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Latest On Kolten Wong

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 3:22pm CDT

3:22pm: Wong asked the Post-Dispatch to clarify his earlier comments and emphasized that he’d like to remain a Cardinal. Wong’s full statement is available at this link. Here’s an excerpt:

“I’m not trying to sell my self to any other team. My play speaks for itself and what kind of player I can be. I want to be that player for the Cardinals. If the worst-case scenario comes down, I understand there are a lot of good guys on this team right now. If it’s my time to get moved, it’s my time to get moved. But at the end of the day, I want to be a Cardinal. And that’s the most important thing.”

1:35pm: With Jhonny Peralta set to open the season as the Cardinals’ third baseman, they’ll need to find a place for Jedd Gyorko, who swatted a team-high 30 home runs in 2016. Gyorko could wind up at second base, where the right-handed hitter would platoon with the lefty-swinging Kolten Wong, though the latter made it clear Sunday that he wants no part of a timeshare.

Asked if he’d rather the Cardinals trade him than use him as a part-time player, Wong told Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “One hundred percent. I don’t want to be here wasting my time. I know what kind of player I am. If I don’t have the belief here, then I’ll go somewhere else.”

Wong hasn’t requested a trade – notably, the Cardinals rebuffed at least one interested suitor during the winter – and he indicated he’ll “be ready to do what I gotta do to help the team win.” Still, Wong’s frustrated that the Cardinals might not follow through on general manager John Mozeliak’s offseason plan to get him more second base time this year. In fairness to the Redbirds, though, Wong hasn’t necessarily established himself as a full-time-caliber player since debuting in the majors in 2013. The 26-year-old owns a modest .248/.309/.370 batting line in 1,469 plate appearances, including an even worse .247/.290/.327 in 336 PAs versus same-handed pitchers, and is coming off a year which featured a demotion to Triple-A. Plus, it would behoove the Cardinals to find at-bats for Gyorko, the better offensive player.

While Wong has underwhelmed at the plate, that hasn’t been the case at the keystone, where he has totaled 19 Defensive Runs Saved and put up a 9.0 Ultimate Zone Rating in the majors. Wong’s cognizant of the value he has provided the Cardinals in the field.

“On defense, I’m one of the best second basemen in the league,” he declared. “I believe that and I know that.”

Both Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny agree with Wong, having heaped praise on his defensive skills during the offseason. Of course, Mozeliak was responsible for giving Wong a five-year, $25.5MM extension last March. Wong addressed that deal Sunday and wondered aloud whether he’ll finish the contract in St. Louis, per Frederickson. Regardless, he believes the pact entitles him to a longer leash.

“When you are given a contract, you are expected to get a chance to work through some things and figure yourself out,” he said. “Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, all these guys never figured their stuff out until later on down the road. It’s the big leagues. It’s tough, man. For me, the biggest thing is I just need people to have my back. When that comes, it will be good. But, I think right now, it’s just staying with my play, understanding I’m working toward getting myself more consistent, understanding what kind of player I can be. If that’s going to be with another team, so be it.”

Despite Wong’s displeasure with his current situation, he noted he doesn’t “want to come off as being like bitter or anything” and credited Gyorko for an “amazing” 2016.

Braves Sign David Hernandez To Minor League Deal

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 2:46pm CDT

The Braves have signed reliever David Hernandez to a minor league contract, the team announced. The right-hander hit the market when the Giants released him Friday.

The 31-year-old Hernandez would provide another experienced bullpen option if he were to make the Braves, who have fellow 30-something relievers on hand in Jim Johnson, Eric O’Flaherty and Josh Collmenter. Hernandez might have a legitimate shot to crack Atlanta’s roster, too, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported Saturday that righties Mauricio Cabrera and Armando Rivero are likely to open the season on the disabled list.

