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Blue Jays Inquire On Cory Luebke

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The Blue Jays have inquired on pitcher Cory Luebke, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  However, an industry source tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that there have not been substantive discussions between the two sides.  The inquiry, BN-S hears, was primarily health-based.

Luebke, 31 in March, has started 25 MLB games and has 30 relief appearances to his credit.  Therefore, the Blue Jays could be eyeing the 2007 first-round draft pick as a rotation option or as a bullpen piece.  It’s not clear exactly how much interest there is at this time, however.  So far this winter, Toronto has addressed the starting five with deals for J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, and Jesse Chavez.

Luebke hasn’t pitched since the 2012 season due to a pair of Tommy John surgeries that have derailed his once promising career.  The pitcher’s most recent Tommy John comeback was halted when a flexor strain slowed him in Triple-A, and he eventually had surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.  In November, the Padres declined their $7.5MM option on Luebke, opting instead to pay him a $1.75MM buyout.

Needless to say, that’s not how the Padres saw things playing out when they inked Luebke to a four-year, $12MM contract following his strong rookie season in 2011.  Luebke logged a 3.29 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 139 2/3 innings that season, and the modest $12MM guarantee on his four-year pact would’ve bought out a pair of pre-arb seasons as well as his first two arbitration years while giving San Diego control of his final arb year at $7.5MM and his first free agent year at $10MM. Had Luebke remained healthy for even a couple of years, he likely could’ve delivered more than $12MM worth of value, but he’s pitched just 31 Major League innings since signing at the end of Spring Training 2012. While the deal seemed club-friendly at the time, it serves as a reminder that even contracts that look to favor the team on the surface can ultimately result in misses.

AL East Notes: Rays, Sanchez, Hardy, O’s, Blue Jays

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Though many expected Brad Miller to land the everyday shortstop job for the Rays following Tampa Bay’s trade with the Mariners, that’s not necessarily the case, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays could still very well swing a trade for Javier Baez or another young infielder if they’re willing to part with a starting pitcher, he notes. And, even if the Rays don’t add another shortstop option, Miller’s struggles with lefties create the possibility of at least a platoon situation with the right-handed-hitting Tim Beckham. Nick Franklin remains an option as well, though a poor 2015 campaign likely means he’ll head to Triple-A to begin the 2016 season. Manager Kevin Cash noted to Topkin, though, that his hope is for someone to take the reins early and cement himself as the man for the job.

More on the Rays and more from their division…

  • Topkin also writes that virtually every club in baseball expressed some interest in Kevin Kiermaier at the Winter Meetings, though the Rays probably don’t have much interest in parting with the elite defender. Topkin adds that the Brewers and Pirates seem like possible fits for a potential James Loney deal, noting that both have had interest in the past. He also speculates that Jake McGee could be a fit with the Dodgers now that their pursuit of Aroldis Chapman has been halted by his domestic violence allegations.
  • Gary Sanchez is the front-runner to be Brian McCann’s backup for the Yankees in 2016, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. While Austin Romine will be in the competition and might get the job early on due to Sanchez’s lack of experience at Triple-A, King suggests that Sanchez will hold down the job for the majority of the season. GM Brian Cashman praised Sanchez, stating that the 23-year-old has “improved in every category” from last season, specifically citing his improved pitch blocking, game calling and throwing.
  • J.J. Hardy spoke with MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko at the Orioles’ recent FanFest event and provided an update on a shoulder injury that plagued him throughout the 2015 season. Hardy has been working out for seven weeks and expects an offseason of rest and rehabilitation to lead to improvements in 2016. While he said it was a very difficult decision to forego surgery on the shoulder to repair the small tear in his labrum, Hardy noted that he’s been through that process before and felt last time that it took a full six months of actually playing baseball after the recovery for him to feel normal again. Surgery also could’ve sidelined Hardy through Spring Training and into the regular season.
  • Kubatko also spoke with Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph about Matt Wieters’ return to the team. While Wieters’ decision to accept the qualifying offer impedes Joseph’s path to regular playing time behind the plate, Joseph had nothing but positive things to say about Wieters, calling him a mentor and praising him for his willingness to provide insight on hitters, his work to help Joseph improve his defensive techniques and more.
  • Red Sox vice president of amateur and international scouting Amiel Sawdaye interviewed for the Blue Jays’ GM vacancy before the job went to former Cleveland vice president of player personnel Ross Atkins, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Blue Jays Re-Sign Darwin Barney

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The Blue Jays announced that they’ve re-signed second baseman Darwin Barney  to a one-year, Major League deal worth $1.05MM.

