Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for September 2016

Phillies Likely To Pursue Veteran Arm In Offseason

By | at

While much has been made of the Phillies’ desire to add a veteran bat this winter — two, if manager Pete Mackanin gets his wish — Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com writes that adding a veteran starter to provide some stable innings in the rotation “seems to be as big a priority” for GM Matt Klentak as adding to his lineup.

“I don’t think we will ever have the luxury of ignoring starting pitching,” said Klentak. “Starting pitching is the name of the game. We saw it for the first month or two of the year. Every night we were pitching. Our starters were performing. … We were competitive almost every night. At times, throughout the rest of the season, we’ve sputtered along. … But if you can dictate the pace of the game on the mound, you always have a chance to win. We’re never going to ignore that.”

Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, acquired with little fanfare this offseason, proved to be that stabilizing force for the Phillies in 2016, but Salisbury writes that he’ll likely go elsewhere (likely after rejecting a qualifying offer, from my own vantage point) and cautions not to expect any type of spending spree on the free agent market this winter. As such, a low-cost free-agent starter — Charlie Morton, Doug Fister and Jorge De La Rosa come to mind as possibilities — or swinging a similar deal to last year’s Hellickson swap could make some sense for the Phils.

Hellickson amounted to a rental for Philadelphia at the time of the deal, as he’d disappointed in his lone season with the D-backs and cost the team a low-level prospect and the willingness to pay Hellickon’s arbitration salary. There may not be a direct comparable to Hellickson’s situation, but the Twins’ Hector Santiago has disappointed in his few months with the team (and has a connection to Klentak from the duo’s Angels days), and left-hander Wade Miley has floundered in Baltimore but still has $9.25MM coming his way through next season. The Phils could also look to acquire a pitcher with a 2017 option that is of borderline value (e.g. Jaime Garcia or Derek Holland) and hope that he experiences better results in 2017.

While some Phillies fans might bemoan the idea of adding a veteran starter when the team has so many enticing young arms, there’s a great deal of uncertainty in Philadelphia’s contingent of young horses. Vince Velasquez has long had durability questions and missed a month on the DL this season, while Aaron Nola had to be shut down for the season due to a UCL/flexor sprain and Zach Eflin underwent surgery on each of his knees. With Hellickson departing, there’s certainly plenty of logic to adding not only a source of potentially quality innings but someone to help mentor the team’s young starters through the ups and downs of a full season at the big league level.

Salisbury also writes that in addition to adding a source of innings to the rotation, the Phillies also figure to look into some veteran relievers. However, Klentak stressed to Salisbury that the Phillies aren’t interested in removing too many opportunities for the team’s younger players to establish themselves. “We want to do everything we can to field the most competitive team on the field that we possibly can,” the GM explained. “We also want to make sure we continue to provide opportunities to our young players to develop. That’s the fine line that we’ll have to tiptoe all offseason.”

Wilson Ramos Diagnosed With Torn ACL

By | at

SEPT. 29: Surgery will reveal the full extent of Ramos’ knee injury, but it’s possible there are also some tears in his meniscus, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

SEPT. 27: Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos has received the devastating news that he has again torn his right ACL, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (via CSN Mid-Atlantic, on Twitter). Ramos previously suffered that injury — which isn’t exactly typical for a catcher — back in 2012.

With just a week left in the regular season, and the division already locked up, the Nationals now face a void at the catching position entering the postseason. Ramos’s huge season — a .307/.354/.496 slash with 22 home runs over 523 plate appearances — was among the factors that helped drive the Nats’ success this year after both player and team disappointed in 2015.

Of course, the injury also casts a massive shadow over Ramos’s upcoming free agency. It had seemed all but certain that he’d receive and decline a qualifying offer, then enter the market in search of four or five years at over $10MM per season. Instead, in all likelihood, he’ll now likely be looking for an entirely different sort of contract.

