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Nationals Select Contract Of Tim Collins

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The Nationals announced on Monday that they’ve selected the contract of left-handed reliever Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse. (Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post first reported that Collins was likely to be added following an injury to Ryan Madson.) In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Collins, the Nats moved Howie Kendrick from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Kendrick suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon over the weekend and will miss the remainder of the season.

Collins’ promotion will be the culmination of a three-year journey back to the Majors after missing the 2015, 2016 and most of the 2017 seasons due to injury. Once a quality reliever in a dominant Royals bullpen that perhaps helped to kickstart baseball’s bullpen revolution, Collins hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2014 due to a pair of Tommy John surgeries.

Still just 28 years of age, Collins will bring a career 3.54 ERA over the life of 211 big league innings to the Nationals’ bullpen. He’s had no trouble missing bats in his career, averaging 9.4 K/9 in parts of four seasons — highlighted by a career-best 12.0 mark in 2012. Control has been more of an issue for Collins, though, as he’s also averaged 5.2 walks per nine frames at the big league level. That number is skewed to an extent by a rookie campaign in which he averaged 6.5 free passes per nine, but even in Collins’ most effective seasons, he was averaging well north of four walks per nine innings pitched.

Opposing lefties have batted .224/.328/.347 in 498 trips to the plate against Collins in his big league career, while right-handers have hit him at a .219/.341/.362 clip. His time in the Kansas City bullpen and on the Royals’ 60-day DL has left him with five-plus years of service, so Collins will qualify as a free agent if he proves capable of sticking in the Nationals’ bullpen through season’s end. He opened the season with 17 1/3 innings of 3.63 ERA ball and a 20-to-9 K/BB ratio in Syracuse.

Howie Kendrick Suffers Ruptured Achilles

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10:53pm: Kendrick suffered a ruptured Achilles, manager Dave Martinez announced Saturday (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). He’ll undergo season-ending surgery Monday.

7:16pm: The Nationals have placed infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick on the disabled list with a right Achilles injury, per a team announcement. His roster spot will go to right-hander Jefry Rodriguez, whom the Nats recalled from Double-A Harrisburg.

The severity of Kendrick’s injury isn’t yet known, though both the location of the problem and the fact that he left the team’s game on a cart Saturday are alarming.

Kendrick, whom the Nationals re-signed to a two-year, $7MM guarantee in the offseason, had gotten off to a productive start to the season prior to Saturday (.303/.331/.474 and four home runs in 160 plate appearances). The 34-year-old has also played several positions, primarily lining up at second base in place of injured star Daniel Murphy. With Murphy still working back from offseason knee surgery, Wilmer Difo should have second base to himself for the time being. The Nats had been turning to Difo at the keystone anyway in recent days while Kendrick occupied left field to help cover for the absences of the banged-up Adam Eaton–Brian Goodwin duo.

Now that Kendrick has joined Eaton, Goodwin and top prospect Victor Robles on the shelf, and minor leaguer Rafael Bautista is set to undergo season-ending knee surgery, Washington’s outfield depth is clearly weaker than it was entering the day. Bryce Harper and the struggling Michael A. Taylor still remain on hand in starting roles, though, with Matt Adams, Moises Sierra and Andrew Stevenson also serving as potential 25-man options. Their only other healthy, outfield-capable 40-man choices are Matt Reynolds and Jose Marmolejos, both of whom are on Triple-A. Of course, Washington also has another of the game’s best outfield prospects in Juan Soto, but he’s only 19 and has taken just 31 PAs above the Single-A level. Unsurprisingly, then, the Nats aren’t looking to rush Soto to the majors.

Injury Notes: Kendrick, Bumgarner, Mauer, Moore, Souza, Cuthbert

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Things got even worse for the Nationals today; Howie Kendrick appeared to sustain a serious injury while chasing down a Max Muncy fly ball. Kendrick was carted off the field, and was seen pointing to his ankle area. Jamal Collier of MLB.com reports that he’s off to get an MRI. The Nationals are already dealing with injuries to a number of other key players, including Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Eaton, Matt Wieters and Brian Goodwin, and can ill afford to lose another player from their outfield for an extended period of time. They’ll likely be anxious as they await further news on Kendrick.

