Archives for October 2021

Nick Anderson Undergoes Elbow Surgery, Will Miss At Least First Half Of 2022 Season

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 1:09pm CDT

Rays right-hander Nick Anderson underwent a UCL brace procedure on his right elbow, according to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Anderson will miss the majority of the 2022 season recovering from the surgery, as he isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break.

Elbow problems already cost Anderson virtually all of the 2021 campaign, as he suffered a partial ligament tear during Spring Training last March and then didn’t pitch until September, eventually tossing only six innings. Anderson also missed about two weeks of the 2020 season due to forearm inflammation, but didn’t seem any worse for wear, allowing only one earned run in seven regular-season innings after returning from the 10-day injured list.

It is fair to wonder, however, whether Anderson’s heavy usage in the 2020 postseason led to his current issues. Anderson pitched 14 2/3 innings over 10 playoff games and lacked much of his effectiveness from the regular season, delivering only a 5.52 ERA after allowing runs in eight of those appearances.

Anderson is already 31 years old and didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 28, but he achieved definite late-bloomer status with his big strikeout numbers out of the Marlins and Rays bullpens. Anderson posted a stunning 42.2% strikeout rate over his first 81 1/3 Major League innings, complementing all those missed bats with some strong control (6.5% walk rate). Tampa Bay acquired Anderson from Miami at the 2019 trade deadline, and quickly made the righty a featured member of their ever-shifting relief corps.

Unfortunately for Anderson, his abbreviated 2021 season came just before he became eligible for salary arbitration, so he is projected for a modest $900K salary in his first trip through the arb process. Given how the Rays operate within such a tight budget, it now seems possible that they could potentially non-tender Anderson, if the team has any doubts about how he might recover from this latest setback. Or, the Rays might just figure that $900K could be better allocated towards a player who could help them for the entire season, rather than just the last two-plus months.

AL Notes: Athletics Ballpark, Santana, Orioles, Yankees

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 1:04pm CDT

The Alameda County board of supervisors voted (by a 4-1 margin) Tuesday to join the Athletics and the city of Oakland in the team’s attempts to construct a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site in Oakland. The county’s agreement is non-binding, and as Annie Sciacca of The Bay Area News Group explains, many steps remain before construction can or would actually begin on a new A’s stadium, or how financing for the development project would break down between the county, city, and the team. Still, “I think our willingness to at least go further based on the motion gives the county the opportunity to do more due diligence around this,” supervisor Nate Miley said.

Nationals Hire Eric Young Jr. As First Base Coach

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 11:32am CDT

The Nationals have hired Eric Young Jr. as their new first base coach. The news was revealed by Young’s father, Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr., who was speaking with reporter Jose de Jesus Ortiz (Twitter link) prior to Game 1 of the World Series. Young Jr. will replace Randy Knorr, who was reassigned to a player development role earlier this month after spending the 2021 season as Washington’s first base coach.

This is the first big league coaching role for Young, who spent the 2021 season on the coaching staff of the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. The 36-year-old is only two years removed from the end of his playing career, as Young played with Triple-A Tacoma and in the Mexican League in 2019. He was set to return to the Mexican League in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.

Young is a veteran of 10 MLB seasons, spending the bulk of his career with the Rockies (313 games from 2009-13) and the Mets (209 games in two separate stints). While he had only a couple of above-average seasons at the plate, Young was a feared baserunner in his prime, including a 2013 season that saw him lead the National League with 46 stolen bases.

2013 was also Young’s only season as a true everyday player, as he spent much of his career as a part-timer capable of providing speed off the bench and filling in at all three outfield positions, as well as second base early in his career. Given this track record, it is probably safe to assume that Young will also assume some responsibilities as a baserunning and/or outfield coach in D.C. Those roles were previously filled by Knorr and former third base coach Bob Henley.

The third base coaching job is the last vacancy remaining on the Nationals’ staff, with Young now in the fold to replace Knorr. The Nats already made a switch at hitting coach, hiring Darnell Coles after Kevin Long left to assume hitting coach duties with the Phillies.

Padres Notes: Washington, Fritz, Front Office

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 11:01am CDT

11:01AM: The Padres have hired Rob Marcello as the new pitching development coordinator, according to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (via Twitter). Marcello has spent the last two seasons as the pitching coach for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate

8:18AM: After Ron Washington was initially linked to the Padres’ managerial search, reports from last week suggested that the Padres weren’t planning to interview the Atlanta third base coach. However, “Washington remains a possibility,” according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, considering that the club has yet to make a hire as we approach November.

