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AL Notes: Mariners, Tigers, Lawrie, Rodon, Morton

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The competition for the Mariners’ utility infield job is down to Shawn O’Malley and Taylor Motter for the time being now that Mike Freeman has been designated for assignment, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Seattle hopes that Freeman will clear waivers and remain in the organization, but the 29-year-old does have a strong track record of hitting for average and getting on base in Triple-A, to say nothing of some defensive versatility, so that outcome isn’t a guarantee. GM Jerry Dipoto said the ultimate decision came down to which utility candidate he considered to have the best chance of passing through waivers. That proved to be Freeman, due largely to the fact that he’s the oldest of the three competitors and has the least MLB time. Johns notes that those in competition for the utility infield role will see plenty of opportunity to prove themselves this spring, as starting shortstop Jean Segura will be playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

A few more notes on some competitions for the final roster spots around the league…

  • The Tigers are facing a tough decision with powerful outfielder Steven Moya and versatile infielder Dixon Machado, writes MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery. Both players are out of minor league options, but there’s likely only one open spot on the Tigers’ bench. Alex Avila is on hand to back up James McCann behind the dish, while Andrew Romine has one utility infield job locked down. One of Tyler Collins and Mikie Mahtook is likely to be on the bench each day as well, as they’re poised to form a center field platoon. Manager Brad Ausmus noted that it’s a particularly difficult situation, as it’d be tough to get either player any sort of consistent at-bats during the regular season. But, as Woodbery notes, both could have clearer paths to playing time in 2018. Ausmus specifically noted that he can’t see Moya passing through waivers, so perhaps the team has a slight inclination to keep the 25-year-old slugger. Moya slugged 25 homers in 526 plate appearances between Triple-A and the Majors last season.
  • Parting with Brett Lawrie surely reflects a variety of factors for the White Sox, including his uninspiring performance, injury uncertainty, and rate of pay. But GM Rick Hahn (video via the Chicago Tribune) emphasized the importance the organization places on freeing playing opportunities for players who could have a longer future with the club. Hahn specifically mentioned Tyler Saladino, Carlos Sanchez, Leury Garcia, and Matt Davidson as players who he’d like to see have a chance at the majors. Of course, that was all known to the team when it agreed to terms with Lawrie to avoid arbitration; what wasn’t then clear, perhaps, was what would become of third baseman Todd Frazier, who remains with Chicago. Hahn notes, interestingly, that the team “can’t really control the pace or timing of these transactions,” saying that it had “envisioned various transactions” taking place that would have opened playing time both for Lawrie and the other names mentioned.
  • While the White Sox have suggested that nothing is amiss with lefty Carlos Rodon, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago explains on Twitter, his handling this spring is raising some eyebrows. Rodon threw his first pen session today, which means he’s on track to be ready to start the year, and the team has said that it’s merely keeping some restraints on an important young pitcher who’ll be expected to throw more innings than he did last year (165). But there are also some vague, slightly ominous hints emanating from the organization, as Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter links). Manager Rick Renteria says that the hope is Rodon will be ready to join the Opening Day roster “without any concern,” which at least obliquely suggests there’s at least some health-related concern. And pitching coach Don Cooper referenced “arm stuff” that bothered Rodon in 2016, leading Hahn to clarify it was simply a fatigue-related matter that had been dealt with by modifications to Rodon’s preparation regimen.
  • The Astros are bullish on righty Charlie Morton, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. Houston placed a fairly substantial bet (two years, $14MM) on the 33-year-old, a groundball-heavy hurler who has dealt with his fair share of injuries. That was based not just on the team’s assessment of Morton’s abilities, but also its belief that it could help him get more out of them through improvements to his mechanics and pitch selection. Morton showed well today, McTaggart notes; he worked in the mid-nineties, a fair bit higher than his typical average fastball of 91 or 92 mph.

AL Notes: Angels, Indians, Bautista, Astros

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Angels first baseman C.J. Cron has come up as a possible trade candidate in the wake of the team’s agreement with free agent Luis Valbuena on Thursday, but the Halos’ decision to add another corner infielder has more to do with Albert Pujols’ uncertain status, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Pujols could miss the beginning of next season as a result of December foot surgery. In the meantime, the Angels will play the lefty-swinging Valbuena against right-handed pitching and deploy him at Pujols’ positions – designated hitter and first base – as well as third base, writes Rosenthal. When Pujols returns, the club could take advantage of the fact that Cron and Jefrey Marte have minor league options remaining and send either to Triple-A Salt Lake City, Rosenthal notes. Looking ahead a year, third baseman Yunel Escobar could depart in free agency next winter. That would enable Valbuena to take over at the hot corner on a full-time basis in 2018.

