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Players Exercising Opt-Out Clauses: Monday

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As Opening Day approaches, teams will be making tough roster decisions involving their veteran players.  Some of these decisions pertain to Article XX(B) free agents who have their opt-out date on Tuesday, though other players have opt-outs today or later this week.  We’ll keep track of the players who opt out of their deals in search of new opportunities here:

  • Lefty Brian Duensing told reporters (including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star) that he will be opting out of his minor league deal with the Royals, giving the team 48 hours to either release him or add him to the 25-man roster.  As per the terms of his contract, Duensing will make $2MM in base salary if he makes the team.  It isn’t yet clear if K.C. will part ways with Duensing or not; while the Royals are deep in relief options, most of them are right-handed.  Danny Duffy is the only southpaw slated for a bullpen job.
  • Roberto Hernandez has been told he isn’t making the Blue Jays roster, and the veteran right-hander is expected to exercise his opt-out clause today, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports.  Hernandez signed a minor league deal in February that would’ve paid him $1.25MM in salary and another $750K in available bonuses he had made the Major League roster.  The 10-year veteran posted a 4.36 ERA, 4.5 K/9 and 1.62 K/BB rate over 84 2/3 innings with the Astros last season.

AL East Notes: Tejada, Gausman, Matusz, Rays

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Some news from around the AL East…

  • The Blue Jays had interest in Ruben Tejada and “were serious” about adding the infielder before he signed with the Cardinals, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports (Twitter link).  With Devon Travis still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and not expected back until May or June, Tejada would’ve provided depth for Toronto’s infield.  Ryan Goins will start at second until Travis is healthy, with Troy Tulowitzki at short, Josh Donaldson at third and Darwin Barney serving as the utility infielder.
  • Two very notable Orioles arms are battling injuries as Opening Day approaches.  Kevin Gausman told reporters (including Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun) that a recent cortisone shot has helped relieve some of the soreness caused by right shoulder tendinitis.  Still, Gausman is going to be very cautious with the injury to avoid causing a problem that would drag into the regular season.  Manager Buck Showalter hinted that Gausman could face a DL stint, but one backdated to March 25 so he’d be eligible to start on April 10.
  • In another piece from Meoli, Brian Matusz will meet with Orioles coaches and trainers today to plan what’s next for the lefty reliever, who’s been sidelined for almost all of Spring Training due to a bad back.  It seems like Matusz will require a DL stint as well, if only to give him time to get loose and make up for his lost time in camp.  The O’s have acquired southpaws Edgar Olmos and Zach Phillips in recent days, indicating that the club is preparing to be without Matusz.
  • The Rays have some roster flexibility since they only need four starters in April, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets.  The Rays have four off-days scheuled between April 3 and April 29.  With an extra roster spot to work with, the Rays could keep an extra first baseman — as noted in my Rays Offseason In Review piece, Tampa has a surplus at first, the outfield and at catcher.  Rosenthal notes that the Rays could address catcher by keeping out-of-options backstops Curt Casali and Rene Rivera while optioning Hank Conger.
  • In other AL East news from earlier today, check out this Blue Jays Notes post.

Blue Jays Notes: Encarnacion, Bautista, Sanchez

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“The external perception is that the Blue Jays are a team ready to win but also a team in transition,” MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince writes in a piece detailing how 2016 stands out as a win-now season for the franchise.  While the Jays have several major players and young stars controlled into 2017 and beyond, this could also be Toronto’s last season with Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, R.A. Dickey, Brett Cecil and (perhaps) even manager John Gibbons if the new front office wants to hire its own dugout boss.  Here’s some more from north of the border…

