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Archives for September 2015

AL Notes: Zito, Samardzija, Matusz, Red Sox

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A’s southpaw Barry Zito tossed four innings tonight in what could be his final Major League appearance, although the veteran lefty isn’t officially calling it a career yet, tweets MLB.com’s Jane Lee. Zito says that while he won’t yet announce his retirement, he does feel “complete” and is likes the idea of spending time with his family. If this is indeed it for Zito, the game had somewhat of a full-circle slant to it. As Melissa Lockard of OaklandClubhouse.com notes (via Twitter), Zito’s final start would be closed out by Sean Doolittle, whom the Athletics drafted with the compensation pick they earned upon Zito’s free agent departure.

A few more notes from the American League as Wednesday evening winds down…

  • Question marks surround Jeff Samardzija as he heads into free agency, writes ESPN Chicago’s Doug Padilla. The right-hander closed out the season with a pair of excellent starts, but that does little to erase the dismal August through which Samardzija suffered. Samardzija candidly said he’s not overly concerned with how much money he earns in free agency from a personal standpoint. Rather, his concern in contract negotiations has always been to preserve market value and set precedents for those who come after him. “I had enough money when I signed with the Cubs back in 2006,” said Samardzija, referring to the $10MM deal he signed with the Cubs to forgo his football career. “So, like I said before, for me it’s more about a professional thing and respecting the guys that came before me that have put us in this situation in this game. To make the money we make, and have the fun we have, and travel the way we travel, that needs to be continued by players that are coming behind me and current players. For me, that’s important.” Samardzija spoke highly of his time with the White Sox, saying the team has a number of great pieces in place that will help right the ship in future seasons and sounded open to a return.
  • Orioles lefty Brian Matusz will undergo surgery to repair the arthritic AC joint in right (non-throwing) shoulder on Monday, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The injury, Matusz told reporters (link), didn’t impact his performance but did force him to scale back his workouts. Encina notes that Matusz’s hope is that having the surgery immediately after the season will give him enough time to recover and enjoy a normal offseason before getting back into his preseason routine.
  • The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo covered a number of trade-related Red Sox topics in his latest mailbag piece. Within, Cafardo mentions that he recently spoke to one scout who feels the Sox should be willing to move left-hander Henry Owens if he were to bring back a more established arm (bear in mind, of course, that’s one scout’s take). Cafardo also writes about Deven Marrero’s future in Boston, or lack thereof, as he feels Marrero will ultimately end up as trade bait due to lack of a clear path to playing time and a glove that makes him capable of starting at shortstop elsewhere. Other offseason trade candidates he mentions include Clay Buchholz and Wade Miley.

Justin Masterson Undergoes Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

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Right-hander Justin Masterson has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder and is expected to be healthy in time for Spring Training, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Masterson, who signed a one-year, $9.5MM contract with the Red Sox this past offseason, struggled mightily in Boston and was ultimately released in mid-August.

At one point, Masterson looked to be primed for a sizable free-agent payday. As a 28-year-old in 2013, Masterson posted a strong 3.45 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and an excellent 58 percent ground-ball rate in 193 innings of work with Cleveland. Masterson was a year away from free agency at that point, and the Indians were unable to come to terms on a contract extension in Spring Training. Cleveland made a then-questionable-looking decision to pass on reported offers of a two-year deal in the $35MM range that were proposed by Masterson’s camp. In hindsight, their concerns certainly look justified, as Masterson’s career has taken a turn for the worse due to knee and shoulder issues.

Masterson logged a 5.88 ERA in 128 2/3 innings in a walk year that was derailed by the aforementioned knee issues, and the 5.61 ERA he recorded in 59 1/3 innings this season in his return to Boston wasn’t any more encouraging.

If healthy, Masterson would make an intriguing buy-low candidate for teams in need of pitching help this winter. The side-arming righty has twice posted a sub-3.50 ERA in campaigns where he surpassed or very closely approached 200 innings. He routinely ranks among the league leaders in ground-ball rate, and his career mark in that regard is a hefty 56.3 percent.

Masterson’s name has been around for awhile, but he’ll pitch the entirety of next season at the relatively young age of 31, so a rebound shouldn’t be entirely ruled out. He’ll be looking at a sizable pay cut from this year’s $9.5MM salary, but I’d imagine that like Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson last season, his upside and track record could land him a big league deal with a low base salary and a good deal of innings/starts-based incentives.

Marlon Byrd’s Option Unlikely To Vest

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Marlon Byrd is just 15 plate appearances shy of the 550 required for his $8MM option to vest, but it appears that will not happen, writes Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. Manager Bruce Bochy told the San Francisco media before today’s contest that his plan is to play rookies Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker as much as possible in the team’s final games.

