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Orioles Select Contract Of Branden Kline

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The Orioles announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Branden Kline. He would otherwise have qualified for minor-league free agency.

Kline, 27, was a second-round pick out of the University of Virginia back in 2012. His path up the ladder in the Baltimore system was slowed by arm injuries, however. Kline missed most of 2015 and the entirety of the following two seasons owing to a terrible run of injuries.

Now that he has battled through a surgically repaired broken leg, Tommy John surgery, and other procedures, Kline will likely feature only as a reliever. But he showed quite some promise in that capacity in 2018, when he threw 65 2/3 innings over 44 appearances at the High-A and Double-A levels, working to a 1.64 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.

Edgar Martinez Steps Down As Mariners Hitting Coach

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Edgar Martinez has decided to step down from his role as hitting coach with the team, GM Jerry Dipoto announced today. Martinez will remain with the organization in a different capacity.

Martinez, the legendary former DH, is said to have requested a new opportunity within the Seattle organization that would allow “more flexibility” than his former gig. Accordingly, he and the club came up with a new role — organizational hitting advisor — in which he’ll serve as something of a roving instructor at all levels of the organization while also performing “special projects, including one-on-one coaching.”

The veteran slugger, who figures to be a popular Hall-of-Fame candidate this winter, had been the M’s hitting coach for about two-and-a-half seasons. Previously, the M’s had announced that Mel Stottlemyre would not return to his post as pitching coach. Accordingly, the club is now looking to fill two key vacancies on the staff of skipper Scott Servais.

Twins Decline Options Over Ervin Santana, Logan Morrison

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The Twins have declined a pair of club options, per a team announcement. Starter Ervin Santana and first baseman/DH Logan Morrison will receive buyouts and become free agents.

Santana will receive a $1MM buyout in lieu of a $14MM club option. While it had seemed at times as if the club would likely end up deciding to keep him around for a fifth campaign, the veteran’s injury-limited 2018 campaign rendered that unlikely.

So long as he can show that his problematic right middle finger is healed, Santana ought to be a popular bounceback target on the open market. Though he’s now 35 years of age, he had turned in two consecutive stellar seasons before the forgettable season that just concluded.

As for Morrison, who signed on last winter in what seemed to be a highly team-friendly deal, injury issues also marred his season. The club will give him $1MM rather than picking up an $8MM salary for another.

The 31-year-old Morrison had settled for his contract with Minnesota after entering the market after a big platform season. Unfortunately, he found himself among the many defensively limited sluggers who didn’t find a lot of demand, and ended up requiring hip surgery after struggling at the plate with the Twins. He’ll surely also draw plenty of looks from clubs interested in finding a productive lefty bat at an affordable price.

Red Sox Exercise Club Option Over Chris Sale

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In one of the easiest option decisions in baseball, the Red Sox announced today that they have picked up their option over lefty Chris Sale for the 2019 season.

His contract originally called for a $13.5MM salary for the upcoming campaign, with a $1MM buyout. Owing to his prior Cy Young placement, though, it was boosted to a $15MM final value. When the deal wraps up after the 2019 campaign, Sale will have earned a total of $58MM over a seven-year term.

Acquired from the White Sox before the start of the 2017 season, the 29-year-old Sale has continued to excel since swapping his pale hose for crimson stockings. He has thrown 372 1/3 regular-season innings of 2.56 ERA ball thus far in Boston.

If there are any questions, they relate not to the quality of Sale’s work on the mound, but his ability to stay there. It would be unfair to make too much of five-start absence in 2018, as he has mostly been an exceptionally durable pitcher, but the shoulder woes that cropped up this year certainly represent something to watch moving forward. Hopefully, an offseason of rest will allow Sale to enter Spring Training at full speed.

NL Notes: Phillies, Cubs, Marlins

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The Phillies have done a good job of avoiding toxic contracts, but they also don’t have much in the way of homegrown stars in the upper levels of the minors, Matt Gelb of the Athletic notes. It seems obvious, then, that the route to improve this offseason is the free agent market, and they have been one of the teams with assumed interest in free agency’s biggest fishes, to wit, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. That said, owner John Middleton once balked at a perceived lack of on-field hustle from former Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis, which would seem at odds with a willingness to go all-in on Machado, given his growing reputation. Generational talents or not, it’s Middleton’s money, and it’ll ultimately be his decision whether or not Machado and Harper are worth the long-term investment. 

