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AL Central Notes: Kepler, Latos, Dyson, Soria, McCann

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ESPN.com’s Jim Caple provides some interesting background on Twins prospect Max Kepler, ranging from his professional ballet-dancing parents to his unlikely introduction to the game of baseball in Germany. Needless to say, the old ballgame still doesn’t have a very high profile in the European nation, but it may surprise some to learn that there’s a fairly notable niche of enthusiasts. As Kepler puts it, “I think since I started playing as a small kid, when it was mainly Americans who were playing baseball, now it’s actually Germans who are starting to play.” No doubt, Kepler’s own career could have a significant impact in driving future growth. (By the way, if you’re interested in the topic, check out this MLBTR podcast episode from last fall, when I chatted with Euroball expert Josh Chetwynd.)

Here’s more from the American League Central:

  • Mat Latos has paid huge dividends to the White Sox cin his first three starts for the organization, as Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune writes. Since signing for just $3MM in an effort to rebuild his career, Latos has spun 18 1/3 innings in which he’s allowed just six hits and one earned run. While there are plenty of indicators suggesting that Latos hasn’t been quite as dominant as those results would suggest, and his velocity is back down, he’s been in the zone more than ever before and has still managed to induce a lot of easy outs (35.3% soft contact rate; 11.8% line-drive rate).
  • The Royals activated Jarrod Dyson from the DL yesterday after he missed the first several weeks of the season with a strained oblique. Manager Ned Yost says he’ll be deployed in a “loose platoon” with Paulo Orlando, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweet. Of course, the left-handed-hitting speedster figures to get a solid majority of the action in that arrangement.
  • Meanwhile, the Royals’ vaunted bullpen hasn’t been quite the well-oiled machine thus far in 2016 that it was in the recent past, as Dodd explores. Really, it’s mostly a matter of some early struggles from Joakim Soria, who has allowed six earned runs on ten hits and five walks over his first seven frames. Notably, he’s only managed to get hitters to chase pitches out of the zone 14.7% of the time, which is less than half his career rate. For now, at least, the club isn’t ready to move him out of the primary set-up job, though Kelvin Herrera and Luke Hochevar have both looked strong. “Our roles are set until we need to change our roles,” Yost says.
  • The Tigers received fairly promising news on the injury front yesterday, as manager Brad Ausmus noted in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). Catcher James McCann’s absence is expected to land “on the shorter side of the two to four week timetable” that he’d been given for a sprained ankle. (Though it’s fair to note that Jarrod Saltalamacchia has filled in admirably in his stead.) Also, outfielder Cameron Maybin is nearly ready to make his season debut, opening up some options with Anthony Gose off to a slow start.

Central Notes: Cardinals, White Sox, Holaday

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The Cardinals haven’t called the Braves about shortstop Erick Aybar, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. St. Louis is looking to fill a void at shortstop left by injured veteran Jhonny Peralta. As we heard a few days ago, the Braves have a high asking price for Aybar. Given that he’s under contract for just one more season and declined last year, it’s no surprise St. Louis is exploring other options. Heyman mentions Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada as a cheaper alternative. For their part, the Mets are willing to trade Tejada despite an injury to Asdrubal Cabrera that could cause him to begin the season on the disabled list, per Adam Rubin of ESPN. The club is confident in less experienced depth pieces like Matt Reynolds and Gavin Cecchini.

  • Earlier tonight, we heard the Rangers made an offer to Austin Jackson prior to signing Ian Desmond. In an interesting bit of symmetry, the White Sox tried to sign Desmond to play shortstop for north of $4MM, tweets Heyman. The nonspecific nature of the report makes it hard for us to compare the White Sox offer with Desmond’s eventual $8MM payday with Texas. As Heyman notes, the White Sox went on to spend $10MM on Jackson, Mat Latos, and Jimmy Rollins.
  • The Tigers are considering rostering three catchers to start the season, writes Aaron McMann of MLive.com. Third string catcher Bryan Holaday is off to a 7-for-11 start to the spring with three home runs, but he’s firmly behind James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the depth chart. The club has always liked Holaday per GM Al Avila and may want to avoid exposing him to waivers. The availability of Cameron Maybin for the start of the season will affect Holaday’s bid for a roster spot. Maybin is currently sidelined for three to five weeks with a broken wrist.

