Colby Lewis

AL Notes: Bautista, Saunders, Holliday, Lewis, Angels

By Mark Polishuk | December 11, 2016 at 10:08pm CDT

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins and Jay Alou (Jose Bautista’s agent) have remained in contact since speaking on the final day of the Winter Meetings, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi tweets. It seemed like the door was more or less closed on a reunion between the two sides, though the fact that talks re-opened during the Meetings and have apparently continued represents notable progress. If the qualifying offer and accompanying draft pick compensation has indeed been hampering Bautista’s market, re-signing with the Jays would seem like a logical avenue for Bautista. From Toronto’s perspective, the team would have to see enough value in bringing Bautista back into the fold that it would be willing to pass on the first-round compensation pick the Jays would receive if Bautista signed elsewhere.

Here’s more from around the American League….

We’ve already heard about the Indians’ one-year offer to Mike Napoli, though earlier this week, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported (Twitter link) that the Tribe also offered one-year contracts to Matt Holliday and Michael Saunders. Holliday was known to be a Cleveland target and he ended up signing a one-year, $13MM deal with the Yankees. The Blue Jays and Orioles have shown interest in Saunders but the winter rumor mill has otherwise been pretty quiet for the Canadian outfielder. Saunders hit .253/.338/.478 with 24 homers over 558 PA for Toronto last season, though his production badly declined after the All-Star break. The Tribe already has several left-handed hitting or switch-hitting corner outfield options, though Saunders could play in the field or perhaps get some DH time when Carlos Santana is at first base, given Saunders’ poor fielding metrics last season.
The Rangers continue to have interest in a reunion with Colby Lewis, though there doesn’t appear much has changed between the two sides, GM Jon Daniels tells MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. “There is always going to be interest in Colby. There is no doubt about the man. No question there. There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said. It’s more dollars and what the opportunity there is,” Daniels said.
After a dire 2016 season, the Angels are already looking in better shape for next year, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. The acquisitions of Cameron Maybin and Danny Espinosa fill two big lineup holes for the Halos, and they’ve added pitching depth to bounce back from the rotation’s injury-plagued season. In Rosenthal’s view, the Angels could be a .500 team with better health and better luck, though making the postseason is still unlikely at this point.

Rangers Discussed Deal With Reds For Starting Pitching

By charliewilmoth | December 6, 2016 at 4:55pm CDT

The Rangers and Reds have discussed a trade potentially involving either Anthony DeSclafani or Dan Straily, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. Sullivan adds that another option for the Rangers as they attempt to address their rotation could be a reunion with free agent Colby Lewis. The Reds, meanwhile, are interested in reliever Jeremy Jeffress.

DeSclafani, it would seem, would be the more valuable of the two Reds trade chips. The 26-year-old righty posted a 3.28 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 123 1/3 solid innings in 2016, and with less than three years of service time, he could be a solid middle-of-the-rotation piece for years to come. The 28-year-old Straily, though, also had a surprisingly solid year after arriving in Cincinnati via a waiver claim, posting a 3.76 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 while eating 191 1/3 innings.

Lewis, now 37, posted a respectable 3.71 ERA in Texas in 2016, but with underwhelming peripherals (5.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9). He also missed time to a strained lat.

The Reds’ interest in Jeffress is somewhat difficult to understand at first glance. The veteran Jeffress’ strong 2016 season and closing experience would make him somewhat of an odd fit as a luxury item for a rebuilding club, unless perhaps the Reds’ plan upon acquiring him would be to flip him to another team. The Reds could also potentially be thinking that Jeffress’ personal issues, including a recent DWI arrest, could reduce his price, although the Rangers have shown little reluctance in recent years in dealing with troubled players. The Rangers do, however, have significant relief depth.

