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Archives for December 2017

Mets, Sandy Alderson Agree To New Contract

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The Mets announced that general manager Sandy Alderson has signed an extension of undisclosed length with the team. “I’m excited that Sandy will continue to lead the organization,” Mets COO Jeff Wilpon says in a press release announcing the extension. Previous reports had indicated that Alderson was likely to sign agree to a new two-year deal following the expiration of his previous contract, which ran through the end of 2017.

“I feel that we have some unfinished business,” says Alderson. “Spring Training is around the corner and our quest to return to the postseason will continue.”

The 70-year-old Alderson is entering his eighth season as general manager of the Mets, having been first appointed to the post as the successor to Omar Minaya after the conclusion of the 2010 campaign. Alderson’s Mets have posted winning records in just two of his seven years at the front office’s helm, though one of those positive seasons was a 90-win effort that saw the Mets advance to the World Series against the Royals in 2015. The Mets advanced to the postseason the following year as well, though quickly ousted by the Giants in the National League Wild Card game.

While Alderson takes his fair share of flak from the Mets’ faithful — some of it deserved — an extension has been rumored to be in the works for awhile now, and he’s made plenty of quality moves to better position the team for success. Alderson was in the GM’s chair when the Mets traded half a season of Carlos Beltran for then-prospect Zack Wheeler, and he opted trade R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays in a package that netted Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud rather than extend Dickey on the heels of his NL Cy Young victory. Alderson was also the top decision-maker when the Mets traded for and twice re-signed Yoenis Cespedes. Other, lower-profile moves such as opting to keep Lucas Duda over Ike Davis when the Mets had a pair of young, MLB-ready first base options also proved shrewd.

Of course, like any top-level baseball executive, Alderson has had his share of misses in his tenure. Allowing Daniel Murphy to walk and sign with the division-rival Nationals stands out perhaps chief among some missteps for the organization, and the 2017 season in general devolved into somewhat of a circus due to rampant injury issues and poor communication (both with the media and, reportedly, internally as well). Among the most eye-opening issues was the fact that Syndergaard reportedly declined a request to undergo an MRI just days before pitching and ultimately being diagnosed with a partially torn lat muscle.

The Mets are oft-criticized by the New York media for their failures to spend like a large-market powerhouse, though much of that is out of Alderson’s hands. Newsday’s Marc Carig, for instance, recently reported that Alderson and his front office often had to enter the offseason “flying blind,” with little to no information from ownership as to the level at which they’ll be able to spend. The Wilpons drew plenty of criticism over the summer amid the Mets’ medical turmoils, with ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reporting back in May that Jeff Wilpon “meddles” to a considerably greater extent than most owners.

It remains to be seen exactly how long Alderson will remain at the helm, though Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reported back in October that assistant GM John Ricco could be in line to succeed Alderson, whether that happens at the conclusion of the 2019 season or further down the line.

Infield Rumors: Machado, Donaldson, Franco, Frazier, Alonso

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Indications are that the market for Orioles third baseman Manny Machado could wrap up soon, and team president of baseball operations Dan Duquette seemingly confirmed that is indeed the case. The organization does not intend to “focus on that much more after tomorrow,” Duquette told reporters including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). There’s no indication that the injury to Zach Britton will change the club’s plans, though it stands to reason that it could add at least some impetus to the possibility of a trade.

More notes on the third-base market…

  • Meanwhile, the Cardinals perhaps have some cause to believe the Blue Jays are willing to consider moving star third baseman Josh Donaldson, per Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He suggests there’s some indication from the Jays side that the team isn’t dead-set against a move if it brought back MLB pieces as well as prospect value. To an extent, the Toronto organization has something of the opposite problem that the Cards do: the former needs multiple assets while the latter is loaded with solid players but would like a few premium pieces. Dave Cameron of Fangraphs had posited this sort of scenario a few weeks back.
  • While the above-noted third baggers have drawn most of the attention this winter, another — Maikel Franco of the Phillies — has also been chatted about here and there. At present, though, there’s no indication that the Philadelphia front office is willing to give up Franco’s upside when his value has ebbed; indeed, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets that a rival executive has been left with the impression the Phils won’t sell low on the talented youngster.
  • Though Todd Frazier has played primarily third base in his career, Crasnick also tweets that Frazier has expressed a willingness to move around the diamond in an effort to increase his market. Frazier has experience at first base in the Majors, and Crasnick notes that he’s willing to play some corner outfield as well. Frazier did log nearly 1000 minor league innings at shortstop, though, and there have been previous reports that some clubs believe Frazier can be an occasional option at second base as well. Though Frazier doesn’t have much big league experience elsewhere on the diamond, he’s been long been a plus defender at third base (+26 DRS and +26.1 UZR over the past five seasons combined).
  • The Indians are looking at a variety of possibilities now that Carlos Santana has moved on. Per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, via Twitter, the club has reached out to free agent Yonder Alonso, who’s one of a few open-market names that has now been linked to Cleveland. The club could yet pursue a rather wide variety of players given the flexibility of some of its internal pieces. It still appears wise to expect that achieving value — rather than just targeting specific players — will be the driving force given the club’s payroll constraints.

