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Latest On Marlins’ Ownership Transition

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Even as would-be Marlins owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter begin digging into operational details, the prospective ownership team is still working to finalize the deal reached with current owner Jeffrey Loria in early August. Things still seem to be on course, though the process is far from over.

Indeed, the league intends to take a close look at the arrangement, Charlie Gasparino and Brian Schwartz of FOX Business write, peeking into the pocketbooks of the proposed investor group members and assessing the deal’s structure (in particular, it’s mix of debt and equity). MLB is hoping to ensure that the new ownership group is equipped to engineer a turnaround for a cash-strapped organization.

That effort could take “months” to resolve, per the report. MLB does hope to wrap things up by the time the World Series ends, though. That’s an important time marker, since the offseason kicks into gear immediately thereafter.

That process is already underway. Sherman has already met with MLB owners. Jeter will have his turn to do so within the week, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, as he will present his ideas for running the club to the ownership committee that will assess the deal.

There are no shortage of questions facing the Marlins this winter; the club has had its moments, but still sits five games under .500 and lacks a clear path to contention in 2018. Superstar Giancarlo Stanton and other core players could — some would say should — be dangled in trade over the coming offseason.

Needless to say, Sherman and Jeter will have quite a lot to tackle in assessing the ballclub and implementing a plan. Even if the approval process goes smoothly, there likely won’t be much of a grace period before the new ownership group begins making tough decisions — including, but not limited to, player transactions.

In order to hit the ground running, the owners-to-be have begun assessing the club’s operations. As Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes, Sherman and Jeter met earlier this week with “various department heads” within the organization, including but not limited to baseball operations. Those sit-downs will presumably help the incoming duo sort out a strategy for revamping the organization once the deal is finalized.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Buehler, Delmonico, McCullers

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • CHICAGO WHITE SOX | Depth Chart
    • Activated from DL: INF/OF Nicky Delmonico
      • Delmonico played LF and batted 5th in Wednesday’s game.

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

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NOTABLE REHAB ASSIGNMENTS

*Rehab start date listed in parentheses.

NL Central Notes: Nicasio, Baez, Cards’ Outfield

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The National League Central division race is the only one in baseball with at least three teams within five games of first place. As we watch to see how things shake out down the stretch, here’s the latest:

  • There are a few more details available on the strange circumstances that led to the Cardinals acquiring reliever Juan Nicasio from the Phillies earlier today– but without the ability to utilize him in the postseason. A team other than the Cards won the claim for Nicasio when the Pirates put him on trade waivers in August (only to pull him back when no deal was reached), per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Rather, it may actually have been yet another NL Central rival — the Cubs — that had the highest-priority claim on Nicasio last month, per Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — which would mean the Cards bypassed a shot at adding him at that time. In any event, St. Louis did place a successful claim this time around, when the Phillies ran him through trade waivers after acquiring him via outright waivers on the last day of August, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets.
  • Javier Baez’s elevated play in the place of the injured Addison Russell has been a boon for the Cubs, writes ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. Manager Joe Maddon feels that Baez’s status as a part-time player earlier in his career has been to his benefit. “If he had [played 30 games in a row] two years ago, he would have buried himself,” the skipper tells Rogers. “…I don’t think he would have made the same adjustments at the plate. You would have seen a lot more mistakes on defense. … You would not have seen the same baserunning.” Since taking over as the starting shortstop, Baez is hitting .292/.350/.522 with seven homers — albeit with a 28% strikeout rate (par for the course for the free-swinger) and a .366 BABIP (which isn’t entirely sustainable). Eventually, Chicago will have to sort out playing time for both Russell and Baez, though that likely falls into the “good problem to have” category for the Cubs.
  • Looking further out into the future for the Cardinals, the team faces a potentially interesting slate of questions — and possibilities — involving its outfield in the coming offseason. As Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, picking and choosing between the many existing options carries plenty of risk, but also perhaps could open some intriguing avenues to shoring up other needs. “The question is balancing future projection on performance relative to playing time,” says president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. “Clearly you’ve seen some exciting things from really everybody involved. But at some point we’re going to have to decide who we think our top three outfielders are.” While players such as Harrison Bader, Jose Martinez, and Magneuris Sierra don’t have much experience, all occupy 40-man spots and are arguably ready for a full shot at the majors. Tyler O’Neill is pushing for his own opportunity and will need to be added to the MLB roster. With high-priced free agent Dexter Fowler and breakout star Tommy Pham seemingly unlikely to go anywhere, that could leave the Cards considering deals involving still-youthful, former top prospects Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty.

AL Notes: Astros, Salazar, Profar, Travis

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The Astros have reallocated resources away from traditional scouting roles to newer methods of assessing talent, most notably eliminating eight positions recently. It’s a move that could signal yet another stage of development in the now-ensconced analytical revolution, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic explores in detail through conversations with numerous key industry figures (subscription required and recommended). Houston is one of a few teams drawing back on the live-game player analysis of pro scouting. That said, per Rosenthal, other clubs have increased their staff sizes, making for a multitude of approaches around the game. The piece is essential reading for baseball fans.

