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Quick Hits: Martinez, Spangenberg, Ethier

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There has been little information available today about Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez, who at last check underwent an MRI for a foot sprain. Now MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that Martinez will undergo a stress CT scan in Charlotte on Friday. Martinez rolled his ankle, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes, while making a catch against the Marlins on Saturday. He underwent initial tests later in the weekend, but the Tigers have not yet released them. X-rays have indicated he didn’t break any bones, but ligament damage is a possibility. Obviously, a significant injury would be a big blow to the Tigers’ offense. Martinez batted .307/.373/.535 with 22 homers in 517 plate appearances last season. Here’s more from around the league.

  • The Padres are aiming to get 2B/3B Cory Spangenberg time in the outfield, writes MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Spangenberg missed most of the 2016 season due to a quad injury, and as he works his way back onto the Padres’ roster, the team wants him to become more versatile. Outfielders Alex Dickerson, Manuel Margot and Collin Cowgill are hurt, potentially creating opportunities for Spangenberg. The team would also like to get his left-handed bat into the lineup against righties.
  • Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has a stiff back and will have an MRI today, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. Ethier himself does not seem particularly worried about the situation and says the team simply wants more information so that it knows how to treat him, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Nonetheless, Ethier has already missed time due to back and hip issues this spring, and he collected just 26 plate appearances last season thanks to a broken tibia.

Braves Release John Danks

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3:27pm: The Braves have officially announced the move.

2:20pm: MLBTR has learned that veteran lefty John Danks asked for and will be granted his release by the Braves. Danks is willing to sign elsewhere, but is not interested in pitching in the minors.

Danks reached a minor-league deal with Atlanta in December, then allowed seven runs while striking out seven and walking six over 9 2/3 innings of spring work. Even before those disappointing performances, Danks seemed unlikely to crack a Braves rotation that will feature Julio Teheran, Bartolo Colon, Jaime Garcia, R.A. Dickey and Mike Foltynewicz. The 31-year-old Danks pitched with the White Sox early in the 2016 season but did not pitch for another team after being released in May.

Danks has pitched over 1,500 innings and won 79 games over parts of ten seasons in the big leagues, all of them with the White Sox, and he stood out as a rotation workhorse from 2008 through 2011. He has, however, had a rough go since shoulder problems that resulted in surgery in 2012 — in the last five seasons, he has a 4.92 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 while dealing with an average fastball velocity that’s gradually slipped from 91.6 MPH to 87.1 MPH last year. He made $65MM over those five seasons thanks to a long-term deal he signed prior to the 2012 season, although that contract expired last fall.

Rotation Notes: Royals, Cardinals, Padres

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The Royals have named Nate Karns their fifth starter, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes (Twitter links). That means veterans Travis Wood and Chris Young will pitch out of the bullpen. Karns joins a rotation that also includes Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel and Jason Vargas. Karns, who arrived in a winter trade for Jarrod Dyson, posted a 5.15 ERA and 4.3 BB/9 with the Mariners last year, but with a reasonably promising 9.6 K/9 over 94 1/3 innings. The potential to compete for a rotation spot was a key reason Wood agreed to a two-year, $12MM deal with the Royals over the offseason, but it appears he’ll instead pitch in relief, a role in which he had success as a member of the Cubs in both 2015 and 2016. Here’s more on rotations throughout the game.

  • Manager Mike Matheny confirms that Michael Wacha will serve as the Cardinals’ fifth starter, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Wacha appeared to have the inside track on the job after the team lost top prospect Alex Reyes to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Joining Wacha in the rotation will be Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright, Mike Leake and Lance Lynn. The loss of Reyes and the injury situations of a number of pitchers (including Wacha, Tyler Lyons and Marco Gonzales) leave the Cardinals with somewhat depleted depth. Lynn, who is pitching without restrictions as he returns from his own Tommy John surgery, says he’s aiming to reliably make his starts and accumulate innings. “If you set yourself below that, why take the ball?” he says.
  • The Padres face a different problem as they attempt to assemble their 2017 rotation, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes. Veterans Jhoulys Chacin, Jered Weaver and Clayton Richard have nailed down rotation spots, leaving two open. Of the five remaining starters competing, though, three (Jarred Cosart, Christian Friedrich and Paul Clemens) are out of options, limiting the club’s flexibility. One or two of those pitchers could head to the bullpen (although sending two potential starters to the bullpen would create a different set of roster questions), and Friedrich, who’s dealing with arm soreness, could be placed on the DL. Still, it’s possible the Padres could end up with a starting pitcher or two on the waiver wire as the season opens. Luis Perdomo, meanwhile, led the Padres in innings pitched last year, but he’s eligible to be optioned, so he might head to Triple-A El Paso.

