Mark Buehrle

AL East Notes: Dickey, Schoop, Orioles, Osuna

By Steve Adams | October 21, 2015 at 8:00pm CDT

Though R.A. Dickey’s short start yesterday in a hugely important Game 4 of the ALCS led to quite a bit of negativity among Blue Jays fans, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star opines that his $12MM club option for the 2016 season should still be exercised. Griffin points out that while the reactionary conclusion is to say the team should cut ties with the knuckeballer, that’s irrational. Dickey leads all Major League pitchers in innings dating back to 2012, and he was outstanding in the season’s second half, working to a 2.80 ERA over his final 15 starts. Dickey, in fact, logged a 3.11 ERA across his final 150 1/3 innings, dating back to June 2. Though his strikeout rate in that time (5.5 K/9) leaves plenty to be desired, he also averaged just 2.3 walks per nine innings. Two hundred league-average (or better) innings would be worth the $12MM total of his option, which really boils down to an $11MM decision, since the Jays have to pay him a $1MM buyout even if they’re cutting ties. At one year and $11MM, the Jays should keep Dickey around, especially with David Price, Marco Estrada and Mark Buehrle all potentially departing this winter as free agents.

Buehrle: No Decision Made On Retirement

By Steve Adams | October 15, 2015 at 9:05pm CDT

Though some reports have indicated that left-hander Mark Buehrle may very well call it quits after the 2015 season, the veteran innings eater tells ESPN Chicago’s Doug Padilla that he hasn’t made any decision one way or the other. If anything, Buehrle implied that he could very well suit up for a 17th big league season, as he told Padilla that he’ll listen to offers this winter.

The 36-year-old Buehrle saw his incredible streak of 200-inning seasons come to a close this year, as he finished the year at 198 2/3 innings, denying him 15th consecutive year with 200 or more innings. Though his amazing streak came to an end, Buehrle nonetheless had a quality year on the mound, pitching to a 3.81 ERA with 4.1 K/9, a league-leading 1.5 BB/9 and a solid 45.9 percent ground-ball rate. Buehrle admitted to Padilla that he was indeed bothered by shoulder problems this season. He received a cortisone shot late in the season, though he also said he’d welcome the opportunity to be added to Toronto’s postseason roster and compete once again. Shoulder problems are nothing new, Buehrle said, noting that he’s worked through shoulder pain for much of his career.

One thing Buehrle said he won’t be doing is signing a minor league deal, though I can’t imagine a scenario in which multiple teams aren’t interested in Buehrle on at least a one-year Major League deal. Buehrle will technically be eligible for a qualifying offer, though given his age and shoulder problems late in the year, the Blue Jays probably won’t be keen on risking a $15.8MM price tag on him in order to collect a compensatory draft pick.

Padilla notes that it’s not in Buehrle’s nature to make a flashy departure from the league when he finally does decide to hang it up. Somewhat playfully referring to his status as a former 38th-round draft pick, Buehrle told Padilla, “I snuck into this league, and I’m going to sneak out.”

AL East Notes: Buehrle, Blue Jays, Red Sox

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 2:53pm CDT

On Saturday night, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber gave the Red Sox a reminder of what they’re missing, Timothy Britton of The Providence Journal writes. The reigning AL Cy Young winner is the type of frontline pitcher that Boston will seek this winter and interim manager Torey Lovullo fully understands how important a strong ace is to a ball club.

“When a pitcher of his caliber starts working, getting in a rhythm, and has that special day going, it’s going to be a long day for the offense,” Lovullo said. “He was feeling very good and wasn’t throwing any pitch in the middle of the zone.”

Here’s more from the AL East..

