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Archives for February 2019

West Notes: Preller, Harper, Halos, Kikuchi

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Padres GM A.J. Preller has a lot riding on his hand-picked roster, particularly with the team now having made a huge commitment to Manny Machado, and he laid out his belief in the club not long after announcing the Machado deal. As Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, the top San Diego baseball decisionmaker turned in a fiery locker-room speech that seems to have made quite an impression on the players. It was a rare address for Preller, who sent the message that this group was compiled with winning intentions. There’s no shortage of interesting storylines to watch in San Diego — Machado’s impact, remaining roster needs, camp battles, prospect timelines — some of which may well carry into the regular season.

More from out west …

  • It’d be a convenient narrative to see the Dodgers’ late-breaking pursuit of Bryce Harper as something of a response to their division rivals to the south, but there’s really no reason to believe that’s much of a factor. Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times examines what might actually be driving the Los Angeles powerhouse, suggesting that the foray into the superstar’s market may just be an attempt to see if Harper “is open to striking a deal on their terms — and their terms only.” Hernandez argues that the Dodgers should be willing “to create exceptions to their analytically dictated rules” in situations like these, but casts ample doubt as to whether the organization will in fact do so.
  • Elsewhere in the greater Los Angeles region, the city of Long Beach, California appears to be making a play to woo the Angels, according to a report from Jason Ruiz of the Long Beach Post. Details are scant at the moment, but it seems the pitch involves a waterfront ballpark lot. Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia acknowledged having “approached the Angels” to open a dialogue on a possible move. Long Beach has a history with the Halos, including some serious dalliances in the past. For the time being, the club is still under contract to remain in Anaheim through at least 2020. Long-term talks to stay in Angels Stadium are ongoing, with some recent warming of relations but plenty of uncertainty overall.
  • While a spring outing won’t be mistaken for the real thing, it was nevertheless fascinating to observe how MLB newcomer Yusei Kikuchi fared in his first game appearance in Mariners duds. As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports, the initial showing was fairly impressive. Kikuchi managed to induce a ghastly swinging strikeout from none other than Joey Votto, who afterward praised the “potential” (and relative rarity) of Kikuchi’s “very good” and “very surprising” curve. Seattle manager Scott Servais felt his new workhorse “was outstanding for the first time out there.” The M’s committed at least four years and $56MM to Kikuchi, a significant outlay for a club that spent the winter focusing on the near-future (2020 and beyond) rather than the immediate future (the coming season). His ability to translate his success in Japan’s top league to the majors will factor heavily into the Seattle organization’s ability to rebound quickly into full competitiveness.

Health Notes: Nelson, Herrera, Swanson, Oaks

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Brewers hurler Jimmy Nelson is pausing his throwing program owing to “arm fatigue discomfort,” president of baseball operations David Stearns tells reporters including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. All involved say they’re unconcerned with the development, with manager Craig Counsell labeling it “a very minor setback.” It has been a long road back already for Nelson, who hasn’t thrown a competitive inning since undergoing a labrum procedure in September of 2017. He’ll need to wait a while longer before taking the bump in a Spring Training contest, with the club understandably maintaining a conservative plan in light of his health history.

More health notes from around the game …

  • The Phillies say that outfielder Odubel Herrera is dealing with a grade 1 hamstring strain, Matt Breen of Philly.com reports on Twitter. He’s said to be “coming along,” though skipper Gabe Kapler couldn’t specify when Herrera will be ready to take the field. It’s not a terribly worrying injury at the outset of camp, though it will limit Herrera’s opportunities to get in a groove after a disappointing 2018 season. The wild card in the situation is the Phils’ ongoing pursuit of Bryce Harper and their as-yet-unknown plans for shuffling the outfield deck if they sign him. The injury might impact Herrera’s marketability, if he’s a player the team would consider moving to make way for Harper.
  • Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson is readying for his first Spring Training game action at the end of the week, per Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). That seems to represent a positive sign for a player who underwent wrist surgery at the conclusion of the 2018 campaign. Swanson had a quiet but reasonably promising 2018 campaign, with sparkling glovework and baserunning making up for still-lagging production at the plate. Swanson produced only a .238/.304/.395 slash (80 wRC+) with 14 home runs and ten steals over 533 plate appearances, but that represented a step forward after a rough 2017 effort. He’ll open camp with a presumption of at least semi-regular playing time, but could face pressure from Johan Camargo over the course of the season.
  • Hip surgery is on the table for Royals righty Trevor Oaks, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports (subscription link). If it is determined that he needs to go under the knife for a labrum tear, the 25-year-old will miss a significant portion of the season to come. Oaks turned in 128 1/3 innings of 3.23 ERA ball at Triple-A last year after he was acquired in last winter’s Scott Alexander swap. He managed only 4.9 K/9 with 3.1 BB/9 on the year, though did post a 50.2% groundball rate (which actually lags his well-above-average minor-league career groundball numbers). Oaks also made a brief MLB debut in 2018. As Dodd explains, it didn’t seem likely that he’d crack the active roster to open the coming campaign. Nevertheless, the loss would dent the Royals’ rotation depth.