Baseball Research Job Opening

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From time to time, as a service to our readers, MLB Trade Rumors will post job opportunities of possible interest that are brought to our attention. MLBTR has no affiliation with the hiring entity, no role in the hiring process, and no financial interest in the posting of this opportunity.

We are a well-known sports entity hiring an analyst in our MLB research group. You will be working in an office-based setting with other members of a research staff and will be responsible for handling a variety of statistical and other informational needs. The ideal candidate is a recent college graduate with a genuine interest in a career in the baseball industry. This position is located in Southern California (relocation not provided).

Minimum qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university (or sufficient relevant experience)

Preferred qualifications
• Prior baseball or team sports experience
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint/Keynote

If interested, please reply to the following email address by Monday, April 3, 2017: baseballresume@gmail.com

In the subject line of the email, please put “Research Position”.

The body of your email should first contain your resume, appropriately formatted. In addition to the traditional resume information, please be sure to include any details about athletic experience or ability to speak a second language.

Below your resume, please put 1) your full contact information, 2) how you obtained this listing, and 3) your minimum annual salary requirement. The salary requirement needs to be a specific dollar figure. Applications without that information will not be considered.

No cover letters or attachments. Responses with attachments will be discarded.

If not local, candidates must be able to find transportation to Southern California for an interview.

Thanks for your interest!

 

East Notes: Yankees, Braves, Velazquez

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GM Brian Cashman says the Yankees are unlikely to trade for a rotation upgrade like Jose Quintana at this point, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. “I’m expecting we will go with what we got,” Cashman says. After Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia, the favorites for the last two rotation jobs appear to be Luis Severino and Bryan Mitchell, with Adam Warren Luis Cessa, Chad Green and perhaps rookie Jordan Montgomery in the mix as well. King notes that if Montgomery does make the team after spending much of 2016 at the Double-A level, he’s likely to pitch in long relief rather than starting. It perhaps isn’t surprising that the Yankees aren’t planning on trading for a high-profile starter like Quintana — while Quintana would be under team control for up to four years, making him a long-term asset, acquiring him would likely require the Yankees to part with a decent chunk of the young talent they’ve accumulated in recent trades. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • If the Braves attempt to add to their bench, they will likely do so via the trade route, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. One possibility is that they could trade one out-of-options player for another, he adds. (Braves players who are out of options include Kevin Chapman, Chase d’Arnaud, Ian Krol, Jose Ramirez and Chaz Roe.) The Braves had previously been connected to outfielder Angel Pagan, although there’s reportedly nothing happening on that front at the moment. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted in his recap of the Braves’ offseason, the team’s projected bench appears to be somewhat thin on hitting talent, with d’Arnaud potentially joining Jace Peterson, Emilio Bonifacio and a catcher in the Braves’ stash of reserves.
  • Righty Hector Velazquez, whose contract the Red Sox recently purchased for $30K from the Mexican League, has struggled thus far in Spring Training. But the Red Sox are holding off on fully evaluating him, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com writes. Between the Mexican League, the Mexican Pacific Winter League, and the Caribbean Series, Velazquez has made 46 starts and pitched 246 1/3 innings over the past year. During that time, he whiffed 242 batters while walking just 39. The Red Sox identified him as a possible target during the regular season, then sent their scouts to see him during the Caribbean Series. Red Sox exec Allard Baird cites Velazquez’s athleticism and relative youth (he’s 28) as traits they liked. (It doesn’t appear his velocity was overly impressive: “[H]e’s going to be a guy that has to command his pitches, not just control them but command them, and utilize his secondary stuff probably backwards at some point,” says Baird.) Due to his prior workload, he likely won’t be a factor in the early going, despite the Red Sox’ immediate need for starting pitching depth. He could, however, enter the big-league picture as the season progresses.

