Jake, you still trust in Andy Green managing?
-
Comment -
Healthy Cabrera hits first HR since last April
LAKELAND, Fla. -- This was a welcome sight for Detroit Tigers fans: Miguel Cabrera, looking healthy again, hitting a towering home run.
Cabrera connected for his first homer of the spring in Detroit's 7-4 win over Atlanta on Saturday. It was the first time he'd gone deep in any game for the Tigers since April 28. His 2018 season ended after 38 games because of a biceps injury.
"He's feeling good. He's having a good time," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's actually been swinging good. We've seen him hit them all over the place in BP. It's all about timing. Been off a long, long time."
Cabrera seems comfortable at the plate so far: He's 6-for-11 with a home run, a double and three walks in five spring training games.
Cabrera singled and walked before hitting a two-run homer to right-center field off Jacob Webb in the fifth inning.
"I think the wind got it," the Detroit slugger said, showing perhaps more modesty than necessary.
Cabrera hit three home runs in April last year -- and that was his total for the season. He missed almost all of May after straining a hamstring, and he went homerless in 41 June at-bats before his season ended for good.
Cabrera turns 36 in April and has hit only 19 homers in 168 games over the past two seasons.
The rebuilding Tigers have traded plenty of stars away over the past couple years, but Cabrera's huge contract makes that difficult. Cabrera did hit 38 home runs in 158 games in 2016. He's just 35 homers away from 500, and a run at that milestone would be a highlight even if the Tigers don't contend for a playoff spot in the near future.
"He won't have to work as hard as a lot of other guys for timing. He's just a good hitter," Gardenhire said. "You saw him take some real close pitches and foul off some pitches, and then barrel it up too."Comment -
In other news, Chatwood is getting outs and not walking guys this spring!Comment -
As a consensus top three farmhand in baseball, shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. may be able to help the Padres from the outset of the season, but he’s no lock to make the team. After all, by keeping the 20-year-old in the minors until at least mid-April, the Padres would gain an extra year of control over him. Nevertheless, the Padres’ highest-profile player, Manny Machado, is hopeful Tatis will join him on Opening Day to comprise the left side of their infield, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required). “If he’s in there, we’re going to be a dangerous team, and I think we’re all rooting for him to break camp with us,” said Machado, an experienced shortstop who’s set to hold down third base for the Padres after signing a 10-year, $300MM contract with them last month. Meanwhile, manager Andy Green isn’t ruling out Tatis for the Padres’ season-opening roster, but he cautioned: “In (Tatis’) case, he’s a couple months above Double-A ball. He’s had two incredibly slow Aprils that unbelievable seasons followed. “So, there’s some context there that we’re going to factor into the equation that other people probably aren’t.”
- As is the case with Tatis, Reds prospect Nick Senzel could be an early season victim of service time manipulation. Senzel’s also trying to learn a new position, center field, as he entered the spring with no game experience there. Already, though, “it’s become clear” Senzel has the ability to handle the position, manager David Bell said Sunday (via John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Regardless of whether Senzel’s in center for the Reds from the get-go, the 24-year-old seems like a good bet to see the lion’s share of time at the position for the Reds this year. Senzel’s customary spots – second and third – are spoken for, whereas there’s no established center fielder blocking him in Cincinnati.
- Although he only landed a minor league contract in free agency, first baseman Mark Reynolds is a near certainty to make the Rockies’ Opening Day roster, per Nick Groke of The Athletic (subscription required). If so, he’ll be the primary backup to first baseman Daniel Murphy, another offseason pickup for the club. The 35-year-old Reynolds was teammates with Murphy last season in Washington, where the former turned in a solid .248/.328/.476 line in 235 plate appearances after signing a minors pact with the Nationals in April.
- Braves right-hander Mike Foltynewicz has been down with elbow soreness, but it’s “expected” he’ll resume throwing Monday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. Foltynewicz isn’t on track to serve as the Braves’ Opening Day starter, but it appears he’ll be able to make his regular-season debut sometime during the first week of the campaign. The 27-year-old will attempt to build on a breakout 2018 showing in which he pitched to a 2.85 ERA/3.37 FIP with 9.93 K/9, 3.34 BB/9 and a 43.1 percent groundball rate over 183 innings.
Comment -
Will be interesting to see if Fernando Tatis Jr. breaks camp with the Padres. I doubt he does because they will have an extra year of control over him if he starts off in the minors but when he's ready the Padres will be a tough team this year even though I don't think they will contend just yet.
