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Archives for December 2017

Red Sox Place Henry Owens On Outright Waivers

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The Red Sox have placed former top prospect Henry Owens on outright waivers, removing him from the 40-man roster and clearing a space for a possible acquisition, reports Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston. Drellich notes that it is not immediately clear that a corresponding acquisition is on the cusp of completion.

Owens, 25, once ranked among the game’s top 50 overall prospects in the eyes of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com, but his stock has fallen since last landing on one of those lists, prior to the 2015 campaign. The left-hander has seen time in a pair of big league seasons, tossing 85 innings for the BoSox from 2015-16 but struggling to the tune of a 5.19 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9.

Early in his pro career, Owens posted enormous strikeout rates, but that trait has diminished as he’s reached the upper minors and the Major Leagues. Moreover, his longstanding issue with walks has become increasingly magnified against more advanced hitters. That’s never been truer than it was in 2017, as Owens split the year between Double-A Portand and Triple-A Pawtucket and walked a staggering 115 batters in 126 innings (8.2 BB/9). Owens also hit 17 batters and uncorked 17 wild pitches in those 126 innings — further exemplifying his struggles to locate the ball.

Owens does have a minor league option remaining, so any club that claims him would have the opportunity to stash him in Triple-A rather than being forced to carry him on the roster out of Spring Training. Outright waiver priority is not league-specific, so he’ll be available to all rival clubs in the reverse order of the 2017 regular season standings.

Giants Expect Decision From Giancarlo Stanton By End Of Week

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4:05pm: John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke to Evans about the Giants’ recent meeting with Stanton. The GM states to Shea that Stanton “had a good feel for what he wanted to hear from us” and acknowledged that AT&T Park is one of his favorite places to play. Stanton was complimentary of the Giants’ fans and the way in which they support the team.

Though the process has dragged on for quite some time now, Evans reminds of the human side of what is a life-altering decision for Stanton: “There’s a lot of personal factors people don’t know about. We don’t necessarily know those personal factors as well.” Evans also, once again, confirmed that the two sides did reach an agreement, with contingencies, one of which (of course) is Stanton waiving his no-trade clause.

2:44pm: The Giants anticipate that Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton will decide whether to waive his no-trade clause by the end of the week, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter), who does also note that the timeline is hardly set in stone.

Pavlovic also notes that San Francisco views the Dodgers as a bigger “threat” to land Stanton, not the Cardinals — the other team that has been most involved in trade talks to this point. Along those same lines, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Dodgers and Marlins were in contact as recently as Tuesday, though their Stanton discussions are still not advanced.

Giants GM Bobby Evans also acknowledged earlier today that the organization had a sit-down with Stanton, in an interview with KNBR (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Twitter). He also said that the team did put the terms of a deal in place with Miami in advance. Evans’ surprisingly candid comments run counter to yesterday’s comments from Marlins CEO Derek Jeter, who said in an appearance on WINZ-AM radio (link via the Associated Press) that his team is still “gathering information” and that “anything up to this point has been speculation.”

Whether or not a deal will come together in that time frame remains to be seen, of course. It’s conceivable that Stanton could simply decide he is not interested in waiving his no-trade clause at this point. But the report does hint that we could see resolution on the situation before the Winter Meetings, potentially freeing up other market movement — including the Marlins’ potential efforts to market other players and subsequent pivots to other targets for the Giants and Cardinals.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign T.J. McFarland

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The Diamondbacks announced today that they have re-signed left-hander T.J. McFarland to a one-year deal. Arizona had non-tendered him last week, but he’ll return for a second season with the Snakes on an $850K base salary, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports (via Twitter). McFarland, an Octagon client, can also earn another $350K worth of incentives. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1MM in arbitration, so the D-backs potentially saved a bit of cash with the move.

The 28-year-old McFarland logged an unsightly 5.33 ERA with just 4.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 54 innings last season. But, he also racked up an impressive 67 percent ground-ball rate and held opposing lefties to a putrid .211/.256/.292 batting line in 80 plate appearances. Deployed in a more specialized role, there’s certainly the possibility that McFarland could deliver considerably better numbers in 2018.