  • The Jays are “willing to be much more flexible” in talks with Bautista than Encarnacion when it comes to contract length and money, Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair reports.  Encarnacion is rumored to be asking for a five-year deal, though even a four-year pact could be too much for the Jays.  The debate over contract length has reportedly already been a stumbling block in talks between Encarnacion’s camp and the Jays, with the club reportedly offering extensions of only one or two years.  It seems like Toronto will have to be flexible if the team is to keep Bautista, as its reported preference for a deal in the three-year/$75MM range is about half of Bautista’s demands.
  • Paul Kinzer, Encarnacion’s agent, told Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that his client’s reported demand for a five-year deal is inaccurate.  “We have never put a number on the terms of the length of the contract. We have never discussed a dollar amount,” Kinzer said.
  • There is “no chance” the Jays re-sign both Bautista and Encarnacion, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets, as the club simply can’t put two more large salaries on the books when Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki are also signed to major deals through 2019 and 2020, respectively.  I explored the difficulties Toronto would face in extending both sluggers in a Bautista extension candidate piece last November, and given the reports since, it’s becoming increasingly possible that neither player is wearing a Jays jersey in 2017.
  • Gavin Floyd will make a start in a minor league game today, which could bring more clarity to the still-unsettled fifth starter’s battle between Floyd and Aaron Sanchez.  Gibbons was rather vague in comments to reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi) yesterday about whether the Jays were any closer to a decision.  Both starters have pitched very well this spring, adding to the debate as to whether the Blue Jays should go with the veteran reclamation project or the promising but still raw youngster.  Andrew Stoeten of Blue Jays Nation points out that Sanchez still has unanswered questions about whether or not he can retire left-handed hitters after getting hit hard by lefty bats last season, while an NL scout tells Jeff Blair (in the previously-linked piece) that Sanchez has the “best stuff I’ve seen anywhere this spring.  They’re crazy if they put him in the bullpen.”
  • Fangraphs’ August Fagerstrom opines that Sanchez should be in the rotation, arguing that if the Blue Jays put him in the bullpen again, transitioning Sanchez back to a starting role will be more difficult down the road.  Given Sanchez’s top prospect status, “it’s far more important to the organization to know whether Sanchez can stick as a starter than it is to know whether Floyd can stick as a starter….The information on Sanchez is just worth more.”

Career Notes: Dickey, Colon, Jimenez

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Several notable big leaguers have officially hung up the cleats this offseason, or given an indication (sort of) about when they might be retiring.  Here’s the latest from some more veterans about when they may or may not consider calling it a career…

  • R.A. Dickey is entering the last year of his contract with the Blue Jays and the 41-year-old tells VICE Sports’ John Lott that he’ll sit down with his family after the season to decide on his future.  Right now, “we’re all kind of undecided. We just like to stay in the moment,” Dickey said.  If he does return, it would be for a situation that suits his family and likely a one-year contract.  “I think I will be an attractive option for a lot of teams because I will not be requiring a multi-year deal, and I will probably be asking less than what my market value will be….And for me, it’s not necessarily about the money at this point.  It’s about the right fit, and how close to home I’d be, and are there direct flights, and what is the clubhouse policy for kids, all that stuff,” Dickey said.  Despite his age, the knuckleballer is as steady an innings-eater as any in baseball, averaging 219 frames per season since 2011.  Given the lack of starting pitching available in next winter’s free agent market, Dickey is probably correct in assuming he would get a lot of interest.
  • Speaking of ageless right-handers, Bartolo Colon tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that plans to pitch as long as he’s healthy.  “I take it year by year. We’ll see what happens for me,” Colon said.  The 42-year-old fan favorite is preparing for his 19th season in the bigs, returning to the Mets rotation until Zack Wheeler makes his midseason return from Tommy John rehab.
  • Left-hander Cesar Jimenez hasn’t arrived at the Brewers’ Spring Training camp, and while the team hasn’t heard anything official yet, Jimenez might be retiring, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets.  Jimenez appeared in 16 games with the Crew last season after he was selected off waivers from Philadelphia in August, and he signed a minor league deal to return to Milwaukee in January.  Jimenez, 31, has a 4.05 ERA over 104 1/3 career innings and parts of six big league seasons with the Brewers, Phillies and Mariners.

NL Central Notes: Lucroy, Bruce, Schwarber, Pirates

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Here’s the latest from around the NL Central…