Washington had reportedly just taken a crack at extending Ramos, though the team’s reported offer (something a bit north of three years and $30MM) didn’t seem all that likely to result in a deal. As I noted in that post, Ramos had already taken on basically all of the risk of performance and injury decline, reducing his incentive to sell his future seasons at a discount. But the relatively meager odds didn’t prevent the catastrophic injury, which is all the more concerning given that Ramos has already had that ligament replaced.

The Nats will go with Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino for now, and will simply have to make do with that pair for the playoffs. It’s now certain that the organization will need to replace Ramos after the season — there would seem to be little chance that he’ll be ready for the start of 2017 — though it could also sign a gap-filler and explore some kind of multi-year arrangement to keep him around for the future.

Just how things will play out remains unknown, with Ramos’s anticipated timeline still yet to be determined. The repeat nature of the surgery likely increases the uncertainty surrounding his recovery, and the situation as a whole only adds to concerns about how the large-bodied receiver would age, particularly with the litany of leg injuries he has suffered.

On the positive side, “the Buffalo” — as he is affectionately and appropriately known — just turned 29 in early August, so he’s still rather youthful. He has already proved capable of working back from an ACL tear, and has held up to an immense amount of abuse before this hard-luck injury, appearing in 259 games since the start of 2015.

All said, it’s extremely disappointing to see such misfortune for a universally respected player who has already been through so much. Hope remains that he’ll be able to return to being a productive big league receiver, but it won’t be in 2016.

The injury also creates some added opportunity for other catchers on the free agent market, such as Matt Wieters and Jason Castro, who may see their demand increase. And it could shift the trade winds, potentially enhancing the Yankees’ bargaining position with veteran Brian McCann and adding to the appeal of struggling Padres receiver Derek Norris.

NL Central Notes: Cubs, Feliz, McCutchen, Marte, Brewers

By | at

While the Cubs have locked down the top three leaders in their baseball operations department by agreeing to extensions with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and senior vice president of player development Jason McLeod, the team’s front office could still see a number of executives poached by other clubs in the coming years, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Scouting director Jared Porter and assistant GM Shiraz Rehman were both mentioned in connection with the Twins recently, and both figure to come up in future front office searches. “Porter will be a GM and soon,” writes Passan, who also lists director of player development Jaron Madison and director of baseball operations Scott Harris as rising stars within the field.

A bit more from the NL Central…

  • Neftali Feliz isn’t likely to get back on the mound for the Pirates this season, manager Clint Hurdle told reporters, including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Feliz, signed as a free agent last winter, enjoyed a nice rebound campaign with the Buccos in 2016, pitching to a 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent ground-ball rate in 53 2/3 innings of work while playing on a modest $3.9MM salary. The specific nature of the arm injury that has plagued Feliz since early September remains somewhat murky, though he was reportedly cleared of elbow or shoulder troubles earlier this month. Assuming there are no major medical concerns, he’ll become yet another pitcher to significantly boost his stock in a brief stint with the Pirates, as he’ll enter the open market with an ERA nearly three runs lower and a K/9 rate that’s nearly three whiffs higher than he did a year ago.
  • In a second piece from the Post-Gazette, Stephen J. Nesbitt writes that while Andrew McCutchen’s defensive ratings in center field have plummeted — his -26 DRS mark is the worst of any fielder at any position in baseball, and his -14.4 UZR is third-worst — Pirates manager Clint Hurdle isn’t ready to flip McCutchen and standout defensive left fielder Starling Marte. “I know that there are probably going to be plays that Marte can make in center field that maybe Andrew doesn’t make,” said Hurdle, “[but] there are plays Marte makes in left field that nobody can make. That’s the other point. Everybody in the street talks to me about center field. Marte makes plays in left that I don’t know if any other left fielder in the game can make.”
  • The Brewers have made some changes in their scouting department, and Baseball America’s John Manuel has details on the promotions and hirings. Noted scouting director Ray Montgomery is being moved up the ladder to vice president of scouting and will now be the organization’s lead talent evaluator, whereas assistant scouting director Tod Johnson will shed the “assistant” from his title. Pro scouting director Zack Minasian will now serve as a special advisor to the scouting department. “Scouting will always be an integral aspect of our focus on acquiring and developing young talent, and we are confident that today’s moves will enhance those efforts to be among the best in the industry,” said GM David Stearns in a statement.

