Here are some more notes from the game’s central divisions:

• The Cardinals made clear that they intend to seek a long-term deal with new star Paul Goldschmidt, and the opening of camp also starts the clock on pre-season conversations. That said, there are indications that the St. Louis organization will not impose any timing restrictions on talks, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted in a recent article regarding a host of Spring Training issues. The team is evidently prepared to hold discussions in whatever time and manner Goldschmidt himself prefers, even if that means keeping the line open in the midst of his first (and potentially only) season in St. Louis.
• Pirates righty Jameson Taillon enters the 2019 season facing big expectations, as Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. He also has his eye on the broader player market as a union rep and student of the business of the game. The 27-year-old starter says he’s not only hoping for free agents to earn big salaries, but rooting for those that do to perform well under their contracts. As Gorman notes, the Bucs hold Taillon in high esteem and would surely be interested in working out an extension — particularly given that he’s still a full season away from arbitration. It stands to reason, though, that the former second overall draft pick will not sell his future campaigns for anything less than full value.

Here are some notes from the American League:

• Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner discussed the state of the franchise with Joel Sherman of the New York Post after his organization fell just shy of reaching the World Series. Steinbrenner declined to tip his hand with regard to plans for long-time GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi. It’s tough to imagine a change taking place with regard to the former, though as Sherman notes, there’s still some uncertainty in Girardi’s case. Steinbrenner also reiterated that the organization intends to dip under the luxury tax line, while noting the club “will be active in free agency, as we always are.”
• Mariners executive VP of baseball operations Bob Aylward is retiring after a 42-year career in the game, per a team announcement. He helped transition the Orioles to Camden Yards and the M’s to Safeco Field, the team notes. Aylward will continue to work as a special consultant to the team in addition to maintaining a board role at ROOT Sports Northwest.
• The Rays have hired Matt Quatraro as their new third-base coach, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (all links to Twitter). He had served as the Indians’ assistant hitting coach, making him the latest Cleveland coach to head elsewhere. Topkin adds that the Rays plan to hire a first base coach, with Rocco Baldelli moving to a somewhat different role on the staff.
• As the Red Sox prepare for their first season under new skipper Alex Cora, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston examines what will make for a successful tenure. True authenticity is the touchstone for the youthful, first-time manager, Drellich concludes, both in setting expectations for players and in representing the team to the media.

“Our prayers right now are with Yordano’s family as we mourn this young man’s passing,” said Royals general manager Dayton Moore in a team-issued statement. “He was so young and so talented, full of youthful exuberance and always brought a smile to everyone he interacted with. We will get through this as an organization, but right now it is time to mourn and celebrate the life of Yordano.”

Tragically, Ventura is the second major league pitcher who has died over the past four months. Former Marlins ace Jose Fernandez passed away after a boating accident on Sept. 25. Like Fernandez, Ventura was an exceptional, hard-throwing talent who emerged as a key long-term building block for his franchise.

Ventura signed with the Royals for a meager $28K as an international free agent in 2008. After climbing up the minor league ladder, Ventura ranked as Baseball America’s 26th-best prospect at the conclusion of the 2013 campaign. He debuted in the majors that year and then became a full-time big leaguer in 2014.

Ventura was a standout as a rookie, as he pitched to a 3.20 ERA over 183 innings to help the Royals clinch their first playoff berth since 1985. His top performance that postseason came under awful circumstances in Kansas City’s Game 6 victory over the Giants in the World Series. After learning two days earlier that his friend, fellow Dominican and former Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras died (also in a car crash), Ventura fired seven shutout, three-hit innings in a 10-0 romp and dedicated the performance to Taveras. The Royals went on to lose Game 7, but they returned to the Fall Classic in 2015 to defeat the Mets and end a 30-year championship drought.

