league, as Jon Morosi of FOX Sports writes. In particular, commissioner Rob Manfred has reiterated to teams that they must interview minority candidates if they conduct an outside hiring search for a GM or field manager. With plenty of turnover in the works around baseball, the issue will once again be at the forefront. Fortunately, Morosi explains, there are a variety of highly-qualified minority candidates who could well vie for consideration. He lists and briefly profiles several.

Here are a few more stray notes from around the league …

  • Highly-regarded Cubs righty Carl Edwards — best known previously as “C.J.” — had his big league debut today, as ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers writes. The 24-year-old entered the year on several top-100 lists but converted to a relief role. His long-term usage remains unclear, but for now, he profiles as an “impactful” arm for the team’s pen down the stretch, per skipper Joe Maddon. Edwards struggled with his command in the upper minors, surrendering 6.7 BB/9 in 55 1/3 frames split between Double-A and Triple-A, but whiffed 12.2 batters and allowed a stingy 4.2 hits per nine.
  • Diamondbacks lefty Patrick Corbin, 26, has somewhat quietly reemerged after Tommy John surgery, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports notes on Twitter. After another strong outing today, Corbin has racked up 62 1/3 frames of 3.32 ERA pitching with 61 strikeouts against just 13 walks. He’s arbitration-eligible for the first time next year, and figures to be a key part of Arizona’s rotation going forward.
  • Rays owner Stuart Sternberg praised the diversity efforts in the above-cited piece. He also recently heaped praise upon the club’s rookie manager, Kevin Cash, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Cash got a five-year deal from Tampa Bay over the offseason to replace the aforementioned Maddon, and Sternberg said he’s made good on that investment. “The highest expectations and beliefs I had in Kevin have been more than realized,” said Sternberg. “I’m extraordinarily, really pleased. … The manager he is today, I would have liked him to be next year at this time.”
  • Sternberg also discussed the Rays’ payroll, which sat at about $72MM this year and seems likely to decline. “In a perfect world, we’re able to maintain the payroll where it is, but it’s not overly likely,” he said. “We’ll see.” The club has just two significant players set to reach the market in shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and DH John Jaso, leading Sternberg to say that he is confident in the club’s chances to contend in 2016.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Giants have outrighted outfielders Justin Maxwell and Ryan Lollis to Triple-A Sacramento, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. They had designated both for assignment last week. The veteran Maxwell is a solid defender but a somewhat light hitter who batted .209/.275/.341 in 274 plate appearances in the big leagues this year. It’s unclear whether he’ll accept the Giants’ assignment. The 28-year-old Lollis has had a breakout season in the minors, batting .325/.377/.459 in 299 plate appearances for Sacramento, but he had a somewhat sketchy track record before that and only has 13 plate appearances’ worth of big-league experience.
  • The Cubs have released veteran reliever Rafael Soriano, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. They had designated him for assignment in a flurry of roster moves last Tuesday. Soriano, 35, did not sign until June and then pitched only 5 2/3 innings for Chicago, allowing four runs before hitting the DL with shoulder trouble. Soriano has a 2.89 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 14 seasons also spent with the Mariners, Braves, Rays, Yankees and Nationals.
  • The Rays have outrighted infielder Hak-Ju Lee to Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Lee, a former top prospect and a key part of the 2011 Matt Garza trade between the Rays and Cubs, has struggled to hit at Durham in recent seasons, posting a .220/.303/.304 line in 360 plate appearances there in 2015. (Of course, the Rays still did just fine in that deal, also getting Chris Archer and Brandon Guyer.) The Rays designated him for assignment on Tuesday.
  • The Orioles have selected the contract of veteran outfielder Nolan Reimold, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The Orioles outrighted Reimold last week, but as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets, Reimold accepted the outright after the Orioles told him they would promote him this month. As Kubatko points out, the righty might prove useful as the O’s face two lefties (David Price and Mark Buehrle) this weekend. He’s hit .227/.306/.340 in 108 plate appearances with Baltimore this season.
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