  • Regardless of what happens with Machado and Harper, the Phillies do not appear inclined to overreach in the secondary market, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, specifically as it pertains to their outfield, where in-house options Nick Williams, Odubel Herrera, Roman Quinn, and Aaron Altherr are comparable-to and cheaper-than the middle class of talent available in free agency. GM Matt Klentak also says the Phillies are unlikely to explore the starting pitching market, despite potential interest in upgrading in that area. They are hypothetically interested in a left-handed starter, but Patrick Corbin, the top name on the market, figures to command more money than the Phillies are willing to spend on him. 
  • Cole Hamels is open to signing an extension with the Cubs, or at least that’s the impression 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine came away with after speaking with his agent, John Boggs. The Cubs have until Thursday to decide whether to pick up Hamels’ $20MM option for the 2019 season or let the Texas Rangers pay his $6MM buyout. His impressive turnaround with the Cubs (12 starts, 2.36 ERA, 3.59 xFIP) leads many to believe the team option will be exercised, but nothing official has come down from Chicago yet. If the Cubs do pick up the option, they could begin negotiating an extension as early as Friday with the soon-to-be 35-year-old lefty. In theory, the Cubs could decline their option and negotiate a new contract with Hamels from there. This is unlikely, however, as the Rangers would be on the hook for the $6MM buyout, and they’d have grounds to file a grievance in that circumstance. However it happens, we should know by Thursday if Hamels will play his 2019 home games at Wrigley Field.
  • The Marlins are open to being active in free agency this offseason, albeit for moderately-priced, low-risk veterans, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. With six arbitration cases and only three hefty contracts on the books, the Marlins are better positioned than in recent seasons to bring in some reinforcements from the outside to help build culture and mentor their younger players. One of those arbitration cases, last year’s Opening Day starter Jose Urena, has been rumored to be available via trade, but according to Frisaro he is much more likely to be the Opening Day starter in Miami for the second consecutive season.

Angels Hire Doug White As Pitching Coach

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The Angels have hired Doug White as their new pitching coach, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll replace Charles Nagy in that role, who held the position for three seasons under the previous managerial regime.

It’s not surprising to hear that new Halos skipper Brad Ausmus will be adding at least a few new staff members. He recently landed the job after Mike Scioscia left following a long run in the dugout.

White just wrapped up his first season as the Astros bullpen coach after five seasons in other jobs in the Houston organization. He also spent a handful of campaigns working through the Cardinals system as a pitching guru, in addition to prior experience. Interestingly, MLB.com’s profile of White lists him as a Zhealth specialist, which is a movement training system that aims to retrain your nervous system through specific range of motion exercises that enhance your mobility. 

For the Astros, this is the second member they’ve had filched from A.J. Hinch’s staff in as many days, following yesterday’s news that Astros’ assistant hitting coach Jeff Albert has returned to St. Louis to become the Cardinals’ hitting coach.

Indians Exercise Club Option Over Carlos Carrasco, Buy Out Brandon Guyer

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The Indians announced their club option decisions today, and didn’t have any surprises in store. Righty Carlos Carrasco will return at a $9.75MM price tag, while outfielder Brandon Guyer receives a $250K buyout rather than a $3MM salary.

There was never a thought that Cleveland would pass up a chance on retaining Carrasco at that rate. He’s controllable in 2020 as well under an option that’s priced just $500K higher than the 2019 version.

At those rates, the 31-year-old hurler is one of the game’s best bargains on the mound. He has turned in year after year of outstanding results, backed by compelling peripherals. Most recently, in 2018, he spun 192 frames of 3.38 ERA ball with 10.8 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.

Guyer came up in the Cubs’ system after they drafted him in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. He made his big league debut with the Rays after they acquired him with Chris Archer and others in 2011’s Matt Garza swap with Chicago. The Indians acquired him from Tampa in August of 2016 for a pair of minor leaguers.

His usefulness is limited to the outfield corners versus left-handed pitching. For his career, he’s hit .273/.376/.449 with a 130 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, but only .224/.297/.323 with a 74 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. Last season, Guyer struggled in 104 games for the Indians, slashing .206/.300/.371. He’ll be 33-years-old at the start of 2019 season and is now a free agent. 

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/30/18

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We’ll use this post to catch up on some recent minor moves and track any more that pop up today:

  • The Brewers announced that they’ve inked infielder Jake Hager to a minors pact that includes an invitation to MLB camp. With the news, Hager will again factor on the Milwaukee infield depth chart as camp gets underway. He had his most impressive showing at any level to open the 2018 season, slashing .292/.371/.521 with ten home runs in 257 plate appearances at Double-A Biloxi last year. But Hager’s output slowed after he was bumped up to Triple-A to finish out the year. The 25-year-old has spent most of his time in the minors at shortstop and also has experience at second and third base.
  • First baseman Joey Meneses was released by the Phillies in order to pursue an opportunity in Japan, the club announced. He’ll be signing with the Orix Buffaloes. Meneses, 26, was not on the Philadelphia organization’s 40-man roster and obviously did not factor in its plans. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t shown some impressive skill. After joining the Phillies on a minors pact for the 2018 season, the long-time Braves farmhand picked up International League MVP honors for turning in a stellar campaign in which he slashed .311/.360/.510 with 23 home runs in 536 plate appearances at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Offseason Outlook: Detroit Tigers

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MLBTR is publishing Offseason Outlooks for all 30 teams.  Click here to read the other entries in this series.