Prior to the 2015 campaign, Ventura inked a five-year, $23MM extension that could have been worth $45MM and kept him with the Royals through the 2021 season. While Ventura’s final two seasons included some rocky moments, including suspensions for separate dust-ups with then-White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton and Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, the potential was there for him to evolve into one of the game’s top starters. Instead, as is the case with Fernandez, baseball and its fans will never know what Ventura would have accomplished had he enjoyed a long career.

For the second time Sunday, we at MLBTR send our condolences to the family, friends, fans and organization of a player gone too soon. Eerily, Ventura was on the mound as the opposing pitcher for Marte’s last major league game on Aug. 6, 2014.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

• MLB commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement about Ventura and Marte earlier today. “Today is a very sad day for our entire game and particularly for the many loyal fans in the Dominican Republic, the home of both Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte,” said Manfred. “Yordano was a key figure in the Royals’ recent success. His electric talent on the mound helped lead the Royals to two American League pennants and the 2015 World Championship. Andy was a respected member of six organizations who played seven Major League seasons, including for the Cleveland Indians from 2006-2010.  On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, teammates, friends and fans of both players.”
• This morning was perhaps even more difficult than expected for Royals GM Dayton Moore, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports relate (Twitter links). Moore first heard about Marte’s death, then received a call about Ventura and thought it was a mistake. Moore and Royals assistant GM Rene Francisco were close with both players — Moore and Francisco were both in the Braves organization when Marte was a top prospect there.
• Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star offers a beautifully written remembrance of Ventura, who he describes as a fighter with sharp edges but a good person and prodigious talent. “[H]e was relentless and unapologetic and desperate to be great — both for himself, and for everyone back home for whom it meant almost as much,” Mellinger writes. “His teammates and coaches might occasionally grow frustrated at some of the rougher moments, but they saw a good soul, a big heart, and an earnest learner.”
• Rosenthal offers similar sentiments in a column for FOX Sports, noting that Ventura’s sometimes rough on-field demeanor was not all of who he was. “The Yo that I knew had the warmest of smiles, the most engaging of personalities, a genuine, effusive love for the game,” writes Rosenthal. “[H]e was a diligent worker, one of the Royals’ most regimented pitchers — a kid who was engaged between starts, watched film, worked on pitches, looked and acted the part.”
• Ventura has “always had a zest for life, an innocence about the game, a freshness, a fearlessness,” says Moore, via Dodd. “And he’s been really the same guy from day one, as far as his character traits and what made him special. He’s just a really passionate human. He loved to compete. He no doubt challenged us. But that made us better.” Dodd adds that police will take three weeks to complete a toxicology report, but there was no sign of alcohol at the scene of Ventura’s crash. The pitcher was not wearing his seat belt and lost control of his vehicle while driving through dense fog on a mountainous road.
• Ventura was the opposing starting pitcher in Marte’s last Major League game in 2014, MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince notes. In contrast to the fiery Ventura, Marte (formerly one of the top prospects in the game) was “an easygoing guy” who took his career disappointments in stride. Marte never could stick in the big leagues after coming up as a top prospect with the Braves and Indians (and, for a month, the Red Sox), and after stops in the Pirates, Angels and Diamondbacks organizations, he finally excelled in Korea, where he totaled 44 home runs with the KT Wiz between the 2015 and 2016 seasons. “The only thing I know how to do is play baseball,” he told Castrovince. “That’s why I didn’t stop.”

Kansas City is known to be open to dealing notable players in order to cut short-term payroll, and the Royals have already made one big move in this regard by dealing Wade Davis to the Cubs for Jorge Soler.  Even with Davis gone, however, the Royals have several more possible trade chips who are only controllable over the next one or two seasons before hitting free agency.

Duffy fits into that category, as MLBTR projects the southpaw to earn $8.2MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency after the 2017 season.  K.C. began preliminary extension talks with Duffy earlier this winter but were also gauging interest in his services during the Winter Meetings.  Duffy, who turns 28 late this month, posted a 3.51 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 4.48 K/BB rate over 179 2/3 innings for Kansas City last year, finally solidifying himself as a member of the rotation after being used as a part-time reliever in the previous two seasons and at the start of 2016.

