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Tim Beckham Receives 80-Game PED Suspension

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Mariners infielder Tim Beckham has been suspended for eighty games under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, according to a league announcement. The league says that Beckham tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Stanozolol.

The 29-year-old Beckham was the first overall pick of the 2008 draft. He joined the Seattle organization on a one-year, $1.75MM contract over the winter after struggling last season with the Orioles.

In a statement, Beckham places the blame on a “tainted” substance he was given by “a trusted source.” (Twitter link via MLBPA.) But his appeal to the league was already considered and rejected.

Beckham had been in the midst of a solid bounceback season. He has continued to struggle to reach base consistently, but made up for that with sufficient pop to produce at a league-average rate. Over 328 plate appearances in Seattle, he owns a .237/.293/.461 slash with 15 home runs.

It had seemed that Beckham was a candidate to be traded at the deadline — or, perhaps, to move via waiver claim this month. Instead, he’ll spend the rest of the year on the restricted list and seek a new chance next year. Beckham will still have to sit out for 32 games to begin the 2020 season.

Mariners Reportedly Looking To Sell

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TODAY: The Mariners “have shown a willingness to eat significant money in” trades, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets, and “almost every veteran on their roster” is available.  We’ve seen the first instance of this earlier today, as Seattle covered $18MM of the approximately $21.5MM remaining on Jay Bruce’s contract in trading Bruce to the Phillies.

SATURDAY: The Mariners, who’ve gone a staggering 12-33 after a 13-2 start in which the club made its fans forget the cavernous dimensions of T-Mobile Park, are “deep in sell mode,” tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who lists Edwin Encarnacion, Ryon Healy, Dee Gordon, Mike Leake and Tim Beckham among the players the club is “talking” about.

None in the group seem likely to net a significant return – the 36-year-old Encarnacion may be the most attractive piece, despite the some $18MM remaining on his contract – though it’s possible GM Jerry Dipoto would simply like to clear space for younger players. One feather in Encarnacion’s (and the Mariners’) cap is his renewed vigor in the infield: the one-time third-baseman is on pace for the most first-base innings in his fifteen-year career, and has thus far been surprisingly adequate at the position, per both DRS and UZR. The aging slugger, who’s now just seven homers shy of 400 for his career, seemed on a clear DH-only trajectory after two seasons in Cleveland where he totaled just 388 innings at the position, but has nearly eclipsed that mark in just two short months in Seattle. The three-time all-star’s on pace for nearly 3.0 fWAR in ’19, with a hard-hit rate hovering around his peak average, though teams aren’t typically clamoring for 1B/DHs in the rental market, even one with a track record as glowing as Edwin’s.

Thirty-one year-old Gordon, twice an all-star earlier in his career, is still owed approximately $22MM on his deal through 2020, and may indeed have negative surplus value at this point. After a poor 2018 showing, in which the second baseman-turned-center-fielder posted 0.1 fWAR on the back of a 77 wRC+ and hard-to-fathom 1.5% BB rate, the again infielder hasn’t been much better this year, posting just a .281/.310/.369 line (85 wRC+) with a stolen-base rate that doesn’t even begin to approach the standard he’d set from 2014-17. It’s true that Gordon’s ground-ball rate has dropped below 50% for the first time in his career, and that he’s flashing a bit more power than usual, but it’s hard to foresee this profile netting much more than a bit of salary relief.

Mix-and-match artist Leake, now 31 and with over 1,700 big-league innings under his belt, is still owed upwards of $30MM on his deal that extends through 2020 and is currently in midst of the worst season of his career. Leake’s homer rate has skyrocketed to an a galactical 2.23 per nine, thanks mostly to a career-low grounder rate and an average fastball velocity that’s down over four MPH from his 2015 peak of 93.1. FanGraphs places Leake’s value at below replacement-level this season, and peripheral markers aren’t encouraged. His value would seem to mirror Gordon’s closely.

Former number-one overall pick Beckham appeared to have finally turned the corner this season after an early-season hot streak that catapulted him to the top of the league’s leaders in nearly every relevant statistical category. Still sporting an impressive 119 wRC+, Beckham’s secondary markers appear much the same as in years past: his 6.3% walk rate aligns exactly with his career total, and the 30% K rate is actually higher than the standard he’d set in the four years previous. Beckham’s .342 wOBA, on the strength of a middling 32% hard-hit rate, isn’t sustainable, per Statcast, who estimates his true (expected) wOBA title at just .312. The 29-year-old’s defense, too, has been far less than stellar this season, with DRS pegging him at a particularly cruel -7 runs saved already. He’s in his second-to-last year of arbitration, and may yet be a utility target for some contending clubs, but not one that’s likely to yield a blue-chipper in return.

Lesser names, like Healy, Wade LeBlanc, Hunter Strickland, and Domingo Santana, whose 119 wRC+ has been almost entirely offset by poor corner defense, aren’t likely to be coveted on the market. Third baseman Kyle Seager has been hurt for much of the early season, and recent-years returns are probably enough for interested teams to leave the some $50MM remaining on his deal behind.

If Dipoto is feeling particularly frisky, the team could try dangling each of Daniel Vogelbach, Mitch Haniger, Marco Gonzales, and Omar Narvaez to interested teams, though it seems the club is set on contending in the near future, and each of those players are controlled through at least the 2022 season.

Mariners To Sign Tim Beckham

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The Mariners have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent infielder Tim Beckham, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Wasserman client will earn a $1.75MM base salary and can take home another $250K worth of incentives as part of the deal.

Tim Beckham | Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Beckham, non-tendered by the Orioles earlier this winter, fits the mold described by Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto recently when he said he expected to sign a “middle-of-the-infield stabilizer” to provide some protection for trade acquisition J.P. Crawford.

Crawford, acquired in the trade that sent Jean Segura to the Phillies, still figures to get the opportunity to prove that he can be the Mariners’ long-term answer at shortstop, but by adding Beckham, the Mariners are bringing in an experienced player to hold down the position in the event that Crawford struggles early and requires additional minor league time to get up to speed. It’s worth noting that Crawford has just over a full year of Major League service (one year, 20 days), so if the Mariners don’t give him 152 days of Major League service in 2019, he won’t reach a full second year of service and will thus be controlled for a full extra season. There’s no indication that Seattle plans to deliberately operate in that manner, but it’ll be an interesting scenario to watch unfold.

Beckham, 29 later this month, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Rays back in the 2008 draft. He’s obviously been unable to live up to that lofty billing to this point in his career, but he did post a quality .269/.320/.449 batting line with 27 home runs, 30 doubles and 10 triples in 790 plate appearances between the Rays and Orioles from 2016-17. Strikeouts were an ongoing issue for Beckham during that time, though, as he punched out in more than 30 percent of his plate appearances in that time.

Beckham managed to curtail those strikeout woes substantially in 2018, dropping his strikeout rate to 24.9 percent. However, his overall production at the plate dissipated as well; he batted just .230/.287/.374 in Baltimore last season and saw his hard-hit rate fell by roughly five percent, per Statcast. Even if Beckham can’t replicate his 2016-17 production (and/or Crawford quickly takes to the everyday shortstop role), his right-handed bat could pair nicely with the left-handed-hitting Kyle Seager at third base.

Because he has four years, 134 days of Major League service time, Beckham wouldn’t qualify as a free agent next winter even if he spends the entire season on the Mariners’ roster. He’d remain arbitration-eligible for one final season, thus making him a potential multi-year option in Seattle, even if he ultimately settles into a platoon or utility role.

Orioles Non-Tender Tim Beckham, Caleb Joseph

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The Orioles announced that shortstop Tim Beckham and catcher Caleb Joseph have been non-tendered. Both are heading onto the open market; the former had projected to earn a $4.3MM salary, the latter $1.7MM.

Beckham seemed to have turned a corner when he landed with the O’s last year, but he fell back to earn in 2018. Over 402 plate appearances, he slashed just .230/.287/.374 and did not grade well at short. As for Joseph, he has bounced up and down with the bat in recent years but turned in a miserable .219/.254/.321 season last year.

AL East Notes: Rays, Cron, O’s, Beckham

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Rumblings on a pair of American League East clubs…

  • It seems the Rays’ main offseason objective is to acquire a right-handed power hitter they can pencil into the middle of their order, suggests the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin, who names Nelson Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, Josh Donaldson and ex-Ray Wilson Ramos as free agents who would qualify. Topkin adds that it continues to appear as if Tampa Bay will move on without righty-swinging first baseman C.J. Cron, who belted 30 home runs in 2018. The Rays could trade Cron prior to the Nov. 30 non-tender deadline, Topkin observes. Even though Cron performed well this past season and will be affordable in 2019 (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $5.2MM salary), the Rays want a more “feared” hitter, according to Topkin.
  • More from Topkin, who also lists a righty-hitting catcher, a reliever to replace free agent Sergio Romo and “possibly a starter” on the Rays’ offseason wish list. Topkin wonders if the Rays will pursue free-agent catcher Robinson Chirinos, whom the Rangers surprisingly cut ties with Friday. The 34-year-old already has one stint with the Rays under his belt, as they acquired him from the Cubs in a 2011 blockbuster which saw Matt Garza and Chris Archer, among others, change teams. Chirinos ultimately racked up just 60 PAs with the Rays, who dealt him to Texas in 2013. It was an unheralded move at the time, but Chirinos turned into a quality offensive backstop as a Ranger, posting a .768 OPS in 1,546 PAs with the club.
  • Orioles infielder Tim Beckham and catcher Caleb Joseph are “at risk” of being non-tendered before the deadline, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. Swartz projects Beckham to rake in $4.3MM via arbitration, and that would’ve been a reasonable sum had the 28-year-old looked something like his 2017 self this past season. Beckham instead took several steps backward, hitting .230/.287/.374 (79 wRC+) with minus-0.5 fWAR in 402 plate appearances. Joseph, who’s projected to earn $1.7MM, was also ineffective, evidenced by a meager .219/.254/.321 line (54 wRC+) in 280 trips to the plate. Moreover, the 32-year-old was among the majors’ worst defensive catchers in 2018, per Baseball Prospectus.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Jones, Orioles, Sanchez, Blue Jays

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It’s still early in the season relative to the league’s non-waiver trade deadline at the end of July, so with the disclaimer that trade are still subject to change before then, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports that the Red Sox “have an eye on” adding a reliever and a right-handed hitter to complement the team. Drellich points out that these types of additions would not mean “mortgaging” the team’s already-thin farm system, as the addition of a righty-bat would likely be an infielder to balance out the club’s lefty-heavy group. He also cites some troubling statistics about the usage and performance of pinch-hitters for the club, signaling that a backup plan for Dustin Pedroia could help the team in matchup situations. The veteran was seen as likely to resume baseball activities shortly after returning to the DL on June 2nd, but still has yet to be cleared for such activities three weeks later.

Other news and notes from around a topheavy AL East division…

  • Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun takes a look at the situation of Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, who’s enjoying one of his best calendar months in years. Per Meoli, Jones isn’t concerned about all the resulting trade chatter surrounding him. “I can’t let it bother me. I’m in a different part of my life to where I’m not anticipating a $150 million, $200 million, $300 million offer this offseason. I’m more just, ’Let me go be a pro, do what I do best,’ and that’s play the game hard and live with the result. All the other stuff, all the projections and this and that, that’s all whatever.” Notably, Jones is well aware that he “holds all the cards” in regards to where (or if) he’s traded, as the veteran’s been with the O’s long enough to qualify for ten-and-five rights.
  • Speaking of the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com takes a look at what the club’s infield (and roster) could look like post-Machado, if and when the veteran is shipped to another club. Kubatko notes that where fellow infielder Tim Beckham plays will depend upon whether or not the O’s get a major-league ready shortstop as part of the return for their superstar (if the don’t, Beckham seems likely to take over the position). In addition to all this speculation, Kubatko adds that Danny Valencia could see time at third in that case, but has also played himself into potential trade-chip status.
  • Young Blue Jays hurler Aaron Sanchez left last night’s game with a finger contusion, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports, noting that his departure throws a question mark into Toronto’s rotation. It’s not clear at this juncture whether Sanchez’ current finger issue is in any way related to the blister-related issues that limited him to just 36 innings last season, though reports of a contusion would seem to make that improbable. With so many moving parts on the Jays’ pitching staff, the Davidi wonders how the rotation alignment will shake out; there’s been some suggestion that Jaime Garcia could move to the bullpen with Marcus Stroman and Sam Gaviglio set to return from the DL and paternity list soon, respectively.

Orioles Claim Renato Nunez From Rangers

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The Orioles have claimed infielder/outfielder Renato Nunez off waivers from the Rangers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. In a corresponding move, Baltimore transferred infielder Tim Beckham to the 60-day DL.

Nunez lost his spot with the Rangers when they designated him on Friday. The 24-year-old logged 41 appearances with the club prior to then and batted just .167/.244/.278. He offered similar production from 2016-17 in Oakland (.167/.194/.267 in 31 PAs), which jettisoned him in mid-April. Nunez has been far better at Triple-A, where he owns a .242/.301/.460 line in 1,113 PAs, and is capable of lining up in the corners.

Most of Nunez’s professional action has come at third base, where the Orioles have been without Beckham for a few weeks. Beckham underwent core muscle surgery April 26 and is in the early stages of what will be at least a six-week recovery, making his shift to the 60-day DL a logical move for the Orioles. This has been a year to forget thus far for Beckham, who slashed .179/.247/.262 in 93 PAs before landing on the shelf. Beckham’s fall from grace since last season, when he was an effective piece for Baltimore after it acquired him from Tampa Bay in July, has been one of many clear causes for the Orioles’ 12-28 start.

Tim Beckham Out At Least Six Weeks Following Core Muscle Surgery

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Orioles third baseman Tim Beckham will be out of action for at least the next six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery, the team told reporters (Twitter links via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com). Beckham was placed on the DL yesterday and was said at the time to be considering surgery as an option.

The injury will leave the O’s quite shorthanded in the infield, as Jonathan Schoop is also on the shelf. Ghiroli, though, notes that Schoop is headed to extended Spring Training following the team’s homestand and could begin playing in rehab games next week. Mark Trumbo, too, is nearing a return and could join the team on Tuesday.

[Related: Baltimore Orioles depth chart]

It’s been a dismal start to the season for the 28-year-old Beckham, who is hitting just .179/.247/.262 with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate. Baltimore had high hopes for Beckham, who looked like a transformed player after being acquired just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline last season. Beckham batted .394/.417/.646 in the month of August and looked to have altered his approach at the plate, as he also boasted a dramatically reduced 18.9 strikeout percent that month. The punchouts came back in September, though, as Beckham’s production cratered. He’s now carrying a .179/.251/.306 line through 191 PAs dating back to Sept. 1.

With Beckham and Schoop sidelined, the O’s figure to deploy Danny Valencia at third base, with Luis Sardinas and Jace Peterson on hand as options at second base and also at third when Valencia is out of the lineup.

Tim Beckham Placed On 10-Day DL, Considering Surgery

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Orioles infielder Tim Beckham is going to the 10-day DL with a groin injury, the Orioles announced. Of perhaps greater concern, he’s considering whether to undergo surgery to address the issue, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli was among those to tweet.

The precise nature of the injury and potential procedure aren’t known. It’s also therefore impossible to guess just how long he’ll likely miss whether he does or does not go under the knife.

Beckham, the former first overall draft pick, turned in a strong second half in 2017 after arriving via trade. Entering the season, he was entrusted with regular duties at third base. Beckham has spent most of his career in the middle infield, making him all the more important to a Baltimore roster that is currently missing Jonathan Schoop.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well for Beckham thus far in 2018. He’s carrying a .179/.247/.262 slash with one home run and 28 strikeouts in his 93 plate appearances. Though he has graded well at third and on the bases, that’s not enough to sugarcoat the struggles at the plate. Indeed, while Beckham has perhaps been a bit unfortunate to carry a .250 batting average on balls in play, Statcast credits him with only a .254 xwOBA, suggesting the poor results have largely been deserved.

Until Beckham and/or Schoop make it back, they’ll be fairly short-handed in the infield. It seems that Luis Sardinas, Danny Valencia, and Jace Peterson will carry the burden at second and third for the time being. That’s hardly an optimal trio at those two positions.

Orioles To Move Manny Machado To Shortstop

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After weeks of speculation, Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed today to fans and reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) that Manny Machado would be moving from third base to shortstop, with Tim Beckham shifting over to the hot corner.  This will at least be the club’s setup going into Spring Training, Showalter specified, though plans could still change down the road.

News broke in November that Machado was interested in a move back to his original position, despite developing into one of baseball’s best defensive players as a third baseman.  Machado has played just 433 big league innings at shortstop over his six-year career, with the bulk of that action coming in 2016 (380 innings) when he filled in for the injured J.J. Hardy.  Machado posted strong metrics that year (5.4 UZR/150, +3 Defensive Runs Saved) as a shortstop, though it’s hard to extrapolate from that small sample size how Machado could fare at the position over the long term.

Given that Machado is just a year away from free agency, it can’t be ignored that the position change widens Machado’s potential market.  Proving that he can handle shortstop would only raises Machado’s already sky-high value heading into the 2018-19 offeason.  While his first preference would seemingly be to find a team that would allow him to continue at short, Machado could also keep third base-needy teams in the picture or even explore scenarios that would see him play every day at one of the two positions.

The position change also has significant 2018 implications for the Orioles, who now could look to complement the right-handed hitting Beckham with a left-handed platoon partner at third.  Given how Beckham impressed in his first month in an O’s uniform, however, the team might want to give him a clear shot at the everyday job.  Executive VP Dan Duquette mentioned (via Kubatko) that the Orioles had been talking to long-time utilityman Ryan Flaherty about a possible return; such an addition wouldn’t be any significant threat to reducing Beckham’s status as the starting third baseman.  Engelb Vielma or prospect Ryan Mountcastle could also eventually get into the third base or infield backup mix.

On the other hand, the Orioles could go big by moving Beckham into a multi-positional bench role and looking for a full-time third baseman.  Mike Moustakas and Todd Frazier are the most notable hot corner names still available in free agency, with Moustakas carrying the bigger price tag (both in terms of salary and draft pick compensation) but his left-handed bat is also a better fit in Baltimore’s lineup.  Making a big signing or trade splash for third base could be difficult, however, given that the O’s have a more pressing need in their rotation.

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