Offseason In Review: Chicago Cubs

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Check out all the published entries in our Offseason in Review series here.

Fresh off their first World Championship since 1908, the Cubs acquired a top-shelf closer and spent modestly in free agency.

Major League Signings

Trades And Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • Pedro Strop, RP: Two years, $11.85MM.  Replaced one-year, $5.5MM arbitration deal for 2017.  Includes $6.25MM club option for 2019 with a $500K buyout.

Notable Losses

Cubs Roster; Cubs Payroll Information

Needs Addressed

An MLB front office never rests.  Before the buzz wore off from the Cubs’ epic World Series parade, Theo Epstein and company met with starting pitcher Jason Hammel regarding his 2017 club option, according to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago.  Earlier this month, Hammel explained to reporters, “I love how people were saying it was a choice, because it really wasn’t.  It was either basically pitch out of the bullpen or not have a job.”  Hammel told the Cubs to cut him loose, and the team set off searching for rotation depth to complement Mike Montgomery.

It appeared the Cubs’ top priority was Tyson Ross, the 29-year-old righty who was non-tendered by the Padres in December.  Ross’ lost 2016 culminated in thoracic outlet surgery in mid-October, and the arbitration system would have required the Padres to pay him $7.68MM or more this year.  The Cubs ended up finishing second for Ross, who received a $6MM guarantee from the Rangers in mid-January.

Enter Plan B: 29-year-old southpaw Brett Anderson.  The oft-injured lefty had finally returned to the 30-start milestone with the 2015 Dodgers, and accepted that club’s $15.8MM qualifying offer for 2016.  Things quickly went sour for him, as Anderson was diagnosed with a bulging disk in his back that required surgery in March.  Anderson made his 2016 Dodgers debut on August 14th, but then dealt with a wrist sprain and a blister.  Unlike Ross, Anderson is at least MLB-ready at this moment.  Whether he makes five or 25 starts for the Cubs this year, the Cubs haven’t risked much.  Manager Joe Maddon has indicated Montgomery and Anderson may share the fifth starter job, or the team could occasionally go to a six-man rotation.

Soon after the Anderson signing, the Cubs added two more depth pieces in Eddie Butler and Alec Mills.  Both had been designated for assignment by their former teams and have an option remaining, meaning they’ll likely open the season at Triple-A Iowa.  Butler remains somewhat intriguing, as outlined by Eno Sarris of FanGraphs.

The bottom line: with a returning rotation of Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and John Lackey, the Cubs did not feel the need to go big for their self-created rotation vacancy.  They expressed no reported interest in free agents such as Rich Hill, Ivan Nova, or Charlie Morton, and seemingly were not involved in trade talks for Taijuan Walker, Drew Smyly, Dan Straily, or Jose De Leon.  The assumption is that Chris Sale wasn’t a consideration, given the White Sox’ likely reluctance to send their ace across town.

Feb 21, 2017; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Jon Jay poses for a portrait during photo day at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Cubs also took a measured approach toward center field.  Even with the luxury tax threshold in sight, the Cubs could have afforded to re-sign Dexter Fowler at the $82.5MM he ultimately received from the Cardinals.  But this is a disciplined front office, one that didn’t seem interested in giving Fowler a three-year deal during his previous free agency.  So, gone is the two or three-win player Fowler might be this year, replaced by incumbent Albert Almora and free agent signing Jon Jay (pictured).  The Cubs struck quickly to add Jay, a 32-year-old veteran who can hit for average and play an acceptable center field.  Jay will serve as a safety net for Almora, who turns 23 in April and was drafted sixth overall by the Cubs in 2012.  Baseball America describes Almora as “a potential Gold Glove winner in center.”  If he can show a tolerable bat at the bottom of the Cubs’ order, Almora will have the center field job for years.  Rather than give Fowler a risky long-term deal, the Cubs elected to accept a short-term downgrade and increased risk with center field for 2017.

You may be sensing a trend toward conservatism in the Cubs’ offseason.  Indeed, all four free agents they signed received one-year deals.  During the summer, Epstein and company actually did mortgage a piece of the team’s future, sending potential star infielder Gleyber Torres to the Yankees to rent flamethrowing reliever Aroldis Chapman.

Feb 21, 2017; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Wade Davis poses for a portrait during photo day at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Shortly after the Cubs became World Champions, though, prudence set in.  Record-shattering five-year deals for Chapman or Kenley Jansen didn’t interest the Cubs, who instead made a Winter Meetings deal to acquire Wade Davis (pictured) from the Royals for Jorge Soler.  The deal carries its own kind of risk, just not financial.  In Soler, the Cubs traded away four years of control of a 25-year-old with a potential All-Star bat.  However, Soler had no role in the Cubs’ crowded outfield, hadn’t impressed much in his 765 plate appearances with the team, and had battled injuries throughout his tenure.  His loss has little effect on the 2017 club.  Davis, who the Cubs control for just one year, was among the game’s best relievers from 2014-15.  However, he missed 52 days in 2016 with elbow problems.  The Cubs have said they feel confident about Davis’ health.

The Cubs also added Koji Uehara, who turns 42 in April.  Uehara is about as dominant as a reliever can be with an 87-MPH fastball, though he is an extreme flyball pitcher.  Like Davis, he’s an obvious health risk.  There’s a good chance the Cubs’ bullpen depth will be tested this year, with righties Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, Carl Edwards Jr., and Justin Grimm expected to have roles.  Strop, who has a 2.65 ERA over the last three years with the Cubs, signed a team-friendly extension that added only $6.35MM in guaranteed money.

The Cubs entered the offseason without much left-handed relief depth.  After reportedly showing interest in top free agent lefty Brett Cecil in November, the club settled on Brian Duensing as their lone Major League signing for this vacancy.  Duensing, 34, spent the first two months of the 2016 season in Triple-A and later missed over two months to elbow surgery.  His effectiveness against lefties has come and gone over the last few seasons.  The Cubs added more lefty relief depth with Rule 5er Caleb Smith, but he’s barely pitched above Double-A and is a long shot to stick in a Major League bullpen all year.  Montgomery may eventually be needed to shore up the Cubs’ left-handed relief, if Anderson is able to handle the fifth starter job.

More analysis after the break …Read more

Red Sox Still Looking To Acquire Starting Pitching Depth

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Manager John Farrell says the Red Sox have been and continue to be trying to acquire starting pitching depth, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. The Red Sox are dealing with injuries to starters David Price and Drew Pomeranz.

“That’s ongoing,” says Farrell of the Red Sox’ efforts to find pitching. “Our efforts haven’t picked up just because of recent developments. It’s always been there.”

Price is dealing with an elbow strain and will meet with a team physician tomorrow. Pomeranz’s velocity is not up to his usual standards as he returns from a triceps injury, and the Red Sox pulled him from his start for precautionary reasons yesterday.

Farrell echoes earlier comments from Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who said that the Red Sox had difficulty luring depth starters during the offseason because their rotation was perceived to be well stocked. One depth veteran, Kyle Kendrick, will start for the Red Sox today and could be important to their short-term plans. Kendrick has not appeared in the big leagues since 2015, when he was with the Rockies, although he’s fared well so far this spring. Farrell also names Henry Owens and Brian Johnson as healthy pitchers who could potentially help if they could be more consistent.

Should the Red Sox acquire a starter from outside, the current list of free agents includes Jake Peavy (who is dealing with personal issues), Doug Fister, Colby Lewis, Edwin Jackson and Jerome Williams. Other players currently in camp on non-roster invites could soon become available if they don’t make the rosters of their current teams. The Red Sox could, of course, also look to make a trade, perhaps near the end of camp as teams finalize their rosters.