While Duffy would be a one-year rental, Ventura is locked up through at least 2019 due to a contract extension that includes club options for both 2020 and 2021.  Ventura is guaranteed $20.25MM through 2019 and, if both options are exercised, Ventura’s deal would cost $43.25MM over the five seasons.  Even if Ventura merely continues to post numbers akin to his only-okay 2016 season (4.45 ERA, 50.2% grounder rate, 6.97 K/9, 1.85 K/BB rate over 186 innings), that deal is still very good value given the rising costs of starting pitching, and it could become a major bargain should Ventura take a step forward in performance.

Ventura has been the subject of controversy due to reported maturity issues and his two suspensions for throwing at batters, though the Royals denied reports that they were shopping the righty last summer.  One would think that given Ventura’s age (25) and reasonable contract, the Royals would see him as a long-term building block rather than as a trade chip.  Their willingness to least listen to other clubs’ offers could be due to doubts about his personality, or it could just be due diligence, as Ventura’s years of control could net K.C. a nice return in a trade.

The Astros have a deep minor league system that could satisfy the Royals or other teams looking for young talent, and Houston could also offer starting pitching of its own in the form of Collin McHugh or Mike Fiers.  Since the Royals plan to contend next season, they could fit as a team that would take on a solid rotation piece like McHugh or Fiers rather than just prospects in exchange for a pitcher; the Davis trade, for instance, netted the Royals a player in Soler who they expect to contribute immediately.

Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, McHugh, Fiers and the newly-signed Charlie Morton project as Houston’s rotation.  It’s an unspectacular but solid rotation, and one that could look better on paper if Keuchel returns to his Cy Young Award form of 2015.

First baseman Eric Hosmer is among the prominent Royals who could hit the open market next offseason, though it seems the club will retain the Scott Boras client in hopes of locking him up long term, per Rosenthal. But the expectation is that Kansas City would entertain dealing left-hander Danny Duffy, closer Wade Davis, outfielder Lorenzo Cain, third baseman Mike Moustakas and shortstop Alcides Escobar. The same is true in regards to right-handers Ian Kennedy and Yordano Ventura.

Including Hosmer, those players are due in the neighborhood of $70MM next season – which is potentially problematic for a club that could cut payroll on the heels of spending a franchise-record $135MM in 2016. The Royals’ break-even point is between $115MM and $120MM, sources informed Rosenthal, who notes that current payroll estimates have them around $148MM.

The most expensive member of the above-mentioned group is Kennedy, who’s set to earn $13.5MM in the second season of the five-year, $70MM contract he inked as a free agent last winter. The Royals already tried to move Kennedy prior to last summer’s trade deadline by packaging him with Davis, but they weren’t able to find any takers. While Kennedy, 31, wasn’t amid an overly impressive season at that point, a strong second half helped lead to above-average numbers overall (3.68 ERA, 8.46 K/9, 3.04 BB/9 in 195 2/3 innings). Considering free agency has so few quality options, it’s possible Kennedy could pique starter-needy teams’ interest. There are obvious downsides to acquiring him, however: For one, he has the ability to opt out of his contract after next season. On the other hand, if the homer-prone Kennedy doesn’t pitch well enough in 2017 to take that route, his employer would owe him a significant amount – $49MM – through 2020.

Unlike Kennedy, the Royals won’t have any difficulty shipping out Davis if they’re looking to make a deal. The late-game ace is owed an affordable $10MM next season and should appeal to clubs that lose out on top free agent closers Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon. The Yankees, Giants, Dodgers, Nationals and Marlins are among the potential fits, Rosenthal tweeted Sunday.