Barney, 30, spent most of the 2015 season in the minors with the Dodgers but wound up in Toronto in September to fill in for the injured Devon Travis. Barney batted .304/.333/.609 in a tiny sample of 26 plate appearances but is a career .246/.294/.339 hitter in parts of six big league seasons (2091 plate appearances). Most of Barney’s value is derived from his glove, where he’s drawn strong reviews from defensive metrics and won an NL Gold Glove Award (2012) over the course of his career. With Travis set to miss the beginning of next season following shoulder surgery, Barney will serve as a depth piece and a likely option at second base early in the season for manager John Gibbons.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet first reported the deal (Twitter link).

Blue Jays Likely To Keep Drew Hutchison, Add To Pitching Depth

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Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro says that righty Drew Hutchison has attracted trade interest from numerous teams, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportnet tweets. The Blue Jays expect Hutchison to rebound from a tough 2015 campaign. In a full article on the topic, however, Nicholson-Smith notes that the Blue Jays aren’t necessarily looking to deal Hutchison, who remains relatively cheap and should provide valuable depth next season.

Nicholson-Smith does explore the reasons there’s a market for Hutchison, who pitched 150 1/3 innings in 2015 and posted an ugly 5.57 ERA. Jeff Samardzija just got a $90MM contract after a 4.96 ERA season, demonstrating clearly that teams increasingly rely on scouting reports and advanced stats more heavily than traditional stats. Hutchison’s 2015 peripherals (7.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 39.6% ground ball rate) weren’t outstanding, but they were much better than his ERA was, so teams might see him as a buy-low candidate. Hutchison is also young, at 25, and has made 60 starts in the past two seasons.

Further down, Nicholson-Smith notes that, in addition to potentially keeping Hutchison, the Blue Jays are looking for mid-range options to improve their pitching staff. They could attempt to improve their rotation depth by adding pitchers who could also pitch out of their bullpen, and along those lines, they’ve been in touch with representatives of Joe Blanton and Craig Stammen recently. They were also in discussions with Yusmeiro Petit, although Petit now has a deal in place with the Nationals. They’ll also look to fill out their rotation at Triple-A Buffalo via trades or non-roster invites or by optioning pitchers from the Majors.

Pitching Notes: Rangers, Giants, Maeda, Chapman, Stammen, Jays, Pirates, Okajima

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It appears the Rangers are at least looking into an impactful pitching addition. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says (Twitter links) that the club has pursued Jose Fernandez, Shelby Miller, and Drew Smyly on the trade market, but “couldn’t make headway” on any of those players. The club is, however, holding a line of dialogue with the Indians on their rotation arms. Meanwhile, Texas has “neither funds nor interest level” to take a run at Japanese righty Kenta Maeda, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter.

Here’s more on the pitching market:

  • The Giants have some interest in Maeda, skipper Bruce Bochy told reporters including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). And the team has scouted him previously in Japan, colleague Henry Schulman adds on Twitter. Of course, Bochy also added that the club expects Maeda to draw wide interest, and didn’t make clear just how strong of a draw he represents.
  • With uncertainty abounding, the Dodgers are holding internal discussions on what to do about the team’s prospective trade for Reds lefty Aroldis Chapman, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports via Twitter. It’s possible that the club could “pivot” to some other acquisition targets or that it might allow the situation to play out before committing in either direction, he adds.
  • Recently non-tendered righty Craig Stammen is “100% recovered” from his arm surgery, a source tells MLBTR’s Zach Links (via) Twitter. Stammen, a stalwart of the Nationals pen for several years, was non-tendered recently. He’ll be entering his age-32 season after producing a 2.88 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 246 2/3 innings over 2012-15.
  • The Blue Jays are considering an array of options as they look at pen additions, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. Toronto is considering everything from the best remaining free agent relievers to “bounce-back types,” he says.
  • While a lefty reliever isn’t the Pirates’ top priority, the team has reached to free agent Matt Thornton, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter.
  • The Pirates have shown interest in free agenty righty Kyle Kendrick, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter). Kendrick struggled last year for the Rockies, but he’s still just 31 years old and has had success at times in a swingman capacity. Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review broke down the Bucs’ efforts to find starters in a piece yesterday.
  • Japanese reliever Hideki Okajima is eyeing a return to the majors for his age-40 campaign, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. The long-time Red Sox southpaw last appeared in the bigs in 2013 with the Athletics and has played in Japan for the last two years.

