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Central Notes: Tribe, Ramirez, Votto, Cubs

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Here’s the latest from MLB’s Central divisions:

  • Cleveland has come up as a speculative trade destination for Toronto’s Josh Donaldson, and if the Indians acquire him or another third baseman this month, it would mean shifting Jose Ramirez from the hot corner to second base. However, manager Terry Francona threw some cold water on a potential in-season position change for Ramirez on Sunday, telling Jordan Bastian of MLB.com: “I know it sounds good on paper and it even sounds good to me on paper. There’s other things you have to think about other than just numbers.” Francona added that Ramirez hasn’t worked out at second base this season, which he posited may make the superstar more susceptible to an injury, and suggested switching positions at this juncture could throw Ramirez off track during an MVP-caliber season. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting Ramirez did rack up significant experience at the keystone last year, when he appeared in 71 games at the position. Incumbent second base starter Jason Kipnis has appeared in 118 games there this season, but he has limped to a .216/.305/.345 line in 493 plate appearances, leading to the possibility of the Tribe upgrading at that spot.
  • The right knee contusion that sent Reds first baseman Joey Votto to the disabled list on Aug. 17 is “way worse” than the team originally thought, manager Jim Riggleman told Matthew Martell of MLB.com and other reporters Sunday. As such, Votto may not be ready to come off the DL when he’s first eligible, per Riggleman, though he did add that the 34-year-old has made notable progress since he landed on the shelf. Votto incurred the injury on a hit by pitch from Nationals reliever Ryan Madson.
  • Beginning Friday, the Cubs will employ a six-man rotation, at least temporarily, manager Joe Maddon said Sunday (via Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). Alec Mills will stay among the starting staff after turning in a solid outing against Cincinnati this past Friday, and lefty Mike Montgomery will soon come off the DL – where he has been since Aug. 17 because of shoulder inflammation – to rejoin the group. With the Cubs amid a stretch in which they’re playing 23 straight games without an off day, the decision will provide a respite for top starters Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana as the playoffs approach.

Trade News & Rumors: Trade Value Rankings, Dozier, Andujar, Britton

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Fangraphs recently released its annual rankings of the top 50 most valuable contracts in baseball, or the players who would have the highest value in a trade. High atop the list sits a pair of Indians infielders (Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor), while Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Carlos Correa round out the top five. The rankings take into account the amount of money each player is owed and the length of his contract in relation to his expected future performance. While the list is top-heavy with young stars (as one might expect), there are a few surprising names later down in the rankings, and a few top prospects even make the list.

Speaking of trades…

  • Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has drawn trade interest from the Brewers, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP. That comes as little surprise considering the tight NL Central pennant race and the fact that Milwaukee’s second basemen have combined for the third-worst production in baseball to date. However, Wolfson also reports that another (unnamed team) has been “showing stronger interest”. For their part, the Twins (who now sit 8.5 games out of first place in the division) are open to moving Dozier.
  • The Yankees tried to acquire left-hander Brad Hand (who recently went to the Indians), but balked when they were asked to include young third baseman Miguel Andujar in the return, reports Andy Martino of SNY. That’s just one name the club had been targeting in a search for pitcher, but the prices for some of the available names (Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ, for instance), remain “insane” according to Martino.
  • The trade interest in Orioles lefty Zach Britton is “intensifying”, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Kubatko says that he expects Britton to be the “next Oriole out the door.” The Braves have thrown their hat into the ring recently, while the Cubs, Astros, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants have also been “in the mix”. As Kubatko aptly points out, the removal of Hand from the pool of available names should turn a lot of attention towards Britton.

Braves Place Mike Soroka On DL, Select Contract Of Danny Santana

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3:57pm: Soroka says that an MRI cleared him of any structural issues, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. That’s certainly good news for the team, though presumably a conservative course will still be taken.

2:10pm: The Braves have sent young righty Mike Soroka back to the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He’s again dealing with inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

To replace him on the active roster, the Atlanta organization selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Danny Santana. A 40-man roster spot was opened for Santana by moving righty Jose Ramirez to the 60-day DL.

Soroka has been quite impressive this year, throwing 25 2/3 innings of 3.51 ERA ball in his first five MLB starts at just twenty years of age. Unfortunately, though, he already missed about a month with a shoulder ailment and is now back on the shelf.