AL West Notes: Richards, Fister, Choo, Vogelbach

By | at

Angels ace Garrett Richards tossed a simulated inning against live hitters on Wednesday, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The injured Halos ace reported that he felt good while warming up and while on the mound, where he threw 20 pitches, including fastballs, curveballs and sliders. Richards was diagnosed with a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament back in May but has been undergoing stem cell treatment in hopes to avoid Tommy John surgery, knowing that if he’d simply undergone TJ back in May, he’d have been a long shot to contribute much in 2017 anyhow. If he’s able to successfully avoid the procedure via the stem cell treatments, then Richards could conceivably contribute to the Halos for much, if not all of the 2017 campaign. Per Fletcher, he’ll head to the instructional league and make three appearances there, building up to 50 pitches before followup testing to determine whether he can have a normal offseason and be expected to pitch next year.

More from the AL West…

  • Wednesday likely marked Doug Fister’s last start as a member of the Astros, writes Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle, noting that the impending free agent’s September was a dreadful month. Houston lost each of Fister’s final seven starts, Kaplan points out, and the righty surrendered 30 earned runs across 24 innings in his final month of the year (11.74 ERA). That’s hardly the note on which any pitcher wants to end a season, especially when things had been going fairly well for him for much of the season. Fister carried an ERA in the mid-3.00s throughout the entire summer but will conclude his 2016 campaign with a 4.64 ERA in 180 1/3 innings as he looks to improve upon the one-year, $7MM pact he signed with the ’Stros last winter.
  • Rangers manager Jeff Banister said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM earlier today (Twitter link) that Shin-Soo Choo’s rehab has been “accelerated,” and the outfielder could join the club this weekend to get a look prior to determining postseason rosters. Choo has been sidelined since mid-August due to a fractured forearm sustained upon being hit by a pitch.
  • Mariners rookie first baseman Dan Vogelbach has already begun seeking out the coaching staff to ask for extra lessons and extra work on his defense, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Vogelbach, considered a bat-first prospect and labeled by some scouting reports as a future designated hitter due to his defensive limitations, candidly acknowledged to Dutton that he’s aware of how much work he needs to on his glove. “It’s definitely something I’m taking seriously, because it’s something I need to improve,” said Vogelbach, who sought out bench coach Tim Bogar for advice on his positioning and footwork. “…I’ve been doing it the wrong way for so long that now I’m making the correct muscle memory. Getting it to be a natural habit.” Vogelbach indicated that he plans to spend the offseason working on improving with the glove and, as Dutton points out, doing so could very well line him up to be Seattle’s first baseman next season, as both Adam Lind and Dae-ho Lee are free agents.

White Sox To Offer Contract To Robin Ventura For 2017?

By | at

10:45pm: In an updated version of his story, Nightengale reports that talks have yet to begin, but the Sox would like Ventura to return in 2017 so long as he has a desire to return to his post. He adds that Sox decision-makers believe in Ventura and place the team’s failures on ownership and the front office as opposed to the manager. Ultimately, Nightengale conveys that the ball is in Ventura’s court when it comes to a 2017 return.

2:43pm: Ventura has not been offered a new contract, a source tells Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (via Twitter). This new report seemingly suggests that Nightengale’s report is not accurate, though the original report did not suggest the team had actually yet made an offer to the embattled skipper.

1:08pm: The White Sox expect to retain manager Robin Ventura, so long as they are able to work out a new contract with him, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Discussions on a new deal have yet to begin, per the report, but Ventura’s current pact expires at the end of the season.

