Central Notes: Warren, Francona, Tigers, Salty
Adam Warren found out about his trade to the Cubs in a somewhat unusual fashion, as he explained in an interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (hat tip to CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa). Warren and his wife were on vacation in St. Lucia and “our biggest rule when we go out of the country is to turn your phone off, put them into the safe in the room, and basically get away from technology.” This meant that the Warrens discovered that the right-hander had been dealt to Chicago as part of the Starlin Castro trade only by watching a TV screen’s sports ticker while at dinner. Here’s some more from around the Central divisions…
- Indians manager Terry Francona touched on such topics as his relationship with the front office, the Tribe’s reluctance to trade its starting pitching, and the club’s winter moves in a wide-ranging interview with Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Francona stressed the importance of pitching depth, saying he’d rather “take his chances” with having one less bat in the lineup than giving up a rotation member. He and the front office “were all in agreement that we were not going to trade one of our (top) starters unless we were overwhelmed with an offer.”
- Francona said Rajai Davis was “the first name out of my mouth” in postseason discussions about what outfielders the Indians could sign within their price range. He noted that Davis “has always been such a thorn when we’ve played against him” as a member of the Tigers. Francona also praised new first baseman Mike Napoli‘s power and clubhouse presence, saying that after Cleveland signed Napoli, his “phone about blew up” with texts “from guys who had played with Mike and really liked him.”
- The Tigers have long been plagued with bullpen issues, yet Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes that the club has quickly and seemingly solidly addressed its relief needs before the end of 2015 in adding Francisco Rodriguez, Justin Wilson and Mark Lowe. “I can’t say I’m surprised, but I will tell you that I didn’t know if we were ever really going to be able to do the whole thing,” GM Al Avila said. “But it was a methodically laid out plan and you don’t know if you’re going to be able to do it, you don’t know if you’re going to have some bumps along the road, you don’t know if it’s going to take longer or shorter.”
- In another piece from Fenech, Jarrod Saltalamacchia said he decided to join the Tigers due to their commitment to winning. Though several other teams were interesting in signing the catcher, it was “an easy decision” for Saltalamacchia since “it’s an organization that every year is trying to compete for the World Series.”
- In other Central division news from earlier today, the Cardinals‘ deal with Mike Leake became official, and CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported on the five-year, $80MM contract’s rather unusual annual salary breakdown.
Cubs Release Brendan Ryan
The Cubs have released infielder Brendan Ryan, the club announced. Ryan was just acquired as a piece of the deal that sent Starlin Castro to the Yankees.
It’s apparent now that Chicago didn’t have much interest in adding Ryan to its roster. Indeed, his $1MM salary may have been moved as part of the balancing of the dollars in the trade.
Soon to turn 34, Ryan is a top-notch defender but has never done much at the plate. He just wrapped up a less-than-inspiring run with the Yankees, only receiving 289 total plate appearances in three campaigns. Ryan hit only .201/.244/.271 in that span.
Pirates Claim Yoervis Medina From Cubs
The Pirates have claimed righty Yoervis Medina from the Cubs, Pittsburgh announced. Medina was recently designated for assignment by Chicago.
The 27-year-old had two nice years with the Mariners over 2013 to 2014, working to a 2.81 ERA and posting 9.4 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 along with a 53.5 percent ground-ball rate. He worked at an average 94.8 mph velocity with his fastball in that stretch.
But that all turned around last year, as Medina posted an ugly 4.71 ERA with just 16 strikeouts against 11 walks over 21 frames. He lost two full ticks off of his fastball and saw his groundball induction rate plummet.
before taking a significant step backwards in 2015. This season, Medina logged a 4.71 ERA with an unsightly 16-to-11 K/BB ratio in 21 innings for the Mariners and Cubs. Notably, his fastball velocity, which had averaged 94.8 mph in 2014, sat a full two miles per hour lower at 92.8 in 2015, and his ground-ball rate dipped to 36.8 percent. And the rough outcomes also held in the upper minors.
Cubs Claim Edgar Olmos
The Cubs have claimed lefty Edgar Olmos from the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Baltimore exposed Olmos to waivers to clear roster space for the signing of Hyun Soo Kim, and Chicago grabbed him back after originally losing him just weeks ago to the O’s by the same procedure.
