MLB-Related Job Opening
From time to time, as a service to our readers, MLB Trade Rumors will post job opportunities of possible interest that are brought to our attention. MLBTR has no affiliation with the hiring entity, no role in the hiring process, and no financial interest in the posting of this opportunity. The following information was provided by the hiring entity:
Baseball Research Position
We are a well-known sports entity hiring an analyst in our MLB research group. You will be working in an office-based setting with other members of a research staff and will be responsible for handling a variety of statistical and other informational needs. The ideal candidate is a recent college graduate with a genuine interest in a career in the baseball industry. This position is located in Southern California (relocation not provided).
Minimum qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university (or sufficient relevant experience)
Preferred qualifications
- Prior baseball or team sports experience
- Proficient in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Keynote, Photoshop
bcresearchposition@gmail.comIn the subject line of the email, please put “Research Position”. The body of your email should first contain your resume, appropriately formatted. In addition to the traditional resume information, please be sure to include any details about athletic experience or ability to speak a second language.
Below your resume, please put 1) your full contact information, 2) how you obtained this listing, and 3) your minimum annual salary requirement. The salary requirement needs to be a specific dollar figure. Applications without that information will not be considered.
Alec Hansen (Oklahoma) Interview: Draft Prospect Q&A
MLBTR continues its Draft Prospect Q&A series, which gives readers a look at some of the top names on the board in this year’s draft. MLBTR will be chatting with some of the draft’s most well-regarded prospects as they prepare for the 2016 draft on June 9-11.
University of Oklahoma right-handed pitcher Alec Hansen hasn’t played up to his potential in 2016, but remains an intriguing prospect. At the beginning of the spring, he was rated third on MLB.com’s Draft Prospect Watch and No. 9 on Baseball America’s Top 100 in March. But ESPN’s Keith Law recently wrote that “Hansen was a potential 1-1 guy (top draft pick) going into the school year, missed fall ball with a forearm injury, lost his rotation spot after a dismal start to the season and now could slip out of the first round.”
Hansen says he’s healthy – and that his junior year struggles could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. He’s still going through the growing pains of pitching – as he’s still getting bigger. Despite an uneven season, teams are interested in pitchers who stand 6-foot-8 and can throw 99 MPH. He took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with MLBTR earlier this week and was honest about his 2016 campaign – after a little family talk:
Chuck Wasserstrom: I’m going to start out by throwing some names at you. Nick Hansen swam at Iowa State and later coached at Wisconsin. Debbie Hansen swam at Wisconsin. Eric Hansen swam at Iowa State and later coached at the University of Arizona. Brooke Hansen is a freshman swimmer at Texas. Obviously, if Dad, Mom, Uncle and Sister have all done it, then it’s a family business. How did you miss out on that?
Alec Hansen: “I was a big-time swimmer growing up, and when I got to middle school I was playing other travel sports, too. I started liking the other sports better. I played baseball. I played basketball. I played football. Swimming was one of those sports where it’s the same thing every day. It was monotonous. So by the time I was in middle school I just was more interested in football, basketball and baseball.”
Back in 2013, you were selected by the Rockies in the 25th round of the draft, but you’re the son of a pair of one-time Division I athletes. Was there ever really a chance you would have turned pro, or did Mom and Dad sort of make it a slam dunk that you would be going to college?
“With them both being college athletes, they got to experience it. That’s what they wanted for me – to experience going to college and being part of a team. That’s why they wanted me to go to college. That’s an experience that lasts a lifetime, and you learn a lot from it. I’m really glad that I went to college after high school. Especially OU. I love OU.”
Did you really give much consideration about signing out of high school?
“I talked to my parents about it. We came up with an amount of money that – if I got that offer – that I should take it and play professionally. It would have been worth it if I got that much money. If I didn’t that offer, I would go to school. I didn’t get the amount of money that I was asking for, so I went to school. Now that I went to school, I see why they wanted me to go to college. Now that I look back at it, I should have asked for even more money, because you can’t put a dollar amount on the experience and the people you meet in college.”