Here are some more notes from the American League:

  • Danny Salazar’s first start upon returning from the disabled list lasted just two-third of an inning and put his spot in the Indians’ postseason rotation in question, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Trevor Bauer, like staff aces Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, is pitching well right now, Hoynes observes, and right-handers Mike Clevinger and Josh Tomlin have also been throwing better (should a fourth starter be needed). Hoynes wonders if the Indians could again use Salazar as a bullpen piece in the playoffs, noting that the righty did at least display strong velocity in his otherwise ugly outing.
  • With the Rangers foregoing an opportunity to bring up Jurickson Profar this month, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News examines how the one-time uber prospect fell entirely out of the club’s plans. If Texas can’t even find a use for him with expanded rosters, it only stands to reason that the team will elect to move on over the winter — even if that means taking far less in return than once would have seemed reasonable. As Grant notes, that’s particularly true given that Profar will be out of options. Surely some other team will offer something to take a shot on a player who is still just 24 years of age and won’t command much of a raise on his $1.05MM arbitration salary. Notably, too, given his minimal MLB time this year — and the Rangers’ decision not to activate him in September — Profar will be controllable through arbitration for three more seasons.
  • While Devon Travis has mostly been excellent for the Blue Jays when healthy, he has also appeared in only 213 games over the past three years while dealing with a variety of injuries. That has led to some suggestions that he might be best off moving off of second base to the outfield, though GM Ross Atkins (via MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, on Twitter) doesn’t sound wholly convinced of the idea. Atkins suggested some openness, but emphasized that it could be explored “more in the context of versatility” rather than that of improving durability. The GM made clear that he thinks Travis is most valuable as the team’s everyday second baseman and also stressed that there’s no real “research” showing that shifting onto the grass would really help keep Travis on the field.

Dodgers Designate Fabio Castillo

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The Dodgers have designated righty Fabio Castillo for assignment, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. A 40-man roster spot was needed for the team’s activation of top pitching prospect Walker Buehler.

Castillo, 28, earned his first trip to the majors this year, though he made only two appearances over the weekend. He has spent most of the season pitching in the upper minors, working to a 4.04 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 91 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/6/17

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves:

  • The Mariners have outrighted utilityman Shawn O’Malley to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He had previously been designated for assignment. As Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune notes on Twitter, that’s more or less a formality at this stage of the year, as O’Malley will be able to enter the open market at year’s end as a minor-league free agent. Of course, he’ll still be on hand if a need arises over the next three weeks. O’Malley, 29, has not appeared in the majors this year but did see 89 games of action for Seattle in 2016. The former fifth-round draft pick hit just .229/.299/.319 in his 232 plate appearances last year, though, and then missed a big chunk of time earlier this season owing to an appendectomy and shoulder problems. O’Malley has hit just .205/.250/282 in twenty games of action at Triple-A in the current campaign.
  • Also outrighted, per the Padres, was righty Kevin Quackenbush. He had entered the season on track to qualify for arbitration at season’s end, but only appeared in twenty contests while struggling to a 7.86 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9. Quackenbush is still just 28 and has had far more productive stints in the majors in the recent past. He also managed a 3.90 ERA in his 27 2/3 Triple-A frames. While his outlook with the Pads remains cloudy, then, he could receive a shot at earning a bullpen spot — in San Diego or elsewhere — in Spring Training next year.

Billy Hamilton Diagnosed With Fractured Thumb

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The Reds announced that center fielder Billy Hamilton sustained a fractured left thumb in today’s game and is expected to be placed on the 10-day disabled list. That puts the remainder of the season in jeopardy for Hamilton, though manager Bryan Price told reporters that the injury does not necessarily end the fleet-footed Hamilton’s season (Twitter link via Adam Baum of the Cincinnati Enquirer).

Hamilton initially sustained the injury on a bunt attempt in the first inning. He exited the game and headed straight for an MRI, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweeted at the time.

[Related: Cincinnati Reds depth chart]

The 26-year-old Hamilton has seen his offensive production take a step backwards after hitting .293 with a .369 on-base percentage in the second half of the 2016 season. Thus far in 2017, he’s matched his career-high of 58 stolen bases but has done so with a sub-par .248/.299/.333 batting line through an even 600 plate appearances. That said, Hamilton’s baserunning continues to be regarded as the best in the Majors, per Fangraphs’ BsR metric, and his glovework in center field remains considerably above average as well.

With Hamilton on the shelf, the Reds can turn to Jose Peraza and Phillip Ervin in center field. Cincinnati has also played Scott Schebler in center field on occasion in 2017, so they could slide him over for a day or two as a means of getting prospect Jesse Winker some additional at-bats once Winker returns from the disabled list. Sheldon wrote earlier today that Winker was nearing a return from a strained hip flexor.