More injury news from around MLB today…

  • Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner considers his fractured left hand to be “95% or more” healed, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Chris Haft. He’s on track to throw live batting practice on Tuesday and begin a rehab assignment on Saturday. Meanwhile, Haft says, Johnny Cueto will head to the club’s rehab facility in Arizona. The Giants will hope for the best-case scenarios as far as the timetables of these two players; their depleted rotation is a chief factor in the club’s sub-.500 record on the season.
  • Joe Mauer is headed to the Twins’ DL with concussion symptoms once again, according to LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribute. He reportedly did well in regards to concussion tests last night, but is apparently experiencing some sensitivity to light along with some balance issues. Mauer, who has dealt with concussion issues in years past, is walking at a 16.8% clip so far this season en route to a .404 OBP. According to chief baseball officer Derek Falvey (via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger), the club is “not saying at this time that Joe has a concussion.”
  • The Rangers have placed lefty Matt Moore on the 10-day disabled list with what the club is calling right knee soreness. The move will make room for fellow righty Ariel Jurado, who will make the jump from Double-A to debut in the majors tonight. Jurado has a 2.57 ERA in 35 minor league innings this year, but with a 5.31 FIP that strongly disagrees with those results. He posted a 4.59 ERA at Double-A last season, with 5.45 K/9.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza will avoid the DL for the time being, says Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. A key offseason acquisition by the Dbacks, Souza has already spent the bulk of the season on the DL after suffering a pectoral strain upon diving for a ball in the outfield. Fortunately, it seems as though some minor pec soreness will not require a second DL stint for the time being.
  • The Royals have placed Cheslor Cuthbert on the 10-day DL with a lower back strain, recalling fellow infielder Ramon Torres from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. Cuthbert is a career .252/.308/.383 hitter, and is performing especially poorly this season, as evidenced by his -0.5 fWAR for 2018. However, Torres seems unlikely to provide any significant upgrade; he’s hitting just .229/.280/.307 at the Triple-A level so far this season.

Nationals Sign Howie Kendrick

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JANUARY 18: Washington has announced the signing.

JANUARY 15, 2:14pm: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the two sides have reached an agreement, pending a physical (Twitter links). The contract contains an additional $2.25MM worth of incentives that can be unlocked based on plate appearances.

10:01am: The Nationals are nearing a deal with infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The prospective contract would promise the Reynolds Sports Management client $7MM over two years.

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If the contract is finalized, Kendrick will return to the place that he thrived in a late-season stint in 2017. His role is not immediately clear, but odds are he’ll see time around the infield as well as the corner outfield. Most importantly, perhaps, adding Kendrick will help the Nats ease the burden on All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy as he returns from microfracture surgery.

In the aggregate, bringing back Kendrick at this price tag seems to make quite a lot of sense for the Nats. He represents a quality reserve and insurance policy at every position but short and center (along with the battery, of course). Star third baseman Anthony Rendon has had his share of nicks over the years. Outfielder Adam Eaton is returning from ACL surgery, so Kendrick can help reduce his wear-and-tear as well. Kendrick’s righty bat is a natural platoon match with Eaton and fellow corner outfielder Bryce Harper, each of whom hits from the left side, so he can readily spell either over the course of the season.

[RELATED: Updated Nationals Depth Chart]

MLBTR had predicted that Kendrick would get a two-year pact, but at a loftier overall guarantee ($12MM). That reflected not only his long history of solidly above-average production, much of it as a regular at second base, but also a quality output in the 2017 campaign. While he was banged up at times, Kendrick produced on both sides of the mid-season swap that sent him to Washington from the Phillies, ending the year with an overall .315/.368/.475 batting line through 334 plate appearance. And Kendrick has a lengthy record of durability before that.

Between 2010 and 2014, Kendrick functioned as the Angeles’ everyday second bagger. He thrived without standing out in any one area, averaging a .288/.332/.420 batting line with 11 homers and twelve steals per year while generally grading as a plus in the field. After moving to the Dodgers in 2015, though, Kendrick’s defensive grades at his accustomed position slipped. That spurred a move to the corner outfield, where he has been viewed as a roughly average performer, in a 2016 season that was Kendrick’s worst at the plate since he established himself as a big leaguer.

While the 2017 campaign represented something of a return to form, then, expectations will remain in check. Kendrick is already 34 years of age, after all. With the various cracks that have formed in his game, it’s not surprising to see him sign into a situation where he won’t be expected to play every day.

