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West Notes: Rox, Realmuto, Padres, Rangers, Mariners

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Despite the struggles of the Rockies’ catchers in 2018, it doesn’t appear they’ll be among the most ardent suitors for Marlins backstop J.T. Realmuto, Thomas Harding of MLB.com hears. It’s unclear, though, whether Colorado will make a less splashy attempt to upgrade over its current trio of Chris Iannetta, Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy, a woeful offensive group in 2018. Realmuto was the game’s premier catcher last season, on the other hand, but his refusal to sign an extension with the Marlins makes him a prime trade candidate. With two years of arbitration control remaining, Realmuto would bring back an impressive haul, but it doesn’t look as if it’ll come from Colorado.

  • The Padres are rife with major league-caliber outfielders, meaning they’re going to “have to make some decisions and calls on” that area of their roster this offseason, general manager A.J. Preller said this week (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). Out of the Padres’ current group of outfielders, Cassavell classifies Wil Myers, Travis Jankowski, Hunter Renfroe and Franmil Reyes as trade candidates, adding that one of the latter two is likeliest to end up on the move. As right-handed sluggers with defensive limitations, Renfroe and Reyes offer similar skill sets, observes Cassavell, who notes that dealing one of the two would enable San Diego to move Myers from third base back to the outfield. The 27-year-old Myers, who owns the Padres’ second-richest contract (he’s guaranteed $64MM through 2023), saw his first real action at third base in 2018. Advanced metrics assigned Myers mixed reviews over a fairly small sample of appearances (36), as he accounted for one DRS and minus-5.4 UZR.
  • The Rangers elected to decline catcher Robinson Chirinos’ option for 2019 because of both the salary they’d have owed him ($4.5MM) and his defensive woes, according to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. Chirinos was one of the majors’ worst defensive catchers in 2018, but it was still a surprise that Texas let him become a free agent. After all, the 34-year-old did offer solid offensive production for the fifth straight season, hitting .222/.338/.419 (103 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 426 plate appearances, and exercising his option hardly would’ve broken the bank. Further, the Rangers don’t seem to have a full-time replacement on hand, as they’re not of the belief either Jose Trevino or Isiah Kiner-Falefa is ready for No. 1 duties, per Wilson. Texas is in the market for a primary backstop as a result, and though there are several established veterans on the open market, Wilson suggests Chirinos’ successor could arrive via trade.
  • Like their AL West rival in Arlington, the Mariners are seeking a starting catcher, having traded Mike Zunino to Tampa Bay on Thursday. With Zunino gone and the Mariners down to unproven 29-year-old David Freitas as their top option, Greg Johns of MLB.com runs down potential catcher acquisitions for the club. Considering the state of Seattle’s roster, GM Jerry Dipoto may attempt to trade for an experienced backstop who’s controllable for the next three to five years, writes Johns, who lists some potential targets in his piece.

AL West Notes: Correa, A’s, Beltre

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Astros shortstop Carlos Correa announced today at a team benefit that he underwent surgery to repair a deviated septum last Monday.  The nasal affliction, said the 24-year-old, was inhibiting his ability to breathe normally, especially when running the bases.  Arguably the centerpiece of the team’s 2017 championship run, the former #1 overall pick slumped to a career-worst .239/.323/.405 games last season.  He especially struggled in the season’s second half, posting a putrid 45 wRC+ and 24% hard contact rate over 133 PA following a return from the DL after a bout of lower back soreness.  During multiple gatherings with the reporters on a crusty Minute Maid Park surface, the former Rookie of the Year made no effort to draw a nexus between the respiratory issues and his poor performance, but did note that he doesn’t expect to have surgery to address the lower-back ailment, with the Houston Chronicle’s Brian T. Smith tweeting that the shortstop is “doing well” right now.

In other news from around the division . . .

  • On the heels of a wildly successful 2018 season, the A’s have announced changes to the team’s player development program, reports The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard. The club, apparently, is piggybacking on recent trends in the rookie-level Arizona League, where select teams – namely, the Padres, Indians, Cubs, and Giants – have added a second ’affiliate’ to compete in the league.  In this case, it seems the move is an effort to acclimate newly-signed international players to the American way of life (and professional baseball in the country) at a far more rapid rate than in the past.  Eddie Menchaca, who managed the lone AZL affiliate for the club last year, will reprise his role as manager for one of the teams, in addition to fulfilling his newly-appointed duties as Latin American player development supervisor.  The club’s farm, responsible in no small part for the team’s periodic, oft-unforeseen success over the last two decades, is ranked middle-of-the-pack in Baseball America’s latest update.
  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News cites a source “close” to Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre in declaring that a decision on the 39-year-old’s future could come “within a week or so.”  Beltre, of course, is deeply contemplating retirement, with a recent report by FanCred’s Jon Heyman noting that “the belief” is that the 21-year-veteran is leaning in that direction. If he is to return, Beltre seems to have given conflicting directives in the way of his future, with Grant noting that the Ranger dignitary “would like” to return to Texas but is most interested in playing for a contending team, of which category the 2019 Rangers are decidedly unlikely to fall into.  The article, which details possible positional alignments for the 2019 club, in addition to revelatory quotes from GM Jon Daniels, is well worth a full read for Ranger fans of all sorts.

AL Notes: Kirilloff, Tigers, Rangers, Athletics

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Rising Twins prospect Alex Kirilloff is now represented by Scott Boras, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports (subscription link) as part of a look at the super-agent’s commentary on the Minnesota organization. That puts both of the organization’s top pre-MLB players (Kirilloff and Royce Lewis) in the Boras stable. A burgeoning book of business with the Twins did not stop Boras from tweaking the club, though if anything it seemed more a playful jab to set up a free-agent or prospect promotional pitch. The Twins had a rough 2018 campaign, to be sure, but have loads of free payroll to work with and some exciting young talent reaching or nearing the majors. Their offseason remains a fascinating one to watch.

Elsewhere in the American League …

  • Don’t look for the Tigers to return to their ways as big players on the free-agent market just yet, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. Asked whether the Tigers could return to playing at the top of the open market, general manager Al Avila told Fenech, “One of these days,” before adding that the timing of such a return could be deduced “without me telling you.” Fenech goes on to suggest that the Tigers may not reemerge as prime free-agent players until the 2020-21 offseason, when the contract of Jordan Zimmermann is off the books and when much of the team’s increasing crop of minor league talent has begun to surface in the big leagues. For the time being, though, Tigers fans shouldn’t get their hopes up with dreams of splashy additions like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado or Patrick Corbin.
  • Cole Hamels’ success after being acquired by the Cubs has helped push the Rangers to re-evaluate their analytical practices, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. General manager Jon Daniels acknowledged that he talked to Hamels himself about the post-trade improvements and explained to Wilson that the organization will make some additions to get back up to speed in terms of data utilization. “There’s probably five or eight clubs that are ahead of the rest of the industry in certain areas,” said Daniels. “We’ve been in that group before, and we are in certain areas, but on the R&D side we’re not. That’s an area we’re going to look to improve.” As Wilson points out, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Rangers’ two biggest hires of the offseason — manager Chris Woodward and assistant general manager Shiraz Rehman — came from industry leaders in that regard. Woodward was the Dodgers’ third base coach, while Rehman was plucked from the Cubs’ front office.
  • The Athletics announced their player development staff for the upcoming season, and there are a few familiar names joining the minor league coaching ranks. Former big league third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff has been named the hitting coach for Oakland’s Short-Season Class-A affiliate in Vermont — his first professional coaching assignment. Meanwhile, 2004 AL Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby will be a general coach on the Double-A Midland staff. And former big league righty Chris Smith, whose career came to a close after pitching for the 2017 A’s, will embark on his coaching career by serving as the organization’s pitching coach for Class-A Advanced Stockton.

Rangers Agree To Minor League Deal With Jett Bandy

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The Rangers have agreed to a minor league pact with catcher Jett Bandy, reports Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. He’ll add a bit of catching depth to the Texas system after the Rangers’ surprising decision to move on from catcher Robinson Chirinos.

Bandy, 28, has spent the past two seasons in the Brewers organization after Milwaukee acquired him in the trade that sent Martin Maldonado to the Angels. Bandy, a former 31st-round pick, was with the Halos for the entirety of his career prior to that swap.

Bandy showed some decent pop in his limited big league time with the Angels, swatting nine homers and nine doubles through his first 233 big league plate appearances in 2015-16. That came on the heels of a solid .291/.347/.466 showing through 344 Triple-A appearances in 2015 (albeit in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League), so it’s understandable how the Brewers would’ve been optimistic that he could hit enough to hold down a roster spot. That, however, simply didn’t happen with the Brewers. Bandy’s two seasons in Milwaukee were disappointing, as he struggled to a .202/.282/.326 batting line through 259 trips to the plate.

To his credit, Bandy has thrown out 31 of 98 runners who’ve attempted to steal on him in the Majors (32 percent), though Baseball Prospectus also gave him slightly below-average marks in terms of pitch blocking and framing during his time with the Brewers.

With Chirinos no longer in the fold, the Rangers are severely lacking in catching options, so it’s natural to see them add some depth. Jose Trevino, who has all of eight MLB plate appearances and hit .234/.284/.332 with Double-A Frisco last season, sits atop the catching depth chart alongside Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who spent more time as an infielder than a catcher in the bigs last season. Texas will likely add further catching depth throughout the winter.

AL West Rumors: Athletics, Marwin, Gurriel, Grandal, Ramos, Wakamatsu

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The Athletics will boost their payroll in 2019, but general manager David Forst tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that there’s no set number following meetings with ownership. Oakland needs to address its rotation, second base and catcher situations, but Forst cautions that the A’s aren’t “going to shock anyone with huge deals.” Shea writes that while deals for Patrick Corbin and Dallas Keuchel won’t come together for the A’s, they’ll still be active in searching for upgrades. As for second base and catcher, the latter of the two is a more pressing urge for Oakland. Forst explains that the presence of Franklin Barreto as an MLB-ready option creates less urgency at second base than at catcher, where Sean Murphy, a fellow well-regarded prospect, is a bit further from the Majors.

More from the division…

  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow discussed his team’s options for replacing utlityman Marwin Gonzalez, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart covers. Moving Yuli Gurriel around the diamond could help the club make up for the loss of flexibility. Perhaps notably, Luhnow specifically references a “post-Marwin world,” which could be telling with regard to how the organization feels about its chances to retain its most versatile player. Meanwhile, says Luhnow, he’s “looking at different options to add more to our offense.” Adding a big stick certainly seems to make sense under that roster alignment, as the club would have flexibility to get a new player into the lineup at DH, first base, or the corner outfield.
  • Speaking of the Astros, catching is another obvious area to address. The club has some level of interest in Yasmani Grandal, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter), with the Mets also showing early signs of intrigue. As the top catcher on the free-agent market, Grandal will garner interest from a wide slate of teams. At present, the Astros’ top internal option behind the dish is Max Stassi.
  • Veteran catcher Wilson Ramos is of interest to the Angels, according to Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times, with at least four other teams also in pursuit early. The fit for the bat-first backstop is perhaps not as clean in Los Angeles as it might be for some other clubs, as most of the Halos’ DH plate appearances seem already to be spoken for with Shohei Ohtani and Albert Pujols figuring to garner significant playing time in that capacity. Given Ramos’ durability issues, he’d be a more logical fit for an American League club with plenty of DH at-bats available, though he’ll certainly draw interest from clubs lacking in DH time and from National League clubs as well.
  • Don Wakamatsu, who spent the 2018 season as the Rangers’ bench coach before assuming the role of interim manager late in the season, will return to the organization in 2019, tweets T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Wakamatsu interviewed for the managerial opening that eventually went to Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward, but he’ll return to the 2019 staff despite being passed over for the job in the end.

Quick Hits: Mets, Rangers, Escobar, Trumbo

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Some stray items from around the league…

  • It isn’t yet known if assistant GM John Ricco or special assistant J.P. Ricciardi will remain with the Mets in the front office of new GM Brodie Van Wagenen, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link) reports that both Ricco and Ricciardi are expected to join Van Wagenen and Omar Minaya at the GM Meetings this week.  The Mets reportedly want to retain both Ricco and Riccardi, though club COO Jeff Wilpon did say prior to Van Wagenen’s appointment that the new general manager would have hiring authority.
  • Are Nomar Mazara and Jurickson Profar extension candidates or trade candidates for the Rangers?  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News feels the team should hold off on a Mazara deal at least for now, as Texas would be selling low on a former top prospect who has yet to really display that ability at the big league level (.258/.320/.425 with 60 homers over 1720 career PA, with just 1.5 fWAR over three seasons), plus Mazara is only entering his age-24 season and could still break out as a Rangers cornerstone.  Profar was once seen as the best prospect in baseball, yet injuries have stalled his career, making it unlikely that the Rangers would invest in an extension for a player they still don’t know if they can count on as a long-term piece.  By that same token, Profar probably doesn’t have a ton of trade value if Texas shops him around to rival teams.
  • From that same piece, Grant argues that the Rangers should try to acquire a quality starting pitcher this winter as “seed money” towards a future contender.  Grant feels Texas probably won’t be ready to contend until 2021, though since the Rangers have a huge need for pitching right now, the club could acquire a notable starter as something of a “relevancy tax” to help keep fan interest up, and then conceivably trade this pitcher for future assets later.
  • With free agency upon us, Eduardo Escobar chose to sidestep the open market entirely by re-signing with the Diamondbacks on a three-year, $21MM contract.  Multiple rival executives felt the deal was a good one for the D’Backs, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required), with one exec speculating that Escobar’s price tag could’ve reached as high as four years and $40MM.  As Rosenthal noted, however, the market is crowded with several other infield options, and Escobar could have found himself forced to take the sort of below-market contract that many other free agents had to settle for last offseason.  Since Escobar enjoyed his time in Arizona, Rosenthal wonders if other players could prioritize a good situation rather than take the risk of a protracted free agent stint.
  • The Orioles will be open to moving any and all veterans as they rebuild, but it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll be able to deal Mark Trumbo this winter, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes.  Owed a hefty $13.5MM in 2019, Trumbo was already going to be a tough sell in trade talks, but his season-ending knee surgery at the end of August almost surely ruined his stock for any potential suitors.  Trumbo’s surgery isn’t expected to limit him for the start of Spring Training, and the O’s will have to hope that he performs well in the first half of the 2019 season to potentially become a trade candidate by the deadline.  Trumbo rebounded from a sub-replacement level season in 2017 to hit a solid .261/.313/.452 with 17 homers over 358 PA in 2018, though he’ll need to significantly top those solid numbers to increase his trade value, given his salary and defensive limitations.

Quick Hits: Arenado, White Sox, Moncada, Rangers

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Speaking Friday with reporters – including Kyle Newman of the Denver Post – general manager Jeff Bridich revealed that the Rockies and Nolan Arenado have had “honest” discussions about a contract extension over the past couple years. Bridich added that he expects the two sides to continue talking in the coming months, and suggested the team’s unlikely to trade the superstar third baseman this offseason. “There’s not a perfect timeline or a specific timeline, but we’d love to have him here, and he knows that,” Bridich said. “We’ll see what happens … We expect him to be on our team next year.” Arenado has been a speculative trade candidate because he’s facing his last year of team control in 2019, when he’s projected to rake in a whopping $26.1MM via arbitration. But the 27-year-old is integral to the Rockies, who have earned two straight playoff berths and, with Arenado’s help in 2019, figure to aim for another postseason trip in what could be his last hurrah with the club.

Here’s more from around the majors:

  • Yoan Moncada has called second base home since the White Sox acquired him from the Red Sox in 2016, but it’s possible he’ll head to a new position next season. General manager Rick Hahn said Friday (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicag Sun-Times) that Moncada’s open to switching spots, “but we’re going to wait to see how this offseason plays out before we fully commit to any reconfiguring of the infield. It’s a possibility and if it were to happen we’d likely firm that up before we head to spring training.” Shortstop, third base and even center field have come up in the past as potential long-term landing spots for Moncada, whose athleticism has been a key selling point since his days as a star prospect. Now, if Chicago’s truly considering moving the 23-year-old Moncada off second, it could help inform its offseason plans.
  • In addition to discussing Moncada’s status, Hahn highlighted which areas the White Sox will try to upgrade this winter. “We need to augment both the starting rotation and the bullpen,” he said (per Van Schouwen), though he cautioned that the White Sox must keep their “long-term focus” in mind. At the moment, Chicago has the payroll room to make substantial upgrades, but it’s also coming off a 62-win season – its sixth straight sub-.500 campaign. As such, it’s unclear just how aggressive the White Sox will be this winter, but Hahn noted that he hasn’t ruled out pushing for contention in 2019. “It’s not unintentional having the flexibility we enjoy going forward,’’ Hahn said. “That was a secondary goal of the rebuild, to make sure we had flexibility and economic strength when the time was right to spend and add on to what we’ve accumulated. Whether we use it this offseason or next we’ll see.’’
  • The Rangers addressed their rotation Friday by acquiring left-hander Drew Smyly from the Cubs, though Texas still has plenty of work remaining to bolster its starting staff for 2019 and beyond. With that in mind, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News examines a dozen free-agent pitchers the Rangers could target this offseason. Among the candidates, longtime Angels right-hander Garrett Richards stands out as a “perfect fit,” opines Grant, who argues the Rangers should offer him a two- or three-year contract with incentives. Given that Richards underwent Tommy John surgery in July, he might not be able to contribute at all in 2019. However, that’s not necessarily a problem for the Rangers because they’re unlikely to win next season, Grant notes, adding that Richards may be able to help them in 2020 – when they could be closer to contention.

Rangers Hire Chris Woodward As Manager

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The Rangers officially announced the hiring of Chris Woodward as their  manager for the 2019 season. He signs a three-year deal with a club option for 2022 to become the 19th full-time manager in club history.

He will be introduced by the team at a press conference on Monday, November 5th at 10am CT at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Woodward’s hiring brings an end to an exhaustive process to identify a successor to recently dismissed skipper Jeff Banister. He was replaced late in the season on an interim basis by Don Wakamatsu, who was considered a candidate for the full-time gig but evidently has not landed it. The hiring was initially reported last night by Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Woodward, who has most recently served as the Dodgers third base coach, was called a “frontrunner” earlier in the day by Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter).

The Rangers undertook an extensive search, but the initial effort failed to yield a clear candidate. Woodward, who just finished up his duties with the Dodgers in the World Series, was part of a second wave of names under consideration. Evidently, he aced the interview.

Woodward, 42, built a 12-year MLB career after originally being taken in the 54th round of the 1994 draft. He last saw major-league action in 2011 and hung up his spikes for good after the 2012 campaign, so he isn’t that far removed from his playing days.

Since that time, Woodward has worked in both the Mariners and Dodgers organizations. With Seattle, he served as minor league infield coordinator before moving up to the MLB staff for two campaigns. He ended up joining the staff of Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts. Over the past three seasons, he has high-fived many a homer-trotting Dodger and helped guide the organization to consecutive World Series appearances.

Said the Rangers, via a press release:

“We are excited to welcome Chris Woodward and his family to the Texas Rangers,” said Rangers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Jon Daniels. “Chris brings high energy, outstanding leadership and communication skills, a strong knowledge of the game and its evolving strategies, and great integrity—attributes that we feel are vital for our next manager. We believe these traits will resonate with our players, our staff, and our fans.  He has also been a big part of a very successful stretch in Los Angeles.

“We interviewed a number of strong candidates during an extensive interview process for our managerial role and believe we have found the right fit in Chris Woodward. We look forward to working with him and everyone on the baseball staff to develop and grow a culture that will lead to success for many years to come.”   

Rangers Decline Club Options Over Chirinos, Fister, Moore, Perez

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The Rangers have declined club options over catcher Robinson Chirinos and pitchers Doug Fister, Matt Moore, and Martin Perez. That’s a surprising move on the veteran backstop, though all three hurlers seemed destined to be sent onto the open market.

The Texas organization has also announced a long list of players who were outrighted from the 40-man roster. Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Clayton Blackburn, Brandon Mann, Carlos Perez, and Ryan Rua are all weighing outright assignments after seemingly clearing waivers.

Chirinos, 34, had seemed a fairly easy choice to remain behind the dish in Texas. His option had risen in value to $4.5MM due to plate-appearance escalators, Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes on Twitter, but the team will pay him $1MM just to walk away.

While Chirinos is not noted for his skill behind the dish — in particular, he slipped to dreadful framing ratings in 2018 — he’s a highly respected player. And he also has consistently delivered much more offensive than the average catcher, with a .233/.324/.438 career slash and 35 home runs over the 735 plate appearances he has accrued since the start of 2017.

All three pitchers will be looking for bounceback opportunities after forgettable seasons. Fister will receive a $500K buyout; his option was priced at $4.5MM. The Moore deal included a $750K  buyout, which he’ll take home in lieu of a $10MM payday. Perez, meanwhile, gets $1MM in total buyouts as the club passes on its chance to keep him in 2019 ($7.5MM) and 2020 ($9MM).

Yankees Claim Hanser Alberto From Rangers

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The Yankees announced that they’ve claimed infielder Hanser Alberto off waivers from the Rangers. Their 40-man roster is up to a total of 37 players.

Alberto, 26, will give the Yankees a bit of infield depth after the loss of Didi Gregorius to Tommy John surgery last month. He’s far from a certainty to survive the season on New York’s 40-man roster, however, as he’s only a career .192/.210/.231 hitter through 192 plate appearances. On the other hand, Alberto hasn’t had much big league time to date and has been impressive in parts of four Triple-A campaigns, hitting .309/.330/.438 through exactly 1000 plate appearances. He has notable experience at every infield slot other than first base.

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