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West Notes: Rangers, Padres, Rockies

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Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers has been told to arrive in Spring Training ready to both start and close following Derek Holland's knee injury, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports reports. "It opens the door for someone," Scheppers said of the injury, while noting that Colby Lewis and Robbie Ross should also be in the mix for a rotation spot. Andro also spoke with Elvis Andrus, whose 2013 double play partner of Ian Kinsler has been replaced by Jurickson Profar, and outfielder Michael Choice, whose chances of securing a starting job fell after the Shin-Soo Choo signing. Here's more from baseball's Western divisions:

  • Holland says he was told by his surgeon that he may have injured his knee several years ago without realizing it, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. "He said it just happened again," the pitcher related. Holland also explained that the injury happened on the stairs in his home while playing with his dog.
  • The Padres will have the resources to make upgrades if they're in the mix for a playoff spot after the 2014 All-Star break, club management tells Bill Center of U-T San Diego. Center opines that San Diego's 2014 season is likely to hinge on whether key players like Carlos Quentin can stay on the field. Injury concerns surround some 40 percent of the projected Opening Day roster, according to Center.
  • Earlier this evening, we heard that Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood changed agencies, switching from the Boras Corp. to Dan Lozano's MVP Sports.

Yankees Notes: Kuroda, Third Base, A-Rod

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Hiroki Kuroda gave the Yankees "top priority" this offseason after he decided to pitch another year, the hurler tells Sponichi (via an article by Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues). Kuroda says the Yankees approached him about an extension as early as August. As Axisa notes, the episode is another indication that the Yankees have abandoned their "no extensions" policy. Here's more Yankees notes, with a heavy emphasis on Alex Rodriguez, who will be suspended for the entire 2014 season:

  • The A-Rod suspension gives the Yanks a much better chance of getting under the $189MM luxury tax threshold, but they'll also need to find someone to play third base, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News writes. While the Yankees have Kelly Johnson in the fold, he's played just 16 games at third in his Major League career. 
  • Other potential fits include Mark Reynolds and Michael Young. Reynolds, you may remember, played 36 games in pinstripes last season. There's also Dustin Ackley and Nick Franklin of the Mariners, whom another source says the Yankees expressed interest in at the Winter Meetings. A trade may not be in the cards, however, McCarron says.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick examines the fallout from the suspension, noting that cases such as Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro indicate A-Rod has little chance of entering the Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Commissioner Bud Selig can now argue that he's left the game "in a better place."
  • While Rodriguez plans to take his case to federal court, Ian O'Connor of ESPN New York opines that such a bid is also unlikely to succeed. "Federal judges historically have little interest in hearing cases already settled in collectively bargained arbitration," O'Connor writes.
  • Daniel Lazaroff, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, says A-Rod winning an injunction that would allow him to play in 2014 "is about as likely as the 'steroid-era' players being elected to the Hall of Fame." Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times has more from Lazaroff in his column on the suspension.
  • Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun expects a long court battle, which might be A-Rod's "only chance to preserve any semblance of a legacy."

Tyler Chatwood Switches To MVP Sports Group

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Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood is now represented by Dan Lozano’s MVP Sports Group, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. He was previously a client of the Boras Corp.

Chatwood, 24, made his major league debut with the Angels in 2011, and was sent to Colorado in a swap for Chris Iannetta. He had a fine campaign in 2013, making 20 starts for the Rockies and posting a 3.15 ERA in 111 1/3 innings. For his career, the 24-year-old owns a 4.33 ERA, a K/9 rate of 5.1 and a BB/9 rate of 4.1.

AL Notes: Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Jays

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The Indians have had a quiet offseason thus far, with December's one-year pact with John Axford and a trade that netted them reliever Josh Outman in exchange for Drew Stubbs being their biggest moves. In a reader mailbag column, Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer writes that the Tribe's estimated 2013 attendance figure of 1.6 million — second-to-last in the majors — could be a factor in the club's quiet offseason. Fans might see more activity from the Cleveland front office if attendance returned to the 2.5 million to 3 million range that the Indians formerly drew, Hoynes says. Here's more from around the American League:

  • Jeff Sullivan examined the importance of rotation depth in a piece for Fangraphs. In 2013, teams got an average of 32 starts from pitchers who didn't rank among their top-five most heavily used starters. Sullivan notes that a pitcher like Ryan Dempster, who's been the subject of trade discussions as the odd man out in the Red Sox rotation, could end up being valuable for Boston when one factors in expected rates of starter attrition.
  • A trip to the postseason can exhaust a pitcher, former Cy Young Award-winner Orel Hershiser tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester and Koji Uehara each reached career highs in innings as they continued to throw into October last season. Lauber reports that Red Sox personnel have urged some of the club's pitchers to alter their offseason routines because of the higher workloads.
  • The Boston Herald's John Tomase sizes up the Red Sox's AL East competitors now that several have brought in new talent.
  • Yesterday, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com listed the six worst contracts on the books for the Yankees. Today, he named Brett Gardner (arbitration eligible), Alfonso Soriano (one year with the Cubs paying all but $5MM of his 2014 salary), David Robertson (arbitration eligible), Ivan Nova (arbitration eligible), Hiroki Kuroda (one year, $16MM), and Brian McCann (five years, $85MM) as the team's best bargains. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects arbitration salaries of $4MM for Gardner, $5.5MM for Robertson, and $2.8MM for Nova. 
  • It's time for the Orioles to spend, and starting pitching stands out as the team's greatest area of need, CBS Sports' Dayn Perry writes. Signing Masahiro Tanaka would provide the club with a front-of-the-rotation arm as it prepares for another grueling season in the AL East. Kendrys Morales is also a good fit for the Orioles' DH slot, Perry opines.
  • The Blue Jays have been quiet so far this offseason, but Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star sees five reasons for being optimistic about 2014.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Rosenthal on Angels, Qualifying Offers, Drew, Jays, Putz

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The Angels are likely to eclipse the $189MM luxury-tax threshold eventually, despite their efforts to avoid doing so this offseason, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes. Sources tell the columnist that the Angels have between $13MM and $15MM of space left beneath the cap, figures that are much lower than what will be required to sign Masahiro Tanaka. However, extending Mike Trout at, say, $300MM over 10 years would make it difficult to avoid surpassing the threshold anyway, so the Angels may as well do so now, Rosenthal surmises. Here's more from his new column:

  • This offseason's big contracts for less-than-durable stars like Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson and Brian McCann show that position players can earn more as free agents than they would with club-friendly, long-term deals. Meanwhile, clubs appear increasingly willing to move players who resist extensions. For example, sources tell Rosenthal that rival teams have asked about Astros catcher Jason Castro, who could be moved if Houston is unable to ink him long-term.
  • Qualifying offers appear to have suppressed the market for players such as Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales, frustrating player representatives. Potential fixes to the system include guaranteeing that free agents receive a qualifying offer only once, or ensuring that teams signing free agents who received qualifying offers lose only draft picks and not their associated bonus-pool amounts. The current system will remain in place for another two offseasons, Rosenthal notes.
  • Stephen Drew appears to be a fit for the Mets, rival executives say, despite the club's insistence that it will consider Ruben Tejada for its starting shortstop job.
  • The Blue Jays remain among the favorites to sign either Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez, despite their quiet offseason thus far. The Jays could acquire as many as two starters before the offseason is over, Rosenthal reports. In addition to upgrading through free agency, the club has also discussed trades for the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija and other starters.
  • The Diamondbacks could trade J.J. Putz after acquiring Addison Reed from the White Sox. Swapping the righty for Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is one potential deal, or Putz could be packaged with other players in a deal for a starter such as Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers.

NL West Notes: Padres, Rockies

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Let's take a look at the latest from the NL West:

  • Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego offers five goals the Padres will need to achieve in order to make the playoffs in 2014. Improving on 2013's 1,309 total strikeouts — good for 12th in the NL — headlines the list. Full seasons from Everth Cabrera and Carlos Quentin would also give San Diego a boost, Sanders writes.
  • Padres farmhand Cody Decker has received a Major League Spring Training invite, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. The 26-year-old is primarily a first baseman. While Decker has yet to appear in a big league game, he's hit .269/.353/.534 across five minor-league seasons for San Diego.
  • U-T San Deigo's Bill Center provided an update on extension discussions between the Padres and third baseman Chase Headley earlier this evening.
  • The Rockies will continue to be handicapped by their TV contract, Troy Renck of The Denver Post writes (via Sulia). As MLBTR's Jeff Todd noted this afternoon, the Phillies stand to earn an average of $100MM annually with their new TV deal. Meanwhile, the Rockies' current contract doesn't expire until 2020.

Josh Bell Signs With LG Twins In South Korea

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The LG Twins of Korea Professional Baseball have signed Josh Bell, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO hears (Twitter link).