More from the American League:

  • Right fielder Jose Bautista, who brought an end to a drawn-out saga when he re-signed with the Blue Jays earlier this week, didn’t seriously consider joining the Indians, reports Terry Pluto of cleveland.com. The Indians inquired about Bautista, but it doesn’t seem as if either side was gung-ho about a union. After all, manager Terry Francona declared that the Tribe’s pursuit of Bautista in free agency – which may have included a bid – was overstated.
  • While the Astros committed a guaranteed $14MM to Charlie Morton earlier this offseason, the right-hander isn’t a lock to win a spot in their rotation, general manager Jeff Luhnow suggested to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Luhnow does expect Morton to end up in the Astros’ starting five, but he’s only “softly” part of the rotation for now. The Astros have been pushing to add a front-line starter all winter, and picking one up could relegate Morton to a bullpen role. As of now, in addition to established starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Morton, the team has intriguing young options – including Joe Musgrove and Francis Martes  – knocking on the door.
  • Once regarded as key building blocks for the Astros, first baseman A.J. Reed and third baseman Colin Moran are long shots to crack the big league roster this year after rough seasons, writes Jake Kaplan of Baseball America (subscription required/recommended). Reed, whom BA ranked as baseball’s 11th-best prospect a year ago, got his first taste of major league action in 2016 and batted a weak .164/.270/.262 with a 34 percent strikeout rate in 141 plate appearances. The soon-to-be 24-year-old did rake at Triple-A Fresno (.291/.368/.556 in 296 PAs), though he’s now behind $47.5MM man Yulieski Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez on the Astros’ first base depth chart. With Carlos Beltran and Evan Gattis also on hand, Reed  stands even less of a chance to garner at-bats as a DH. Moran, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, didn’t help his cause in Fresno – .259/.329/.368 in 511 trips to the plate – and the emergence of Alex Bregman in Houston only added to his problems. Bregman looks like the Astros’ long-term solution at third, putting the 24-year-old Moran’s future in question.

Marlins Notes: Volquez, Wood, Morton, Dunn, Morris, Chapman, Mathis

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The Marlins hadn’t made an offer to free agent righty Edinson Volquez as of the middle of last week, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reports.  Volquez makes sense as a target for the Fish — an innings-eating veteran with a fairly solid recent track record, yet whose price tag may be limited thanks to a rough 2016 season.  Volquez posted a 5.37 ERA, 6.61 K/9 and 51.2% grounder rate over 189 1/3 innings with the Royals last year, with ERA indicators showing that his ERA was at least somewhat inflated by a .319 BABIP and only a 65.7% strand rate.  Jackson notes that the Marlins have been “linked” to Volquez, so it seems like there could still be a chance of something more substantive happening between the two sides.

Here’s more on Miami’s search for arms in another piece from Jackson…

  • Travis Wood is drawing interest from the Marlins, who see him as a starting pitcher.  The lefty pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the Cubs in 2016, though Wood has a previous history as a durable starter, even cracking 200 innings with Chicago in 2013.  Wood posted a 2.95 ERA last year but was helped by a .215 BABIP and an above-average strand rate; ERA indicators such as FIP (4.54), xFIP (4.83) and SIERA (4.46) were less impressed by his performance.
  • Miami had some interest in Charlie Morton before the free agent signed a two-year deal with Houston earlier this week.
  • “Discussions are ongoing” between the Marlins and Mike Dunn about a reunion.  The veteran southpaw has posted solid numbers over six years in Miami’s bullpen, though he did miss time with a forearm strain last season and saw both his fastball velocity and strikeout rate drop.  That said, Dunn also posted the lowest walk rate of his career and he held left-handed hitters to a .702 OPS.
  • The Marlins haven’t been pursuing another of their free agent relievers, Bryan Morris.  The righty is coming off a rough 2016 season that saw him limited to just 24 games due to back surgery and outrighted off of Miami’s 40-man roster in late September.
  • The Marlins have already been rumored to have interest in Kenley Jansen as the team looks to focus on the back end of its bullpen, though Aroldis Chapman (the other top-tier closer on the market) doesn’t look like an option.  An associate of Chapman tells Jackson that it would be “highly unlikely” if the closer signed with Miami.
  • Jeff Mathis has received interest from several clubs but the Marlins aren’t yet one of them.  Jackson feels the Fish may yet still look to bring back the veteran catcher, noting that the team didn’t re-sign him until mid-December last offseason.