Central Notes: Mesoraco, Maybin, Sano

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Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco’s spring debut will come later than expected due to a groin injury, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. Mesoraco missed most of last season due to hip trouble, and he characterizes his current injury as a minor and expected result of the rehabilitation process. “We had a very small minimal amount of groin and hip flexor tightness, soreness,” he says. “The doctor kind of said this was something that would probably happen once I got back into it. We just slowed things down but everything is feeling fine. I feel good now. It shouldn’t be too much longer.” The absence of Mesoraco, who batted .273/.359/.534 in his 2014 breakout, was one of many disappointments for the Reds last season. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • The Tigers are hopeful Cameron Maybin will return by Opening Day and won’t be looking outside the organization for extra outfield help, tweets Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. It was reported earlier this week that Maybin would miss four to six weeks due to a hairline fracture in his left hand. Of course, even the full six weeks would only cause Maybin to miss the first couple weeks of the season, hardly the kind of devastating blow that might require the Tigers to pursue an outfielder with any sort of urgency.
  • Twins slugger Miguel Sano got to the big leagues and thrived in 2015 despite the loss of his daughter the previous offseason, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. Sano’s daughter Angelica died in December 2014 due to a heart defect. “Last year in Double-A, I cried a lot,” says Sano. “I was really sad. I don’t concentrate too much on playing because I think a lot about my baby.” Sano struggled badly through April at Double-A Chattanooga, batting just .159/.303/.381. He turned his season around from there before his promotion to the bigs, culminating in a 20 at-bat stretch following the All-Star break in which he had seven extra-base hits. “He came back after the All-Star break, and it was just completely different,” says his Double-A manager, Doug Mientkiewicz. “He embarrassed Double-A baseball. I called Terry [Ryan], and I was like, ’I don’t know where he can go, but he needs to go somewhere, because it’s not normal what he’s doing to this league.'” The Twins, of course, promoted Sano to the Majors, where he hit 18 home runs in 80 games and finished third in AL Rookie of the Year balloting.

Cameron Maybin Out Four To Six Weeks With Fractured Hand

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Tigers outfielder Cameron Maybin will be sidelined for the next four to six weeks due to a non-displaced hairline fracture in his left hand, manager Brad Ausmus told reporters, including Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Maybin was hit by a pitch in yesterday’s Grapefruit League opener, leading to today’s injury news.

Maybin, 29 in April, was drafted by the Tigers with the 10th pick in the 2005 draft but traded to the Marlins in the Miguel Cabrera blockbuster back in 2007. He bounced from Miami to San Diego to Atlanta before being reacquired by the Tigers this offseason in exchange for relievers Ian Krol and Gabe Speier. Detroit’s subsequent signing of Justin Upton to a six-year deal shifted Maybin to a timeshare with the left-handed-hitting Anthony Gose in center field. With Maybin now doubtful to open the season with the club, Gose could see an increased role early on in the year.

Maybin struggled for much of his tenure with the Marlins and Padres but had somewhat of a rebound with the Braves last season, batting .267/.327/.370 with 10 homers and 23 stolen bases. His career splits don’t necessarily make him an ideal platoon partner for Gose, but Gose’s extreme struggles against fellow lefties (career .202/.256/.269 batting line) make Maybin’s .241/.298/.347 slash against lefties seem more appealing. Maybin is slated to earn $8MM this season — $2.5MM of which will be paid by Atlanta — and the Tigers hold a $9MM club option ($1MM buyout) over him for the 2017 season.

AL Notes: Lawrie, Valencia, Rasmus, Soria, Maybin

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The Athletics’ acquisition of Jed Lowrie has set the team up to trade away another infielder, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Lowrie will probably play second base, forming a double-play duo with incumbent shortstop Marcus Semien. There is interest from other American League teams in both Brett Lawrie and Danny Valencia, she reports, with the former seemingly more likely to be dealt. Lawrie, 26, slashed just .260/.299/.407 last year after being acquired as a key piece of the Josh Donaldson trade. He has two years of control remaining, with MLBTR projecting him to earn $3.9MM this year. Valencia, meanwhile, performed both before and after he was claimed by Oakland off waivers from the Blue Jays. He, too, can be controlled for another two years and is projected at $3.4MM.