There’s still no indication that there’s a significant underlying problem at play here, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that Soroka experienced a velocity drop-off in the midst of his last outing. Needless to say, any kind of issues in the shoulder will certainly be handled with ample care by the Braves, who are counting on Soroka to be a major contributor for years to come.

At this point, we’ll need to await further word before knowing more about Soroka’s outlook. A lengthy absence could certainly impact the team’s plans as the trade deadline approaches. Though rotation depth doesn’t seem to be a particular concern for the Braves at the time being, that can change quickly if injuries or performance issues begin to add up. And an upgrade is always a possibility, too.

The 27-year-old Santana played a significant role down the stretch last year for the Braves, but was non-tendered after the season. He ended up re-joining the organization on a minors deal.

Since his eye-popping debut season in 2014, Santana has struggled to hit at the MLB level. He has produced this year at Triple-A, though, launching 11 long balls and carrying a .539 slugging percentage Of course, Santana also maintains a meager .300 on-base percentage and has drawn just eight walks while going down on strikes 57 times.

Latest On Braves’ Jose Ramirez, Ronald Acuna

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The Braves have provided updates on the health of righty Jose Ramirez and outfielder Ronald Acuna, each of whom presently resides on the 10-day DL. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the news (Twitter links).

Ramirez, 28, had been one of the team’s go-to late-inning arms in 2017, when he pitched to a 3.19 ERA in 62 innings. But he stumbled early in the current campaign, allowing a dozen earned runs in just 6 1/3 innings while issuing eight walks against seven strikeouts. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising when it turned out that Ramirez was dealing with a shoulder problem.

Unfortunately, the progress made to date now appears to be at risk. Ramirez had been working back to form but was forced to halt his first live batting practice session today. It’s not clear at this point whether he’ll need to go back to resting or perhaps give throwing another go, but that’s obviously suboptimal news under the circumstances. Continued uncertainty surrounding Ramirez certainly enhances the Braves’ potential need for relievers at the deadline.

As for Acuna, there’s still no reason to fear that he has a significant injury. But he’s still not leaping back to action quite as promptly as seemed possible in the wake of the scary knee hyperextension he suffered while running through the bag at first base.

For the time being, Acuna is still just working on physical improvements. He may resume baseball activities as soon as next week, though that’s not written in stone. Notably, O’Brien adds that the team now anticipates that Acuna will require a rehab assignment. While the Braves are no doubt still grateful that Acuna somehow avoided a much more serious problem, it will likely still be a while before he’s back in action at the MLB level.

Braves Promote Jesse Biddle, Place Jose Ramirez On 10-Day DL

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The Braves are set to promote lefty Jesse Biddle to the big-league roster, per a club announcement. He’ll replace righty reliever Jose Ramirez, who is heading to the 10-day DL after experiencing shoulder inflammation.

It’s a long-awaited call-up for Biddle, who was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft and once regarded among the game’s hundred top pre-MLB players. Injuries disrupted his progress, however, and forced him out of the rotation.

Since landing with the Braves and working back to health, Biddle has shown well in the upper minors. He turned in 49 2/3 innings of 2.90 ERA ball last year at Double-A, registering 9.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. And Biddle was off to an excellent start in the highest level of the minors in 2018, allowing just three hits and no runs while running up eight strikeouts against a single walk in his 6 1/3 innings.

As for Ramirez, 28, this’ll be a much-needed reprieve after a brutal opening to his own season. He has also tossed 6 1/3 frames, all in the majors, but with much different results. Ramirez has not only coughed up a dozen earned runs, but has surrendered eight walks to go with his seven punchouts.

Central Notes: Royals, Reds, Jose Ramirez

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Via Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star, Royals GM Dayton Moore details the elements of an uncertain offseason for Kansas City. The organization will go “one of two ways”, according to Moore. The first option is obvious; the club could choose to “gut the team” in a complete teardown, saving money and going for high draft picks. But Moore does detail an ambitious alternative: trying to retain their free agent stars. “Everybody assumes that we are just going to just get blown away in free agency, and we don’t have a chance,” he tells Dodd. “They may be right, but I think everybody felt that way about Alex Gordon at the time. That fell back to us. You just never really know.” Indeed, there are rumblings that one of the Royals’ biggest offseason priorities will be to retain star first baseman Eric Hosmer. But with the 2017 Royals’ payroll setting a franchise record for the fifth consecutive year while delivering a losing season, Moore does make one blunt concession. “It’s very clear to us that we need to get younger and more athletic. We’re going to continue with that mindset as we go forward into the future.”