McFarland will also be eligible for arbitration in each of the next two offseasons, so the D-backs can control him all the way through the 2020 campaign if he can turn in improved results.

Shohei Ohtani Has Completed In-Person Meetings With Prospective Teams

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As young Japanese star Shohei Ohtani moves toward a decision on where he’ll sign, it seems he will sit down in person with representatives from each of the seven MLB organizations that have been selected to continue on in his unique posting/signing process. Those seven teams are the Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Padres, Mariners, Rangers, and Cubs. Ohtani will have to make his selection no later than December 22nd under the new posting rules established between Major League Baseball and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Those that wish to learn more about the exciting two-way performer may want to visit some of these prior posts:

We’ll track the latest updates on meetings in this post:

  • The Padres met with Ohtani on Tuesday night, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. While that stage of the process is completed, the remaining steps and timeline are not yet known.

Earlier Updates

  • Ohtani also held court with the Angels on Monday night, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group reports, meaning that he held at least three meetings on each of the past two days.
  • The Mariners had their meeting with Ohtani this morning (Tuesday the 5th), Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Their delegation has yet to be identified. Likewise, the Cubs had a slot today, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link), with no other details known of their presentation.
  • Ohtani and his representatives also met with the Dodgers on Monday the 4th, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Rosenthal notes that Ohtani’s camp is moving through the courtship process quickly and will have some days on which he meets with two prospective suitors in the same day.
  • Officials from the Rangers went to L.A. for their turn to pitch Ohtani, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, with the meeting taking place on Tuesday evening. Texas has long coveted Ohtani, like many clubs, and sent GM Jon Daniels to Japan earlier this year as part of an early play to draw his interest. As Wilson notes, the organization has $3.53MM available in pool space for a bonus; while that may not be a very telling factor, it’s the most that any of the seven teams will be able to promise Ohtani.
  • The Giants are the first known team to have met with Ohtani, and perhaps also the first actually to do so. According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, the San Francisco organization sent representatives to meet with Ohtani and his representatives today (December 4). All of the team’s top brass was on hand, with CEO Larry Baer heading to Los Angeles along with president of baseball operations Brian Sabean, GM Bobby Evans, and skipper Bruce Bochy. And the Giants had at least one top player attend, with superstar catcher Buster Posey joining the delegation. Pavlovic has more details on the team’s longstanding interest in Ohtani and its plans for him in the event he signs there. While the team can’t offer DH at-bats, Bochy has indicated that Ohtani would stand to see time in the corner outfield. (You can find Pavlovic’s full article on that subject here.)

Rangers Sign Mike Minor

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1:59pm: Minor will receive a $1MM signing bonus with salaries of $8MM (2018) and $9.5MM (2019 & 2020), per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).

11:10am: The Rangers have announced the signing of lefty Mike Minor to a three-year pact. The Jet Sports Management client will receive a $28MM guarantee and also picks up ten-team no-trade rights, per reports. He’s expected to pitch out of the rotation in Texas.

Aug 19, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Mike Minor (26) pitches against the Cleveland Indians in the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

MLBTR had predicted Minor would land $28MM on the open market, but over a four-year term. This contract becomes the biggest agreed to thus far in what has been a remarkably slow-to-develop offseason. As the first significant player to sign, perhaps it’s not surprising that Minor ended up beating expectations.

Minor, who’ll soon turn 30, once thrived out of the Braves’ rotation before shoulder problems got in the way. Surgery ensued after a messy 2014 season and he did not appear in the majors for the next two campaigns.

After being non-tendered by the Braves, Minor hooked on with the Royals, who promised him $7.25MM over two years in hopes he’d bounce back. Minor was not able to recover in time to reach the bigs in 2016, but finally re-emerged in the 2017 campaign — this time, as a reliever.

