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Archives for March 2021

George Springer, Robbie Ray To Begin Season On Injured List

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Two of the Blue Jays’ key offseason signings – center fielder George Springer and left-hander Robbie Ray – will miss the start of the season, manager Charlie Montoyo announced to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters (Twitter links). Springer has been dealing with a Grade 2 oblique strain since last week, while Ray has a bruised elbow.

Indications before Wednesday were that Springer wouldn’t be ready for the season opener, but this is nonetheless a disappointing way for the former Astro’s Toronto tenure to begin. The three-time All-Star signed the richest free-agent guarantee in the sport this past offseason – a six-year, $150MM contract – but will miss at least the first six games of 2021 for the Blue Jays. However, the playoff hopefuls still have a capable outfield trio with Randal Grichuk set to fill in for Springer alongside Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez in the corners.

Ray wasn’t nearly as expensive as Springer in free agency, but it did cost the Jays $8MM on a one-year pact to re-sign him. Ray has typically been a capable mid-rotation starter, though he slumped to a 6.62 ERA/5.49 SIERA with a similarly woeful 17.9 percent walk rate in 51 2/3 innings between Arizona and Toronto last season. The Jays are betting on a rebound, but that will have to wait for now, leaving Ross Stripling, Tanner Roark, Steven Matz, T.J. Zeuch and Anthony Kay as options behind ace Hyun Jin Ryu heading into the season.

Kyle Isbel Makes Royals’ Roster

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Outfielder Kyle Isbel has made the Royals’ Opening Day roster, manager Mike Matheny announced Wednesday (via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). The Royals already have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll have to make room before officially adding Isbel to it.

Isbel, who turned 24 earlier this month, has been a Royal since they used a third-round pick on him in 2018. He hit well at the rookie and Single-A levels during his first two years in the organization, though Isbel batted just .216/.282/.361 (86 wRC+) with five home runs and eight stolen bases in 214 plate appearances during his High-A debut in 2019. Nevertheless, he remains a well-regarded farmhand for Kansas City, as Baseball America ranks Isbel the team’s sixth-best prospect and writes that he could be a high-average, 15- to 20-HR hitter who offers “plus speed” and quality defense in the majors.

There was no minor league season in 2020, but Isbel turned heads at the Royals’ alternate site and then came back strong this spring with a .333/.420/.548 line and five extra-base hits (three doubles, two homers) in 42 at-bats. Along with Isbel, Andrew Benintendi, Michael A. Taylor and Jarrod Dyson figure to be the Royals’ top choices in the outfield at the start of the season.

Kyle Lewis To Begin Season On Injured List

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MARCH 31: Lewis will indeed begin 2021 on the injured list, Corey Brock of The Athletic tweets.

MARCH 27: Reigning AL Rookie Of The Year Kyle Lewis is suffering from a deep bone bruise on the outside of his right knee, Mariners manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links) and other reporters.  Lewis hasn’t played since Monday, when he suffered the injury colliding with the outfield wall in pursuit of a fly ball.

It isn’t yet clear if Lewis will be able to return to the field for any more Cactus League action, or even be available for the Mariners’ opener on Thursday.  An injured list placement could be inevitable, as the M’s are naturally going to be as careful as possible with the health of their young star.

Between the shortened 2020 season and his brief call-up during the 2019 campaign, Lewis has made only 317 plate appearances in 76 Major League games, yet he has already made a big impact.  Lewis has hit .264/.347/.477 with 17 homers as a big leaguer, and established himself as a key piece for the rebuilding Mariners.

If Lewis isn’t available at the start of the season, Taylor Trammell, Jake Fraley, or Braden Bishop could play center field, or Lewis’ replacement might not yet be on the roster.  Divish reports that the Mariners have been checking out other teams’ roster for any intriguing late-spring cuts, and Servais said that GM Jerry Dipoto will look at adding an external option depending on Lewis’ recovery timeline.  Of course, Seattle fans would love to see star prospect Jarred Kelenic as soon as possible, but Kelenic has already been optioned to Triple-A and likely won’t be making his big league debut until a bit later in the season (i.e. when the Mariners can ensure another year of team control).

Jed Hoyer “Very Confident” Cubs Will Extend Anthony Rizzo

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MARCH 31: President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said the Cubs are still “very confident” they will extend Rizzo, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. The Cubs are willing to continue discussions into the season, but it’s unclear whether Rizzo will adjust his Opening Day deadline.