The Braves’ extended postseason run could be the reason for the delay, as the Padres have been forced to wait on Washington while other known candidates (such as Luis Rojas, Mike Shildt and Ozzie Guillen) were more immediately available for interviews. It doesn’t seem like San Diego is on the verge of a hire, as Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller told Acee and other reporters that the team may not have their new manager in place for the start of the GM Meetings on November 8, which was Preller’s initial target date.

We now know the World Series will go at least five games, and thus through October 31. November 3 is the scheduled date for a potential Game 7, so it could be another week before Washington is free to speak with the Padres. (Or, conceivably, with the Mets about their managerial vacancy, though New York would likely first want to complete their PBO/GM search before turning to the manager job.)

Should another candidate wow the Padres in the interim, Washington could be out of luck. But a source tells Acee that the Padres aren’t rushing to speak with Washington since he is already a known quantity — after all, Washington was a finalist for San Diego’s last managerial opening, as the Padres opted for Jayce Tingler over Washington in October 2019. One interesting suggestion is the idea that another candidate (Rojas is mentioned for this possibility) could wind up as the bench coach on Washington’s staff.

In other coaching news, Preller said that interim pitching coach Ben Fritz will return to the team in 2022 and resume his former duties as bullpen coach. Fritz was promoted to the pitching coach job in August when Larry Rothschild was fired, and San Diego now has a new full-time pitching coach in the newly-hired Ruben Niebla.

The Padres have also made two more organizational changes, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (Twitter links) was among those to report that the team parted ways with pitching development coordinator Steve Lyons and strength and conditioning director Dan Byrne. Lyons and Byrne had both been with the Padres since 2013, making them the latest long-time employees to depart in recent weeks as the club has undergone something of a minor shakeup. As reported last month, farm director Sam Geaney and coordinator of advance scouting Preston Mattingly also won’t be back in 2022. Interestingly, Lin notes that the Padres seemingly decided to replace Lyons before Niebla was hired, though Niebla and Lyons previously worked together in the Guardians organization.

Marlins Outright Jorge Guzman, Jeff Brigham

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 10:37am CDT

The Marlins have reinstated right-handers Jorge Guzman and Jeff Brigham from the 60-day injured list and outrighted both pitchers to Triple-A Jacksonville. Since the 60-day IL placements meant that Guzman and Brigham already weren’t on the 40-man roster, Miami’s 40-man remains at 36 players.

Guzman missed much of the season due to two separate visits to the 60-day IL due to elbow problems, and he appeared in only two games. The 25-year-old’s MLB career thus far consists only of three games and 2 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, with a garish 27.00 ERA over that very small sample size.

It wasn’t long ago that the hard-throwing Guzman was regarded as one of the Marlins’ better pitching prospects, which is particularly notable given the number of quality arms in the organization. However, many of those other pitchers are simply now a higher priority considering Guzman has barely pitched in two full seasons. Beyond his cups of coffee in the majors, Guzman also tossed only 15 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2021.

Brigham has seen even less action over the last two seasons. The righty spent all of 2021 on the 60-day injured list due to an unspecified injury, and threw only one inning with the Marlins in 2020, as he was one of many players caught up in the team’s COVID-19 outbreak that summer.

Brigham saw more action with the Marlins in 2018-19, posting a 5.01 ERA over 54 2/3 innings of work. Originally a fourth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2014 draft, Brigham has been with Miami since 2015, coming to the Fish as part of the whopping 13-player, three-team swap between the Marlins, Braves, and Dodgers at the 2015 trade deadline.

Marlins Extend Miguel Rojas Through 2023

By Steve Adams | October 28, 2021 at 9:26am CDT

TODAY: The Marlins officially announced Rojas’ extension.

OCTOBER 27: The Marlins are keeping their shortstop around for an extra season, agreeing to an extension with Miguel Rojas that’ll keep him under contract through 2023. Rojas, who had already locked in a $5.5MM salary for the 2022 season when he triggered a vesting option in September, is reportedly signing a two-year, $10MM deal.

It effectively amounts to the Marlins tacking on an additional year and $4.5MM for what will be Rojas’ age-34 season. The deal does not contain any option years. Rojas, who is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council, recently indicated in an appearance on Chris Rose’s podcast that an extension was in the works. He has previously voiced a desire to spend his entire career with the Marlins, and the front office has similarly expressed interest in keeping the clubhouse leader in Miami.