Mark Buehrle’s short start against the Rays today could wind up being his last, an MLB source tells Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM (on Twitter). While the Blue Jays are advancing to the playoffs, Buehrle is not expected to be a part of the team’s postseason roster. Buehrle, 37 in March, tried to go two innings today in order to notch his 15th straight year of 200 innings pitched. However, a rough start and bad defensive play led to Buehrle getting the hook before the end of the first. Heading into today’s game, Buehrle owned a 3.82 ERA with 4.1 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. Since August 1st, however, the veteran has posted a 4.92 ERA and a ghastly 5.67 ERA across his last five outings.
Matt Silverman overhauled the Rays after taking over last year but he expects things to go a little bit differently this winter, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. “We are champing at the bit for a ’normal’ offseason during which we can focus all our efforts on advancing the organization,” Silverman said. “One byproduct from last offseason was the emergence of many new thoughts and ideas, and now is the time to fully explore them.”
John Farrell’s battle with cancer has forged an even stronger bond between him and Lovullo, as Gordon Edes of ESPN.com writes.
On Sunday morning the Red Sox announced that Farrell will be back as manager in 2016. Lovullo, meanwhile, will return as bench coach for 2016 and will not pursue any managerial openings this winter.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Wieters, Buehrle

By Steve Adams | September 28, 2015 at 11:07am CDT

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald looks up and down the Red Sox’ roster in his latest column, attempting to pin who will remain with the club this offseason. While there is, of course, no definitive way of being certain, Silverman notes that much of the bullpen could be on its way out the door, and he also feels that it’s more likely the Sox will focus their efforts on finding a taker for Hanley Ramirez than for Pablo Sandoval. Assuming Boston brings in a top-flight pitcher, he feels one of Henry Owens or Joe Kelly could become trade bait on the strength of strong second halves, and he opines that while there’s no definitive need to trade an outfielder, Jackie Bradley is probably the likeliest of the current starters to be moved if dealing one of the three is necessary to bolster the rotation. Rich Hill seems likely to return, he writes, and he echoes recent reports stating that if all goes well with Clay Buchholz’s final bullpen sessions, the Sox will pick up his $13MM option for the 2016 season.

Here’s more from the AL East…

It once seemed like a foregone conclusion that Matt Wieters would receive a qualifying offer from the Orioles, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com, but the 29-year-old’s sub-par numbers since returning from Tommy John surgery have cast some doubt on the situation. Melewski personally feels the QO is now an unlikely scenario, as Wieters has hit just .251/.291/.395 and may still be feeling some lingering effects of his operation. I’d counter by stating that I can’t envision a Scott-Boras-represented, prime-aged catcher being the first player to ever accept a QO, and at least one crude barometer of his elbow’s health — his 31 percent caught-stealing rate — suggests that it’s holding up fairly well. Wieters hasn’t had the season that he, his agent or the team hoped, but he’d still be a lock to turn down the offer, in my eyes. Whether or not the Orioles make the offer is another story.
Sunday may have marked the last home start that Mark Buehrle will with the Blue Jays, writes Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, but neither Buehrle nor the team is focused on looking that far into the future right now. Davidi notes, though, that there’s a possibility that Buehrle will retire this winter, and some feel that if he does pitch in 2016, his preference is to be closer to his home in Missouri. Whatever the future holds, Davidi continues, the Jays have been rewarded for their acquisition of Buehrle back in 2012; the veteran has not only delivered solid on-field results, he’s served as a mentor for Marcus Stroman and Drew Hutchison. Asked about any emotion he felt Sunday, Buehrle delivered a calm response: “If I announced my retirement at the beginning of the year, then maybe that would be something different, but I still don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ll go home and think about it, and if it is my last start here, then that’s something I’ll be sentimental about on my couch in the off-season.”

Blue Jays Notes: Saunders, Leake, Price, Pillar, Stroman

By Steve Adams | August 18, 2015 at 5:24pm CDT

The Blue Jays have decided to shut down ailing outfielder Michael Saunders for the remainder of the season, manager John Gibbons told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Twitter link). Acquired in a one-for-one swap that sent J.A. Happ to Seattle this winter, Saunders tore the meniscus in his knee when he tripped over a sprinkler head in Spring Training. He was originally projected to miss half the season, but that timetable was accelerated to about six weeks after he had a large portion of the meniscus surgically removed. Saunders returned for nine games in early May but had lingering effects from the surgery. He had fluid drained from the knee and a cortisone shot, but neither proved effective enough to keep him from the disabled list for a second time. Those nine games will be the only ones in which Saunders takes the field in 2015. Uncertainty surrounding Saunders’ knee makes him a non-tender candidate, although he won’t receive much of a raise (if any) on this year’s $2.875MM salary. That makes him a nice low-cost asset with some significant upside; Saunders has always been injury prone but batted .248/.320/.423 with 162-game averages of 19 homers and 18 steals from 2012-14 despite playing his home games at the spacious Safeco Field.