More from baseball’s central divisions…

  • Ken Rosenthal details the elements of a bittersweet postseason for Reds scouting director Chris Buckley in a piece for The Athletic (subscription required and recommended). Seven players originally signed by the Reds are currently playing October baseball with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, including infielders Didi Gregorius and Justin Turner. While the presence of former Cincinnati signees gives Buckley a clear rooting interest, it also evokes painful memories of the two scouts he lost to cancer in recent years.
  • David Waldstein of the New York Times tells the fascinating story of how superstar infielder Jose Ramirez first came to the Indians. According to Waldstein, Ramon Pena (then an international scout for Cleveland) attended a three-game showcase in the Dominican Republic largely to gawk at invitees Jorge Alfaro and Martin Peguero, but noticed Ramirez playing with surprising confidence and determination. During a subsequent telephone call with a local trainer who represented the players, Pena was focused on trying to sign Alfaro. When he learned that Alfaro was asking for $1.5 million, the conversation shifted to Ramirez. Pena eventually talked the trainer down from $300,000 all the way to $50,000. After an agreement was in place, however, Pena was unable to gather the papers required for Ramirez to play in the United States, so he sat out the 2010 season and instead spent the year working out at the Indians’ facility in Boca Chica. The team managed to get Ramirez’ papers in order in time for the 2011 season, and Ramirez sped through the minor leagues, making his MLB debut just two years later.

Agency Changes: Delgado, Ramirez, Robles, Polanco

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Here at MLBTR we do our best to cover notable agency changes while keeping tabs on player representation through our Agency Database. Here are a few recent moves:

  • D-backs right-hander has hired Dan Lozano of MVP Sports as his new representative, writes FanRag’s Jon Heyman as part of his weekly NL Notes column. Once one of baseball’s top prospects, Delgado didn’t pan out as a starter but has become a solid piece in the Arizona bullpen in recent years. He’s made four starts this year and fared nicely, but he’s back in the ’pen and is on his way to perhaps his best season. Through 51 2/3 innings, Delgado has a 3.48 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate. Delgado, 27, is controllable for one more year before hitting the open market after the 2018 campaign.

Earlier Notes

  • Indians utilityman extraordinaire Jose Ramirez will move his representation to the Wasserman Media Group, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. It seems that Ramirez is sticking with agent Rafa Nieves, who just joined Wasserman. Ramirez has only just embarked upon a new, four-year deal with Cleveland that was inked late in Spring Training. With two options included, the contract covers all of Ramirez’s potential arbitration eligibility and allows the organization to control the switch-hitting 24-year-old through his age-31 season. He had earned the deal after a strong 2016 season, but his stock has risen yet further after opening the 2017 campaign with a .322/.376/.557 slash through 290 plate appearances. Notably, Ramirez has already swatted 11 long balls, matching last year’s tally in less than half the trips to the plate.
  • Also moving to Wasserman is top Nationals prospect Victor Robles. Though he only just reached his twentieth birthday and hasn’t yet reached the upper minors, Robles received consensus top-ten leaguewide prospect billing  entering the current season. He hasn’t disappointed, slashing .296/.393/.505 with six home runs and 13 steals through 233 plate appearances at the High-A level. While it seems unlikely that Robles will make it to D.C. before the 2018 season, he could be a foundational piece for the organization.
  • Meanwhile, Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco will take his business to Octagon and agent Ulises Cabrera, according to 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter). The 23-year-old switch-hitter entered the current season with 105 days of MLB service, meaning he won’t be able to qualify for arbitration until at least 2020 and can’t qualify for free agency until 2023. Polanco was a highly regarded prospect who raised expectations with a solid performance in his first extended MLB stint last year. He has struggled thus far in 2017, though, with a .242/.294/.338 batting line through 219 plate appearances.

Indians Extend Jose Ramirez

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MARCH 28: Cleveland has announced the signing.