Astros Sign Charlie Morton

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The Astros announced that they’ve signed right-hander Charlie Morton to a two-year contract. The 33-year-old Jet Sports client will receive a $14MM guarantee with up to $5MM worth of incentives, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). He’ll earn a $625K bonus for reaching 15, 20, 25 and 30 starts in each year of the contract. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo adds (via Twitter) that the guaranteed portion of the deal is evenly distributed, meaning Morton will earn $7MM in 2017 and in 2018.

[Related: Updated Houston Astros Depth Chart; Updated Houston Astros Payroll]

Charlie Morton

Morton has spent the bulk of his career with the Pirates but spent the 2016 season in the Phillies organization after being acquired in a trade last winter. However, Morton suffered a torn hamstring after just four starts in Philadelphia and ultimately required season-ending surgery to repair the injury, leaving him with a total of just 17 1/3 innings pitched in 2016. His contract with the Phils contained a $9.5MM mutual option, but that was bought out by the team, allowing Morton to hit the open market in search of a new deal.

When at his best, Morton is a ground-ball specialist that demonstrates solid control. He has a career 4.54 ERA in 893 Major League innings, though that mark reflects some considerable struggles he had early in his career. From 2011-15, Morton pitched to a more respectable 3.96 ERA with 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9 and a robust 58.2 percent ground-ball rate. And when healthy in 2016, he looked to have made some intriguing gains in terms of fastball velocity, as his two-seamer jumped from an average of 91.8 mph to 93.3 mph, per PITCHf/x data. MLB.com’s Mike Petriello also notes (on Twitter) that the spin rate on Morton’s curveball ranked in the top five in all of baseball among pitchers that threw at least 50 hooks. Houston is known to be drawn to players with lofty spin rates — a trait that led them to take a chance on Collin McHugh prior to his 2014 breakout.

Morton’s penchant for grounders and strong results against right-handed opponents should play well in Houston, where right-handed bats can feast on the short porch down the left field line. In that aforementioned stretch from 2011-15, Morton held right-handed opponents to a feeble .234/.296/.336 line, though left-handed bats did knock him around at a .298/.397/.433 clip. Even against lefties, though, he’s exceptionally stingy in terms of giving up the long ball.

Durability has been an issue for Morton, who in addition to last year’s hamstring operation has had Tommy John surgery (2012) and surgery to repair a hip injury (2014). Morton has never made more than 29 starts in a season and has topped 150 innings just twice in the Majors, with 2011’s 171 2/3 frames representing a career-high. That said, with a mere $7MM annual commitment, Morton needn’t be a workhorse to justify his salary.

Morton should slot into the back of the rotation in Houston, filling the void left by the departure of fellow free agent Doug Fister. He’ll be joined there by Dallas Keuchel, who will look to rebound from a highly disappointing followup to his 2015 Cy Young campaign. Houston also has right-handers McHugh, Lance McCullers, Joe Musgrove and Mike Fiers as rotation options, giving them the depth to either move a starter in a trade or give Musgrove some additional work in Triple-A (although he certainly pitched well enough in 2016 to justify a further look at the big league level). Alternatively, the club could simply deploy Fiers, who struggled a bit in 2016, as more of a spot starter and swingman to add some length in the bullpen and serve as valuable depth to a rotation that saw both Keuchel and McCullers miss significant time due to injury this past season.