The rebuild process continues for the Tigers, who will likely use the winter to seek more young talent while plugging a few roster holes, but they do have spending power to work with if they wish.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Other Financial Obligations

Free Agents

[Detroit Tigers Depth Chart | Detroit Tigers Payroll Outlook]

The Tigers head into the offseason knowing that their 2019 lineup will consist of Jeimer Candelario at third base, super-utilityman Niko Goodrum at one of a variety of positions, future Hall-of-Famer Miguel Cabrera at either first base or DH (with John Hicks supplementing him), and likely power-hitting prospect Christin Stewart in left field.  Beyond these spots, however, the team has a lot of flexibility to work with as the Tigers continue to figure out who will be part of their long-term future.

At both center field and catcher, for instance, Detroit has to decide how it will best fill positions until some notable minor leaguers make their arrival.  JaCoby Jones and Mikie Mahtook are the top in-house choices in center field, though it isn’t an ideal platoon since both are right-handed bats and neither delivered much at the plate last season.  The Tigers could choose to augment the position with a veteran signing, as they did with Leonys Martin last winter, or just stick with Jones and Mahtook until top prospect Daz Cameron is ready (perhaps later in the season).  Cameron has shown solid on-base skills over his four pro seasons, including a .285/.367/.470 slash line over 226 Double-A plate appearances last season, though he’ll need some more seasoning after playing just 15 games at Triple-A last year.

Catching prospect Jake Rogers could also enter the big league picture once he debuts at Triple-A and shows more consistency at the plate, as scouts and observers are already very impressed by his defense.  That leaves the Tigers with the option of sticking with James McCann, Hicks, and Grayson Greiner until Rogers is ready, or perhaps trading or even non-tendering McCann to instead go with a combo of Greiner and Hicks behind the plate.  McCann is coming off a sub-replacement level season both offensively and in terms of pitch-blocking and framing, though he did provide decent value (1.6 fWAR, 95 wRC+) in 2017.  McCann is projected for a $3.5MM salary via arbitration, though that sum is modest enough that the team’s decision will just come down to whether or not it feels McCann is the best choice for the pitching staff going forward.

The most obvious hole in the lineup is at shortstop, as the Tigers were unable to move Jose Iglesias after months of trade rumors and will now allow the sparkling defender to reach free agency.  Iglesias will get some attention from other teams looking for a defensive upgrade up the middle, though four straight seasons of below-average offensive production will limit his market.  While Iglesias has already publicly said his goodbyes to the Detroit fans, he might very well end up fitting the team’s need for a relatively inexpensive veteran shortstop.  Sticking with a known quantity like Iglesias might be preferable to signing another veteran in free agency (e.g. Jordy Mercer, Freddy Galvis, Alcides Escobar), though if the Tigers are thinking about flipping their veteran acquisition at the trade deadline, they could aim slightly higher with someone like Asdrubal Cabrera, who offers more at the plate.

An experienced shortstop would go a long way towards bolstering the infield situation for the first part of the season, as the Tigers surely hope that more than one of their best infield prospects (Dawel Lugo, Willi Castro, Isaac Paredes) can force a promotion to the big league roster later in the year.  Lugo already made his MLB debut in 2018, so he and rookie Ronny Rodriguez are favorites as utility infield depth while Goodrum is probably the top choice at second base.  Alternatively, the Tigers could use Goodrum and Rodriguez at shortstop while adding a regular second baseman.  Someone like Galvis, Mercer, or Cabrera could fit either middle infield spot, of course, while free agent second basemen like Josh Harrison or Logan Forsythe would also offer a bit of versatility at third base.  Perhaps the club could strike if it sees good value in a free agent who falls through the cracks a bit, with DJ LeMahieu seemingly an interesting hypothetical possibility as the market gets underway.

Goodrum did spend the bulk of his time at second base last year and the Tigers are likelier to just stick with him at the position, though his versatility makes him a nice asset for Detroit to utilize as they figure out the remainder of their roster. For instance, Goodrum could see some more time in right field should the Tigers take the leap on dealing Nicholas Castellanos.  After three years of .285/.336/.495 production, Castellanos offers a lot of hitting prowess to any team looking for some short-term pop, as Castellanos is only under contract through the 2018 season.  On the down side, the 26-year-old is due for a big raise in his final year of arbitration (a projected $11.3MM), and Castellanos hasn’t provided any defensive value whatsoever, either as a right fielder or at his old third base spot. Unsurprisingly, his poor glovework has reputedly limited his trade value before and will continue to do so.