Entering the winter, the Nats justifiably felt most of the pieces were in place for a strong 2018 roster. Even while exploring larger moves — none of which has yet come to fruition — the team has steadily added role players over the course of the winter. Kendrick joins reliever Brandon Kintzler as a 2017 deadline acquisition who was brought back, while the team slotted Matt Adams in as its reserve first baseman and lefty bench bat. Upgrading the catching situation stands out as a remaining possibility, while both the rotation and relief unit could surely still be improved as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mets “Nearly” Struck Trade With Indians For Jason Kipnis

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The Mets and Indians very nearly pulled off a deal that would have sent Jason Kipnis to New York, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Upper management — Heyman hints on the Mets side — ended up scuttling a deal that seemed to be in place.

Kipnis was widely rumored to be on New York’s radar last month. For the Mets, the veteran would have plugged a hole at second base. And for the Indians, the considerations were mostly financial, as Kipnis is due $30.5MM on his deal (covering two more seasons along with a buyout on a 2020 option).

It was money, it seems, that caused the hang-up here. While the prospect cost was not prohibitive, Heyman says that “Mets higher-ups didn’t see Kipnis as good value.” Whether Cleveland would have paid down any portion of the remaining obligations in the proposed agreement is not known.

At this point, it would appear that the odds of talks re-opening are low. The Mets just landed free agent slugger Jay Bruce in a move that will occupy a significant portion of their remaining payroll availability. On the Indians’ side, moving the Kipnis contract likely would have helped facilitate their pursuit of Carlos Santana, but he reportedly agreed to terms with the Phillies on December 15th — right after the Mets/Kipnis talk heated up and before it died down.

In any event, the Mets do still need a second baseman — or, perhaps, a third baseman who’d bump Asdrubal Cabrera over to second. As Mike Puma of the New York Post wrote this morning, it seems the club still has a variety of open-market possibilities to consider in the infield. Todd Frazier, Howie Kendrick, Neil Walker, and Jose Reyes are evidently still on the team’s radar, while other trade options are presumably still on the table. (Puma does suggest that free agent Mike Moustakas and trade candidate Starlin Castro are not seen as viable options.)

For the Indians, meanwhile, the latest indication is that the team will utilize Kipnis at his native position of second base after having bumped him to the outfield late last year. Presumably he could still be moved in the right deal, but the organization may also mostly be preparing to hang on and hope he can return to form. While Kipnis limped to a .232/.291/.414 batting line in an injury-limited 2017 season, he carried a composite .289/.357/.460 line over the prior two seasons and has typically graded as a quality defender.

Mets Notes: Harrison, McCutchen, Lagares, Kendrick

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Here are the latest rumblings from Citi Field, courtesy of Mike Puma of the New York Post…

  • The recent talks between the Mets and Pirates about Andrew McCutchen may have actually been more focused around Josh Harrison, who has long been cited as a Mets target for their hole at second base.  According to Puma, the Mets would’ve taken on the salaries of McCutchen ($14.75MM) and Harrison ($10MM in 2018, plus club options in 2019-20), preferring to give Pittsburgh salary relief rather than to deal prospects from New York’s thin farm system.  Of course, the Mets have payroll restrictions of their own, which is why Juan Lagares (owed $15.5MM in 2018-19) would “almost certainly” have been going back to the Pirates in such a deal to help balance out the salaries.  In my view, this trade doesn’t make much sense for the Pirates unless the Mets added significant minor league talent — Harrison and McCutchen are both quality trade chips for the Bucs, not mere salary dump candidates.  A source tells Puma that a trade between the Mets and Pirates continues to remain unlikely.
  • As for other second base options beyond Harrison, “Howie Kendrick is viewed by the Mets as a potential fit” due to his positional versatility and his reputation as a clubhouse leader.  The Blue Jays and, potentially, the Nationals have been the only other teams linked to Kendrick this winter; interestingly, reports from a month ago indicated that the Mets weren’t interested in Kendrick, though obviously plans can change over the course of offseason business.  Injuries limited Kendrick to 91 games and 344 PA last season, though the veteran was very productive (.315/.368/.475) when he was on the field for the Phillies and Nationals.  Kendrick has seen much more time as an outfielder than as a second baseman over the last two years, though the Mets could deploy him all over the diamond rather than in a strict everyday role at the keystone.

Heyman’s Latest: Blue Jays, D-Backs, Cobb, Lagares, Castro

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Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reported on a few items of note in his latest column and has followed up with some additional bits of information. We’ll run down some of the key takeaways here:

  • While the Blue Jays have been quiet thus far, Heyman says they could be lurking on a few interesting names. In the outfield, J.D. Martinez is a legitimate target, he says, as are Carlos Gonzalez and Lorenzo Cain. The club is also considering quality utility options such as Eduardo Nunez and Howie Kendrick. Meanwhile, Toronto has reached out to the Padres on Brad Hand, who’s a highly valuable relief asset. It remains to be seen whether the Jays will be willing to pony up a lot of cash or prospect assets to make a significant win-now move, but it’s notable that the team is at least exploring some notable possibilities.
  • The Diamondbacks reportedly had real interest in Orioles infielder Manny Machado, but Heyman says the Snakes were not willing to consider moving third bagger Jake Lamb in a deal. That’s not terribly surprising; after all, the 27-year-old Lamb has only just reached arbitration eligibility and posted consecutive solid campaigns in which he has maintained a composite .248/.345/.498 batting line. Though he’s clearly an inferior overall player to Machado, Lamb is the type of affordable, quality regular that a team with Arizona’s payroll can ill afford to part with.
  • Thus far, free agent righty Alex Cobb “is thought to have been asking for about $20 million a year,” Heyman writes, noting that his agents may view Mike Leake as a comp. Of course, Cobb is older and less durable than Leake was when he hit the open market, though Cobb also has a loftier established ceiling on the mound (at least, dating to his output before undergoing Tommy John surgery).
  • There’s some interest from rival organizations in Mets center fielder Juan Lagares, Heyman reports on Twitter. Of course, it’s far from clear that the New York organization has real interest in dealing away the 28-year-old. To the contrary, indications to date have been that the Mets expect to utilize Lagares quite heavily. The rangy defender last topped 400 plate appearances in 2015 and has not posted a league-average season with the bat since the season before that.
  • The Marlins are still indicating to rivals that they’re not particularly interested in dealing Christian Yelich or J.T. Realmuto, Heyman tweets, though of course that could yet be a bargaining stance. Notably, though, the Fish are said to be seeking ways of parting with the recently acquired contract of Starlin Castro. Though Miami executive Gary Denbo indicated earlier today the club intends to keep Castro, it certainly would not be surprising for Miami to strike a deal if it means shedding yet more salary obligations to a player who likely won’t be a part of the organization’s next contending roster.

NL East Links: Anthopoulos, Marlins, Yelich, Kendrick, Lind, Harvey

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New Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien) about his team’s offseason shopping list, which includes a third baseman, bullpen help, and a controllable starting pitcher.  The “backdrop of everything” with the Braves’ plans, Anthopoulos stressed, is an improved defense.  “If we can improve in just one area defensively, we’re going to make 12 or 13 guys on that [pitching staff] a lot better,” the GM said.  As Bowman points out, this would seem to hint that Matt Kemp or Nick Markakis could be moved, as both outfielders posted subpar fielding numbers last season.  It may still be a while before we see one of Anthopoulos’ signature major trades, however, as he said he is still familiarizing himself with Atlanta’s baseball operations department after only a few weeks on the job.  While he wouldn’t rule out some notable moves, “I would say my thought for Year 1 would be a more cautious approach,” Anthopoulos said.  He also believed that the Braves’ payroll would likely remain around the $130MM mark.

Some more rumblings from around the NL East…

  • With the Braves looking for third base help, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro believes they could at least be open to a trade for the Marlins’ Martin Prado.  One would think Miami would have to eat a big chunk of the $28.5MM owed to Prado through 2019 to make any trade involving the veteran work, as Prado was limited to just 37 games last season due to hamstring injuries and knee surgery.  The well-respected Prado would be a good leader within a young Atlanta clubhouse, however, and Prado has a long relationship with the Braves after spending his first 10 pro seasons in the organization.
  • In two other tweets, Frisaro notes that the Marlins may be better served by trading Christian Yelich, even though the team’s “sentiment…is to retain” the young outfielder.  Getting a big haul of talent in an “overpay situation” for Yelich would greatly help Miami restock its farm system, plus Frisaro cites the factor that Yelich may simply be tired of playing for losing teams.  While Yelich’s name has surfaced in trade speculation, the Marlins are in no particular rush to deal him; the outfielder is locked up on a contract that runs through at least the 2021 season.
  • The Nationals got a lot of production off the bench from Howie Kendrick and Adam Lind last year, and GM Mike Rizzo told MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel and other reporters that he is open to a reunion with either player.  Playing time could be an issue, as while both Kendrick and Lind saw significant action in 2017, they theoretically wouldn’t be used as much next year since the Nats expect better health throughout their lineup.  The two veterans could therefore try to sign for teams that could promise them more regular at-bats.
  • The Mets and Orioles have had some talks about Matt Harvey, and while Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com is “all for [the O’s] taking a flier on Harvey,” doing so in a trade for Brad Brach would be ill-advised from the Orioles’ perspective.  Dealing a proven quality reliever like Brach is too much of a risk, since Harvey is a question mark after two injury-plagued down years.  Fortunately for Connolly’s concerns, a Brach-for-Harvey trade doesn’t seem to be a likely possibility.

