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AL East Notes: Uehara, Orioles, Bautista, Morales, Sanchez, Cobb

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The Red Sox placed right-hander Koji Uehara on the 15-day disabled list with a pectoral strain earlier today, and manager John Farrell told reporters tonight that due to the “unique” nature of the injury, it’s difficult to put a timetable on the 41-year-old’s return (link via WEEI’s Ryan Hannable). “At the time of the injury we knew it was significant and we put him on the DL before the MRI,” Farrell explained. “It obviously confirms a strain. To what extent? We’re still getting our arms around that. This is a unique injury for a pitcher. I guess the best thing I can tell you is the MRI does confirm the strain.” With Uehara now joining closer Craig Kimbrel and Junichi Tazawa on the shelf (as shown on their depth chart), Brad Ziegler will step into the ninth inning for the BoSox. However, one can imagine that poor news regarding Uehara could prompt Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to further explore a trade market which he has already frequented.

A few more notes from the AL East…

  • The Orioles’ troubles with pitching prospects are seemingly continuing, as Rich Dubroff of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes that top pitching prospect Hunter Harvey is visiting Dr. James Andrews to have his right elbow/forearm examined after exiting a weekend start due to the aggravation of his previous flexor mass strain. As Dubroff notes, Harvey has made five appearances this season — his first action on a minor league mound in nearly two full calendar years. Harvey’s career has been dramatically slowed arm injuries — a familiar story for the Orioles, who have also seen Dylan Bundy and a number of other pitching prospects battle through arm injuries.
  • The Blue Jays expect Jose Bautista to rejoin the club as soon as Monday of next week, according to skipper John Gibbons (via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi). Bautista has been absent from the Jays’ lineup for more than a month now due to a toe/foot injury but is embarking on a rehab assignment and is expected to get up to speed quickly. The free-agent-to-be is having a down season but has still been an above-average bat for the Jays despite a .230 average thanks to his hefty .360 on-base percentage and .455 slugging percentage.
  • Davidi also writes that the Blue Jays will make a decision on left-handed reliever Franklin Morales tomorrow. Wednesday marked the final day of Morales’ minor league rehab assignment, meaning the Jays will need to put him on the roster. However, there’s no clear spot for Morales at this time, Davidi notes, and Morales can refuse a minor league assignment by virtue of his service time. Morales has tossed just two-thirds of an inning this year for the Jays, but his $2MM salary became guaranteed when injury prevented the Jays from leveraging a 45-day advance consent clause early in the season. If he elects free agency, Toronto would still be on the hook for the remainder of his salary. Morales, for what it’s worth, has pitched pretty well on his rehab stint. He’s allowed two runs in 11 innings with a 9-to-6 K/BB ratio.
  • In a second piece, Davidi writes that Aaron Sanchez is making the Blue Jays’ dilemma about whether to return him to the bullpen in an effort to conserve his arm more and more dilemma. The right-hander dominated the Diamondbacks over seven one-run innings yesterday but also boosted his innings total to 125 1/3 in the process. The plan for Sanchez was always to shift him to the ’pen midway through the season due to the fact that he threw only 102 total innings between the Majors and Minors last season, but manager John Gibbons acknowledged that it’s becoming more difficult to envision. Gibbons tells Davidi that he still thinks the move will happen at some point, though he recognized that it won’t be popular among fans or in the locker room. “I know it would upgrade the bullpen, that’s for damn sure,” said Gibbons, “but he’s one of the best young starters in the league, too. I don’t know when that’s going to happen.”
  • The Rays have recalled Alex Cobb from his minor league rehab assignment due to fatigue and mechanical issues, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Cobb, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent last May, is now unlikely to return to a big league mound until at least mid-August, though it could be a bit later depending on when he gets back on a minor league mound. Topkin notes that the Rays aren’t concerned about a larger-scale injury, however.

Pitching Notes: Santana, Cobb, Felix, Cards, Red Sox, Eovaldi

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The Rangers “took a hard look” at Twins righty Ervin Santana during his most recent outing, according to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star-Tribune (via Twitter). Texas is in need of rotation depth, as its current depth chart shows, and that may well remain an area of interest even if the club is able to add a higher-end starter. While the veteran Santana doesn’t come with a ton of upside at 33 years of age, he has long been a solid pitcher and would deliver some much-needed dependability. He has averaged over 180 innings annually dating back to his rookie campaign in 2005, and is still working with the same velocity and generating about the same swinging strike rate that he has for much of his career. Santana is owed $13.5MM this year and the two to follow, though, so there’d be some financial negotiating to work through.