MARCH 29, 7:10pm: The Cubs made Rizzo a five-year, $70MM extension offer, Mooney and Ken Rosenthal report. It was a front-loaded proposal with escalators that could have kicked in toward the back end of the deal.

11:35am: Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo told reporters today that extension talks with the team have stalled and a new deal now looks unlikely (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney). The slugger added that after speaking with his family and his representatives, he feels strongly about his previously set Opening Day deadline and has told his agents to stop talking to him about a contract (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers). Rizzo is “at peace” with the lack of a new contract and plans to shift his focus to the 2021 season.

Rizzo is one of three prominent members of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series roster that is currently slated to hit the open market after the season. The others, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant, have also been considered potential extension candidates. However, Rizzo was seen as perhaps the likeliest of the trio to sign, given his lengthier tenure with the club, his age and his expected price relative to those younger teammates.

Lining up on a new contract was likely difficult for myriad reasons, though. Rizzo has already signed what proved to be a very beneficial deal for the Cubs once in his career. That contract, a seven-year, $41MM extension inked in May 2013, ultimately wound up spanning nine years and paying Rizzo $75MM after a pair of club options were picked up and after he triggered some escalators based on a trio of fourth-place finishes in MVP voting. Having already taken what now looks to be a discount once, he may not have been as keen on doing so a second time.

It’s also tough to project Rizzo moving forward after he turned in one of his worst career showings at the plate in last year’s 60-game sprint. Rizzo appeared in 58 games for the Cubs and tallied 243 trips to the plate, but he batted just .222/.342/.414 along the way. His strikeout and walk rates remained strong, but that output obviously pales in comparison to the hearty .276/.379/.499 slash he logged from 2013-19. The Cubs likely have at least some trepidation as a result of last year’s downturn — particularly since Rizzo will turn 32 this August.

The lack of a deal this spring doesn’t guarantee that Rizzo will be playing elsewhere after the 2021 season. It remains possible that the Cubs could come back to the table with a late offer that is more in line with the 31-year-old’s asking price to this point, just as it’s possible that he could play out the ’21 season, reach free agency and ultimately still opt to re-sign with the Cubs. Owner Tom Ricketts has been quite averse to long-term spending over the past three offseasons, but at least on the surface, Rizzo would seem like a possible exception due to his nine-year tenure as a Cub, his role as a team leader and the role he played in the franchise’s curse-breaking championship run.

Latest On Talks Between Mets, Michael Conforto

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The chances of the Mets extending shortstop Francisco Lindor before his deadline on Thursday appear slim. In further unwelcome news for the Mets, it also doesn’t look as if they’ll prevent outfielder Michael Conforto from reaching free agency next winter.

While Conforto hasn’t set a season-opening deadline for negotiations, the Boras Corporation client and the Mets never came close to reaching an extension during spring training, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. As a result, “there is a much better chance” that Conforto will test free agency than not after the season, according to Puma.

As things stand, Conforto looks as if he’ll reach the open market as one of the premier hitters available. Conforto, who just turned 28 on March 1, has been a consistently above-average offensive player and sometimes a force since he debuted in 2015. The former 10th overall pick owns a lifetime line of .259/.358/.484 (127 wRC+) with 118 home runs across 2,501 plate appearances. Last year, albeit just a 60-game campaign, was the best yet on a per-PA basis for Conforto, who took 233 trips to the plate and slashed .322/.412/.515 with nine homers. He benefited from an unsustainable .412 batting average on balls in play – up 107 points from his career .305 mark – but still posted an elite .401 expected weighted on-base average and finished 13th in the majors in wRC+ (157).

Along with his offensive prowess, Conforto has shown himself to be a competent defender in the bigs. While he has been out of place in center field (minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-4.3 Ultimate Zone Rating), it has been a much different story in the corners. Between left and right, Conforto has notched 17 DRS and a 9.6 UZR in just over 3,700 innings of work.

Considering Conforto’s well-rounded game, not to mention his relative youth, he should do rather well on his next deal. A deal worth $100MM or more may be within reach if he continues to produce this year, but it remains to be seen if it will be New York or another club that ponies up for him.