AL West Notes: Hernandez, Utley, A’s, Mariners, Beltran

By Mark Polishuk | December 5, 2016 at 11:44pm CDT

News and rumors from around the AL West…

The Angels checked in with the Phillies about second baseman Cesar Hernandez at the start of the offseason but talks didn’t develop due to the Phils’ high asking price, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. While Hernandez doesn’t look like an option, Fletcher lists several other relatively inexpensive second base possibilities who could be available for the Halos in free agency or in trades.
One name cited by Fletcher is Chase Utley, and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman indeed tweets that the Angels “have emerged” as a potential landing spot for the veteran second baseman. Utley has a clear path to playing time in Anaheim and he would get to stay in his hometown area.
The Athletics and Royals have a pretty healthy trade history, MLB.com’s Jane Lee notes, and the clubs could work out another deal to land the A’s a center fielder in the form of Jarrod Dyson. Lorenzo Cain is also available, if more expensive and Oakland would have to give quite a bit more to land him. Lee’s piece suggests several names that could be on Oakland’s radar for the center field vacancy, though costs will keep the A’s away from many of the bigger names.
Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto said his club is engaged in talks to acquire a starter, with a trade more likely than a signing, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Dutton speculates that Scott Kazmir or Brandon McCarthy, both of whom are reportedly being shopped by the Dodgers, could be fits in Seattle. On the free agent front, the M’s are still interested in Doug Fister but don’t seem to have much interest in such options as Colby Lewis, Derek Holland or C.J. Wilson.
New Astros signee Carlos Beltran was introduced to media (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) during his introductory press conference today, and he said the Astros quickly drew his attention in free agency. “They really made an offer early, faster than any other team….The fact they were aggressive and went out there and really showed big-time interest, it wasn’t that difficult to make to make a decision,” Beltran said.
In other AL West News, the Rangers were covered in a team-centric notes post as well as news about their bigger-ticket outfield targets.

Daniels On Rangers: Lucroy, Offseason Needs, Gallo, Profar

By Jeff Todd | October 11, 2016 at 9:35pm CDT

Rangers GM Jon Daniels managed to engineer an AL West title, but his club washed out in the ALDS. Today, he and manager Jeff Banister addressed the 2016 season and broke down the roster needs heading into the offseason, as MLB.com’s TR Sullivan was among those to cover:

Texas will exercise its club option over catcher Jonathan Lucroy, which is about the easiest decision the team will face this winter. The 30-year-old’s $5.5MM tab for 2017 was one of the chief reasons that the Rangers gave up a strong haul of prospects to acquire him at the trade deadline. Lucroy rewarded the investment with a .276/.345/.539 batting line and 11 home runs over 168 plate appearances down the stretch.
Starting pitching represents the Rangers’ top priority heading towards 2017, Daniels suggested. Texas also needs to fill in at center field and first base. There are a variety of considerations in all of those areas involving departing free agents, open-market options, trade targets, and internal candidates for increased roles. Regarding the team’s own players whose contracts are expiring — righty Colby Lewis, first baseman Mitch Moreland, and outfielders Ian Desmond, Carlos Gomez, and Carlos Beltran — Daniels says: “All of those free agents, under the right circumstances, we would love to have back.”
Bolstering the rotation will be accomplished somehow, Daniels promised. “We will be better,” he said of the position, while also suggesting that the team still has enough assets in its farm to strike a significant swap to bring in a new hurler. Texas also needs to make a call on the $11MM option of lefty Derek Holland — declining it would require a $1.5MM buyout, as well as a $1MM buyout of his ensuing $11.5MM option for 2018 — after he turned in a 4.95 ERA over 107 1/3 innings. Daniels indicated that the team remains undecided on that move.
Desmond is “the Rangers’ first choice to play center field,” according to Sullivan. He seems a highly-likely qualifying offer candidate, though that wasn’t confirmed in the presser. Gomez, too, could be a consideration up the middle. “We like what we saw from Gomez,” said Banister. “We feel like he is a quality player.” It’ll certainly be interesting to see what kind of interest he’ll draw on the open market after bouncing back with a .284/.362/.543 batting line in his 130 plate appearances late in the year with Texas. Otherwise, Texas has a wide variety of uncertain outfield options already kicking around in the system. “We have a number of guys we believe in and have talent,” said Daniels. “They are certainly going to get opportunities. Competition is very healthy.”
At first base, the big question may be whether the club is ready to entrust Joey Gallo with a big chunk of playing time. The 22-year-old put up a .240/.367/.529 slash and swatted 25 long balls in his 433 trips to the plate at Triple-A, but has struggled badly in limited MLB exposure. “Joey is still a premium talent,” Banister said. “This guy has what very few in the game have. His raw power is off the charts. The power shows up, but it’s the hit-ability and the consistency that has to get better.”
Another question mark of sorts is infielder Jurickson Profar, the former top prospect who finally returned to health this year. He isn’t lined up for much time up the middle after strong years from Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor, with Sullivan suggesting he may yet be a trade candidate. But Texas believes in his talent and values his versatility, writes Sullivan, and his trade value may not be quite what the team would need to pull the trigger on a deal. Profar has just three seasons of control remaining, and only ended up with a .239/.321/.338 slash line on the year. “As I sit here today, my expectation is for [Profar] to be on the ballclub in a winning role,” said Daniels. “I think he is a winning piece.”