As Pavlovic notes, the decision comes on the heels of the Dodgers’ clinching of the NL West division championship. Had the Giants remained in the race, he writes, Byrd likely would’ve remained in the lineup and accrued the necessary plate appearances to trigger the option. Instead, Bochy feels it more valuable to rookies Williamson and Parker as well as to the team as a means of assessing the young talent.

General manager Bobby Evans met with Byrd to discuss the decision today, Pavlovic adds, and Bochy himself is also planning a sit-down with the veteran corner outfielder. Despite the fact that Byrd’s option will not vest, Evans conveyed to the 38-year-old that San Francisco would very much like him to return for the 2016 season. Per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, Evans offered the following take on Byrd:

“He’s been a great addition to our club and we have interest in bringing him back for next year. When we acquired Marlon, our mindset was to do everything to win, and if we get eliminated, we do what we should do and that’s give our young players a chance to play. Right now, our mindset is to give our young players a chance.”

The Giants acquired Byrd from the Reds roughly six weeks ago, as injuries to both Hunter Pence and Nori Aoki had compromised their outfield depth. In his 147 plate appearances with San Francisco, Byrd has batted a very solid .275/.306/.449 with three homers, 11 doubles and a pair of triples. Overall this season, Byrd has rather pedestrian numbers against right-handed pitching, having batted .238/.279/.436. However, he’s been far more effective when holding the platoon advantage, batting .276/.331/.488 against lefties.

With questionable OBP but solid pop against righties and strong overall production against lefties, Byrd looks the part of at least a platoon outfielder that could occasionally be relied upon for more regular playing time, should injuries necessitate that scenario. The Giants, presumably, would want him back in that capacity as opposed to a starting option. He could, theoretically anyhow, be re-signed at a lower rate and paired with Aoki (whose $5.5MM option seems likely to be exercised) to form a left field platoon, with Pence manning right field.

Baggarly wonders if a two-year deal might be necessary on the Giants’ behalf to make up for the damage done by willfully preventing Byrd’s option from vesting, though, and if that’s the case, I can see San Francisco deeming the price too much. The team could, after all, elect focus its financial resources on upgrading the pitching staff and deploy the right-handed-hitting Williamson in a similar capacity to the one I suggested for Byrd.

Re-Signing Iwakuma A Priority For Mariners

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Re-signing right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma will be a priority for the Mariners this offseason, new general manager Jerry Dipoto told Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.

Iwakuma, a 34-year-old client of the Wasserman Media Group, has pitched exclusively for the Mariners in his big league career since coming over from Japan in 2012. After signing an initial one-year, $1.5MM contract, he inked a two-year, $14MM extension with a $7MM club option that wound up vesting but would have been an easy call for the Mariners to exercise either way.

A strained lat muscle cost Iwakuma a bit more than two months of action this season and has limited him to 122 2/3 innings. He’s performed well in that time, however, demonstrating his typical brand of pinpoint control (1.5 BB/9 rate) and a strong ground-ball rate (50.6 percent) as well as a characteristically solid 7.6 K/9 rate.

Iwakuma will turn 35 next April, complicating his free agent stock to some extent. Age and injury status notwithstanding, Iwakuma has a strong case for a multi-year deal based on his excellent track record. He’s tallied a 3.19 ERA in 646 2/3 career innings, and his career strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates are all quite similar to his aforementioned 2015 rates.

Bringing back Iwakuma would keep the Mariners’ solid 1-2 punch of Felix Hernandez and Iwakuma intact, and the Mariners will of course be hoping for better health from both Taijuan Walker and James Paxton in 2016. Lefties Vidal Nuno and Roenis Elias also figure to be in the mix. As Bowden notes, building depth is Dipoto’s modus operandi, so the team will likely be better equipped to handle any rotation injuries that do arise in 2016.

Interest in Iwakuma should be fairly widespread, however. While he doesn’t fit into the top of the marketplace alongside David Price, Johnny Cueto and Zack Greinke, Iwakuma’s stable performance and the fact that he can likely be had on a shorter-term deal should make him appealing to a large number of teams in addition to just Seattle.