It’s not clear at present whether Chicago is willing to offer more than a single-season arrangement to the embattled skipper, who many expected would be allowed to walk this winter. Ventura has suggested publicly that he’d like to stay in his role, Nightengale says, but has yet to definitely inform the White Sox front office of his intentions.

The 49-year-old Ventura, an excellent ballplayer during his playing days, has overseen just one winning campaign since taking over the South Siders’ dugout in 2012 and has yet to lead his charges to the postseason. Overall, he carries a 373-432 record as a skipper.

As with any team, only so much blame can lie at the feet of the manager in this case. But the fact remains that the roster compiled by president Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn has yet to come anywhere near realizing its potential. The last two seasons, in particular, represent major disappointments after the organization made several major acquisitions before the 2015 campaign.

Hyun-Jin Ryu Undergoes Elbow Surgery

By | at

The Dodgers announced that left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu underwent an arthroscopic left elbow debridement earlier today. The southpaw is expected to be ready for the 2017 season, according to the team.

Ryu, 29, had a brief return to the Majors in 2016 after missing the entire 2015 campaign due to shoulder surgery. Though he did make it back to the mound with the Dodgers this season, his return lasted for just one start — a 4 2/3 inning effort in which he yielded six runs on eight hits and two walks back on July 7. That represented his only big league work since Sept. 12, 2014.

Originally signed to a six-year, $36MM contract out of Korea (plus a $25.7MM posting fee), Ryu looked to be worth the investment for the Dodgers after a brilliant rookie season in 2013 and a strong sophomore effort in 2014. The former Hanwha Eagles standout finished fourth in 2013 Rookie of the Year voting after logging 192 innings of 3.00 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 and followed that up with a similarly excellent 3.38 ERA across 152 innings a year later. While the second two seasons of that six-year pact certainly haven’t gone as the Dodgers had hoped, Ryu still has another two seasons of cheap club control remaining. He’s owed just $7MM in each of the next two seasons — a manageable sum for virtually any club but especially the deep-pocketed Dodgers — though he’ll obviously fall shy of the requisite 750 innings (2013-17) that would allow him to opt out of his contract and test the free agent market a year early.

Most likely, the Dodgers aren’t banking on a full, healthy season for Ryu as they map out their 2017 season, but Los Angeles has built a virtually unprecedented staff in terms of overall pitching depth this year (as The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh recently profiled at length in an excellent piece), and it’s likely that they’ll do the same in 2017. Ryu joins Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy as pitchers that are already guaranteed contracts next season (though Kazmir does technically have an opt-out clause, even if he’s unlikely to exercise it), and the Dodgers also have Alex Wood, Jose De Leon, Julio Urias, Carlos Frias, Brock Stewart and Ross Stripling under control either via arbitration or as pre-arb rotation options. Nonetheless, they’ll also presumably be active on both the free agent and trade markets this winter as they look to remain atop the National League West.

CC Sabathia Hopes To Pitch Beyond 2017

By | at

It’s nearly a foregone conclusion that CC Sabathia’s $25MM option for the 2017 season will vest at season’s end — he’d have to be on the disabled list due to a shoulder injury in order for the option not to trigger — but the big lefty tells Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that he’s felt so good in 2016 that he isn’t having any thoughts that next year could be his last.

“I know I want to pitch after next year, but I haven’t thought about where or what,” said Sabathia. “Hopefully it will be here. We’ll see.”

While many can accuse Sabathia of putting the cart before the horse, it’s understandable that he’s thinking long term as he puts the finishing touches on his healthiest season since 2013. Myriad knee and elbow injuries limited the former Cy Young winner to just 213 innings in 2014-15, and there was a great deal of uncertainty about his ability to hold up entering the season. Sabathia took to wearing a brace to protect his surgically repaired knee this season, and it would appear that the added support has done him plenty of good. The 36-year-old has pitched to a 4.02 ERA (his lowest mark since 2012) over the life of 172 1/3 innings and averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 to go along with the second best ground-ball rate of his career (49.7 percent).

