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Archives for January 2016

Angels Avoid Arbitration With Hector Santiago

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The Angels have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal with lefty Hector Santiago, the club announced. He’ll receive a $5MM salary, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

Santiago was projected by MLBTR to earn $5.1MM in his second season of arbitration eligibility after taking home $2.29MM last year. Obviously, he’ll land right in the range of that projection.

The 28-year-old southpaw has had some hiccups at times, but it’s hard to argue with his overall results. Since being acquired by the Halos as part of the pre-2014 Mark Trumbo deal, Santiago owns a 3.65 ERA over 308 innings with 7.9 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9.

On the other hand, metrics are not big fans of Santiago’s work thus far in Los Angeles. He’s never been a darling of ERA estimators, but he reached a new low last year with a 4.77 FIP, 5.00 xFIP, and 4.50 SIERA mix going onto his resume.

Latest On Astros-Cardinals Computer Breach Matter

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There’s been a lot of action surrounding the guilty plea entered today by former Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, in which he admitted to certain charges brought against him for an improper accessing of the Astros’ “Ground Control” database. The complaint against Correa revealed several important alleged details, as did his statements today in open court.

In particular, Correa suggested — when asked by the judge — that he had found proprietary Cardinals’ information in the Astros’ systems. (David Barron of the Houston Chronicle was on hand, and his Twitter timeline is chock full of information on the proceedings.) Of course, former Cardinals executive Jeff Luhnow moved from St. Louis to become the Astros’ general manager, which Correa says was the cause for his look into the competitor’s databases.

The Astros have issued a statement in response. Per Houston general counsel Giles Kibbe, the club is withholding comment on “the details” at present. But he did make clear that Houston “refute[s] Mr. Correa’s statement that our database contained any information that was proprietary to the St. Louis Cardinals.”

In theory, then, there are still at least two open matters for the league to consider: first, any punishment and/or compensation relating to the breach by a (now-former) Cardinals employee. And second, the question whether the St. Louis organization actually was harmed as well.

The league has made clear that it is not prepared to act on either or both subjects at present. Per a league statement:

“Major League Baseball appreciates the efforts of federal law enforcement authorities in investigating the illegal breach of the Astros’ baseball operations database, and identifying the perpetrator of this crime. We anticipate that the authorities will share with us the results of their investigation at the appropriate time, and we will determine what further actions to take after receiving all the relevant information.”

While it remains to be seen how things will proceed, preliminary indications are that a quiet resolution is more likely than a public battle between the organizations. Kibbe’s statement on behalf of the ’Stros also hinted as much. “We have a great amount of respect for Bill DeWitt and the Cardinals organization,” he said. “And, we are confident that Commissioner Manfred will guide MLB through this process in the best way possible.”

MLB’s constitution specifically provides that teams may not file suit against one another, but must instead take any disputes to the commissioner as an arbitrator. (H/t to Nathaniel Grow of Fangraphs.) While a lawsuit could still theoretically be pursued, if Houston were to identify some loophole that it might argue for as an exemption from the arbitration requirement, that seems as unlikely to succeed as it is to be attempted.

Per the proceedings and the complaint (via Wendy Thurm, on Twitter), the government alleged as a result of its investigation that Correa had done quite a bit of significant snooping. According to the government, he accessed the system at least during the time frame of March of 2013 through June of 2014, and also made his way into the e-mail accounts of two unnamed (but easily assumed) “victims” — executives who had moved from the Cardinals to the Astros.

Among other things, Correa is alleged in May of 2013 to have peaked at the Astros’ ranking of 2013 draft-eligible players; large swaths of other draft-related scouting and assessment data; scouting information relating to the Cardinals’ system; and logs of Houston’s trade talks. He is said to have accessed the system again during the draft. And he allegedly went back to check the trade notes on the morning of the 2013 trade deadline.

While the Astros made significant changes to their database security after the Ground Control system was publicized early in 2014, Correa was allegedly able to find the new password information because of the aforementioned email access. He is charged with again checking in on the team’s trade logs, draft information, international evaluations, and other information in March of 2014.