The 32-year-old Rojas saw his bat come back down closer to his career levels after a monster showing at the dish during the 2020 season. Typically a bit below-average with the bat but exceptional with the glove, Rojas erupted with a .304/.392/.496 showing last summer — albeit in a sample of just 143 plate appearances. That said, this year’s .265/.322/.392 showing in 539 trips to the plate was still a solid mark (97 wRC+), and if you take the last three seasons in the aggregate, Rojas has effectively been a league-average hitter.

League-average offense for a player of Rojas’ defensive aptitude is hardly anything to scoff at. Defensive Runs Saved pegged Rojas at plus-4 for the 2021 season and as a plus-20 defender in 4445 career innings at the position, while Rojas notched a 4.8 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2021 and carries a lifetime 28.5 mark in that regard. Statcast’s Outs Above Average is less bullish on his glovework but pegs him as at least an average defender over the past several seasons. Rojas also has ample experience at second base and third base in his career, so he could eventually slide into a utility role — although all current indications are that he’ll reprise his role as starting shortstop in 2022.

A Rojas extension gets some offseason business out of the way early for the Marlins and locks in a bargain source of cost certainty for the 2023 campaign. That’s likely quite notable for the Fish, who are angling to spend some money in free agency this winter but will surely be operating with some degree of financial constraints. CEO Derek Jeter has voiced an expectation that the Marlins will be “pretty active” for the first time under this ownership group.

Time will tell how that vague description from Jeter is defined relative to other “active” teams in free agency. The Marlins are expected to seek long-term options at catcher and in center field, and they could certainly be in the mix for a corner outfielder to pair with promising young Jesus Sanchez. At the moment, Rojas and right-hander Anthony Bass ($3MM) are the only players on guaranteed contracts in 2022. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects an arbitration class in the vicinity of $34.5MM, and Miami will still owe $3MM to the Yankees under the terms of the Giancarlo Stanton trade.

With a projected payroll in the $55-56MM range, there does appear to be room to add — the question is just how high the Jeter/Bruce Sherman ownership group is willing to push payroll. Presumably, they’ll look for a gradual year-over-year increase rather than soaring to their max budget right out of the gates. However they proceed, they can now do so with the certainty that their ostensible team captain is under control for an extra season.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported the Marlins and Rojas were in agreement on an extension. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported it was a two-year, $10MM deal. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that the contract did not contain any options.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Scott Kazmir Intends To Pitch In 2022

By Anthony Franco | October 27, 2021 at 10:14pm CDT

Scott Kazmir completed an incredible comeback effort in May, reaching the big leagues for the first time in five years. The veteran bounced on and off the Giants’ roster a couple times, ultimately making five MLB appearances and starting twelve times with Triple-A Sacramento.

Kazmir finished the season on the injured list after straining his right hamstring during the final week of the regular season. The 37-year-old (38 in January) tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s returned to full health a little less than a month later. Kazmir adds that he intends to continue pitching next season, assuming he receives interest from teams.

The three-time All-Star will be a free agent this winter, but it indeed seems likely he’ll field some minor league offers. There’s no harm for clubs in giving the respected veteran a chance to compete for a job in Spring Training, and Kazmir is coming off an alright showing in the minors.

Over 52 2/3 frames with the River Cats, Kazmir posted a 4.61 ERA in the hitter-friendly Triple-A West. His strikeout and walk rates (22.1% and 8.3%, respectively) were right around the league average. Kazmir’s brief major league time didn’t go well, as he was tagged for nine runs (including three homers) in 11 1/3 frames. But his passable showing in Triple-A combined with a wealth of big league experience should get him another look next spring.

That could again be with the Giants, where president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has a relationship with Kazmir that dates back to their time with the Dodgers from 2015-17. The left-hander tells Slusser he’d welcome a return to San Francisco.

Blue Jays Deny Mets’ Request To Interview Mark Shapiro

By Anthony Franco | October 27, 2021 at 7:44pm CDT

Blue Jays ownership recently denied the Mets’ request to interview Toronto president/CEO Mark Shapiro as part of New York’s ongoing front office search, report Ken Davidoff, Joel Sherman and Mike Puma of the New York Post. Shapiro becomes the third known Mets’ target of the day to be ruled out as a possibility, joining Brewers GM Matt Arnold and Cardinals GM Michael Girsch.

