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Archives for January 2018

NL Central Notes: Darvish, Brewers, Harrison, Cubs

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The Brewers have reportedly made an offer to free-agent righty Yu Darvish, but specifics of the proposal have yet to come to light. However, both Peter Gammons of Gammons Daily and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel have explored the topic to varying degrees since initial word of the Darvish offer broke in Japan. Gammons suggests that while the Brewers have been connected to both Darvish and Jake Arrieta, the team isn’t planning on making a big splash for the rotation unless owner Mark Attanasio “jumps in.” Haudricourt, meanwhile, notes that GM David Stearns remains mum on the topic while explaining that a big-splash, market-value offer from the Brewers appears unlikely.

Here’s more from Milwaukee and the rest of the NL Central:

  • There was a suggestion over the weekend that the Brewers were nearing some kind of trade, but ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick has since walked things back via Twitter. The team has “been working hard on trade possibilities” while also looking into some significant free agents, but Crasnick now says the team is “juggling a lot of scenarios” rather than closing in on anything in particular. In any event, it feels as if there will be some notable movement on the Milwaukee roster between now and the start of camp, though just what and when remain unclear.
  • There has been speculation all winter long that the Pirates would trade Josh Harrison, especially after the team dealt key veterans Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole and Harrison suggested he might like to be the next man out the door. But there are some contrary indications. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington has indicated the Pittsburgh organization is still angling to put a winner on the field in the near term, though he hardly ruled out a swap. And a rival GM tells Gammons (see the above link) that he thinks it’s actually increasingly likely that Harrison will remain aboard the Bucs’ ship. Since the bulk of the value brought back in the McCutchen and Cole trades is at or near the MLB level, the club may prefer to keep the useful Harrison in the fold, Gammons’s source suggests.
  • While the Cubs have given every indication that they are still looking at starters, current righty Kyle Hendricks says the rotation doesn’t need to be improved, as Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Cubs, after all, have four established starters along with the capable Mike Montgomery. Of course, the depth chart behind that group is questionable, and the team would no doubt prefer to upgrade over Montgomery — turning him into a useful reliever who’d be the first man up in the event of injury — rather than settling for a pure depth option.

Cubs Re-Sign Brian Duensing

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JANUARY 22, 4:40pm: Duensing’s salary is split into two equal installments, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Incentives based upon appearances can boost the annual rate by as much as $1.75MM, maxing out if and when Duensing takes the ball for the 65th time.

11:05am: Duensing has passed his physical, as the team has now formally announced his two-year contract. Chicago’s 40-man roster now sits at 39 players.

JANUARY 17: The Cubs have agreed to a two-year deal to bring back lefty Brian Duensing, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). If finalized, it’ll guarantee the southpaw $7MM, per the report. Duensing is a client of the Legacy Agency.

Aug 9, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Brian Duensing (32) in a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Duensing, who’ll turn 35 years of age before the start of the 2018 season, was targeted by the Cubs last winter. He justified the team’s faith, turning in a quality season on a $2MM salary. Evidently, Duensing also enjoyed his time at Wrigley; per Heyman (via Twitter), Duensing had the chance to earn “significantly more” with other organizations this winter but chose instead to return.

Despite his encroaching age, the results certainly justify the contract. Duensing is fresh off of a 62 1/3-inning campaign in which he carried a 2.74 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. He also allowed just one earned run on one hit in his five postseason appearances.

In many ways, Duensing’s 2017 work represented a continuation of his typical efforts, as he sat in his usual range of fastball velocity (92 to 93 mph) and continued to bring a starter’s arsenal to bear in the bullpen. He continued a trend in pitch usage, utilizing his offspeed mix (slider/curve/change) more than half the time for the first time in his career, but generally continued down a path he had already embarked upon.

Duensing has generally been tough to square up as a reliever, holding opposing hitters to a .254/.322/.372 slash when he enters from the pen. He was reliable against both lefties and righties in 2017, but he has done that at times previously. Duensing’s 10.3% swinging-strike rate last year was the second highest mark in his career, though that fell mostly in line with prior output. And he carried a solid 48.6% groundball rate in 2017 that doesn’t stand out from his career average, either.

In large part, then, credit is due to the Cubs for recognizing Duensing as an under-appreciated hurler, rather than tweaking his approach. The team will hope that the success can continue even as he continues to age. While the expectation will presumably remain that Duensing will work in a relief role, perhaps it doesn’t hurt that he has a background as (and, as noted, continues to use the pitch mix of) a starter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Astros Claim Buddy Boshers

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The Astros have claimed left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Twins, per a team announcement from Houston. Boshers was designated for assignment by the Twins in order to clear a roster spot for Addison Reed. Boshers pushes Houston’s 40-man roster up to a count of 39.

Set to turn 30 in May, Boshers parlayed a minor league deal with the Twins in the 2015-16 offseason into 71 innings of work and more than a year of service at the big league level. In parts of his two seasons with Minnesota, the southpaw turned in a 4.56 ERA. Boshers impressed with an 8.2 K/9 rate against 2.2 BB/9, but he’s also been somewhat homer-prone (1.3 HR/9). He’s also been clobbered by right-handed opponents in that time; while Boshers limited lefties to a lowly .231/.262/.345 batting line through 122 plate appearances, righties knocked him around at a .268/.330/.485 clip in 183 PAs.

He’ll add some much-needed depth to the Astros from the left side, as Tony Sipp currently projects to be the only southpaw in Houston’s big league bullpen. Boshers has a minor league option remaining, so the Astros can freely send him to the minors even if he doesn’t break camp with the club. Other options on the 40-man include outfielder-turned-pitcher Anthony Gose (a Rule 5 pick) and Reymin Guduan.

Certainly, there’s room for the Astros to further strengthen this area either on the trade or free-agent market before Opening Day. Tony Watson is the top lefty reliever remaining on the free-agent market, and he’s joined by the likes of Jorge De La Rosa, Fernando Abad, Xavier Cedeno and Kevin Siegrist (among others), as can be seen in MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/22/18

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Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The D-backs are in agreement with right-hander Michael Blazek on a minor league contract, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Blazek, 29 in March, has spent his career to date with the Cardinals and Brewers, most recently pitching 8 1/3 innings for Milwaukee last season. He looked like an interesting, controllable bullpen option for the Brewers as recently as 2015, when he tossed 55 2/3 innings with 7.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. Since then, however, he’s struggled to a 6.12 ERA in 50 MLB innings, as his his walk rate has spiked to 5.0 BB/9 and his HR/9 rate has soared from 0.5 to 2.3. Blazek has a 3.91 ERA in parts of six Triple-A seasons.

Earlier Moves

  • The Pirates announced a slate of non-roster invitees to Spring Training today, including catcher Ryan Lavarnway, whose minor league deals had not been previously reported. Lavarnway, 30, has appeared in parts of six big league seasons with the Red Sox, Orioles, Braves and Athletics. He spent the 2017 campaign in the Oakland organization, though he appeared in just six games at the Major League level. Lavarnway is a career .201/.262/.318 hitter through 420 MLB plate appearances, but he’s logged a much more palatable .274/.365/.421 slash in parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level. Francisco Cervelli, Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings are all ahead of Lavarnway on the 40-man roster, so he’ll likely head to the minors to begin the year if he sticks with the Pirates through all of Spring Training.

White Sox Sign Chris Volstad, T.J. House, Matt Skole To Minor League Deals

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The White Sox announced a slew of non-roster invitations to Major League Spring Training today, including minor league deals with right-hander Chris Volstad, left-hander T.J. House and corner infielder Matt Skole. (The Sox also confirmed their previously reported minor league agreements with free agents Rob Scahill, Michael Ynoa and Patrick Leonard.)

Volstad, 31, will return to the South Siders after making a return to the Majors with them in 2017. The former Marlins right-hander had pitched just 10 1/3 innings in the Majors since the conclusion of the 2012 campaign but was called upon for a pair of starts and four relief appearances with the Sox, totaling 19 1/3 innings with a 4.66 ERA and a 10-to-5 K/BB ratio. This will be the third straight season that Volstad has spent in the ChiSox system, as he also pitched for their Triple-A affiliate in 2016.

House, meanwhile, should be somewhat familiar with the Sox having faced them often as a member of the Indians from 2014-16. Shoulder troubles slowed House’s career in 2015, and he’s scarcely appeared in the Majors since. House, 28, did enjoy a healthy season with the Blue Jays after a Spring Training scare in which he was struck in the head by a line drive. He recovered and went on to make 24 starts for Triple-A Buffalo, where he posted a 4.32 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in 133 1/3 innings of work. He also logged a pair of innings for Toronto in the Majors in August before being outrighted back to Buffalo.

Skole, also 28, has never appeared in the Majors. The former Nationals farmhand was considered one of the organization’s best prospects after a massive 2012 season in A-ball, but his 2013 campaign was cut short in a collision at first base that left him with a broken wrist and a torn UCL in his non-throwing elbow. Skole has played three full seasons in the upper levels of the minor since that time but has never rediscovered the form he showed in that promising 2012 campaign. He’s a career .238/.332/.444 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons.

Quick Hits: Pace Of Play, Prospects, Orioles, McCutchen

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In his latest column for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal chats with five players — Max Scherzer, Daniel Murphy, Paul Goldschmidt, Jerry Blevins and Chris Iannetta — about their concerns over the proposed 20-second pitch clock and their more general thoughts on the league’s pace of play initiatives. All of the players express a willingness to change and acknowledge that they’re in favor of speeding up the game to an extent, though none voiced support of a clock. Iannetta states that the clock “fundamentally changes the way the game is played,” while Goldschmidt shares some concerns he’s heard from Double-A and Triple-A players that have played with the clock but found it to be a headache.

“In some cases, I heard of ways around the rule,” says Goldschmidt. “You could kind of gimmick it. You could slow down the game. You could step off. It wasn’t like it just forced guys to throw pitches a lot quicker. There was a lot of gray area guys weren’t comfortable with.” Both Scherzer and Blevins, meanwhile, expressed some frustration with the fact that they’re routinely on the mound ready to go but have to wait an additional 20-30 seconds for commercial breaks to end. It’s an interesting read for those who have strong feelings, one way or another, on the newest slate of proposed rule changes to the game.

A few more notes from around the league…

  • It’s prospect ranking season! Baseball America rolled out their 2018 Top 100 list today, headlined by Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna in the top spot. Of course, the decision was far from easy for them, and the BA staff explained the decision process at length in a separate post for BA subscribers. As JJ Cooper, Ben Badler, Kyle Glaser, Josh Norris and Matt Eddy explain in great detail, there were feelings among the BA staff that any of Acuna, Shohei Ohtani or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could have been the No. 1 overall prospect this season. Among the factors considered when trying to reach a consensus were the age-old position player vs. pitcher debate as well as Acuna’s proximity to the Majors relative to Guerrero.
  • Meanwhile, over at ESPN, Keith Law published the first half of his Top 100 prospects today. There are several notable players that have been traded in the past year on the back half of the list, including Sandy Alcantara (whom the Marlins received as the headliner in the Marcell Ozuna swap), James Kaprielian (who went to the Athletics as part of last July’s Sonny Gray trade) and Franklin Perez and Daz Cameron (who went to the Tigers in the Justin Verlander blockbuster). Angels fans will be heartened to see four entrants on the list — Jahmai Jones, Chris Rodriguez, Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell — as their once lowly farm system begins to build back up.
  • Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com looks at the Orioles’ need for a left-handed-hitting outfielder to balance out the lineup and runs down a list of players that have “intrigued various members of the organization.” That includes Carlos Gonzalez, Melky Cabrera and Nori Aoki, according to Connolly, in addition to other names that have been recently mentioned (e.g. Jarrod Dyson). Trey Mancini and Adam Jones figure to be in the outfield regularly, but the Orioles’ hope is that they can acquire a defensively superior option to Mark Trumbo to slot into right field, thus pushing Trumbo to DH.
  • In a fantastic column for the Players’ Tribune, Andrew McCutchen bids an emotional farewell to the city of Pittsburgh, which he writes “will always be home” and “will always mean everything” to him. McCutchen recounts the overwhelming experience of the standing ovation he received at the Pirates’ final home game of the season last year, as Bucs fans recognized that they may never see him in a Pirates uniform again. He also shares his experience of finding out about the trade, with credit to Neal Huntington for how he handled the process. Fans of the Pirates, Giants and baseball in general will all want to check out the column in its entirety.

Hector Neris Switches Agencies

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Phillies closer Hector Neris has changed his representation and is now a client of Octagon, FanRag Sports’ Robert Murray tweets.  Neris joins Carlos Santana, Cesar Hernandez, and Cameron Rupp as notable Phillies players under the Octagon banner.

After a breakout 2016 season, it was seen as just a matter of time before Neris was eventually given the ninth-inning job in Philadelphia.  The team began the year with Jeanmar Gomez and Joaquin Benoit getting the bulk of save chances, but Neris eventually shifted into the closer role and, after some early struggles, looked dominant down the stretch.  Over his last 42 appearances (43 1/3 IP), Neris posted a 2.49 ERA and 52 strikeouts against just 15 walks.  Overall, Neris had a 3.01 ERA, 10.37 K/9 and 3.31 K/BB rate over 80 1/3 innings, saving 26 of 29 chances and missing a lot of bats (16.4% swinging strike rate) thanks to a notoriously tough splitter.

Neris turns 29 in June but he still offers four years of team control for the Phils, and isn’t arbitration-eligible until next winter.  Saves are one of the traditional counting stats that play a big role in arbitration numbers, so Neris is in line for a pretty nice payday next offseason and in his two other arb years if he retains his hold on the closer’s job.

Neris’ switch in representation has been noted in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agent information on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you come across any errors or omissions in the database, let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

AL Notes: Lewis, Reed, Blue Jays, Royals

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Colby Lewis’ playing career seemed to end back in November when he accepted a job as a special assistant to Rangers GM Jon Daniels, and the veteran righty confirmed to reporters (including MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan) that he has indeed hung up his glove.  Drafted 38th overall by the Rangers in the 1999 draft, Lewis spent nine of his 11 MLB seasons with Texas, also notching brief stints with the A’s, Tigers, and the Hiroshima Carp.  He didn’t pitch in 2017 after declining to accept anything but a Major League contract last winter in free agency.  Lewis finishes his career with a 4.70 ERA over 1215 career innings, three times topping the 200-inning plateau as a durable member of the Texas rotation.  We at MLBTR wish Lewis the best on his retirement and on the next stage of his baseball career.

Here’s more from around the American League…

  • The Twins’ acquisition of Addison Reed is chronicled by Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, who writes that Reed put a high priority on joining a team in the Midwest, close to his wife’s hometown of Akron, Ohio.  The Indians “were high on” a short list of preferred destinations Reed gave to his agent, though Cleveland didn’t have the payroll space to add to its bullpen.  Sensing an opportunity to further reinforce their bullpen, the Twins circled back to Reed (an early offseason target) and were ultimately convinced after Minnesota special assistant Michael Cuddyer heavily endorsed Reed due to their time together on the 2015 Mets.  Reed turned down at least one three-year deal to sign his two-year, $16.75MM deal with the Twins.
  • The Blue Jays roster is broken down by Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi, who feels that another move or two might be in the offing given a lack of 25-man spots.  Aledmys Diaz, for instance, may have to start the year in the minors if the Jays are to fit five outfielders and Kendrys Morales on the roster.  Moving an outfielder is a more realistic option than trading Morales, as a rival executive “couldn’t envision a possible landing spot” for the veteran hitter.  Morales is coming off a sub-replacement season (-0.6 fWAR) last year and is owed $23MM through 2019, giving him very little trade value.  Toronto still has some more moves to come on the pitching side, and Davidi speculates that Seung-hwan Oh or Tyler Clippard could fit the Jays’ needs in the bullpen.
  • In a set of 18 predictions about the 2018 Royals, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star opines that Eric Hosmer will re-sign with his former club due to a lack of clear rival suitors for the free agent first baseman.  There is maybe only a 30-40 percent chance of a reunion between the two sides, “but for now, that might make the Royals the favorite” in Dodd’s view.  Other predictions include Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas signing elsewhere, and the Royals suffering a 90-loss season as they begin a rebuilding phase.

Brewers Make Contract Offer To Yu Darvish

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The Brewers have made an official contract offer to Yu Darvish, according to reports from Yahoo Japan (hat tip to Kazuto Yamazaki for the translation).  Interestingly, the original link was retweeted by Darvish himself, whose response of a thinking-face emoji could be interpreted in a few different ways.

Darvish’s list of suitors had reportedly narrowed to a field of six teams: the Astros, Cubs, Rangers, Twins, Yankees, and an unknown sixth club referenced by Darvish in another tweet.  There was speculation that the sixth team could’ve been the Dodgers, Darvish’s most recent club, though perhaps the Brewers were the mystery team, depending on the timing of their offer.

Or, it also isn’t out of the question that Milwaukee has just entered the race for Darvish’s services, perhaps sensing an opening in the Darvish sweepstakes.  MLBTR projected Darvish for a six-year, $160MM contract at the start of the offseason, and it’s fair to wonder if the Brewers’ offer was anywhere near that figure given the uncertainty surrounding Darvish’s market.  The Astros, for instance, are likely no longer bidding for another top starter now that they’ve landed Gerrit Cole.  The Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, and Rangers were all either hoping to avoid the luxury tax threshold or simply weren’t keen on committing the payroll space required to sign Darvish.  With all of these teams somewhat hamstrung in their pursuit of the star right-hander, the Brewers could well have liked their chances in a bidding war against a fellow smaller-market team in Minnesota.

The idea of the Brewers and Twins dueling for top pitchers this offseason was actually posited by MLBTR’s Steve Adams back in early November, with Steve reasoning that both teams had the rotation needs, the long-term payroll room, and a revived hope of contention in 2018 to make the pursuit of a pitcher like Darvish or Jake Arrieta into a reality.  Despite some rumors about potential big-ticket signings or trade targets (i.e. Chris Archer), the Brewers have thus far made more modest pitching acquisitions in the form of Jhoulys Chacin and Yovani Gallardo.  Milwaukee has also been rumored to be discussing outfielders in trades, perhaps to make another surprising free agent splash in the form of pursuing Lorenzo Cain.

NL West Notes: Padres, Yelich, Giants, Dahl

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Some news and notes from around the NL West…

  • In a reader mailbag piece, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune casts doubt on the Padres’ chances of trading for Christian Yelich.  The team’s pursuit of Eric Hosmer indicates a desire to acquire a younger star player who will still be productive when the Padres return to contention, so Yelich (who is over two years younger than Hosmer) would theoretically fit the bill.  The Marlins, however, are understandably demanding elite prospects in any Yelich deal, and Lin doubts the Padres would part with top minor leaguers like Fernando Tatis Jr., Mackenzie Gore, or Michel Baez when San Diego’s own rebuild is still ongoing.  Lin’s piece is well worth a full read, as he answers several other questions about the Padres roster.
  • There hasn’t been any connection between Yu Darvish and the Giants this winter, though The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (subscription required) opines that San Francisco should offer the free agent hurler a one-year deal in the $30MM range.  Essentially, Baggarly is proposing a very high-priced version of the “pillow contract” strategy, wherein Darvish would build more value in 2018 with an eye towards finally landing a major long-term deal next winter.  Such a contract would put the Giants over the luxury tax threshold for 2018, though they’d avoid another multi-year commitment while landing a star pitcher for a roster clearly designed to win now.
  • Rockies manager Bud Black shared some positive health news about David Dahl, as Black told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters that Dahl should be “full go” at the start of Spring Training.  “He’s engaged, he’s running, he’s lifting weights, he’s swinging at 100 percent. Right now there are no concerns, and medically everybody feels really good about David,” Black said.  Dahl was limited to just 19 minor league games in 2017 due to a stress reaction in his rib cage, and his potential return gives Colorado another intriguing piece for its outfield.

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