AL West Notes: Scioscia, Crisp, Kazmir

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In his introductory press conference with the Mariners yesterday, GM Jerry Dipoto said that he wouldn’t let his split with the Angels define his career, and he also stressed the importance of communication between a manager and a GM. Asked about what he’s learned about communication from the drama, manager Mike Scioscia said the following to reporters (including MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez): “I just know how important communication is, not only with the GM and the manager, but also communication with the people who are controlling your depth chart in the Minor Leagues, getting an evaluation of players. When you have that communication, the decision-making process is very, very clean and we have positive situations on the field.” Dipoto said that the perception of a consistent war between himself and Scioscia was “the furthest thing from the truth,” and Scioscia said that he doesn’t anticipate it’ll be tough to smooth out any communication issues with a new GM. Per Gonzalez, Scioscia would, though, like a larger say in player development and a more direct line to the coaches at the team’s upper minor league levels. Scioscia has an opt-out clause in his contract after this season but is expected to return in 2016, Gonzalez adds.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • Coco Crisp expects to be the Athletics’ starting left fielder in 2016, writes John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group, but there’s been no official determination from management. Crisp will sit down with manager Bob Melvin, assistant GM David Forst and GM Billy Beane to discuss the future following the 2015 season. His guaranteed $11MM salary certainly figures to play a role in matters. Said Forst of Crisp: “We’re optimistic that he will be able to play out there next year. He takes care of himself, and we think the (physical) issues can be resolved.”
  • Astros lefty Scott Kazmir feels that poor execution of his pitches has led to his poor month of September, writes Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Kazmir acknowledged that it’s unreasonable for thoughts of free agency not to creep into a player’s head this close to reaching the open market, but he doesn’t feel that’s the root of the problem either. There’s no physical issue, per Kazmir, and pitching coach Brent Strom agrees that execution (or lack thereof) is the source of his woes.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Ripken, Red Sox, Deadline

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Nationals fans may not want to re-live the pain quite so soon, but Barry Svrluga recapped the Nats’ tumultuous 2015 season in a three-part series for the Washington Post.  The first entry focuses on the early-season hype as World Series favorites that was only slightly dimmed by several injuries and Ian Desmond’s struggles, while the second part looks at Bryce Harper’s superstar year and Stephen Strasburg’s frustration.  The third and final installment is perhaps the juiciest in terms of behind-the-scenes information, as Svrluga tracks the discord of the last two months (including the disastrous Jonathan Papelbon trade and the Nationals’ fall out of contention) and reports on a clubhouse confrontation between Jayson Werth and Matt Williams.  The entire series is a must-read look at how a seemingly can’t-miss team fell to pieces, to put it mildly.

Here’s some more from around the baseball world…

  • The Nationals’ drama has helped take some of the Beltway media focus off of a disappointing Orioles season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, as rumors continue to hint at tension between Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter.  There has been speculation that Showalter could take over the baseball operations department and Cal Ripken Jr. could become the new manager, but both Showalter and a Ripken spokesperson deny the rumor.  Sherman also hears from an Orioles employee that owner Peter Angelos wouldn’t want to hire Ripken since it could create an awkward future situation if Angelos had to fire the franchise icon.
  • The Red Sox have quietly been one of baseball’s best teams in the second half of the season, a hot stretch that gives the franchise a lot of hope for 2016, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes.  Speier recaps some of the key events of the last two months and focuses on how many of Boston’s young stars took a step forward in recent weeks.
  • This hot streak may have also had something to do with Hanley Ramirez playing less and less before eventually being shut down for the season, as Speier reports on tension between Ramirez and the coaching staff.  A source says that Ramirez was “ostracized” from his teammates partly due to this conflict stemming from Ramirez’s unwillingness to work on his left field defense.
  • Some major names with big contracts could potentially be dealt this offseason, former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd writes in a piece for MLB.com.  Of the five names O’Dowd lists (including Joey Votto, Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp and Werth), I would guess his old outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is the most likely trade candidate.
  • The Blue Jays were the big winners at the trade deadline, Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper writes in his recap of which teams helped themselves most on or prior to July 31st.  Most of Cooper’s “helped themselves” picks are playoff contenders, unsurprisingly, though it’s worth noting that the NL West-winning Dodgers lead the “not helping” category, having gained a negative bWAR from their deadline acquisitions.

Angels Designate Grant Green For Assignment

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The Angels have selected the contract of left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes and designated infielder Grant Green for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster, team director of communications Eric Kay announced (on Twitter).

Green, a former first-round pick of the Athletics and Top 100 prospect, was acquired by the Angels in an intradivision trade that sent Alberto Callaspo to Oakland prior to the 2013 non-waiver trade deadline. Now 28 year of age, Green has been up and down between the Majors and Triple-A over the past three seasons with Anaheim but has failed to translate his considerable minor league success to the big leagues. The USC product has compiled a healthy .311/.354/.474 batting line in the admittedly hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League, but he’s struggled to a .263/.299/.353 line in 284 plate appearances with the Angels dating back to that trade.