Clayton Kershaw Battling Shoulder Issue

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FEBRUARY 25, 6:19pm: Kershaw tried to play catch today but “didn’t feel great,” Roberts told reports including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter), Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter link), and Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (also on Twitter). The organization still doesn’t have plans for an MRI and will wait at least a few more days before allowing Kershaw to attempt throwing again.

“It’s not ideal,” Roberts acknowledged. “You’re hoping when he picks up a ball that he comes out of it feeling better. So obviously it’s not ideal. But we’ll deal with whatever comes our way.”

FEBRUARY 24, 9:50pm: Kershaw suggests the shoulder discomfort may stem from an attempt to add velocity this spring, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. No MRI was taken, but since being shut down Kershaw has been taking anti-inflammatories to improve the feeling in his shoulder, which appears to be effective. The plan is to have Kershaw resume his throwing activities on Monday.

12:54pm: Roberts provided some more details on Kershaw’s condition today, telling reporters (including Castillo and The Athletic’s Pedro Moura) that the issue is with Kershaw’s throwing shoulder.  The southpaw has been working to increase his velocity this offseason, which Roberts speculated as a possible contributor to the soreness.  There doesn’t appear to be any major concern about Kershaw, as Roberts said the hurler won’t be undergoing an MRI and is still expected to throw again within a few days’ time.  Kershaw is still expected to be on the mound for the Dodgers on Opening Day.

FEBRUARY 22: The Dodgers have shut down star hurler Clayton Kershaw indefinitely, manager Dave Roberts tells Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. The venerable southpaw is dealing with an unspecified health issue that Roberts would describe only as an “arm kind of thing.”

Initial signals from the organization are that there’s nothing to worry about at this point. Kershaw says he’s “just going to take a few days right now” and adds that he expects to resume throwing in short order, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County-Register tweets.

In Roberts’s view, too, this is just an early pause “to just kind of step away, give him a couple days.” That said, he acknowledged that he “can’t say right now” just when Kershaw will be ready to ramp back up.

Clearly, there’s no reason to rush to judgment about what might be going on here. Given Kershaw’s recent health history, there’s also some reason for added concern. Both men were rather circumspect about the underlying issue, declining to clarify whether Kershaw’s prior back and shoulder problems were involved. For the time being, then, we’ll just have to wait to see how things progress and await further word.

Yankees Hire Andy Pettitte As Special Advisor

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The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve hired Andy Pettitte as a special advisor to general manager Brian Cashman.

As is often the case with such appointments, Pettitte’s responsibilities are somewhat nebulous. The long-time MLB lefty will “help coach both the physical and mental side of being a champion and pitching in New York,” Cashman told reporters today (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).

It seems the initial plan is for Pettitte to ease into things with the Yankees organization while remaining a resident of Texas. His new role will not interfere with his duties as the pitching coach for a Houston-area high school, where he works alongside head coach Lance Berkman — making for rather a star-studded staff.

Pettitte says he passed up a chance to join former Yanks teammate Jorge Posada as a special assistant with Derek Jeter’s Marlins. Posada recently signed on in Miami, where he resides. While that offer held its own appeal, Pettitte says his arrangement with the Yankees “has been in the works for five years” — ever since he  wrapped up his 18-year MLB career after the 2013 season.

Adam Warren Weighing Multiple Offers; Blue Jays Among Interested Teams

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The Blue Jays are showing interest in several veteran relievers, including right-hander Adam Warren, per Robert Murray and Emily Waldon of The Athletic (Twitter link). Waldon tweets that Warren currently has offers from multiple teams in hand and is weighing his options.

Warren, 31, hasn’t been connected to many clubs this winter. It surely doesn’t help the righty that he missed time early in the season due to a back strain and then struggled following a trade from the Yankees to the Mariners. Warren posted a respectable 3.74 ERA in 21 2/3 frames with Seattle but saw his strikeout rate plummet from nearly 29 percent to to just 15.8 percent after changing teams. Warren’s average fastball dipped from 93 mph in 2017 to 91.9 mph in 2018, though he gained some velocity as the season wore on, and it’s possible that the early back troubles hindered his velocity to an extent.