Rangers Activate Colby Lewis, Designate Michael Roth

By Connor Byrne | September 11, 2016 at 11:44am CDT

The Rangers have activated right-hander Colby Lewis from the 60-day disabled list and designated left-hander Michael Roth in a corresponding move, according to the team’s executive vice president of communications, John Blake.

Lewis, out since late June with a lat strain, was highly effective for the Rangers during the season’s first two-plus months. The 37-year-old registered a 3.21 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 1.74 BB/9 in 98 innings for a club that had been without ace Yu Darvish for a significant portion of time. Lewis, who will start Sunday against the Angels, will now join Darvish and Cole Hamels atop the Rangers’ rotation as the team moves toward clinching the American League West. At 85-58, Texas holds a 9 1/2-game lead in its division and owns the best record in the AL.

Roth, 26, has spent the vast majority of this year as a member of the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, Round Rock, with which he logged an impressive 2.97 ERA over 145 1/3 innings. He has thrown 3 2/3 frames with Texas this year, giving him a career 38 major league innings with the Rangers, Angels and Indians. The 2012 ninth-round pick has recorded an 8.50 ERA, 7.25 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over that limited sample size.

AL West Notes: Correa, Gamel, Rangers

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2016 at 9:58am CDT

The Astros will be without shortstop Carlos Correa for at least two games as he travels back to Houston to get his ailing shoulder examined, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, including Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Correa is believed to be troubled by some inflammation in his shoulder, and despite his leaving the team, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious in nature just yet, as Hinch said the team’s expectation is that Correa will play at some point this weekend. If that’s the case, it’s a minor hiccup for the Astros, but a more prolonged absence is something the Astros can ill afford as they sit two games back in the American League Wild Card hunt. With Correa absent, Alex Bregman saw his first Major League action at shortstop last night.

Injury Updates: Kershaw, Anderson, Lewis, Gray

By Mark Polishuk | August 14, 2016 at 9:54pm CDT

We’ve already seen several big names hit the DL today, so let’s take look at some more notable injury situations from around baseball…

Clayton Kershaw is still at least a week away from throwing off a mound, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jack Baer), though the Dodgers superstar has thrown off flat ground multiple times within the last week. Kershaw is still on track to return in September from the back problem that has sidelined him since late June.
The Dodgers activated southpaw Brett Anderson from the DL today but the lefty lasted just one inning (allowing five ER) and he suffered a mild sprain of his left wrist while trying to field a grounder. Anderson is day-to-day and it’s unknown if he’ll make his next start. “It feels like I’m kind of snakebit…it’s like a nightmare you hopefully wake up from,” Anderson told reporters, including Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times. The injury-plagued veteran was making his first appearance of the 2016 season today after undergoing back surgery in March. Anderson is a free agent this winter and is running out of time to get some healthy and effective outings under his belt, especially since the Dodgers can’t afford to give him much time to find himself with the club in a pennant race.
Colby Lewis threw a 30-pitch bullpen session today and told reporters (including T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com) that “everything felt great.” Lewis has been on the DL since June recovering from a strained lat muscle, and the Rangers are aiming for a return in the first week of September if the rest of his recovery schedule goes as planned. Lewis will toss another bullpen session and live batting practice this week, then a minimum of two rehab starts in the minors. The Texas rotation will get a big boost if Lewis is able to continue his early-season form — a 3.21 ERA and identical 3.21 K/BB rate over his first 98 innings of 2016.
Sonny Gray may not pitch again in 2016, Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jane Lee). While Melvin would ideally like to see Gray on the mound again, “it’s not like we’re going to push him to try to get him out there just to get him out there.” Gray is recovering from a strained forearm and since he has to wait until the inflammation subsides, there isn’t currently any timetable for him to begin a proper rehab process. A season-ending injury would be par for the course for Gray in what has been a lost season for the Oakland ace, as he has battled injuries and posted a career-worst 5.74 ERA over 21 starts.

Colby Lewis Out At Least Two Months Due To Lat Strain

By Steve Adams | June 22, 2016 at 7:22pm CDT

The Rangers will be without right-hander Colby Lewis for at least the next two months due to a strained lat muscle that was revealed by an MRI today, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Wilson adds that Lewis won’t throw for the next four weeks, at which point he’ll undergo another MRI to determine the progress he’s made before being cleared to begin a throwing program. Via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (Twitter link), Rangers GM Jon Daniels didn’t specify an immediate replacement for Lewis, but he called the loss a “kick in the gut.”

The loss of Lewis, 36, is indeed a significant blow to the Rangers. Texas saw Yu Darvish head back to the disabled list last week, and earlier today they placed lefty Derek Holland on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. That’s sixty percent of the team’s rotation hitting the DL in the span of 10 days, leaving the club with a rotation consisting of Cole Hamels, Martin Perez, Nick Martinez and A.J. Griffin. As can be seen on their newly depth chart (reflecting today’s Lewis/Holland injuries), former first-round pick Chi Chi Gonzalez is already on the 40-man roster and just a phone call away at Triple-A Round Rock, so he could step into the big league rotation in short order.

That said, it certainly seems plausible that the Rangers will explore outside additions for the rotation. The Rangers have yet to announce any form of timeline for the returns of Darvish or Holland as they did with Lewis, so there’s some degree of hope that they can return sooner rather than later. However, replacing Lewis’ production will be no small feat for the Rangers. To this point in the season, he’s enjoyed an outstanding rebound, totaling a team-leading 98 innings and posting a 3.21 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 36 percent ground-ball rate. Metrics like FIP, xFIP and SIERA all call for a fair amount of regression, but Lewis has nonetheless been a rock in manager Jeff Banister’s rotation through the first 10 weeks of the season.

While the Rangers did part with a good deal of talent in the July trade that netted Hamels and dominant setup man Jake Diekman, Texas still has a well-regarded farm system that has plenty of upper-level bats if the team wishes to seek outside assistance for its contingent of starting pitchers. Daniels has never been shy about pursuing help on the summer trade market, and recent deals for Hamels, Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster exemplify that aggressive nature. Texas is 20 games above .500 and holds a 9.5 game lead in the American League West, so there might not be an immediate or urgent need to supplement the starting staff, but adding some established talent that could contribute in a playoff setting sometime between now and the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline seems like a logical play for Daniels and his staff.

Rangers Announce Colby Lewis Signing

By Jeff Todd | January 18, 2016 at 12:29pm CDT

The Rangers have announced the signing of righty Colby Lewis to a one-year deal. He reportedly agreed to terms for a guaranteed $6MM back in mid-December, but the sides took their time completing a physical and finalizing the arrangement.

The 36-year-old Lewis has been with Texas since the 2010 campaign, when he came back to the majors after a strong two-year run in Japan. While he only managed a 4.66 ERA last year, he contributed better than 200 frames.

Despite an absence of strikeouts and grounders in Lewis’s game, there are some positives. He still carried an 11.6% K%-BB% that lands just below league average. And, as Eno Sarris of Fangraphs has explored, it seems Lewis may have figured out a way to generate results by managing contact.