Dodgers Sign Tom Koehler

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Dec. 20: The Dodgers formally announced the signing of Koehler today. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the righty will earn $2MM and can earn incentives based on games started and relief appearances. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale adds that Koehler would earn $1.25MM for starting 25 games and $500K for making 60 total appearances.

Dec. 15: The Dodgers have agreed to a one-year deal with righty Tom Koehler, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter). Financial details are not yet known. Koehler is represented by Pro Agents, Inc.

Koehler, 31, was non-tendered by the Blue Jays after the 2017 season. He had been projected to earn a hefty $6MM via arbitration. Koehler remains eligible to be tendered arbitration after the 2018 season.

Given the salary, that decision came as little surprise. But it’s also not hard to see why the reigning National League champs have made a move to bring in the veteranr right-hander.

While he struggled badly in the first half of the 2017 season, Koehler rebounded upon going to the Jays, where he moved into the bullpen and increasingly favored his curve over his slider. Over 17 frames, Koehler allowed five earned runs on 16 hits and six walks while recording 18 strikeouts.

Though it seems clear the Dodgers will use Koehler out of the bullpen, it doesn’t hurt that he comes with a long track record as a starter. Through 749 2/3 career innings working out of the rotation, Koehler carries a 4.44 ERA. In addition to multi-inning capacity, he has also generally proven to be effective against opposite-handed batters. While lefties knocked Koehler around in 2017, he actually carries slight reverse platoon splits for his career.

Mutual Interest Between Giants, Jay Bruce

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After adding Evan Longoria, the Giants are eyeing a move for outfielder Jay Bruce, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). That longstanding connection remains realistic in part because the move for Longoria does not significantly alter the team’s competitive balance tax considerations. The inclusion of Denard Span took care of that consideration and also opened a hole for a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder.

The 30-year-old Bruce would represent a big upgrade in terms of power, as he swatted 36 home runs in 2017, though he has also been in terms of on-base percentage and defensive ratings in recent years. It’s not clear whether San Francisco will be willing to guarantee Bruce four years, per Olney.

Meanwhile, Bruce’s agent, Matt Sosnick, tells KNBR 680’s Gary Radnich and Larry Krueger that his client is trying for a four-year pact and would “be thrilled” to end up in the Giants organization. Sosnick adds that the Astros and Giants were Bruce’s “top two” landing spots, but the Astros have made clear that there’s simply no fit in their organization at present. Sosnick says Bruce has been fielding offers but plans to see “how it shakes out with the Giants” before making any final decision on where to sign. That said, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that there’s no indication the sides are close to a deal at present.

What’s clear, though, is that the Giants organization views the Longoria acquisition as the first of multiple steps in its offseason plan. President Brian Sabean and GM Bobby Evans held a conference call with reporters today (link via KNBR’s Kerry Crowley), voicing a focus on bolstering their lineup — specifically by adding a more well-rounded replacement for Span.

“Our focus in addressing our outfield and our lineup, that remains an important part of our offseason,” said Evans. “It’s a work in progress, there’s no destination for us to speak to right now, we need to wait and see how things play out.”

Sabean, meanwhile, suggested that the Giants now “…hope to add accordingly and we hope it will be as significant of a move as this one.” That the Giants have their eyes on bolstering an offense that ranked last in the Majors with an 83 wRC+ last season and batted just .249/.309/.380 on the season as a whole is hardly a surprise, though their avenues for improvement are a bit more limited now that Longoria is slotted in at the hot corner.

Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik and Brandon Belt figure to round out the infield, with Buster Posey behind the dish and Hunter Pence’s bloated $18MM commitment occupying a corner outfield spot. Certainly, the Giants have room to add at least one outfielder to the mix, with center field standing out as a particularly thin area in terms of MLB-ready options to step into the fray. Bruce wouldn’t fit that bill, though the organization has also been linked to Billy Hamilton in trade rumblings and, speculatively, could pursue a similarly cost-effective/defensive-minded center field option if signing a corner bat is the preferred route.

Nationals To Sign Tommy Milone

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3:03pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that Milone would earn a $1.2MM base salary in the Majors, and his contract contains another $1MM worth of performance incentives.