Here are some more notable developments as the pitching market continues to take shape:

  • Rays righty Alex Cobb will make his first rehab start on Wednesday, per a club announcement (h/t to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, via Twitter). Cobb, who is working back from Tommy John surgery, can remain on assignment for 30 days. His timeline probably isn’t a determining factor, but so long as he remains on track it certainly would make it easier for Tampa Bay to move a starter.
  • Mariners righty Felix Hernandez is set to throw three simulated innings on Wednesday, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets. If all goes well, it seems that he could soon begin a rehab stint — which could help Seattle assess its rotation needs as the deadline draws into focus.
  • Asked about the possible need for pen reinforcement, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said today that his club “can’t ignore anything,” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. St. Louis figures to be among many teams eyeing relievers over the next month. With Trevor Rosenthal losing his closing gig and Kevin Siegrist hitting the DL, an already somewhat-questionable unit has increasing concerns.
  • The Red Sox are still angling to shift Joe Kelly into their big league bullpen, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports on Twitter. A final move won’t be made until after the All-Star break, once he’s completed his rehab stint. Clay Buchholz, too, could be moving back to the relief corps after failing to impress upon his return to the rotation, as Mastrodonato writes.
  • The Yankees have temporarily bumped righty Nathan Eovaldi to the bullpen, Chad Jennings of the Lo Hud Yankees Blog reports. It appears that he’ll be replaced in the rotation by Chad Green for now, but expectations are that Eovaldi will be back among the starting five after the All-Star break. Skipper Joe Girardi explained that the move was motivated by the team’s need to have arms ready for relief work, though clearly Eovaldi’s distinct struggles of late play a major role in the decision.

AL East Notes: Souza, Cobb, Jays, Sox, O’Day, Yankees

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The Rays sent right fielder Steven Souza to the 15-day disabled list yesterday due to a strained muscle in his left hip, as MLB.com’s Sam Blum writes. Souza sustained the injury on Tuesday when making a diving attempt at a sinking liner off the bat of Nelson Cruz. He came up just shy of making the catch, and upon getting to his feet had difficulty remaining upright, ultimately falling back to the turf after making the throw into the infield. X-rays taken on his hip were negative, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Souza will receive a cortisone injection to help with the pain. Souza’s hope for now, according to Topkin, is that he can return in the minimum two weeks. The 27-year-old Souza is hitting .255/.315/.443 with 10 homers on the season and has played a solid right field this season. In his absence, the Rays have called up Jaff Decker (as seen on their updated depth chart), and he’ll share some of the duties with Mikie Mahtook.

More from the AL East…

  • In other Rays injury news, injured right-hander Alex Cobb is targeting late July or early August as a return date from 2015 Tommy John surgery, tweets Topkin. That target date would put the 28-year-old on track for a 14- to 15-month recovery from replacement of his ulnar collateral ligament, which took place in early May of 2015. The Rays currently have a full rotation with Chris Archer, Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, Drew Smyly and Blake Snell (plus a pair of rotation candidates in the bullpen in Matt Andriese and Erasmo Ramirez), but further injuries or trades could potentially open a spot for Cobb’s return.
  • The Blue Jays could find themselves competing against the majority of their own division for pitching help on the summer trade market, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. The Red Sox and Orioles, in particular, need rotation help and could challenge the Jays as they look to fortify their own collection of starters. The fact that right-hander Aaron Sanchez will inevitably move to the bullpen to limit his innings looms large over the Blue Jays, Nicholson-Smith notes, and while that move (plus the return of Brett Cecil) could eliminate a separate need for relief help, the Blue Jays are light on depth in the rotation. Right-hander Drew Hutchison is throwing well at Triple-A and is expected to return to the rotation later this summer, but as Nicholson-Smith points out, any injury to a starter after Hutchison’s return would severely compromise the team’s depth. Veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc is probably the next line of defense, and while he’s throwing brilliantly in Triple-A (1.51 ERA in 83 2/3 innings), his track record in the Majors is fairly limited.
  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski should be fully invested in the 2016 season, even if it means parting with a prized prospect such as outfielder Andrew Benintendi or Rafael Devers in order to bolster the rotation, opines the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. With David Ortiz’s impending retirement and the brilliant performances from other members of the offense (Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley, Dustin Pedroia), it’s unlikely that the Sox will receive this level of across-the-board domination from their offense again, and the core of their team is controlled long enough that parting with someone such as Benintendi or Devers is manageable, Abraham writes. In addition to seeking an impact rotation arm and a quality setup piece, Abraham feels that a platoon-mate for Chris Young in left field would be a prudent investment. He suggests Jon Jay as a logical target (though clearly not in connection with Benintendi or Devers), and the fit does indeed make sense for Boston.
  • Catcher/outfielder Blake Swihart could return to the Red Sox in August, writes the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich. Dombrowski said that the team’s initial timeline on Swihart was six to eight weeks, and early August would be on the further end of that spectrum. Swihart will be reevaluated in the near future, per Dombrowski, but he didn’t seem to think there was any reason to expect a lengthier absence. Dombrowski played it cool when asked about his left field situation, praising Young’s work at the position and adding that he’s confident the team will have Swihart and Brock Holt back in the mix eventually.
  • Orioles righty Darren O’Day, who is currently on the disabled list due to a hamstring injury, offered a fairly vague update on his status on Thursday (links to Twitter via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). The Baltimore setup ace is still unsure of when he’ll be able to get back on a mound but conceded that his recovery has been coming along more slowly than he’d expected. O’Day did add that he doesn’t think he’d require more than two rehab appearances to get back up to speed, so when he is able to get back on a mound, his return from that point could be expedited.
  • The Yankees aren’t interested in signing Jose Reyes, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The Yanks had interest in Reyes following his trade from Toronto to Colorado, but they’re no longer intrigued by the possibility. Reyes was designated for assignment earlier this week and is all but certain to be released by the Rockies.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports profiles one of the more interesting draft stories of the year: Yankees ninth-round pick Tim Lynch. A first baseman out of Southern Mississippi, Lynch was long an avid autograph collector before developing into a legitimate draft prospect. At 14 years of age, needing only Lorenzo Cain’s signature to complete an entire set of Bowman autographs, Lynch picked up a half-dozen donuts and waited for Cain behind the back gate of a minor league stadium, offering him and his teammates a snack in exchange for the completion of the set. Reminded of the exchange by Rosenthal, Cain called it “unreal … crazy, unbelievable” that the donut-wielding autograph collector from nine years ago was drafted by the Yankees. Rosenthal spoke with Lynch about his entire collection, with the 23-year-old senior sign revealing that he’s picked up more than 20,000 signatures in total over the years (100+ from Miguel Cabrera alone) and still hopes to obtain an autograph from Alex Rodriguez now that he’s been drafted by New York.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/24/16

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Here are today’s minor transactions from around baseball:

  • The Rangers will purchase the contract of southpaw Cesar Ramos on Monday so he can make a spot start in place of the injured Cole Hamels, Texas executive VP of communications John Blake tweets.  There is no word yet on the corresponding moves that would create roster space for Ramos; Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram speculates that Keone Kela could be moved to the 60-day DL and Alex Claudio could head to Triple-A.  Only ten of Ramos’ 251 career games have been starts, though he made seven starts as recently as 2014 with the Rays.  Ramos posted a 2.75 ERA and 2.87 K/BB rate in 52 1/3 relief innings with the Angels last season before being rather surprisingly non-tendered.  He signed a minor league deal with Texas in January.
  • The Rays transferred Alex Cobb to the 60-day DL in order to create a 40-man roster spot for Jhan Marinez, the club announced.  Cobb has been out of action for almost a full year recovering from Tommy John surgery and is expected back late this season.

Earlier Updates

  • The White Sox have recalled right-hander Miguel Gonzalez from Triple-A and optioned righty Erik Johnson in a corresponding move, tweets Scott Gregor of the Daily Herald. Gonzalez will start for the White Sox on Monday in Toronto. Gonzalez joined the Sox as a free agent earlier this month after the Orioles unexpectedly released him. The 31-year-old has made 95 career starts and owns a lifetime 3.82 ERA to go with a 6.47 K/9 and 2.96 BB/9.
  • The Red Sox recalled lefty Henry Owens and right-hander Pat Light, sending southpaw Roenis Elias and righty Noe Ramirez to Triple-A in corresponding moves, per a team announcement. Owens, 23, will start the Red Sox’s game against Houston tonight. He made 11 starts for the Sox last year and logged a 4.57 ERA with a 7.14 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9 in 63 innings. Light has been in Boston’s system since the club used a first-rounder on him in the 2012 draft, and he’s just now breaking into the majors. Light owns an underwhelming 4.63 ERA in 266 1/3 minor league innings, though he has flashed impressive strikeout ability since moving to a relief role last season and can hit 100 mph.
  • The Reds announced that right-hander Tim Melville (who was designated for assignment Friday) cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville. The 26-year-old Melville allowed 11 earned runs in nine innings — including two starts — while recording eight strikeouts against nine walks before the Reds designated him. Melville worked to a 4.63 ERA in 151 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year in the Tigers organization.
  • The Tigers have placed closer Francisco Rodriguez on the family medical emergency list and recalled left-hander Matt Boyd from Triple-A, the team announced. There’s no word yet on how long Rodriguez will be away from the club. K-Rod has converted on 4 of 5 save opportunities for the Tigers this season, but the process hasn’t been pretty (.75 K/BB ratio, 7.11 ERA). Boyd, whom Detroit acquired from Toronto in the David Price trade last year, debuted in the majors in 2015, logging a combined 13 appearances with the Tigers and Blue Jays. The 25-year-old pitched to an unsightly 7.53 ERA in 57 1/3 innings, though he has been quite successful at the Triple-A level (2.53 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 10 starts dating back to last season).

Injury Updates: Rangers, Rays, Reds, Mets

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The Rangers have scratched southpaw Cole Hamels from his start Monday against the Yankees because of left groin soreness, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to report (on Twitter). Hamels also missed a start last year because of a sore groin, but the club doesn’t believe the injury is serious. It’s currently unclear who will start in his place Monday.

More injury updates on some key major leaguers:

  • In other news concerning an integral member of the Rangers’ rotation, right-hander Yu Darvish is fully healthy and on track for a mid-May return, general manager Jon Daniels told MLB Network Radio on Sunday (Twitter link). Darvish, who missed the 2015 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, could begin a rehab assignment May 1 and rejoin the Rangers on May 16, Grant wrote earlier this week.
  • Another 2015 Tommy John surgery recipient, Rays right-hander Alex Cobb, should return by late July or early August, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Times. Rays closer Brad Boxberger is on course for a mid-May comeback from core muscle surgery, which he underwent in March, adds Topkin.
  • Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani, who’s working his way back from an oblique strain, began his rehab stint Saturday at the Double-A level and threw four innings, allowing three runs, four hits and a walk while striking out five. He’ll next start for Low-A Dayton, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). DeSclafani posted a 4.05 ERA with a 7.36 K/9 and 2.68 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings for the Reds last season.
  • Like Darvish and Cobb, Mets lefty Josh Edgin is also coming back from 2015 Tommy John surgery. Edgin’s recovery is going well and it’s possible he’ll return to the majors next month, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. Edgin served as a shutdown option out of the Mets’ bullpen in 2014, compiling a 9.22 K/9 and 1.98 BB/9 to accompany a stingy 1.32 ERA in 27 1/3 innings.

AL East Notes: Swisher, Lohse, Davis, Rays

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Nick Swisher spoke to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News about his excitement over rejoining the Yankees organization. “There’s no place I love more than New York,” said Swisher. “I think a lot of people know that. … I’m one of those lucky guys that gets an opportunity to come back and try to prove myself again.” Swisher also talked with Feinsand about the difficulty of dealing with significant knee injuries in recent seasons and the jarring feeling of getting a phone call to inform him of his release in Atlanta. The 34-year-old firmly believes he’s capable of contributing in the Majors again and looks forward to working his way back to a Yankees uniform. “To have the first phone call come from the Yankees, a place you think of as family, it was amazing,” said Swisher. “For this to happen during such a dark time, it makes you want to work that much harder, to train and play that much harder.”

Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • The Orioles are among the clubs that hold interest in right-hander Kyle Lohse, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Baltimore’s 7-0 start to the season has drawn its fair share of headlines, but it’s worth noting that Ubaldo Jimenez is the only one of their starters to have topped five innings in an outing thus far. Bringing Lohse into the organization would provide the club with some veteran depth, although Lohse’s most recent work with the Brewers didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he’s still a quality big league option. The 37-year-old lost his rotation with the Brewers last season after recording a 6.31 ERA in 22 starts. Lohse did appear to turn it around somewhat upon his move to the bullpen, logging a 3.81 ERA in 28 1/3 innings of work.
  • Chris Davis tells the Boston Herald’s Chris Mason that the Red Sox had interest in him over the winter before he re-signed in Baltimore. “I pretty much tried to stay out of it as much as I could and let my agent handle it, but I remember their name coming up a few times,” said Davis. “I don’t know how in depth they talked. I don’t know if it was just a feeler or what was going on.” As Mason notes, the immediate fit might not be optimal, but with Hanley Ramirez perhaps sliding to designated hitter next season following David Ortiz’s retirement, it’s easy enough to see how Davis could’ve fit into the club’s plans beyond the 2016 campaign.
  • Never afraid to try something outside the box, the Rays have adopted the usage of virtual reality training for their hitters, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays batters have available to them a set of virtual reality goggles that allow them to stand at/near/behind the plate in the batting cage and watch a virtual simulation of that evening’s pitcher throwing to them. Steven Souza Jr. and Curt Casali both spoke very highly of the new tool, whereas Evan Longoria was optimistic about its benefits down the line but said he feels there’s room for improvement. “We’re looking forward to learning more about the technology and how it might benefit our players,” said Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman to Topkin. Topkin notes that the Rays aren’t the only club using the technology; the Pirates and “several” other teams have begun to experiment with it.
  • Rays right-hander Alex Cobb and Chase Whitley each made 20 throws from halfway up the bullpen mound on Tuesday, Topkin writes in a separate piece. Each will throw again on Friday and next Tuesday before moving to the top of the mound late next week. Cobb noted that while the news isn’t exciting, he and Whitley both considered it to be a big day in their rehab. Both right-handers are making their way back from Tommy John surgery that was performed in May of last season.

Rays Notes: Cobb, Whitley, Rotation, Outfield, Loney

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Rays pitcher Alex Cobb is targeting a late July return from Tommy John surgery, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Cobb went under the knife in mid-May of last season. This reported time table puts him on a typical 14 to 15 month pace. Cobb last pitched in 2014 when he posted a 2.87 ERA with 8.06 K/9, 2.54 BB/9 and a 56 percent ground ball rate.

  • Waiver claim Chase Whitley is on a similar return schedule to Cobb. Whitley’s surgery came a few days after Cobb so it’s possible he won’t be ready until early August. While Cobb has a borderline ace ceiling, Whitley has performed more like a swingman. In 95 career innings, he has a 5.02 ERA with 7.20 K/9 and 2.18 BB/9. Interestingly, his peripherals suggest the potential for a sub-4.00 ERA.
  • While they recover, the rotation is a little thin if injuries strike. The team is already relying upon Matt Moore and Drew Smyly – both of whom have missed significant time in recent seasons. Matt Andriese is one of the main depth options with top prospect Blake Snell knocking on the door.
  • Topkin also runs through the position battles at other positions. Outfield is a spot to watch for our readers. The club is particularly deep. Trade acquisition Corey Dickerson is expected to be the primary designated hitter with Desmond Jennings in left, Kevin Kiermaier in center, Steven Souza in right, and Brandon Guyer in a reserve role. Injuries or a trade opportunity could quickly mutate the plans.
  • The Rays problems are of the “good” variety, Topkin writes in a separate piece. Most of the roster is crowded with the exception of the bullpen where options can emerge unexpectedly. With their depth, future transactions in the outfield and at first base are possible. The team has been shopping James Loney for awhile now. He’s owed $8MM for this season.

Cafardo’s Latest: Clippard, Thornton, Cobb, Lee, Free Agents

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It’s easy to buy into Spring Training hype, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe notes in his latest column as he looks at some of the major Red Sox storylines heading into camp.  While the Sox have drawn mostly approval for their offseason dealings, Cafardo warns that pundits were saying the same thing last year prior to Boston’s last place season.  Here’s some more from Cafardo’s piece…

