AL East Notes: Encarnacion, Eveland, Rays, Orioles
In his latest column, FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes that while the Blue Jays offered Edwin Encarnacion only a two-year deal with a pair of options back in Spring Training (as has been previously reported), his huge season is expected to push the Jays to up their offer. Toronto “might consider” four years, per Heyman, though their preference would be to retain Encarnacion on a three-year pact. A three-year deal strikes me as a non-starter, as Encarnacion should be considered a lock for at least a four-year deal after seeing other defensively limited, mid-30s sluggers like Nelson Cruz ($57MM) and Victor Martinez ($68MM) pull in four-year pacts in recent offseasons. (For what it’s worth, I expect Encarnacion to top the total value of both of those contracts with ease.) The Blue Jays will make qualifying offers to both Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, per Heyman, though that’s long been the expectation for the pair of veteran sluggers.
More from the AL East…
- The Rays outrighted left-hander Dana Eveland last week, and the veteran reliever recently elected free agency, but he’s expected to re-sign with the team, per MLB.com’s Bill Chastain. “That’s the plan,” Eveland told Chastain when asked about a return. Eveland said he expects to be back in the fold in the near future, presumably on a minor league deal. Though the 33-year-old allowed 23 runs in 23 big league innings this season, he was lights out at Triple-A Durham, where he posted a 0.30 ERA (one earned run) with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio in 29 2/3 innings. Eveland has bounced all over the league since debuting as a 21-year-old with the Brewers in 2005, and while he’s had difficulty sticking in one place, he’s been appealing enough to MLB clubs to have appeared in the Majors in all but one season since that 2005 debut. (He spent the 2013 season pitching in Korea.) Eveland has a 5.46 ERA in 446 1/3 big league innings split between 10 teams.
- Chastain also reports that the Rays informed longtime strength and conditioning coach Kevin Barr that they’re going in another direction next season. Barr offered praise for the organization and had kind words to say about his time there, but he joins former hitting coach Derek Shelton as members of the 2016 staff to be dismissed.
- MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko examined the Orioles‘ arbitration-eligible players following the release of MLBTR’s arbitration projections earlier this week. While Kubatko notes that the likes of Chris Tillman, Zach Britton, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Kevin Gausman will obviously be tendered contracts, things are less certain for utilityman Ryan Flaherty, left-hander T.J. McFarland and right-hander Vance Worley — each of whom could be deemed to expensive and could be a non-tender candidate. Caleb Joseph figures to be the backup catcher next season based on his modest $1MM projection, even though he struggled tremendously in 2016. (Joseph did not hit a home run all season and, somewhat amazingly, did not collect a single RBI.) Of course, it remains to be seen exactly who will be the primary backstop for the Orioles in 2017.
Injury Notes: Salazar, Strasburg, Liriano, Pagan, Young
The Indians continue to see progress from right Danny Salazar, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports. He is readying for a sim game today or tomorrow as he works to return from a forearm strain, after which Cleveland will determine whether he’s ready to work from the bullpen in the upcoming ALCS. That would provide the Indians with a notable boost to a bullpen that figures to be a key to the team’s chances.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the game:
- As they hope for their own trip to the league championship round, the Nationals don’t appear to have quite as much cause for optimism for their own injured starter, Stephen Strasburg, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier reports. Manager Dusty Baker said that Strasburg, who’s dealing with forearm problems, was throwing well in a pen session but elected to cut it short after experiencing discomfort. Baker did suggest it wasn’t a true setback, and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post notes on Twitter that Strasburg was tossing from flat ground yesterday. That seems to suggest there’s at least a glimmer of hope that he’d be available if the team reaches the NLCS, though perhaps a hypothetical World Series return would be more plausible.
- The Blue Jays appear set to utilize lefty Francisco Liriano in the ALCS after he reported positive developments after being struck by a liner in the divisional series, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. Liriano says he’s symptom-free and ready to go this weekend. The 32-year-old pitched well down the stretch while working mostly as a starter, but has been used from the pen thus far in the postseason. He’ll likely factor as an important swingman as the Jays seek to move on to the playoffs’ final round.