Over his 77 2/3 innings in the just-finished season, Minor ran a 2.55 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. He averaged nearly 95 mph on his fastball, over three ticks better than he had ever sustained for a season as a starter. Minor relied on his slider quite a bit more than usual, but otherwise largely sustained the same multi-pitch mix that allowed him to succeed as a southpaw starter. It’s worth noting, too, that twenty of his relief appearances went past a single inning.

It’s not hard to see why Minor was among the most hotly pursued pitchers out of the gates. He’s capable of functioning as a lockdown late-inning southpaw, giving multiple innings out of the pen, or — most enticingly — returning to the rotation. Minor’s health history makes that last possibility feel a bit risky, though it’s entirely arguable that the upside merits a chance.

Indeed, given that he chose to sign with a team that intends to use him as a starter, Minor obviously is on board with that move. If that is the direction both he and the team desire, then Minor will certainly bring plenty of potential to a staff that badly needs it.

[RELATED: Updated Rangers Depth Chart]

While the Rangers already added Doug Fister to their rotation, and still hopes to bring Shohei Ohtani aboard, the team certainly can afford to continue adding. Indeed, it seems there’s even some thought of the possibility of moving to a six-man rotation, as Grant suggests. And it is plenty arguable that this team is wise to take a shot on Minor as a starter — even with his health history — rather than settling for another back-end arm. The fact that Minor could also slide back to the bullpen, which also is in need of high-quality pitchers, only adds to the flexibility the team can achieve with this move.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal (Twitter link) as well as its guarantee (via Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggested Minor would work as a starter and reported the contract length (Twitter links). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports had the no-trade clause (Twitter link).

 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/6/17

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We’ll track today’s minor moves in this post …

  • The Braves have agreed to a minor-league pact with infielder Christian Colon, according to Robert Murray of Fan Rag. Assuming it is finalized and made official, Colon will presumably join the competition for a utility role in camp. The 28-year-old has not hit much at all in his two most recent MLB seasons, with the Royals and Marlins, but did slash .303/.361/.382 in his first 168 MLB plate appearances and owns a .290/.352/.391 batting line in his 1,465 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. Colon has also graded solidly in the infield, where he has appeared at short, second, and third. Atlanta was in need of depth after non-tendering both Jace Peterson and Danny Santana, though the club does still have some notable, youthful middle-infield options on hand in Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and Johan Camargo.

Yankees Hire Aaron Boone As Manager

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DECEMBER 6: Boone, who was introduced today, is promised $4MM in the deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 4: The Yankees formally announced the hiring of Boone today. Boone signed a three-year contract that runs through the 2020 season and contains a club option for the 2021 campaign. A press conference has been set for Wednesday at noon ET.

“I firmly believe that Aaron possesses the attributes needed to follow in the tradition of great Yankees managers,” said Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner in the press release announcing the move. “From all accounts, he is a polished communicator who possesses the ability to cultivate and grow relationships. Aaron has also spent a lifetime immersed in baseball, affording him a unique and intimate understanding of what fosters team success. Aaron’s name is already etched into Yankees history, and my family and I are excited to welcome him back to this franchise. This opportunity will allow him to continue to make a positive impact on this organization in distinctly new and meaningful ways.”

“Over the past several weeks, our baseball operations department sat down with a number of managerial candidates, all of whom brought a diverse array of baseball knowledge and experience,” GM Brian Cashman said of the interview process. “Each interview led to insightful and thoughtful discussions, and I am grateful to the candidates for their preparation, interest and commitment to our extensive interview process. When we had the opportunity to speak with Aaron and share concepts and ideas, he was able to showcase a variety of traits that we believe will strongly benefit this franchise as we move forward, including an astute mind for the game and a progressive approach to evolving strategies. We also believe Aaron’s interpersonal skills and baseball pedigree will allow him to blend well with the systems we have in place, our baseball operations staff and the 25-man roster. On a personal level, I look forward to collaborating with him over the coming years and offering him the support and resources needed to get the most out of our players.”

DECEMBER 1: Aaron Boone has been selected as the next manager of the Yankees, according to veteran sportswriter Bill Madden (via Twitter). The move, of course, is not yet official, though Ken Davidoff of the New York Post tweets that an agreement is in place.