A few other items pertaining to the Blue Jays, who narrowly trail the Yankees for the AL East lead…

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale spoke to a number of Blue Jays players as well as Anthopoulous about the club’s flurry of trade deadline activity. Notably, Nightengale reports that the Jays had a trade for Mike Leake worked out with the Reds prior to acquiring David Price, but talks for Price ignited shortly before the trade with Cincinnati was finalized. Price himself offered an interesting take on the trade deadline, telling Nightengale that he thought he was going to be traded to the Yankees prior to learning of the move to Toronto.
Nightengale asked Anthopoulos about the contrast to last year’s trade deadline, when the Blue Jays had a better record but did not make a move. “It was different last year,” the GM explained. “We had a lot of holes, a lot of guys hurt, and we weren’t going to (deal) without doing some real long-term damage to the organization. If we had done some of those deals, [Kevin] Pillar and [Josh] Donaldson are not on this team right now.” The implication there, of course, is that Pillar was in demand from other clubs, as were some combination of prospects Franklin Barreto, Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman, who went to Oakland in the Donaldson swap.
Mark Buehrle spoke to Nightengale about how he has fallen in love with the Blue Jays and the city of Toronto after initially being upset to be traded there in 2012. “Before I came here, this was a place where I never wanted to play,” Buehrle candidly explained. “…You come here as a visitor, and you have the customs, trying to figure out your phone bills, the money exchange, the temperature readings. But now that I’ve played here, it’s been so great. It’s just such a great place to live and play. They make it so comfortable for you.” Nightengale’s entire article is well worth a read, particularly for Blue Jays fans.
Marcus Stroman will throw a 40-pitch simulated game at the team’s Spring Training complex in Dunedin, Fla., next Monday, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair. If all goes well there, he’ll throw a 55-pitch simulated game on Aug. 29 and then make a rehab outing at Triple-A in early September before Buffalo’s season closes on the seventh. That Triple-A outing will determine whether or not Stroman can return to the club in 2015. GM Alex Anthopoulos shared a generally positive outlook on Stroman’s progress in a message to Blair, saying, “I’ve seen videos of his bullpen sessions, and he looks great.”

Blue Jays Notes: Buehrle, Tolleson, Colabello

By Steve Adams | May 7, 2015 at 4:31pm CDT

Reports from earlier this season suggested that Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle is contemplating retirement following the season, but the highly durable workhorse tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link) that such talk is “kind of ridiculous,” adding that he has yet to make any kind of decision on his future. The 36-year-old Buehrle has struggled in the early stages of the 2015 season as he aims to complete his 15th consecutive 200-inning season.

A few more notes on Major League Baseball’s lone Canadian team…

As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes, the Blue Jays and infielder Steven Tolleson have circumvented the rule that requires outrighted players to remain in the Minors for 10 days before returning to the big league club. While initial reports stated that Tolleson accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, Davidi reports that he instead opted for free agency (as all players that have been previously outrighted are allowed to do) and re-signed on a Minor League deal. Because of that, he will be eligible to rejoin the club whenever the Blue Jays decide they need an additional infielder, which could even be this weekend, according to Davidi.
Outfielder/first baseman Chris Colabello is healthy this season after quietly suffering through nerve damage in his right thumb following his hot start last season with Minnesota, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. However, Colabello was battling for playing time after having clawed his way to the Majors from independent ball and didn’t feel a stint on the DL was something he could afford. Medical tests after the season revealed that there was no tear, and a hand specialist told Colabello that some rest would allow the issue to heal, which the 31-year-old said is indeed the case. Colabello has six hits in eight at-bats and has a window for some playing time as both Michael Saunders and Jose Bautista are less than 100 percent, Chisholm notes.
Colabello spoke with the Toronto Star’s Mark Zwolinski about his unorthodox path to Major League Baseball and the decision to turn down a $1MM offer to play in Korea because he was unwilling to let his dream of making it to the Majors die. He tells Zwolinski that his time with the Twins has taught him that he can’t worry about the future, because doing so ultimately hurt him. Now, says Colabello, he’s simply living in the moment and soaking up another opportunity to be in the Majors: “Every day on a baseball field is the best day for me.”