The Braves are the fifth major league organization for Hernandez, who debuted with the Orioles in 2009 and has registered a 4.10 ERA, 9.13 K/9, 3.83 BB/9 and a low ground-ball rate (31.6 percent) over 487 innings. He posted similar numbers to his career totals last year in Philadelphia, where he logged a 3.84 ERA with 9.91 K/9 against 3.96 BB/9 and a 37.3 percent grounder rate in 72 2/3 frames. Hernandez has typically helped offset his paltry ground-ball totals by inducing plenty of infield pop-ups (13.5 percent career rate), and he features a 94 mph fastball.

AL Notes: Orioles, Indians, Tigers, Red Sox

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 12:49pm CDT

Orioles scout Todd Frohwirth passed away Sunday at the age of 54, the team confirmed. Frohwirth had worked as a scout with the club since 2003, and he was previously a reliever with the O’s from 1991-93. He also pitched for the Phillies and Angels during his career, which spanned from 1987-96. Orioles legend Jim Palmer tweeted Sunday that Frohwirth “could light up a room,” and the team announced it will honor him with a moment of silence before its game Monday. MLBTR joins those around the baseball world in extending our condolences to Frohwirth’s family, friends and organization.

Outfielder Austin Jackson will open the season on the Indians’ 25-man roster, tweets Ryan Lewis of Ohio.com. Jackson presumably would have opted out of his minor league contract Sunday had the Tribe cut him, but he’ll instead earn a $1.5MM salary as a major leaguer and potentially collect $4MM in incentives. The Indians have three left-handed-hitting starting outfielders in Michael Brantley, Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall, so Jackson and Brandon Guyer will offer variety off the bench as righty-swingers. It’s also worth mentioning that the 30-year-old Jackson has typically been a capable fielder in center, where he has played almost exclusively and totaled 41 Defensive Runs Saved and a 6.9 Ultimate Zone Rating .
The Tigers reassigned Anthony Gose to minor league camp Sunday, and while the 26-year-old will continue to work as an outfielder, he”ll also try his hand as a pitcher, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News was among those to report. Gose, who possessed a mid-90s fastball as a left-handed high school hurler but chose to give up pitching, approached the Tigers with the idea. They’re intrigued, per manager Brad Ausmus. “(Sean) Doolittle in Oakland did it and he was in the big leagues a couple of years later,” Ausmus said, referring to Doolittle’s successful transition from first base and the outfield to the mound. “It’s going to take some time. He’s going to have to be a sponge and catch up on experience fast. But we feel it’s worth investigating.”
The Red Sox are likely to put their plan to use Hanley Ramirez at first base against lefties on hold, at least to begin the season, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. A right shoulder issue has prevented Ramirez from playing the field in spring training games, and manager John Farrell noted that time’s running out in the exhibition schedule. “I’m still hopeful but recognizing where we are on the calendar,” he said. Ramirez is well enough to hit, so he’ll be the full-time DH as long as he’s unable to line up in the field, though it’s unclear if anyone will platoon with first baseman Mitch Moreland in the meantime. If healthy, Ramirez would’ve relegated the lefty-swinging Moreland to the bench versus southpaws. With Moreland and third baseman Pablo Sandoval, the Red Sox have two prominent corner infielders who struggle against lefties.

Yankees Release Jon Niese

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 12:37pm CDT

12:37pm: Niese will take 24 to 48 hours to see if any other teams are interested in his services, per Sherman, but he’s “leaning toward” re-upping with the Yankees. Niese would then begin the year in extended spring training, where he’d work to increase the mid-80s fastball velocity he has flashed this spring (Twitter links).

10:42am: The Yankees have released left-hander Jon Niese, per a team announcement.

Niese worked almost exclusively from the rotation with the Mets and Pirates from 2008-16, an 1,189-inning span in which he logged 197 starts in 211 appearances and posted a 4.07 ERA, 6.92 K/9, 2.78 BB/9 and a 50.1 percent ground-ball rate. However, he totaled a career-high nine relief appearances between New York and Pittsburgh last year, when he endured the worst season of his career, and then had to settle for a minor league pact with the Yankees in February. That came toward the end of a quiet offseason for the soft-tossing Niese, who paired a bloated ERA (5.50) with a sky-high home run-to-fly ball ratio (22.1 percent) in 121 innings in 2016.