8:18am: The Nationals have struck a minor-league deal with lefty Tommy Milone, according to reports. It seems the first mention came from this Twitter account, with SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link) and the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes (Twitter link) confirming the signing.

Milone, who’ll turn 30 in February, returns to the organization where he got his start. He memorably swatted a home run in his debut with the Nats and seemed slated to compete for a rotation spot the following spring. Instead, Milone was included as part of the package that brought back Gio Gonzalez from the Athletics.

Since that time, the soft-tossing southpaw has thrown over 700 innings in six MLB seasons. He spent a few years as a steady, if unspectacular, starter with the Athletics and Twins. More recently, though, Milone has bounced around and struggled at the major-league level. Over the last two seasons, he has pitched to a 6.50 ERA over 117 2/3 innings.

Milone will join a group of pitchers hoping to find a spot in the pecking order in D.C. Unless there’s an injury or the Nationals fail to add a fifth starter, Milone will enter camp with little more than an outside shot at making the MLB roster as a long man. But if he shows well, Milone could be among the first men up if a need arises.

Braves Acquire Preston Tucker, Designate Luke Jackson

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The Braves have acquired outfielder Preston Tucker from the Astros, per an announcement from the Atlanta organization. Cash or a player to be named will go back in return. To open 40-man space, the Braves designated righty Luke Jackson.

Tucker is an interesting addition for a Braves organization that recently shed regular corner outfielder Matt Kemp. The young, left-handed-hitting Tucker is a possible platoon piece. He might pair with Lane Adams, for instance, if the organization decides it’d prefer to keep top prospect Ronald Acuna at Triple-A to open the season.

It’s certainly possible that Tucker could still turn into a valuable big league asset. The 27-year-old slashed .250/.333/.465 with 24 long balls in 569 Triple-A plate appearances in 2017. He has also shown an ability to hit the ball out of the yard in the majors, having popped 13 long balls in 323 plate appearances in 2015, though he also managed only a .297 OBP in that run, struggled badly in the ensuing season and has not seen the bigs since.

As for Jackson, the writing was likely on the wall as the Braves began committing 40-man spots to other relievers over the winter. The 26-year-old has a big fastball and managed a decent 10.2% swinging-strike rate in 2017, but managed only 5.9 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 along with 4.62 ERA over 50 2/3 innings in his first extended MLB action.

Marlins To Sign Jacob Turner

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The Marlins have agreed to a contract with righty Jacob Turner, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Details of the pact are not yet apparent.

Now 26, Turner spent parts of three seasons with the Marlins earlier in his career. The former top prospect was acquired in the swap that sent Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to the Tigers.

Things never went quite as hoped for Turner, who turned in twenty starts of 3.74 ERA ball in 2013 but without the peripherals to match. He struggled badly in 2014 and ended up heading to the Cubs in a DFA-limbo swap that kicked off something of a journeyman existence of late.

Most recently, Turner stepped into a swingman role for the Nationals. In 39 MLB frames in the 2017 season, he worked to a 5.08 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. Though he averaged a career-high 95.6 mph on his four-seamer while spending most of his time in the bullpen, Turner generated only a 6.0% swinging-strike rate.

It’s conceivable that Turner will compete for a rotation or bullpen spot in Miami. The Marlins are obviously on the hunt for affordable pitching as they oversee a payroll-paring effort this winter.

Zach Britton To Undergo Surgery For Ruptured Achilles

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10:16am: Britton will undergo surgery tomorrow, per Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com (via Twitter). The hope is the nature of the injury will allow for a somewhat shorter-than-typical recovery time, as Ghiroli tweets.

9:37am: In a stroke of terrible luck for lefty Zach Britton and the Orioles, the closer has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during offseason workouts, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (links to Twitter). Britton is expected to be sidelined for at least four to six months — a more precise expectation will only be known after surgery — so it seems the best-case scenario will be a return over the summer.

As Rosenthal notes, there are several layers of misery to unpack here. Most immediately, Britton was preparing and hoping for a healthy 2018 campaign after dealing with arm issues in the just-completed season. Instead, he’ll need to rehabilitate this unexpected injury — which is to his right Achilles, per MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli (via Twitter) — before building back up into pitching form.

MLBTR projected that Britton would command $12.2MM in his final trip through the arbitration process. While it’s too late for the O’s to pull back their decision to tender him a contract, the club could end up releasing Britton to avoid paying him the full contract value. So long as he’s released before the 16th day of Spring Training, the O’s can avoid all but thirty days worth of salary.

Of course, the lost cash is only a small part of the problem here from the team’s perspective. Baltimore has toyed with the idea of trading Britton ever since last summer, when the club nearly did just that. The idea was to cash in the former ace closer to address other needs — namely, a still-glaring dearth of starters. Of course, the club was also reluctant to part with a pitcher that had been one of the game’s most dominant relievers in 2015 and 2016.

