Archives for October 2016

Padres Notes: Preller, Trade Talks, Coaching Staff, Rea

By Jeff Todd | October 27, 2016 at 7:10pm CDT

Earlier today, we checked in on the Padres’ interesting experimentation with catcher Christian Bethancourt, who not only spent time in the outfield last year but is preparing to work as a reliever in winter ball action. And last night, we learned about some roster-trimming moves. Here are a few more notes out of San Diego:

Padres GM A.J. Preller says that he doesn’t expect his recent suspension over medical disclosures in trade talks to have any carryover effects this winter, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. Reiterating his position that there was never any intent on the team’s part to deceive other clubs, he said that the Padres are “going to be very committed to correcting” their medical record-keeping and will “be best in class … from an admin[istrative] standpoint, a reporting standpoint, [in] following guidelines.”
Preller further explained that the Padres are anticipating a busy winter. The GM noted that ten rival organizations have already “check[ed] in with us” on trade possibilities since he was reinstated. The trade market figures to be “fairly active,” he said, given the weak free agent class.
The Padres parted ways with two coaches — Tarrik Brock and Eddie Rodriguez — but otherwise intend to keep their field staff in place, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. First-year skipper Andy Green will remain at the helm, with bench coach Mark McGwire, pitching coach Darren Balsley, hitting coach Alan Zinter, third base coach Glenn Hoffman, and bullpen coach Doug Bochtler all set to reprise their roles as well.
Colin Rea, whose injury in his first start with the Marlins after a summer trade played a major role in Preller’s suspension, is still working toward avoiding Tommy John surgery. He recently completed a 40-pitch bullpen session, Lin notes in the above-linked post. The hope is that he’ll at least be able to partake in live BP sessions before being shut down for the winter, with some possibility he’ll even appear in AFL or winter league action. If all goes well, Rea will hold off on a TJ procedure in hopes of enjoying a full 2017 season.

Rangers Outright Lucas Harrell, Shawn Tolleson

By Jeff Todd | October 27, 2016 at 6:18pm CDT

TODAY: Tolleson has elected free agency, the team announced.

YESTERDAY: The Rangers have outrighted right-handed pitchers Lucas Harrell and Shawn Tolleson, according to an announcement from VP of communications John Blake. Both pitchers ended the year on the 60-day DL, and now have the option to elect free agency.

Harrell, 31, returned stateside after spending 2015 with Korea’s LG Twins. He didn’t pitch well at Double-A with the Tigers organization, but got a shot with the rebuilding Braves and turned in five useful starts for Atlanta.

That led to a trade to the Rangers, but things didn’t quite pan out in Texas. In his four outings, Harrell managed only 17 2/3 innings, coughing up 11 earned runs and permitting 13 walks to go with his 15 strikeouts. His year ended with a groin strain.

As for Tolleson, 28, the 2016 campaign was a bit of a nightmare. He had been quite a productive member of the Rangers bullpen for the two prior seasons, racking up 144 frames of 2.88 ERA ball and taking over the closer’s role. But he fell off of a cliff this year, allowing a 7.68 ERA over 36 1/3 innings.

While he still managed 7.2 K/9 versus 2.5 BB/9 in 2016, Tolleson allowed 53 hits and eight long balls in his partial-season work for the Rangers. Tolleson didn’t show any velocity decline, and was perhaps unlucky in some respects (.372 BABIP, 24.2% HR/FB rate). He was ultimately placed on the 60-day DL due to back issues. With a projected $3.6MM arbitration salary, Texas decided to move on.

It’s certainly possible that either of these hurlers could end up returning to the Rangers, though they’ll have a shot to test the open market first. Both figure to garner their fair share of interest: Harrell may at least represent a rotation depth option, while Tolleson’s recent history as a quality late-inning arm is intriguing.

