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Cubs Owner Discusses Lack Of Offseason Activity

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Cubs owner Tom Ricketts went on the Mully & Haugh Show on 670 The Score this morning, making an attempt to defend the Cubs’ quiet offseason.  (Hat tip to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, who wrote an article here).

Ricketts began, “First of all, we have spent money this offseason. We signed Cole Hamels, and we picked up Descalso, and I’m sure Theo’s got a few moves left in him.”  We’ll hit pause there to note that to allow for Hamels’ $20MM option to be picked up, the Cubs had to ship Drew Smyly and his $7MM salary to the Rangers.  That series of moves suggested that the Cubs felt they had to make a tradeoff to retain Hamels, compromising their rotation depth but saving money.  Beyond that, Descalso was inked to a two-year, $5MM deal, after Tommy La Stella and his (eventual) $1.35MM salary was dealt to the Angels.  So, the Hamels and Descalso moves added $13.15MM to the Cubs’ payroll.

Ricketts continued, “But frankly, we have one of the largest budgets in all of baseball. We put that to work, we’ve definitely signed a lot of players over the years. We have a team that we like. We have a team that we think is going to go a long way. We have a team that won 95 games last year without a lot of help from some of the guys we picked up last offseason. And all the different things that we fought through last year – the injuries, everyone’s having kind of down years, some of the off-field distractions…we like our club.  And we’re among the very top spenders. So, I just think all that stuff’s kind of misguided.”

Ricketts had two refrains in this interview: we are already spending a lot of money on players, and we have a great team already.

Ricketts said that despite having unique stadium and tax expenses that other teams do not have, the Cubs are one of the “top few spenders” in baseball.  He suggested the club could never spend at the level of the Yankees or Dodgers, implying the Cubs sit third behind them in payroll.  Looking at 2018 end of season luxury tax payrolls from the Associated Press, the Cubs ranked fifth behind the Red Sox, Nationals, Giants, and Dodgers.  Why the Cubs cannot spend like the Red Sox is unclear.  Perhaps the problem is that the Cubs had for the most part set expectations of heavy offseason spending:

So the Cubs signed a $126MM+ player in three of the last four winters.  It’s not that they haven’t spent money, it’s just that at this point in their competitive window, they’ve chosen an odd winter to stop spending.  The Cubs’ brief playoff appearance this year, Theo Epstein’s “our offense broke” comment the following day, and the once-a-decade availability of free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado led most fans to think the team would be firmly in the mix for a major offensive upgrade, particularly Harper.  Instead, Ricketts suggested the team had little room for improvement, saying, “The fact is we look at our lineup, and you look around the horn and who would you switch out?”

Though this was intended as a rhetorical question, it’s one that has many good answers.  FanGraphs projects the 2019 Cubs at 87 wins, with the Cardinals coming in at 86 after the addition of Paul Goldschmidt.  There’s also the Brewers, who have handily beaten projections over the last few years and won 96 games in 2018.  I’ll take the over on FanGraphs’ 79 win projection for Milwaukee, while the Reds and Pirates also land in that 79-80 projection range.  All five NL Central teams should be competitive.  The Cubs hardly have the division locked down, so who would you switch out?

The Cubs were expected to move on from Addison Russell after his domestic violence suspension came down and further details emerged, but he remains penciled in at shortstop after tallying 2.9 WAR over the last two seasons combined.  Their outfield consists of Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ, Albert Almora, Jason Heyward, and Ben Zobrist – hardly a crew that should block Harper or even Andrew McCutchen.  The bullpen has glaring holes, with closer Brandon Morrow starting the season on the DL and the Cubs choosing not to bring Jesse Chavez back.  The Cubs are looking at Pedro Strop, Carl Edwards Jr., Steve Cishek, Mike Montgomery, Brandon Kintzler, and Brian Duensing in the pen, with the expectation being that Epstein will continue to sit out the bidding for top free agents.  Craig Kimbrel remains on the market, while Zach Britton, Jeurys Familia, Adam Ottavino, Andrew Miller, Joe Kelly, David Robertson, Kelvin Herrera, and Joakim Soria are off the board.

Though Ricketts has typically participated in a fan Q&A at the annual Cubs Convention, he won’t be doing so at the event this weekend.  He laughingly cited having the “lowest-rated panel” as the justification, but the cancellation of the panel coinciding with the club’s quiet offseason is a bad look for the team.  Fan frustration has reached a boiling point this winter, and that’s why the owner should be accountable.  While Ricketts noted that the panel could be brought back next year if people want it, why not just reverse course this year and field fan questions?