Although the Bombers are lacking experience in the rotation after Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda, they didn’t consider Niese for a starting role. Instead, they gave him an opportunity to make their roster as a reliever, which he wasn’t able to accomplish. The Yankeees are open to keeping Niese in their system, tweets the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who adds that there’s a “strong possibility” that he’ll head to their minor league camp to build up his arm strength.

Rays Sign Derek Norris

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 12:06pm CDT

TUESDAY: Norris’ deal comes with $250K in incentives for 50, 75, 100 and 125 days on the big league roster, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag. He’ll also collect $250K if the Rays trade him.

SUNDAY: To make room for Norris, the Rays have placed right-hander Kevin Gadea on the 60-day DL with elbow tendinitis, according to Topkin. If healthy, the Rays would have returned the Rule 5 pick to the Mariners (Twitter links).

SATURDAY: The Rays have officially announced the signing. A corresponding move to create a 40-man roster spot will come later today, Topkin tweets, with the simplest scenario being that Ramos would be placed on the 60-day DL.

FRIDAY, 3:40pm: Norris will earn $1.2MM and can add another $800K via incentives, Topkin tweets. That’ll be on top of the $688K or so he’s owed by the Nationals under the arb arrangement he had reached at the outset of his short-lived stint in D.C.

1:28pm: Free agent catcher Derek Norris will sign with the Rays, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Norris chose the Rays over four other suitors (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year deal, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays could control Norris for two years, though, as he’ll be arbitration eligible for the last time in 2018.

[RELATED: Updated Rays Depth Chart]

The Rockies and Cardinals had also been mentioned recently in connection to Norris, who reached the open market when the Nationals released him March 15. That came after a failed attempt to trade Norris, who would have been due $4.2MM. Instead, he’ll presumably earn a significantly lower salary with the Rays. Norris picked Tampa Bay over other teams because he expects to receive more playing time there than he would have elsewhere, according to Brown.

The Rays signed a high-profile backstop, Wilson Ramos, in free agency over the winter, but after suffering a torn ACL last season, he probably won’t debut until May or June. Even when he is healthy enough to return, Ramos could break back in as a designated hitter. Thus, as opposed to going with the unexciting duo of Luke Maile and Curt Casali as their primary catchers, the Rays are adding Norris, who’s easily the most proven of the three.

The 28-year-old Norris isn’t without his flaws, having batted an ugly .186/.255/.328 with a career-worst 30.3 percent strikeout rate in 458 plate appearances with the Padres last season. However, Norris isn’t far removed from slashing a palatable .246/.336/.392 in 982 PAs with the A’s and Padres from 2012-15. Norris is also coming off his second straight season in which both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner assigned him plus pitch-framing marks behind the plate. That surely added to his appeal from the Rays’ standpoint, as the organization is known to value framing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Drew Stubbs Opts Out Of Twins Deal

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 11:06am CDT

Outfielder Drew Stubbs has opted out of his minor league contract with the Twins, according to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link). The Twins informed Stubbs on Sunday that he wasn’t going to make their big league roster.

The 32-year-old Stubbs will now look for an opportunity elsewhere, he told Berardino.

“Obviously, first and foremost, I’d want to be on somebody’s Opening Day roster,” Stubbs said. “If that opportunity’s not there, I’ll just have to reevaluate the situation and see where the best opportunity would be for me.”

The right-handed Stubbs has a history of faring well against southpaws, having slashed .272/.348/.444 in 952 plate appearances, which could have made him a platoon partner for one of the Twins’ lefty-swinging corner outfielders, Eddie Rosario or Max Kepler. Instead, the Twins could go with the switch-hitting Robbie Grossman as their fourth outfielder, as Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource projects, and they also have the out-of-options Danny Santana on hand.

In addition to his quality track record versus left-handed pitchers, Stubbs has racked up 161 stolen bases in his career. However, the journeyman struck out in at least 40 percent of plate appearances in each of the two prior seasons, and he combined to hit a disastrous .207/.302/.365 during those campaigns.

Latest On Yadier Molina Extension Talks

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2017 at 10:12am CDT

SUNDAY: The Cardinals are “prepared to make a significant offer to keep” Molina in the fold, according to chairman Bill Dewitt Jr. (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). “We’d love to have him stay,” Dewitt added. While Molina “would love to stay,” he noted that there are “too many catchers making more money” than him (though only Buster Posey, Russell Martin and Brian McCann have higher salaries among backstops). On whether the Redbirds would be willing to make Molina the majors’ highest-paid catcher, Dewitt stated: “He would certainly be one of the highest-paid catchers. Part of that is (annual average value), part of it is length. That all factors into what he ends up looking for and what makes sense for the club.”

SATURDAY: Yadier Molina has set Opening Day as the deadline to reach a contract extension with the Cardinals, the catcher tells MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (Twitter links) and other reporters. Like most players, Molina doesn’t want to be distracted by negotiations dragging on into the season. If a new deal isn’t reached, the longtime St. Louis star said he isn’t afraid to hit the open market.

The two sides began preliminary talks about a new deal over a month ago, and Cards GM John Mozeliak said last week that the team would be open to continuing discussions into the season, since the Cardinals “are not a deadline organization, historically.” It seems as if the Cardinals are trying to be as flexible as possible in handling Molina’s extension case, perhaps a wise tactic when determining the future production of a workhorse catcher who turns 35 in July.

Molina has already signed two extensions with the Cardinals during his career, and is entering the last guaranteed season of a five-year, $75MM pact. (That deal contains a $15MM mutual option for 2018 with a $2MM buyout, though like most mutual options, it seems quite unlikely to be exercised.) It’s hard to argue that the catcher hasn’t been worth that investment, as Molina has hit .296/.341/.412 since the start of the 2013 season while generating 12.1 fWAR and has continued to provide his customary strong defense behind the plate. While Molina’s performance dipped a bit in 2015, he bounced back to hit .307/.360/.427 over 581 PA last season.

While the Cardinals have extended certain veteran stars (such as Molina himself and Adam Wainwright) rather than letting them test free agent waters, the club has also been willing to let franchise icons leave — i.e. Albert Pujols — if it feels the cost will be too prohibitive. While Molina obviously won’t require nearly as massive a commitment as Pujols, there aren’t many catchers who have remained both healthy and productive enough to merit an eight-figure annual salary into their mid-to-late 30’s.

Molina, for his part, tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters that he isn’t close to the end of his career. “I’ve still got many years in the tank. Believe me,” Molina said. “I feel great. I feel like a 20-year-old kid.” Molina’s remarkable durability notwithstanding, the Cardinals could explore extending Molina and then using him at first base in future years to keep him fresh and to ease top prospect Carson Kelly into catching duties.

East Notes: Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 9:40am CDT

In unwelcome news for the Mets, left-hander Steven Matz is dealing with elbow irritation and won’t make his scheduled start Monday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter links here). Doctors have assured Matz that he doesn’t have ligament damage, per DiComo, and the 25-year-old insists he’s fine and will throw off flat ground Monday. However, general manager Sandy Alderson is concerned about Matz. “It’s worrisome that he continues to be injured,” said Alderson. Matz’s stellar rookie campaign last year ended in August because of a “massive” bone spur in his elbow, which led to October surgery. Before that, he logged a 3.40 ERA, 8.77 K/9, 2.11 BB/9 and 51.1 percent ground-ball rate in 132 1/3 innings. Fortunately for the Mets, they do have enviable rotation depth to fill in for Matz if he should miss regular-season time. “This is why we have (Robert) Gsellman and (Seth) Lugo,” a team source told Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

Phillies Release Sean Burnett

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 9:01am CDT

The Phillies have released veteran left-hander Sean Burnett, according to a team announcement. The reliever, who had an opt-out in his minor league contract for Sunday, requested his release.