Yankees Notes: Davis, Marlins, Miller, Eovaldi

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The Yankees aren’t known for having quiet offseasons, yet their relative lack of moves this winter isn’t just the calm before the storm, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News writes.  “There’s a reason they haven’t been attached to any big free agent.  They’re not in on them,” one Major League executive tells Feinsand.  Another exec says the Yankees are being truthful when they say they’re not planning to add to their payroll, as “that’s what they’ve been telling everybody publicly and privately.”  Here’s some more from the Bronx…

  • The Yankees “said they had a real interest in [Chris] Davis” earlier in the year, a source tells George A. King III of the New York Post, but backed off since “he wants Teixeira money.”  Mark Teixeira’s eight-year, $180MM deal would certainly seem to be well above the Yankees’ current comfort zone, and it could be a stretch in general as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected Davis for a six-year, $144MM deal.  (Then again, Davis’ agent Scott Boras was also the one who negotiated Teixeira’s contract back in 2008.)  King hears that the Blue Jays have been linked to Davis in “chatter.”
  • Also from King, the Marlins “have liked” Yankees pitchers Bryan Mitchell and Adam Warren, with Miami looking at Mitchell as a starter and Warren in the bullpen.  While both arms are interesting trade chips, King notes that it would obviously take a lot more for the Yankees to obtain a major Marlins player like Marcell Ozuna.
  • If the Yankees are to meet their goal of obtaining a quality starter in his pre-arb years, an AL executive tells King that dealing Andrew Miller might be the only way.  “Nobody else they have, especially if they aren’t going to trade their top prospects, brings that young starter back but Miller,” the exec said.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines that in return for Miller, the Bombers would demand a pitcher at least as well-regarded as Eduardo Rodriguez, who the Red Sox obtained for Miller at the 2014 trade deadline.
  • Also from Sherman’s piece, he hears from a rival executive who asked the Yankees about Nathan Eovaldi this winter, though “talks did not progress far.”  The fact that GM Brian Cashman was willing to discuss Eovaldi at all is a sign, Sherman opines, that the club is truly open to hearing all options to upgrade the roster.
  • Sherman notes that the Cubs still consider Brett Gardner one of several backup options if they’re unable to land another center field target.  A Gardner-for-Starlin Castro rumor surfaced last month though the Yankees were said to want pitching in a Gardner deal.

Bullpen Notes: Clippard, Chapman, Nathan, Twins, LaCava

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Here’s the latest reliever news from around the game…

  • The Mets have discussed re-signing Tyler Clippard, Newsday’s Marc Carig reports.  Clippard posted a 3.06 ERA in 32 1/3 innings for the Mets after being acquired in a late-July trade from Oakland.
  • From that same item, Carig says the Mets “briefly discussed” making a move for Aroldis Chapman at the last trade deadline but they didn’t revisit that idea this winter.
  • Joe Nathan is in Nashville talking to teams at the Winter Meetings, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links).  Nathan underwent Tommy John surgery last April and is hoping to be ready to pitch by midseason.  Rosenthal speculates that the former star closer could receive a contract that pays him a low base salary in 2016 with a higher guaranteed salary or a club option in 2017.  It will be quite a comeback for Nathan if he’s able to overcome his second Tommy John procedure for a return at age 41.
  • The Rangers, one of Nathan’s former teams, spoke with him today in what MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan described as a “courtesy meet.”
  • Though the Twins have never signed a reliever from outside the organization to a multi-year contract under GM Terry Ryan’s tenure, Ryan tells reporters (including Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that he’s “not opposed” to doing so “if it was a necessity of getting the guy we had confidence in and a need that we have.”  The Twins have been linked to several big-name relievers (Joakim Soria, Ryan Madson, Tony Sipp) who have either already signed or likely will require multi-year guarantees.
  • Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava told reporters (including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm) that his team was made contact with many of the notable relievers who have already come off the board.  “I wouldn’t say [we were] close, but we were engaged with some of the guys that signed,” LaCava said.
  • Upgrading the bullpen “will be our primary focus the rest of our time here” at the Winter Meetings, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including MLB.com’s Greg Johns.