With the Cubs’ core of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez in place for only three more years, Ricketts has decided to sit out the 2018-19 offseason.  Ricketts asked fans to withhold judgment on the choice, saying this morning, “We’re going to be great, and I think people people should judge us by what happens during the season, not what happens in December.”

NL West Notes: Arenado, Rockies, Flores, D-backs, Giants

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Rockies GM Jeff Bridich largely declined an opportunity to discuss the state of the team’s contract talks with star third baseman Nolan Arenado, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes. Bridich says the club is content to “keep things under wraps, under our hat for now” as it continues to try to work out a 2019 salary — and, perhaps, a long-term deal — with the club’s top player. The general manager did say that the Rox will not “set any deadlines or ultimatums,” though that comment may relate more to the still-unresolved arbitration case than extension talks. Arenado and the team still need to bridge a $6MM gap to stave off a hearing, as he filed at $30MM against the team’s $24MM submission. It’s still anyone’s guess whether there’ll be any real traction in discussions on a lengthier accord, but it’ll unquestionably cost a pretty penny to get the 27-year-old to forego a chance at testing the open market next winter.

Here’s more out of Denver and the NL West…

  • Also from Harding’s piece, Bridich stated that the Rockies “haven’t been overly aggressive” in the outfield market. Fans hoping for a reunion with Matt Holliday will be disheartened to see that the GM characterized the franchise icon as a tougher fit on the current roster than he was when he was signed late in the 2018 season and enjoyed a brief comeback tour. Presently, Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl look like locks for regular outfield work. Ian Desmond, Raimel Tapia and Noel Cuevas will also slot in around the outfield, though Cuevas has options remaining, so it seems conceivable that the Rox could make a move if a palatable bargain presents itself.
  • There are “indications” that the Diamondbacks plan to utilize newly signed Wilmer Flores as their second baseman in 2019, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Doing so would allow them to shift Ketel Marte to the outfield as their new primary center fielder. It’d be an unfamiliar position for Marte, but the move is something that’s been discussed for some time now. (The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan noted as much all the way back in October). As Piecoro notes, the D-backs’ defensive alignment figures to look quite a bit different; Jake Lamb is slated to move across the diamond to first base following the trade of Paul Goldschmidt, with Eduardo Escobar slotting in as the primary third baseman. Nick Ahmed (shortstop), Flores (second base) and Marte (center field) could line up on the middle of the diamond, with David Peralta and Steven Souza Jr. flanking Marte in center.
  • The Giants may use the “opener” strategy at times in 2019 but won’t be among the league’s most aggressive teams with it, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Madison Bumgarner, Derek Holland and Jeff Samardzija will all be treated as traditional starters, though Schulman notes that president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi has recently expressed a desire to manage the workloads of younger arms like Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez “for their future and for ours.” Schulman’s column explores multiple avenues to achieving that goal and features multiple quotes from Zaidi and skipper Bruce Bochy on the pitching staff that Giants fans will surely want to check out in full. Schulman also reiterates that it’s still possible the Giants could explore trades of either Will Smith or Tony Watson as they seek additional rotation and outfield options. Both lefty relievers can become free agents next offseason.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/17/19

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We’ll track the latest minor moves throughout the league here…

  • Outfielder Charlie Tilson cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the White Sox and has been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times). Chicago will now be able to hang onto the 26-year-old speedster without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him. Tilson suffered a torn hamstring in his MLB debut with the South Siders back in ’16 and saw his 2017 season wiped out by a stress reaction in his ankle. He returned to hit .264 with a solid .331 OBP in 121 plate appearances with the White Sox last season but slugged just .292. Lack of power isn’t new for Tilson, who has batted .266/.321/.356 in just shy of 700 Triple-A plate appearances. Tilson now finds himself a ways down the depth chart in Chicago and will need a strong showing in 2019 to move back up the organizational ladder (or to pique the interest of another team).