Here’s more from the A.L.:

  • On the other side of that deal, the Astros were in part compelled to give up Lowrie because outfielder Colby Rasmus accepted a qualifying offer, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle explains. GM Jeff Luhnow said that the club is happy to “pay a little more” given the increased certainty that Rasmus represents in his second year with the club, but that also made it harder for the organization to pay Lowrie $7.5MM to perform what might have been a super-utility role. “Given that we had a lot of options at third and first, we (thought we) could take those resources and apply them to an area of our club we didn’t have as much depth (or where we) don’t have anybody penciled into that spot right now,” Luhnow said. “Whether it’s lefthanded relief, righthanded relief or even a starter, those resources will be reallocated to something we believe will help.”
  • Rasmus and the Astros have yet to explore a multi-year arrangement and are unlikely to do so before he hits the open market next fall, Drellich adds.
  • The Twins are interested in Joakim Soria but haven’t made him an offer at this point, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Soria, though, does have offers in hand from other clubs, he hears. Presumably, none of those offers have approached his previously reported three-year, $27MM asking price.
  • Last week’s acquisition of Cameron Maybin from the Braves likely ends the Tigers’ pursuit of outfield help, reports James Schmehl of MLive.com. General manager Al Avila told Schmehl that a further acquisition is “doubtful,” adding that it’s not entirely clear what Maybin’s role in 2016 will be. “Some people feel he should be playing center and Anthony Gose in left,” said Avila. “Some people feel he should be playing left and Gose in center. And we still have Tyler Collins, obviously. That’s the beauty of (Maybin) — we feel good about him either way.” Schmehl reports that in addition to making an offer to re-sign Rajai Davis prior to acquiring Maybin, the Tigers also made an offer to an unnamed outfielder. While he doesn’t offer further details, I’d imagine that Ryan Raburn, Chris Denorfia and Chris Young could’ve filled similar roles in Detroit, though Raburn doesn’t really profile as a possible center field option. Franklin Gutierrez, too, could’ve been a right-handed target for the Tigers prior to his new contract with the Mariners.

Tigers Acquire Cameron Maybin

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The Tigers have announced the acquisition of outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Braves. In return, Atlanta has added lefties Ian Krol and Gabe Speier.

Maybin, 28, returns to the organization that made him a first-round pick back in 2005. He seems likely to represent a platoon mate for fellow center fielder Anthony Gose. If that turns out to be the case, he’ll essentially step into the role of free agent Rajai Davis. It’s also possible to imagine Maybin spending time in left, though Detroit has plenty of time to look for another addition there.

Aug 12, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder <a rel=

It was an up-and-down 2015 for Maybin, who went to the Braves from the Padres as part of the salary swapping that facilitated the (first) Craig Kimbrel deal. In the end, he slashed .267/.327/.370 with 23 steals and ten home runs over 555 plate appearances.

That’s useful-enough production for an up-the-middle player, but Maybin also sported career-worst defensive metrics. Generally considered an average or plus defender in center, the athletic outfielder garnered a sub-par -7.3 UZR rating and a disastrous -16 DRS tally last year. That could be a short term blip, but it’s certainly an area of concern.

The Tigers will take over the extension that Maybin signed with the Padres. He is due $8MM this season, while a $9MM club option for 2017 comes with a $1MM buyout. The Braves, though, will apparently pick up part of the overall tab, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the swap will save Atlanta something like $6.5MM.

It’s likely that the cash savings played a significant role in Atlanta’s interest. But the arms coming over do have some value. Krol, 24, has struggled to keep runs off the board but has a big arm. He’s worked to a 4.91 ERA in 88 total MLB innings, with 7.8 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. And the 20-year-old Speier — a minor part of the Yoenis Cespedes-for-Rick Porcello swap — put up a 2.86 ERA in 44 innings of relief at the Class A level last year, with 7.4 K/9 vs. 2.5 BB/9.

With the move, the Braves seem set to utilize Michael Bourn in center, with prospect Mallex Smith coming as soon as the middle of this coming season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him supplemented with a signing — or, perhaps, a more significant trade for a young player. Elsewhere in the outfield, Nick Swisher represents a reserve option behind presumptive starters Nick Markakis and Hector Olivera.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images.