Olmos is a 25-year-old southpaw who’s changed hands quite a bit in the last few seasons. He obviously has an intriguing arm, and has shown a mid-90s fastball in his brief time in the majors. At Triple-A in 2015, Olmos worked to a 3.55 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 at Triple-A last year.
Cubs To Sign Brandon Gomes
Among the players signing minor league deals with the Cubs was righty Brandon Gomes, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter links). He’ll join the pen competition with another recently-added righty, Jean Machi.
Gomes, 31, threw 59 frames for the Rays last year, posting a 4.27 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. He has thrown 167 total innings over the last five years in Tampa Bay, finding some success at times. But Gomes has been limited by a tendency to serve up the long ball.
Among the other arms heading to the Chicago organization this spring are righty Stephen Fife and southpaws Scott Barnes and Luis Cruz. Fife missed all of 2015 with Tommy John surgery but recently had a nice, 13-start showing in Venezuela. Barnes pitched in the Blue Jays organization last year and hasn’t cracked the majors since 2013. And Cruz, 25, lost his 40-man spot with the Astros this fall after throwing 116 innings of 4.27 ERA ball at Triple-A last year, with 7.2 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.
Finally, the Cubs inked outfielders Juan Perez and Kelly Dugan. Perez has seen action as a reserve with the Giants over the past three years, compiling a .224/.267/.316 slash in 246 total plate appearances. The 25-year-old Dugan had previously spent his entire career in the Phillies organization. He struggled in his first taste of Triple-A last year.
Quick Hits: Soler, Lucroy, Swanson, Chen
In a radio interview on The 670 Score’s “Inside The Clubhouse” show, Theo Epstein said the Cubs are committed to Jorge Soler as a big part of their roster, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports. “We are putting our stock into his future,” Epstein said. “Barring anything [an overwhelming trade offer], he knows to ignore all the trade rumors and take it as a compliment.” Epstein praised Soler’s hitting potential and his offseason training, as Soler “is down to 225 [pounds] and is working hard on his quickness and flexibility” to improve his right field defense. The Cubs could add a defense-first backup outfielder, Epstein hinted, which probably isn’t a surprise given Soler’s inexperience and the questions about whether or not Kyle Schwarber can handle left field. Here’s some more from around baseball…
- The Brewers don’t want to sell low on Jonathan Lucroy in the wake of his underwhelming 2015 season, though they could be taking a risk by waiting to make a trade, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes in a piece for FOX Sports. If Lucroy’s concussion and injury history continues to diminish his ability, Milwaukee will have missed its window to recoup significant value for the former All-Star. Midseason deals for catchers are also somewhat uncommon, as it’s somewhat hard for a new catcher to instantly develop a rapport with pitchers.
- The Braves targeted Dansby Swanson even before they created room at short by dealing Andrelton Simmons, GM John Coppolella tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila. “We’ve been in talks with Arizona since the end of the 2015 season,” Coppolella said. “We hoped to get Swanson, but we didn’t know if, or how, the deal would materialize. We saw him as a fit for us, whether we made the Simmons trade or not. We just want really good players and he’s a really good player.”
- Wei-Yin Chen may have the most value of any remaining free agent pitcher, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello writes, as he has posted comparable numbers to Jeff Samardzija or Jordan Zimmermann and probably won’t cost as much. Of course, Chen and his agent Scott Boras are looking for healthy compensation for the southpaw’s services in the form of a five-year, $100MM contract.
- While opt-out clauses are usually considered to provide little benefit to a team, the Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber notes that there’s certainly upside if a club can avoid paying big money to a player outside of his prime years. For instance, Lauber reports that had the Red Sox been successful in obtaining Alex Rodriguez from the Rangers in the 2003-04 offseason, they had no intention of re-signing him after he opted out of his deal (as expected) after the 2007 season. The Yankees, who did deal for A-Rod and then re-signed him to a whopping 10-year, $275MM contract after 2007, have surely regretted not letting Rodriguez walk when they had the chance.
- Blue Jays director of analytics Joe Sheehan is profiled by the Toronto Star’s Brendan Kennedy, who notes that Sheehan’s promotion to the newly-created position is a sign of the team’s increased focus on analytics under Mark Shapiro.