MARCH 25: Ramirez receives a $2MM signing bonus and a $571.4K salary for 2017, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.  Ramirez will earn just under $2.429MM in 2018, so he’ll make a combined $3MM in salary over the next two seasons.  The rest of the contract breaks down as $3.75MM in 2019, $6.25MM in 2020 and $9MM in 2021.  There is a $2MM buyout of the $11MM club option in 2022 and the 2023 club option (with no buyout) is worth $13MM.  Each club option year could be increased by $1M based on escalator clauses.  The deal will become official when Ramirez passes a physical.

MARCH 24, 8:09pm: The guarantee includes Ramirez’s salary for the upcoming season, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets.

5:55pm: The Indians are close to finalizing a four-year deal with infielder Jose Ramirez, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. When it’s completed, the contract is expected to promise Ramirez $26MM, Passan tweets. It will also include a pair of options valued at $11MM and $13MM, respectively; escalators could push the total value of the deal’s six possible seasons to $50MM.

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Ramirez, 24, has two years and 74 days of MLB service on his odometer. The deal will begin with the 2018 season, meaning it’ll cover his three seasons of arbitration eligibility and one campaign of potential free-agent eligibility. With the two options, the Indians will pick up three new years worth of control, meaning Ramirez could be in Cleveland through his age-31 season.

The Indians continue to rate as one of the game’s most aggressive pursuers of new contracts with existing players. Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Carlos Santana, Brandon Guyer, and Josh Tomlin are all playing on deals that extended the club’s control rights.

Now, Ramirez appears set to join that group — most of which is set to stay in Cleveland for quite a few years. Whether the club will make a concerted effort to do the same with star shortstop Francisco Lindor remains to be seen, but he surely seems to be the club’s most appealing remaining extension target.

Ramirez seemed an unlikely candidate for a sizable commitment this time last year, when he was coming off of a season in which he hit just .219/.291/.340 over 355 plate appearances. But his fortunes changed in a big way last year.

Slated to play a reserve role at the outset of the season, Ramirez ended up seeing action in all but ten of the club’s games due both to necessity and his performance. Over 618 plate appearances in 2016, the switch-hitter racked up 11 home runs and 22 steals while slashing .312/.363/.462 in 618 trips to the plate. He continued to show a high-contact approach; over his career, he has been roughly average in taking walks (7.3% walk rate) but strikes out in just 11 percent of his trips to the plate.

Though he’s a middle infielder by trade, Ramirez ended up playing mostly at third and in left last year. He’ll likely end up back at third at some point, but for the time being he’ll slide over to cover for the injured Kipnis. That versatility, clearly, is a key component of Ramirez’s value. Another area where Ramirez excelled last year was in the baserunning department. Though he had rated well in prior seasons, he lept to a robust 8.8 runs above average by measure of Fangraphs’ BsR, placing him fifth in all of baseball.

A repeat of his 2016 season could’ve set the stage for a fairly hefty arbitration salary and enhanced Ramirez’s value yet further. But it’s easy to see the appeal of this contract, which takes away the risk of a drop in performance and sits fairly comfortably in range of many similar deals. (Plus, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets, Ramirez himself is said to have wanted to land a long-term pact.) 2+ service-class players such as Ender Inciarte and Odubel Herrera landed guarantees right at the $30MM mark, but both have logged two full seasons as productive regulars. The closest recent comparable is Kolten Wong’s five-year, $25.5MM deal with the Cardinals, which included one option year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Indians Notes: Lindor, Ramirez, Jackson, Shaffer

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It was on this day in 1910 that the Chalmers Auto Company announced that a new car would be awarded to the batting champions from the American and National League.  This innocent promotion ended up leading to a memorable controversy, as Cleveland’s Nap Lajoie “won” the AL batting title after collecting eight hits in nine at-bats (under very dubious circumstances) during a season-ending double-header against the St. Louis Browns.  Chalmers ended up awarding cars to both Lajoie and runner-up Ty Cobb in the wake of the embarrassing situation.