Instead of making that tough call, the O’s will seemingly be left with nothing to show for their final season of control over Britton. Perhaps it’s still conceivable the organization will retain him and hope he’s able to return late in the year, though that’d mean dedicating cash that could instead go to filling out the rotation. And it’s somewhat hard to imagine a scenario where Britton returns in time to turn into a trade chip, so there’s not really any downside protection if his recovery is slowed.

At this point, then, making the best of the situation for the Orioles could mean pursuing some kind of multi-year arrangement with Britton. The southpaw is still reasonably young — he’s just days away from his 30th birthday — so can still hope to find a major free agent payday in the future. And if he goes onto the open market, he’d likely be looking at a two-year rehab deal anyway (such as those signed recently by Drew Smyly and Michael Pineda). Since Baltimore is already on the hook for some cash, perhaps there’s an avenue for the sides to find a mutually agreeable deal that will allow Britton to work back to health with the only organization he has ever played for.

Even if there’s some lemonade to be crafted from this lemon, the news represents a big hit to the Orioles’ hopes for the coming season. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether the loss of Britton will increase the organization’s willingness to trade away star third baseman Manny Machado, another key player who’s entering his final season of contract control. Of course, it now seems unlikely that righty Brad Brach will end up on the move, as he’s the obvious replacement for Britton in the ninth inning.

Meanwhile, teams that had been weighing pursuit of Britton will now need to adjust their strategies. There are some high-end late-inning arms left in free agency, though not top-tier lefties remain. Organizations that wish to add a closing-capable southpaw will now surely turn their gaze to the Padres’ Brad Hand, who already came with a justifiably lofty trade value.

Indians Release Leo Campos To Pursue Opportunity In Japan

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The Indians announced that they have released righty Leonel Campos to allow him to pursue an opportunity in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Campos will join the Hiroshima Carp.

It was less than a month ago that Campos signed a minors deal to join the Cleveland organization. He’d likely have taken up residence at Triple-A, but might also have had a shot at earning a MLB pen job with a big showing in camp. Instead, Campos will sign on to a sure payday to play the game at the top level in Asia.

Campos, 30, has seen time in each of the past four MLB seasons but has compiled only 43 2/3 total frames. He carries a 4.74 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 in that span. Campos can obviously generate some swings and misses — he got whiffs at an eye-popping 20.4% rate across 13 2/3 innings in 2017 — and has had success in the upper minors, but control problems have continued to hold him back.

Latest On Manny Machado

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Manny Machado has emerged as the most talked-about name on the trade market in the wake of reports that the Orioles are shopping the 25-year-old, who will be a free agent next winter and quite possibly in line for a precedent-setting contract. Here’s the latest on Machado…

  • Jon Heyman of Fan Rag adds some further details to the situation in a follow-up to Encina’s report. The offers for Machado haven’t been sufficient to this point in Baltimore’s eyes, and the organization will take him off the market in the coming days if the asking price isn’t met. Of course, Heyman also notes that there’s no “hard deadline;” rather, the O’s would “shift to other priorities” if there’s no momentum toward a trade. Interestingly, per Heyman, the O’s see the Jason Heyward–Shelby Miller swap as the kind of arrangement that would pique their interest.

Earlier Updates

  • Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports that if the Orioles are to trade Machado, they hope to come to an agreement with a team by the end of the week. Baltimore isn’t backing down off its asking price of two starting pitchers that it can control for “at least the next four or five years,” however, which figures to be far too rich a price to pay for many clubs that have interest. High as Machado’s ceiling might be, that amount of team control over MLB-ready starters will very likely be valued more highly around the league. If the O’s don’t find a trade offer they like, Encina writes that they’re content to wait until the summer and revisit the possibility of trading him then.
  • Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago tweets that both the Cubs and the White Sox are still involved in conversations with the Orioles regarding Machado. The Cubs are stacked with infield options, though none of their shortstop options come with a track record as impressive as that of Machado. The White Sox, meanwhile, reportedly declined to include their top-ranked prospects in their initial offer to the Orioles. It doesn’t seem prudent for the rebuilding South Siders to mortgage much of their future to acquire one year of Machado when they’re not expected to contend for the division in 2018.
  • Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron takes a look at Machado’s value on the trade market, opining that suggested packages including MLB assets such as Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Rodriguez and Addison Russell all represent marked overpays, Machado’s excellence notwithstanding. While Machado himself could be worth as much as $50MM on a one-year deal, Cameron suggests, the long-term value of each of those controllable assets pushes their overall value into comparable territory, and subtracting them from a roster inherently negates some of the upgrade that Machado would bring to the table.

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