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John Stanton Group Purchases Majority Ownership Of Mariners

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5:19pm: Stanton will become the chairman and CEO of the Mariners, the team announced today in a press release. Kevin Mather will remain the club’s president. MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that the ownership change is subject to approval from Major League Baseball, which won’t be finalized until August. Per the press release announcing the ownership transition, the Mariners franchise was valued at $1.4 billion, meaning that First Avenue Entertainment, the new ownership group, spent $1.26 billion to purchase its 90 stake. Lincoln issued the following statement:

“From the first day of our involvement nearly 24 years ago, Nintendo has had two goals for its investment in the Mariners. First, we wanted to assure the permanence of the team in this great city. And on that count, I am proud and gratified that this agreement further solidifies that goal. On the other hand, I’m equally disappointed that we have not been able to host a World Series game for our fans.”

Stanton, too, issued a statement in the Mariners’ press release:

“My goal and the goal of the entire Mariners ownership and management team is to win a World Series. I believe that the Mariners are well positioned to achieve that goal and it will be my honor to lead the organization. I want to thank Howard for his leadership for the last 17 years and thank the members of the board and ownership for giving me this opportunity.”

2:00pm: Unspecified “ownership changes” have led to the end of CEO Howard Lincoln’s tenure with the Mariners, Mike Salk of 710 ESPN reports. Lincoln is set to resign his position, per the report, with minority owner John Stanton in line to “become the new point person for the ownership group” — though it’s unclear precisely what position (if any) he will take.

It’s obviously difficult at this point to assess the long-term ramifications of the move. It’s not clear whether other front office changes could be afoot, though it would obviously be surprising if there were any immediate impact on baseball operations. A news conference has been scheduled for this afternoon, which may begin to shed further light on the situation, including the underlying ownership modifications that prompted the leadership move.

The 76-year-old Lincoln has held his role since taking over before the start of the 2000 season. A former executive with Nintendo of America, the entity which now owns a controlling share of the ballclub, Lincoln is said to have been involved at the highest levels since the current M’s ownership group took control back in 1992.

Lincoln was obviously a significant part of the team’s financial dealings over the years, including the construction of Safeco Field and the organization’s regional sports network agreement in 2013. He was an immensely powerful figure in the organization, as Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times explains. Of course, his tenure has also come with its share of criticism; among other things, the club’s attendance has dwindled quite a bit and its last post-season berth came way back in 2001.

Among Lincoln’s more recent moves was the promotion of Kevin Mather to president and COO early in 2014, replacing Chuck Armstrong. At the time, the organization was winding up for what it hoped would be a successful 2015 season after shocking the baseball world by signing Robinson Cano. But the on-field results proved disappointing, and the leadership group ultimately fired GM Jack Zduriencik, who has since been replaced at the helm of baseball operations by Jerry Dipoto.

Now, it seems, Stanton will decide the strategic direction of the Seattle organization. He is said to have been looking to enhance his role with the club for some time, as Baker explains (Twitter links). Stanton reportedly controls about one-tenth of the Mariners’ ownership stake at present; it’s not known whether he’ll increase his holdings as part of today’s shake-up.

Twins, Andrew Albers Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Twins and left-hander Andrew Albers have agreed to terms on a minor league contract, MLBTR has learned (links to Twitter).

Albers, 30, was a 10th-round pick of the Padres back in 2008 but wound up pitching on the independent circuit in 2010. The True Gravity client parlayed impressive numbers in the Can-Am Association into a minor league deal with the Twins back in 2011 and rose through the club’s ranks quickly, reaching the Majors and tossing 60 innings for Minnesota in 2013. Albers recorded a 4.05 ERA with a 25-to-7 K/BB ratio in those 60 innings, and he spent the 2014 season pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization before returning to North America to pitch for the Blue Jays. Albers struggled at Triple-A and in a brief MLB stint with the Jays last season and again turned to the independent league over the winter. He made one start for the Atlantic League’s Lancaster BarnStormers and fired seven shutout innings, yielding just a hit and a walk with nine strikeouts before this new agreement.