Still, the sum of Warren’s efforts between the two clubs last year resulted in a 3.14 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9 and a 37.6 percent ground-ball rate in 51 2/3 innings. His 10.4 percent swinging-strike rate and 31.5 percent opponents’ chase rate were actually the best marks he’d turned in since 2014. Warren benefited from a sky-high 84.4 percent strand rate that he’s quite unlikely to replicate, but fielding-independent metrics such as FIP (3.94) and SIERA (3.84) still felt he was a solid, if unspectacular bullpen piece. He also has a history as a multi-inning reliever and has worked as a starter in the past, which one would think is all the more appealing to clubs around the league.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said early this month that the “bulk” of the team’s focus between then and Opening Day would be on pitching additions. It’s not clear whether Warren is weighing multiple MLB or minor league offers, though Atkins noted at the time of his comment that he wasn’t ruling out adding another player on a big league deal.

Dombrowski: Red Sox Unlikely To Sign Additional Relievers

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The Red Sox’ bullpen has been a source of scrutiny among fans and pundits alike for much of the offseason, and it seems quite likely that thinking will continue heading into the season. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters prior to today’s Spring Training contest that he doesn’t expect to sign any free-agent relievers between now and Opening Day (link via Rob Bradford of WEEI).

“As far as signings are concerned I would say we’re through at this point,” Dombrowski said when asked about his bullpen. Dombrowski wouldn’t expressly rule out the possibility of changing course if something in Spring Training necessitated an addition, but he added that at the moment, the Sox “don’t have anything going on outside the organization.”

It’s been apparent for quite some time now that a reunion between the Red Sox and Craig Kimbrel is exceedingly unlikely — Dombrowski himself has hinted at that reality — but it’s still somewhat of a surprise to hear a fairly definitive statement indicating that the Sox are done adding. The free-agent market for relievers has largely been picked over, but there are still some interesting big league arms in the form of Bud Norris, Adam Warren and Tony Sipp, among others (as can be seen in MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker).

Boston, as explored here recently, is within roughly $4.7MM of the top luxury tax penalty bracket, which would see their top draft pick reduced by 10 spots next year and would come with a 75 percent tax on any dollar spent above that line. Given that Spring Training games are already underway, though, it seems unlikely that any reliever other than Kimbrel would command enough money to push the Sox across that line. Then again, perhaps the Sox are simply confident that they’ll be able to make any upgrades they need on the trade market this summer and would prefer to leave a bit of flexibility for that possibility.

It’s also worth noting that Dombrowski didn’t rule out adding a reliever at all, so perhaps the Boston will be active on the waiver and trade markets this spring — although it’s unlikely that an intriguing reliever would fall all the way to the Sox, who have the lowest priority after winning an MLB-high 108 games last year. The Sox could make some fringe additions to the ’pen in minor trades, though, as was the case back in November when they acquired Colten Brewer from the Padres. They’re also reportedly entertaining offers for their possible surplus of catchers, and it’s certainly feasible that they could add a big league bullpen asset by that measure.

[Related: Boston Red Sox depth chart]

Bradford writes that right-hander Matt Barnes is the early favorite for ninth-inning work with Boston this year, though he’ll have some competition from Ryan Brasier in that role. Beyond that pairing, the Sox will see what right-handers Brewer, Tyler Thornburg, Steven Wright, Brandon Workman, Hector Velazquez, Travis Lakins and Marcus Walden can bring to the table this spring. Lefty options include Brian Johnson, Bobby Poyner and Josh Taylor. As for minor league signees, the Sox brought Carson Smith back to the organization and also signed Zach Putnam, Brian Ellington and the recently un-banned Jenrry Mejia.

Bryce Harper Expected To Make Decision This Week

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12:35pm: Harper’s decision is expected to come this week, Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. At the moment, the only three teams in the mix for him are the Phillies, Dodgers and Giants.

10:00am: The Dodgers’ interest in Harper is still on a shorter-term pact, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Harper and agent Scott Boras are still eyeing a long-term deal. Mark Feisand of MLB.com tweets that the Phillies are the only team currently negotiating a “true” long-term deal with Harper and agent Boras. The Giants, like the Dodgers, are still only interested at shorter terms than the 10-year offer Philadelphia is reportedly willing to put on the table.

7:38am: The Dodgers have jumped back into the Bryce Harper bidding and held a meeting with him as recently as last night, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Dodgers officials, including manager Dave Roberts, were seen in Las Vegas to meet with Harper. Per Jeff Passan and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter links), the Dodgers re-engaged with Harper’s camp two weeks ago, although at the time, they were still hoping to secure Harper on a shorter-term pact. Harper, however, has been seeking at least a 10-year deal and has not budged from that thinking, Passan notes.