  • The Brewers were talking with the Astros and Braves about a three-team trade involving Jonathan Lucroy last month, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports.  Houston made an attempt at Lucroy earlier in the offseason, as previously reported by FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, and the club has also been linked to Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte.  This isn’t to say that Inciarte was also necessarily part of this three-team proposal, of course, as Atlanta’s role in the trade could’ve taken any number of forms.
  • Lucroy has been the subject of many trade rumors this winter, to the point that he and his family don’t have living arrangements in Milwaukee settled yet since he presumed he was going to be dealt.  “It’s all out of your control. But communication is a big thing. I’d like to be kept up to date what’s going on. It’s not like I’m going to spread it all around, I just want to know when it’s coming, when to expect it,” the longtime Brewers catcher said.
  • Also from Nightengale’s piece, he notes that the Reds were willing to pay roughly $8MM of Jay Bruce’s $12.5MM salary as part of the abandoned three-team trade that would’ve sent Bruce to the Blue Jays, Michael Saunders to the Angels and prospects to Cincinnati.  It was expected that the Reds would have to eat some money in any Bruce deal, given that the outfielder is coming off two consecutive subpar seasons.  Saunders is making $2.9MM in 2016, so adding Bruce would’ve cost Toronto around $1.6MM in extra salary (not counting the $1MM buyout of Bruce’s $13MM club option for 2017).
  • Like Lucroy, Bruce is also rather surprised to still be with his original team given all of the trade speculation.  He reiterated that he would prefer to stay with the Reds, and blames his recent “pretty poor” play for threatening his long-term future in Cincinnati.  (Though it could be argued that if Bruce had been hitting more, the Reds would’ve been able to move him sooner.)  “In order for me to have a chance to stay here, I need to play better.  We’ll see what happens.  I never changed my sentiment, wanting to be part of this for the long haul….But obviously, I have to do my part to even have a chance,” Bruce said.
  • Kyle Schwarber could be a personal catcher for Jason Hammel this season, CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney writes, as the Cubs are looking for ways to get Schwarber’s bat into the lineup whenever possible.  Schwarber’s defensive future has been the subject of much debate, as he’s scheduled to see most of his playing time in left field this year even though his fielding prowess is still a question mark.  It’s also unclear if Schwarber can handle being a regular catcher, though with Miguel Montero and David Ross ahead of him on Chicago’s catching depth chart, he could be eased into the position for just Hammel’s starts.  Being removed from too much grind behind the plate could actually benefit Schwarber, Mooney notes, by helping him stay healthy.
  • The Pirates hired James Harris as a special assistant to baseball operations in February, and Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review examines how the hiring is an example of how the Bucs are willing to look outside of baseball for ways to build their organization.  Harris specializes in fitness and nutrition techniques and he has spent much of his career in football, including the last decade working with Chip Kelly both at the University of Oregon and with the NFL’s Eagles.  Harris’ lack of baseball experience wasn’t a big factor for Pirates GM Neal Huntington, as the goal for any athlete is about “maximizing performance.  How do we help this player get better every day and perform as consistently as possible?“

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Tulowitzki, Osuna, Kim

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The Red Sox’ outfielders are attracting interest, and the Indians have been trying to strike a deal with them, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. The problem, however, is that the Red Sox aren’t likely to trade Mookie Betts or Jackie Bradley, Jr. Rusney Castillo could be available, but the Red Sox would probably have to take on salary to make a deal possible. Castillo is signed through 2020 at a total of $56MM. The Red Sox will be without Eduardo Rodriguez for the beginning of the season and could probably use another starting pitcher, although if Dave Dombrowski considered the situation desperate, he might have already made a move. Still, some scouts aren’t impressed with the Sox’ rotation after David Price. Here’s more from the AL East.

  • Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left the Blue Jays’ Grapefruit League game today after getting hit in the hand by a pitch, but the Jays have announced that Tulowitzki’s X-rays were negative. He has a bone bruise on his right knuckles and is day-to-day.
  • Jays righty Roberto Osuna prefers closing to starting and wants to close this year before moving to the rotation next year, John Lott writes for VICE. “I like to be in those situations,” Osuna says. “I’m not saying it’s easy to close games, but it’s easy to be out there and you got on your mind that you’ve only got the ninth. So you can have the time to prepare yourself for the ninth inning. You’re watching the game. You kind of know what you’ve got to do when you get in the game.” The Jays face plenty of uncertainty in 2017, with the potential departures of R.A. Dickey and a number of other key players, and Osuna says that his own plan (and likely the Blue Jays’ plan for him) involves moving to the rotation next season, probably on some sort of innings restriction to minimize the health risk. He says he enjoys closing more, however.
  • The Orioles pursued outfielder Hyun Soo Kim this offseason because they were impressed with his on-base ability, Dan Connolly writes for Naver in Korea (scroll down for English). “His discipline at the plate is exemplary,” says Orioles exec Dan Duquette. “And, of course, he uses the whole field, and last year he showed emerging power.” The 28-year-old Kim posted a .438 on-base percentage for the Doosan Bears last season, drawing 101 walks while striking out only 63 times. The O’s, meanwhile, finished 12th in the AL in OBP last season (.307) and 13th in walks (418). It still isn’t known how Kim will hit in the Majors, but Duquette says he’s optimistic, particularly after Jung Ho Kang’s success with the Pirates last season.