Heyman’s Latest: Padres, Buehrle, Greene

By Steve Adams | April 17, 2015 at 6:15pm CDT

The Padres declined to part with top outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe in their deal for closer Craig Kimbrel, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. At the same time, the Braves weren’t sold on top catching prospect Austin Hedges and feared that his hitting might not develop enough. Ultimately, that left pitcher Matt Wisler as the key prospect in the deal. Here’s more from Heyman’s column..

Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle is considering retirement following the 2015 season, Heyman reports. While he notes that April retirement ruminations often prove to be inaccurate, there seems to be a strong possibility that the 36-year-old Buehrle will call it quits.
Tigers executives were shocked that they were able to pry right-hander Shane Greene away from the Yankees this winter, Heyman writes. The Yankees considered trading Greene “painful,” but the team was desperate for a shortstop, and New York scouting guru Gene Michael was a strong supporter of Gregorius.
Trading Ryan Howard seems less and less likely for the Phillies each coming day, Heyman writes, noting that one scout said that Howard simply looks “lost” at the plate. Heyman also notes that the stacked starting pitching class on next year’s free agent market may be hindering the Phillies’ ability to move Cole Hamels, as teams are content to wait to bid on the likes of David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann, Jeff Samardzija and others.
The Orioles checked in on Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro at some point late in the spring. Navarro, who has been supplanted as the starting catcher in Toronto by Russell Martin, is hoping to go elsewhere and start. The diplomatic Navarro spoke with MLBTR’s Zach Links last month about the trade talk surrounding him.
One GM who has some interest in Elvis Andrus suggested to Heyman that it’d be hard for the Rangers to trade him now. While Texas has infield depth, most of it is at the lower rungs of their system. Meanwhile, they’ll be without Jurickson Profar for a second straight year.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has one year to go on his contract, but word is that the front office likes him and they mainly want to see progress from their younger players before extending him. It’s said that Gonzalez won’t be judged on his win-loss record, but so far he’s doing pretty well in that department too.
The Red Sox made at least a preliminary offer to Yoenis Cespedes before trading him, which seems to poke a hole in the theory that Boston coaches “hated” the outfielder.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Anthopoulos On Rotation, Relief Market, Robertson

By charliewilmoth and Mark Polishuk | December 8, 2014 at 12:25am CDT

Here’s the latest from Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays, courtesy of a series of tweets from Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, plus a full piece from Davidi…

Rumors that the Jays could be shopping Mark Buehrle or R.A. Dickey are untrue, as Anthopoulos said the club is counting on the two veterans to provide innings. “I’ve read at various times that they’re available in trades or being shopped – completely false. They’ve never come up at any point in time, their names have never come up once, and we need them to be on this team,” the GM said.
The Jays could still be looking to add more outfield depth, particularly one who could provide a stolen base threat. “In a perfect world we’d like to add some speed, obviously a guy that can play centre field but we don’t need that…Ever since we lost [Anthony] Gose, that speed element, we’ve been trying to find that guy,” Anthopoulos said. Davidi opines that Eric Young could be a possible fit for this role.
Several teams have shown interest in Dioner Navarro, who wants a starting catching job that obviously is no longer available in Toronto thanks to Russell Martin’s presence. “If we can find the right deal for Navarro we’ll do that, we find him an everyday job, we’ll do that, but there are scenarios he can still get playing time,” Anthopoulos said, noting that Navarro could see some time at DH with the Jays.
Anthopoulos would “ideally…like to add more than one” reliever to the bullpen, with two new relief arms seemingly the aim. They figure to target relief help, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll find it immediately. Anthopoulos says it’s “telling” that the Blue Jays don’t have any offers out to relievers right now.
Anthopoulos says that the Jays, who have already added Martin, Josh Donaldson and Michael Saunders this offseason, feel good about their position players.
The Jays do not “love” David Robertson or any other player, Anthopoulos says, denying a recent report. Anthopoulos’ comments sound mostly theoretical, however, and perhaps shouldn’t be taken as an indication that the Jays aren’t interested in Robertson.
Anthopoulos would not comment on reports about the future of president and CEO Paul Beeston, but said the situation would not impact the Jays’ ability to sign free agents.