The Tigers have resisted the idea of using Castellanos as a first baseman in the past, due in large part to other roster considerations. Now that Victor Martinez’s retirement has opened up the designated hitter spot, it might be time for Detroit to consider deploying Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera in a timeshare between the first base and DH spots.  (Anthony Fenech recently explored the possibility in a piece for the Detroit Free Press.)  Castellanos has never played first base as a pro ballplayer, though it would help his trade value — and perhaps also his future free agent value — if he could demonstrate at least passable glovework at even the least-demanding position on the field, rather than being a major negative in right field.

Stewart also isn’t much of a defender, so it would be a big help to Detroit’s pitching staff if the spacious Comerica Park outfield didn’t have Stewart and Castellanos both regularly manning the corner positions.  Granted, the Tigers aren’t prioritizing winning in 2019, but it doesn’t help a young pitcher’s development if flyouts and singles are being turned into singles or extra-base hits due to poor outfield defense.  While the Tigers have talked to Castellanos about an extension in the past, such a contract might only happen if the team is really intent on sticking with him as a right fielder.  A move to first base might signal that Castellanos’ time in Detroit is nearing an end, as the Tigers certainly don’t want to clog up both the first base and DH spots with he and Cabrera for the foreseeable future.

Cabrera, of course, is still set to earn at least $162MM through the 2023 season, making him one of more untradeable players in baseball due to his age (36 in April) and an increasing number of injuries over the last two seasons.  Jordan Zimmermann’s contract also makes him too hefty to be dealt, even if he did slightly rebound to post the best of his three seasons in Detroit.

With those two veterans unlikely to be discussed in any realistic trade discussions, that leaves Castellanos, Michael Fulmer, Shane Greene and Alex Wilson as possible candidates to be dealt before Opening Day.  Greene had a brief DL stint in July that may have scuttled his chances at a midseason trade, and while the Tigers would be selling low in the wake of an inconsistent season from the closer, his peripherals indicated a much more solid performance than Greene’s 5.12 ERA would indicate.

The Tigers received a lot of calls Fulmer last winter and even throughout the year, and the 2016 AL Rookie Of The Year will still get interest given his four remaining years of team control as a Super Two player.  Fulmer didn’t do much to help his value, however, after posting a 4.69 ERA over 132 1/3 innings and allowing a lot of hard contact along with spikes in his home run and walk rates.  Barring a blow-away offer from another team, I wouldn’t expect Fulmer to be traded this offseason while his stock is at its lowest, as it makes more sense for Detroit to hope for a bounce-back performance in 2019.

Besides Fulmer and Zimmermann, the Tigers project to have Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris, and Blaine Hardy rounding out their starting five.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see teams ask about the latter three in trade discussions, and could at least be considered as trade pieces by the Detroit brass. Boyd was solid last year and could draw some interest from teams looking for controllable starting pitching, though he hasn’t yet shown a lofty ceiling in the big leagues. Norris has long been seen as a talented pitcher, but has yet to harness his promise. Hardy, meanwhile, is already 31 and did show some unexpected potential as a starting pitcher last year. It’s arguable he’s the likeliest trade candidate of the bunch, though interest isn’t likely to be too intense.  He could be a versatile piece for the right organization, but the Tigers might simply prefer to keep him themselves.

Whether or not any existing options are removed from the mix, there’ll be a need for some innings. The Tigers signed Mike Fiers and Francisco Liriano as low-cost rotation help last offseason, with Fiers eventually netting Detroit two pitching prospects after the right-hander was dealt to the A’s in August.  Expect the Tigers to make at least a couple of veteran signings for the rotation and bullpen in this same vein, and a reunion with Liriano wouldn’t be out of the question, even if he seems more like a LOOGY at this point than a starting pitcher. Getting through games may require some creativity for skipper Ron Gardenhire. Using an opener for at least one of the rotation spots would be an interesting way of keeping Norris and Hardy fresh, and of breaking prospects Beau Burrows and Matt Manning into the majors if they’re ready for a late-season promotion.

All things considered, despite having some obvious needs, it’s hard to know whether the Tigers will fulfill them with significant MLB acquisitions. The payroll is well below its recent high-point, when it sat just below $200MM to open the 2017 season. But the club hardly seems ready to begin adding veteran pieces for the future, so any larger expenditures would likely occur only if there’s a sterling opportunity to achieve value. On the potential sell side, Fulmer, Greene, and perhaps Castellanos all may be better candidates to be dealt after (hopefully) building up value during the course of the season. Suffice to say, it could end up being another relatively quiet offseason in the Motor City.

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