AL East Notes: Donaldson, Interpreters, Gibbons, HanRam, Gausman

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Star Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson has personal experience with domestic violence, as Rosie DiManno of The Star writes.  As a child, Donaldson was exposed to a troubled relationship between his mother and father. “I’m not going to get too colorful with it. But it wasn’t pretty. The best way I can describe it is I can still remember things from when I was from three to five years old that are very vivid in my mind to this day. And it’s not something I would want anybody else to go through. It not only affects the two people that are involved but it affects children. It definitely has had an effect on me throughout my life,” Donaldson said. The reigning AL MVP is obviously to be applauded for his willingness to address a difficult and important subject that continues to pose challenges to major sports leagues.

  • While not of the same level of significance, another notable off-field topic that’s drawn attention of late is the inclusion of Spanish interpreters in major league clubhouses, and Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News provides an interesting look at the subject. Veteran Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran, who helped lead the charge to bring Spanish translation on board for every team, explains how important it is for players. “The reality is that most of these guys come and get to the big leagues, sometimes they don’t know how to express themselves the right way,” Beltran said. “I look at having a translator as a no-brainer because it will help communication between everybody. Players and coaches, players and players, and players and media. I don’t know why it took so long.” The article includes worthwhile thoughts from several players with different language backgrounds, and is highly recommended.
  • While the Blue Jays’ new front office ultimately modified the contract of manager John Gibbons, Jeff Blair and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet report that Gibbons had raised the matter himself previously with former GM Alex Anthopoulos. “It’s something I first spoke to Alex about before he left,” said Gibbons. The new arrangement does away with the “rolling option” — which became guaranteed on each New Year’s Day with another option year added each time — that existed under his original contract.  By the way, Gibbons confirmed this morning that Marcus Stroman will be the Jays’ Opening Day starter.
  • Though he expresses skepticism, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that off-the-record conversations with Red Sox players and staff “all reflect a positive theme” regarding first baseman Hanley Ramirez, suggesting that perhaps the veteran has matured in his second spring with the Red Sox. Ramirez appears to be enjoying himself this spring, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes, who notes that the returns have been generally positive on Ramirez’s work at first.
  • Kevin Gausman says his right shoulder pain is improving, but his status for Opening Day is still in question, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes.  Right now, the Orioles hurler says he is aiming to be ready “by hopefully the first or second week of the season.” Needless to say, his health is of critical importance to a Baltimore club that faces rotation questions and hopes the youngster will take the next step in his development in 2016.
  • In case you missed it, the Orioles added lefty reliever Zach Phillips on a Major League deal this morning, as insurance for the injured Brian Matusz.

Blue Jays, John Gibbons Restructure Contract

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a new contract structure with manager John Gibbons, according to MLB Network Radio’s Steve Phillips (Twitter links). His new deal provides a pay raise and guarantees his salary through 2017.

Notably, Gibbons will no longer be managing to pursuant to an annual rollover clause. His prior contract included an anti-lame duck provision pursuant to which the following year’s option would be picked up automatically if the club did not decline it by January 1, with another option year then added.

GM Ross Atkins addressed the subject in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). He suggested that the new front office was not interested in the same structure moving forward, but remains committed to the skipper.

Gibbons, of course, led the Jays to do an AL East title last year. They ultimately lost in the ALCS after winning a divisional playoff series. Over his three years in Toronto, the club has won 250 games and improved its record in each season.

Rafael Soriano Retires

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TODAY: Soriano made his retirement official in a statement from the Blue Jays media department today, as the reliever thanked fans, teammates, and personnel from his former clubs for their support over the course of his career.

THURSDAY: Right-hander Rafael Soriano is set to retire, according to James Wagner of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The 36-year-old was set to join the Blue Jays on a minor league deal but had yet to report due to apparent visa issues.

Soriano had a short stint last year with the Cubs after waiting until mid-season to sign. He was limited due to a shoulder injury and ultimately made only six appearances with Chicago before he was released.

Before that, of course, Soriano enjoyed a lengthy run as a prominent late-inning reliever. All told, he’s racked up 636 1/3 innings of 2.89 ERA pitching with 9.1 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 14 MLB campaigns.

That neat summation of his career probably doesn’t do justice to the volume of interesting transactional news that Soriano provided to MLBTR readers over the years. In many ways, his career functions as a crash course in recent hot stove developments.

