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Archives for July 2015

Rockies Notes: Trades, Hundley, CarGo, Tulowitzki

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Entering the All-Star break, just three teams — the Phillies, Brewers and Marlins — have fewer wins than the Rockies, who find themselves 11 games out of contention in the National League West. With Colorado looking more and more like a deadline seller, here’s the latest out of Denver…

  • In a mailbag piece, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that he can envision Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Wilin Rosario and John Axford being traded in the next two weeks. Though Nick Hundley appears to be a classic trade candidate — he’s hitting well in the first season of an affordable two-year deal — Saunders writes that he’s emerged as a strong presence in the clubhouse, which upper management may not want to lose. Blackmon would make an intriguing trade candidate, though his struggles against lefties and significant home/road splits throughout his career would seem like potential hindrances to his trade value, in my mind.
  • Gonzalez, who has battled injuries frequently throughout his Rockies tenure, tells the Post’s Nick Groke that he’s healthy for the first time in a season and feels that his surgically repaired knee finally has the strength to allow him to wait on his back leg to adjust to breaking pitches. CarGo hit .464/.483/.929 with four doubles and three homers over the final week of the first half.
  • Troy Tulowitzki’s name has been in trade rumors for years, and he addressed the constant speculation at yesterday’s All-Star festivities when meeting with the media. Via the L.A. Times’ Bill Shaikin, Tulo told reporters, “Right now, I’m still a Rockie. I’ve dealt with [trade rumors] for a couple years now. I’m still in a Rockies uniform. It is what it is.” Tulo went on to say that he feels the Rockies can eventually put a winner on the field, citing promising young teammates such as Nolan Arenado and DJ LeMahieu. Tulowitzki also went on to say that he takes “a lot of pride in staying in one organization.” Tulo called Derek Jeter his favorite player (the reason behind his No. 2 in Colorado) and discussed the possibility of staying Colorado forever. “Not too many guys get to do it in this day and age. It would be cool, when I am done playing, to say that I did that,” said Tulowitzki.

Tim Stauffer Signs With Sugar Land Skeeters

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The Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League announced that they’ve signed former Twins/Padres right-hander Tim Stauffer as well as former Rays first baseman Allan Dykstra.

The 33-year-old Stauffer enjoyed a long but injury-marred tenure with the Padres after being selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2003 draft. He became a free agent for the first time this season on the heels of a solid 3.50 ERA in 64 1/3 innings of relief for the 2014 Padres. Minnesota signed him to a one-year, $2.2MM contract, but he struggled in Minnesota from day one. Stauffer missed a chunk of time with an intercostal strain and ultimately saw his Twins career end with a release following a 6.60 ERA with six strikeouts against seven walks in 15 innings.

As for Dykstra, he was cut loose by the Rays earlier this season. He made his big league debut in 2015 but struggled to a .129/.289/.226 line in 38 plate appearances with the Rays. Interestingly, Dykstra was also a first-round pick of the Padres, who selected him 23rd overall in 2008. He’s enjoyed a good amount of success at the Triple-A level, however, hitting .261/.411/.457 in 606 plate appearances.

Mariners, Red Sox Interested In Jason Frasor

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8:05pm: The Red Sox, too, are interested in Frasor, a source tells WEEI.com’s John Tomase. The Sox are currently sorting through options to improve a bullpen that has lacked reliable options behind Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa, Tomase notes, and Frasor is among the considerations.

5:08pm: The Mariners are “taking a hard look” at right-hander Jason Frasor, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Frasor became a free agent earlier this week after he was designated for assignment by the Royals and opted for free agency.

As Dutton writes, manager Lloyd McClendon recently expressed displeasure with the performance of his team’s right-handed relievers. McClendon noted that much attention is paid to the club’s anemic offense, but the team had offensive struggles in 2014 as well. A lack of quality right-handed relief options, in McClendon’s estimation, has been a significant detriment to the team’s success. “In my opinion, the biggest disappointment to date has been the right-handers we’ve had to shift in and out of our bullpen to try to bridge the gap,” said McClendon.

Seattle has indeed seen its shares of struggles in the bullpen. Danny Farquhar, Tom Wilhelmsen, Yoervis Medina and Dominic Leone were standout performers in 2014, but neither has performed well in 2015. The 28-year-old Farquhar’s velocity and strikeout rates have plummeted, while his walk and home run rates have both soared. The result has been a 6.23 ERA — more than three full runs higher than his 2.66 mark from 2015. Wilhelmsen’s ERA has more than doubled, though it’s at least worth noting that his strikeout and walk rates have improved; he, however, has been plagued by a BABIP north of .400 and a fluky strand rate. Medina and Leone have both been traded this season after their own struggles. None of the four is presently in the Major Leagues.