Rosenthal On Freeman, Padres, Kemp, Cubs

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This afternoon, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports released a news-filled column with rumblings from around the league.  The whole article is worth a read, but here’s a look at some of the highlights:

  • The Braves are shopping first baseman Freddie Freeman, according to officials from three different clubs that have spoken with Rosenthal.  One of Rosenthal’s sources added that the possibility of Freeman getting traded was “the talk of the [Arizona] Fall League” among scouts earlier this month.  Freeman’s salary is set to rise from $12MM in 2016 to $20.5MM in ’17 and the Braves might not want to pay out those salaries as they look to rebuild.  After trading shortstop Andrelton Simmons, it’s clear that the Braves are not too fearful of the fan backlash that comes from trading star players.
  • Another official asserts that the Braves are “shopping everyone owed money.”  That could mean that the likes of right-hander Julio Teheran, right fielder Nick Markakis, and center fielder Cameron Maybin are for sale.  Earlier today, we learned that some folks within the Orioles organization would be open to a reunion with Markakis.  After a down year, Teheran’s value isn’t as high as that of Simmons, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com recently wrote that there’s a “good chance” that he would be made available.
  • Sources tell Rosenthal that the Braves “are talking to a number of…non-compensation free agents, including some veteran relievers.”  Ultimately, Rosenthal writes, it’s hard to tell what the Braves’ goal is in 2016.  In the end, the gameplan might be to sell off Freeman and Teheran, land even more prospects, and land a top choice in the 2017 draft.
  • The Padres are shopping right-hander Tyson Ross and outfielder Matt Kemp, major league sources tell Rosenthal.  Kemp is owed $86MM over the next four years and Rosenthal wonders aloud if the two players could be packaged together in order to facilitate a deal.  Ross, 29 in April, is under club control for two more seasons.  In 2015, he pitched to a 3.26 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 across 33 starts.  Kemp, meanwhile, posted a .265/.312/.443 slash line that was below his career average with 23 homers in 2015 while playing poor defensively.
  • Sources say that the Cubs will “at least explore” the trade interest they are getting in right fielder Jorge Soler and infielder Javier Baez, Rosenthal writes.  Meanwhile, the Cubs do not intend to move third baseman Kris Bryant, shortstop Addison Russell or left fielder Kyle Schwarber.  If the Cubs were to move Soler or Baez, they would likely seek their pitching equivalent, meaning a player with similar service time and talent that’s roughly the same age.
  • The Rays are getting bites on relievers Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger, particularly after the Craig Kimbrel deal, according to sources.  Furthermore, teams are also zeroing in on Rays starters.

NL East Notes: Minor, Braves, Ozuna, Mets, Speier

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The Braves are now uncertain whether or not they’ll tender lefty Mike Minor a contract, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Signs had pointed to the team offering arbitration, with Minor likely to earn at or near the $5.6MM level that he set by winning his arbitration case with the team last year. But the 27-year-old has reportedly suffered a setback in his efforts to return from labrum surgery, and has yet to make it back onto a mound. “We think it could happen prior to the tender date,” said GM John Coppolella. “We want to see something, whether it’s off the mound or … we need to see something. We can’t just blindly tender him a contract and put the team at risk. Because every single dollar counts for us.”

  • The Braves suddenly find themselves with a surplus of outfielders after largely committing to shifting Hector Olivera to left field, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. If Atlanta finds it hard to shed any of the salary owed to Nick Swisher or Michael Bourn, says Bowman, the team may look closer at a trade of Cameron Maybin. But the club’s top executives continue to say they don’t feel pressure to trade Maybin, even after the Olivera move, as O’Brien tweets.
  • The Marlins are indeed interested in trading outfielder Marcell Ozuna, but not at anything less than his market value, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. Of course, as Frisaro notes, the team may find it necessary to trade him if it hopes to accomplish its apparent  goal of adding a quality, controllable pitcher.
  • Mets assistant GM John Ricco says that the club is receiving strong interest in its pitching, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports on Twitter. That’s not surprising, given the depth and quality of arms present in the organization.
  • Ricco also said that the Mets could look to add an offensive player that is capable of filling in around the diamond, rather than seeking a regular at one spot, Puma tweets. Naturally, that statement calls to mind the possibility of signing Ben Zobrist, but there are other players — including, arguably, Daniel Murphy — who could function in a similar capacity.
  • It may be time for Mets third baseman David Wright to begin a transition across the diamond, Mark Simon of ESPNNewYork.com writes. The veteran and team leader made a thrilling comeback from serious back issues, but showed real difficulty throwing the ball across the diamond, and Rubin argues that now is the time to begin spelling him at the hot corner and working him in at first base.
  • The Nationals are set to add Chris Speier to their coaching staff, either as the third base or bench coach, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. The 19-year MLB veteran served as the bench coach under new Nats skipper Dusty Baker when he was with the Reds. Speier has continued on with Cincinnati as a special assistant to GM Walt Jocketty since Baker departed.