A Shapiro pursuit would’ve always been a longshot, not too dissimilar from New York’s earlier unsuccessful runs at A’s executive vice president Billy Beane and Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns. Shapiro has paired with general manager Ross Atkins to run baseball operations for the Jays since 2015, and he inked a five-year contract extension this January. The Post scribes suggest it’s unlikely Shapiro would’ve given much thought to making the jump to Queens even if Jays ownership had given him the opportunity to do so.

New York has also had reported interest in Giants GM Scott Harris and Dodgers assistant GM Brandon Gomes, but both took themselves out of consideration in favor of remaining with their current clubs. Los Angeles senior vice president of baseball ops Josh Byrnes is among the publicly-known candidates who haven’t since been ruled out; the Mets are also reportedly considering a couple of internal options, and there are surely potential targets with other organizations whose names have yet to be reported.

Braves Release Edgar Santana

By Anthony Franco | October 27, 2021 at 6:22pm CDT

The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve released reliever Edgar Santana. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for southpaw Tucker Davidson, who was added to the World Series roster in place of the injured Charlie Morton. Davidson had been on the 60-day injured list since late June. Players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a team’s 40-man roster, so Atlanta needed to open a 40-man spot to formally activate Davidson before tonight’s contest.

Santana has been on the injured list himself, landing on the 10-day IL with an intercostal strain during the final week of the regular season. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Braves had to release Santana to remove him from the 40-man roster.

The Braves acquired Santana from the Pirates in early April. He was optioned on and off the active roster a few times but ultimately logged 42 2/3 innings over 41 outings. The righty pitched to a solid 3.59 ERA, actually the highest mark he’s posted in three big league seasons. That came without many punch-outs, as Santana only fanned 18.9% of opponents and benefited from batters’ .244 batting average on balls in play against him. The 30-year-old did avoid walks and induce grounders at an above-average clip, though, and his 12.4% swinging strike rate checked in a touch above the league average for relievers.

Santana now finds himself on release waivers. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him to receive a salary around $1MM if tendered an arbitration contract. That’s not an onerous figure, so it’s at least possible someone puts in a claim with an eye towards keeping him around for 2022. Should Santana pass waivers through unclaimed, he’d be a free agent.

Padres To Hire Ruben Niebla As Pitching Coach

By Mark Polishuk | October 27, 2021 at 4:55pm CDT

OCTOBER 27: The Friars have finalized an agreement with Niebla, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic (Twitter link). As expected, he’ll be the club’s pitching coach in 2022.

OCTOBER 24: The Padres “are locking in on” Indians assistant pitching coach Ruben Niebla as their next pitching coach, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. The hiring isn’t yet official, though Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports (via Twitter) that Niebla “is considered all but a done deal” to change teams.

Ben Fritz had been serving as the Padres’ interim pitching coach since Larry Rothschild was fired in late August. According to Acee, the Padres are hoping Fritz remains with the team — Fritz had been working as the bullpen coach before his in-season promotion. It remains to be seen how the rest of the coaching staff will shake out, as bench coach/third base coach Bobby Dickerson has already left the team to join the Phillies, and there could be a wider coaching shakeup once the new San Diego manager is hired (as presumably that new skipper would get some say in assembling the staff).

Niebla will already be in place, however, as the SoCal native will now be moving closer to home for his first official gig as a Major League pitching coach. Niebla briefly served as Cleveland’s interim pitching coach in 2012, his highest rank in 21 seasons with the organization. Much of that first decade was spent as a minor league coach before Niebla joined the MLB staff as a coaching assistant in 2010, and then following his interim gig in 2012, he worked seven seasons as a minor league pitching coordinator. Niebla has been in his current role on the Major League coaching staff for the last two seasons.

At least one familiar face will already be there in San Diego to welcome Niebla, as former Indians hurler Mike Clevinger is expected to be back next season after missing 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. On paper, San Diego has plenty of solid rotation options in place with Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Chris Paddack, Clevinger, Ryan Weathers, and (around midseason) Adrian Morejon, except injuries and general under-performance ravaged this group last year.

In the bigger picture, the Padres will also surely be looking to pick Niebla’s brain about some of the secrets of Cleveland’s success at drafting and developing pitchers in recent years. While the Padres have had no shortage of promising young pitching prospects, they’ve had issues in converting that potential into success at the big league level. (To wit, all of Musgrove, Darvish, Snell, Paddack, and Clevinger were acquired in trades.)

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines

Archives for October 2021

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect