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Cardinals Notes: Mozeliak, Martinez, Wacha, Dozier, Gonzales

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Cardinals GM John Mozeliak addressed questions from fans and media during the club’s Winter Warm-Up event this weekend.  Here are some of Mozeliak’s hot stove-related comments, courtesy of Derrick Goold, Jeff Gordon and Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch…

  • After failing to reach agreements with Carlos Martinez or Michael Wacha before Friday’s arbitration filing deadline, the Cardinals won’t pursue further negotiation with either right-hander and will instead go to arbitration hearings.  Martinez asked for $4.25MM while the Cards countered with a $3.9MM offer, and Wacha filed for $3.2MM with a $2.775MM counter from St. Louis.  As Goold notes, this will be the first time the Cardinals have gone to an arbitration hearing with any player in 17 years.  Mozeliak explained that the Cards had explored using the “file-and-trial” strategy in the last couple of years before finally taking the stance during this winter’s crop of arb-eligible players.
  • Martinez and the Cardinals were discussing a multi-year extension this winter, though obviously no agreement was reached before Friday’s deadline.  The hearing “would not put a chill” on the relationship between the two sides, as Goold put it, so talks could very possibly resume during Spring Training once Martinez’s 2017 salary has been decided by the arbiter.  For his part, Martinez said (via an interpreter) that he wants to spend the rest of his career with the team.
  • St. Louis was rather surprisingly linked to Brian Dozier’s name in trade rumors last month, though later reports downplayed the Cardinals’ interest.  Mozeliak said his team’s pursuit of Dozier “was news to me.”  As Goold explains, the connection could have been due to the Cards’ discussions with teams in order to properly gauge market values, rather than an actual interest in acquiring Dozier.  “If [the Cardinals] knew what a top-tier second baseman was going to command on this pricey trade market then they also could evaluate their own players, and they could evaluate their own offers,” Goold writes.
  • Left-hander Marco Gonzales said he is feeling healthy and is hoping to begin the season in the Triple-A rotation.  Gonzales, picked 19th overall by the Cardinals in 2013, quickly reached the bigs to toss 34 2/3 innings for the club in 2014, and injuries have since derailed his progress.  Shoulder problems limited the southpaw to just one game in 2015, and Gonzales missed all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery.

Central Notes: Pirates, Cardinals, Twins

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The Pirates have not discussed an extension with manager Clint Hurdle, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. “How long will I go? I don’t know the shelf life,” says Hurdle. “I just know that I’m still engaged. I love what I do, I love who I’m doing it for, and I love who I’m doing it with. I’ll take it one year at a time.” There’s no indication Hurdle’s job is in danger, and he’s signed through 2017 with an option for 2018. Interestingly, though, Biertempfel notes that whenever Hurdle’s tenure with the Pirates does come to an end, there’s a good chance he could be replaced internally, with new bench coach and former Double-A skipper Tom Prince as a possible replacement. “We hope Clint manages the Pirates for a long time,” says Pirates president Frank Coonelly. “But, like with any other key leadership position, we want to be sure we’re developing successors. We have a bias toward promoting from within when possible, but we also have a bias toward hiring the best person for the job. If we develop our people the right way, they’ll be the best people for the job.” The Bucs already recently did develop another top big-league manager — former Bucs bench coach Jeff Banister was the 2015 AL Manager of the Year with the Rangers. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • Four-year deals for relievers are demonstrably dicey propositions, so it’s unclear why the Cardinals committed to Brett Cecil for that long, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (Insider only). Cecil was worth roughly $7.5MM per year (the annual value of the contract he just received) in 2013 through 2015, but it’s optimistic to expect him to be worth that several years from now, given the uninspiring histories of relievers who’ve received long-term deals (B.J. Ryan, Justin Speier, Joe Nathan, Steve Karsay, and so on).
  • Cardinals fans would be unwise to read too much into the news that the team has mentioned Michael Wacha’s name in trade talks, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes in a series of questions and answers about the Cards’ offseason plans. The Cardinals might simply be trying to gauge Wacha’s value, as they did in previous discussions about pitchers like Shelby Miller and Kyle Lohse.
  • Law praises the Twins for dropping Trevor Plouffe, on the grounds that his underwhelming defense makes him approximately replacement level. Law says he is curious to see whether the Twins will now turn to Miguel Sano at third base, since he is heavy for the position and has not been a good defender at the position throughout his career. (UZR and DRS rated Sano around average in 376 big-league innings at the position in 2016.)
  • The Twins have been in contact with free agent righty Justin Masterson, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. That’s not surprising, since new Twins head of baseball operations Derek Falvey previously worked with Masterson in the Indians organization. Masterson, formerly a solid big-league starter, had an underwhelming 2016 in the Bucs organization while fighting his way back from shoulder trouble, posting a 4.85 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 59 1/3 innings covering two minor league stops.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Yanks, Cubs, Rays, Padres, Cardinals, Rangers

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With their payroll flexibility increasing, their farm system among the majors’ elite and their attendance down, the Yankees could be in position to make major splashes, observes FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Even if New York signs closer Aroldis Chapman and designated hitter/outfielder Carlos Beltran, which it’s interested in doing, general manager Brian Cashman might not stop there. Picking up another reliever to team with Chapman and Dellin Betances would become possible, writes Rosenthal, who adds that the Yankees could also improve their pitching by using their prospect pool to acquire a top-tier starter via trade. The Yankees do have Tyler Clippard on hand as an accomplished option capable of setting up Betances and Chapman, though, and Rosenthal concedes that the Bombers could decide this offseason is too early to surrender a haul for a starter.

More from Rosenthal:

  • The Cubs have done background work on Kenley Jansen, arguably the top free agent closer, but it doesn’t appear they’re seriously pursuing him, major league sources told Rosenthal. The World Series champions don’t want to overspend on a closer because it could preclude them from making a big signing in the near future (Japanese superstar Shohei Otani, for instance), notes Rosenthal. That would seemingly rule out the Cubs re-signing Chapman, who joins Jansen as one of the two best relievers available. MLBTR projects record contracts for both Jansen and Chapman, and Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer has already indicated that the team isn’t necessarily looking to splurge on a reliever.
  • The Rays are primed to base their 2017 approach on which starting pitcher they trade, writes Rosenthal. If the Rays deal right-hander Alex Cobb or southpaw Drew Smyly, both of whom have two or fewer years of team control remaining, they’re likely to make an attempt at competing next season. On the other hand, shipping righties Chris Archer (five years of team control) or Jake Odorizzi (three) out would signal a rebuild. Even if Tampa Bay chooses the latter route, it’s still unlikely to move third baseman Evan Longoria, the longtime face of the franchise. Longoria has demonstrated remarkable durability since 2013, missing just six games, and has Rays officials convinced he could be part of winning Tampa Bay teams down the line. The 31-year-old is controllable through the 2023 season.
  • The Padres are high on first baseman Wil Myers and won’t trade him unless they’re “blown away” by an offer, sources informed Rosenthal. San Diego and Myers are in the early stages of long-term extension talks, so the plan is to retain the soon-to-be 26-year-old for the long haul. Myers, a 2016 All-Star who slashed .259/.336/.461 with 28 home runs and 28 steals in 676 plate appearances, is set to make his first of as many as three arbitration trips.
  • The Cardinals have floated right-hander Michael Wacha’s name in trade talks, according to Rosenthal, who’s skeptical that the club would receive much in return for the 25-year-old because of his injury issues. Wacha threw 181 1/3 innings in 2015, but he missed significant time each of the two seasons in between because of shoulder troubles. He was terrific from 2013-15, recording a 3.21 ERA, 7.95 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 in 353 frames, though he posted a bloated ERA (5.09) in 138 innings this past season. While Wacha’s strikeout and walk rates of 7.43 and 2.93 per nine were close to previous norms (he also registered a career-high ground-ball rate of 46.6 percent), it’s possible the Cardinals will move him to the bullpen next season in his first of three arb-eligible campaigns.
  • The Rangers had interest in right-hander Edinson Volquez before reaching an agreement Friday with fellow righty Andrew Cashner, per Rosenthal. Volquez began his career with the Rangers, who signed him as an international free agent in 2001, and went to Cincinnati in 2007 in the trade that brought outfielder and eventual five-time All-Star/2010 American League MVP Josh Hamilton to Texas.

Cardinals Eyeing New Role For Trevor Rosenthal

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The Cardinals intend to stretch out former closer Trevor Rosenthal as a starter, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. While it seems he’ll have at least some chance of earning a rotation spot, it may be that a more flexible relief role could be the end result of the experiment.

Rosenthal has long been seen as a candidate to attempt a return to starting, but it has never really been pursued since he held such a critical role in the Cards’ pen. But skyrocketing walk rates and some injuries pushed Rosenthal out of the ninth inning last year, and Seung Hwan Oh has now firmly taken the reins as the closer. Still, St. Louis has a lot riding on Rosenthal, who MLBTR projects to earn $6.3MM in arbitration.

“It terms of role we’re going to see how things go, but we’re open to anything,” GM John Mozeliak says of Rosenthal. “It was something that he has had a desire to do. As we were looking at all the different moving pieces it doesn’t hurt to have an extra arm, and in the past we’ve felt like an extra arm would help. As you start to think about bullpen structure and multiple innings it makes sense to have people prepared to do more than just a one-inning stint.”

Rosenthal certainly has the high-octane stuff to possibly feature in the kind of flexible, sometimes multi-inning role in which Andrew Miller flourished for the Indians. Michael Wacha, too, could evolve into that kind of weapon for the Cards, Goold notes, even if the team hopes he’ll be prepared to take a full starter’s load in 2017. With at least five other viable rotation candidates, though, perhaps a modified role could be a way to receive value from Wacha while allowing him to build his strength and return to his prior form.

It’s notable, too, that the Cards have yet another theoretical option for a multi-inning role that’s more than just long relief. Jaime Garcia had his share of struggles last year, as did Wacha, but has produced top-tier results when healthy in the recent past. Of course, his balky shoulder may make flexible relief usage a dicey proposition. Garcia could still be flipped in a trade, but the team already exercised his option and seems currently slated to utilize him in some kind of relief capacity (assuming, at least, that Lance Lynn returns healthy next spring).

Quick Hits: McCann, Cards’ Pen, Salazar, Rea

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We’ve long heard chatter about a possible reunion between Yankees catcher Brian McCann and the Braves, and MLB.com’s Mark Bowman provides some hints about where things stand. New York has asked for righty Mike Foltynewicz or center fielder Ender Inciarte to part with the veteran receiver, which certainly sounds like a non-starter from here. An arrangement could yet make sense, Bowman writes, but Atlanta won’t include either of those two players.

Here are a few more notes from around the game:

  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch takes a long look at the question of whether the Cardinals can mimic some of the Indians’ success in finding a top-notch relief pitcher to throw in a flexible capacity, as Andrew Miller has done for Cleveland. Goold wonders whether either Trevor Rosenthal or Michael Wacha might be positioned to function in the role that he dubs the “fixer.”
  • Indians righty Danny Salazar may not just be a part of the World Series roster; he may be able to start. Manager Terry Francona wouldn’t rule out that possibility to reporters including Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. Francona has cast doubt previously on Salazar returning at all, noting that he had yet to throw at full capacity; this time, though, he says the prized righty was able to ramp up his arm speed and “threw the ball really well.” A three-inning sim game this weekend may decide Salazar’s postseason fate.
  • The Padres are still finding cause to hope that righty Colin Rea can stave off Tommy John surgery, which he has sought to do through a combination of platelet-rich plasma treatment and rehab/rest. As AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets, the team is deciding just how to give him some postseason pitching work to help make a final decision. Rea could appear in the Arizona Fall League, take part in live BP, or even head out for a partial winter ball run. Regardless, Rea is set to throw competitively in about three weeks’ time.

Quick Hits: De La Rosa, Plouffe, Wacha, Cards CF, Rothschild

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All indications are that Jorge De La Rosa’s nine-year run with the Rockies is at an end. The southpaw, who largely thrived at Coors Field, spoke with MLB.com’s Thomas Harding about the possibility that he’ll be looking for a new organization this winter. De La Rosa, 35, ended the year with a 5.51 ERA and 7.3 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. He also allowed 10.5 basehits per nine in what was his worst season in Colorado (excepting a truncated 2012). De La Rosa spoke well of his time with the Rockies and did not rule out a return, while noting that he battled through health and mechanical issues this year. He added that he “liked” pitching out of the bullpen, though he added that he still believes he can succeed as a starter. It remains to be seen how the market will view the southpaw, and whether he’ll be pursued in some capacity by his long-time organization, but there figures to be a fair bit of interest in a pitcher who has proven able to supply solid innings in a tough pitching environment.

  • There are also questions moving forward for Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe, though he remains under Minnesota’s control for one more year. As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports, the 30-year-old acknowledged that his future with the organization is uncertain. Plouffe dealt with injuries for much of the year, which he says was especially problematic because he tried to rush a return. With a $7.25MM base salary heading into a final run at arbitration, where he’ll tote a .260/.303/.420 batting line and a dozen homers over 344 plate appearances, Plouffe could be non-tendered or perhaps tendered and traded by a Twins team that suffered through an abysmal 2016 campaign.
  • The Cardinals still view Michael Wacha as a starter, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports, though that’s in greater question than ever after an injury-riddled 2016 season that was easily his worst as a big leaguer. Skipper Mike Matheny suggests that Wacha’s shoulder health could be improved by building up his upper-body strength. “As you start to look for some compensation and where there might be weaknesses, how can he build up some parts of his body muscularly that will help support maybe the arm and the demand that comes with being a starting pitcher?” asked Matheny. “When his health is right, you’re seeing the right arm action. The next step is going to be the one that’s missing right now. That’s consistency in the strike zone. He’s a rare talent that we need to figure out how to get into a consistent spot.”
  • Sticking with the Cardinals, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at some options for the team in center field — which increasingly seems to be a target area this winter. He runs through a variety of trade and free agent targets, some of whom seem more achievable than others. At this stage, it’s tough to handicap from the outside, though GM John Mozeliak has certainly hinted that defense will be a priority in the search.
  • Pitching coach Larry Rothschild will be back with the Yankees for his seventh year with the organization, per a club announcement. He had been the only member of the coaching staff who had yet to agree to terms with the team to return. With his re-signing, Joe Girardi and the rest of the uniformed staff are all set to repeat in 2017.

Cardinals Activate Michael Wacha For Pen Duty, Consider Rotation Change

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The Cardinals have activated righty Michael Wacha today, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. While that represents a welcome return, he will not slot into his accustomed spot in the rotation. After missing over a month with shoulder issues, there simply isn’t time for him to build up to a full workload.

[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]

When Wacha moves into the pen, he may soon find company from another starting stalwart. According to ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon, St. Louis is still undecided whether to allow Jaime Garcia to take the ball when he is next scheduled. The 30-year-old lefty has struggled to a 4.65 ERA over 164 2/3 innings on the year, and has been hit hard particularly of late.

Instead, the Cards may turn to young righty Alex Reyes, who continues to impress in multiple roles. Whether functioning as a single-inning reliever, starting, or taking a long relief role, Reyes has racked up the strikeouts (34 in 28 innings) and kept runs off the board (1.29 ERA). After opening the year with a suspension for marijuana use, Reyes has still yet to hit 100 frames — a fair bit shy of his prior career-high of 116 1/3. While he also threw in extended spring training, St. Louis ought to have some flexibility in utilizing him without concern of over-use.

Though the team certainly faces some tough decisions, it seems at least two starters will end up in the pen. That could come in handy down the stretch and (the team hopes) in the postseason, giving skipper Mike Matheny the ability to piggyback starters, get multiple quality relief innings, and generally stay flexible in managing his pitchers’ workloads.

Regarding Garcia, it’s tempting to wonder whether a potential move out of the rotation could be the beginning of the end of his time with the Cardinals. His $12MM club option isn’t exactly a slam dunk given his rough year and past injury issues, though a barren market for starting pitching likely makes that a reasonable value. Even if it is picked up, St. Louis could conceivably market the talented lefty.

Cardinals Place Michael Wacha On DL, Promote Alex Reyes

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The Cardinals announced today that they’ve placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day disabled list due to inflammation in his right shoulder and purchased the contract of top prospect Alex Reyes to fill Wacha’s spot on the roster. Brayan Pena has been transferred to the 60-day DL in order to clear a 40-man spot for Reyes. Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that Reyes will pitch out of the bullpen for the Cardinals, so he won’t be stepping directly into Wacha’s now-vacant spot in the starting five.

Reyes, 21, rates as one of the game’s top overall pitching prospects in the eyes of Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN thanks largely to a fastball that touches triple digits, a very highly regarded curveball and a solid third offering in his changeup. He introduced himself to a national audience when he appeared in this summer’s Futures Game and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. His biggest fault, to this point, has been a lack of control that has led him to average 4.6 walks per nine innings pitched throughout his minor league career. This season, his first at Triple-A, has been somewhat of a struggle, as Reyes has posted a 4.96 ERA with 12.8 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 43.2 percent ground-ball rate in 14 starts.

The Cardinals will control Reyes through at least the 2022 season via the arbitration process, and the earliest he’d be eligible for arbitration right now would be upon completion of the 2019 season, as the remaining 54 days of service time that he can accrue will leave him well shy of Super Two status.

Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM first tweeted that Reyes had been promoted.

Central Notes: Gee, Tigers, Wacha

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Right-hander Dillon Gee has an opt-out clause in his contract that will allow him to become a free agent if he is not added to the 40-man roster tomorrow, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. (FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported the March 15 date back in December.) According to Flanagan, the Royals have been impressed by Gee’s early results as well as his bullpen sessions, making him a good bet to land with the club. Gee, 29, has yielded a run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts thus far in camp and could be in line for a bullpen role, where he’d also serve as rotation depth, per Flanagan. The 29-year-old’s contract contains a $2MM base salary and contains $700K worth of incentives based on relief appearances and $3.3MM worth of incentives tied to rotation work. Though he struggled through a down season last year in the Majors and at Triple-A, Gee has a track record as a dependable starter, having pitched to a 3.91 ERA in 639 2/3 innings with the Mets from 2010-14. As Flanagan points out, the Royals have an easy 40-man move to accommodate Gee, should they choose, as lefty Mike Minor can be transferred to the 60-day DL. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • The transition from Dave Dombrowski to Al Avila in the Tigers’ front office last year was completed in secret, but that hasn’t stopped Dombrowski from remaining friends, Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. In early August, Avila received a phone call from owner Mike Ilitch, and Avila (after receiving a host of assurances that the Tigers would be able to commit more heavily to analytics, scouting and the international market) agreed to take the Tigers’ GM job during that conversation, three days before Ilitch fired Dombrowski. The situation was “awkward,”as both Dombrowski and Avila describe it — Avila had been Dombrowski’s assistant GM, and the two had worked together for decades in both the Tigers and Marlins organizations. Still, the two remain friendly. “I’€™m really happy for him,” Dombrowski says. “He’€™s always worked hard, very knowledgeable, and has been very loyal. I know it was awkward, but I’™m glad he got this opportunity.”
  • Cardinals starter Michael Wacha makes an interesting extension candidate, writes Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Frederickson quotes Wacha saying that he isn’t aware of any extension discussions. It’s easy to imagine why there might be mutual interest in a deal, though — an extension could potentially keep Wacha in St. Louis longer, and, as Frederickson implies, would begin to increase in cost just as the Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia deals are set to expire. Of course, long-term deals for pitchers can be risky (Garcia’s long-term deal, for example, hasn’t gone perfectly), and Wacha has been in the league long enough that an extension would likely require a fairly significant commitment. The last starting pitcher with between two and three years of service time to receive an extension was Corey Kluber, who got $38.5MM guaranteed from the Indians following his 2014 Cy Young season.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Cherington, Schwarber

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The Brewers have told other teams that they’re open to hearing offers for anyone on their roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports in his latest Insider-only column.  As Olney notes, this could make Jonathan Lucroy a potential trade candidate this winter, though obviously, “only in the right deal.”  Lucroy’s name was mentioned in several trade rumors last summer since Milwaukee fell out of the pennant race so soon, though the Crew reportedly had no interest in dealing the catcher.  New GM David Stearns could have a different perspective, however.  In his recent Brewers Offseason Outlook piece, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth speculated about a possibly Lucroy trade, and also suggested that the club might wait for a midseason deal to allow Lucroy to rebuild some value after an injury-plagued and subpar 2015 campaign.

Here’s some more from the NL Central…

  • Also from Olney’s post, he reports that the Pirates are in “informal discussions” with Ben Cherington about a possible front office job.  Since stepping down as Boston’s general manager last summer, Cherington reportedly declined opportunities to interview for both the Mariners and Phillies GM jobs out of a desire to take some time away from the game.  It’s fair to speculate that a position working under his friend Neal Huntington could be more attractive to Cherington than a return to the full-time grind of a GM position.
  • Could the Cubs shop Kyle Schwarber this offseason?  Grantland’s Ben Lindbergh explores the possibility, noting that the defensively-challenged Schwarber would be a good fit as an American League DH.  The Rays and Indians are two clubs with a hole at DH and the young arms to offer the Cubs, who are openly looking to add pitching.  While scouts are mixed at best about Schwarber’s ability to play catcher or left field over the long term, a trade may be unlikely given Schwarber’s already-impressive hitting potential.  “He’s not attainable now,” one AL scout tells Lindbergh.  “He still has a chance to hit .285 with 40 bombs. They’d be insane to trade that.”  I tend to agree with the AL scout; Chicago would need a massive return to even consider moving Schwarber’s bat.
  • Jason McLeod, Cubs senior VP of player development and amateur scouting, spoke to Fangraphs’ David Laurila about a couple of Cardinals players who were well-liked by the Cubs and Red Sox when McLeod was running the drafts for those clubs in 2012 and 2008, respectively.  “A lot of the teams that passed up on Michael Wacha, us included, probably kicked themselves,” McLeod said.  St. Louis took Wacha with the 19th overall pick of the first round, while the Cubs (picking sixth) instead chose Albert Almora, who is a well-regarded 21-year-old prospect but has yet to play beyond the Double-A level.  For Boston in 2008, Lance Lynn was “a guy we liked quite a bit; he was high up on our board.”  The Sox instead took Casey Kelly with the 30th overall pick, leaving Lynn to be drafted by the Cards 39th overall.
  • Also from Laurila’s piece, he cites the Reds’ trade of Mat Latos to the Marlins for Anthony DeSclafani (and minor league Chad Wallach) as perhaps “the best under-the-radar trade of last offseason.”  DeSclafani posted a 4.05 ERA, 2.75 K/BB rate and 7.4 K/9 over 184 2/3 innings in his rookie season, and looks to have solidly earned himself a spot in Cincinnati rotation.
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