- Giants outfielder Angel Pagan was hopeful he’d be able to go for last night’s thrilling NLDS Game 4, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reported. His back spasms had him at day-to-day status, the veteran said. Ultimately, though, Pagan did not appear in the contest, in which San Francisco suffered another stunning bullpen meltdown to end its season. The 35-year-old’s five-year run with the Giants may be over, with the seemingly minor back issue not doing much to damper a nice bounceback campaign. Over 543 plate appearances on the year, he posted a sturdy .277/.331/.418 batting line with 15 steals and a dozen home runs. The switch-hitting Pagan was particularly good against right-handed pitching, and seems likely to draw a fair bit of interest as a center field-capable fourth outfielder on the open market.
- Royals righty Chris Young underwent surgery to what the team described as his “bilateral core and right-sided adductor,” per a club announcement (via MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan; Twitter links). He’s only expected to need eight weeks to recover, meaning that the procedure shouldn’t have much of an impact on his ramp-up next spring.
Poll: Should The Blue Jays Issue Jose Bautista A Qualifying Offer?
Like the other seven major league teams currently in the postseason, the Blue Jays are trying to fight their way to a World Series title. But regardless of whether Toronto’s season ends with a championship, the club will have decisions to make on two franchise icons in the coming weeks. As soon-to-be free agents, designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion and right fielder/DH Jose Bautista could depart Canada after the season. If the Blue Jays aren’t able to strike new deals with either, the team could receive a first-round pick as compensation for each if it tenders them one-year, $16.7MM qualifying offers (assuming the QO system remains in place).
Encarnacion is a shoo-in to land an offer, but Bautista’s case looks somewhat less certain than it did coming into the season. At that point, Bautista was fresh off six straight excellent campaigns dating back to his stunning breakout in 2010. Between then and 2015, Bautista combined to slash a superb .268/.390/.555 in 3,604 plate appearances. Along the way, he accounted for 32.5 fWAR – the majors’ fifth-highest total among position players – walked almost as much as he struck out (15.9 percent to 16.0 percent), hit 28 more home runs (227) than his nearest competitor, Miguel Cabrera, and posted a .287 ISO. That elite-level performance reportedly had Bautista in search of a massive contract last winter, but a decline in output has likely hurt his earning power since.
Bautista was on the disabled list twice during the regular season, and in the 116 games he did play, he wasn’t the all-world offensive threat he had been during the previous six years. By no means was Bautista’s production at the plate subpar, however, as he still batted a more-than-respectable .234/.366/.452 with 22 homers and a .217 ISO in 517 PAs. He also continued controlling the strike zone, albeit not as well as he did in prior seasons, with 87 walks against 103 strikeouts. With his below-average defense and baserunning factored in, Bautista was worth just 1.5 fWAR this year – his lowest total since 2008, when he was toiling in anonymity.
Bautista’s down season would be less alarming if he weren’t about to turn 36, which could scare off the Blue Jays or other teams when the time comes to hand him a lucrative multiyear contract. Not only that, but Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggested Sunday that Toronto might not issue Bautista a qualifying offer because of fear that he could accept it. In response, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk argued that, given Bautista’s track record, the Jays would welcome him back for 2017 at a $16.7MM price tag. He also pointed out that Bautista is in the midst of another quality playoff showing, having already smashed three homers this postseason for a club that could advance to its second straight ALCS tonight.
I’m in the same camp as Mark regarding Bautista, but what do you think?
Poll: Should the Blue Jays Issue Bautista a qualifying offer?
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Yes 80% (8,983)
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No 20% (2,301)
Total votes: 11,284
AL East Notes: Rays, Bogaerts, Bautista, Encarnacion
The Blue Jays can advance to the ALCS for the second straight year if they can defeat the Rangers in Game Three of their series tonight, while the Red Sox will be eliminated if they don’t win their own Game Three with the Indians this afternoon. The Sox could live to play another day, however, without ever taking the field — there is a lot of rain in the forecast in Boston and MLB officials are already meeting to discuss a possible postponement. Here’s the latest from around the AL East…
- The Rays may have to trade some salary in order to add needed parts to their roster while still keeping a payroll in the $65-$70MM range, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Drew Smyly, Erasmo Ramirez and Brad Boxberger could all be potential trade chips, Topkin speculates, since the three hurlers are all becoming increasingly expensive through arbitration.
- In his latest Boston Globe notes column, Nick Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox could eventually move Xander Bogaerts to third base given Bogaerts’ subpar defensive metrics. Bogaerts’ glovework accounted for minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved and -1.6 UZR/150 in 2016, a significant drop from his generally average numbers in 2015. A move to the hot corner doesn’t seem imminent, given that the Sox already have Travis Shaw as the incumbent, Pablo Sandoval still owed a lot of money and top prospects Yoan Moncada and Rafael Devers also lined up for third base. It could be that the Red Sox can live with Bogaerts’ defense as long as he keeps producing at the plate. If not, other shortstop options include slick-fielding but light-hitting Deven Marrero, as well as prospects C.J. Chatham and Mauricio Dubon still a couple of years away.
- Also from Cafardo’s column, he opines that Jose Bautista‘s time with the Blue Jays could be coming to an end. The Jays may not even extend Bautista a one-year, $16.7MM qualifying offer for fear that the slugger could accept it. Bautista had a down year by his standards, hitting .234/.366/.452 with 22 homers over 517 plate appearances in a season interrupted by two DL stints. These are still pretty solid numbers, however, plus Bautista is enhancing his stock with another big postseason performance, so I would be pretty surprised if the Blue Jays declined to even issue a QO. Unless the club is simply ready to move on from the slugger, I would also imagine that the Jays wouldn’t mind having Bautista back on a one-year deal, given his outstanding track record.
- The Blue Jays could make Edwin Encarnacion another offer in the wake of his excellent season, Cafardo writes, though Encarnacion is expected to be a top Red Sox target to replace David Ortiz.
- Encarnacion has long been linked to Boston on the rumor mill, though ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) feels Encarnacion isn’t really a fit since the Red Sox are already overflowing with position players. The Sox could also use a left-handed bat rather than a righty-swinger like Encarnacion, plus there are several other first base/DH types on the market this winter that could be obtained for a much cheaper price.
AL East Notes: Jays, Liriano, Red Sox, Dombrowski
There is no timetable for the return of Blue Jays left-hander Francisco Liriano, who suffered a concussion in the club’s 5-3 win over Texas on Friday, per team trainer George Poulis (via Jeff Blair of Sportsnet). The injury is the result of an eighth-inning Carlos Gomez line drive that struck the back of Liriano’s head and knocked him out of the game after he retired one batter and allowed two earned runs, two hits and a walk. The Jays could drop Liriano from their ALDS roster and get him back for the ALCS if they ultimately close out the Rangers, whom they lead 2-0 in the best-of-five series. Liriano would first have to pass Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol, however.
Now the latest from Boston:
- In an expansive interview with Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski expressed confidence about the club’s long-term outlook. The Red Sox are “pretty solidified” from a position player perspective, said Dombrowski, though he acknowledged that trying to replace what retiring designated hitter David Ortiz has brought to the table as a producer and leader will be nearly impossible. Dombrowski also noted that the Sox have five starting pitchers – David Price, Rick Porcello, Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz – under control for the next couple years. It remains to be seen where that will leave Clay Buchholz, who will attempt to keep the Red Sox alive when he starts Game 3 of the ALDS in Cleveland on Sunday. The Red Sox will have a decision to make after the season on Buchholz’s $13.5MM club option. Buchholz spent time in the bullpen this year, and Dombrowski doesn’t seem worried about his group of relievers going forward. “The bullpen, we’ve got (Craig) Kimbrel set up and some other good arms out there. We’re going to lose some bullpen guys, but that’s not quite as big an area [to fill],” added Dombrowski. Koji Uehara, Brad Ziegler, Junichi Tazawa, all of whom have experienced success in Boston, are each scheduled to hit the open market after the season.