As is the case with Davis, a motivated Kansas City probably wouldn’t encounter much trouble moving either Duffy or Ventura – especially considering the aforementioned paucity of high-end free agent starters. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Duffy is fresh off a career-best season, having recorded a 3.56 ERA, 9.32 K/9 and 2.07 BB/9 over 161 2/3 innings from the rotation. Kansas City opened extension talks with him in November, but it’s unknown whether the two sides have made progress in negotiations. Duffy is currently on track to make an estimated $8.2MM via arbitration, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Thanks to a 2015 extension, the 25-year-old Ventura is controllable through 2021 – including a pair of club options – at a combined $43.25MM. The mercurial Ventura was far from great in 2016 (4.45 ERA, 6.97 K/9 and 3.77 BB/9), but he maintained his high velocity, recorded a 50.2 percent ground-ball rate, and threw at least 180 innings for the second time in three seasons. As of June, the Royals weren’t willing to part with him, though it seems the door is now open.

Cain is coming off a wrist injury and is set to carry the Royals’ third-highest salary in 2017 ($11MM). Teams that miss out on the two best free agent center fielders, Dexter Fowler and Ian Desmond, could certainly look to the 30-year-old Cain as a less costly alternative. He’s arguably superior to both, having accounted for 16.3 fWAR since 2013 thanks to his ability to contribute in the field, at the plate and on the base paths.

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• Closer Arodys Vizcaino is drawing “intense” interest and is receiving more attention on the trade market than any other Braves player, according to Heyman. A high level of interest in Vizcaino should come as no surprise; the 25-year-old boasts a 1.83 ERA dating back to Opening Day 2015 and is earning just $897,500 this season after avoiding arbitration for the first time as a Super Two player this past winter. He can be controlled through the 2019 season, so the Braves would assuredly have a considerable asking price for three and a half years of Vizcaino.
• The Indians continue to monitor the market for outfield help, and they’re also in the market for some bullpen reinforcements, though they have competition on that front. The health of Michael Brantley will impact how aggressive Cleveland is in its search for outfielders, though there’s yet to be any definitive word on how long Brantley will be sidelined.
• The Royals, too, are on the lookout for outfield help, and Heyman lists Jon Jay and Melvin Upton Jr. as possibilities, though he does so in a fairly speculative manner. Heyman further splashes some cold water on the Yordano Ventura trade rumors from earlier this month, quoting an anonymous Royals exec: “With starting pitching at a premium, of course we aren’t trading him.”
• Aroldis Chapman’s name continues to come up in speculation, but Heyman writes that the Yankees haven’t ruled out signing the lefty to an extension as opposed to entertaining trade offers. Heyman adds that the Yankees have yet to even have internal discussions about selling off parts of their MLB roster.
• If the Athletics end up selling — which they aren’t yet prepared to do — the team will consider anything, per Heyman. But GM Billy Beane is least interested in parting with Sonny Gray and Sean Doolittle, both of whom come with extended, cheap control.
• Across the bay, the Giants are still willing to consider acquiring a starting-level outfielder even though Hunter Pence appears on track to return before the end of August. The idea would be to move Angel Pagan into a reserve role, it seems.
• Derek Norris is available on the trade market, but the Padres players receiving the most interest at this time are Jon Jay and Fernando Rodney, per Heyman. He adds that the Padres are open to trading anyone, but an early deal for Wil Myers shouldn’t be expected due to the fact that he’s the team’s official All-Star Game ambassador in San Diego this season. Beyond that, a “Padres-connected” source told Heyman the team would expect four top-tier prospects to part with the controllable Myers, who is having a breakout season at the plate.
• The Mariners are set to shop for starting pitching this summer, per Heyman, though they could also aim for relief help. It’s not unusual for depth issues to creep up in a pitching staff, but Seattle is probably less than enthused with the fact that Felix Hernandez is now in the midst of an extended DL stint after a less-than-promising start to the season (despite his strong results).
• Multiple clubs are trying to buy low on Francisco Liriano, but the Pirates aren’t inclined to sell at this time. The Orioles, it appears, are one such team, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported yesterday that Baltimore has interest in the underperforming southpaw.
• The Angels “are officially out” on Cuban third baseman Yulieski Gurriel, according to Heyman. The 32-year-old figures to command a significant multi-year deal, and adding another eight-figure average annual salary to the ledger would severely impede the Halos’ ability to avoid continual luxury tax penalization. Heyman also notes that Tim Lincecum could eventually become trade bait for the Angels if the team continue to struggle and if Lincecum performs well.

4pm: MLB has reduced Ventura’s suspension to eight games and he has dropped his appeal, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets.

JUNE 9: Major League Baseball has announced suspensions of Royals starter Yordano Ventura and Orioles infielder Manny Machado. The former gets a nine-game ban, meaning he’ll likely miss only a single outing, while the latter will sit for four contests.

Both players appear set to appeal their punishments stemming from a recent brawl. The melee was sparked when Ventura hit Machado with a pitch, prompting the latter to charge the mound. Both players swung at each other and went to the ground as both dugouts emptied.

The suspensions don’t appear to be major causes for concern for either club, though neither is in great position to deal with a loss at their respective positions. Baltimore is already without shortstop J.J. Hardy, with Machado sliding over from third to cover for him. And the Royals have had plenty of struggles in its starting staff.

This is the second significant set of suspensions relating to on-field fisticuffs in recent weeks. Previously, Rougned Odor led a series of other players from the Rangers and Blue Jays by taking an eight-game suspension (later reduced to seven) for slugging Toronto slugger Jose Bautista.

A few more notes pertaining to the AL Central…

• Following up on Jeff Passan’s report from earlier this week regarding Yordano Ventura, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal wrote that he, too, heard that Ventura had been offered to other clubs in trades as recently as a couple of weeks ago. However, Rosenthal adds that when he questioned a Royals official on the matter, he was met with a reply about how perilously thin the Kansas City rotation is even with Ventura on board. That’s not a firm denial, of course, and the Royals could conceivably ask for a rotation piece back in theoretical trade scenarios. Trade talks aside, Rosenthal wrote that the Royals have spoken to Ventura about his maturity issues over and over again with seemingly little effect. The issues go beyond his fiery demeanor, Rosenthal notes, as Ventura is known to even add some dramatic flair to his pitching mechanics during games; while he looks smooth and fluid in side sessions, he’s taken to finishing with a high, exaggerated leg kick during games — a trend the Royals would like to stop. Rosenthal opines that Ventura’s career is at a crossroads, noting that he was a rock in their rotation as recently as 2015 postseason but hasn’t demonstrated a willingness to curtail his emotions.
• Eduardo Nunez has been an unexpected bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Twins, writes 1500 ESPN’s Judd Zulgad, which is the precise reason that he opines the Twins should look to sell high on him this summer. Every action the Twins make from this point forth needs to be with 2017 and beyond in mind, he continues, and moving Nunez (who can be a free agent following the 2017 season) while his value is at or near its peak would return young talent and allow the Twins an extended look at top infield prospect Jorge Polanco. The Mets are one speculative trading partner for the Twins with regards to Nunez, who is batting an excellent but likely unsustainable .332/.357/.531 through 209 plate appearances this season and is capable of playing shortstop, second base, third base and left field.

Passan, meanwhile, stands by his report, which he says has since been corroborated by additional sources (Twitter link).

8:25am: Last night’s plunking of Manny Machado was the latest in a line of questionable actions from Royals righty Yordano Ventura, and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes that his attitude is wearing thin on the Kansas City organization. Indeed, per the report, executives from at least two other teams say that the Royals have offered to deal Ventura away within the last month.

Expectations had been that the now-25-year-old with the high-octane fastball would be entrenched in the K.C. staff for years to come. After all, the club inked him to a five-year, $23MM extension before the start of the 2015 season. That deal also includes two option years valued at $12MM apiece.

There always seemed to be a bit of injury risk, but otherwise the pact seemed a nice bargain for a quality young arm. While he’s been healthy and still delivers mid-90s heat, however, Ventura has arguably been more provocative than productive on the mound over the last two years.

Ventura took a step back last year in the earned run department, seeing a year-over-year ERA shift from 3.20 to 4.08. But his peripherals all seemed in line with his prior work. It’s been different thus far in 2016, as Ventura has retired just six batters per nine innings via strikeout while issuing free passes at a rate of 4.8 BB/9. He’s allowing less groundballs to go with more contact and home runs. After last night’s outing, Ventura owns a 5.32 ERA in 66 innings over a dozen starts this year.

The extension once seemed an asset, but now may no longer have surplus value. Though we’re now one and a half years into the contract, the vast majority of the guarantee remains to be paid. Ventura has received just over $1MM of what he’s owed so far, with an escalating structure that mimics the arbitration process still to come. And there’s no doubt that other organizations will have concerns about Ventura’s questionable reputation and on-field antics.

It’s not exactly clear what Kansas City would be looking to accomplish via trade. Contenders would certainly hesitate to add Ventura to a rotation, and it’s a big commitment even if a club hoped to utilize his live arm in the pen. A swap that would allow the Royals to fill a need at the major league level without adding payroll could make some sense, though that’s just generalized speculation on my part.

Signing either Kennedy or Gallardo would, of course, require Kansas City to part with its top draft choice. While that’s not as painful as it would be for most teams, as the Royals won’t pick until the end of the first round, it’s obviously necessary for the team to take account of that sacrifice.

The Royals were said to have interest in free agent Wei-Yin Chen, but he just agreed to terms with the Marlins. If nothing else, though, that pursuit showed the seriousness of the Royals’ efforts as well as its willingness to punt a pick. Chen’s signing also showed that there’s still hope that the other top remaining free agents can match the lofty contract expectations that led them to decline qualifying offers.

As things stand, K.C. will run out a staff fronted by Edinson Volquez and Yordano Ventura. The three leading candidates for the remaining slots are the recently-re-signed Chris Young along with Danny Duffy and Kris Medlen, either of whom could also function as swingmen. There’s some minor league depth, including pitchers like John Lannan, Chien-Ming Wang, and Brian Flynn, but it isn’t hard to see why the Royals would want to add another option.

Ventura, 24, established himself as one of the game’s more interesting young arms last year. He threw 183 innings of 3.20 ERA ball, with 7.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 and a 47.6% groundball rate. Ventura then contributed another 25 1/3 frames, with an identical earned run average, to the team’s World Series run.

That excellent campaign led Kansas City to lock him up for the foreseeable future in early April. Ventura received a five-year, $23MM guarantee while also giving the Royals two option years at $12MM apiece.

It’s been something of a different story this year, at least in terms of results. Ventura has permitted 5.19 earned per nine over the 76 1/3 innings he’s worked thus far.

His average fastball velocity is down by a decent bit, but that does not seem to explain things. The peripherals all look the same: Ventura has struck out 7.7 and walked 2.9 batters per nine while inducing grounders at a 52.0% clip, all the same or better than last year.

Indeed, Ventura’s FIP (3.69), xFIP (3.68), and SIERA (3.71) all suggest that there has been something else at play. He has allowed a .321 BABIP while carrying a 64.8% strand rate, both of which suggest a fair dose of bad luck.

Regardless, the Royals obviously felt it was time for a break from the big leagues, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggested was possible this morning on Twitter. Things certainly have taken a turn for the worse of late, as Ventura has not lasted more than five innings in a start since the end of May (while also missing time with a hand injury). He’s permitted one earned run per inning pitched over that stretch. The return of lefty Jason Vargas created the need for a rotation spot, and Ventura will head down to Triple-A to work out whatever issues the team has identified.

• Signing Ventura to a five-year deal was a necessary risk for the Royals, opines Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards. Ventura has long been seen as a risky commodity due to his smaller stature and a fear that he may be bullpen-bound, and he also produced results that were more good than great in 2014. However, only three Royals starters — Zack Greinke, James Shields and Ervin Santana –have matched Ventura’s modest 2.4 fWAR over the past five seasons. The Royals’ rotation is typically occupied by journeymen starters, and the upside for a mid-rotation or front-line starter at that price makes the risk worth taking, writes Edwards, even if there’s a risk he may not hold up as a starter.
• The Carrasco and Kluber extensions appear to be the latest in a long line of contracts signed with the intent of developing a long-term core. As GM Chris Antonetti said recently on MLB Network Radio (Twitter link): “This nucleus is going to be in place for awhile. Ownership has given us incredible resources.”
• Mutually beneficial extensions have been a key component of successful Indians’ seasons since John Hart began pioneering them in the 1990s, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Bastian spoke to other members of that growing core — Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis and Yan Gomes — each of whom has signed extensions of their own in the past year-plus. The Cleveland core expressed excitement about being able to grow and express excitement together in the coming years as they enter their primes.
• Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel looks at the financial implications of the latest pair of Indians extensions, and he also spoke with Antonetti about the decision to offer Carrasco a long-term deal based on a relatively small sample of success. “His mix of pitches has always been a strength from the time we acquired him,” said Antonetti. “But we’ve seen the continued development and maturity and improvement in his routines, his consistency and his focus and we saw it translate to his success as a starting pitcher last year. We believe that now, not only does he have the physical attributes, but the other attributes to be a successful starter.”
• Carrasco’s deal may appear team-friendly, but an irregular heartbeat that required offseason surgery and a newborn baby played a role in Carrasco’s decision to accept the contract, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
• Dave Cameron of Fangraphs and FOX Sports writes that Porcello’s age-23 through age-25 seasons mirror those of Justin Masterson, and Masterson experienced a breakout in his age-26 season — the same that Porcello is currently entering. While that certainly doesn’t guarantee a breakout for Porcello, Cameron notes that the Sox are betting on a breakout or step forward of sorts — one that would’ve launched Porcello’s free agent price considerably beyond the $82.5MM figure upon which he agreed. Judging contracts based on average annual value is all too common a mistake, Cameron notes, as the years accompanying that AAV are a critical factor of any deal. Boston is showing a tendency to pay a premium to keep contracts short in an effort to avoid rostering expensive non-performers down the line, with Porcello’s deal and the Hanley Ramirez contract serving as recent examples, he adds.
• Tim Britton of the Providence Journal offers a similar take, using CC Sabathia as an example of the dangers of signing a pitcher into their 30s. As Britton notes, Sabathia would’ve been one of the best free agent signings in history had the Yankees let him walk after he exercised an opt out clause following the third season of his initial contract. However, they re-signed him through age-36, and Sabathia’s contract has become an albatross on the Yankees. While Porcello isn’t as good as prime Sabathia and likely never will be — a fact Britton acknowledges — his situation still aids the argument that it’s better to pay a premium for a pitcher in his prime than commit exorbitant amounts of money to their decline years.
• I’ll echo my thoughts on the Porcello deal that I tweeted out and included in MLBTR’s write-up of his extension and agree with both Cameron and Britton. While Porcello is not now and may never be a front-of-the-rotation arm, the Red Sox clearly believe that he’s capable of taking a step forward from a career year in 2014, and they’re willing to pay what currently seems to be an above-market annual price in order to secure his prime. It’s commonplace for teams to sign older free agents knowing that the final year or two (and sometimes more) will likely be a sunk cost, and yet as observers we accept that as part of free agency. The Red Sox are taking an opposite approach, seemingly making a strong bet that Porcello’s best years are ahead. Paying for an expected outcome that has yet to take place is risky, to be sure, but it’s no riskier than guaranteeing a pitcher north of $20MM in his age-36 season, as we saw with James Shields, Jon Lester and Max Scherzer this winter. The notion that a player must first “prove” that he is worth upper-market dollars over a long-term implicitly requires that those upper-market dollars will be awarded after or at the tail end of his peak, thereby negating much of the logic in committing such a sizable sum. Whether or not the Porcello deal ultimately looks wise or turns into an albatross, the thinking behind the deal is sound: make projections based on scouting and analytic input, and invest. The alternative — wait and see, then pay for the downswing of a player’s career — is hardly a less risky approach.