Also of note regarding the Mariners’ bullpen struggles is the collapse of 2014 closer Fernando Rodney. The veteran has long had control issues, but in his best years they’ve been masked somewhat by a hefty strikeout rate. That hasn’t been the case for Rodney this season, as he’s posted a dreadful 5.50 ERA with just 7.0 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. The 38-year-old has also been more homer-prone than usual.

Overall, the Mariners have received a collective 3.81 ERA from their bullpen, which ranks just 22nd in the Majors. Sabermetrics don’t paint any rosier of a picture, as FIP (3.81), xFIP (3.85) and SIERA (3.54) all feel that the production has been mediocre, at best, relative to the rest of the bullpens in the league. Rookie Carson Smith, journeyman Mark Lowe and lefties Joe Beimel and Charlie Furbush, however, have delivered strong to excellent bottom-line results.

Of course, Frasor would hardly represent a guaranteed cure for the Mariners’ bullpen troubles. Although the 37-year-old worked to an excellent 1.54 ERA in 23 1/3 innings with the Royals, he also issued 15 walks (13 unintentional) in that time and posted the lowest K/9 rate (6.9) of his career. Additionally, given his track record, one would imagine that there will be a number of clubs to show interest in the veteran right-hander, whose brush with midseason free agency seems unlikely to be lengthy in nature.

AL East Notes: Bogaerts, Porcello, Stroman, Hoffman, O’s

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As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes, agent Scott Boras recently addressed the progress of client Xander Bogaerts, who struggled in his first full big league season but enters the 2015 All-Star break hitting .304/.338/.411. As Speier notes, Bogaerts is currently on pace to hit free agency entering his age-27 season — a rare occurrence for any player. Boras noted that rarity, making sure to point out that fellow client Bryce Harper will have an early taste of free agency, but denied that he discourages his clients from signing long-term deals before free agency. Boras maintains that he’s “absolutely” open to long-term deals for clients. Said Boras: “With our clients, we give them a lot of information. I always tell teams, I don’t know of any players we have that haven’t signed a deal that they felt was a value deal for them.” For his part, Bogaerts said that he loves playing in Boston and hopes to remain there, although clearly he’s quite a ways from having to face the possibility of playing elsewhere.

More from the AL East…

  • Rick Porcello spoke with WEEI.com’s John Tomase about his disastrous first half and the importance of trying to take away some positives from the season’s first few months. Porcello, who will spend the All-Star break decompressing at his family’s home in southern Vermont, maintained that he was not feeling the pressures that can come along with signing a large contract. “They brought me over here because of what I’ve done and who I am,” said Porcello. “That’s the most important thing. There’s no added pressure on myself. I am who I am. I can’t try and be somebody else or do something I’m not capable of doing. So that hasn’t factored into it at all.”
  • The Blue Jays are “regularly being asked for Marcus Stroman” as a return in trades for pitching, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Despite the fact that Stroman won’t contribute to the team in 2015 after tearing his ACL this spring, the Blue Jays won’t be trading him, Davidi writes. Looking at the trade history of GM Alex Anthopoulos, Davidi notes that it’s probably more likely to see the Blue Jays acquire someone with some team control remaining. He lists the Padres as a speculative trade partner, noting that both Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross would fit that mold. Acquiring a starter or two would allow the Blue Jays to transfer Aaron Sanchez to the bullpen to help fix the team’s relief woes, though trade possibilities exist there, too. Jonathan Papelbon said at yesterday’s All-Star festivities that he considered the Jays a “good fit” and would waive his no-trade clause to go there.
  • As Alykhan K. Ravjiani of Postmedia first tweeted, the Blue Jays have promoted top prospect Jeff Hoffman to Double-A. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet notes that the promotion comes at a time when the Jays are on the hunt for pitching, and Hoffman is likely to be asked about frequently, perhaps along with prospects Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd. Hoffman was a candidate to be selected first overall in the 2014 draft but fell to the Blue Jays with the ninth pick after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Now healthy, Hoffman has a 3.21 ERA through his first 11 starts with Class-A Advanced, where he’s averaged 6.1 walks against 2.4 walks per nine innings.
  • Though man Orioles fans believe the team’s diminished run production to be a reason for the club’s struggles, MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski opines that questionable starting pitching is the greater culprit. While the decisions to let Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis leave via free agency has had a negative impact on the offense, poor performances from Chris Tillman, Bud Norris and more recently, Miguel Gonzalez, have left Baltimore with a 4.20 ERA from its rotation.