Ultimately, of course, whether or not Correa was able to find the Cardinals’ information on the Astros’ system, that was never going to be much of a legal defense, as prosecutor Kenneth Magidson explained to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As reported earlier today, Correa pleaded guilty to five (out of twelve total) counts of unauthorized access to computer information, which come with a maximum of up to a five-year prison sentence, plus fines and restitution. While sentencing will not take place until April 11th, Goold explains that Correa will likely receive three or four years of jail time. That’s due to the terms of the plea deal, under which Correa acknowledged that the value of the information taken was around $1.7MM and that he had attempted to conceal his identity in accessing the system.

Justin Upton’s Agent: “Not Considering Shorter-Term Deals At This Time”

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Larry Reynolds, the representative of free agent outfielder Justin Upton, tells Jon Heyman that his client is not interested in a short-term deal as things stand. (Twitter links.) While there’s been some buzz recently that the 28-year-old could be forced to take a pillow contract with an eye on re-entering the market next year, that seems not to be a present consideration.

Here’s the full quote from the veteran agent: “We are not considering shorter-term deals at this time. The goal has been and will continue to be a long term contract for Justin Upton.”

From my perspective, it would indeed be rather premature for Upton and his representatives even to entertain the idea of a pillow contract — let alone a deal that would promise away a few prime seasons and put Upton back on the market in his early thirties. As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes argued entering the winter, a seven-year, $147MM contract seemed a reasonable outcome for the still-youthful, power-hitting Upton.

And it’s not yet clear that the situation has changed drastically. The two biggest free agent outfield pieces to sign thus far — Jason Heyward and Alex Gordon — went to clubs that probably weren’t ever going to factor in the market for Upton (or fellow top option Yoenis Cespedes). It’s arguable, then, that most of the plausible suitors for Upton entering the offseason still remain plausible landing spots.

That’s not to say that a short-term arrangement is out of the question. The qualifying offer hurts any free agent, and we’ve seen sluggers like Nelson Cruz forced to settle in the past. But Upton’s age and consistent production make him quite a different investment opportunity than was Cruz in the 2013-14 winter, when he was also coming off of a PED suspension.

Dan Jennings Joins Nationals Front Office

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Former Marlins GM (and, most recently, manager) Dan Jennings has officially joined the Nationals organization as a special assistant to GM Mike Rizzo, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson (via Twitter) and Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) first reported that Jennings was likely to head to D.C.

The veteran baseball man had been a front office free agent since formally parting ways with Miami in late October. Jennings took a rare career path in the Marlins organization, which he had been with since 2002 after a long run on the scouting side. After starting out as VP of player personnel and then becoming an assistant GM, Jennings eventually took on the role of general manager after prior GM Michael Hill was promoted to become the team’s president of baseball operations.

But the real twist came early last year, when Jennings moved into the dugout after Mike Redmond’s firing. The Marlins reportedly had decided to move on to another skipper after the season, but it seemed at one point that Jennings would return to the front office to finish out the terms of his contract with the organization, which ran through 2018. Miami will still be responsible for at least some of the $5.6MM remaining on that deal.

According to the team’s announcement, Jennings will “focus on all facets of the Nationals’ scouting operations.” Given the high regard in which he’s held around the game, it seems likely that he’ll have a strong voice with Rizzo. Jennings will obviously be competing directly against his former club in the National League East, which only adds to the intrigue surrounding his departure.

Padres To Sign Adam Rosales

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The Padres have agreed to a minor league deal with infielder Adam Rosales, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. He’ll provide a veteran utility option to the organization.

Rosales, 32, has seen action in each of the last eight MLB seasons. All said, he owns a .227/.294/.342 batting line and 27 home runs over 1,226 plate appearances. Much of his appeal, of course, lies in the fact that he’s capable of playing all over the infield. Indeed, Rosales, has logged at least five hundred major league frames at first, second, third, and short.

Orioles Claim Joey Terdoslavich

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The Orioles have claimed infielder/outfielder Joey Terdoslavich off waivers from the Braves, according to a team announcement. Terdoslavich lost his roster spot to make way for the signing of Kelly Johnson, which Atlanta announced today.

The 27-year-old Terdoslavich had previously spent his entire career in the Braves organization. He’s only taken 162 trips to the plate in the majors over the past three seasons.