Angels Notes: Payroll, Trout, Stadium

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In the course of a lengthy discussion of Mike Trout’s status with the Angels, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (subscription link) drops a note regarding the team’s immediate payroll situation. The Halos, he says, “could top” last year’s team-record payroll, which checked in right around $165MM for the third-straight campaign. Whether that suggests there’s significant room to add depends upon how far past the prior line the team is willing to go; at the moment, the club already projects to have over $162MM in commitments on its books for the present season. With some creativity, though, the team could perhaps still pursue a significant addition this winter — especially if it is willing to allocate some of its relatively clean post-2020 payroll space. The club has added over $27MM in 2019 payroll so far this winter, but it has done so without adding a dime to its future balance sheets.

  • Regarding Trout, the above-linked post covers a fair bit of ground on the broader landscape of large contracts, though it largely (and understandably) leaves unanswered the ultimate question: how much money would it take to keep Trout from testing the open market? He’s far and away the best player in baseball — you’ll need to rub your eyes to make sure you’re reading this leaderboard properly — so much so that any other contract comps feel all but silly to make. Still, former Marlins president David Samson, whose quotes appear liberally throughout the post, claims that even Trout isn’t worth $40MM annually. Of course, Samson also advocates some other dubious positions, such as the notion that, as a front office leader, he would “have a very hard time telling my owner that Bryce Harper is worth $30 million a year when I can have Juan Soto making $555,000.” That sort of imbalance, of course, is baked right into the financial structure of the game. There’s no question any team would rather get more player for less money, but the cost to acquire freely available, established talent is vastly greater than that to retain pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players due only to the constraints on the earning power of less-experienced players. In any event, the potential future market value of Trout will be decided in an open bidding scenario, the outcome of which is impossible to predict at present. What seems clear, though, is that he will reasonably anticipate an opportunity to earn a monumental sum of money along with the chance to choose his destination; the Angels, it stands to reason, would need to offer an immense sum to keep him from checking out the alternatives.
  • So, how likely is an extension for Trout? Not very, says Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter), who cites “whispers” that there’s not much hope of something coming together in the near-term. The club itself was unwilling to disclose the status of talks, if any, per Ardaya. According to Heyman, the Halos do still intend to try to get some chatter going. It’s hard, though, to see why Trout would have much reason to bite unless the organization offered something truly outrageous. He’s already guaranteed to have earned hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of his playing career, so it’s not as if he’s still looking for that first big contract. And with two years still to go before reaching the open market, Trout will presumably prefer to see how things develop on and off the field before committing — unless, perhaps, he’s so comfortable in Anaheim that he simply prefers to stay.
  • Quite a bit can change in two years’ time, after all. To take but one example, it’s tough to know how the Angels’ ballpark situation will look by that time. While the long-term plans remain up in the air, the club has now formally secured a one-year deal with the city of Anaheim to keep the club in Angels Stadium through the 2020 season, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. That’ll leave some added breathing room for both the club and the municipality to try to line up on a plan for the future. It seems the smart money remains on a local solution, though there’s no real indication at this point exactly how things will shake out. Major renovations and new construction both appear to be possible outcomes.

East Notes: Mets, Phils, Harper, Yanks Pitching, Dozier

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“Come get us.” That’s the message that Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen had today for the rest of baseball, and particularly the club’s division rivals, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. While other organizations in the NL East surely also feel optimistic about their own recent roster improvements, that created an opening for the hard-charging rookie exec to dish out some further smack talk: “There’s a lot of good teams. … I hope that those guys continue to get themselves better because we’ll go slug it out with them every day.” Otherwise, as he introduced Jed Lowrie today, Van Wagenen suggested that he may be more or less done tinkering with the position-player mix, though he didn’t rule out further action. On the pitching side, it’s less of a complete picture, though the newly minted baseball ops leader did laud the “depth” the organization has already assembled, citing players such as lefty Hector Santiago and Rule 5er Kyle Dowdy. Certainly, a few additional arms wouldn’t hurt, though there’s no denying the talent the Mets have assembled at the back of the bullpen and, especially, in the rotation.

