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Phillies Release Bryan Holaday, Ryan Hanigan

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Veteran catcher Bryan Holaday has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor-league deal with the Phillies, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The Phillies told Holaday he wouldn’t make the team’s Opening Day roster. The Phillies have also released veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan, tweets MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. It therefore appears Andrew Knapp has made the team as the backup catcher to Cameron Rupp, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

The Phillies signed Holaday and Hanigan over the winter to provide veteran competition for youngsters Knapp and perhaps Jorge Alfaro. Holaday, though, played somewhat sparingly this spring, receiving just 24 at-bats even though he out-hit Knapp in a small sample. Hanigan hit even better and played even less. Of course, a catcher’s job is about far more than hitting, particularly over just a handful of games, and Knapp (the primary catcher at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year) appeared to be the favorite for the job heading into camp.

The 29-year-old Holaday has appeared in parts of five big-league seasons, batting .245/.282/.346. He played for the Rangers and Red Sox last year. Hanigan, a ten-year veteran, also played for the Red Sox in 2016.

Blue Jays Tell Mat Latos He Won’t Make Team

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Blue Jays righty Mat Latos has been told he won’t make the team, and Latos must now decide whether to accept a Triple-A assignment from the club or become a free agent, according to Jays radio broadcaster Mike Wilner (Twitter links). In addition, another Jays righty, Bo Schultz, is seeing a physician in New York and is likely to require elbow surgery.

The Jays signed Latos to a minor-league deal near the beginning of camp, and he struggled in 14 2/3 innings with the club, allowing eight walks and five home runs. The former Padres and Reds standout is still only 29 but has fallen on hard times in recent seasons, posting a 4.89 ERA and a mediocre 5.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 over 70 innings with the White Sox and Nationals last year, also struggling with his velocity. He seemed highly unlikely to crack the Jays’ rotation (which currently consists of Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Francisco Liriano) without an injury or two.

The 31-year-old Schultz bounced back and forth between Toronto and Triple-A Buffalo last season, posting a 5.51 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings at the big-league level. He was competing for a spot in the Blue Jays’ bullpen. He is out of options, although, of course, if he’s facing elbow surgery, both he and the Blue Jays will have greater concerns for his future than his immediate roster status.

Scott Kazmir To Begin Season On DL

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Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir will begin the season on the disabled list, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “It’s something with the hip,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told McCullough.

Kazmir has dealt with hip tightness this spring, and his velocity was in the 82-84 MPH range less than two weeks ago. He pitched yesterday against Texas and struggled, allowing three runs, five walks and two hit batsmen over three innings.

The Dodgers have two open spots in their rotation behind Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill. Even with Kazmir on the shelf, there’s plenty of competition for those two spots — Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-jin Ryu and Alex Wood, all veterans with successful big-league seasons under their belts, are all in the running. Ryu has missed much of the past two seasons to injury, but has impressed observers in camp. Top young lefty Julio Urias appears set to begin the season in the minors as the Dodgers monitor his workload.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Lucroy, Lindor, Ahmed, D’backs, Ryu

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Here are highlights from the latest column by FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:

  • Catcher Jonathan Lucroy and the Rangers recently shelved talks about an extension. It’s not entirely clear what happened, but one possibility could be that Lucroy is waiting for a new Yadier Molina deal with the Cardinals, a contract that would help set his value. Molina could receive $17MM to $18MM a season, Rosenthal writes, and Lucroy would probably receive only a bit less.
  • An extension for Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor appears unlikely unless the team is willing to pay him at elite rates, Rosenthal opines. Lindor is on track to become a free agent at 28, and he has an endorsement deal with New Balance that provides him with extra funds during these early-career seasons during which his pay is relatively minimal.
  • The Diamondbacks do not have shortstop Nick Ahmed on the market, Rosenthal reports. Ahmed has two minor-league options and is therefore useful to a Diamondbacks team that faces a reasonable amount of uncertainty at the shortstop position, where they also have the largely unproven Chris Owings and Ketel Marte. The Yankees, meanwhile, feel they don’t need Ahmed — Didi Gregorius is set to begin the season on the DL with a shoulder injury, but the Yankees prefer to get through the first several weeks of the season with a combination of Ronald Torreyes, Pete Kozma (a somewhat similar player to Ahmed, Rosenthal points out) and Tyler Wade at short.
  • The Diamondbacks will keep an eye out for bullpen help as Opening Day approaches, perhaps pursuing players who don’t make other clubs’ 25-man rosters. In the meantime, though, the Snakes like what they see in Tom Wilhelmsen and J.J. Hoover, both of whom they signed to minor-league deals.
  • The White Sox do not seem likely to deal Jose Quintana now when interest in him could ramp up at the deadline, but the Astros, with their strong farm system and rotation needs, seem likely to eventually acquire Quintana or another good starter.
  • Dodgers lefty Hyun-jin Ryu, who has missed almost all of the past two seasons to injury, looks “like he hasn’t skipped a beat,” in the words of one scout. Ryu is competing for one of the Dodgers’ final two rotation spots.