4:51pm: The Royals and right-hander Yordano Ventura have agreed to a five-year contract extension that contains club option years for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the team announced.  The deal will pay Ventura $23MM over the five guaranteed years, while each option year is worth $12MM (with a $1MM buyout) with escalators based on Cy Young Award voting finishes.  All told, Ventura stands to earn at least $47MM if his contract reaches the full seven seasons.  Ventura is represented by Relativity Baseball.

According to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, the deal breaks down as follows: Ventura receives a $1MM signing bonus and earns $750K this season, $1MM in 2016, $3.25MM in 2017, $6.25MM in 2018 and $9.75MM in 2019.  The extension covers Ventura’s two remaining pre-arbitration seasons and his three arb years while giving the Royals control over his first two free agent seasons.  Gaining those extra years of control over a very promising 23-year-old is a nice score for the team.  Under GM Dayton Moore, the Royals have also locked up Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar, Billy Butler and Joakim Soria to pre-arb extensions.

Ventura is the latest notable Relativity client with between 1-2 years of service time to sign an extension, joining the likes of Julio Teheran, Andrelton Simmons, Paul Goldschmidt and Madison Bumgarner.  Among recent extensions for pitchers with comparable service times, Ventura’s deal is less expensive than the deals signed by Bumgarner ($35MM over five seasons with two club options) and Jose Quintana ($26MM/five years with two club options).  Teheran’s deal ($32.4MM) was also pricier, though the Braves righty signed for six guaranteed years and only one club option.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2008, Ventura drew a lot of attention as he moved through Kansas City’s farm system and entered the 2014 season ranked as one of the top pitching prospects in the game.  Ventura made three starts for K.C. in 2013 and then posted a 3.20 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.30 K/BB rate over 180 IP for the Royals last season, also notching a 3.20 ERA over 25 1/3 postseason innings.

As Passan noted in his original report, Ventura dealt with soreness in both his elbow and shoulder last season, and between his 97mph fastball and relatively slight (6’0, 180 pounds), there have long been concerns that the right-hander could eventually be a health risk.  From this perspective, it’s easy to see why Ventura would’ve opted to take a big guaranteed payday now rather than risk potential injury issues through his arbitration years.  The Royals are betting that this deal will turn into a bargain for them if Ventura stays healthy and productive, though if not, the $23MM guarantee isn’t too much of a payroll albatross even for a mid-market club.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman (all Twitter links) reported that the agreement had been finalized pending a physical, and that the deal was worth $23MM.  Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported yesterday that the two sides were close working out an extension for five years and at least one option year.  MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan had the details of the option years and that the extension would supercede Ventura’s previous 2015 contract.

Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken/USA Today Sports Images

FRIDAY: The Royals are in negotiations with young righty Yordano Ventura about a five-year extension that would include an option for a sixth season, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports. The deal currently being contemplated by the two sides would guarantee Ventura over $20MM.

A new contract along these lines would be a fascinating study in risk and reward for both the club and the Relativity Baseball client. In spite of his excellence at a young age and significant arbitration earning capacity, the 23-year-old seems to profile as something of an injury risk. In addition to drawing frequent remarks on the velocity that comes out of his small frame, Ventura had a few minor arm issues crop up last year.

Ventura will enter the 2015 season with just over one full year of big league service, meaning he projects to reach arbitration eligibility in 2017 and free agency in 2020. While he is at an early position on the service curve, Ventura has already established himself as the type of productive arm worthy of investment: last year, he tossed 183 innings of 3.20 ERA ball with 7.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 and a 47.6% groundball rate. ERA estimators indicate that his ERA may be somewhat lower than his real production, but they still credit him as an above-average starter in his first full season in the big leagues.

One significant question, assuming a deal along the lines of that reported does in fact get done, is when the contract kicks in. A five-year guarantee with a sixth-year option would give Kansas City control over one free agent season if it begins with the 2015 campaign.