East Notes: Encarnacion, Nationals, Rollins, Cabrera, Braves, Howard, Giles

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Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion will not entertain extension talks into the regular season, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. If a new deal isn’t worked out, of course, Encarnacion would stand to reach free agency after the 2016 season, where Bradford says he could draw interest from Boston. Toronto executive Tony LaCava said today that he’s not been informed of that stance by Encarnacion’s camp, but would respect the request if it’s made, per MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (via Twitter). LaCava also said “it’s possible” that the Jays could reach new deals with both Encarnacion and fellow power bat Jose Bautista, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently explained in breaking down the extension candidacy of Bautista, however, it’s worth wondering whether the team will be willing and able to commit to both players.

Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:

  • If the Nationals can’t draw Ben Zobrist to D.C., the club could consider Jimmy Rollins as a lower-cost bridge to prospect Trea Turner at short, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. In his comments today, GM Mike Rizzo said that he doesn’t feel compelled to add at the shortstop position, whether or not Zobrist is brought on board to play second. “I have a comfort level that if today were opening day, we have a shortstop on the roster and feel good about it,” said Rizzo, via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
  • The Nationals’ head baseball executive also noted that there’s been some interest in veteran Yunel Escobar, who could factor at short or elsewhere in the infield if he’s not dealt. “There’s been several teams that have inquired about Escobar,” Rizzo said. “He’s a versatile player that’s a good hitter and a really good big-league player, so there have been several teams that have interest in him.” Escobar could be expendable if an
  • The Yankees have at least some level of interest in infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. It’s unclear as of yet how much cash New York will dedicate to free agency, but Cabrera could be an option at second for the club, per Morosi.
  • While the Braves are interested in signing a center fielder, the club isn’t keen on giving up a draft choice to get Dexter Fowler and could find Austin Jackson too expensive, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). Atlanta could instead pursue the trade route, with a fallback of platooning Michael Bourn with a cheaper free agent in the mold of Drew Stubbs.
  • New Phillies GM Matt Klentak sat down recently with first baseman Ryan Howard and his agent to discuss his role with the organization, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. “Everybody was very honest with each other, and he seemed genuinely excited and energized looking forward to next year,” said Klentak. “If Ryan Howard is performing, Ryan Howard is going to play,” Klentak went on to say. “If he’s not, he’ll play less. And that’s not specific to Ryan, that’s true to everyone on our club and probably just about everyone in baseball.”
  • Klentak also acknowledged that the Phillies are drawing plenty of interest in closer Ken Giles, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. Philadelphia is “taking it day by day” in assessing whether to move Giles, but doesn’t — and, in my view, shouldn’t — feel any pressure to force a move. “I don’t know how much I really want to say about that, but, yeah, there’s a lot of interest in him because he’s good, and because he’s young and because he’s cheap,” said Klentak. “We’ll see. I don’t know how that’s going to shake out, [but] if he’s with us we’ll be very happy he’s still with us.”

Bullpen Notes: Chapman, Gott, Albers, Blevins

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It’s been a huge day for reliever signings, as Joakim Soria, Ryan Madson, Mark Lowe and (probably) Darren O’Day all reaching agreements on new contracts.  If that wasn’t enough, the Dodgers and Reds are also discussing an Aroldis Chapman trade, so the biggest bullpen trade chip of them all could also soon be off the table.  Here’s some news on the relievers who have left the market, some who remain, and yet others who could be on the trading block…