Mets Rumors: Santana, Bruce, Walker, Kendrick, Reyes, Shaw

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This is the second time today we’ll focus on the Mets, who are active in the rumor mill as the Winter Meetings draw closer. The latest comes courtesy of Marc Carig of Newsday…

  • Less than a month ago, the Mets were reportedly among several teams with interest in free agent first baseman Carlos Santana. Now the idea of the Mets landing Santana looks “very unlikely,” a source told Carig.  The pessimism toward signing Santana stems from the presence of young first baseman Dominic Smith and an unwillingness on the team’s part to make a major financial commitment at the position. With Santana a strong bet to sign one of the most valuable contracts in this offseason’s class of free agents, the Mets are nearly certain to target a cheap stopgap like Adam Lind instead, per Carig, though he adds that they remain interested in a reunion with potential first base option Jay Bruce. Unlike Santana, Bruce is primarily an outfielder, and the Mets value his versatility enough to make a signing possible.
  • Elsewhere around the infield, Carig writes that it’s “unlikely” the Mets will sign free agent second baseman Neil Walker, whom they traded to the Brewers over the summer. They haven’t shown any interest in utilityman Howie Kendrick, meanwhile, but re-signing longtime Met Jose Reyes remains on the table. Reyes turned in a respectable age-34 season in 2017, and he made it known toward the end of the year that he’d like to finish his career with the Mets.
  • New York reportedly made an offer to reliever Bryan Shaw around Thanksgiving, but there’s still no indication as to whether he’s interested in joining the club, Carig reports. The belief around the majors is that Shaw has received multiple three-year proposals in the $24MM range (it’s unclear if any of those came from the Mets), one rival executive informed Carig. Shaw, 30, may be holding out for a fourth year, and the Mets would balk at that, according to Carig.

Nationals Acquire Howie Kendrick

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9:33pm: The teams have announced the trade. Philadelphia is sending Kendrick and cash to the Nats in exchange for Mills and additional international bonus money.

9:23pm: The Nationals have struck a deal to acquire infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick from the Phillies in exchange for minor league left-hander McKenzie Mills, reports PhillyVoice.com’s Ryan Lawrence (Twitter links). Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network first reported that the Nats were working on a deal to land Kendrick (on Twitter).

Howie Kendrick | Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The 34-year-old Kendrick hasn’t had his healthiest season, but he’s been extremely productive when on the field. Through 156 plate appearances, he’s posted a brilliant .340/.397/.454 batting line with a pair of homers, eight doubles, a triple and eight steals (in 11 attempts). Once a pure second baseman, Kendrick took on more of a super utility role with the Dodgers in 2016 and has played corner outfield with the Phillies in 2017. Over the past two seasons, he’s spent time at second base, third base, first base and in left field.

Kendrick is earning $10MM this season, though $5MM of that is deferred until 2019, per Cot’s Contracts. The Phillies are paying Kendrick’s contract down to the pro-rated league minimum, tweets Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, so the Nats are only taking on the hook for about $187K for Kendrick, who will hit free agency following the 2017 season.

The Nationals are banged up at the moment, with left fielder Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor, Ryan Raburn and Chris Heisey all on the disabled list. That’s pushed Brian Goodwin into center field and Adam Lind into left field, so Kendrick will provide the club with an option in left as well as some veteran bench depth — and a postseason upgrade over the likes of Raburn and Heisey — once everyone is healthy down the stretch. Kendrick is currently dealing with a bruised left hand after getting hit by a pitch, though clearly Washington isn’t concerned that the injury will have any long-term effects.

Mills, 21, ranked as the Nationals’ 18th-best prospect on the recently released midseason top 30 list of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com. He’s pitched to a 3.01 ERA with a ridiculous 118-to-22 K/BB ratio (10.1 K/9, 1.9 BB/9) through 104 2/3 innings for Class-A Hagerstown this season. Callis and Mayo peg him for an above-average fastball and curveball with an average changeup. Their report gives him a back-of-the-rotation ceiling but also noted that some in the Nats organization felt there was more upside than that with Mills.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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