AL East Notes: Thornburg, Donaldson, Travis, Boxberger

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Reliever Tyler Thornburg tops the Red Sox’ list of concerns as the 2017 season approaches, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Thornburg has dealt with dead arm for most of Spring Training so far. The Red Sox gave up a fairly hefty package of talent that included infielder Travis Shaw and prospect Mauricio Dubon to get Thornburg, but so far Thornburg’s Red Sox tenure is off to a rough start — he misinterpreted the Red Sox’ prescribed offseason training regimen, according to Cafardo, and now will probably have to start the season on the disabled list. The Red Sox might end up missing longtime late-inning reliever Koji Uehara, who they allowed to depart for the Cubs. Cafardo notes that Thornburg could join a list of Red Sox relief trade acquisitions who disappointed due to injury, including Carson Smith, Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey — although, of course, Hanrahan and Bailey weren’t acquired under the Red Sox’ current front office, and it’s way, way too early to write Thornburg off. Thornburg pitched an apparently successful bullpen session on Saturday. Here’s more from the AL East.

  • Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson makes his Spring Training debut today playing DH against Minnesota, John Lott of the Athletic tweets. Donaldson suffered a calf injury near the start of Spring Training and has been out the past month. Donaldson’s return isn’t the only bit of good news for the Jays. Second baseman Devon Travis, who has missed time after having offseason knee surgery, also appears to be returning to health — Lott tweets that Travis expects to make his official spring debut later this week.
  • One player whose injury prognosis isn’t so sunny is Rays reliever Brad Boxberger, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes (all Twitter links). Manager Kevin Cash says Boxberger’s lat injury isn’t improving as quickly as the team had anticipated, and that he’s unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Boxberger struggled with an oblique injury during a poor 2016 season in which he posted a 4.81 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in just 24 1/3 innings. His absence could create an opportunity for recent waiver claim Jumbo Diaz, who’s about to return to the Rays after pitching in the World Baseball Classic, according to Topkin.

Rays Extend Kevin Kiermaier

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The Rays announced at a press conference on Monday that they’ve signed center fielder Kevin Kiermaier to a six-year extension that would pay the defensive star a guaranteed $53.5MM. Kiermaier is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.

Kevin KiermaierThe deal would begin with the 2017 season, meaning it would replace the $2.975MM salary to which Kiermaier agreed when avoiding arbitration as a Super Two player earlier this offseason. The center fielder receives a $1MM signing bonus, a $3MM salary in 2017 and then salaries of $5.5MM in 2018, $8MM in 2019, $10MM in 2020, $11.5MM in 2021, and $12MM in 2022.  The Rays have a $13MM club option (with a $2.5MM buyout) on Kiermaier for 2023, though that figure can rise due to performance escalators. With the option and the escalators, he deal would max out at $66.15MM.

The contract, then, buys out all four of Kiermaier’s potential arbitration years in addition to a pair of would-be free agent campaigns. The six-year guaranteed term runs through his age-32 season, while the option year would cover his age-33 season. By taking the deal, Kiermaier is effectively trading in his chance at a massive free-agent deal, though he’s doing so in exchange for a significant up-front guarantee that tops recent comparables in his service class.

Kiermaier, who will turn 27 in April, is regarded as one of the best, if not the best defensive player in all of Major League Baseball, regardless of position. Over the past two seasons, his 44 Defensive Runs Saved are the highest among any Major League player, and he’s also pacing all of baseball with an Ultimate Zone Rating of +42.3 runs. Unsurprisingly, he won a Gold Glove in each of those two years.

In addition to his superlative glovework, Kiermaier has produced at a slightly above-average clip at the plate. He’s reached double-digit home run and stolen base totals in each of the past twos years, topping out at 12 long balls and 21 steals in 2016. Overall, in 1314 plate appearances since making his big league debut, the former 31st-round pick has turned in a .258/.313/.425 batting line that checks in at five percent better than the league-average hitter, per context neutral stats like OPS+ and wRC+.