  • The Nationals continue to have interest in trading for Chapman but are wary about the prospect cost, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson writes.  There’s also the difficulty involved in trading current closer Jonathan Papelbon, and Papelbon’s grievance against the Nats is just the latest in several obstacles that will make it hard for Washington to find a taker for the controversial righty.
  • The Angels are getting interest in right-hander Trevor Gott, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The Halos want a player of similar value in return.  Gott made his MLB debut in 2015 and posted a 3.02 ERA, 5.1 K/9 and 1.69 K/BB rate over 47 2/3 innings.  Owner of a 96.2mph fastball, Gott posted much higher strikeout totals over his three minor league seasons and is controlled through the 2021 season.
  • Righty Matt Albers has received interest from multiple teams, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (Twitter link).  Albers missed most of 2014 due to shoulder problems and signed a minor league deal with the White Sox last winter, only to miss quite a bit of time after fracturing his pinkie during a bench-clearing brawl with the Royals in April.  Still, Albers ended up posting a very impressive 1.21 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 3.11 K/BB rate over 37 1/3 innings with Chicago last year.
  • Yakult Swallows right-hander Tony Barnette didn’t reach a deal with any of the five teams who met his $500K posting fee, according to a story from the Sanspo news outlet (hat tip to NPBTracker’s Patrick Newman for his translating tweets).  Barnette is set to return to Yakult, though there’s a chance the Japanese team could allow him to pursue a deal with a Major League team anyway.
  • The Mets will meet with lefty Jerry Blevins’ agent during the Winter Meetings, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports.  Assistant GM John Ricco confirmed the club’s interest in re-signing Blevins and expects it will take a Major League contract to get the veteran southpaw back in the fold.  Blevins pitched only five innings for the Mets in 2015 as a result of two forearm fractures — one from a line drive, and another suffered while slipping off a curb.
  • In another piece from Rubin, he hears from Ricco that the Mets weren’t in on O’Day or Madson due to their high price tags.  “We didn’t see ourselves playing in that top end where O’Day was,” Ricco said. “But I think that next tier, we’re going to be keeping an eye on….We’re going to meet with a lot of the representatives for the relievers here over the next couple of days.”
  • Part of the reason the Athletics agreed to a deal with Madson was because they can’t afford to land any of the top free agent hitters and thus have to “spend money where they can,” according to Rosenthal on Twitter.  The A’s are also still looking at more starting pitching as well, as evidenced by earlier reports of their interest in Scott Kazmir.
  • Before signing Lowe, the Tigers made one more try for Soria but talks went nowhere, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets.  The Pirates, another of Soria’s former teams, didn’t have any interest in re-signing him since the club prefers to build low-cost bullpens, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets.  The Blue Jays looked into Soria in the name of “checking options,” a source tells Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, but Toronto wasn’t seriously interested.

Blue Jays Notes: Atkins, Shapiro, Price

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The Blue Jays officially introduced Ross Atkins as the team’s new general manager in a press conference yesterday.  Here are some of the most noteworthy items from that presser, as per the National Post’s John Lott, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith…

  • Atkins will slowly ease into the job over the offseason, a transition necessitated by the late timing of his hiring and the fact that interim GM Tony LaCava has already completed many of the club’s big winter plans.  LaCava will “work us through the Winter Meetings and through this offseason as the leader of our decision-making. I’ll support and complement any way that I can,” Atkins said.
  • Atkins, LaCava, Royals assistant GM Rene Francisco and a mystery candidate were the four finalists for the job.  While Atkins was cited as a potential favorite from the moment the Jays’ GM job became available, team president/CEO Mark Shapiro consulted with an executive recruitment firm to make sure he wasn’t showing any bias towards his long-time former charge from the Indians front office.
  • While Atkins thinks the rotation is already strong enough to contend, he said the Jays will look to add starting depth.  With Marcus Stroman, R.A. Dickey, J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada already locked into rotation jobs, Shapiro expects “three or four” pitchers to battle for the fifth spot in Spring Training, one of whom will be the newly-acquired Jesse Chavez.
  • The Jays aren’t at their payroll limit, Shapiro said, though he didn’t elaborate on any specific dollar amount.  When asked if he’d requested a payroll increase from ownership in the wake of the Blue Jays’ big attendance increase during their late-season pennant drive, Shapiro said “Yes, and that’s obviously happened.”
  • Though Toronto has already addressed its biggest need in the form of rebuilding the pitching staff, that doesn’t necessarily mean the team is done for the winter.  “Because we have filled the largest holes, we are open to being very creative the rest of the offseason. So we have the ability to examine a lot of scenarios,” Shapiro said.
  • David Price left the Jays to join the division rival Red Sox on a record seven-year, $217MM contract.  Toronto was never considered to be a major contender to re-sign Price since the bidding was expected to be too high, though the team had a natural interest in bringing the ace southpaw back.  “It’s never a question of do you want David Price,” Shapiro said. “That’s silly.  Of course, yes, we want David Price.  It’s a question of how do you build a championship team within the parameters you’re given.  It’s as simple as that.  We have all the resources necessary to build a championship team, but they’re not unlimited.”
  • Former Indians manager Eric Wedge has been in talks to join the organization in some capacity, though Shapiro said no hiring was imminent and that Wedge wouldn’t be taking a job currently filled by another employee.
  • Several front office areas will be addressed, with the hiring of a new director of Latin American operations being a “top of the list” priority for Atkins.  The Blue Jays will also look to bulk up their analytics department, as well as their training and conditioning departments.
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