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Central Notes: Plouffe, Jackson, Indians, Brewers

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Trevor Plouffe’s agent (Nez Balelo at CAA) has been in Minnesota recently, but Plouffe and the Twins haven’t been discussing an extension, 1500ESPN’s Darren Wolfson tweets. Plouffe can become eligible for free agency following the 2017 season. Wolfson describes him as an extension candidate, and maybe he is, since the Twins are frequently loyal to their players. The Twins do have another potential long-term answer at third base in Miguel Sano, however, and Sano is younger and cheaper, as well as being an outstanding hitter. Trading Plouffe might ultimately make more sense. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

  • The Twins also had interest in Edwin Jackson before Jackson signed with the Braves, Wolfson tweets. The Braves were prepared to offer a big-league deal, however, and the Twins apparently were not.
  • The Indians’ contracts for Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher didn’t turn out well, but the team would have been in even worse shape had it extended Justin Masterson, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer writes. In Spring Training in 2014, the Indians reportedly offered Masterson about $45MM over three years, which at the time looked like a lowball offer, given Masterson’s impending free agency and excellent 2013 season. Since then, though, Masterson has struggled in Cleveland, St. Louis and Boston, ultimately being designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week.
  • The Brewers’ farm system looks significantly improved after last month’s trades and the June draft, Tom Haudricourt writes for Baseball America (subscription only). In trading Carlos Gomez, Mike Fiers, Gerardo Parra, Aramis Ramirez and Jonathan Broxton, the Brewers got a solid group of prospects that includes Brett Phillips, Domingo Santana and Zach Davies. Many of the players they acquired are in the high minors, too, which now-former Brewers GM Doug Melvin suggested might shorten the amount of time the team needed to rebuild. Davies, who is relatively small and isn’t a hard thrower, doesn’t fit the pitcher type the Brewers usually like, but Melvin says the team’s analytics department lobbied for the Brewers to acquire him in the Parra trade.

Marlins Notes: Jennings, Barraclough, Ichiro

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The Marlins’ Dan Jennings is one of many managers throughout the game who might not remain in their current jobs by the start of next season, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. The Marlins have continued to struggle since replacing Mike Redmond with their GM, and Rosenthal notes that the Jennings is likely to head back to a front-office role. Fellow interim managers Pat Murphy (Padres) and Pete Mackanin (Phillies) will also likely be replaced, and other candidates to depart include Brad Ausmus (Tigers), Lloyd McClendon (Mariners) and others. Here are more notes on the Marlins.

  • Marlins righty Kyle Barraclough was surprised to be traded for Steve Cishek, and surprised that his new team promoted him to the big leagues last week, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes. “It was just shocking to me,” says Barraclough. “I had read reports that the Cardinals were interested in Cishek, but I never thought it would be me that was going. They’ve got a good minor league system and I thought there’s tons of guys that they’re going to want except for me.” Barraclough had been struggling with Double-A Springfield in the Cardinals’ system, walking 20 batters in 24 2/3 innings there, but he thrived in a brief stint at Double-A Jacksonville, striking out nine batters and walking only one in four innings. He has yet to allow a run in three outings in the big leagues.
  • Counting his statistics in Japan, Ichiro Suzuki’s single against the Cardinals yesterday gave him 4,191 career hits, tying Ty Cobb for second all-time. Ichiro now has 2,913 hits in the Majors, and with another season, he might reach 3,000. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro suggests the Marlins ought to retain Ichiro so that he can reach that milestone in a Marlins uniform. He isn’t likely to cost much, and he won’t be blocking anyone as he continues in a bench outfielder role. There is, of course, the matter of his declining performance — Ichiro will be 42 in October, and his 2015 batting average (.253) and slugging percentage (.308) are the lowest in his career since he came to the US.