Minnesota has seen its rotation depth compromised by injuries to Ervin Santana and Kyle Gibson, and three members of its Triple-A rotation — Tyler Duffey, Alex Meyer and Jose Berrios — are now at the big league level. Albers, it seems, will add an experienced minor league arm to Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate in Rochester for the time being.

Athletics To Promote Sean Manaea

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The Athletics will promote top pitching prospect Sean Manaea to start on Friday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Manaea, a 24-year-old southpaw, came to Oakland last summer in the deal that sent Ben Zobrist to the Royals.

Since his arrival, Manaea has done nothing but impress. Already considered a top-100 prospect, he dominated at Double-A and started out the 2016 season at the highest level of the minors. Over 18 innings in three starts, he owns a 1.50 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.

Entering the year, Baseball America credited Manaea’s big fastball, inconsistent but intriguing slider, and promising but still-developing change. BA rated him just inside the top fifty pre-MLB assets in the game, while MLB.com (#65) and ESPN.com’s Keith Law (#59) placed him a bit further down on their own lists. He isn’t generally seen as a fully-finished product, with polish on the secondary offerings and command cited as areas for improvement, but he’s certainly has done enough to warrant a shot at the major league level.

Righty Jesse Hahn had seemed in line for a promotion as the club looks to replace the optioned Eric Surkamp, and he’s certainly the more experienced arm. But as Slusser explains, Hahn is dealing with a blister at present so wasn’t an immediate option.

Whether or not Manaea will get more than a spot start remains to be seen. Either way, he won’t have the chance to accumulate enough MLB time to achieve a full year of service. But if Manaea can stick at the major league level, he would line himself up for future Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility.

The young lefty is one of several notable arms to get their first call-ups in recent days. You can read up on all of the recent top prospect promotions right here.

Charlie Morton Requires Hamstring Surgery, Out For Season

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Phillies righty Charlie Morton will require season-ending surgery on a torn left hamstring, the club announced. He is expected to require a six to eight month recovery time after undergoing the procedure.

Indications were that an MRI had revealed more extensive damage than was initially hoped, and today’s news certainly reflects that. It’s obviously a disappointing turn of events for the veteran starter, who was acquired over the winter for righty David Whitehead.

The Phils had added Morton in hopes that he’d help to stabilize a young rotation while getting his career back on a positive trajectory. He seemed on track to do just that, contributing a 4.15 ERA through 17 1/3 innings in four starts with promising peripherals. Morton had a 19:8 K:BB ratio with an outstanding 62.8% groundball rate in the early going.

Philadelphia owes Morton $8MM for the 2016 campaign. He also has a mutual option at $9.5MM for 2017 that comes with a $1MM buyout. (That was originally a club option under the extension he signed with the Pirates, but converted with the trade.) While mutual options are rarely exercised by both sides, the promising start and subsequent injury could theoretically lead to a match if both sides see the value in a one-year arrangement.

With Morton down, the Phillies will need to find alternatives to fill out the staff. Young hurlers Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Vince Velasquez have all shown real promise, while Jeremy Hellickson was added for much the same reason as was Morton. But the fifth starter’s role will now likely go to another internal option. Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice noted yesterday that 26-year-old southpaw Adam Morgan was scratched from his upcoming Triple-A start, likely in anticipation of a call-up, so it seems he’ll get the first crack.

NL Notes: Glasnow, d’Arnaud, Story, Rizzo

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Coming into the season, Tyler Glasnow was expected to provide a mid-season boost to the Pirates rotation, and that looks likelier by the day. As MiLB.com’s Sam Dykstra writes, the young righty has been dominant at Triple-A and currently leads the International League in strikeout rate. Though a promotion seems all but inevitable at some point, the timing remains uncertain and may be dependent upon what the club can get from its current options (as well as its estimation of where the Super Two cutoff will fall). Jeff Locke is coming off of his best start of the year after some significant early struggles, while Juan Nicasio is throwing well enough currently to hold down another slot and Ryan Vogelsong remains a factor.

Here’s more from the National League …

  • The Mets may ultimately need to consider moving Travis d’Arnaud out from behind the plate, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post suggests. If d’Arnaud misses an extended stretch, argues Davidoff, the organization ought at least to think about alternatives to full-time catching. Of course, while the 27-year-old hit well enough last year (.268/.340/.485 in 268 plate appearances) to play anywhere on the diamond, he’s yet to carry that kind of production over even a full season and — regardless — is most valuable as a backstop.
  • Opposing pitchers have exhibited a new approach to breakout Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes. After initially testing him on the inner half, with memorable results, hurlers are now attacking him away. While he’ll obviously have a chance to respond in the cat-and-mouse game, Story’s production has fallen off significantly. He still owns a rather productive .247/.306/.649 overall slash, but his 36.5% strikeout rate and recent lack of pull-side power opportunities certainly rate as concerns looking forward.
  • Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post questions the Nationals’ lack of action on GM Mike Rizzo’s contract. The veteran executive says he’s not yet heard anything, though he also expressed a lack of concern on the subject. While there’s no rush to decide on Rizzo’s two-year option (it’s due June 14), and expectations remain that he’ll remain with the organization, Svrluga says it remains a mystery why ownership hasn’t gone ahead and made a seemingly obvious decision to lock up club’s head baseball decisionmaker.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/27/16

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Baseball America’s Matt Eddy runs down the week’s minor moves, including a few that we’ve yet to cover here:

  • Veteran righty Roberto Hernandez re-signed with the Blue Jays after previously opting out of his contract. He’ll function as depth at the Triple-A level, presumably, and look to return to the majors after ten straight seasons with at least some MLB action. The 35-year-old posted a 4.36 ERA with 4.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in his 84 2/3 frames for the Astros in 2015.
  • The Orioles have released right-hander Todd Redmond, who most recently enjoyed a three-year run in the Jays’ organization. He received only 16 major league innings there last year, however, after functioning as a useful swingman in the prior two seasons. Redmond, 30, had been added by the O’s on a minor league deal, but was hammered (18 hits & 15 runs in five innings) in his first two outings for Triple-A Norfolk.
  • Former Royals prospect Noel Arguelles has joined the Nationals, per Eddy. Now 26, the Cuban southpaw washed out of Kansas City after originally joining the organization as a big-bonus international free agent. He appeared briefly in the Venezuelan winter league last year but otherwise hasn’t pitched competitively since 2014, when he was knocked around for 7.15 earned runs per nine over 61 2/3 innings in his first run at Double-A.

AL Notes: Colabello, Encarnacion, Calhoun, Richards, Collins

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Suspended Blue Jays first baseman/outfielder Chris Colabello maintains that he has no idea how he ended up with prohibited PEDs in his system, as Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports. The 32-year-old says that he only ever took supplements provided by the organization, was meticulous in avoiding uncertain substances, and has gone to great lengths to try to figure out how the banned substance ended up in his system. The piece offers necessary context to go with Colabello’s extensive comments on the matter, and is a must-read for anyone interested in his story or the broader issue of performance enhancing drugs.