- The Giants are the most likely team to sign Yoenis Cespedes, MLB.com’s Jim Duquette opines. The Tigers, Orioles, White Sox and Angels round out Duquette’s list of Cespedes’ most likely landing spots.
NL Central Notes: Heyward, Cubs, Cardinals, McCutchen
Jason Heyward says one reason he chose the Cubs over the Cardinals is that the Cubs’ young core is likely to be with the team longer than the Cardinals’ core is. “You have Yadier (Molina), who is going to be done in two years maybe. You have Matt Holliday, who is probably going to be done soon,” Heyward told reporters, including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. “I felt like if I was to look up in three years and see a completely different team, that would kind of be difficult.” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says he believes in the core of his team and takes issue with Heyward’s comments, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. “I don’t blame him. But I don’t like it,” says Matheny. “I don’t think we have anything to apologize for in having a group like a Holliday, a Molina, a Wainwright. … [H]e’s a young player. But I can’t say I’m in any kind of agreement with that (Chicago) core being better than any kind of core that we have.” Here’s more from the NL Central.
- Elsewhere in Hummel’s article, Cards GM John Mozeliak expresses a bit of frustration that the Cardinals’ biggest offseason targets — presumably players like Heyward and David Price — opted to head elsewhere. “Our success has really come from our pipeline, and I think we’re really going to lean on that. The last month has been trying to play in the big-boy pool, and unfortunately we just didn’t end up getting it done,” says Mozeliak. “Sometimes it’s not always about what you’re doing. You need the other party to want to be there, too.”
- Jason Heyward’s mammoth deal with the Cubs got some reporters, including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, wondering how much it might cost a club to sign Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen if he reaches the open market after the 2018 season. For his part, McCutchen doesn’t want to speculate on his own dollar value, but he did reaffirm his loyalty to Pittsburgh. “This is still a place I do want to be,” McCutchen said. “I love it here. If that’s something that they can do, that’s something they can do. I really can’t answer from their end. We’ll see what happens in the future.” Of course, as Brink points out, Heyward in 2015 and McCutchen in 2018 are two separate cases. Heyward got his monster contract, in part, because he is only 26 years of age. Following the 2018 season, McCutchen will be 32.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Cafardo On Victorino, Cahill, Cubs
In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe spoke with managing general partner of Sapient Global Markets Dave Donovan, who is trying to apply banking principles to baseball in order to help limit risk on the part of teams.
“Because there’s such an emphasis by teams on acquiring the right players, especially now where you have financial constraints with luxury taxes, etc., we’re looking at it the same way as we do with banks,” Donovan said. “Banks want to make as much money as they possibly can. Their constraint is regulation. They have stress tests they have to do for the government after banks almost took down the world because they weren’t financially compliant. We’ve been working with these banks to measure their risks and you can apply the same concepts in sports…Your roster is no different than a portfolio of securities. Those are your assets. That’s what you’ve put your investment in, so it only makes sense that you should monitor your assets”
When considering risk management, Cafardo wonders aloud if the Red Sox‘s decision to sign David Price to a seven-year, $217MM was a prudent one. Cafardo speculates that the hedge fund operator in owner John Henry probably wasn’t thrilled about the move. However, in the short-term, he knew that Boston needed an ace pitcher.
Here’s more from today’s column:
- Shane Victorino’s agent, John Boggs, said a couple of teams have shown interest in his client, but no deal is imminent at this time. Boggs added that the veteran is looking to sign a one-year deal in order to re-establish his value. The Flyin’ Hawaiian hit just .230/.308/.292 in 2015 in 204 combined plate appearances for the Red Sox and Angels. Still, he’s only two years removed from his 2013 campaign in which he slashed .294/.351/.451 with 15 homers for Boston. Victorino, who plans on getting back to switch-hitting, celebrated his 35th birthday in late November.
- Right-hander Trevor Cahill had an opportunity to sign with the Pirates or Orioles as a starting pitcher, Cafardo writes. However, he opted to stay with the Cubs where he will be used in a relief role. Cahill’s clear preference was to start again, but he also didn’t want to leave Chicago. Cahill gave the Cubs 17 brilliant innings of relief down the stretch, yielding just four runs and recording an outstanding 22-to-5 K/BB ratio to go along with a ground-ball rate of 61.8 percent. He also pitched 5 1/3 innings in the postseason, allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks with eight strikeouts (3.38 ERA).