Kiermaier had come up as a mostly speculative trade candidate at various points in the offseason, but the news of a long-term deal all but eliminates the possibility that he’ll be moved at any time in the near future. While the team’s corner outfield scenario is far less clear — Colby Rasmus, Steven Souza, Corey Dickerson and Nick Franklin all figure to be in the mix — Kiermaier now joins franchise icon Evan Longoria and ace Chris Archer as a cornerstone for years to come. Outside of that talented trio, the Rays don’t have a single player on a guaranteed contract beyond the 2018 campaign, so even with this new deal and a perennially modest payroll, the Rays will be able to supplement the roster with additional pieces to whatever extent ownership allows.

Taking a step back, the extension for Kiermaier proved to be considerably more costly for the Rays than recent extensions for center fielders with two-plus years of big league service. Ender Inciarte, who was also a Super Two player, inked a five-year deal worth $30.525MM this offseason, while Odubel Herrera inked a virtually identical five-year, $30.5MM deal with the Phillies. (Herrera, unlike Inciarte and Kiermaier, was not a Super Two player.) Of course, while Inciarte is a very strong defender himself and Herrera has been a superior bat to this point in his career, neither of those players has matched Kiermaier’s defensive accolades.

To that end, Kiermaier’s deal serves to further exemplify the premium that’s being placed on defense on a league-wide basis. It was five years ago that Cameron Maybin, then considered a premium defender in center field, signed for half this amount, while a more established offensive center fielder, Andrew McCutchen, inked an exceptionally similar pact to the one Kiermaier will land.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was first to report the deal was close, and also reported many of its specifics. ESPN’s Jim Bowden reported that a deal was in place, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was first to report the amount of the guarantee.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Hernandez, Anderson, Mariners

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Red Sox infielder Marco Hernandez has hit very well this spring but has no obvious role with the team, so he could be traded, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. The 24-year-old Hernandez has batted .405/.488/.730 in Spring Training, but he has little chance of breaking camp with the team because he’s a lefty hitter, like utilityman Brock Holt, and the team prefers a righty. Hernandez, who the Red Sox acquired prior to the 2015 season as a PTBNL in the Felix Doubront deal, batted .309/.343/.444 in Triple-A and .294/.357/.373 in 56 plate appearances while shuttling back and forth between the minors and Majors last year. “[T]his is an everyday player if you really start to break him down and look at what he’s capable of doing,” says manager John Farrell. “Yet he’s in a group that’s talented, that’s deep, so finding his place is ongoing.” Here’s more from the American League.

  • Former slugger and current vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson is a source of tension within the Orioles organization, writes FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in a detailed feature that’s revealing about the ways players and coaches think about the roles of team front office members. Anderson’s duties with the club include coaching, working on the team’s strength and conditioning program and helping determine player transactions, meaning he has influence in a number of seemingly disparate areas. He’s also close with owner Peter Angelos. Former pitching coach Dave Wallace cites Anderson’s “total autonomy and really no accountability” as a problem for the Orioles, and both Wallace and former bullpen coach Dom Chiti (who are both now with the Braves) cite Anderson’s presence as reasons they left the organization. Former catcher Matt Wieters also describes Anderson’s blurring of the boundaries between executive and coach as an issue for the club. “Brady was a great player for a long time. He was a member of that clubhouse,” says Wieters. “At the same time, when you get into the season, the 25 guys in that clubhouse are who you want in that clubhouse.”
  • The Mariners are no strangers to analytics, but they also value old-school approaches to player evaluation, MLB.com’s Doug Miller writes. Manager Scott Servais, for example, highlights veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz’s work this spring with pitchers, including 23-year-old Max Povse, who spent the 2016 season at the Class A+ and Double-A levels but has thrived so far in camp. “Max Povse comes out after four innings [thinking], ’Jeez, I never had to shake off a pitch tonight. Never had to think about it,'” says Servais. “You can’t measure it, but it’s there and it’s really important to a winning team.”

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