The Rangers won’t be expecting a world-beating effort from Lewis, anyway, so much as continued durability and a solid, veteran presence. Texas’s staff has certainly settled down quite a bit after an injury-riddled recent past, but still carries sufficient uncertainty to make such an investment a clear need entering the winter.

Quick Hits: Buehrle, Rodney, Nationals, Rangers, White Sox, Uggla

By Steve Adams | January 6, 2016 at 11:29pm CDT

Free agent left-hander Mark Buehrle is not planning on playing in 2016 at this time, though the veteran isn’t yet prepared to announce his retirement from baseball, either, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). The soon-to-be 37-year-old’s future has been a debated topic in the past, as some reports indicated that he was planning to retire before Buehrle himself told ESPN Chicago’s Doug Padilla back in October that he’d yet to make a decision on the matter. Another report indicated that if Buehrle were to pitch in 2016, it’d most likely happen if St. Louis showed interest in the Missouri native. Buehrle’s 2015 season wasn’t as strong as his 2014 season, but he nonetheless recorded a solid 3.81 ERA across 198 2/3 innings. That final innings tally left him just four outs shy of recording his remarkable 15th consecutive season of 200+ innings.

A few more notes from around the league…

Cotillo also tweets that right-hander Fernando Rodney is in “active talks” with multiple clubs, noting that the Padres, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Cubs are all in the mix at this time. San Diego, Chicago and Toronto have previously been linked to Rodney, though Arizona would seem to represent a fairly new entrant into his market. Rodney had a dreadful season with the Mariners in 2015 but turned it around following a trade to the Cubs, yielding just one earned run in 12 innings with a 15-to-4 K/BB ratio down the stretch (Rodney did, however, also plunk three batters in his brief Cubs tenure).
We’ve heard about the Nationals’ interest in Gerardo Parra before, and James Wagner of the Washington Post writes that it’s still alive. GM Mike Rizzo was Arizona’s scouting director when the club signed Parra, and the Nats also tried to acquire him from the Brewers this summer, Wagner reminds. Wagner notes that Parra’s so-so OBP and declining defensive ratings make him a questionable fit in Washington, but the team’s goal remains adding some outfield depth to protect against injuries to Jayson Werth and uncertainty surrounding the talented but raw Michael A. Taylor. Wagner opines that from a purely speculative standpoint, Shane Victorino makes some sense for the Nationals as a player who can cover the outfield corners and play center in a pinch if need be.
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Rangers fans shouldn’t expect to see Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes or Yovani Gallardo in a Rangers uniform next season, as the team doesn’t have the payroll capacity to add any of the three. A trade for Marcell Ozuna is also unlikely, per Wilson, though the Rangers do still hope to add some rotation depth before the offseason is up. GM Jon Daniels tells Wilson that there are still some affordable names on the open market that have piqued the Rangers’ interest. Wilson also notes that Colby Lewis’ physical — the final step before his reported one-year, $6MM contract becomes official — is slated for next Monday.
The White Sox aren’t in a rush to add a big-ticket outfielder to the mix, writes MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The Sox “seem content to wait and ensure that any free-agent deal would fit their need and parameters,” he continues, writing that it’s likely that Upton and Cespedes will eventually be offered more years and dollars than the ChiSox care to place on the table.
Dan Uggla has spoken to three or four teams that are eyeing infield depth, Cotillo tweets. Uggla is set to turn 36 this March and is coming off a season in which he batted just .183/.298/.300 in 141 plate appearances with the Nationals, so any contract to which he agrees figures to be of the minor league variety.
Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic spoke to executives and scouts from each league to ask which NL West division rival has the better pitching staff heading into the 2016 season: the D-backs or the Giants. While the officials to whom Buchanan spoke seemed to agree that, in a vacuum, the D-backs made more impactful acquisitions this offseason (referring to Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller in comparison to Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija), when factoring in the cost of said acquisitions, there’s an argument to be made for the Giants’ side of the equation. Buchanan also polled officials on which club’s top three starters were more impressive, adding lefties Patrick Corbin and Madison Bumgarner to the mix, which generated mixed responses.

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