Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for February 2016

Reds Notes: Bruce, Trades, Rebuilding

By | at

We published one set of Reds Notes last night, and now here’s some more news out of Cincinnati…

  • The Reds would like to trade Jay Bruce within the next week, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link).  If a deal can’t be completed within that timeframe, the “odds increase that he’ll start [the] season in Cincinnati.”
  • The proposed and apparently abandoned three-team trade from Monday that would’ve sent Bruce to the Blue Jays and Michael Saunders to the Angels reportedly fell apart due to a medical issue with a prospect Toronto had ticketed to the Reds.  The prospect’s health, however, was just one of many issues that caused the trade to be scuttled, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets.  In his subscriber-only column today, Olney also noted that the prospects involved in the trade weren’t top-tier names and not major components in the deal, so injury concerns alone wouldn’t have been a big problem.
  • Also from Olney in his column from yesterday, the Reds are having some concerns that they won’t be able to trade Bruce at all.  The club has been shopping the outfielder for months, coming close on the Toronto trade and in a deadline deal that would’ve sent Bruce to the Mets, so there’s at least some interest in Bruce’s services.  Still, it has to be something of a tough sell given Bruce’s struggles over the last two seasons and the minimum $13.5MM ($12.5MM salary, $1MM buyout of his 2017 option) owed to him for 2016.
  • As Reds fans prepare for what could be a long year, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown looks at how the team could approach its rebuild.

International Notes: Gurriels, Lazarito, Manfred, Dodgers

By | at

The Gurriel brothers’ defection from Cuba surprised many pundits, though as Baseball America’s Ben Badler writes, there had been hints over the last year that something was afoot with the duo, particularly Yulieski Gurriel.  The elder brother hasn’t always been known for playing hard, but Yulieski had been noticeably hustling more over the past year, perhaps in a deliberate effort to correct this perception in the eyes of MLB scouts.  Yulieski also passed on a lucrative offer to play in Japan for the rather curious reason of wanting to rehab a hamstring injury, which raised some eyebrows.  Badler notes that in the wake of the Gurriels’ departure, the Dominican government is cracking down on Cuban players in the country, with a couple of prospects already sent back to Cuba and others leaving the Dominican to establish residency in the Bahamas.  Cubans still remaining in the Dominican Republic are now playing on well-maintained but secretive baseball diamonds, just adding to the overall clandestine atmosphere.

Here’s more recent news from around the international market…

  • The shocking circumstances behind Charles Hairston and Agency39 dropping their representation of Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros is still the talk of the international scouting world, and Hairston shared more details with MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez.  The mysterious “buscon” (or “investor” as he’s known in Sanchez’s piece) allegedly threatened Hairston ten days ago,  and had also been working behind Agency39’s back to negotiate with teams and other agencies to arrange new representation for Armenteros.  Agency39 was still working on Lazarito’s behalf as late as noon yesterday.
  • Commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated his support for an international talent draft when speaking to reporters (including Jesse Sanchez) on Monday, indicating that changes to the international system will be a significant topic in upcoming collective bargaining negotiations with the players’ union.  These talks will be particularly interesting since the desire for altering international signing rules may vary greatly from team to team.  “If you ask the teams that have been able to spend internationally, they would be happy with how [the system] is,” Athletics GM David Forst said. “There are also some teams that feel you lose some of the scouting side of it if you have the [international draft].  You lose the ability to unearth players.  But with the information that is out there, I’m not sure that happens.”
  • Twenty-five teams attended a showcase yesterday for Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez and infielders Yanio Perez and Alejandro Rivero, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets.  Hernandez, who defected last summer, is the most highly-regarded of the trio and is old enough (28) to not be subject to the international pool limits.
  • The Dodgers have spent over $200MM on nine Cuban players over the last four years, a major investment that Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes that thus far yielded relatively little return.  Yasiel Puig has delivered both all-world talent and controversy in his time with the team and Hector Olivera was flipped to the Braves, while Erisbel Arruebarrena and Alex Guerrero are now afterthoughts.  “I think like any part of the talent universe there’s going to be mixed results,” said senior baseball operations VP Josh Byrnes, who also noted that the Dodgers’ big investment is still less than it would’ve cost for a similar outlay on free agent talent.  The club obviously still expects much from highly-regarded prospects still in the system, including the recently-signed Yaisel Sierra.

Dodgers To Sign Jamey Wright To Minors Contract

By | at

The Dodgers have signed veteran right-hander Jamey Wright to a minor league deal, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports (Twitter link).  The contract contains an invitation to the team’s Major League spring camp.  The 41-year-old Wright is represented by Excel Sports Management.