Nationals Notes: Turner, Zimmerman, Ramos, Melancon, Hernandez, Revere

By Jeff Todd | October 27, 2016 at 4:58pm CDT

Nats GM Mike Rizzo spoke with the press today about the offseason to come, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. He expressed satisfaction with the “good, steady brand of baseball” that the club displayed, while acknowledging the disappointment of failing to advance in the playoffs. Rizzo wasn’t keen to offer up much in the way of details on the team’s planning, but did provide some insight. Here are the highlights from his press conference and a few more notes on the team:

Rizzo praised his roster’s versatility, suggesting that it allows “a lot of different directions to improve our ballclub.” Trea Turner, in particular, could occupy a middle infield role or play in center — leaving the Nats free to pursue a center fielder, shortstop, or perhaps even a corner outfielder (while moving Bryce Harper to center). As Rizzo put it, Turner’s presence “allows us to build around that, meaning that it gives us more options in the marketplace to improve the ballclub.”
One thing that won’t occur is a permanent move of Turner to second base, with Daniel Murphy taking over for Ryan Zimmerman at first. “No, Zim’s our first baseman going into this offseason and spring training,” Rizzo said. The veteran struggled to a .218/.272/.370 batting line this year, by far his worst as a big leaguer, but he made plenty of hard contact (34.7%) and may have been unfortunate to carry a .248 BABIP.
The Nats have some notable free agents, of course, including catcher Wilson Ramos and closer Mark Melancon. Rizzo wouldn’t commit to a strategy on the burly backstop, whose season ended with ACL surgery. The plan is to “do all the due diligence on the medicals” before making a call on issuing Ramos a qualifying offer and deciding whether to pursue him.
As for Melancon, Rizzo offered effusive praise for his work on the mound and presence in the clubhouse. Looking ahead, though, Rizzo suggested that he isn’t locked into Melancon or the other top relief options on the market. “It’s a broad, deep reliever market this year, and Mark is one of the elite relievers in the marketplace,” he said. “In a perfect world, you’d always like to have a guy that’s done it in the most competitive situations, but that’s not always possible. We’ve got a lot of options as far as guys with plus stuff and plus makeup, and it’s a deep relief market this year. So there’s different avenues to go and different routes that are attractive to us.” One possible internal candidate for ninth-inning duties, righty Shawn Kelley, is expected to be fully healthy after leaving the team’s final game with what looked to be a concerning injury, though it seems fair to expect the organization to pursue a closer regardless.
The Nationals’ decision to ink Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez was somewhat uncharacteristic, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post explores. Washington has largely sat out the market for Cuban players, but chose to take a limited risk ($200K bonus without promising a MLB roster spot) on the 29-year-old. Hernandez was worth the risk, per VP of international ops Johnny DiPuglia, because “he’s a legit left-handed hitter who grinds at-bats” and is capable of playing center field. Depending upon how the offseason progresses, Hernandez could conceivably position himself as a depth or even a bench piece, though the team hasn’t staked much on that possibility. “We thought we’d take a chance on him,” said DiPuglia. “He’s got a profile for us. We’ll find out.”
One reason to add Hernandez? The fact that the team has an expensive decision to make on left-handed-hitting center fielder Ben Revere, who projects to earn $6.3MM in arbitration even after a dreadful campaign. Zuckerman looks at Revere’s 2016 season and the options for the Nats. From my perspective, there’s no real chance that the team will trust Revere with the regular job in center, making it hard to imagine that it will stake over $6MM on him. That’s especially true given the presence of Brian Goodwin, a former top prospect who made strides at Triple-A and showed well in his first taste of the majors.

Reds Designate John Lamb, Select Contract Of Ariel Hernandez

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2016 at 2:25pm CDT

The Reds announced today that they’ve designated left-hander John Lamb for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Ariel Hernandez. Lamb recently underwent his second back surgery in the past 10 months, giving him a chance to clear waivers.

Originally acquired from the Royals alongside Brandon Finnegan and Cody Reed (in exchange for Johnny Cueto), the 26-year-old Lamb has struggled in both of his two seasons with the Reds. Injuries have long plagued the once vaunted pitching prospect, as he also underwent Tommy John surgery as a minor leaguer. There was a time when both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus regarded Lamb as one of baseball’s top 20 prospects, but it’s now been five years since he received that distinction. In 119 2/3 innings as a Major Leaguer, all with the Reds, Lamb has a 6.17 ERA, although his 110-to-50 K/BB ratio is somewhat encouraging. Home runs have been Lamb’s primary downfall, as he’s yielded 1.65 HR/9 to this point in his big league career.

As for Hernandez, the 24-year-old Dominican righty was originally signed by the Giants but ultimately wound up pitching in independent ball in 2015 before the D-backs gave him another chance. While Hernandez posted just a 6.04 ERA in 22 1/3 innings in the Arizona system in 2015, the Reds saw something they liked and picked him up in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft and were rewarded for that show of faith. While Hernandez was old to be pitching in the Class-A Midwest League and Class-A Advanced Florida State League, the combined 2.18 ERA, 10.7 K/9 rate and 54.6 percent ground-ball rate he compiled are nonetheless impressive. Control appears to be an issue, as he did average 5.7 walks per nine innings. Scouting reports on the right-hander are scarce, though Baseball America did list him as a “rising” prospect in the Cincinnati system in July, noting that he’s still “way too wild” but possesses one of baseball’s best fastball/curveball combos and has drawn some 80 grades from scouts on both pitches (BA subscription required and recommended).

MLBTR Live Chat: 10/27/16

By Jeff Todd | October 27, 2016 at 2:05pm CDT

Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.

Christian Bethancourt To Pitch In Panama Winter League

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2016 at 1:56pm CDT

Earlier this month, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune reported that the Padres were mulling a role change for catcher Christian Bethancourt that would allow him to catch, play third base and also pitch. Today, Lin reports that Bethancourt has been up to 97 mph in while facing live hitters and is planning to pitch in the Panama Winter League as the next step in the process (Twitter links).

Bethancourt is working to develop a changeup, Lin writes, but it’s no surprise to see that his velocity is already lighting up the radar gun. As a prospect, Bethancourt was lauded for having one of the best arms in all of baseball and routinely drew an 80 grade for his arm strength (on the 20-80 scouting scale). That, of course, doesn’t mean that he’ll be able to command his fastball effectively if he does attempt to pitch in the Majors, and he’ll need at least one additional pitch in order to succeed, hence the work on the changeup.

While not all transitions of this nature are successful, Bethancourt would hardly be the first player to start his career behind the plate but end up working on the mound. Kenley Jansen is the most notable instance of that jump, but others such as Chris Hatcher, Jason Motte and Troy Percival began their careers as catchers. Of course, this type of conversion is also typically made earlier in a player’s career; Jansen’s final game as a catcher came in 2009 at the age of 22, for instance. Hatcher did catch up until the year 2010 — his age-25 season and the same age at which Bethancourt presently finds himself. That similarity notwithstanding, Hatcher caught just five games in the Majors before making a permanent move to the mound. Bethancourt, on the other hand, has already played in 153 Major League games and racked up 482 plate appearances.

There’s little in the way of recent precedent for a player being able to work as a pitcher, a catcher, an infielder and even an outfielder — the Padres put Bethancourt in the outfield 12 times this season, and he logged a combined 73 2/3 innings between the two corners — but if Bethancourt is able to pull it off with any degree of success, he’d become an enormously valuable asset for the Friars. Certainly, there’s quite a bit of work to be done on his end before that notion even approaches reality, but pitching in Panama this winter will give the club a chance to evaluate him in a game setting and determine the viability of Bethancourt serving as a mound option in the near future. Gaining experience in Panama and during Spring Training will be especially important for Bethancourt, as he’s out of minor league options and therefore can’t be sent down to further hone his skills as a pitcher in the minors.

Wilson Ramos Will Seek Four To Five Year Contract

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2016 at 1:34pm CDT

Wilson Ramos’ free agent stock took a sizable hit the moment he suffered a torn ACL on Sept. 26, but the catcher’s agent, Wil Polidor, tells Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post that Ramos still plans to seek a four- or five-year contract in free agency.

As Castillo writes, the Nationals aren’t likely to extend a qualifying offer to Ramos on the heels of his injury, and if that’s the case, his chances at securing a multi-year pact would certainly be enhanced. While some may consider the notion of a multi-year deal following Ramos’ ACL tear unrealistic, it’s also possible that there are teams that will consider this an opportunity to acquire a premium catcher at a bargain rate. Most clubs won’t want to make any type of sizable one-year commitment with Ramos potentially sidelined for a notable portion of the 2017 campaign, but the idea of offering a backloaded multi-year deal certainly has some merit. After all, prior to his knee injury, Ramos had positioned himself to target something in the vicinity of the five-year, $80-85MM deals recently signed by Brian McCann and Russell Martin. To teams interested in adding a catcher on a long-term deal, the notion of securing Ramos on a four-year deal at a lower annual rate probably holds some appeal, even if the return on investment is minimal in year one of the pact.

Of course, any long-term deal with Ramos does come with considerable risk. This is the second time that he’s torn the ACL in his right knee, and for a catcher that is listed at 6’1″ and 255 pounds, a pair of significant knee injuries to go along with his massive frame is a genuine cause for concern. Indeed, Ramos himself has already hinted at the fact that it may be beneficial for him to sign with an American League club, implying that the availability of a DH slot could be critical for him.

Polidor also tells Castillo that Ramos is set to undergo a four-week evaluation of his knee that will conclude in the second week of November, which lines up with the General Managers’ Meetings in Phoenix, Ariz. (not to be confused with December’s Winter Meetings in Washington D.C.). Upon completion of that evaluation, he’ll have a clearer timetable from his doctors. At last check, Ramos was slated for a seven-month rehab process, which would put him on target to wrap up around mid-May. Of course, that timeline also likely represents a best-case scenario, and even if Ramos achieves that ambitious goal, he’ll still need to be eased back into catching on a regular basis.

When healthy this season, Ramos was outstanding. In 523 plate appearances, the 28-year-old batted .307/.354/.496 with a career-high 22 home runs. He also caught 37 percent of opposing base-stealers — 10 percent better than the league average — and drew strong pitch-framing marks from Baseball Prospectus. Ramos ranked fifth on the final edition of MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings, although that list was published prior to his knee injury.

James Shields Will Not Exercise Opt-Out Clause

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2016 at 12:22pm CDT

White Sox right-hander James Shields will not opt out of the remaining two years of his contract, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Much like last night’s official report on Yoenis Cespedes planning to opt out of his deal, this news was widely expected, as Shields’ considerable 2016 struggles made it extremely unlikely that he’d forgo the remaining $44MM on his contract in search of a new deal.

Shields, 35 in December, was one of the marquee free agents of the 2014-15 offseason on the heels of a strong two-year run with the Royals and a four-year platform during which he averaged 233 innings of 3.17 ERA ball to go along with 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. That lengthy stretch of excellence led to a four-year, $75MM contract originally signed with the Padres. That deal afforded him the right to opt out after his first two seasons in search of a larger contract, but Shields’ decline seemingly began the moment the 2015 season opened.

While his 2015 campaign was respectable, Shields’ numbers took a hit, as he logged a 3.91 ERA with 3.6 BB/9 and 1.5 HR/9. He still managed to clear 200 innings that year, though, and he averaged well over a strikeout per inning, giving some optimism that he could rebound in 2016. Instead, Shields struggled through the worst season of his career this year, logging a 5.85 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 40.4 percent ground-ball rate in 181 2/3 innings. Each of those numbers, including his innings total, was a career-worst for Shields dating back to his first full big league season in 2007. Further complicating matters was a fastball that averaged just 90.4 mph — a continuance in his velocity’s decline and almost certainly a factor in his stunning susceptibility to home runs (1.98 HR/9).

Shields actually got off to a solid start to the season and had a 3.06 ERA as late in the year as May 25, but he was shelled for 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings on Memorial Day. That brutal outing didn’t deter the White Sox from swinging a trade to acquire Shields and a hefty amount of cash to offset some of his contract shortly thereafter. The Sox sent righty Erik Johnson (who recently underwent Tommy John surgery) and minor leaguer Fernando Tatis Jr. to the Padres in exchange for Shields and about $31MM, which covered more than half of the $58MM he was still owed at the time of the trade.

At the time, the White Sox were in first place in the American League Central thanks to a hot start but were in need of some stable innings behind Chris Sale and Jose Quintana in the rotation. Highly touted young lefty Carlos Rodon was inconsistent early in the season, and right-hander Mat Latos was released in early June when he tanked after a strong start to the year. However, Shields was unable to function even as an innings eater in his new environs. He did have a nice seven-start stretch from late June through late July (2.11 ERA in 47 innings), but his overall work with the South Siders resulted in a 6.77 ERA in 114 1/3 innings.

The $31MM that the Padres included to facilitate the deal makes the White Sox’ remaining commitment to Shields a bit easier to stomach, as they’ll pay him $10MM in each of the next two seasons and will also be on the hook for the $2MM buyout of his 2019 option. While that’s certainly not an enviable financial obligation, it shouldn’t be entirely ruled out that Shields can rebound to at least eat up innings at the back of the Chicago rotation. The Sox aren’t paying him like the front-line pitcher he once was and don’t need him to perform as such, either, given the presence of Sale, Quintana and a seemingly improving Rodon ahead of Shields in starting mix. While it certainly seems likely that the Sox will shop Shields’ contract around this winter, it goes without saying that he’s a difficult piece to move, so the team’s best bet may simply be to hope for a better performance in 2017. If he can return to even his 2015 level of performance, he’d justify the $10MM that the Sox have committed to him in each of the next two seasons. If, however, 2017 brings more of the same, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Shields cut loose entirely.

Trey Hillman Leaving Astros To Manage Korea’s SK Wyverns

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2016 at 9:56am CDT

The SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization announced yesterday that they’ve hired Astros bench coach Trey Hillman as their new manager (via Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News). Hillman signed a two-year contract that’ll pay him $1.6MM, per Yoo’s report, which also notes that Hillman will become just the second foreign-born manager to serve in the KBO in the league’s 34-year history. His departure will leave the Astros looking for a new bench coach for manager A.J. Hinch, though Houston has yet to issue a comment on the news.

Hillman served as the manager of the Royals from 2008-10, compiling a 152-207 record before being ousted for Ned Yost, who remains the Kansas City skipper to this day. In addition to his time with the Royals, Hillman spent five years managing in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and has more than a decade of managerial experience in the minor leagues. He’s also served as the Rangers’ director of player development (in 2002), the Dodgers’ bench coach (2011-13) and spent two years as a scout with the Indians early in his career.

There were previously reports circulating in the Korean media that the Wyverns were eyeing a foreign manager to bring a new style of play to the club, and they were at one point rumored to have interest (link in Korean) in former White Sox and Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillen. Hillman’s experience managing and coaching in multiple countries should bring the shakeup the Wyverns were seeking, though, as the team looks to improve upon its 69-75 standing from this past season.

Of course, Hillman will be joining a team that could lose its best pitcher, left-hander Gwang-hyun Kim, to international free agency this winter. With more than nine full seasons of pro ball under his belt in the KBO, Kim can test free agency and negotiate with Major League teams without needing to go through the posting process. The Padres won exclusive negotiation rights with Kim two years ago when they bid $2MM for his services, but the two sides were unable to reach a deal. This past season, he posted a 3.80 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9, and he has turned in three straight years with a sub-4.00 ERA in the hitter-friendly KBO.

Red Sox Notes: Hazen, Sawdaye, Rodriguez, Travis

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2016 at 8:57am CDT

Red Sox president Sam Kennedy spoke to MassLive.com’s Jen McCaffrey about the team’s loss of executives Mike Hazen and Amiel Sawdaye, who signed on the become the new general manager and senior vice president/assistant general manager of the D-backs, respectively, last week. Kennedy acknowledged that both are big losses to the organization but doesn’t feel that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s leadership style had anything to do with their exit from the organization. “I think the opportunities that have come up are a real credit to the Boston Red Sox,” Kennedy told McCaffrey. “The Arizona Diamondbacks had a need at general manager and the top baseball operations job was open and they contacted us right away because they know the Red Sox have talented folks.”

Kennedy went on to discuss the decision not to name a new GM, noting that the GM title and president of baseball ops title can be interchangeable, and the most important element is to have one person accountable for baseball operations, which for the Red Sox, is Dombrowski. As McCaffrey notes, both Hazen and Sawdaye were integral parts of the Sox’ player development efforts, with Sawdaye overseeing the 2011 draft that netted Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Blake Swihart, Matt Barnes, Travis Shaw and Henry Owens.

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