Adding Morton to a rotation that already includes Keuchel gives the Astros two of the game’s most prolific ground-ball pitchers as well as a third potential ground-ball savant in the form of McCullers (57.3 percent in 2016). McHugh, Musgrove and Fiers all profile more as fly-ball arms, though Fiers did experience a significant uptick in his ground-ball rate in his first full season with Houston last year, jumping from 37.6 percent in 2015 to a career-high 42.2 percent in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Decline 2017 Options For Ryan Howard, Charlie Morton

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The Phillies have declined their 2017 club options for first baseman Ryan Howard and right-hander Charlie Morton, per a team announcement. Philadelphia will now pay Howard a $10MM buyout in lieu of the $23MM that it would have owed the slugger had it picked up the option. Morton would have made $9.5MM next season, but he will receive a far more modest $1MM buyout instead.

The club’s decision to move on from Howard comes as no surprise, but it’s the end of a long era that was quite fruitful at times. A fifth-round pick in 2001, Howard debuted in earnest in 2005 and served as one of the majors’ preeminent home run threats from then until 2011. Howard clubbed at least 45 home runs in four seasons during that span, including a majors-best 58 in 2006 en route to National League MVP honors. Two years later, Howard once again paced the league with 48 long balls in a season that ended with the Phillies’ first World Series championship since 1980.

On the strength of his early success, the three-time All-Star signed a five-year, $125MM extension with the Phillies in April 2010, but the deal was mostly disastrous for the team. From that point forward, Howard batted an underwhelming .240/.314/.452 in 3,386 plate appearances, though he did add 160 more homers to give him 382 as a Phillie – second in club history to Mike Schmidt’s 548. Between his declining offense and inability to contribute as a baserunner or defender, Howard combined for a microscopic 0.4 fWAR during his final seven years with the franchise. The soon-to-be 37-year-old indicated in September that he wants to continue his career, but it’s likely his only hope will be to catch on as a designated hitter with an American League team. Even that might be a stretch, though, as Howard slashed just .196/.257/.453 in 362 PAs this year while ceding at-bats to Tommy Joseph.

Morton should fare better than Howard on the open market, but injuries have beset the 32-year-old throughout his career and that continued in 2016. After making just four starts, Morton underwent season-ending surgery on a torn left hamstring. The Phillies hoped Morton would serve as a veteran anchor to their young pitching staff upon acquiring him from the Pirates last December, but the injury prevented that from happening. When healthy, Morton has been a usable back-end option, having pitched to a 4.54 ERA while inducing grounders at a 55.4 percent clip in 893 career innings. From 2013-14, his best two-year stretch, Morton logged a 3.52 ERA and 58.9 percent ground-ball rate in 273 1/3 frames.

Charlie Morton Requires Hamstring Surgery, Out For Season

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Phillies righty Charlie Morton will require season-ending surgery on a torn left hamstring, the club announced. He is expected to require a six to eight month recovery time after undergoing the procedure.

Indications were that an MRI had revealed more extensive damage than was initially hoped, and today’s news certainly reflects that. It’s obviously a disappointing turn of events for the veteran starter, who was acquired over the winter for righty David Whitehead.

The Phils had added Morton in hopes that he’d help to stabilize a young rotation while getting his career back on a positive trajectory. He seemed on track to do just that, contributing a 4.15 ERA through 17 1/3 innings in four starts with promising peripherals. Morton had a 19:8 K:BB ratio with an outstanding 62.8% groundball rate in the early going.

Philadelphia owes Morton $8MM for the 2016 campaign. He also has a mutual option at $9.5MM for 2017 that comes with a $1MM buyout. (That was originally a club option under the extension he signed with the Pirates, but converted with the trade.) While mutual options are rarely exercised by both sides, the promising start and subsequent injury could theoretically lead to a match if both sides see the value in a one-year arrangement.

With Morton down, the Phillies will need to find alternatives to fill out the staff. Young hurlers Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Vince Velasquez have all shown real promise, while Jeremy Hellickson was added for much the same reason as was Morton. But the fifth starter’s role will now likely go to another internal option. Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice noted yesterday that 26-year-old southpaw Adam Morgan was scratched from his upcoming Triple-A start, likely in anticipation of a call-up, so it seems he’ll get the first crack.

Injury Notes: Sandoval, Hedges, Boxberger, Morton, Dodgers

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Here are various notes on injuries from throughout the game.

  • Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval will have Dr. James Andrews examine his injured shoulder on Monday, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. Last week, a scheduled exam was canceled because Sandoval’s shoulder was too sore, with the idea that Sandoval would attempt to meet with Andrews at a later date. The Red Sox placed him on the disabled list two weeks ago.
  • Padres catcher Austin Hedges will have surgery to address a hamate fracture and will likely be out six to eight weeks, tweets MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Hedges spent much of 2015 as the Padres’ backup catcher, but this year, he began the season with Triple-A El Paso (where he was hitting quite well in a small sample) after the Friars acquired Christian Bethancourt. Regardless, it sounds like Hedges, who’s still just 23, will miss a significant chunk of development time.
  • Rays closer Brad Boxberger, who’s missed the entire season so far after having core muscle surgery in March, has been cleared to resume baseball activities, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweets. Boxberger remains on track to return to the Rays in mid-May. Alex Colome has collected four saves in his absence.
  • Phillies righty Charlie Morton didn’t receive positive news from an MRI on his injured hamstring on Monday, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Morton strained the hamstring on Saturday and was placed on the DL the next day. “Apparently, his MRI wasn’t as good as we were hoping,” says manager Pete Mackanin. “We’re going to see what happens in the next two or three days and see what the next step is. I really don’t know what the next step is, I just know it’s not as good as we were hoping.” Adam Morgan is expected to take Morton’s place in the starting rotation for the time being.
  • Dodgers righty Brandon McCarthy threw a bullpen for team officials yesterday, tweets MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. The throwing session was the latest step in McCarthy’s recovery after having Tommy John surgery early last season.
  • Another injured Dodgers starter, Hyun-jin Ryu, threw a 30-pitch bullpen today and could soon begin facing live hitters, ESPN’s Doug Padilla writes. Ryu, who is recovering after having labrum surgery last year, had his throwing program delayed after he suffered a groin strain earlier this month. It’s still unclear when he’ll return, Padilla notes.
  • The Dodgers have also announced that they’ve reinstated outfielder Carl Crawford, who had been on the DL for the past two weeks with a back injury. To clear space on their active roster, they optioned righty Zach Lee to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
  • Brewers infielder Scooter Gennett was scratched from tonight’s lineup due to oblique tightness, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. There’s no immediate word on the severity of the injury. Gennett is off to a hot start this season, batting .258/.361/.516 this year after mostly struggling in 2015.

Phillies Send Charlie Morton To DL With Strained Hamstring

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The Phillies have placed right-hander Charlie Morton on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring and recalled fellow righty Luis Garcia, the team announced. Morton sustained the injury during his start against the Brewers on Saturday. As a result, he pitched just one inning, allowing three hits and a run while striking out three.

So far this season, the ground-ball-heavy Morton has been a solid veteran addition to the Phillies’ young rotation. After joining Philadelphia via trade with the Pirates during the offseason, Morton has begun his Phillies tenure by inducing grounders 62.8 percent of the time and posting a 4.15 ERA/3.01 FIP/2.87 xFIP in his first four starts (17 1/3 innings). Morton also fanned 19 batters and walked eight during that span. His spot in the rotation could now go to Brett Oberholtzer or Adam Morgan, who’s in Triple-A.

Garcia, 29, has been a member of the Phillies organization since 2013. He made his major league debut that season and has since racked up 112 innings, including a career-best 66 2/3 frames of 3.51 ERA ball last year. Overall, Garcia owns a 3.94 mark with a 7.88 K/9 and 5.57 BB/9.

NL Notes: Cubs, Heyward, Pirates, Morton, Span

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The Cubs have several players, including Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler and Trevor Cahill that turned down more money elsewhere to sign in Chicago, tweets Jon Heyman. The Cardinals’ best offer is to Heyward is “thought to [have been]” $200MM over 10 years, while the Nationals, as previously reported, offered the outfielder $200MM+ over 10 years, albeit with significant deferrals, Heyman tweets. The three bids between the two teams were pretty much comparable (link), but Heyward simply preferred the Cubs over the other clubs. The outfielder, he adds, liked the team’s nucleus and, personally, he has a good history of playing at Wrigley. Heyman also notes that the other teams would have been willing to give him an opt-out as well.