Rangers Release James Loney

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The Rangers have announced they’ve released veteran first baseman James Loney. They’ve also optioned righty Eddie Gamboa to Triple-A Round Rock and reassigned outfielder Jared Hoying to Round Rock. In addition, righty Anthony Bass and catcher Steven Lerud have been told they haven’t made the team, according to MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (on Twitter). Bass will head to Round Rock, while Lerud’s destination isn’t yet known.

The Rangers signed Loney to a minor-league deal in January after he posted a .265/.307/.397 line in 366 plate appearances last year for the Mets. The team signed Mike Napoli the following month to occupy their vacant first base position, however, and Loney did himself few favors in camp, batting .174/.224/.261.

Once a productive player with the Dodgers and Rays, the 32-year-old Loney’s production has slipped in recent seasons, and he hasn’t posted a positive fWAR since 2014. He’ll likely attempt to catch on elsewhere, but he might be hard-pressed to find another big-league job until he proves himself again in the minors.

Reds Release Ryan Raburn

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The Reds have released outfielder Ryan Raburn, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes (Twitter links). As Buchanan previously noted, Raburn was an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning that the team had until tomorrow to add him to their roster, and if they hadn’t, either offer him a $100K retention bonus or release him.

The Reds’ Opening Day roster seems likely to include a four-man bench. The team still has Desmond Jennings, Hernan Iribarren, Patrick Kivlehan and Tony Renda in camp competing for the bench spot Raburn might have occupied.

The Reds signed Raburn to a minor-league deal near the beginning of Spring Training. The 35-year-old was coming off a disappointing .220/.309/.404 season with the Rockies, although he batted .301/.393/.543 with Cleveland the previous season. He batted just .219 this spring, although he posted a .324 OBP and had a .500 slugging percentage and three home runs.

NL Notes: Diamondbacks, Braves, Mets, Stubbs

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The Diamondbacks drafted both Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock in 2009 and the two have been teammates for years, but they might not remain in the same organization for long, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. If the Snakes don’t contend this season — and that doesn’t appear particularly likely after a disappointing 2016 — the team could begin considering dealing Goldschmidt, Pollock or Zack Greinke. Dealing Goldschmidt or Pollock would give the Diamondbacks a head start in a rebuild, an organizational route of which new GM Mike Hazen seems to see the benefits. “Picking first is a lot better than picking fifth,” Hazen said earlier this month. “From a long-term building standpoint, there are clear advantages to being in those positions over a period of time. The majority of your superstars, by and large, are going to come in those areas of the draft and the international market.” Here’s more from the National League.

  • Much of the Braves’ Opening Day roster is set, but there are still jobs available on the bench and in the bullpen, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. Chaz Roe, who is out of of options, has the inside track on one of the remaining bullpen jobs, although fellow righty David Hernandez (who the Braves recently added on a minor-league deal) is another possibility. Paco Rodriguez and Kevin Chapman are competing to join the ’pen as lefties, while veteran hitters Matt Tuiasosopo and Mel Rojas Jr. could also have shots at making the team, particularly, it would seem, if the Braves opt to go with five bench players instead of four. The Braves will also keep an eye on the trade and free-agent markets.
  • The Mets are hoping for fourth outfielder Juan Lagares to soon recover from the oblique strain he suffered this weekend, and therefore do not seem overly interested in Drew Stubbs, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. The veteran Stubbs opted out of his minor-league deal with the Twins yesterday. Assuming he’s healthy, Lagares seems set to back up a Mets outfield of Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce.

Nationals Release Joe Nathan, Matt Albers

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Veteran closer Joe Nathan has been told he will not make the Nationals and has opted out of his minor-league deal with the team, according to tweets from various reporters, including Jamal Collier of MLB.com and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. The Nationals have announced that they’ve formally released Nathan, along with fellow righty Matt Albers. The Nats signed both pitchers to minor-league deals in late January.