Why did you pick Oklahoma?
“Of all the choices I had, the one that stood out to me was Oklahoma. It was a school that I always liked and wanted to go to growing up. Things just fell into place and worked out. Once I came out and visited OU, I made my decision pretty quickly.”
Turning to 2016 … obviously, this hasn’t been the easiest year for you.
“Not everything is always perfect. I’m not a person who gets too up or down about anything in life. Yes, it’s been frustrating. But it hasn’t changed who I am. I still work hard. I know this is all a process, and I’m still going to get a lot of opportunities to develop. My overall goal is not to be a first-round draft pick … it’s to make it to the big leagues.”
Can you talk about this year, and how much you’ll be able to grow off it?
“I think this is just something a lot of guys go through at any level. I know it happens at the professional level. You have expectations, but you’re not performing. It just becomes a battle – and you have to learn to overcome it. Maybe this could be a blessing in disguise. It could be a good thing for me. I haven’t pitched a lot now, so I’ll be able to go out and throw a lot this summer.”
I’d like to talk about your game a little bit. The scouting report is a plus fastball sitting 94-97 and touching 99, plus slider, above average curveball, makings of average changeup. How accurate would you call that report?
“I’d call that accurate. I’ve always thrown hard. My off-speed has always been pretty good. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. I think the more opportunities and experience I get to pitch in game settings, then it will all fall into place.”
[Continue reading after the break for more.]
Photo courtesy of OU Athletics Communications.
MLBTR Podcast: Barry Svrluga Talks Nationals
Washington Post national baseball writer Barry Svrluga — who recently authored The Grind, which is now available on paperback — joins the show to discuss the Nationals’ biggest stories heading into the season. Among the items of discussion are GM Mike Rizzo, new manager Dusty Baker, and the contract status of Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.
MLBTR’s own Charlie Wilmoth then hops on the line to cover the latest with the Pirates. (And it’s only fair to note that he has written his own volume on the Bucs.) Charlie breaks down the addition of David Freese and the team’s overall infield mix, addresses the uncertainty in the rotation, and talks about the possibility of an extension with one or more of the team’s candidates for a new deal.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.
The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.
MLB Pursuing New Signing Rules For Cuban Players
Major League Baseball has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Treasury Department to offer Cuban players a better route to sign with major league clubs, writes Ben Strauss of the New York Times. Presently, a U.S. embargo against Cuba forces defectors to establish residency in a third country before they can join the professional ranks. While relations have thawed between America and the island nation, the embargo remains in place and could create additional future challenges.
Agreements with baseball leagues in Japan, Korea, and elsewhere include financial compensation for when a player leaves to join the majors. However, the embargo of Cuba makes it a crime to transfer money to the Cuban government. These new talks are aimed at circumventing the embargo.
The proposed plan includes the creation of a non-profit entity to develop baseball and other public interests in Cuba. Teams would donate to this non-profit when signing away Cuban players – theoretically dodging the embargo since the money would not be directly accessible by the government. It’s not yet clear if the Treasury Department will agree with this interpretation for a host of reasons. A spokesman for the league defined the proposal as “opening the way for more substantive talks.”
The need for a new process was most recently made obvious by the reported travails of prospect Lazaro Armentaros aka “Lazarito.” Conflicting reports indicate that, at the very least, Armentaros’ former agent Charles Hairston of Culture39 was physically threatened by a Dominican buscone. His family refuted the notion that Lazarito or his family were in any danger. Regardless of the truth here, other major leaguers have detailed the often life threatening conditions experienced by a defector and their family.
As Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com notes, about 125 players have defected from Cuba in the last 20 months. The sooner baseball and the U.S. government can solve this humanitarian issue, the better.
MLBTR Seeking Agency Data
We do our best here at MLBTR to keep an updated agency database. However, there are always a few gaps. Currently, I’m working on a project to determine how much 2015 WAR is represented by each agency, basically an update of this post. However, we are lacking agency information for the 23 players listed below. If you know who represents any of these players, please email us at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com. Also, if your agency has inaccurate info in our database, please let us know and we’ll correct it. Thanks!