Nationals’ Opening Day Roster Will Be Impacted Following Positive Covid-19 Test

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On the eve of Opening Day, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced to reporters that his club had a positive Covid-19 test that will impact the Opening Day roster (Twitter links via MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman). One player tested positive, per Rizzo, but another four players and one staffer were deemed to close contacts in need of quarantine. Rizzo made clear that the Nationals plan to play tomorrow night.

All five players — who have yet to be named — will be inactive for Opening Day. The positive test was performed on March 29, and the Nats learned of the result this morning. The positive player and the five close-contact individuals were all on a charter flight together this week, thus necessitating the quarantine.

Under this year’s updated health-and-safety guidelines, which were agreed upon by MLB and the Players Association back in early February, players who test positive “will be required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, receive appropriate care and monitoring from the Club medical staff, and be cleared by the Joint Committee and the individual’s team physician, following a mandatory cardiac evaluation and a determination that the individual no longer presents a risk of infection to others.”

Under those same guidelines, individuals who have been identified as being in close contact with a confirmed positive “will be subject to a mandatory quarantine of seven days and must test negative on day 5 or later among other requirements to rejoin Club facilities.”

It’s not year clear at this time which players are impacted by the positive test, but Rizzo acknowledged that the Nationals will “certainly” have to make some roster moves prior to tomorrow’s game (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli).

Players can be placed on the Covid-19 related injured list with no minimum time required, and those on the Covid-19 list do not count against a team’s 40-man roster. Replacement players can also be temporarily added to the Major League Active List, “without the need for those players to be placed on waivers, outrighted or optioned in order to be removed from the 40-man roster when players return from the Covid-19 Related Injured List,” per MLB’s updated 2021 protocols.

Jonathan India Makes Reds’ Roster

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The Reds announced Wednesday that 2018 No. 5 overall draft pick Jonathan India has made their Opening Day roster. He’ll need to be added to the Reds’ 40-man roster to make the move official.

At this point, India winning a spot shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s been apparent that the Reds expected him to play a prominent role in their infield since the club decided to move Eugenio Suarez back to shortstop and slide Mike Moustakas over to third base. India will likely open the season as Cincinnati’s everyday second baseman on the heels of a .313/.441/.604 showing through 59 spring plate appearances.

Headed into the 2019 season, the now-24-year-old India ranked among the game’s Top 100 prospects at Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs. At the time, India was regarded as a potential above-average defender at the hot corner who also possessed an above-average hit tool and above-average to plus raw power. His stock has tumbled a bit since then, however, despite a solid showing between two pitcher-friendly levels in 2019 — .259/.365/.402 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. He still ranks third among Reds farmhands at Baseball America, fifth at MLB.com and seventh at FanGraphs.

India hasn’t shown much of that raw power since being drafted, although he’s of course only had one full minor league season due to last year’s circumstances. He still has just 145 plate appearances of Double-A experience under his belt and none in Triple-A, so he’ll be making a fairly substantial leap to the big leagues with today’s announcement. That said, India did homer three times and collect five doubles in his 59 Cactus League plate appearances, and his power could be aided by playing his home games at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. At the very least, he gives the Reds an intriguing collection of bats in the infield, even if there are some questions surrounding the group’s defensive outlook.

Rays Have Had Extension Talks With Randy Arozarena

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The Rays have had “recent discussions” about a contract extension with outfielder Randy Arozarena, FanSided’s Robert Murray tweets. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times adds that Arozarena is one of several players with whom the Rays have inquired regarding a potential long-term deal, but nothing is close on any front. Still, it’s of at least some note that the team is getting a sense of what it’d take to get last year’s breakout star signed to a long-term pact.

Arozarena, 26, was acquired from the Cardinals in the trade that sent top pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore to St. Louis. He didn’t end up being promoted to the big leagues until late August, but his impact was nearly immediate. Arozarena homered in his fourth game with the Rays and proceeded to go on an otherworldly tear that catapulted him into the national spotlight during postseason play.

From his Aug. 30 debut through the end of the regular season, Arozarena posted a huge .281/.382/.641 slash with seven home runs through 76 plate appearances. That was impressive enough on its own, but he somehow managed to not only improve upon those numbers in the playoffs — but to do so in dramatic fashion. Through an even larger sample of 91 postseason plate appearances, Arozarena erupted with a Herculean .358/.429/.790 batting line. He launched 10 long balls during that historic stretch and took home ALCS MVP honors in the process.