More from the eastern divisions …

  • The most recent chatter on Bryce Harper has focused on his ongoing dalliance with the Phillies, due in no small part to a recent, in-person meeting. Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets that Harper “hit it off” with Phils skipper Gabe Kapler, which perhaps represents a notable, though unquestionably secondary, factor in the still-developing situation. Though the word long has been that the Philadelphia organization has at least a slight preference for Manny Machado over Harper, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the latter may actually be a better match. Lauber ticks through a variety of ways in which that’s arguably the case, ranging from Harper’s fit in the lineup and on the roster to broader considerations such as marketing.
  • Even as they look for a deal to send out starter Sonny Gray, the Yankees are seeking another rotation asset, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link). It stands to reason that such a player would be a depth piece, whether a veteran on a minor-league deal or an optionable hurler acquired via trade, or perhaps a swingman type who’d initially work out of the bullpen. After all, even without Gray, the Yanks appear to have five rotation spots accounted for. It’s certainly understandable that the club would like to account for any starts that end up being missed by that unit, however. Otherwise, the New York org is said still to be looking at the relief market.
  • Veteran second baseman Brian Dozier weighed some multi-year offers before he landed with the Nationals, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes. He and his wife ultimately preferred the fit in D.C., says Dozier, who says he spoke with Kurt Suzuki and Josh Willingham about their experiences in the nation’s capital before making his decision. Dozier ended up securing a $9MM guarantee for one season of work; in all likelihood, he’d have taken a lower annual salary if he went with a lengthier pact. The opportunity will also give him a shot, then, at returning to the market in search of a bigger contract. For both Dozier and the Nats, the bottom-line question is whether the 2018 season is merely a blip or the start of a decline for a player who had been a star-level performer for several prior seasons. Dozier says he’s fully recovered from a knee issue that may have led to “some bad habits,” calling his rough campaign “a good learning year.”

Central Notes: Brennaman, Harper, Twins, Grandal

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Legendary Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman announced today that he’ll hang up his mic after the 2019 campaign, as John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among those to cover. It’ll be his 46th year in the booth, a remarkable run by any standard. Brennaman already received the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award way back in 2000, so it’s stating the obvious to call him an institution in Cincinnati. Fay honors his legacy in the above-linked piece, characterizing Brennaman as “a combination of celebrity and everyman.” As an acolyte of Vin Scully, I shared some admittedly sentimental words about the game when he wrapped up his remarkable career with the Dodgers. While I can’t add more that’s particular to Brennaman, there’s something universal in the idea I was trying to convey as it relates to long-tenured baseball announcers. MLBTR extends its best wishes to Brennaman as he prepares for one last 162-game run.

Here’s more from the central divisions …

  • Cubs skipper Joe Maddon isn’t the one calling the shots in the Chicago baseball operations department, but it was nevertheless notable to see his response when asked by a fan whether there was any chance of the team landing star free agent Bryce Harper. As Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com tweets, Maddon replied simply and directly: “not going to happen.” Meanwhile, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tells David Kaplan of Sports Talk Chicago (Twitter link) that the Cubs “never engaged” on Harper in the first place. Of course, reports have indicated that the club did at least ask for a chance to get involved down the line, though it has never been clear how realistic such a scenario would be.
  • The Twins are going to add at least one more arm before wrapping up their offseason, LaVelle E. Neal III tweets. Which? Well, that’d be good to know, of course, but the fact is that quite a few options still remain and it’s still entirely unclear where the front office might be looking. The Minnesota organization somehow still has yet to commit any salary beyond the season to come, so a reasonably significant addition surely can’t be ruled out. It’s arguable that the team most needs to pursue a quality reliever, though perhaps a move in the rotation is not out of the question entirely. Though it’s still anyone’s guess how this’ll play out, it’s notable that the team obviously still feels it has work to do. Certainly, some would argue that the Twins ought to be considering more than just a single hurler; the possibility of multiple impactful moves certainly still remains as well.
  • New Brewers backstop Yasmani Grandal discussed why he chose to go to Milwaukee, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. Grandal, of course, is known to have rejected a four-year deal with the Mets that would have paid him at a lower annual rate than the $18.25MM he’s guaranteed in Milwaukee ($2.25MM of which comes in the form of the buyout of a mutual option). While many would argue the lengthier term was the better deal, the veteran backstop says he felt it would have done a disservice to his fellow players to take less than he was worth for a given season. “I felt like part of my responsibility as a player was to respect the guys that went through this process before I did, those guys who established pay levels and markets for upper-tier catchers like me,” he said. Grandal talked about the “stressful” run through the open market; clearly, he thought hard about things not just for his personal benefit but from a broader perspective. Whether budging on years is preferable to taking a haircut on dollars is certainly debatable, but it’s interesting to note Grandal’s perspective on the subject regardless.