Bell, 27, signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers last month. However, he apparently found a more favorable situation with the LG Twins. A former top prospect, Bell has only amassed 282 plate appearances at the Major League level in three years, slashing just .195/.223/.265. He hit .226/.324/.356 at the Triple-A level in 2013, splitting time between affiliates for the Yankees and White Sox.

The Minnesota Twins were reportedly in discussions with the LG Twins in December to transfer Chris Colabello's contract to the South Korean team. However, Colabello apparently turned down the offer. A corner player with a potential power bat, Bell may have become the LG Twins' target when their pursuit of Colabello failed.

Padres Comfortable As Headley Enters Walk Year

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Padres GM Josh Byrnes says his club is prepared to enter 2014 with third baseman Chase Headley on a one-year contract, Bill Center of U-T San Deigo reports. Headley enters his final year of arbitration in 2014 and will become a free agent after the end of the season unless he's signed to an extension. He's projected to earn $10MM through the arbitration process by MLBTR's Matt Swartz.

Speaking with Center on Saturday, Headley said he's still open to discussing a long-term deal with the Padres, the only Major League organization he's ever known. "I don’t want to draw a line in the sand," he said. "We have time. I’m not saying something will get done, but I’m saying it can happen." While the subject has been broached between player and team, Headley reports that talks "haven’t gone very far."

Headley, 29, appeared to establish himself as one of the game's premier players in 2012, compiling a .286/.376/.498 line despite half of his plate appearances coming in one of baseball's most pitching-friendly parks. However, he reverted to a .250/.347/.400 triple-slash in 2013, numbers that are largely in line with his career performance. Agents who spoke with CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman all the way back in May suggested Ryan Zimmerman's six-year, $100MM contract with the Nationals was a starting point for Headley extension discussions. The benchmark has presumably fallen after the third baseman's disappointing 2013, however.

If the Padres can't agree to terms with Headley, Peter Gammons of MLB Network reported last month that the team won't consider trading him until June at the earliest. The White Sox have been linked with Headley recently, and the Yankees, among other clubs, have been cited as a potential suitor in the past.

Quick Hits: Anthopoulos, O’s, Burnett, Padres, Tanaka

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Some executives have become more guarded in trade discussions with Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star reports. Griffin says he spoke with one executive at the Winter Meetings who disclosed that rival GMs believe Anthopoulos sometimes talks trades merely for the purpose of gathering information. Anthopoulos reportedly expressed surprise after learning that the Tigers had dealt Doug Fister to the Nationals in November, indicating that he would have liked to submit an offer. "Would he have been given the opportunity two years ago? Perhaps," Griffin writes. Here are more late-night links from around the majors:

Poll: The Rangers’ Offseason

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Rangers President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels entered the winter with a checklist that included addressing his club's glut of middle infielders, re-signing or replacing Nelson Cruz in the outfield, and upgrading at first base. And as MLBTR's Charlie Wilmoth noted in a previous article, many of those objectives appear to have been met.

Shin-Soo Choo, inked earlier this month, should provide a major boost to the lineup of a team that's focused on winning now. A swift, high-OBP outfielder, he's a superior player to Cruz, who he'll likely replace in right field. In November, Daniels shipped Ian Kinsler to the Tigers for Prince Fielder and $30MM, landing a durable left-handed bat at first base, where his club has long lacked a traditional slugger type. The deal also freed top prospect Jurickson Profar to play second base full time, and he's expected to perform well. While Texas was a good offensive club in 2013, ranking eighth in the majors in runs, these moves vault the Rangers lineup into the game's elite tier. In addition, acquiring one of their big bats via trade means Texas surrendered just one draft pick. 

The Rangers took on significant payroll and contract years with these deals, however. Many have questioned whether it was wise to give Choo, a 31-year-old whose power disappears against left-handed pitching, seven years and $130MM. Fielder, 29, slumped in 2013 to a .279/.362/.457 line, causing some to wonder whether he's becoming a good player who'll be paid like a great one. Even after receiving $30MM in the trade, Texas will still pay Fielder $138MM over the next seven years. The Rangers also missed out on Brian McCann, whose versatile skillset would have been an excellent fit for the Texas lineup. Instead, they re-signed Geovany Soto to handle their primary catching duties in 2014. Soto, 30, performed admirably as A.J. Pierzynski's backup last season but hasn't been a strong contributor in a full-time role since 2011.

Are these sensible moves for a team that's firmly in win-now mode? Or do you see Texas as having taken on too much risk this offseason?

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