Archives for January 2017

Poll: Rangers’ First Base/DH Situation

By Connor Byrne | January 29, 2017 at 2:41pm CDT

Nearly two months have passed since the Rangers lost longtime primary first baseman Mitch Moreland, who signed a cheap deal with the Red Sox in early December. Moreland was never particularly spectacular as a member of the Rangers, with whom he batted .254/.315/.438 in 2,762 plate appearances from 2010-16, but the three-time 20-home run hitter’s departure has left the club without an established option at first.

[RELATED: Rangers Depth Chart]

Led by general manager Jon Daniels, the Rangers have been on the hunt for a first base/designated hitter type to help replace Moreland and Carlos Beltran, who signed with AL West rival Houston one day before Moreland went to Boston. Texas hasn’t reeled in anyone yet, though, largely because it hasn’t been willing to make multiyear commitments in free agency. The Rangers have signed three players – Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner and Carlos Gomez – to major league deals this offseason, and all received one-year contracts.

Texas, which would like to at least partially fix its first base/DH issues by signing yet another player to a single-year pact, has targeted two-time Ranger Mike Napoli. Having hit .239/.335/.465 with 34 home runs as an Indian last season, Napoli would be a capable replacement for Moreland. The 35-year-old has not been amenable to the Rangers’ one-year offer, however, and they don’t seem open to locking him up through 2018.

Fellow free agent slugger Chris Carter has also drawn the Rangers’ attention after co-leading the National League with 41 home runs in 2016. Carter’s blend of power and patience is enticing, but his low-contact, high-strikeout ways and negative defensive and baserunning value led the Brewers to non-tender him in December. Those flaws have also prevented him from landing anywhere else since. As is the case with Napoli, the Rangers are open to adding Carter, but only for one year (on an incentive-laden accord, no less).

With Brandon Moss now off the market, Pedro Alvarez is arguably the second- or third-best free agent first baseman/DH remaining (depending on your opinion of Carter). To this point, though, the Rangers haven’t been connected to him or other unsigned options like Mark Reynolds, Adam Lind, Logan Morrison or Ryan Howard.

If Texas doesn’t pick up a free agent to potentially slide in at first/DH, they could let in-house options sink or swim to at least begin the season. The Rangers have added multiple brand names – first baseman James Loney and former superstar outfielder Josh Hamilton – on minor league deals this month. The contact-oriented Loney didn’t hit with either the Rays or Mets during the past two seasons, which led to a dismal minus-1.5 fWAR over 744 plate appearances. Hamilton has no first base experience, meanwhile, and has played in only 50 games since 2015 (none last season) while dealing with major injury issues. Thus, the Rangers would be hard pressed to expect much from him or Loney in 2017. The same applies to Ryan Rua, a lifetime .255/.308/.404 hitter across 464 PAs.

Other than those three, the Rangers possess a pair of 23-year-olds, Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo, who used to be elite prospects and who could play significant roles during the upcoming season. The switch-hitting Profar is the front-runner to start the campaign at first for the Rangers, but his production (.235/.311/.341 in 648 PAs) hasn’t come close to matching the hype he garnered in his prospect days. The lefty-swinging Gallo could begin in the minors, and even if he doesn’t, his prodigious power comes with worrisome swing-and-miss tendencies. Gallo has struck out in just under 50 percent of his 153 trips to the plate in the majors, which would be less alarming if not for the lofty strikeout rates he has also posted in the minors.

As evidenced above, the Rangers have a high quantity of choices to fill two lineup spots, but there isn’t a single one who’s a good bet to succeed at the big league level in 2017. On the other hand, the track records of Napoli and Carter suggest they’ll fare well offensively next season, but will one of them (or another free agent) end up in Texas? Or will the reigning American League West champions go forward with what they have and perhaps reevaluate during the season?

(Poll link for Trade Rumors App users)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Mariners, Astros, Twins, White Sox

By Connor Byrne | January 29, 2017 at 11:15am CDT

While Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger wasn’t the headliner in the November trade that saw him go from Arizona to Seattle, the M’s have high hopes for the 26-year-old, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. A 2012 first-round pick and former Brewers prospect, Haniger hit a below-average .229/.309/.404 in the first 129 plate appearances of his major league career last season, though his video game-like .341/.428/.670 line in 312 Triple-A PAs wowed Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto. “By the numbers, (Haniger) was able to show that he was the best offensive player (last year) in the minor leagues at any level,” said Dipoto. “He’s also a right-handed batter, and we acquired him for that reason. Mitch is also the one that brings with him a skill set that includes power, and he’s got on-base ability.” Dipoto expects Haniger to serve as the Mariners’ everyday right fielder this year, which would leave Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia to fight for a reserve role.

5 Key Stories: 1/21/17 – 1/28/17

By Connor Byrne | January 29, 2017 at 9:20am CDT

The biggest stories on MLBTR from the past week:

Tragedy strikes baseball: Last Sunday was a horrific day for the sport, as Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura and former major leaguer Andy Marte died in separate car crashes in the Dominican Republic. Ventura became the second active big leaguer to pass away since September, when then-Marlins ace Jose Fernandez lost his life in a boating accident. At 25, Ventura was already an established major league starter and a World Series champion. Marte wasn’t as successful as Ventura stateside, but he did emerge as a star with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization over the previous two seasons. He was 33.

The Dodgers find a second baseman: Los Angeles’ monthslong search for help at the keystone finally ended with the addition of Logan Forsythe, whom they acquired from the Rays on Monday. The Dodgers gave up high-end pitching prospect Jose De Leon in a one-for-one swap, which came after they attempted to send the right-hander to the Twins for Brian Dozier.

More name-brand free agents come off the board: It nearly took until February, but infielder Luis Valbuena, reliever Greg Holland and left-hander Brett Anderson finally landed major league deals this week. Valbuena signed a two-year pact featuring $15MM in guarantees with the Angels, whom he played against regularly from 2015-16 as a member of the AL West rival Astros. Valbuena was primarily a third baseman in Houston, but he’ll see plenty of action at first base in Anaheim. Holland, who was a lights-out closer with the Royals before undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2015, joined the Rockies on an incentive-laden accord that contains a vesting option for 2018. Anderson, whom injury issues weighed down in 2016 as a member of the Dodgers, signed on with another National League superpower – the reigning World Series champion Cubs. His contract is also heavy on incentives.

Decision coming soon on Cardinals-Astros hacking scandal: New details in ex-Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa’s hacking of the Astros’ computer systems came to the fore Saturday. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is amid a lengthy investigation of the Cardinals, but that could end as early as the upcoming week in light of the publicly released information concerning Correa’s transgressions. The Cards, who fired Correa in 2015, could face some type of punishment for his actions. Correa has been paying a particularly heavy price since last July, when he received a 46-month prison sentence and was hit with a $279K fine.

Mets prepared to entire 2017 with Jay Bruce on their roster: The Mets are loaded with starting-caliber corner outfielders – Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto and Bruce – and that’s likely to remain the case when the season begins. General manager Sandy Alderson has tried to unload Bruce this offseason, but those attempts have gone for naught. As a result, the team informed Bruce that he’ll open the season as its right fielder. While the Mets could have cut the cord on Bruce in November, their decision to exercise his $13MM option came amid uncertainty surrounding Cespedes, who was unsigned at the time.

MLBTR Originals

By Connor Byrne | January 29, 2017 at 8:11am CDT

The past week’s original content from the MLB Trade Rumors staff:

MLBTR lost contributor Burke Badenhop, who took a job with the Diamondbacks. The former major league reliever wrote several interesting and insightful pieces for MLBTR dating back to last summer, all of which can be found here. We’re sorry to see Burke go, but we know he’ll do excellent work with the D-backs.
Longtime minor league left-hander Ryan Dennick debuted with an outstanding piece explaining what it was like to receive a major league call-up. That promotion came courtesy of the Reds in 2014.
After Jose Bautista, Mark Trumbo, Michael Saunders and Neftali Feliz signed new contracts, Charlie Wilmoth updated the top 10 free agents remaining on the board. The list, which is based on the Top 50 that Tim Dierkes assembled entering the winter, lost another member when reliever Greg Holland officially signed with the Rockies on Saturday. Right-hander Jason Hammel is the highest-ranked free agent left.

Quick Hits: Manship, Rays, Miller, Dodgers, Puig

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2017 at 10:56pm CDT

Given that he posted a combined 2.07 ERA from 2015-16, right-handed reliever Jeff Manship’s decision to sign in Korea last week came as a surprise. However, Manship told Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer it was a “no-brainer” to head to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he’ll play for the NC Dinos.

“From what I had heard, a couple of the teams were only interested in minor league deals with spring training invites, and then a couple others were interested on a major league deal, it’s just nothing had happened yet,” said Manship, whom the Indians non-tendered last month.

Manship will make more in Korea than he did from 2009-16 in the majors, Lindbergh writes in a fascinating, highly recommended piece. As Lindbergh points out, Manship’s unappealing advanced statistics overshadowed the superb run prevention he displayed over the past couple seasons, thus leading to tepid MLB interest. In 2016, for instance, his FIP (5.11) was nearly two full runs worse than his ERA (3.12).

“I understand how they calculate [FIP], but sometimes I think at the end of the season … where people are still saying ‘Oh, well his ERA should have been this,’ but it wasn’t that, it was this …there are certain things that I kind of disagree with,” said Manship. “But at the same time, I do realize a lot of those advanced stats actually are great indicators.”

It also didn’t help Manship’s cause this offseason that he doesn’t throw particularly hard, but the Dinos are happy to welcome him. Team analyst Seonnam Lim and scout Steve Park had been eyeing Manship, 32, since his time as a Triple-A starter.

“When we first saw Jeff, we were not at a position where we could even discuss nor dream about scouting him, but Asian teams nowadays tend to pay much bigger money to foreign players, especially during this winter,” commented Lim.

Now for the latest on a couple of Manship’s former major league colleagues:

After trading second baseman Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers earlier this week, the Rays are poised to shift Brad Miller from first base to the keystone, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 27-year-old actually has only slightly less big league experience at second than he does at first (37 games versus 39), and moving him will enable the Rays to take advantage of the glut of acceptable first base options left on the open market, notes Topkin.
Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig’s demotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City last season “was not a good experience,” he told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Puig acknowledged that he was at fault for it, though, per Plunkett (Twitter links). As Puig looks to rebound in 2017, the 26-year-old has “leaned out” and “is in a great state of mind right now,” manager Dave Roberts informed Doug Padilla of ESPN.com.

West Notes: Athletics, Gray, Padres, Weaver, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2017 at 9:45pm CDT

Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray endured an injury-plagued 2016 in which his production declined sharply, thereby hurting his trade value. Gray isn’t far removed from an ace-like stretch from 2013-15, though, and a rebound this year would increase the likelihood of the A’s trading him during the season, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. While general manager David Forst would like Gray to spend the next decade in an A’s uniform, the two sides haven’t engaged in any extension talks, reports Slusser (Twitter links). Gray, 28, is controllable via arbitration through the 2019 campaign and will make $3.58MM this season.

Latest On Cardinals-Astros Hacking Scandal

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2017 at 8:09pm CDT

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in October that the league was nearing the end of its investigation into the improper accessing of the Astros’ computer systems by the Cardinals, but no decision has come in the nearly four months since then. It appears that’s about to change. The league could impose sanctions on the Cardinals sometime soon – perhaps as early as the upcoming week – report Dave Barron and Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle.

MLB is nearing a decision thanks to U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes’ choice to unseal details concerning ex-Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa’s hacking of the Astros’ email and player evaluation systems beginning in 2012. Correa, whom the Cardinals fired in 2015 and who was sentenced to a 46-month prison sentence and ordered to pay $279K in July, breached the Astros’ proprietary computer network, “Ground Control,” 48 times and accessed the accounts of five Houston employees, per court documents.

Correa had unlimited access to the email account of Astros director of decision sciences Sig Mejdal, who previously worked with Correa in St. Louis and was “one of Correa’s rivals,” wrote prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney Michael Chu in one document. Hacking Mejdal’s email enabled Correa to know “what projects the Astros’ analytics department was researching, what concepts were promising and what ideas to avoid,” per Chu.

Among many other transgressions which Barron and Kaplan detail in a piece that’s definitely worth a full read, Correa used Houston general manager (and former Cardinals employee) Jeff Luhnow’s password to break into the Astros’ system. Correa also studied the Luhnow-led Astros’ trade notes “at least 14 times” leading up to the non-waiver deadline in 2013, according to Chu, who wrote that Correa “was keenly focused on information that coincided with the work he was doing for the Cardinals” and was gaining “invaluable” information from analytics-minded Houston. The Astros went through a “humiliating episode” when their trade notes were leaked to the public in 2015 and had to privately apologize to the majors’ other teams, notes Chu, who believes Correa was behind the leak.

Although the Cardinals fired Correa amid their own investigation into his violations, they could nonetheless face some form of punishment. Manfred lamented in the fall that the league hadn’t gotten enough help from the U.S. attorney’s office, though it appears the newly released information will hasten a decision from MLB.

East Notes: Orioles, Tillman, Braves, Yankees, Severino

By Connor Byrne and Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2017 at 7:22pm CDT

The Orioles opened contract extension talks with right-hander Chris Tillman’s agent in December, though Tillman stated earlier this month that he hadn’t heard anything about a potential new deal. The 28-year-old again touched on his future Saturday, implying that the Orioles won’t have a large window to extend him if they make an earnest attempt. Tillman doesn’t expect contract discussions to begin until spring training, and he’d prefer not to engage in any once the season starts, he informed Rich Dubroff of PressBoxonline.com (Twitter link). In what could be his last year as an Oriole, Tillman is slated to rake in $10.05MM.

More from Baltimore and two other East Coast cities:

One of Tillman’s teammates, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, said Saturday he wants “more speed” and “more athleticism” in the team’s outfield (via Paul Folkemer of BaltimoreBaseball.com). General manager Dan Duquette, meanwhile, acknowledged that “the outfield defense is an area where the club can improve” and talked up Rule 5 picks Aneury Tavarez and Anthony Santander as potential solutions. The Orioles had the worst defensive outfield in the majors by measure of both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating last year, but – Rule 5 choices aside – they haven’t done much to improve in that area. Seth Smith, who’s not exactly a defensive ace, has been the team’s only prominent outfield acquisition from outside, while it also brought back the bat-first Mark Trumbo. Jones spoke on the pair, saying, “They’re very good athletes, but they’re not top of the line defensive players first.”
Kris Medlen, a two-time Tommy John recipient and the newest member of the Braves organization, may have retired if not for a biomechanics instructor helping to reinvigorate the 31-year-old, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Medlen, who missed all of 2014 and ’15 and then threw just 24 1/3 frames with the Royals last season, will attempt to reestablish himself in Atlanta, where he produced terrific results from 2009-13. “We’re all excited about being part of the Braves’ family again,” said Medlen, who lives in Atlanta with his family.
The Yankees’ young pitching depth is lacking a clear-cut potential ace, scouts tell Bleacher Report’s Danny Knobler, though there’s still a lot of promising talent in the system. “There are not a lot of givens with their guys. They could end up with the best pitching on the planet, or they could have problems,” one NL scout said. Justus Sheffield, acquired as part of the Andrew Miller trade last summer, may be the most intriguing of the bunch. “A lot of people love [Sheffield]….When teams talk to the Yankees about trades, he’s the one they ask for,” an NL executive said.
Righty Luis Severino is among the Yankees’ highest-upside pitchers, but the 22-year-old disappointed as a starter last season after a promising showing in 2015. Severino laid out why he posted a 8.50 ERA across 11 major league starts in 2016, telling Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media that he had release point issues with his fastball, changeup and slider. With the help of both Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild and the legendary Pedro Martinez, Severino has worked to fix those problems this offseason. “I’m doing very well,” Severino said. “I’ve been throwing my bullpen and my changeup is way better than last year. My fastball location is better, too. So hopefully in spring training it’ll be good.” Severino also “dropped like 10 pounds” at the insistence of the Yankees, who will continue to use him as a starter – whether in the bigs or the Triple-A level to begin 2017 – despite a superb 23 1/3-inning run as a reliever last year. Although Severino logged a pristine 0.39 ERA and held batters to a laughable .105/.209/.158 line out of the bullpen, he’d rather start. “(Brian Cashman) knows I’m going to be a good starter,” he said. “I’m happy with that. I want to start. That’s my goal.”

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: ChiSox, Jays, Brewers, Dodgers, Angels, Cards

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2017 at 6:31pm CDT

This week in baseball blogs…

Outside Pitch MLB interviews White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier.
BP Toronto argues that the Blue Jays should extend third baseman Josh Donaldson.
Big Three Sports explains how one at-bat could affect the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year picture.
Camden Depot studies which pitchers have the most effective curveballs.
The First Out At Third regards Brewers outfielder Domingo Santana as a breakout candidate.
Chin Music Baseball applauds the work the Angels have done this offseason.
Ladodgerreport is bullish on the Dodgers’ acquisition of ex-Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe.
The Redbird Daily contends that Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha would be better suited to come out of the bullpen than start.
Mets Daddy wonders how much third baseman David Wright will contribute going forward.
The Point of Pittsburgh searches for bargain free agents for the Pirates.
Call To The Pen evaluates designated hitter options for the Rangers.
The K Zone shares a recent interview with Phillies righty Zach Eflin.
Underthought (first in a two-part series) looks back on Bill James’ top 100 first baseman rankings of all-time, which were last updated in 2001, and tries to figure out which recent players would be worthy of inclusion on a new list.
Pirates Breakdown ponders Bucs righty Tyler Glasnow’s future.
MLB451 speaks with Angels bench coach Dino Ebel.
Notes From the Sally previews this year’s Greensboro Grasshoppers, who are the Marlins’ South Atlantic League affiliate.
MLB Reports suggests the Red Sox try to extend newly acquired ace Chris Sale.
Jays From the Couch asks if Toronto should trade outfielder Melvin Upton Jr.
Call To The Pen ranks the American League Central.
The Runner Sports writes about the five biggest stories facing the Yankees’ pitchers and catchers in advance of spring training.
The 3rd Man In talks with Texas A&M righty Corbin Martin, one of the top prospects in this year’s draft class.
Extra Innings: Baseball Around the World calls attention to former major league infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen’s decision to come out of retirement to join the Italian Baseball League.
Real McCoy Minor News chats with Cubs minor league infielder Kevin Cornelius.
Jays Journal checks in on the open market for relievers Toronto could pursue.
Pinstriped Prospects profiles Yankees righty Chad Green.
Call To The Pen is optimistic about this year’s Phillies.
The Runner Sports assesses three non-roster invitees’ chances of earning spots with the Astros in camp.
Rotisserie Duck focuses on prospects who could impact fantasy baseball this year.

Please send submissions to ZachBBWI @gmail.com.

Nationals, Vance Worley Agree To Minor League Deal

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2017 at 5:21pm CDT

The Nationals have announced an agreement with free agent right-hander Vance Worley on a minor league contract. The deal, which features an invitation to spring training, comes with a $1MM major league salary and up to $1.65MM more in incentives, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. Worley is a client of Wasserman Media Group.

[Updated Nationals Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Worley spent last season in nearby Baltimore, where the swingman tossed 86 2/3 innings in 35 appearances (four starts) and logged a 3.53 ERA. Worley’s run prevention success came despite underwhelming strikeout and walk rates of 5.82 and 3.63, respectively, per nine innings. The Orioles elected in December to non-tender Worley, for whom MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected a $3.3MM arbitration award.

While the Orioles weren’t interested in handing Worley a raise over his $2.6MM salary from last season, they did want him back in the fold at a lesser rate. In fact, general manager Dan Duquette revealed earlier Saturday that the O’s had made Worley a contract offer.

Worley will instead head back to the National League, where he began his career as a member of the Phillies from 2010-12. After a year with the Twins, he returned to the NL and pitched for the Pirates from 2014-15. The soft-tossing journeyman has never been a strikeout artist (6.76 K/9), though he has managed to post respectable walk and ground-ball rates (2.87 BB/9, 45.7 percent) en route to a career 3.75 ERA across 595 1/3 major league innings.

In Washington, Worley will join a team with an enviable starting rotation consisting of reigning NL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Roark, Gio Gonzalez and Joe Ross. Strasburg and Ross each dealt with serious injury issues last season, though, and the Nationals weakened their starting depth earlier this offseason in trading Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the White Sox for outfielder Adam Eaton. Worley could factor into the Nats’ rotation at some point next season, then. Otherwise, barring injuries during the spring, he’s likely to vie for a bullpen role in camp.

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