Green has experience at all four infield positions, though the vast majority of his work there in the Majors has come at second base, and defensive metrics like UZR and DRS haven’t given a ringing endorsement of his work at any position. He’s also logged 127 big league innings in left field. If he goes unclaimed by another team, Green would be outrighted, and he has enough pro experience to qualify for minor league free agency at season’s end, so he could be looking at a new organization in 2016.

As for Reyes, the 30-year-old will be returning to the Majors for the first time since the 2011 season, when he tossed a combined 140 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays and Orioles. Reyes came up with the Braves as a 22-year-old in 2007 and has worked to a 6.05 ERA over the life of 334 2/3 big league frames. He had posted a 4.76 ERA in 68 innings at the Triple-A level this season after enjoying success in the Mexican League earlier in 2015.

Bartolo Colon Intends To Pitch In 2016

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The ageless Bartolo Colon has no plans to retire, telling Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that he will pitch next season if a team is interested in his services.  Colon’s two-year, $20MM contract with the Mets expires at the end of the season.

“I think for personal records I think I was OK. I know 14-13 [his win-loss record] means a lot for me. I think I did everything in my power to help the team and put it in position to win,” Colon said. “For me, personally, it was a success.”

Colon, who turned 42 last May, has posted a 4.18 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 5.63 K/BB rate over 193 2/3 innings for the NL East champions this season, and he owns a league-leading 1.1 BB/9.  This pinpoint control helps the 18-year veteran succeed despite an on-paper unimpressive arsenal that still fools most batters, including an 88.4mph fastball that he throws a whopping 83.7% of the time.

A return to the Mets may not be in the cards for Colon, given how the team already has Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Jon Niese slated for the 2016 rotation, not to mention Logan Verrett and Rafael Montero as other possible depth options and Zack Wheeler returning at midseason from Tommy John surgery.  Still, Colon’s durability and solid numbers should ensure that he’ll get interest from some teams, despite his advanced age.

Injury Notes: Piscotty, Tulowitzki, Gomez, Drew

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Here’s the latest on some significant members of playoff contenders who are battling injuries down the stretch…

  • Stephen Piscotty has been diagnosed with a concussion following his scary outfield collision with Peter Bourjos on Monday.  Still, he passed his initial set of neurological tests and there is now optimism that Piscotty will be able to play again before the season is over, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.  The rookie outfielder has already been cleared to fly with the Cardinals to Atlanta for their final series of the year.
  • Troy Tulowitzki could return to the Blue Jays lineup as early as Thursday’s game against the Orioles, the shortstop told reporters (including Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star).  Tulowitzki hasn’t played since September 12, when he suffered a small crack in his left scapula after colliding with center fielder Kevin Pillar while chasing a pop fly.
  • Carlos Gomez may return to the Astros lineup tonight, manager A.J. Hinch told Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link).  Hinch is “not convinced [Gomez] is completely 100 percent” recovered from his left intercostal strain, but “it’s a risk worth taking” since the Astros are battling for their postseason lives.  Gomez played on Sunday and Monday as a pinch-runner and defensive sub, respectively, getting one plate appearance but laying down a sacrifice bunt.  A return to the lineup would obviously involve taking full swings, which worries Hinch a bit given the threat of re-injury.
  • Stephen Drew may have played his last game of 2015 after being hit with a deflected grounder earlier this month.  Drew has been sidelined since Sept. 22 and he tells Fred Kerber of the New York Post that he may have suffered a concussion and also a recurrence of a past inner-ear problem.  If Drew is indeed done for the year, it may also mark the end of his Yankees tenure, as the veteran infielder will be a free agent this winter.

Blue Jays Designate Donn Roach For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated right-hander Donn Roach for assignment, the club announced.  In a corresponding move, the Jays selected the contract of infielder Jonathan Diaz, who will join the team for the first game of their double-header today in Baltimore.

Roach has now been designated three times by as many different teams this season, as he was previously DFA’ed by the Cubs in July and the Reds in August.  Toronto claimed the righty off waivers from Cincinnati following that last designation.  The 25-year-old Roach has appeared in just one MLB game this season (with the Cubs) but has posted a 3.34 ERA, 2.04 K/BB rate and a 3.3 K/9 over 143 innings at the Triple-A level.  Roach was originally a third-round pick of the Angels in the 2010 draft and he has a 5.35 ERA over 33 2/3 career innings in the majors.

This is Diaz’s second stint on the Jays roster this season, as he appeared in four games in April and May.  The 30-year-old infielder hit .223/.328/.284 over 430 PA for Triple-A Buffalo this season, his 10th pro campaign.  Diaz has played 32 career games at the Major League level, with Boston and Toronto in 2013-15.

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