Yankees Designate Chris Capuano For Assignment

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The Yankees have announced that they’ve designated lefty Chris Capuano for assignment. The move clears space on their active roster for righty Caleb Cotham, who they’ve recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

If this pair of moves sounds familiar, it’s because the Yankees designated Capuano in order to promote Cotham just before the trade deadline. Since then, Capuano accepted the Yankees’ outright and then returned on Wednesday when the Yankees designated Garrett Jones.

Capuano has a 6.97 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 this season and is making $5MM on a one-year deal, so the Yankees probably aren’t too worried that he’ll be claimed. He hadn’t pitched since being promoted, and is probably being designated in favor of Cotham right now because Cotham (who’s had a strong season in the high minors) just became eligible for promotion again after being optioned on August 5.

A.J. Pollock Interested In Extension With D-backs

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Outfielder A.J. Pollock is interested in pursuing an extension with the Diamondbacks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. “I like my teammates. I like the coaches. The front office has been awesome,” says Pollock. “If they talk to me, I’ll obviously talk to them back.”

Yesterday, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman wrote that the D-backs could consider extending Pollock. “He’s a big, big piece of what we’re trying to do,” GM Dave Stewart told Heyman.

The 27-year-old Pollock will have over three years of service time by the end of the season, making him eligible for arbitration for the first time, and putting him on pace to become a free agent after 2018. As Piecoro suggests, the only recent extension for an outfielder with between three and four years of service time is that of Michael Brantley, who signed a four-year, $25MM deal with one option prior to the 2014 season.

That deal is now almost two years old, though, and as nicely as it has turned out for the Indians, Pollock’s current track record is significantly better than Brantley’s was at the time. Pollock is currently hitting an excellent .312/.365/.474 with 28 stolen bases, and he’s a much better defensive outfielder than Brantley. Pollock’s 4.9 fWAR ranks 10th among big-league position players, ahead of top-performing stars like Anthony Rizzo, Yoenis Cespedes and Andrew McCutchen. Pollock doesn’t have a lengthy track record (due in part to a hand injury that cost him half his 2014 season), and his defense-heavy skill set isn’t ideally suited for getting paid in arbitration, but he’s an excellent extension candidate who should seek a significant payout in exchange for forgoing the arbitration process and delaying free agency.

Pollock’s camp would likely aim much higher than Brantley’s $25MM in extension discussions, then, perhaps pointing to recent deals for infielders Jason Kipnis ($52.5MM) and Matt Carpenter ($52MM) as starting points. Unlike Pollock, however, Kipnis and Carpenter had between two and three years of service at the times of their deals.

Week In Review: 8/8/15 – 8/14/15

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Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.

Trades

Signings

Top Prospect Promotions

Claims

Designated For Assignment

Outrights

Opt-outs

Key Minor League Signings

Prospect Notes: Org Rankings, Cuba, Nunez

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The Red Sox top the latest organizational prospect list of MLB.com’s Jim Callis. Boston has seven of the game’s top 100 pre-MLB players, per MLB.com, led by infielders Yoan Moncada and Rafael Devers. Next up on the list: the Dodgers, Rockies, Cubs, and Twins. Here are some more stray notes from around the league:

  • MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez looks at the international market on a historic day for U.S.-Cuban relations. There are a number of talented Cuban players waiting to strike deals, Sanchez explains. Indeed, he estimates that nearly 75 young players have left the island nation with intentions of signing with big league clubs in the last year and a half. As Sanchez notes, it remains unclear whether a new pathway for that talent to travel to the majors could be opened.
  • Another Cuban player could potentially be on the way, Baseball America’s Ben Badler tweets, though it seems he won’t be attempting to defect to do so. 22-year-old lefty Darien Nunez has asked Cuban authorities to release him from his league obligations, reports from the island suggest. Badler says that the southpaw — who led Cuban ball in both strikeouts and walks last year — is raw and unpolished, but possesses an “intriguing arm.”

NL Notes: Marlins, Ramirez, Brewers

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The Marlins are expected to ramp up their use of analytics, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes, explaining that the organization may look to build out a full department for that purpose. Miami has been relying more on individual employees to provide statistical input, says Frisaro, but will seemingly aim for a more systematic approach.

More from the NL:

  • Miami has several needs to fill this offseason, especially in the pitching staff, Frisaro adds. But it’s not likely to go after big-name free agents. Instead, per the report, the Fish will probably aim for buy-low arms on the open market.
  • While he has yet to appear at first in a game, Pirates veteran Aramis Ramirez recently began working out at the unfamiliar position. As Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains, Pittsburgh has little to lose and plenty to gain from opening the possibility of utilizing Ramirez at first. With Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer nearing a return, the team would have a highly versatile array of infielders.
  • Outgoing Brewers GM Doug Melvin says he’s not yet sure what role he will play in the team’s search for his replacement, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. Meanwhile, current assistant GM Gord Ash says he’s hopeful of staying with the organization as well, though he is waiting to see what role he might have moving forward.

Latest On Chase Utley Trade Talks

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We heard earlier today that the Angels are looking into a trade for Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. While there are some barriers to a deal there, as there are with other possible destinations, it seems to be one of several viable landings spots. Here’s the latest on the long-time star:

  • There is “credible buzz” that the Astros are also involved in pursuing Utley, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets. Obviously Houston has Jose Altuve entrenched at second and can play both Jed Lowrie and Luis Valbuena at third. But Salisbury says that the team could utilize Utley at first and/or the DH slot, where the club is currently struggling to find consistent production. The Astros join five other previously-reported teams with interest, including their primary competition in the AL West.
  • Executives involved in the discussions say they expect Utley will end up deciding whether to waive his no-trade protection for the Cubs or Angels, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. It’s not entirely clear whether those two clubs are most appealing to the team or to Utley, let alone what kind of process is being pursued to arrive at a decision.
  • The Giants join the Cubs and Angels atop Utley’s preference list, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. As he notes, one major question with San Francisco is the status of Joe Panik, who will presumably slot back in as the regular second baseman when he returns from injury.

Trevor Cahill Opts Out Of Dodgers Contract

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Righty Trevor Cahill has exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Dodgers, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports on Twitter. He will head back onto the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Cahill, 27, signed on with the Dodgers organization after being released earlier in the season by the Braves. He had been dealt to Atlanta from the Diamondbacks over the winter.

Over his 34 1/3 frames with Oklahoma City on the year, Cahill worked to a 5.24 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. Needless to say, he never received an opportunity at the big league level with Los Angeles.

Cahill’s difficulties this season continue a rough stretch of results. Since the start of the 2014 season, and covering his time earlier this year with Atlanta, Cahill has put up 137 innings of 5.98 ERA pitching at the major league level.

While Cahill is playing on a $12MM salary this year, the Dodgers never picked up any piece of that in signing him. Instead, the Diamondbacks ($6.5MM) and Braves ($5.5MM, plus his $300K option buyout for next year) are paying the balance.

Jose Valverde Receives 80-Game Suspension

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Righty Jose Valverde has been suspended for eighty games, the league announced today. He was punished for testing positive for stanozolol, a banned performance-enhancing substance.

Valverde played most recently at the Triple-A level in the Nationals organization, throwing 26 1/3 innings of 2.39 ERA ball. He struck out 7.2 and walked 1.0 batters per nine in that span, but ultimately exercised an opt-out clause and took his release. Valverde spent the spring with the Padres but elected free agency when he wasn’t added to the active roster to start the season.

Once the Tigers’ closer, Valverde lost the gig during a rough 2013 season. He opened 2014 with the Mets, but was again cut loose after struggling. All told, Valverde has only thrown forty innings, putting up a 5.63 ERA, since the end of the 2012 campaign.

It already seemed that the 12-year big league veteran could be near the end of the line, particularly given that he had yet to sign since being released nearly a month ago. Certainly, the suspension will make it much more difficult for him to find another opportunity.

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