While he’s yet to get much of a chance in the majors, Terdoslavich owns a reasonably useful .264/.337/.423 batting line in over 1,300 plate appearances at Triple-A. Of course, it’s been some time since he received a look at third base, and that slash isn’t all that impressive for a player who is limited to first base and corner outfield duties.

Yankees Acquire Kirby Yates From Indians

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1:35pm: The Indians have announced the trade.  According to the Associated Press, the Yankees paid Cleveland $78K for Yates.

1:25pm: The Yankees have acquired right-hander Kirby Yates from the Indians in exchange for cash considerations, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter). Yates had been designated for assignment by the Indians earlier this week. Cleveland had originally acquired him from the Rays earlier this offseason.

Yates, 29 in March, enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2014 when he logged a 3.75 ERA with a robust 10.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. He couldn’t replicate that in his age-28 season, however, due largely to an incredible amount of home runs allowed. Yates is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, but nearly one third of the balls put in the air against him left the yard this past season (30.3 percent). Extreme fly-ball pitcher or not, that rate is nearly unheard of and is almost certain to regress in the future. However, the poor results left Yates with a 7.97 ERA due to yielding 10 homers in 20 1/3 innings. That skill-set and the homer-friendly confines of Yankee Stadium would seem to be a dangerous combination, although Yates’ track record of missing bats is enticing, and homers were never a problem for him throughout his minor league career.

Because the Yankees’ 40-man roster was only at 37 players prior to the acquisition of Yates, a corresponding move is not necessary in order to clear a roster spot.

Reds To Re-Sign Ryan Mattheus

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The Reds have agreed to re-sign right-hander Ryan Mattheus, whom the team non-tendered last month, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported this morning that a deal was close (via Twitter).

Mattheus will most likely receive a minor league contract, Sheldon notes, which seems like a rational expectation, given the fact that he was non-tendered despite a modest salary projection of $1.3MM from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

The 32-year-old Mattheus, a client of the Boras Corporation, was designated for assignment by the Angels in May and claimed by Cincinnati off waivers. The longtime Nationals reliever went on to log 55 innings for the Reds in 2015, making him one of their most-used and most durable ’pen arms. Mattheus recorded a 4.09 ERA with Cincinnati (4.02 ERA overall), averaging 5.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 to go along with a 52.7 percent ground-ball rate and a fastball that sat at 92.9 mph. Mattheus did struggle against lefties, yielding a .324/.355/.515 batting line, though he was better against same-handed batters, who hit .256/.345/.301 against him.

Cincinnati’s bullpen picture is wide open after the trade of Aroldis Chapman to the Yankees, as J.J. Hoover and Jumbo Diaz are probably the only locks from the right side. Mattheus will compete with Carlos Contreras, Blake Wood, Keyvius Sampson and possibly Michael Lorenzen (though he could still be used as a starter) as he looks to earn a spot in manager Bryan Price’s relief corps.

Padres Remain In Contact With Ian Desmond, Alexei Ramirez

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Finding a shortstop is the Padres’ top priority at this point, and a pair of reports which highlight that pursuit have surfaced today. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that San Diego remains in contact with Ian Desmond’s reps at Sports One Athlete Management, and FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the team has had recent contact with free-agent Alexei Ramirez (links to Twitter). Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score first connected San Diego and Ramirez last month.

Desmond, 30, has remained in contact with the Padres, per Lin, though no deal is imminent at this time. However, Lin notes that Desmond is a favorite of general manager A.J. Preller, not only for his history of production at the plate (last season’s ugly first half notwithstanding) but also for his makeup and the leadership he brings to a team. Lin also notes that Preller said last month that even after acquiring highly touted shortstop prospect Javier Guerra as part of the package that sent Craig Kimbrel to Boston, he wouldn’t rule out landing a shortstop in free agency or in trades. “If we feel like it’s a player we really like and we think is worth the dollars and years, you can never have enough players up the middle, especially talented players,” said Preller. “Especially when you sign shortstops, you get guys who can play other positions and have value in the industry.”