Draft Signings: Josh Rogers

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Here are the day’s notable draft signings:

  • The Yankees have signed 11th rounder Josh Rogers to a $485K deal, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter links). Devan Fink was first on the precise dollar value. Rogers, a lefty out of Louisville, placed inside Baseball America’s top 500 list at #342. To sign the draft-eligible sophomore, New York was forced to commit $385K against its overall pool. (For players taken in the 11th round or later, the amount of any bonus over $100K counts against a team’s draft allocation.) Per another Callis tweet, that leaves the club capable of paying first-round pick James Kaprielian up to a $2,676,450 bonus before it would be forced to sacrifice a future selection.

Amaro On Papelbon, Harang, Hamels, Utley

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Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. discussed his team’s trade deadline situation in an appearance on the WIP Morning Show (relayed by CSNPhilly.com’s Corey Seidman). Broadly, Amaro said that he has had “great dialogue with a lot of clubs on several fronts” and expressed confidence in “get[ting] some things done.”

The first and most obvious topic of conversation was closer Jonathan Papelbon, who yesterday aired his view that Philadelphia needs to make a decision on dealing him. Amaro praised the veteran reliever as a competitor and excellent pitcher, but said that “he doesn’t know anything about the front office.”

Regarding Papelbon’s market, Amaro indicated that he sees plenty of opportunity to strike a trade. “There’s live discussions going on right now regarding Pap,” said Amaro. “I do believe that there’s enough of a market that we can probably get something done. But again, I don’t necessarily believe in ’probably.’ … There’s a lot of clubs that are interested in a lot of our players and we have to sort through it and make the right deals.”

In the course of addressing Papelbon’s comments, which touched upon the decisionmaking process of the front office’s highest levels, Amaro said that there was internal clarity about how deadline decisions would be handled. Namely, current president Pat Gillick holds final authority, with incoming replacement Andy MacPhail serving more of an advisory function at present.

“I’m the GM and Pat is my boss,” Amaro explained. “As in all these deals, particularly ones that are as complicated and have so much money involved, these are all discussions that we’ve had. … It’s something that’s discussed, not just with me, but also with my boss. And that’s the same structure that we have right now. Right now, Andy is part of the decision-making process, but only in so much that he’s an observer and someone who’s going to give us his opinion. Really, Pat is the one who ultimately will make the ultimate decisions.”

Even as he gave indications that Papelbon could indeed be on the move, as is widely expected, Amaro downplayed the possibility of receiving value for starter Aaron Harang. “As far as Aaron Harang is concerned,” said Amaro, “he had a foot problem and he’s dealing with an injury so you can’t really trade a guy that’s got an injury. Frankly, there was no real market for him prior to him getting injured.”

Of course, Philly’s biggest trade chip remains lefty Cole Hamels. Amaro said he was not concerned with the fact that the staff ace had suffered a rough outing in his most recent start, saying that “people know what he is.”

The embattled Phillies GM also touched upon his recent comments indicating that long-time second baseman Chase Utley has lost his starting role. Amaro said he did not regret “being straight and honest” on the topic, and added that he expects the veteran to “get opportunities to play” once he returns to health. As to whether there was any possibility of Utley calling it quits, Amaro made his own view clear: “No, he’s absolutely, unequivocally not going to [retire]. He’s got plenty in the tank left.”

Poll: Which Teams Should Be Deadline Sellers?

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The dichotomy between buying and selling may no longer hold quite the same meaning that it once did. We saw numerous deals last summer featuring major league players heading in both directions — the David Price, Jon Lester, and John Lackey deals among them. And it’s been widely observed that there are few clubs completely out of contention heading into this year’s deadline.

That could mean that the market will feature more reshuffling of rosters than true selling situations. But with a relative dearth of impact players available for prospect talent, there could also be enticing opportunities for teams willing to give up on the current season to improve in the future.

After all, it’s not as if such deals have disappeared completely. Jeff Samardzija has twice been moved for controllable talent, and could be again. The Red Sox (Andrew Miller to Orioles) and Rangers (Joakim Soria to Tigers) picked up quality young arms last summer, while the Diamondbacks got power-hitting prospect Peter O’Brien in exchange for Martin Prado. Infielder Dee Gordon brought back players who lacked significant major league experience. The Braves received prospects in return for Justin Upton and Craig Kimbrel, while the Phillies acquired minor league depth in deals involving Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd.

All said, then, it’s quite possible that some teams will continue to profile as sellers in the traditional sense. Only a few are obvious, with the Phillies, Brewers, and perhaps the Braves (who’ve already moved most of their short-term assets) leading the way.

Other organizations have somewhat less clarity. Some of those — the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Tigers come to mind — have seemingly made clear that they have no such intentions, at least at present. We’ll define a true “seller” as a team that is looking to acquire pre-major league talent in exchange for veteran assets.