- The Red Sox finished third in the AL in wins and first in run differential during the regular season, but with the team facing a sweep, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald wonders if Dombrowski did enough to bolster the roster over the summer. In-season trade pickups Pomeranz, Fernando Abad and Aaron Hill haven’t contributed as much as Boston hoped they would since acquiring them, with Abad having missed the cut for Boston’s ALDS roster. Drellich asked Dombrowski if he should have made more significant summer deals, but the executive is content with the moves he made. “No, I’m comfortable with what we did, sure,” he said. “I don’t know what you mean ‘bigger.’ We led the league in runs scored, we were one of the best in pitching.”
AL Notes: Liriano, Joyner, Wallace
Blue Jays lefty Francisco Liriano was cleared to return home to Toronto with his team after being struck by Carlos Gomez‘s eighth-inning line drive in Game 2 of the ALDS Friday, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet and others have noted. The ball hit Liriano in the back of the head as he turned away, and it caromed into right center field. “I know what he’s going through right now, hoping for the best for the results,” says fellow Jays hurler J.A. Happ, who fractured his skull after taking a line drive to the head in 2013. “[B]ut yeah, that was scary.” Here’s more from the American League.
- The Tigers have announced that hitting coach Wally Joyner will not return in 2017, as he intends to pursue “other interests in the game of baseball.” Assistant hitting coach David Newhan’s role with the team will be determined once the team finds a replacement for Joyner. Other key Tigers coaches (including pitching coach Rich Dubee, bench coach Gene Lamont, first base coach Omar Vizquel, third base coach Dave Clark, bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer and defensive coordinator Matt Martin) will return. The Tigers exercised manager Brad Ausmus’ 2017 option earlier this week. Under Joyner and Newhan, the Tigers had one of MLB’s better offenses in 2016, batting .267/.331/.438, although it should perhaps be noted that having Miguel Cabrera in the middle of their lineup gave them a hefty head start.
- Orioles pitching coach Dave Wallace, who retired from his full-time role earlier this week, will be missed, Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com writes. Wallace had no connections with Buck Showalter or Dan Duquette when the Orioles hired him three years ago, but his hiring turned out to be a boon for Orioles pitchers like Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen and Brad Brach, along with younger hurlers like Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. Perhaps the best orange and black feather in Wallace’s cap is that of Zach Britton, who transformed from a struggling (and out-of-options) starter to a dominant closer soon after Wallace arrived.
AL East Notes: Osuna, Tazawa, Porcello, Yankees
Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna gave Toronto fans a scare on Tuesday when he exited the team’s Wild Card game with the trainer, but the 21-year-old told reporters today that he expects to be ready to go for the ALDS on Friday (Twitter link via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi). Osuna explained that he felt a “stretch” in his shoulder at the time, but doctors informed that there’s no major issue and that he simply needs a couple days of rest. Osuna followed up a dominant rookie campaign with a remarkably similar sophomore effort, posting a 2.68 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 to go along with 36 saves in 74 innings of work.
More from the AL East…
- Junichi Tazawa‘s time with the Red Sox may be coming to an end, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Once one of the team’s most trusted setup men, Tazawa’s struggles in 2016 have probably left him on the outside looking in when it comes to Boston’s playoff roster, and, as a free agent at season’s end, that would mean he’s pitched his last game in a BoSox uniform (barring a new contract in the offseason, of course). As Drellich points out, Tazawa pitched well against lefties this season, but if the team wants another weapon against left-handed bats, Fernando Abad would be the go-to option. As it stands, Drellich writes that Craig Kimbrel, Brad Ziegler, Koji Uehara, Robbie Ross, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Drew Pomeranz are the likeliest members of the Red Sox to comprise the postseason relief corps. The 30-year-old Tazawa logged a 4.17 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings this season but struggled for much of the summer after a strong start.