Survey For Podcast Listeners
If you’ve listened to the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast before, we’d love your feedback. Please help us out and take this brief ten-question survey. Thanks!
Follow MLBTR On Instagram
Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account: @TradeRumorsMLB. Each day, we’re sharing conversation-inspiring images about the hottest topics in baseball. From there, we invite you to give us a like, weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section, and even share the link with a friend.
On Saturday, immediately after news of the Orioles’ agreement with Yovani Gallardo broke, MLBTR’s Instagram gave fans a sneak peek at what he will look like in his new jersey. Just before that, MLBTR asked readers to predict the landing spots for Yulieski Gurriel and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. a.k.a. the Super Gurriel Bros. Another recent image asked readers to weigh in whether the Orioles would sign Pedro Alvarez or Dexter Fowler or instead trade for Jay Bruce.
So, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have an Instagram account, this is the perfect excuse to sign up and get one. Follow us on Instagram today!
Tony Phillips Passes Away At 56 Years Of Age
Long-time big leaguer Tony Phillips has died in Arizona of an apparent heart attack, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Phillips was just 56 years old.
His former teammate and current Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart conveyed the news. He noted the sad fact that Phillips was preceded in death recently by two other prominent members of the A’s 1989 championship club — Bob Welch and Dave Henderson.
Phillips was taken in the first round of the 1978 draft, cracked the majors in 1982 with the Athletics, and didn’t play his last MLB game until 1999 — at forty years of age. It took a broken leg in his final season to stop him, Slusser notes. Indeed, he put up a sturdy .244/.362/.433 batting line with 15 home runs and 11 steals in 484 plate appearances that year.
As Slusser notes, Phillips battled through drug problems (and resulting legal troubles) late in his career. But he seemingly bounced back and remained active in the game, even suiting up for some independent league action in recent seasons.
All told, over parts of 18 seasons in the majors, Phillips entered the batter’s box 9,110 times and contributed a .266/.374/.389 slash, 160 home runs, and 177 stolen bases while walking nearly as often as he struck out. He played all over the diamond, racking up significant innings at second, third, short, and all three outfield positions. The net output was worth fifty wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference, most of it coming with the A’s and Tigers. Phillips also spent time with the Angels, White Sox, Mets, and Blue Jays.
There has been an immediate outpouring of sympathy from around the game for the highly-respected Phillips. MLBTR joins in celebrating his legacy and offering its sympathy to his family, friends, and former teammates.
Follow MLBTR On Instagram
Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account: @TradeRumorsMLB. Each day, we’re sharing conversation-inspiring images about the hottest topics in baseball. From there, we invite you to give us a like, weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section, and even share the link with a friend.
Shortly after the Diamondbacks signed Tyler Clippard to a two-year, $12.25MM contract, we gave fans an early look at how he’ll look in the club’s Throwback Thursday uniforms. Ditto for hurler Mat Latos as we put together a sneak peak of how he might look in a White Sox jersey. Speaking of the White Sox, we offered up a creative take on their interest in Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier.
So, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have an Instagram account, this is the perfect excuse to sign up and get one. Follow us on Instagram today!
MLBTR Podcast: O’s Late Moves & Under-the-Radar Deals
Host Jeff Todd and MLBTR’s Steve Adams break down the latest chatter around the Orioles — in particular, the club’s reported interest in qualifying offer-bound free agents Yovani Gallardo and Dexter Fowler.
Then, they talk through some of their most and least-liked, under-the-radar moves of the winter thus far. Among many other transactions discussed, Steve likes the Mariners’ addition of Nori Aoki and the Rangers’ move to bring Tony Barnette back stateside, while Jeff questions the Rockies’ signing of Jason Motte. The addition of veteran righty Tyler Clippard by the Diamondbacks, meanwhile, is a source of debate.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.
The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.