Looking ahead, Hamilton remains the odds-on favorite to hold down regular duties in center field next year yet again. Despite his lagging bat, his baserunning and glovework make him a useful player. Plus, the lack of power has held down his arbitration earnings. Hamilton took down just $2.625MM this year and can be controlled for two more seasons to come. That said, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Cincinnati began considering alternatives as soon as this winter.

Cardinals Acquire Juan Nicasio

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The Phillies announced that they have traded right-hander Juan Nicasio to the Cardinals in exchange for minor league infielder Eliezer Alvarez. Philadelphia had recently claimed Nicasio off outright waivers from the Pirates. Nicasio will give the Cardinals’ bullpen a boost, though since he’s been acquired after Aug. 31, he won’t be eligible for the postseason roster if St. Louis qualifies. Nicasio is a free agent after the season.

Juan Nicasio | Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsNicasio’s time with the Phillies will last all of a week, bringing to a close one of the more puzzling sequences in recent August trade history. The Pirates were unable to pass Nicasio through revocable trade waivers last month, ultimately pulling him back off waivers and placing him on outright waivers and instead losing him to the Phillies, who had top waiver priority, for nothing other than salary relief that amounted to roughly $600K.

The move was confusing enough that Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington felt the need to explain the team’s rationale to the media. Per Huntington, Nicasio was claimed by a “playoff-caliber” team on trade waivers — it’s not clear if that Cardinals were that club, though it’d make sense — and the Bucs opted to place him on outright waivers in hopes of getting him to an AL contender rather than helping a “direct competitor.” (Trade waivers are league-specific, whereas outright waiver priority ignores league and is solely determined in reverse order of MLB standings.)

Nicasio will ultimately end up with a direct competitor of the Pirates anyhow, though he won’t be able to pitch in the postseason. Moreover, the Phillies will make out extremely well in this deal, as Alvarez entered the season ranked 10th on Baseball America’s list of the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects. He currently ranks 19th among St. Louis farmhands in the eyes of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. In essence, the Phillies were able to claim a Cardinals prospect off waivers, which ultimately cost them about $138K in terms of salary (the pro-rated portion of Nicasio’s week-long tenure with the team).

For the Cardinals, Nicasio immediately becomes one of their best relievers. Through 61 1/3 innings, Nicasio has averaged 8.95 K/9, 2.64 BB/9 and a 46.9 percent ground-ball rate en route to an excellent 2.79 ERA. The 31-year-old has averaged a career-best 95.4 mph on his heater in 2017 and is sporting a 10.7 percent swinging-strike rate that would rank third among current St. Louis relievers (not including the injured Trevor Rosenthal, who led the team’s bullpen in that regard).

Alvarez, 23 next month, has spent the season with St. Louis’ Double-A affiliate, hitting .247/.321/.382 with four homers and eight steals (in 11 tries). Those numbers don’t immediately stand out, though it’s worth noting that Alvarez skipped Class-A Advanced entirely and was considerably younger than the league average in Double-A.

Callis and Mayo note in their free scouting report that Alvarez has a line-drive approach with a knack for making hard contact and could eventually grow into more power. He’s an above-average runner and could profile as a regular at second base down the line if everything breaks right for him. Alvarez was added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster last winter to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so he’ll go onto the Phillies’ 40-man roster and fill the spot that was vacated by trading Nicasio.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Will Venable Retires, Joins Cubs’ Front Office

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The Cubs announced on Wednesday that former Major League outfielder Will Venable has been hired as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer. The team’s press release also notes that Venable has now formally retired from his playing career.

According to the release, Venable will “contribute to all elements” of the Cubs’ baseball operations department. More specifically, his duties will include visiting the team’s minor league affiliates to work with players both on and off the field as well as assisting in the evaluation of amateur talent leading up to the MLB draft in June.

“I’m extremely grateful Jed and Theo have given me the opportunity to learn from them and all of the great people in the Cubs organization,” said Venable in an accompanying statement. “As my playing days have come to an end, I look forward to exploring new ways to have a positive impact on the game. I am excited to be part of the Cubs family and their amazing tradition.”

Venable, 35 next month, will see his career officially come to a close after parts of nine seasons in the Major Leagues. Through 3,146 plate appearances, the Princeton University grad batted .249/.315/.404 with 81 homers, 118 doubles, 39 triples and 135 steals. Venable saw time at all three outfield spots in the Majors and drew positive grades at each in terms of Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. His best year came in 2013, when he hit .268/.312/.484 (126 OPS+) with 22 homers and 22 steals for the Padres.

In the end, Baseball-Reference pegged his career at 12.9 wins above replacement, while Fangraphs was slightly more bullish at 13.7. Between his contractual salaries and his signing bonus out of the draft as a seventh-rounder, Venable earned more than $14MM as a player. We at MLBTR wish the best of luck to Will in his new career path.

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