The 42-year-old Nathan missed much of the past two seasons after having Tommy John surgery, though he fared well (albeit in a very small sample) in 6 1/3 innings with the Cubs and Giants last year. He’s now over three years removed from his last full, strong season in the big leagues — he posted a 1.39 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 while making the All-Star team for the Rangers in 2013. He has 377 career saves, but he’s not done — he hopes to latch on with another team, as MASN’s Mark Zuckerman tweets. Nathan did post a solid 3.86 ERA with nine strikeouts and three walks in 11 2/3 innings this spring, so teams in need of bullpen help could view him as a possibility.

The 34-year-old Albers is coming off a poor season with the White Sox in which he posted a 6.31 ERA, 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 51 1/3 innings. He was effective in several consecutive seasons with various clubs before that, however, and seems unlikely to have trouble finding a minor-league deal elsewhere should he seek one.

AL Notes: Lindor, Swihart, Astros

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Yesterday, we heard word of extension talks between Francisco Lindor and the Indians that was broken by a unique source — Cleveland GM Mike Chernoff’s six-year-old son, Brody. Brody said during a game broadcast that his dad was “trying to get Lindor to play for seven more years.” But the young Chernoff had his facts wrong, according to Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes. “Brody overheard my phone call about Jose Ramirez finalizing a deal that could keep him here for seven years,” says Mike Chernoff. “It was pretty funny. You gotta love kids.” This weekend, of course, the Indians reportedly neared a five-year extension with Ramirez that included two club options. It appears Brody’s first scoop was a bust, although he’s got plenty of time to work on his craft — recent history shows that baseball rumor reporters don’t peak until at least age 13. Here are more quick notes from the AL.

  • The Red Sox announced a number of roster moves this morning, including their decision to option Blake Swihart to Triple-A Pawtucket. The team also optioned infielder Deven Marrero to Pawtucket and reassigned catcher Dan Butler and first baseman Sam Travis to minor-league camp. Swihart had a strong spring, batting .325/.386/.400, but both Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez were out of options, and it’s not likely the Red Sox would want to lose either one.
  • The Astros’ last remaining roster spot comes down to righty relievers James Hoyt and Jandel Gustave, writes Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Collin McHugh is likely to begin the season on the DL due to a dead arm, which means both Mike Fiers and Joe Musgrove will make the Astros’ rotation and Brad Peacock (who is out of options) will be on the team in long relief. Peacock’s presence on the roster will keep the Astros from having to use Chris Devenski (who was quietly terrific as a rookie in 2016) in as many multi-inning outings, allowing him to pitch in higher-leverage spots. Hoyt or Gustave will pitch one-inning stints. Gustave has struck out ten batters in 8 2/3 Spring Training frames, but Kaplan notes that Hoyt profiles better against lefties, a potential factor since lefty Tony Sipp has struggled this spring (and he recently missed an outing due to back trouble, although that issue appears minor).

Quick Hits: Martinez, Spangenberg, Ethier

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There has been little information available today about Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez, who at last check underwent an MRI for a foot sprain. Now MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that Martinez will undergo a stress CT scan in Charlotte on Friday. Martinez rolled his ankle, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes, while making a catch against the Marlins on Saturday. He underwent initial tests later in the weekend, but the Tigers have not yet released them. X-rays have indicated he didn’t break any bones, but ligament damage is a possibility. Obviously, a significant injury would be a big blow to the Tigers’ offense. Martinez batted .307/.373/.535 with 22 homers in 517 plate appearances last season. Here’s more from around the league.

  • The Padres are aiming to get 2B/3B Cory Spangenberg time in the outfield, writes MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Spangenberg missed most of the 2016 season due to a quad injury, and as he works his way back onto the Padres’ roster, the team wants him to become more versatile. Outfielders Alex Dickerson, Manuel Margot and Collin Cowgill are hurt, potentially creating opportunities for Spangenberg. The team would also like to get his left-handed bat into the lineup against righties.
  • Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has a stiff back and will have an MRI today, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. Ethier himself does not seem particularly worried about the situation and says the team simply wants more information so that it knows how to treat him, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Nonetheless, Ethier has already missed time due to back and hip issues this spring, and he collected just 26 plate appearances last season thanks to a broken tibia.

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