  • The Astros have asked about Tyler Clippard.  Houston has already made a couple of big offseason moves to reinforce their bullpen in trading for Ken Giles and re-signing Tony Sipp, and adding Clippard would only further deepen a relief corps that also includes Luke Gregerson, Will Harris, Pat Neshek and Josh Fields.  Clippard’s market was fairly quiet for much of the winter, though as Cafardo notes, things have started to heat up for the veteran righty with at least six teams (including the Rays and Diamondbacks) showing interest.
  • Matt Thornton is drawing interest from around six teams, though the veteran lefty may have to settle for a minor league contract.  Thornton turned 39 in September and has a 1.98 ERA over 77 1/3 innings in 2014 and 2015, though with only a 5.9 K/9 in that stretch, ERA predictors such as xFIP (4.19) and SIERA (3.79) are less enthused with his performance over the last two years.  The Braves, Pirates and Twins were all rumored to have some interest in Thornton earlier this offseason.
  • The Rays are likely to keep their pitching, despite “quite a bit of interest” from other teams about Alex Cobb.
  • Teams have considered signing Cliff Lee, though they’re wary of giving him a contract in the range of $6MM-$8MM (plus incentives).
  • Dan Uggla’s agent says that teams have called about his client, though no side has made any commitments.  The veteran infielder is another player who is likely to only find a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.
  • “It’s just so slow out there” for the large number of veteran players still on the market, one agent tells Cafardo.  This offseason has been the apex of a growing trend in recent years for teams to spend on a few high-salaried stars and then rely on young, cheap talent for the rest of the roster rather than spend more on established veterans.  This not only goes for the rank-and-file veterans looking for bench jobs but also for would-be starters like Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler and Yovani Gallardo, all of whom have had their markets slowed by the qualifying offer-attached draft compensation required to sign them.  “The [draft-pick] compensation issue is a factor, no question, and we have to do something about it with our collective bargaining talks because this is hurting good baseball players getting jobs,” the agent said.
  • An AL general manager, however, implies that some agents should perhaps be a bit more realistic about their demands.  “The agents are still asking for major league guarantees for players who should be grateful for major league invitations and minor league deals,” the GM said.  “I hear the agents blaming the teams, but I think a lot of teams are willing to add these players. But we’re in February, and quite frankly the signings need to be on our terms at this stage of the game. Eventually, these guys will break down and sign minor deals but we’re close to spring training and there hasn’t been a lot of bend.”

Rays Avoid Arbitration With McGee, Cobb, Guyer

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The Rays have begun ticking through their long list of arb-eligible players in advance of Friday’s deadline to exchange filing figures. According to Jon Heyman, the “file-and-trial” organization struck deals to avoid a hearing with lefty reliever Jake McGee, righty Alex Cobb, and outfielder Brandon Guyer. (Links to Twitter.)

McGee leads the way with a $4.8MM contract for the coming season, per the report. He had been projected by MLBTR to earn $4.7MM through the arbitration process, so he landed just ahead of that figure. The 29-year-old has been lights out for Tampa Bay, racking up 259 2/3 innings of 2.77 ERA pitching in his six seasons there, with 11. K/9 and just 2.5 BB/9. He remains one of the most intriguing names on the trade market for pen arms.

Cobb was an easy case, unfortunately, because he missed all of 2015 with Tommy John surgery. As projected, he landed a repeat salary of $4MM. Tampa Bay will hope he’s able to return to the form that allowed him to compile a 2.82 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 over the 2013-14 campaigns.

The deal with Guyer also lands right along the expected amount, as he’ll earn just a shade less ($1.185MM) than his projection ($1.3MM). Now 29, Guyer has turned into a useful piece over the last two years. In his 679 plate appearances dating back to the start of 2014, he’s slashed a solid .266/.348/.393 with 11 home runs and 16 steals.

Latest On Rays’ Pitching

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With many — but not all — of the top free agent arms now gone from the market, the Rays appear to be ramping up discussions involving their pitchers. Tampa Bay has long been said to be willing to listen on its array of starters and late-inning relievers, though it hasn’t made any deals since shipping Nate Karns to the Mariners to kick off the winter’s activities.

Here’s the latest:

  • The Rays are engaged in “’many’ active trade conversations” involving pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday on Twitter. It seems as if the club’s previous talks, which appeared to have some steam during the Winter Meetings, have been re-joined now that the market has gained additional clarity.
  • Indeed, Tampa Bay has “picked up the pace” on discussions, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The team is still holding conversations involving top relievers Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger as well as various starters. The one name that clearly is not in play is staff ace Chris Archer.
  • The Cubs have remained in “constant contact” with the Rays, reports Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (audio link). It’s previously been suggested that Chicago could have interest in Alex Cobb, but Bowden hints that Jake Odorizzi could make a nice fit for Chicago in a deal. The hang-up, though, is that the Cubs are trying to swing a deal without giving up Jorge Soler, Javier Baez, or other major league pieces.
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