AL Notes: Rays, Indians, Buehrle, Rangers

By Zachary Links and edcreech | October 26, 2014 at 3:45pm CDT

In the wake of yesterday’s report Rays ownership has discussed relocating the franchise to Montreal, Commissioner Bud Selig paused and then declined to answer whether Tampa Bay is a viable major league market, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Selig did say, however, the team needs a replacement for Tropicana Field. “The team has to have a ballpark that makes them competitive,” the commissioner said before Game Four of the World Series. “It doesn’t produce the kind of revenue they need.”

In other news involving the Rays and the American League:

Change is coming to the Rays and the front office and players alike don’t see it as a negative, writes the Tampa Tribune’s Roger Mooney. “Whoever we bring in here, they’re going to set the scheme and how they want to win games and be a successful organization,” said pitcher Alex Cobb. “When that trickles down to the players, all that is is us playing up to our capabilities, and that doesn’t matter who is in the dugout or the front office.” Mooney notes all coaches are under contract for 2015; but, if the new manager is from outside the organization, there may be changes to the staff.
In today’s mailbag, a reader proposed his Indians offseason plan to Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer: trade Jason Kipnis and David Murphy for prospects to free up money, then use that money on Victor Martinez. Hoynes doesn’t see the Tribe trading Kipnis so soon after giving him a $50MM+ extension, despite his bad year. The reader’s ambitious plan also calls for Cleveland to have one of their young outfielders form a platoon with Nick Swisher and, given his $15MM salary, Hoynes believes the team wants to see him in the lineup every day.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe identified Mark Buehrle as a trade candidate earlier today and Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets the Twins have long been admirers of the Blue Jays hurler. Still, his $19MM salary is too high.
If the Jon Daniels-Jeff Banister partnership works in Texas, it will continue a trend in the game of a college educated GM with no professional playing experience working with a baseball lifer as manager, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

Cafardo On Shields, Buehrle, Zobrist, Danks

By Zachary Links | October 26, 2014 at 12:31pm CDT

In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe details the challenges faced by the Braves and Dodgers this offseason. John Hart and Andrew Friedman differ in age, style, and substance, but they face similar roadblocks. Here’s more from Cafardo..

Scouts who have seen pending free agent James Shields over his career feel he’s changed from a fastball/changeup pitcher to a fastball/cutter pitcher. At one time his changeup was unhittable and the cutter, which has now taken over, is hittable at times. Shields is still effective but there is some bewilderment over his repertoire.
Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle will be made available in a trade, though his $19MM contract will be a deterrent unless the Jays are willing to assume part of it. Still, he seems more tradable than knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.
Cafardo expects Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist to draw a lot of trade interest this offseason. In fact, new Dodgers boss Andrew Friedman might want to reunite with him in Los Angeles.
The White Sox would love to move John Danks, but the $28.5MM owed to him over the next two years will be a deterrent to teams. Meanwhile, pitching coach Don Cooper still believes Danks, who has lost some of his heat, could become the second coming of Buehrle and pitch effectively in the mid-to-high 80s.
The Twins haven’t asked Torey Lovullo for a second interview yet, but he also hasn’t been told he’s out of the hunt.

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