Soriano had uneven results in his first several seasons, but established himself as a quality pen presence with the Mariners in 2006. He was dealt to the Braves after that season and enjoyed a solid three-year run. Atlanta offered him arbitration when he hit the open market after 2009, with intentions of recouping draft compensation under the old Type A/B system, but was surprised when he decided to accept. Thus began a dizzying series of trade rumors, with Soriano ultimately heading to the Rays in exchange for Jesse Chavez.

In his lone season in Tampa Bay, Soriano turned into a dominant closer, leading the league with 45 saves and posting a 1.73 ERA in his 62 1/3 frames. Entering the open market (again, as a Type A free agent), he landed with the Yankees as Mariano Rivera’s set-up man. The deal promised the then-Scott Boras client $35MM over three years, and included two consecutive opt-outs.

Soriano’s first year in New York didn’t go as hoped, and he passed on his first opt-out opportunity. But he excelled in 2012, taking over as closer for an injured Rivera, and elected to head back to free agency. Of course, intervening rule changes had since swapped in the qualifying offer system, so this time Soriano declined a $13.3MM qualifying offer and again came with draft compensation attached to his name.

The Nationals added Soriano for two years and $28MM (with half of it deferred) on a contract that included a vesting clause. The veteran displaced an incumbent closer, Drew Storen, and ultimately gave the Nats 128 2/3 innings of 3.15 ERA pitching over a somewhat uneven tenure. (Storen ultimately re-took his closing duties, but the stage had been set for last year’s controversy and his eventual departure from D.C.)

In the aggregate, Soriano topped 200 career saves and was a net positive for the vast majority of his career. While it appears he won’t be taking a shot at a comeback, despite reportedly showing well in the Dominican winter league, Soriano has already completed a ten-year run as one of the game’s most productive overall relievers. MLBTR wishes him the best of luck in his future pursuits.

Latest On Edwin Encarnacion’s Contract Talks

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Edwin Encarnacion expressed doubts about his future with the Blue Jays, telling Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that he feels “they don’t have it in their plans for me to stay here.”  The slugger is “really disappointed that nothing has happened [in contract talks], but it’s not my decision,” as he wants to keep playing in Toronto beyond this season.

Encarnacion also commented on the lack of progress in extension talks earlier this week, telling ESPN’s Enrique Rojas that the two sides hadn’t begun discussing money yet, as there was still disagreement over how many years an extension would cover.  An unnamed Jays player and “Encarnacion loyalist” told Elliott a few days ago that he’d heard the club had only offered Encarnacion a one-year extension at the Winter Meetings and then a two-year offer later.  Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro offered no comments on the Encarnacion negotiations when talking to reporters, including John Lott of VICE Sports (Twitter links), as Shapiro noted that there would be a better chance at a positive outcome if the contract talks remained private.

Of course, there’s already been quite a bit of media buzz about both Encarnacion and (even moreso) Jose Bautista’s extension talks with the two sluggers both set for free agency next winter and both having been vocal about their desire to stay in Toronto.  It’s hard to discuss one player’s case without discussing the other, as the Jays are faced with the choice of extending two players to huge contracts through their mid-30’s (Encarnacion is 33) and late 30’s (Bautista is 35), extending just one of them or letting both walk, which would result in both fan disappointment and a gigantic hit to the Jays’ lineup.

Though Encarnacion is the younger of the two, he could be the bigger question mark in terms of long-term durability.  Encarnacion is essentially already a full-time DH, and he’s been hampered by injuries to his quad, back and finger over the last two years.  An abscessed tooth and an oblique strain have kept Encarnacion from any game action this spring, though he told Elliott that “the oblique pain is minor” and he’s just being cautious in order to avoid a greater injury that would cost him time in the regular season.

On the flip side, Encarnacion has generally been a pretty durable player over the last four seasons and obviously his recent injuries haven’t impacted his offensive production.  Assuming that he hits as usual in 2016, he’ll be in line for a massive free agent contract next offseason, especially given how next year’s free agent class is thin on elite talent.

Encarnacion is a strong bet to land at least a four-year deal next winter, so if the unnamed teammate’s comment was accurate, then a one- or two-year extension offer is unrealistically low on the Blue Jays’ part.  Then again, it’s not uncommon in any negotiation to open with a very high (or low) dollar amount or number of years just on the off-chance that other side accepts, or at least to set a baseline for the talks.  Encarnacion set Opening Day as the deadline for extension talks, however, so it seems as if the two sides will need to make some quick progress if a new deal is to be reached this spring.

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