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Braves To Sign Ryan Howard

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The Braves have agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran slugger Ryan Howard, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link). He’ll head to extended Spring Training before taking a minor-league assignment. Howard will earn at a palatable $750K annual rate if he makes it to the majors, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.

Howard, 37, had a quiet offseason after the Phillies paid him a $10MM buyout rather than picking up their club option following the 2016 campaign. But he’s now headed to a division rival after wrapping up a 13-year run in Philly.

Whether Howard will ever see the majors with Atlanta remains to be seen, of course. He’s not exactly a clear fit for a National League roster that features Freddie Freeman at first base. Perhaps, though, he’ll function as an insurance policy while burnishing his resume should another opportunity arise. It’s also possible that Howard could ultimately take a spot as a bench bat for the Braves.

The market was not kind to lumbering power hitters this winter. With younger, somewhat more defensively capable players signing for far less than expected or even taking minors deals, Howard faced an uphill path to earning a MLB job. Veteran DH Billy Butler has still yet to sign.

Howard certainly still has some pop left in his bat. Last year, he swatted 25 long balls in just 362 plate appearances. He also struck out 31.5% of the time and slashed just .196/.257/.453, though that was driven in part by a meager .205 batting average on balls in play.

That said, Howard did make hard contact 45.9% of the time he did put bat to ball, a level he hadn’t reached since way back in 2009 — his last season as a high-quality regular. Being limited almost exclusively to facing right-handed pitching probably influenced that figure, though. Howard has long been much more successful when hitting with the platoon advantage, with more than .200 OPS points separating his career splits, and it’s hard to imagine him squaring up against southpaws much at all from this point onward.

West Notes: Richards, Trout, D-Backs, Leyba

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Angels righty Garrett Richards completed his remarkable return to the major league hill, but he had to leave early with what has been diagnosed initially as a biceps cramp, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports. The club says that the fireballing righty was pulled for “precautionary reasons,” and Richards says that “everything’s fine” with his elbow. For the time being, at least, he won’t even undergo an MRI; indications are that he could be able to take his next scheduled start.

  • Speaking of Richards, you’ll want to read the interesting piece that Moura penned recently regarding his stem-cell therapy to treat a partially torn UCL. Taking that course rather than electing surgery is perhaps not as unique as is publicly known, the article explains, with other players quietly undergoing the treatment during the offseason. It wasn’t an easy call, explains Angels team doctor Steve Yoon, but the combined approach has led to “dramatic” improvement in his ligament.
  • Angels fans will also want to take a look at Moura’s excellent look back at how the organization landed Mike Trout in the 2009 draft. Richards went to Los Angeles in the same draft, as did a host of other major leaguers. But landing Trout with the 25th choice was one of the greatest heists in Rule 4 history.
  • The Diamondbacks are lining up a significant investment in their operations in the Dominican Republic, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. CEO Derrick Hall explains that investing in a facility — either through renovation or new construction — could help the team draw quality youngsters under the new international spending rules, which won’t allow organizations to exceed their pool allocations.
  • Diamondbacks prospect Domingo Leyba is slated to miss about two months of action with “a small tear” in the anterior capsule of his right shoulder, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports (Twitter links). Leyba, who came to Arizona as a part of the three-team deal that also delivered Robbie Ray, with the D-Backs sacrificing Didi Gregorius, is considered one of the organization’s top prospects. The 21-year-old infielder put up solid numbers last year at the High-A and Double-A levels after a disappointing 2015 campaign. Over 548 total plate appearances, he slashed .296/.355/.429 with ten home runs.

East Notes: Lugo, Price, Cabrera, De Leon, Rays

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While Mets righty Seth Lugo doesn’t believe he’ll ultimately require surgery for his partially torn UCL, GM Sandy Alderson is calling it “a possibility,” as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. The veteran executive also notes that there’s optimism from the medical experts that Lugo can avoid going under the knife, but it does seem notable that the potential for a procedure is being publicly acknowledged. New York will hope for the best — Lugo could resume throwing in as few as two weeks — but will need to account for the possibility of a more significant absence. The club will at least keep an eye out for some starting pitching depth after learning of the partial UCL tear suffered by righty Seth Lugo, according to Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter).

Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:

  • Red Sox lefty David Price is back on the mound, though it doesn’t seem he’s back to pitching yet, as Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com reports. After a long-toss session, he took the hill to throw to a standing catcher, which represents the latest step forward. “The most encouraging thing is each throwing session he goes through, he comes out feeling good physically,” says Farrell, who added that the team will continue to push Price forward incrementally.
  • Braves righty Mauricio Cabrera has been cleared to begin throwing, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. The high-octane youngster has been dealing with arm fatigue, relegating him to the DL to open the year. It’s still unclear how long it’ll take to get him back to the majors, but it seems there’s continued optimism that the layoff isn’t anything to worry about in the long run. Still, the Braves will likely continue to take a cautious course before adding Cabrera back to the late-inning mix.
  • The Rays have placed righty Jose De Leon on the minor-league DL, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Flexor mass discomfort is to blame, though the club says the issue has already been resolved. Still, with De Leon set to face an innings limit in his first season with his new organization, he’ll ramp up slowly before heading on assignment to Triple-A.
  • St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman laid out the city’s plan for the Rays to build a new ballpark on the existing site of Tropicana Field, as Charlie Frago and Mark Puente of the Tampa Bay Times report. As the story notes, “financial details” remain unknown, though Kriseman suggested that the money side can be managed. The plan set forth is based upon the premise that broader development of the Trop site, in conjunction with a new park, could open avenues for revenue for the club, the municipality, and local businesses.

Blue Jays Release Gavin Floyd

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TODAY: Floyd has undergone yet another surgery, this one to repair his rotator cuff, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The unfortunate news seemingly helps explain yesterday’s move.

YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays have released right-hander Gavin Floyd, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Floyd inked a minor league deal to return to Toronto this winter but didn’t pitch in big league camp. His 2016 season came to a close in June due to a strained shoulder capsule.

When he’s been healthy in recent years, Floyd has generally pitched well. Across his past 98 2/3 innings, he’s logged a 3.10 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. However, unfortunately for Floyd, his stretches of good health have been few and far between. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013, most of Floyd’s 2014 season was wiped out by a fractured olecranon bone in his right elbow. Somewhat remarkably, he suffered the very same injury the next spring and subsequently missed the first five months of the 2015 season. Last year, he tallied 31 innings out of the Toronto bullpen with a 4.06 ERA and a 30-to-8 K/BB ratio before incurring his shoulder injury.

Dariel Alvarez Likely To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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The Orioles had only just begun converting outfielder Dariel Alvarez into a pitcher, but it seems that move will be put on hold. Alvarez has suffered an elbow injury that is likely to require Tommy John surgery, Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter.

Alvarez, 28, began the move to the mound mid-way through camp. At the time, manager Buck Showalter explained that the reason for the timing was that the club wished to see what it had while Alvarez still had options remaining. Though he had two entering the season, he likely won’t be ready to pitch again until the 2018 campaign is already underway.

It’s unclear what the future holds for Alvarez in the Baltimore organization. He could make it back much sooner from the surgery if he were to return to playing the field, though obviously the club had soured on his prospects of contributing in that capacity. Though Alvarez cracked the majors briefly in each of the past two seasons, he hadn’t done enough with the bat in the upper minors to justify more than spot duty. (Last year, he slashed just .288/.324/.384 at Triple-A.)

Perhaps there’s a scenario where Alvarez returns as a hitter and then attempts to pitch again when he’s ready. Regardless, while the team can place him on the 60-day DL for the time being, it’ll be hard for the O’s to continue carrying him on the 40-man roster at the end of the current season.

Giants To Sign Drew Stubbs

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TODAY: The deal has been completed, Alex Pavlovic of NBC tweets. Stubbs will earn at a $1MM rate in the majors and $130K in the minors, with bonus money also available.

YESTERDAY: The Giants are nearing a minor league agreement with veteran outfielder Drew Stubbs, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. As Baggarly notes, recent injuries to Mike Morse and Mac Williamson have thinned out the team’s outfield depth. Beyond that, center fielder Denard Span is day-to-day with some tightness in his left hip, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (Twitter link via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle).

San Francisco is currently utilizing an outfield alignment consisting of Hunter Pence in right field, Span in center field and a platoon of Jarrett Parker and Chris Marrero in left field. Gorkys Hernandez made the roster out of Spring Training as a reserve and can handle center in Span’s hopefully brief absence.