With that understanding, and excluding the teams already mentioned above, let’s see what the consensus is among MLBTR readers. Which of the following teams should consider themselves traditional trade deadline sellers over the rest of the month of July? Pick as many as you think apply.

The original version of the poll mistakenly did not permit multiple selections. Apologies to all those who voted.

Orioles Will Not Trade Chris Davis While In Contention

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After internal consideration of the idea of trading slugger Chris Davis, the Orioles front office decided that it will not look to move the first baseman/right fielder, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. The club has said as much publicly, but it’s particularly interesting to note that the concept was at least explored.

That stance could change if the team takes a significant dive over the next few weeks, Connolly adds. But he stresses that Davis will likely remain in the fold unless the O’s truly feel they have slipped out of contention.

Of course, as Connolly rightly explains, the club’s math necessarily factors in the strong possibility that it will make Davis a qualifying offer after the season. Though he’s been something of an enigmatic hitter in recent campaigns, ranging from putting up the slash line of a mediocre power bat to that of a legitimate superstar, Davis is still just 29 and seems a good bet to decline the one-year offer if it is extended.

A declined qualifying offer would put Baltimore in line for a draft compensation, so the team already has a strong expectation of getting future value out of the pending free agent. The gap between what it can achieve for him at the trade deadline and the value of the compensatory pick is not, presumably, significant enough to warrant sacrificing the ability to field Davis in the lineup the rest of the way.

NL Notes: Swanson, Draft, Reds, Cueto, Montero, Pirates

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Last year, the signing saga of first overall draft pick Brady Aiken seemed straightforward until a controversial physical intervened. This year’s top choice, Dansby Swanson, has yet to put pen to paper, but MLB.com’s Jim Callis writes that the Diamondbacks are still expected to reach agreement without much drama. As Callis explains, Arizona should save a big chunk of money against its overall pool space with a deal, though the team may not have worthwhile targets from later draft rounds on which to re-allocate those funds. The piece goes on to address the signing status of several other players from the first and second rounds who have yet to agree with their teams. Callis suggests that the early selection who is most likely to forego a deal could be Dodgers draftee Kyle Funkhouser.

  • There are “widespread rumblings” that the Reds organization could undergo change shortly after the conclusion of the All-Star Game, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. It’s unclear from the report what that might consist of, but it’s certainly conceivable that the on-field struggles could precipitate a shakeup at any level of the organization.
  • As the Reds prepare to market staff ace Johnny Cueto, the three teams with the most earnest interest are the Astros, Blue Jays, and Royals, Nightengale adds on Twitter. Cueto’s cheap contract looks to be a significant factor in that interest, given that all three of those clubs currently operate at a lower payroll capacity (Houston, Kansas City) or reportedly lack financial flexibility at the deadline (Toronto).
  • Mets righty Rafael Montero has long looked like an important part of the equation for New York, either on the big league roster or as a trade piece. But he’s been out of action for a lengthy stretch with shoulder troubles, and there had been little sign of progress. Montero took the bump today in the Gulf Coast League, however, marking his first competitive appearance since late April, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets.
  • The first half returns show that Pirates GM Neal Huntington had a hugely successful offseason, writes Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But the top Pittsburgh baseball decisionmaker also acknowledges that some of the output from recent acquisitions such as A.J. Burnett and Francisco Cervelli has surprised even the front office.

NL East Notes: Wright, Phillies, Bethancourt

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There has still been “no change” in the status of Mets third baseman David Wright, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. While both team and player had indicated some optimism recently, Wright has still not been cleared to resume baseball activities. As Puma notes, with at least a three week delay between the point of clearance and a return to the big leagues, Wright’s window for a return this year is rather narrow.

Here are a few more quick notes from the NL East:

  • Soon-to-be Phillies president Andy MacPhail ought to make it his first order of business to find a modern baseball mind to join him in Philadelphia, argues David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. As the piece puts it, the Phils have ended up in their current state not because they’ve been unable to identify talented players, but rather due to a “blind spot [in] the macro-valuation of that talent, within the context of both sheer market appraisal and the impact of opportunity cost on the organization.” For MacPhail to succeed, says Murphy, he’ll need to find a top subordinate who can get a handle on these concepts — particularly given that Philadelphia’s advantages in total spending capacity appear likely to be reduced in importance over time.
  • While the Braves seemingly continue to take many positive steps, the stunted development of backstop Christian Bethancourt has been a significant disappointment, Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Schultz indicates that there was more at play in the decision to send Bethancourt down than his anemic .508 OPS, citing “weaknesses in defense and handling a pitching staff” and hinting that the 23-year-old may have maturity and/or commitment issues. Bethancourt has hit well since taking up residence at Triple-A, but we’ve heard recently that Atlanta is looking outside the organization for young talent behind the dish.

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