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Archives for September 2015

Loria Reportedly Open To Trading Marcell Ozuna This Winter

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Marcell Ozuna has been the source of some controversy this season, and that, paired with his disappointing offensive output, could have him on the trade block this winter. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that while many in the organization would like to hold onto Ozuna given his considerable upside, team owner Jeffrey Loria is “disappointed” in Ozuna and “very much open to trading him” in exchange for pitching help.

Ozuna, still just 24 years old, broke out in 2014 when he hit .269/.317/.455 with 23 homers in 153 games. Ozuna coupled that above-average production with solid play in center field to deliver a season valued at roughly 3.5 wins above replacement, per both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference. Entering the season, he was expected to contribute to what many (myself included) regarded as the best young outfield in all of baseball.

Five months later, Ozuna is hitting .249/.296/.368 with eight homers. He spent more than a month in Triple-A earlier this season after floundering through a prolonged 1-for-36 slump, and upon his return, he likened the time in Triple-A to a jail sentence. Agent Scott Boras accused the Marlins of manipulating Ozuna’s service time, as the length of his demotion perhaps uncoincidentally appears to have been enough to prevent the outfielder from reaching Super Two designation and being eligible for arbitration a fourth time. Beyond that, he drew some criticism from decision-makers within the organization, as some questioned his conditioning early in the year (also via Jackson).

Shortly after the drama surrounding Ozuna’s demotion subsided, I profiled him at length as a trade candidate. Since that examination, Ozuna has looked better at the plate, hitting .258/.290/.494 with four homers in 93 plate appearances. He’s showing signs of another possibly extended slump, though, as he’s collected just one hit in his past 15 trips to the plate.

If Ozuna is indeed dangled in trade offers this winter, plenty of clubs would figure to have interest. He’s unlikely to be arbitration eligible until next offseason and can be controlled through the 2019 season. The Indians reportedly showed interest prior to the non-waiver trade deadline and certainly have the young pitching the Marlins would seek. From a speculative standpoint, the Giants, Padres, Mariners, Reds, Tigers, Angels, A’s and Orioles could all use outfield help in some capacity (though not necessarily in center field in each case). Of course, not all of those organizations are currently rife with young pitching options to send to Miami in return.

Josh Johnson To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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2:06pm: Johnson will indeed attempt another comeback, agent Matt Sosnick tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitlonger). The veteran righty has known of the tear for about ten weeks, but attempted to pitch through it before deciding to have the procedure. Sosnick says that his client will also look into “cutting-edge” medical developments that could prove beneficial in addition to the TJ procedure.

10:19am: Padres righty Josh Johnson will go under the knife for his third Tommy John procedure, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. He will almost certainly miss the entirety of the 2016 season after having the surgery some time next week.

Johnson most recently had a UCL replacement in April of 2014. He had signed a one-year, $8MM deal with San Diego prior to that season, but never threw a major league pitch before succumbing to the surgery. The Friars brought him back on an incentive-laden, one-year, $1MM pact, but the 31-year-old was never quite able to make it back to MLB action.

The Padres’ investment has obviously not panned out as hoped, but it was a relatively meager sum to risk on the pitcher they hoped would re-emerge. Johnson had a rough 2013 season with the Blue Jays, allowing 56 earned runs in just 81 1/3 frames, but carried a career-best 9.2 K/9 rate and drew solid reviews from some ERA estimators.

While he’d had injuries before that point, Johnson also had racked up nearly a thousand innings of 3.15 ERA pitching heading into his short and disappointing tenure in Toronto. At times, he’s been among the very best pitchers in the game.

Given that he’s undergoing the procedure, it certainly seems that Johnson will give it at least one more shot. In all likelihood, he won’t even have a chance at throwing competitively until he has turned 33.

Carlos Pena To Sign Contract To Retire As Member Of Rays

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The Rays will sign first baseman Carlos Pena to a contract in order to allow him to retire as a member of the organization, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The 37-year-old Dominican native has not played with any organization this year.