Desmond posted an uncharacteristic .223/.290/.384 batting line in 2015, but much of that ugly slash line is due to a poor first half. Following the All-Star break, Desmond slashed .262/.331/.446 with a dozen homers and eight stolen bases. In spite of that disappointing first half, Desmond did finish the year just one homer shy of his fourth straight year with 20 or more long balls. And it should be noted that while he made 27 errors last year, an astonishing eight of those errors came in the season’s first 12 contests, after which he cleaned up his defense considerably.

None of that is to suggest that Desmond is a surefire bet to rebound to his 2012-14 form, of course. Signing in San Diego would figure to be disadvantageous to his production at the plate, given the typically run-suppressing nature of Petco Park. And while it’s easy enough to write off his poor first half as a fluke, it’s not as easy to write off Desmond’s alarming 29.2 percent strikeout rate in 2015. That mark was easily the highest of his career, and even when looking at his seemingly improved second half, the strikeouts were a problem. In fact, Desmond struck out in 30.3 percent of his second-half plate appearances, with his .262 average following the All-Star break largely due to a .346 BABIP which rests comfortably above his career level of .322. If Desmond is to truly turn his game around, he’ll need his strikeout rate to trend back toward the 21 percent mark he posted from 2012-13.

Desmond would also require a fairly lengthy commitment, and while it’s not known precisely where his market lies at this stage, it’s safe to say that Ramirez would command a significantly shorter term — possibly even a one-year deal. Ramirez also would not require the forfeiture of a draft pick, which Desmond would. As Rosenthal points out, the Padres’ No. 8 overall selection is protected, but surrendering their next-best pick would deprive the team of making six selections in the top 100 of next year’s draft. Adding Ramirez could provide a potential stopgap to Guerra without sacrificing the ability to substantially add to their farm next summer. (Bear in mind that not only would the Padres receive six of the top 100 picks — their bonus pool would be among the largest in the game due to the possession of those six picks, thereby allowing the team to strategically distribute that money and take some tough-to-sign players as value picks in later rounds.)

Ramirez, of course, isn’t without his own pros and cons. While he’s been a largely durable asset for the White Sox over the life of his big league career, showing both power and speed at times, he, too, was plagued by a dismal first half in 2015 when he batted just .224/.249/.292. Given the fact that he’s 34 years of age, the Padres (or any other team) have to be significantly more wary of a potential decline for Ramirez. However, he batted a much more characteristic .277/.325/.432 with eight homers and seven steals following the All-Star break.

First- and second-half splits are admittedly somewhat arbitrary in nature, but in the instance of each player there is nonetheless a notable distinction between the two halves of the season. If the Padres are confident that either player’s second half is a harbinger of things to come, then either would mark a substantial upgrade over the sub-par contributions of Alexi Amarista, Clint Barmes, Will Middlebrooks and Jedd Gyorko in 2015 (the latter three of which are no longer in the organization).

Former Cardinals Scouting Director Chris Correa To Plead Guilty In Astros’ Data Breach Case

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Former Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, who was dismissed by the organization earlier this year for his role in the Cardinals’ unauthorized accessing of the Astros’ proprietary computer network, is scheduled to plead guilty to criminal charges today, report Brian Costa and Devlin Barrett of the Wall Street Journal. Per the report, Correa has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to five of 12 charges against him. It’s unclear at this time if further St. Louis employees will be implicated or if any further legal repercussions will stem from Correa’s plea.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, the Cardinals were reported to be the subject of a federal investigation in connection with an unauthorized entry into Houston’s proprietary network, named Ground Control, back in June. Roughly a year prior to the report, a large amount of Astros’ trade notes and discussions were leaked and became public knowledge, bringing considerable scrutiny on the Astros organization. Then-and-current Houston GM Jeff Luhnow previously worked for the Cardinals, and it later emerged that one or more members of the St. Louis organization had been involved in the database breach.

Correa, at the time of his firing, denied any illegal activity via a statement from his lawyer. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported at the time that Correa claimed to access the database only to verify that Luhnow did not take any proprietary information with him when leaving the Cardinals organization. Of course, it’s not clear that such a defense would hold much water from a legal perspective. And Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reported shortly after the Cardinals’ involvement first came to light that the team’s employees had accessed Ground Control on multiple occasions, with separate instances reportedly occurring in 2012, 2013 and again in 2014.

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