A few more notes from around the NL…

  • Charlie Morton is hopeful that his groundball-inducing ways will translate to hitter-friendly Citzens Bank Park, PhillyVoice’s Ryan Lawrence writes. Morton produced a 4.81 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 pitching with the Pirates, although with an excellent 57.3% ground ball rate. “I had a theory about smaller parks, and the ground that outfielders have to cover, it’s minimized when you have a smaller park,” Morton says. “So if you can pitch to contact and pitch to weak contact, especially ground balls, I think you’ll do really well. Knock on wood, but I’ve had some success at Great American Ball Park, Great American Small Park. I think some of the reason why that is is because if I’m inducing weak contact or ground balls.” Morton has, indeed, posted a career 3.83 ERA in 54 innings at “Great American Small Park,” better than his career 4.54 ERA. That could merely be a sample-size issue, however. In any case, if Morton succeeds in the tight confines of Citizens Bank Park, he could perhaps, as Lawrence points out, fetch a prospect or two for the Phillies this summer.
  • Highly touted minor league right-handers Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow represent options this season should any pitcher in the Pirates’ rotation fall to injury or struggle significantly, GM Neal Huntington told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, while the Pirates recognized that Taillon and Glasnow could factor into the club’s rotation in 2016, they didn’t bank on that fact. Pittsburgh added veterans Jon Niese (via trade with the Mets) and Ryan Vogelsong (via free agency) to round out the rotation. Huntington noted that Glasnow still needs to refine his changeup before making it to the Major Leagues, saying Glasnow is “still doing minor league hitters a favor” when he turns to his changeup over his electric fastball. Taillon is now two years removed from Tommy John surgery and will have his innings monitored this year.
  • Giants outfielder Denard Span talked with MLB Network Radio’s Cliff Floyd and Casey Stern about his free agency this winter and his goals for his first season with the Giants (audio link). “This team, they took a chance on me,” said Span. “A lot of other teams were shying away, but the Giants just showed how much they really wanted me, and so it made it an easy decision for me. … The fact that they pursued me and pursued a couple other guys — [Jeff] Samardzija and [Johnny] Cueto — it makes me feel good that they feel like, they didn’t go to the postseason last year, and I’m one of the missing pieces to help them get back there.” Among the other topics covered by Span are his first impressions of future Hall of Fame skipper Bruce Bochy and how he plans to work on outfield communication with the man he displaced in center field — Angel Pagan (who will now slide over to left field).

NL East Notes: Phillies, Gio, Yelich, Cespedes, Freeman

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Phillies GM Matt Klentak must see upside in bounceback starters like Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton, tweets ESPN’s Jayson Stark (1, 2). Both pitchers are a year from free agency. As Stark puts it, the club gave up replaceable parts for the chance to re-market them to contending clubs at the trade deadline. From my perspective both pitchers also give the Phillies the opportunity to compete in the weak NL East. Philadelphia took some momentum into the offseason with a solid second half. While a hypothetical rebound campaign would probably ultimately sputter like the Braves’ 2015 season, it doesn’t hurt to put some parts in position just in case. The Phillies also have several pitching prospects due to debut during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Hellickson and Morton can hold the door just long enough for the next guy.

Here’s more from the rest of the division:

  • The Marlins inquired about Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Talks promptly concluded when the Nationals asked for outfielder Christian Yelich in return. It’s possible the Marlins see Gonzalez as a match for Marcell Ozuna (my speculation), but it’s always hard to work out an in-division trade – especially when both teams aim to contend.
  • Even though former Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer is now off the books, the club isn’t likely to jump on top outfielders like Yoenis Cespedes, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The $12.5MM saved from Cuddyer (assuming there was no buyout), will probably be used on quality bench depth. The team improved dramatically when they acquired Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. Ensuring that similarly valuable players are available to fill cracks in the roster will better serve the Mets hunt for contention.
  • It may be time for the Braves to trade Freddie Freeman, suggests Mike Petriello of MLB.com. The trades of Shelby Miller and Andrelton Simmons have focused the club’s talent in the minor leagues. Freeman could be used to acquire another impressive haul. The Braves are already gearing up for a lengthy rebuilding process, so they might as well get top dollar for Freeman before he begins to decline.
  • Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa wants to start at shortstop next season, writes Todd Dybas of the Washington Times. After two consecutive bad seasons, Espinosa rebounded in 2015 with a 2.3 WAR campaign. Good defense in a utility role plus an improvement at the plate to roughly league average helped. He improved his plate discipline which looks like a sustainable fix. Even with the solid season, Espinosa will have to hold off top prospect Trea Turner. Acquired in the Steven Souza trade, Turner appears ready for a major league opportunity.
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