Shawn Tolleson Announces Retirement

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Former Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson announced his retirement from baseball on Wednesday. The right-hander had previously signed a minor league contract with Texas and planned to head to Major League Spring Training and compete for a job. However, the Rangers’ release today revealed that he’s experienced a setback in his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Said Tolleson in a statement, via the Rangers:

My intention was to compete for a position on the Rangers’ Major League pitching staff in 2019. With that no longer being a possibility, I have decided this is the right time to retire from professional baseball and move on to the next chapter of my life. I want to thank the Texas Rangers organization for all of their assistance in my rehab over the last year. It was a dream come true to pitch for my hometown team for three years, and my family and I will always be grateful for that opportunity.

From 2014-15, Tolleson was a high-quality late-inning option for the Rangers — first as a setup man and then as a closer. Over the course of those two seasons, he worked to a 2.88 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 144 innings — highlighted by a terrific 35-save campaign in 2015 that earned him a 10th-place finish in American League Cy Young voting.

Back injuries limited Tolleson to 36 1/3 innings in 2016, though, during which time he struggled to a 7.68 ERA. Following that rough campaign, he signed on with the Rays but required Tommy John surgery in Spring Training. He’d go on to miss each of the next two season as he recovered.

Tolleson’s career will be far more abbreviated than he or any of his three big league organizations would’ve otherwise hoped, but he’ll nevertheless retire with a lifetime 3.92 ERA, a 14-8 record, 46 saves, 8.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 spread across parts of five big league seasons between the Dodgers and his hometown Rangers.

Royals’ Eric Skoglund Suspended 80 Games

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Royals left-hander Eric Skoglund has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators S-22 (Ostarine) and LGD-4033 (Ligandrol),” the league announced Wednesday.

Skoglund, 26, would presumably have been in the mix for a rotation spot with the Royals this spring but will instead sit out the first half of the season without pay. The 2014 third-rounder has had some success at the Triple-A level thus far in his career but has not yet broken out as a reliable MLB option in Kansas City. In 14 appearances for the Royals in 2018 (13 starts), Skoglund pitched to a 5.14 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9 and a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate. He does have a 4.13 ERA with nearly a punchout per inning and similar control numbers through 109 innings with the Royals’ top minor league affiliate in Omaha.

Kansas City presently figures to open the season with Danny Duffy, Jakob Junis, Brad Keller and Ian Kennedy in the rotation. Skoglund’s subtraction from the race for the fifth spot will give names like Jesse Hahn, Trevor Oaks, Heath Fillmyer and Ben Lively a greater chance of making some starts in the early stages of a 2019 season that appears destined to be a rebuilding year for the Royals as they work to develop a new core following their 2015 World Series Championship.

The suspension will open a spot on the Royals’ 40-man roster, which had previously been full.

Agent Dan Lozano Issues Statement On Latest Manny Machado Reports

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In the wake of this morning’s reports from ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link) and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link), in which both suggested that the White Sox’ current offer to Manny Machado stands at $175MM over seven years, Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano of the MVP Sports Group, issued the following statement to MLBTR and other media outlets:

I have known Bob Nightengale and Buster Olney for many years and have always had a good professional relationship with both. But their recent reporting, like many other rumors in the past several months, have been inaccurate and reckless when it comes to Manny Machado. I don’t know if their sources are blatantly violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement by intentionally misleading them to try and affect negotiations through the public or are just flat out lying to them for other reasons. But the truth is that their reports on the details of the White Sox level of interest in Manny are completely wrong.

I am well aware that the entire baseball universe; fans, players, teams, and media members alike; are starved for information about this free agent market for all players, including Manny. But I am not going to continue to watch the press be manipulated into tampering with, not just with my client, but all of these players’ livelihoods as they have been doing this entire offseason. The absence of new information to report is no excuse to fabricate “news” or regurgitate falsehoods without even attempting to confirm their validity and it is a disservice to baseball fans everywhere when the media does just that.

Moving forward, I will continue to respect the CBA’s prohibition on negotiations through the media, and hope that others would do the same.

It’s an emphatic denial of this morning’s reports and a fairly rare step for an agent or team executive to take with regard to media reports. Lozano, though, clearly felt strongly enough to offer a firm rebuke of the information that has been put forth. The “White Sox level of interest” is in reference to the reported numbers on Machado’s offer this morning, rather than a commentary on Chicago’s desire to sign the player himself. At this point, there’s no clear timeline or indication as to when Machado’s free-agent saga will end.

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