Here’s the latest out of the American League to round out the evening:

  • While initial extension talks this spring weren’t fruitful, the Blue Jays told slugger Edwin Encarnacion that they’d consider re-opening things over the summer, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). A deal to keep Encarnacion off of the open market still seems unlikely, of course, particularly given where things ended up. Per Heyman, Toronto offered a two-year pact with multiple vesting options. While the veteran’s camp didn’t counter, he’s expected to seek four or five guaranteed seasons in free agency. He’s off to a bit of a slow start, but that still seems eminently achievable if he ends up with anything approaching his recent levels of production.
  • Meanwhile, Angels GM Billy Eppler says that the organization has yet to engage outfielder Kole Calhoun or starter Garrett Richards in extension talks, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. Explaining that he’s still “just feeling everybody out,” Eppler did acknowledge that he’s at least considered the idea. “I would be lying to tell you that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind,” he said. “But we’re not at that point. It’s just not something I want to talk about while they’re playing; while they’re trying to perform.” The new GM also noted that the high-budget Halos have the luxury of waiting. “That’s a factor,” he said. “You might be able to afford going year to year in certain situations, just because of your own circumstances.”
  • Major League Baseball will not suspend Tigers outfielder Tyler Collins for flipping the bird to booing fans, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets. That’s good news for Detroit, which would have had to go a man short during any time that Collins would have missed.

Quick Hits: International Bonuses, Prospects, Analytics, PEDs

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It goes without saying that the international market offers an increasingly important route for organizations to acquire fresh talent. With bonus rules overlaying an already complicated array of interests, and loads of new players entering the picture from Cuba, it’s a situation that is ripe for gamesmanship, as Ben Badler of Baseball America explains. Teams have numerous avenues for shifting bonuses between amateur players, many of whom are largely controlled by handlers who have varied and obscure arrangements with multiple youngsters. That situation creates a complex and sub-optimal set of incentives, per Badler, with “package” arrangements often utilized to get around limitations on spending on a single player. The post qualifies as essential reading in this area of the transactional game.

Here are a few more notable pieces worth a look:

  • Badler also mines the minor league ranks for prospects who have set themselves up for quick promotions. Rangers infielder Andy Ibanez has looked like a strong international investment and is in line to move up from the low A level; highly-touted Red Sox youngsters Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada seem ready for Double-A; and the Phillies have several players clamoring for a step up the ladder, including top prospect J.P. Crawford.
  • Baseball analytics departments have expanded greatly in recent years, as Ben Lindbergh and Rob Arthur examine at FiveThirtyEight.com. By their tabulations, the number of quantitative-oriented, full-time employees of major league teams has risen from 44 in 2009 all the way to 156 at present. Clubs that moved quickly to build out their teams of analysts have benefited greatly for a relatively meager investment, the study finds. As big-market clubs have increasingly followed their lower-budget competitors, there has been increasing competition for established and entry-level staffers. Interestingly, though, that hasn’t resulted in a reduction in scouting departments; Lindbergh and Arthur write that any downsizing at the professional level “has been more than offset by increased amateur and international coverage.” Unfortunately, women continue to be drastically underrepresented in the analytics and scouting ranks. You’ll certainly want to give this fascinating piece a full read to appreciate it.
  • Bob Nightengale of USA Today looks at the current state of PEDs in baseball, asking whether players who test positive are merely those who choose the wrong people to set their drug regimens. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also recently addressed the subject, with several prominent players telling him that the use of illicit substances remains a major problem in the game. Improving the current league efforts to stamp out the problem may be less a matter of tweaking the already-significant penalties than it is one of somehow getting ahead of those who are figuring ways around testing. “If there was a type of testing that guaranteed every person that used PEDs would be caught, I would be all for it,” Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw tells Rosenthal. “I don’t think the problem is the length of the suspension, but more the improbability of being caught.”
  • As the Phillies’ new front office reshapes the organization’s approach to analytics, it is seeking to manage the volume of information in a way that optimizes its function, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “That information can be overwhelming,” says GM Matt Klentak. “There is so much information. The key for our front office and coaching staff and, ultimately, our players is that we’re isolating the information that helps players and coaches in the moment without locking them up.”

Injury Notes: Sandoval, Hedges, Boxberger, Morton, Dodgers

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Here are various notes on injuries from throughout the game.

  • Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval will have Dr. James Andrews examine his injured shoulder on Monday, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. Last week, a scheduled exam was canceled because Sandoval’s shoulder was too sore, with the idea that Sandoval would attempt to meet with Andrews at a later date. The Red Sox placed him on the disabled list two weeks ago.
  • Padres catcher Austin Hedges will have surgery to address a hamate fracture and will likely be out six to eight weeks, tweets MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Hedges spent much of 2015 as the Padres’ backup catcher, but this year, he began the season with Triple-A El Paso (where he was hitting quite well in a small sample) after the Friars acquired Christian Bethancourt. Regardless, it sounds like Hedges, who’s still just 23, will miss a significant chunk of development time.
  • Rays closer Brad Boxberger, who’s missed the entire season so far after having core muscle surgery in March, has been cleared to resume baseball activities, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweets. Boxberger remains on track to return to the Rays in mid-May. Alex Colome has collected four saves in his absence.
  • Phillies righty Charlie Morton didn’t receive positive news from an MRI on his injured hamstring on Monday, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Morton strained the hamstring on Saturday and was placed on the DL the next day. “Apparently, his MRI wasn’t as good as we were hoping,” says manager Pete Mackanin. “We’re going to see what happens in the next two or three days and see what the next step is. I really don’t know what the next step is, I just know it’s not as good as we were hoping.” Adam Morgan is expected to take Morton’s place in the starting rotation for the time being.
  • Dodgers righty Brandon McCarthy threw a bullpen for team officials yesterday, tweets MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. The throwing session was the latest step in McCarthy’s recovery after having Tommy John surgery early last season.
  • Another injured Dodgers starter, Hyun-jin Ryu, threw a 30-pitch bullpen today and could soon begin facing live hitters, ESPN’s Doug Padilla writes. Ryu, who is recovering after having labrum surgery last year, had his throwing program delayed after he suffered a groin strain earlier this month. It’s still unclear when he’ll return, Padilla notes.
  • The Dodgers have also announced that they’ve reinstated outfielder Carl Crawford, who had been on the DL for the past two weeks with a back injury. To clear space on their active roster, they optioned righty Zach Lee to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
  • Brewers infielder Scooter Gennett was scratched from tonight’s lineup due to oblique tightness, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. There’s no immediate word on the severity of the injury. Gennett is off to a hot start this season, batting .258/.361/.516 this year after mostly struggling in 2015.

David Murphy Retires

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Veteran outfielder David Murphy has retired, as SportsDay’s Gerry Fraley and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram both report. (Fraley posted the news earlier today, with Wilson following up later with quotes from Murphy.)

USATSI_9200843_154513410_lowres“Basically, it got to the point where playing this game and living this lifestyle wasn’t worth it any more to be away from my family,” says Murphy. Retirement is “permanent,” he adds.

Last year, Murphy batted a solid .283/.318/.421 in 391 plate appearances, although defensive metrics suggested somewhat of a decline in the quality of his work in the field, and his career .258/.305/.350 line against lefties means he likely needed to be platooned. Earlier this season, Murphy had opted out of minor-league deals with the Red Sox and Twins, and it had previously been reported that he would consider retiring if he wasn’t able to land a big-league job. One such job did open for Murphy with Minnesota, but he reportedly told the Twins he wanted to be with his family instead.

The 34-year-old Murphy was the 17th overall pick in the 2003 draft (and the first draft pick of Theo Epstein’s tenure with the Red Sox). He made it to the big leagues with Boston in 2006, then headed to Texas in 2007 as part of a deal for Eric Gagne. Murphy established himself as a solid corner outfield option with the Rangers, playing parts of seven seasons there before heading to the Indians and then the Angels. His best offensive season was probably 2012 with Texas, when he batted .304/.380/.479 and hit 15 home runs. For his 10-year big-league career, Murphy finishes with a .274/.333/.432 line, with 104 big-league homers. Via Baseball Reference, he made at least $24MM in his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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