Here’s some news from modern-day Cleveland baseball…

  • There aren’t any extension talks going on between the Indians and Francisco Lindor, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (via Twitter).  Cleveland isn’t necessarily in any rush since Lindor isn’t even eligible for arbitration for two more seasons, though the Tribe has historically looked to extend young talent when possible.  Once Jose Ramirez’s extension is finalized, he’ll be the ninth member of the Tribe’s roster signed to a multi-year extension by the team.  Lindor’s extension case will be particularly fascinating to watch given his status as one of the sport’s rising superstars.  (Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel recently speculated that a Lindor extension might cost the Indians something in the neighborhood of $65MM-$75MM on a six-year deal.)
  • Ramirez’s extension was finalized after about a month of negotiations, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes.  According to Rafael Nieves, Ramirez’s agent, yesterday was the self-imposed deadline for the extension to be settled, so Ramirez could focus on preparing for Opening Day.  Ramirez originally turned down an offer comparable to Jose Altuve’s four-year, $12MM extension with the Astros from 2013.
  • Austin Jackson’s minor league contract with the Indians was known to contain an out clause near the end of Spring Training, and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports (Twitter link) that Jackson’s opt-out date is actually tomorrow.  Jackson is hitting well this spring though it may still be difficult for him to carve out a spot in the Tribe’s crowded outfield picture.
  • After an offseason in “DFA limbo,” Richie Shaffer is hoping for some stability with the Tribe, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes.  Shaffer was traded from the Rays to the Mariners in November and then designated for assignment and claimed by Seattle, Philadelphia and Cincinnati before finally landing in Cleveland on a waiver claim…and then being DFA’ed again and outrighted off the Indians’ 40-man roster.  Needless to say, it was a trying offseason for Shaffer and his family, and Passan’s piece is well worth reading as an insight into how such transactions take their toll on a player.  “That was the first time I’d ever been talked about in that light – as a player a team would consider DFA’ing,” Shaffer said.  “A year prior to that, I was in the Futures Game….Baseball’s an odd business. The game is pretty simple, but the business is strange. Once you get DFA’d once, there’s almost this perception that you’re a guy who can be DFA’d. Essentially, the next person who picks you up gets you for nothing, so you’re just as expendable to the next team because they got you free.”

Central Notes: Tigers, Indians, Cardinals

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Two members of the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate in Toledo, outfielder Anthony Gose and manager Lloyd McClendon, were involved in a contentious argument in the dugout during the first game of a doubleheader Saturday, writes Katie Strang of ESPN.com. McClendon then removed Gose from Toledo’s lineup in the third inning and the 25-year-old didn’t play in the second game. Gose’s personal belongings were not in his locker afterward, per the Toledo Blade. When asked about it, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said, “Anytime a player reacts that way to a manager, it’s a concern, but it’s certainly not anything that can’t be dealt with or gotten past.” However, Gose failed to report to the ballpark Sunday, according to Tigers vice president of player development Dave Littlefield, who said their front office will discuss the matter during the All-Star break and decide how to proceed (Twitter link via George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press). The speedy Gose, whom the Tigers acquired from the Blue Jays for second baseman Devon Travis in November 2014, has appeared in 170 games with Detroit (30 this year) and hit .247/.315/.363 in 636 plate appearances.

A couple more notes from the majors’ two Central divisions:

  • Indians left fielder Michael Brantley, on the shelf since May 10 because of right biceps tendinitis, will begin a Class-A rehab assignment Monday, reports Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. The Indians are “excited” about the progress Brantley has shown since receiving a cortisone shot June 21, said manager Terry Francona. Brantley underwent November shoulder surgery and didn’t make his 2016 debut until April 24, and he then succumbed to more trouble in that area after appearing in only 11 games. At 52-35, first-place Cleveland has been surprisingly effective without Brantley, who batted a superb .319/.382/.494 with 35 homers and 38 steals in 1,272 trips to the plate from 2014-15. One of many reasons for the Indians’ success is Jose Ramirez, but he’ll lose playing time when Brantley returns, per Hoynes. Ramirez, who has mostly divided his time between third base and left field, has slashed .296/.354/.418 with 26 extra-base hits in 315 PAs.
  • Since 2010, the versatility-driven Cardinals have had no fewer than 20 players advance at a position more challenging or of a different discipline than the one they arrived playing, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch details. Among the group is Double-A backstop Carson Kelly, a 2012 second-round pick who shifted from third base to catcher in 2014 and will partake in Sunday’s Futures Game. “When you look at the modern game, there does seem to be a real value in having a roster with some flexibility,” general manager John Mozeliak told Goold. “Having multi-position players is a benefit.”
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