At his best, Burnett was a high-end bullpen option from 2009-12, when he combined for a 2.86 ERA and a 55.4 percent ground-ball rate with the Pirates and Nationals. Arm issues have derailed Burnett’s career since, however, as the two-time Tommy John surgery recipient didn’t throw more than 9 2/3 innings in any of the previous four major league seasons. After missing all of 2015, he returned to the bigs with the Nationals last year and allowed two earned runs on three hits in 5 2/3 frames. Burnett spent most of the season at the Triple-A level as a member of four different organizations – the Nats, Braves, Dodgers and Twins.

While spring training stats don’t carry any significance, the 34-year-old Burnett did fare decently in camp with the Phillies. In nine innings, he yielded two earned runs on six hits and two walks, though he didn’t record any strikeouts. That showing clearly wasn’t enough for the Phillies to hand Burnett a roster spot, and he’ll attempt to catch on with a different organization as a result.

MLBTR Originals

By Connor Byrne | March 26, 2017 at 8:37am CDT

A roundup of MLBTR’s original content from the past week:

In a fascinating, extremely detailed piece, MLBTR contributor and former Cubs front office man Chuck Wasserstrom went back in time to the team’s active offseason after the 2006 campaign. The Cubs won just 66 games in 2006, leading the Tribune Company – which owned the franchise at the time and was looking to sell it – to give then-general manager Jim Hendry the green light to spend in free agency. Improving the on-field product would increase the Cubs’ value, the Tribune Company figured, so Hendry brought in famed manager Lou Piniella and made several signings. Wasserstrom interviewed both Hendry and Piniella about that offseason, and Hendry noted that left-hander Ted Lilly was the Cubs’ top free agent pitching target entering the Winter Meetings. Both Lilly and his agent, Larry O’Brien, as well as Hendry, Piniella and Yankees GM Brian Cashman (the Bombers were Lilly’s top choice) were among those who detailed the courting of Lilly, who ultimately signed a four-year, $40MM deal with Chicago. At the same time, though, Hendry was in a terrifying personal situation, having found out that he’d need to undergo an emergency heart procedure. When Lilly agreed to join the Cubs, Hendry was in the midst of an EKG. “To this day, the story obviously has been embellished in some ways by the fact that a couple hours later I was going to have a heart procedure – but the fact is that Larry O’Brien called me when I was on the gurney,” Hendry said. Added Cashman, who now works with Hendry in the Yankees’ front office, “I know we as an industry were worried sick about Jim and his health, but it’s nice to be able to look back on it in a fond way promoting how dedicated Jim is – because he survived it.” Hendry’s signing of Lilly proved to be a quality move, as the left-hander went on to post a 3.70 ERA in 113 starts with the Cubs and help the team to two playoff appearances.
Brewers reliever and funnyman Tim Dillard, who’s in minor league camp in Arizona, returned to share the second part of his Inner Monologue. Here’s an excerpt: “Yesterday a teammate walked in the clubhouse carrying coffee and wearing a huge round fancy wristwatch. So just to be stupid, I asked him what time it was. The guy stopped… dug his watch hand into his pocket… and emerged with a smart phone. He hit the button to make the screen light up, but it was upside down. But after repositioning his coffee between his arm and chest, he managed to flip the phone right side up. “It isssssssss 6:37.”’
This year’s Offseason In Review series continued with looks at five teams. Tim Dierkes handled both Chicago clubs (links: Cubs, White Sox), while I tackled the Mets and Athletics, and Mark Polishuk analyzed the Blue Jays.

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