Boone will take over for the departing Joe Girardi, whose contract was not renewed after a ten-year run at the helm of the organization. Though he was an experienced hand who had quite a bit of success, Girardi was not seen by the front office or ownership as the right man to take a youthful roster to the next level.

While his very candidacy came as a surprise, Boone evidently impressed the Yanks enough to be handed the keys to a talented ballclub that will enter 2018 with sky-high expectations. A long-time big leaguer, Boone has been best known in his post-playing days as a television commentator with ESPN. He has not coached or managed since hanging up his spikes.

Boone does, of course, have a lifetime in and around the game, including a dozen seasons in the majors and a brief stint with the Yankees. His time with the Yankees as a player would be little more than a footnote were it not for his famous walkoff home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

As it stands, Boone now has a chance to make an even deeper impression on the game’s most legendary organization. He’ll need to hit the ground running, as camp opens in just ten weeks. There might be room for a grace period in some other situations, but Boone is entering a situation where immediate results will be demanded.

Major Obstacle Arises To Athletics’ Ballpark Plans

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It seemed the Athletics had finally started some momentum toward a new ballpark when it emerged in September that the club had settled on a site to pursue. But that plan has now run into a major roadblock, according to a report from Kimberly Veklerov of the San Francisco Chronicle.

The board of trustees of Peralta Community College District — the entity that owns the prospective site, which borders Laney College — has voted to halt ongoing discussions with the A’s. That brings to a stop the exploratory efforts embarked upon by the team less than a month after it had announced a group of firms that would begin stadium design efforts.

For their part, the A’s issued a brief statement, via the Chronicle’s Susan Slusser (on Twitter). The organization says it is “shocked by Peralta’s decision to not move forward,” explaining that it had only hoped to “enter into a conversation about how to make this work for all of Oakland, Laney, and the Peralta Community College District.”

It may well be that this obstacle proves insurmountable, though perhaps the door is not fully slammed shut. But if the Athletics do move on, they’ll presumably go back to a drawing board that had featured several other possibilities — including a potential new facility at the current Coliseum site.

Rafael Palmeiro Seeks To Defy Odds With MLB Comeback

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Former MLB star Rafael Palmeiro, who left the game in disgrace after testing positive for steroids back in 2005, tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that he is seriously contemplating an effort to return to the majors. Of course, there are quite a few barriers for the left-handed-hitting first baseman, who is a dozen years removed from his playing days and is now 53 years of age.

It’s frankly hard to imagine how this concept could come to fruition. Any player of his age would make for an unlikely big leaguer: in the modern era, only Minnie Minoso has appeared past fifty years of age, and that was a promotional/honorary stunt. The ageless Julio Franco played at the relatively tender age of 49, though he wasn’t able to produce.

Palmeiro’s highly controversial past adds yet more obstacles; notably, he still has not admitted to intentionally using steroids to aid his performance, though he does acknowledge a positive test. And it’s also not quite clear what course he could take even if teams might be willing to look past the steroid cloud. Per Rosenthal, Palmeiro “does not sound willing to take any sort of indirect path to the majors.” Yet Rosenthal also cites one GM that suggests Palmeiro would need to show he can still hit in a stint outside of the affiliated ranks before he’d be considered.

As might be expected, Palmeiro says he’s in good shape and feels his body is up to the task. But that doesn’t lend much credence to the undertaking in and of itself. If there’s a hint of plausibility here, perhaps it’s in the comments from Orioles VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette, who says “it would be an interesting story” and would not dismiss the possibility of giving Palmeiro — a former Baltimore star — a shot at a return. That’s hardly a clear indication of interest, of course, but does suggest there are at least some teams (including the one Palmeiro played for when he was suspended) that would entertain the possibility.

Ultimately, we’ll just have to sit back and see whether there’s a way for Raffy to make good on his intentions. Those with interest in weighing the likelihood will want to give Rosenthal’s lengthy piece a look; it contains plenty of quotes from Palmeiro and his family members.

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