- Ron Gardenhire lost out on the Padres’ job but “the feeling” is that he could always go back to the Twins organization and work in some capacity. However, Gardenhire’s preference would be to manage for a major league team again. Gardenhire has extensive postseason experience from his time with the Twins, having led the club to six AL Central Division titles in 13 seasons and also bringing the team to a Game 163 tiebreaker that was lost to the White Sox in 2008. However he also has a disappointing 6-21 record in the playoffs, having only captured one series victory (against the A’s in 2002).
Cubs Designate Yoervis Medina For Assignment
The Cubs announced on Thursday that they have designated right-hander Yoervis Medina for assignment. Medina’s roster spot will go to infielder Brendan Ryan, who has now officially been acquired as the player to be named later in last week’s Starlin Castro/Adam Warren trade.
Chicago acquired the now 27-year-old Medina from the Mariners in a May trade that sent Welington Castillo to Seattle. Medina had enjoyed strong results in Seattle from 2013-14, pitching to a combined 2.81 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 53.5 percent ground-ball rate before taking a significant step backwards in 2015. This season, Medina logged a 4.71 ERA with an unsightly 16-to-11 K/BB ratio in 21 innings for the Mariners and Cubs. Notably, his fastball velocity, which had averaged 94.8 mph in 2014, sat a full two miles per hour lower at 92.8 in 2015, and his ground-ball rate dipped to 36.8 percent.
Medina’s struggles weren’t confined to the Major Leagues, either. He also recorded 40 innings of Triple-A work between the two teams but limped to a 5.62 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9. Those numbers, clearly, represent a significant departure from his best work at the upper levels of the minors and in the Majors. If there’s no health issue at play — though his diminished velocity certainly stands out as cause for concern — another club may look at him as a low-risk option with four years of club control remaining and hope that he can rediscover the form he displayed in 2013-14. ERA estimators like FIP, xFIP and SIERA were never sold on Medina as a sub-3.00 ERA arm, but all felt that he could hold down a mark somewhere in the mid-3.00 range given his blend of missed bats and grounders.
Cubs Notes: Price, Bullpen, Heyward
The Cubs made a run at David Price this winter, but they weren’t necessarily close to landing him. Chicago fell roughly $50MM short of the Red Sox’s offer, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told WEEI this week. “We ended up a distant third,” Epstein said.
“He’s a great pitcher and we were involved and very interested,” said Epstein, who was apparently also behind the Cardinals in the Price sweepstakes. “We thought, he’s an elite, elite pitcher, the kind that very rarely makes it to the free agent market, he’s got terrific makeup, where he influences a team not just through his performance on the field, but he’s a real culture-changer or a culture-enhancer, at the very least, in the clubhouse.”
Here’s more on the Cubs:
- The Cubs’ current focus is on trading for relievers, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Chicago isn’t looking for high-end types like Andrew Miller of the Yankees, but they are fishing for middle-inning and setup options who would provide additional depth. In the outfield, he adds, the Cubs’ plan is to play Jason Heyward in center field rather than add a center fielder and slide Heyward into right field. The Cubs could also consider a trade for a starting pitcher.
- After sitting on lower payroll numbers for six years, Cubs ownership has opened up the purse strings, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago writes. Epstein & Co. now have a projected $155MM payroll on the 25-man roster for 2016, eclipsing the previous watermark of $145MM in 2010. The payroll should keep rising from here, thanks to a projected attendance hike this season and a TV contract that will give the Cubs billions of dollars worth of revenue.
- In his introductory press conference this week, Heyward explained that he was drawn to the Cubs in part because of the roster stability he expects them to have going forward. “Knowing the core is young and those guys are going to be around for a while is very exciting,” Heyward said, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. “I don’t want to take the highest dollar amount when my gut is telling me to go somewhere else. Being 26 years old and knowing that my contract would put me in any clubhouse for longer than most people there, you have to look at age, how fast the team is changing and how soon those changes will come about.”