The 19-year veteran didn’t pitch last season after being released by the Rangers in March, and he’ll try to win a job with the Dodgers in order to officially record his 20th Major League season.  Wright previously pitched for Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014, recording a 4.04 ERA over 138 innings in Dodger blue.

Wright has been a very durable bullpen workhorse since transitioning to full-time relief pitching in 2008, averaging at least 71 innings between 2008-14.  Wright has never been one to miss many bats (a career 5.3 K/9) but he specializes in keeping the ball on the ground to the tune of a 55.9% ground ball rate over his long career.

Possible Snag In Deal Between Orioles, Yovani Gallardo

By | at

TUESDAY: The Orioles are expected to try and restructure their agreement with Gallardo, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link), and it’s unlikely that the matter will be resolved quickly.  It’s a rather risky move on the Orioles’ part, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun observes that Gallardo’s camp may well not be willing to renegotiate terms.  The team would have to be confident it has the internal pitching depth to fill the rotation spot Gallardo would’ve filled, as other available free agent starters will likely come with more injury red flags than Gallardo and may have an even harder time passing the Orioles’ strict physical standards.

7:26pm: The Orioles’ issue with Gallardo is concern over his shoulder, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (links to Twitter). However, as Encina notes, Gallardo doesn’t have a history of shoulder problems, and it’s rare that a 30-year-old pitcher’s shoulder will be 100 percent clean. He further tweets that the Orioles are likely being “super cautious” due to the draft pick forfeiture that is associated with Gallardo, and if Gallardo did not come with that price, the shoulder may not be perceived as a significant issue. Kubatko tweets that the Orioles hope to get the results of additional testing on Gallardo back tomorrow.

2:29pm: It isn’t known whether the Orioles could try to restructure their agreement with Gallardo or back out of it altogether, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links).  Beyond the $35MM commitment, the Orioles are also concerned at having to surrender the 14th overall pick for a player they may feel isn’t up to par physically.

11:23am: The status of the three-year, $35MM agreement between the Orioles and right-hander Yovani Gallardo is “unclear” following some questions that have arisen in Gallardo’s phyiscal, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter).  MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweeted word from a source that there was “more work to do” on the physical before anything was made official between the two sides, and the team wanted another look at Gallardo’s MRI.

As Passan noted, the Orioles are “notorious medical sticklers,” so it could that this is simply another case of the team being very careful before committing to a major contract.  While it’s unusual for a player physical to extend over two days, it’s perhaps not unexpected given Baltimore’s history.

This offseason’s signing splurge notwithstanding, the O’s have generally been hesitant about any sort of major free agent signing under Peter Angelos’ ownership.  On several occasions, the Orioles have backed out of agreements with players such as Will Clark, Aaron Sele, Grant Balfour and Jair Jurrjens due to complications that arose from those players’ physicals.  As Ken Rosenthal related in a 2013 column about the Balfour controversy, the now-standard practice of teams insisting on physicals before signing players stemmed from the Orioles voiding a 1998 contract with Xavier Hernandez when a post-signing examination revealed Hernandez had a torn rotator cuff.

It isn’t known what specific issue Baltimore has with Gallardo’s physical, as he has been more or less injury-free since a pair of knee injuries in 2008.  In fact, Gallardo has been one of the game’s more durable starters in recent years, averaging 191 innings per season since 2009.

Try Our Free Weekly Newsletter

By | at

Do you enjoy the analysis found here at MLB Trade Rumors?  Why not give our free newsletter a try this week? We’ll deliver an exclusive article to your inbox – no strings attached! I’ll be weighing in on deals, rumors, and all the hot stove-related topics MLBTR has been known for since I launched the site a decade ago. These articles will be exclusive to MLBTR Newsletter subscribers and will not appear on the website. I may also provide occasional updates on what’s next for MLBTR. It’s completely free.  The next newsletter will arrive in subscriber inboxes this afternoon.

I’ll be honored if you give us your email address and join the thousands of MLBTR readers already enjoying the Newsletter. We will never sell your email address or market anything to the mailing list, and you can unsubscribe easily. Those of you viewing this post in our app can use this link.

Get the weekly article from Tim!


NL Notes: McCutchen, Rockies, Morrow, D-Backs, Mattingly

By | at

Pirates superstar Andrew McCutchen voiced his desire to spend his entire career in Pittsburgh yesterday, and on Tuesday general manager Neal Huntington told ESPN’s Jayson Stark that the Bucs would explore an extension for McCutchen at the “appropriate time,” though he declined to delve into specifics. Huntington explained that the Pirates would love to retain McCutchen for “an awfully long time,” though he noted that the remaining three years on McCutchen’s deal is a lengthy period of time in its own right. “At the same time, we do want to honor his interest,” the GM told Stark. “And at the appropriate time, in the appropriate way, we will look to see if there is a common financial ground that allows us to build a championship team around a given player. … Any team can basically afford any player. It’s just how do you afford championship-caliber players around that one player.” 

Some more notes from around the Senior Circuit…

  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich declined to put a timeline on the Rockies’ path back to contention when meeting with reporters today, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. “Why limit ourselves?” Bridich asked rhetorically. “So if I were to come out and say something that’s pleasing to the ear of you, or a fan here or a fan there, and I say, ‘We’re not going to win for X.’ So what? What’s the point of doing that? It’s about people. It’s about process. … Why say something where it’s got to happen X number of months and years in the future, where really a lot of good things can happen this year?” The Rockies have certainly acted as if they believe they can win in 2016 this winter, and Bridich’s comments seem to imply they indeed hold that belief, even if it’s not necessarily an expectation.
  • Brandon Morrow tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he probably could’ve secured a big league deal elsewhere this winter, as he had “soft offers” of Major League deals from other clubs, but he wanted to remain with the Padres and “wasn’t afraid” to take a minor league deal with an invite to camp. Morrow didn’t specify exactly what he meant with that explanation — verbal willingness by other teams to explore big league deals, perhaps — but he went on to explain to Lin that he thinks highly of San Diego’s training staff, team doctors and strength coaches. He also voiced an oft-overlooked aspect of remaining in one place (or in securing a multi-year deal): “I didn’t want to bounce around, I guess. It’s just the continuity; the doctors knew me since I was injured, obviously. … Going to a new spot, they’d only know what you tell them instead of having firsthand knowledge.” It’s easy to suggest that players should be comfortable on one-year deals, though Morrow’s comments serve as a reminder that there are benefits to the stability of remaining in one place.
  • Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall held court with the media on Tuesday and explained that the deferred money included in Zack Greinke’s stunning six-year contract isn’t the start of any sort of trend, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. “It’s not something that we’re going to start doing now,” said Hall of deferring money,” “but in this case we felt we needed to really bite the bullet on this one, with that window we talk about and our big glaring hole.” As Piecoro notes and as Hall implies in his later comments, the D-backs have previously run into problems by offering too many deferred payments and don’t want to start down that road once again.
  • The hiring of manager Don Mattingly already has Marlins players buzzing about the upcoming season, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Mattingly held a closed-doors meeting with the team before the first full workout of Spring Training, and the new skipper wasted little time in getting his players on his side. “I went out to practice [Tuesday] like I wanted to eat the world,” Jose Fernandez told Spencer. Fellow right-hander Tom Koehler said that Mattingly’s address gave him “chills.” Mattingly spoke to Spencer after the speech and discussed the upcoming season, noting that he believes payroll to be a largely overblown component of successful teams, highlighting the Royals’ back-to-back World Series appearances.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/23/16

By | at

Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Padres signed right-hander Greg Reynolds to a minor league deal earlier this week, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports (Twitter link).  Reynolds was chosen by the Rockies with the second overall pick of the 2006 draft but he didn’t latch on the majors, posting a 7.01 ERA over 123 1/3 career innings with Colorado and Cincinnati.  Since his last MLB appearances (with the Reds in 2013), Reynolds has pitched in Japan in 2014 and didn’t pitch at all in 2015.
  • Former Major League infielder Donnie Murphy and former big league right-hander Juan Rincon have formally retired and have each signed on as minor league coaches with the Blue Jays, according to a press release from the team. Murphy, a career .212/.279/.395 hitter in 931 plate appearances between the Marlins, Royals, A’s, Rangers and Cubs, will be the new hitting coach at Class-A Lansing. Rincon, one of the Twins’ most consistent setup men from 2003-06, totaled 507 Major League innings between Minnesota, Colorado, Cleveland and Detroit, pitching to a combined 4.03 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. He’ll serve as the pitching coach for the Blue Jays’ Gulf Coast League affiliate. Best of luck to each in their transition to the coaching side of the game.

Reds Notes: Bruce Trade, Votto, Phillips, Peraza

By | at

Jay Bruce’s name dominated headlines last night as the longtime Reds outfielder was reportedly on the verge of being dealt to the Blue Jays in a three-team trade (also involving the Angels) before the medical reviews of another player involved derailed the would-be deal. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted today that an official involved in the deal told him it’s “doubtful” that a new iteration of the trade will be drawn up, suggesting that the Reds will have to explore other opportunities if they’re still seeking to trade Bruce. Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that the Reds sought to shed all of the money that is owed to Bruce, adding that the asking price on Bruce is lower than some might expect it to be.

A few additional notes on the Bruce situation (including comments from Bruce himself) and on the Reds…

  • Bruce openly addressed the trade talk with reporters this morning, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans write. Bruce said that his main focus is, to the best of his ability, to prevent the trade rumors surrounding his name from becoming a distraction to his teammates over the course of Spring Training. “I don’t want to have to come in every single day and talk to guys and honestly, answer the same questions,” Bruce explained. “It’s nothing against y’all. Y’all are just trying to do a job, I understand that. We’re in a special situation as it is here with this organization with the team. We have to be focused on the field. We have to focus on the task at hand. I don’t want this to become something every single day.” Bruce added the he would “completely understand” if something ultimately did happen, expressing a recognition of the game’s business component, but repeated that from his point of view, “I’m a Red until I’m not.” Both the Enquirer (link) and MLB.com (link) have video of some of Bruce’s comments.
  • Even with the Reds rebuilding, Joey Votto hopes to remain with the team for the long haul, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We rode out some (stuff) last year,” Votto explained to reporters. “If I can ride that out and have a good time and be optimistic, I can handle just about anything. As long as we continue to head in the right direction, I’m very excited and proud to be a Red. I’m motivated by being a part of the future.” ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick was also on hand and notes that Votto expressed that it was difficult to see so many of his teammates and friends traded over the past year but also looks forward to getting to know new teammates and forming new bonds as his Reds career continues. Votto is owed $199MM over the next eight seasons and has a full no-trade clause included in his 10-year, $225MM contract, so even if the Reds wanted to move him, he’d have plenty of say in the matter.
  • Brandon Phillips deflected questions when asked about his decision to invoke his own no-trade rights rather than approve a trade to the Nationals, Sheldon writes. “I don’t know nothing about that stuff,” Phillips said. “I’m just here to play this game that I love. I’m just happy to still be wearing this Reds jersey.” Phillips added that he didn’t hear much about talk of prospect Jose Peraza, acquired in the Todd Frazier trade, challenging for playing time. Peraza would’ve been in line to be the team’s everyday second baseman had Phillips been traded, but he’ll see some time at shortstop and in center field this spring in addition to some reps at second base, manager Bryan Price told Rosecrans and other reporters earlier this week.

Orioles To Sign Dexter Fowler

By | at

7:15pm: Jon Heyman tweets that Fowler’s contract is worth $33MM over three years.

6:27pm:  In a full column, Kubatko adds that there is also not an opt-out clause in the deal, which is still pending the ever-important physical.

6:13pm: The Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck tweets that Fowler’s contract doesn’t contain any options. He also notes that the deal with Gallardo may yet survive the issues with his physical.

5:37pm: The Orioles and outfielder Dexter Fowler have agreed to terms on a three-year deal, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (via Twitter). The contract will be worth about $35MM in total, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). Fowler is a client of Excel Sports Management.

"<strong

Fowler becomes the second potentially significant free agent addition for the Orioles over the past week, as the team also agreed to a three-year pact with right-hander Yovani Gallardo over the weekend. However, there’s said to be a holdup in that deal relating to Gallardo’s medicals. It at least bears mentioning that Fowler’s agreement would seem to fall closely in line with the three-year, $35MM deal to which Gallardo agreed. However, a deal in this range for Fowler was rumored to be a possibility before the Orioles even reportedly agreed to terms with Gallardo, and there is not yet any indication that Fowler’s deal is some kind of reallocation of the funds that were to be allotted to Gallardo. Should both deals remain in place, the pair of late agreements will hearken back to the Orioles’ February additions of Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez in 2014.

Fowler, 30 in March, should be penciled in as the everyday right fielder in Baltimore, as Adam Jones is locked into center field and offseason signee Hyun Soo Kim is said to be the team’s left fielder. (Baltimore reportedly doesn’t feel Kim has the arm strength for right field.) Fowler will bring to the top of the Orioles’ lineup a strong history of getting on base as well as moderate power and speed. The switch hitter is coming off a season in which he batted .250/.346/.411 with a career-best 17 home runs to go along with 20 stolen bases for the Cubs. He tacked on another pair of homers and another steal over the life of 39 postseason plate appearances with the Cubs, during which time he posted an .816 OPS. All told, Fowler is a career .267/.363/.418 hitter in 3830 Major League plate appearances. While he was at one time believed to be a product of Coors Field — his home park throughout the first four full seasons of his big league career — Fowler has quieted some of that talk by maintaining solid levels of production in Houston and Chicago after being traded in each of the past two offseasons.

From a defensive standpoint, metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved have never been bullish on Fowler’s work in center field, though he could certainly profile more favorably with the shift to an outfield corner. Even if he doesn’t prove to be a standout defender in right field, he should provide superior glovework to internal candidates such as Mark Trumbo, Nolan Reimold and Ryan Flaherty.

If a deal is completed, the Orioles would forfeit their top unprotected draft pick by adding Fowler to the fold. Should the deal for Gallardo also be completed, Baltimore would be sacrificing the 14th and 28th overall picks in the upcoming Rule 4 Draft (their current second pick, No. 29 overall, would improve to No. 28 upon forfeiture of the No. 14 pick). The Cubs, in turn, would pick up a draft pick at the end of the first round. The loss of those two picks for the Orioles certainly further damages Baltimore’s minor league system, which was recently rated among the worst in the league by outlets such as Baseball America and ESPN. Then again, the Orioles are in a clear win-now mode after re-signing Chris Davis and Darren O’Day this offseason (to say nothing of the Kim signing and Matt Wieters’ acceptance of the qualifying offer); the organization’s current focus, as evidenced by the agreements with Gallardo and Fowler, is on the present-day roster and making a run at the AL East.

Furthermore, as I recently outlined in the MLBTR Mailbag and discussed with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast, the Orioles could always shift course and aim for an aggressive rebuild midway through the 2017 season or in the 2017-18 offseason if the next two years don’t go as planned. With Manny Machado, Zach Britton, Jones, Fowler and Gallardo all lined up to hit free agency following the 2018 campaign, they’d have a huge number of short-term assets to be flipped for long-term gain. And, if the Orioles enjoy a strong run buoyed by this pair of late signings, the hit to the farm system will become little more than a footnote.

Should both deals ultimately come to fruition at the reported $35MM price tag, the Orioles will finish up the offseason as baseball’s most prolific spenders. The price tags on Fowler, Gallardo, Davis ($161MM), O’Day ($31MM), Wieters ($15.8MM) and Kim ($7MM) would bring the team’s free-agent expenditures to a staggering $284.8MM, to say nothing of the $9.15MM worth of salary added in acquiring Trumbo from the Mariners and avoiding arbitration with him on a one-year deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jose Reyes Placed On Administrative Leave Pending Completion Of Criminal Proceedings

By | at

Commissioner Rob Manfred’s office announced today that Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes, who has an April 4 trial set in connection with his offseason domestic violence allegations, has been placed on paid leave until his hearing has been resolved, at which point Commissioner Manfred will make a decision on potential disciplinary measures against Reyes (i.e. a suspension). The official release announcing the move reads as follows:

“Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. announced today that Colorado Rockies’ shortstop Jose Reyes has been placed on paid leave pending completion of his criminal proceedings in Hawaii, pursuant to Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Section III.C.2 of the Policy permits the Commissioner to impose a paid suspension pending resolution of the legal proceedings or an investigation. Upon resolution of Reyes’ criminal proceedings and the completion of the Commissioner’s Office’s investigation into the incident, Commissioner Manfred will make a decision whether to impose discipline on Reyes. The Commissioner’s Office will have no further comment on this matter until a final disposition is announced.”

The administrative leave means that Reyes will miss the entirety of Spring Training with the Rockies and will not be with the club for the team’s opener on April 4 — the same day as his hearing. In mid-January, Reyes plead not guilty to charges alleging the assault of his wife at a Hawaii hotel on Oct. 31. If he’s found guilty in his hearing, it stands to reason that he’ll face a fairly weighty suspension under the domestic violence policy. The policy states that Manfred can issue discipline so long as there is “just cause,” which, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post recently noted, means that the criminal hearing will not necessarily be the sole deciding factor.

The Major League Baseball Players Association has also weighed in on the matter and issued a statement. Via the MLBPA’s press release:

“We are closely monitoring the proceedings in Hawaii, as well as the Commissioner’s actions under the Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.  If further discipline is issued, or if Mr. Reyes’ paid suspension is not resolved in a timely fashion, the Players Association will work with Mr. Reyes to ensure that all of his rights under the Policy are protected.  Pursuant to the confidentiality provisions of the Policy, the Players Association will have no further comment at this time.”

Reyes is one of three players facing potential discipline under the domestic violence policy, as both Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig are under investigation as well. However, neither Chapman nor Puig had charges filed against him, and as such, there’s no hearing set for either player (and, subsequently, no need for administrative leave). A decision from the Commissioner’s Office on those two cases is still pending.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Reyes would be placed on paid leave until his legal proceedings had been resolved (links to Twitter).

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top