Between the regular season and the playoffs, Arozarena gave the Rays 167 plate appearances of .324/.409/.724 production with a ridiculous 17 home runs in that time. Obviously, that level of output isn’t sustainable, but producing at that rate — often against high-caliber, high-leverage pitchers in the postseason — speaks to the upside Arozarena possesses.

Of course, there are other elements to consider. That’s an exceptionally small sample, impressive as it may be, and Arozarena has never been nearly that productive in the minor leagues. He’s struggled through a dismal Spring Training, slashing just .237/.256/.289 with a 28 percent strikeout rate that is roughly in line with last year’s strikeout tendencies. He was also briefly detained in Mexico over the winter after allegedly getting into a physical altercation with the father of his former girlfriend during an apparent custody dispute regarding Arozarena’s daughter. Arozarena and his former partner reached an agreement to settle the matter without further legal action being taken, however.

The Rays currently control Arozarena all the way through the 2026 season, and he won’t even be eligible for arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason, depending on whether he secures Super Two status. He’s currently on pace to enter that offseason with two years, 129 days of big league service, which would indeed lead to Super Two eligibility based on recent history.

Currently, Ronald Acuna Jr.’s $100MM contract with the Braves is currently the largest ever guaranteed to a player with under one year of Major League service time, though that contract came after Acuna had racked up 487 big league plate appearances and been named National League Rookie of the Year. More plausible points of comparison, speculatively speaking, could be the White Sox’ contract extensions with Eloy Jimenez (six years, $43MM) and Luis Robert (six years, $50MM). Both of those deals, however, came before either player had taken a single big league plate appearance.

Cubs Designate James Norwood For Assignment

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The Cubs announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander James Norwood for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to catcher Tony Wolters, whose rumored one-year deal with the club has now been formally announced.

Norwood, 27, has spent parts of the past three seasons in the big leagues with Chicago, pitching to a 4.50 ERA through 22 innings with sub-par strikeout and walk percentages (19.6 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively). He struggled in big league camp this spring as well, serving up eight runs (four earned) on eight hits and nine walks with 14 strikeouts through 7 1/3 innings of relief.

Norwood’s heater averages better than 97 mph, and he has a minor league option remaining, which could appeal to another club willing to take a speculative bullpen flier on a live arm. The 2014 seventh-rounder carries a 3.91 ERA, a solid 26 percent strikeout rate and a 10.3 percent walk rate through parts of six minor league seasons.

Cubs Sign Tony Wolters

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12:30pm: The Cubs announced that they have indeed signed Wolters to a one-year, Major League contract.

9:00am: Veteran catcher Tony Wolters, who recently opted out of a minor league contract with the Pirates, is now likely to sign with the Cubs, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Bruce Levine of 670TheScore reported last night that the Cubs had interest in the longtime Rockies backstop.

Willson Contreras, of course, is the starting catcher for the Cubs and should be in line for a sizable workload this year. However, the Cubs traded backup Victor Caratini to the Padres alongside Yu Darvish earlier in the winter, and they’ve done little to address the position in the subsequent months. Wolters and fellow veteran Jonathan Lucroy were on the Cubs’ radar, per Levine, but it seems the Cubs will go with the younger and more well-regarded defender of that pairing.

Wolters, 28, has spent the past five seasons as the Rockies’ primary catcher despite a meager .238/.323/.319 career batting line (57 wRC+, 62 OPS+). He had a particularly rough year at the dish in 2020’s shortened schedule, batting just .230/.280/.270 in a limited sample of 109 plate appearances.

On the defensive side of the coin, however, Wolters is considerably more appealing. He went just 3-for-20 in thwarting stolen bases last year, but prior to the 2020 season he carried a lifetime 32.8 percent caught-stealing rate that is well above the league average (around 27 percent). Wolters’ framing marks have dipped since 2019, but he graded as one of the game’s better options in that regard for much of his early career. Beyond that, Baseball Prospectus has graded him as average overall in terms of blocking pitches (and quite a bit above average as recently as ’19).

The Rockies non-tendered Wolters rather than pay him a raise on last year’s $1.9MM salary. He still hasn’t reached five full years of big league service, so if Wolters is able to make the Cubs’ roster and stick through the season, he’d be controllable via arbitration through the 2022 campaign.

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