Stubbs, 32, was in camp with the Twins during Spring Training but didn’t crack the roster after logging a disappointing .139/.273/.278 with 15 strikeouts in 36 at-bats over the life of 15 games. Stubbs had a career year with the Rockies in 2014, hitting .289/.339/.482 with 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases — though the vast majority of his damage was done at the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. Since that season, Stubbs has struggled to a .207/.302/.365 batting line in 234 plate appearances between the Rockies, Braves, Rangers and Orioles.

Those recent struggles notwithstanding, Stubbs is capable of handling all three outfield positions and has a strong track record against left-handed pitching over the life of his career. In 952 plate appearances against southpaws, he’s a .272/.348/.444 hitter.

Outrighted: Hessler, Vargas, Yates

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Here are the latest minor moves of note from around the game:

  • The Padres announced that lefty Keith Hessler and righty Cesar Vargas have both been outrighted after clearing waivers. Both were designated for assignment recently; the former will head to the highest level of the minors, while the latter will go to Double-A. Hessler, 28, pitched to a 3.38 ERA last year but managed just nine strikeouts against 11 walks over his 18 2/3 frames. As for the 25-year-old Vargas, he’ll need to climb back to the bigs before he’ll get a shot to pick up where he left off last year, when he carried a 3.34 ERA over his first six starts — only to suffer a season-ending injury during his seventh.
  • Righty Kirby Yates has been outrighted by the Angels, per a team announcement. The 30-year-old hasn’t managed to hold down big league job in his prior opportunities, and will need to wait for another shot at Triple-A. He threw 41 1/3 frames last year, posting a 5.23 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. Yates has typically performed well in the upper minors, though, and ought to provide the Halos with some depth.

Athletics Place John Axford On 10-Day DL

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6:24pm: Axford first experienced discomfort while warming last night, Joe Stiglich of NBC Bay Area reports (Twitter links). He’ll undergo an MRI, but the hope is that he’ll be back in the minimum time — only a week, since the DL placement can be backdated.

4:17pm: The Athletics have placed righty John Axford on the 10-day DL, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee was among those to report on Twitter. He has been diagnosed with a strained shoulder.

It’s not clear at this point what kind of timeline the team anticipates for Axford to return. Oakland will pull up righty Jesse Hahn from Triple-A to take Axford’s spot on the roster for the time being.

[RELATED: Updated A’s Depth Chart]

Axford, 34, hadn’t appeared yet in game action but was seen warming up in the pen. He threw 7 2/3 frames in Spring Training, allowing three earned on ten hits and five walks while notching just three strikeouts.

The A’s still have some flux in their late-inning bullpen plans, but Axford would figure to fit in as a setup arm. Last year, he threw 65 2/3 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with 8.2 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9. Though that represented a falloff in the strikeout department, he was still working at 95.6 mph with his average fastball and managed a 10.6% swinging-strike rate that was the second-highest mark of his career.

Derek Jeter, Jeb Bush Headline Potential Marlins Bidding Groups

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Yankees legend Derek Jeter and former Florida governor Jeb Bush are both working to put together bidding groups to make a run at buying the Marlins, according to a report from Charlie Gasparino and Brian Schwartz of FOX Business. There is at least one other rival bidding group, per the report.

Jeter has already launched the popular Player’s Tribune website since hanging up his spikes, but could now seemingly embark upon another major business undertaking in advance of his likely Hall-of-Fame enshrinement in 2019. The former shortstop is said to be working with an investment banker who was previously affiliated with Morgan Stanley, though it’s not clear whether that firm is involved.

Meanwhile, Bush has lined up with Citigroup to weigh a proposal to take over the team from Jeffrey Loria, who is reportedly preparing to cash in on the organization at some point in the near future. And there’s a third known group as well; though it has no known headlining names, it’s said to have the backing of financial powerhouse Goldman Sachs.

Loria bought the team back in 2002 at a $158MM price tag. This time around, it figures to be worth quite a bit more, with some reports pegging the likely open-market value in the range of $1.4B to $1.7B. Whether or not it actually lands in that range remains to be seen, but Loria is positioned to cash in on both the publicly financed Marlins Park and the success of MLB Advanced Media — an entity that is co-owned by all thirty teams and has expanded its portfolio beyond the baseball realm.

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