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that when he drafted Rick Porcello as the Tigers’ GM, he expected that Porcello would eventually blossom into a top-of-the-rotation arm. However, while Porcello has reached that status in 2016, Dombrowski explained that the manner in which his right-hander has done so is different than his initial vision. “When we drafted him we thought of him as this flamethrowing top-of-the-rotation type guy,” said Dombrowski. “What he’s done is he’s adjusted to the game.” Dombrowski went on to laud Porcello’s command, stating that he never dreamed it could develop to the point that it has. Porcello himself talked about the difficulties he felt after getting off to a poor start to his Boston tenure, likening last season’s prolonged slump to the one that earned him a demotion back to the minors in his second big league season. He added that he’s not making any assumption that his 2016 success is here to stay: “I don’t want to get complacent and be like, ‘I’ve done this now. I’ve arrived. Now I can stop.’ As appreciative as I am of that recognition, I can’t allow myself to think like that.”
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman doesn’t expect to receive an extension from the team before his contract expires at the end of the 2017 season, writes MLB.com’s Barry Bloom. “I assume things will play out the way they’ve played out for a long time here, where we will go through next year and collective ownership will decide what we want to do as we move forward,” said Cashman, who expects that the same process will be applicable to manager Joe Girardi. “Unless ownership tells me otherwise, there’s that built-in assumption that we play our contracts out and then they’ll decide.”
Pirates Acquire Brady Dragmire From Blue Jays, Designate Phil Coke
The Pirates announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Brady Dragmire from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, lefty Phil Coke has been designated for assignment. Toronto designated Dragmire for assignment last week to add to its roster in the wake of Joaquin Benoit‘s injury.
The 23-year-old Dragmire logged a 4.38 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 72 innings at Double-A New Hampshire this season. While those numbers don’t exactly stand out, the Bucs have a history of targeting ground-ball pitchers, and Dragmire excelled in that aspect, recording a stellar 63.6 percent ground-ball rate in the minors this year. That factor, as well as his relative youth, likely made him an appealing target for Pittsburgh.
As for Coke, the veteran 34-year-old found himself in Pittsburgh following a late September trade. Pittsburgh sent cash to the Yankees in exchange for Coke, who tossed four innings scoreless innings for the Pirates. Coke could’ve been a free agent at season’s end anyhow, so the DFA is largely a formality.
Blue Jays Acquire Minor Leaguer From Mariners To Complete Pat Venditte Trade
The Blue Jays have acquired minor league infielder Tim Lopes from the Mariners to complete the early August trade that sent switch-pitcher Pat Venditte to Seattle, the teams announced.
Lopes, 22, was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft. He played the entire year at the Double-A level, posting a .284/.358/.355 slash line over 581 plate appearances. Though he obviously doesn’t deliver much pop, Lopes swiped 26 bags on the season. He has spent some time at shortstop, but predominantly lined up at second base during his time in the Mariners organization.
The endlessly fascinating Venditte hasn’t been terribly useful for the M’s, providing 11 1/3 innings of work but coughing up nine earned runs on 11 hits. He has struck out 11 in that span, but has also permitted five free passes. Venditte has been rather strong at Triple-A on the year, though, working to a 3.74 ERA with an excellent 13.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over 43 1/3 frames.
Jesus Montero Receives 50-Game Suspension
Blue Jays Triple-A first baseman Jesus Montero has been slapped with a fifty game suspension after testing positive for a banned stimulant, dimethylbutylamine, the league announced. Montero was once a hyped prospect, but has been trying unsuccessfully to revive his career in recent years.
Montero, 26, never panned out with the Mariners after he was shipped to Seattle in exchange for Michael Pineda in rare swap of high-end young talents who had each reached the majors. All said, Montero owns a .253/.295/.398 big league batting line in his 865 career plate appearances.
This year was the first since 2011 in which Montero failed to earn any MLB action. He did post a strong .317 batting average over 518 Triple-A plate appearances. But he only walked 23 times, resulting in a .349 OBP, and didn’t show much of the power that he had long been expected to provide (11 home runs, .438 slugging).
Of course, Montero was originally a catching prospect; now that he’s limited to first base and DH duties, the bar is raised for his bat. It’s not clear what kind of opportunity he’ll have in the future. For one thing, he’ll need to serve his ban at the start of 2017; for another, it’s not his first, as Montero also took a fifty-game hit after he was caught up in the Biogenesis scandal.