While there has not been any firm indication that the Dodgers are now willing to put forth a decade-long offer (or longer), the meeting is nonetheless quite notable at this juncture in Harper’s free-agent saga. Over the weekend, Phillies owner John Middleton also visited Harper in his home city, and reports at the time indicated that there was optimism surrounding the possibility of finalizing a 10-year deal with Harper as soon as tonight. That could still prove to true, but the question for many onlookers had been whether the Phillies were bidding against themselves. That no longer appears to be the case, as the Vegas meeting between the Dodgers and Harper suggests a rather sincere level of interest on their end.

Los Angeles has already added one big-ticket outfield item this winter, signing A.J. Pollock to a four-year deal worth $55MM, and bringing Harper aboard would give them a new right fielder to go along with their new-look center fielder. It’d also muddy the outfield mix a bit, leaving only one spot with Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger in need of at-bats there. Bellinger could also see time at first base, of course, although that would come at the cost of playing time for 2018 breakout slugger Max Muncy.

That said, the Dodgers are never ones to shy away from cultivating extreme levels of depth, and bringing Harper into the fold would create an extraordinarily deep mix of offensive options for Roberts. Of course, the Dodgers have also reportedly explored deals involving Pederson this winter as well, and signing Harper could also prove to be a harbinger for the trade of another outfielder.

The Dodgers already traded away Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood in what looked at the time to be a trade that opened both roster space and luxury tax breathing room for a possible Harper addition, but the only notable signing they’ve made since that swap was Pollock’s four-year pact. Adding Harper would definitively skyrocket the Dodgers into luxury tax territory, as they’re already only about $4MM shy of that threshold, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource.

Rockies Extend Bud Black

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10:45am: The Rockies have announced the extension.

10:32am: The Rockies and manager Bud Black have agreed to a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2022 season, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. Black’s original three-year pact with Colorado ran spanned the 2017-19 seasons and included a 2020 club option.

Bud Black } Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Black, 61, enjoyed a 15-year playing career as a pitcher (primarily for the Royals, Giants and Indians) and spent nearly nine years as the manager of his now-division-rival Padres from 2007-15. After being dismissed in San Diego, Black was in a front-runner for the Nationals’ managerial post before the team’s offers to him were reported to be exceptionally low for a veteran manager. He instead spent a year as a senior advisor in the Angels’ front office before being hired by the Rockies in the 2016-17 offseason.

Black’s first two years with the Rockies have been a success, as he’s overseen a 178-147 record and made a pair of postseason appearances via Wild Card berths. While the Rockies were ousted by the Diamondbacks in the 2017 National League Wild Card Game, they topped the Cubs in the 2018 Wild Card and moved onto the National League Division Series. Their World Series aspirations were cut short in a decisive sweep at the hands of the Brewers, however. He’s finished third in National League Manager of the Year voting in each of his two seasons in Colorado.

Rockies pitchers have taken a step forward under Black, and while he surely isn’t the sole reason for that, Black’s 15-year pitching career and seven-year run as a highly respected pitching coach with the Angels surely is of benefit to a young Rockies pitching staff. With this new deal in place, that young pitching staff will have some continuity as it continues to make strides in pitching at the game’s most hitter-friendly venue. Continued success for Black, too, could eventually push his career managerial record north of .500; it currently sits at 649-713 after managing some underwhelming Padres rosters during some of the leanest seasons in that franchise’s history.

Twins Designate Zack Granite For Assignment

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The Twins have designated outfielder Zack Granite for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for newly signed Marwin Gonzalez, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets.

Granite, 26, forced his way onto the Twins’ big league roster with a .338/.392/.475 showing in Triple-A in 2017, though that output was buoyed by a .371 average on balls in play. His time in the Majors didn’t prove quite as fruitful, as he slashed just .237/.321/.290 in 107 trips to the plate. Granite struggled through a dismal .211/.282/.245 batting line in an injury-shortened 2018 season in Triple-A Rochester and, in the process, saw himself leapfrogged on the organizational depth chart by fellow outfielder Jake Cave, whom the Twins acquired from the Yankees last spring.

While Granite has elite speed and a strong defensive skill set, he’s largely devoid of power, never having totaled more than six home runs in a season (which came in 2017 between the Twins and Triple-A). But, as a career .282/.348/.360 hitter in the minors with a 10.2 percent strikeout rate, an 8.5 percent walk rate and a minor league option remaining, he could certainly hold appeal to another club in need of outfield options. A team thin in the outfield could look to give Granite a chance at regular reps, but his speed and defense would also make him a viable fourth outfielder o a team with an already set mix of starters.

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