Though he ultimately made many stops along the way in his 14 big league seasons, Pena enjoyed his longest and most successful stint in Tampa Bay. After originally signing there as a minor league free agent, Pena put up a monster 2007 season in which he swatted 46 home runs and carried a 1.037 OPS. He inked a three-year, $24.25MM extension thereafter.

Though he never quite reached that peak again, Pena put up a .230/.360/.483 slash over his five years with the Rays, the last of which came after a one-year stop with the Cubs. He was also a significant contributor to the club’s 2008 and 2010 playoff teams, compiling a .269/.388/.522 batting line with four home runs in his 80 post-season plate appearances.

Before heading to Tampa Bay, Pena spent an extended stretch with the Tigers. Though he was an above-average hitter, he didn’t consistently produce there as he did later. Pena also made a stop in Chicago, as noted above, and had short tenures with the Rangers, Royals, Red Sox, Astros, and Athletics. He had an unsuccessful late-season run last year in Texas, and it appears as if that will represent his final work at the MLB level.

While Pena was born in the Dominican Republic, he played high school and college ball in the United States, making him draft-eligible. He was taken with the tenth pick of the 1998 draft by the Rangers and soon became one of the game’s highest-rated prospects. But Pena was dealt twice in 2002, not long after reaching the majors, first heading to Oakland and then on to Detroit (as portrayed in the Moneyball book and film).

It took some time until Pena made good on his full promise, but he certainly did that for the Rays. MLBTR offers its congratulations on an outstanding career, and wishes him the best as he moves on to other pursuits.

Exclusive Free Articles From MLBTR

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The comments on my 2016 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings got me thinking: where might Chris Davis sign this winter?  So, I went team-by-team to find the plausible fits in this week’s newsletter.  Sign up below now, and you’ll get the article later today! There are no strings attached with the MLBTR Newsletter; just a free article every week. Those of you viewing this post in our app can use this link to sign up.

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Minor MLB Transactions: 9/16/15

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Athletics have brought up lefty Barry Zito from Triple-A, announcing today that his contract was selected. A 40-man spot was cleared by placing Jesse Chavez on the 60-day DL. The 37-year-old last threw for Oakland back in 2006, his last of seven seasons with the club. He has worked to a 3.46 ERA over 138 innings this season at Triple-A Nashville, with 5.9 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9, after sitting out the 2014 campaign and joining the A’s on a minor league deal.

East Notes: Williams, Cespedes, Boxberger, Kelly, Tazawa

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Star Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper provided a ringing endorsement for embattled skipper Matt Williams, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports. “Truly, I love him as a manager,” said Harper. “Flat out I absolutely do. If I didn’t, everybody would know.” Player sentiment only goes so far, of course, but the comments do seem particularly meaningful with Harper set to finish off a compelling, breakout season as one of the lone bright spots on a disappointing team.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • While there was a report yesterday that the Braves could have interest in Yoenis Cespedes as a free agent, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears (Twitter link) that the team has no such intentions. As I noted at the time, that match seemed curious on paper not because Cespedes wouldn’t be an appealing target for the team — he would — but because his price tag seems likely to move quickly into a range that the Braves would not find palatable.
  • Rays closer Brad Boxberger says that his recent struggles may be the result of inconsistent usage earlier in the year, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Another strong campaign from Boxberger, 27, has started to trend downward in recent weeks, and he said that could be due to “all of the early use in non-closing situations.” While Boxberger says he does not want to place blame on the team’s lack of a designated closer role — which he has filled, de facto, for much of the year — he obviously seemed to suggest that as a possibility. Boxberger will still be a season away from reaching arbitration eligibility after this year, though his saves tally this year will set him up for a big payday thereafter — if he can remain healthy and effective.
  • Red Sox righty Joe Kelly has flipped the narrative on his season, but as Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reports, he may have thrown his last pitch of 2015. While that decision has yet to be made, the 26-year-old exited his outing last night with shoulder tightness — obviously not an area that the team will want to take any chances at the tail end of a lost season. Kelly’s solid late-year results have surely given nsew president of baseball operations plenty to think about in planning next seasons rotation.
  • Another Red Sox right-hander, reliever Junichi Tazawa, has already been declared shut down for the rest of the year, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports. The move is not related to any injury, says interim manager Torey Lovullo. Instead, Boston wants to avoid too much stress on the 29-year-old’s arm after he topped sixty frames in each of the last two years. The steady Tazawa has faded down the stretch this year after a typically strong first half. He’ll enter his final year of arbitration in the offseason.

West Notes: Murphy, Chavez, Duffy, Seager

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The Angels haven’t made a decision on David Murphy’s $7MM club for the 2016 season, writes MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, in part due to uncertainty surrounding the luxury tax (a threshold which owner Arte Moreno has previously been reluctant to cross). Murphy, however, hopes to be back with the Halos even though that would delay his chance at securing another multi-year contract. “I’m at the point in my career where I just want to win,” Murphy said “I don’t care about free agency; I don’t care about contracts and money. I’m fortunate to have gotten where I’ve gotten in my career, have made the money that I’ve made. … I don’t really look at the rest of my career in terms of contracts or money. I want to win. I’ve been to two World Series, I’ve lost them both.” Murphy entered play Tuesday batting .264/.283/.391 with the Angels, though his three-run bomb off Felix Hernandez couldn’t have hurt his chances of seeing that option picked up.

Here’s more from the game’s Western divisions…

  • Jesse Chavez’s season is over, writes MLB.com’s Jane Lee. The Athletics right-hander is suffering from a non-displaced fracture in his ribcage, but he expressed both frustration and bewilderment due to the fact that the cause of the injury is an unknown. Chavez believes it’s possible that the injury happened when he was bracing himself for a comeback line-drive that struck his hip over the weekend, as he began feeling discomfort the following day. Nonetheless, it’s a disappointing way to end a season that has seen the righty work to a 4.18 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 157 innings. The 32-year-old Chavez is up for arbitration this winter and will receive a nice boost from his 2015 salary of $2.15MM.
  • In a piece for The Players’ Tribune, Giants third baseman Matt Duffy gives readers an excellent behind-the-scenes look at his arrival in the Major Leagues and the immediate encouragement he received from the likes of Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford. However, Duffy maintains that the biggest influence on his blossoming young career came from the man he replaced — Casey McGehee. Duffy writes that McGehee took him under his wing from day one, and when McGehee asked to speak to him in private on May 26, he thought nothing of it until he saw tears in his mentor’s eyes. McGehee emotionally explained to Duffy that he’d done exactly what he was supposed to do — force the issue. McGehee recalled feeling guilty in his own rookie season for taking Bill Hall’s spot, and he urged Duffy not to feel any guilt. Duffy’s entire column is well worth a read, regardless of your team of choice.
  • Corey Seager’s extraordinary production since being promoted has forced manager Don Mattingly to soften his stance on who will play shortstop once Jimmy Rollins is healthy enough to return to the lineup. as Steve Bourbon of MLB.com writes. “Everything is always evolving. Right now we’ve got to get guys back healthy. There’s plenty of playing time right now for Corey,” said Mattingly. “He doesn’t need to worry about what’s going forward, he just needs to play today. We don’t need to worry about what’s going forward, we need to win today.” Rollins, of course, is a free agent at season’s end, so an injury and a reduced role in September and possibly October will further damage his stock after a disappointing season in L.A.

Angels GM Candidates Include LaCava, Hazen, Atkins, Eppler

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When former general manager Jerry Dipoto left the club in the middle of the summer over an apparent lack of compatibility with manager Mike Scioscia, it became apparent that the Angels could have a unique GM search on their hands. The team has been increasingly active recently and is said to be hopeful of making a decision within a few weeks’ time.