Sabathia will pitch the majority of the 2017 season at the age of 36, so the 2018 campaign he’s targeting at this point would only be his age-37 season — a more than reasonable goal if he proves healthy next year. Of course, Sabathia did hedge his aspirations somewhat, adding the critical caveat: “I know I feel like it’s not my time yet. Barring any crazy injuries, I know I can pitch past next year.”

While no longer the front-line pitcher that he was when he signed a then-record $161MM contract with the Yankees, Sabathia’s 2016 results suggest that there would be plenty of a market for him if he’s able to navigate another season without a significant injury. A pitcher capable of pitching 180 to 200 innings and turning in a roughly 4.00 ERA at Yankee Stadium/in the AL East would certainly have appeal, even if it were only as a fourth starter to round out a team’s rotation and provide some leadership to younger arms.

For those interested in checking out Sabathia’s hypothetical competition, MLBTR has already released its list of 2017-18 free agents, and the crop of starting pitchers looks to be considerably better than the upcoming class. Sabathia is slated to be joined by names like Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, Johnny Cueto (if he opts out of his Giants deal), Alex Cobb, Danny Duffy, Tyson Ross and his own teammate, Michael Pineda. Of course, the possibility exists that one or more of those names will sign extensions, and others, most notably Ross, come with plenty of question marks surrounding their health.

Dodgers Release Bud Norris

By | at

SEPT. 28: The Dodgers have released Norris, reports MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter).

SEPT. 20: The Dodgers announced today that they have designated right-hander Bud Norris for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for left-hander Alex Wood, who has been reinstated from the 60-day disabled list.

Norris, 31, signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Braves this offseason and recovered from a brutal month of April to deliver a dominant performance in May and June (2.08 ERA in 47 2/3 innings between the rotation and bullpen). That strong run allowed the Braves to trade Norris, Dian Toscano and a PTBNL (Alec Grosser) to Los Angeles in exchange for minor league pitchers Caleb Dirks (originally drafted by Atlanta and reacquired in this deal) and Phil Pfeifer.

Norris started out quite well for the Dodgers and made a handful of very effective starts during his time in L.A., but he also mixed in his fair share of clunkers and was torched in four separate bullpen appearances. Ultimately, his Dodgers tenure will finish with a 6.54 ERA in 42 2/3 innings split between the rotation and the ’pen. While that’s not a terrific stepping stone back into the free-agent market for Norris, his impressive run with the Braves should pique the interest of some clubs looking for a buy-low candidate. Norris, after all, received a Major League deal this past winter on the heels of an even more disappointing 2015 campaign, and free agency will present teams with even fewer rotation options this coming winter.

Athletics Activate Sonny Gray

By | at

Sonny Gray is back in action for the Athletics after missing about seven weeks with a forearm strain, with the club announcing his activation from the 15-day DL. Gray is expected to start today for one final time this season, but he’ll be limited to a strict pitch count.

Gray, 26, is looking to end his forgettable campaign on a relative high note by returning to the major league mound. He has twice been sidelined by injury, and has handled only 116 innings to date. The results just have not been there for a pitcher who previously featured as a front-line starter. Gray carries a 5.74 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 to go with a 54.3% groundball rate.

Those major peripherals aren’t really out of line with his prior marks, but Gray has been plagued by a shift in his ability to suppress the damage on batted balls. He has previously maintained a low batting average on balls put in play while limiting the homeruns, but this year he surrendered a .318 BABIP and 17.8% HR/FB rate, with 10.2 hits and 1.4 dingers per nine leading to a flood of earned runs.

For the A’s, there isn’t much to do but hope that Gray can ramp back up for a fresh start in 2017. Hopefully, at least, the arm troubles can be put behind him after a full winter of rest and preparation. Oakland won’t pay nearly as much as it might have expected for Gray’s services next year, as his first year of arbitration will be built off of this highly disappointing campaign — though the 491 innings of 2.88 ERA pitching he compiled heading into the season will certainly still result in a solid payday.

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

hide arrows scroll to top