Outfield Market Notes: Maybin, Reddick, Mets, Angels, Parra, Gomez

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Though the Braves have fielded plenty of interest in the revived Cameron Maybin, and have considered moving him, the team now feels it “would need to be blown away with an offer” to make a deal, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Contrary to an earlier report, Bowman adds, an Atlanta source vehemently denied the suggestion that Maybin had been dangled in an earlier effort to add Angel Pagan of the Giants. Maybin, 28, has been one of the game’s best turnaround stories, with his play dramatically altering perceptions of both his contract and the deal that brought him to Atlanta (which was already widely viewed as a Braves win).

Here’s more on the still-developing outfield market, which just saw one move with Shane Victorino heading to the Angels:

  • The Athletics seem unlikely to move outfielder Josh Reddick, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. In his comments after today’s Tyler Clippard trade, GM Billy Beane said that his club is not presently working on deals involving players who are under future control.
  • Despite a trio of acquisitions already completed, the Mets are still looking at a handful of outfield options, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. New York has, of course, just brought up top prospect Michael Conforto with Michael Cuddyer on the DL, but the team also designated John Mayberry Jr. and could use another quality option.
  • A source also tells Marc Carig of Newsday that the Mets are still shopping for outfield bats. Carig notes that the team could wait for asking prices to drop on deadline day.
  • The Angels are also still looking at left-handed hitting outfielders after adding Victorino, and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that Jay Bruce (Reds), David Murphy (Indians), and Ben Revere (Phillies) are all still on their radar.
  • Gerardo Parra of the Brewers is also a player that the Angels are interested in, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Heyman breaks down his market, citing the Mets and Orioles as prime suitors (along with the Halos) for the left-handed hitter. There’s also a classic mystery team involved, per the report.
  • Heyman adds that some in the Brewers organization do not believe that Carlos Gomez will end up being dealt. Milwaukee is somewhat hesitant to move an affordable, in-prime player with control remaining.
  • Be sure to check out MLBTR’s Trade Market series for all the most likely outfield trade pieces. We’ve covered both center field candidates as well as corner options.

NL Notes: Tulo, Teheran, Braves, Reds, Niese

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In an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, Rockies GM Jeff Bridich said that he is “at least open to considering” a deal involving star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (Twitter link). Last we checked in, Tulowitzki said he was not interested in being dealt, and he is believed to have significant sway with club ownership over his status. All said, there remains little reason to believe at present that Tulo is a serious trade candidate.

We already touched upon a series of interesting rumors involving National League clubs earlier today, but here’s the latest out of the NL:

  • Despite recent chatter that the Braves could consider dealing starter Julio Teheran, the young righty is “not being shopped,” David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. Given his cheap control, O’Brien says the team would need to be overwhelmed by an offer to consider such a move.
  • Indeed, the Braves are more likely to hold off on deciding whether to part with Teheran or outfielder Cameron Maybin, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. The more likely trade pieces for Atlanta, he suggests, are veterans on one-year deals such as reliever Jim Johnson, utilityman Kelly Johnson, and catcher A.J. Pierzynski. The Braves have been asked about outfielder Nick Markakis, who still has three years left on his free agent deal, but the team is not making him available. And while Juan Uribe could well be dealt, the club reportedly prefers to attempt to move Chris Johnson first.
  • An executive of a club with interest in adding a hitter says the Reds are giving the impression that they are looking to “save money” wherever possible, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. That seemingly speaks to the availability of outfielder Jay Bruce, who recent reports indicate is very much in play.
  • The Mets are still willing to deal Jon Niese, but are asking for a player with multiple years of control in return, Stark tweets. The southpaw has turned up his performance of late, racking up eight straight quality starts (at least 6 innings pitched, no more than 3 earned runs) since a run of rough outings to end the month of May. He is playing on a $7MM salary this year and represents a $9MM tab for 2016, but can be controlled thereafter through a pair of options ($10MM and $11MM, respectively, each with $500K buyouts). Given New York’s evident budgetary restrictions, it has seemed that moving Niese’s salary could be a way for the club to free resources to allocate to the struggling offense, but it’s not clear whether they’ll have much hope of pulling that off in a single transaction.
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