Here’s the latest on the Angels’ search for a new leader of their baseball operations department, with updates on the preliminary interview process added as information is reported:

  • Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava interviewed for the Angels’ GM vacancy today, reports Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter). LaCava has been an AGM with Toronto since 2007 and also currently holds the title vice president of baseball operations. He’s been strongly considered for GM openings in the past, and he even (reportedly) turned down an offer to become the Orioles’ GM back in 2011.

Earlier Updates

  • Red Sox AGM Mike Hazen will interview with the Angels as soon as today, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Hazen has long been considered likely to head up a baseball ops department at some point. His name has also come up with regard to Boston’s own internal GM opening.
  • Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris has also been given an interview for the post, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. He joins Klentak and Servais as internal candidates who have reportedly been given a chance to sit down with the top-level brass.
  • The Angels interviewed Indians VP of player personnel Ross Atkins today, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Atkins has been in the Cleveland organization for quite some time, and has occupied his current post since a promotion last year. Indians AGM Mike Chernoff has received more press as a possible GM hire, though he also seems to be an internal promotion candidate if current Cleveland GM Chris Antonetti takes the vacated president’s role. Antonetti has previously noted that Atkins holds the promise of a future general manager.
  • We learned yesterday that Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler had his interview with the Halos, as had been widely expected. Eppler has been tabbed by some as the leading candidate, and is reportedly interested in the position — despite any possible limitations of authority owing to the presence of Scioscia — due in part to his ties to Southern California.
  • Los Angeles is said also to have conducted interviews with its own assistant general managers, Matt Klentak and Scott Servais.

Latest On Eddy Julio Martinez

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Top Cuban prospect Eddy Julio Martinez is now a client of Rick Thurman and Rafael Nieves of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Martinez, regarded by some as the top free agent on this year’s international market, has flown under the radar of late after generating quite a bit of buzz late in the spring and early this summer. It’s been written on multiple occasions that the 20-year-old center fielder is expected to command a bonus in excess of $10MM. That, of course, means that a signing team would be penalized with a 100 percent luxury tax for every dollar spent over its league-allotted international bonus pool. His signing team would also be unable to sign an international free agent for more than $300K in either of the next two signing periods, although changes to the CBA following the 2016 season could impact those rules.

As MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reported last night, the Reds have joined the Martinez market and will host a private workout for him later this week. The Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Astros and Rangers have all been linked to Martinez at various times as well. As Sanchez noted in his free scouting report, Martinez has a compact and powerful stroke plus the ability to hit home runs to all fields. His speed gives him base-stealing upside, and he should be able to remain in center field thanks to good range in the gaps and an accurate throwing arm. Heyman spoke to several scouts today, with one praising Martinez’s considerable pop and multiple calling him a solid prospect. An eight-figure deal is still the expectation for Martinez, Heyman hears.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/15/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league, each coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy…

  • The Royals have outrighted infielder Dusty Coleman and right-hander Yohan Pino to Triple-A Omaha. Each player was designated for assignment last week as Kansas City added Joba Chamberlain and Louis Coleman to its bullpen. The 31-year-old Pino delivered 19 1/3 solid innings for the Royals this season, posting a 3.26 ERA with a 13-to-3 K/BB ratio. Coleman, 28, made his big league debut in 2015, though he went 0-for-5 in his brief stint. He batted .292/.364/.442 in 99 games between Double-A and Triple-A.
  • Danny Dorn was outrighted to Triple-A by the Blue Jays, who designated him for assignment last week as well. Toronto claimed Dorn off waivers from the D-Backs, but he wasn’t long for the team’s 40-man roster, lasting just under two weeks. The 31-year-old minor league veteran got his first taste of MLB action in Arizona this season and has a nice Triple-A track record — a .280/.355/.485 batting line in 727 games at the top minor league level.

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