Comment -
in fairness, he has never really had much to work with.
no chance Guerrero or Tatis break camp in the majors, that extra year of control is very important.Will be interesting to see if Fernando Tatis Jr. breaks camp with the Padres. I doubt he does because they will have an extra year of control over him if he starts off in the minors but when he's ready the Padres will be a tough team this year even though I don't think they will contend just yet.Comment -
Extra year of control is all the rage these days.Comment -
Glad to hear Senzel is comfortable in CF.Comment -
Unfortunately I think Posey has reached the age where he can no longer carry a ballclub. With this team he has to hit and regain some of the power he use to have. He refuses to give up catching which is good for our pitching staff but not good for his offensive numbers. Hopefully he has a good season but other guys need to hit and I just don’t have much faith in this offense.Comment -
Tigers:
Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison have spent virtually their entire MLB careers as teammates. That connection will continue for at least part of the 2019 season, as the former Pirates each signed on to form Detroit’s new middle infield duo. The Tigers turned to Mercer to fill the hole left behind by free agent shortstop Jose Iglesias, then later inked Harrison to take over as the everyday second baseman. Such names as Troy Tulowitzki and former Tiger Ian Kinsler were also considered by the team to fill the middle infield gaps. Mercer and Harrison were inked to relatively inexpensive one-year deals, giving the Tigers flexibility should youngsters such as Dawel Lugo, Isaac Paredes, or Willi Castro force the issue for playing time as early as this summer. By that same token, Mercer and Harrison could both be trade deadline chips if the Tigers find a contending team eager for infield help.
In Harrison’s case, he has particular upside after struggling through an injury-plagued 2018. Harrison also didn’t perform terribly well in 2015 or 2016, though he was an All-Star as recently as 2017. The 31-year-old doesn’t have to do a ton to outplay his $2.5MM contract, however, and Harrison’s overall value could improve if the Tigers shield him from tough right-handed pitching every once in a while. Harrison also could provide extra depth at third base or the corner outfield, though he played almost exclusively as a second baseman last season. That flexibility makes it particularly easy to imagine him as a mid-season trade candidate.
While Harrison himself provides some versatility, his addition moves Niko Goodrum into a superutility role, allowing the Tigers to deploy him all around the diamond as the situation warrants. Veterans Gordon Beckham and Pete Kozma are also at Spring Training on minor league deals, fighting with Ronny Rodriguez to win a utility infield job and potentially pushing Goodrum into seeing more corner outfield time, rather than infield duty. Goodrum could also see substantial action at first base, since Miguel Cabrera is likely to receive the lion’s share of DH at-bats. (Backup catcher John Hicks could again factor at the first base position as well.)
As they did last winter in signing Mike Fiers and Francisco Liriano, the Tigers added a pair of low-cost veteran arms to the rotation in Tyson Ross and Matt Moore. Ross turned in a useful 2018 season with the Padres and Cardinals in 2018, posting a 4.15 ERA and 1.97 K/BB rate over 149 2/3 innings. It’s probably too much to expect that Ross can recapture his mid-decade All-Star form (prior to two lost seasons due to injury), though he should give Detroit some solid innings.
Moore hopes to follow in Ross’ footsteps with a bounce-back season of his own, as Moore has badly struggled in each of the last two seasons, to the point of being relegated to the Rangers’ bullpen last season. It wasn’t long ago that Moore was one of the game’s most vaunted pitching prospects, so the Tigers are hoping the change of scenery can revive Moore’s career.
Questions Remaining
It seemed as if the Tigers were simply ready to move on from Iglesias, as a case could be made that re-signing Iglesias (10 fWAR over 656 career games) would’ve provided more value than adding Mercer (7.8 fWAR through 821 career appearances with Pittsburgh). Mercer is only the slightly better hitter of the two, and Iglesias is the decidedly better fielder. Considering that Iglesias ended up landing only a minor league deal from the Reds, spending $5.25MM on Mercer seems like something of an overpay.
This being said, it could be that the Tigers simply felt Mercer had more future trade value, given that they’d spent much of 2018 unsuccessfully trying to find a trade partner for Iglesias. Plus, when a club is still in the relatively early stages of a rebuilding plan, it’s hard to argue too strenuously about which veteran was or wasn’t signed to a one-year contract. Mercer, Harrison, Ross, and Moore could all very well be playing on different teams by September, and the Tigers’ focus for 2019 will again be on seeing which of its young players can emerge.
To this end, catcher James McCann was non-tendered after a rough campaign, wrapping up his four-year run as the team’s most frequently used backstop and giving the Tigers a chance to see what they have in Grayson Greiner. (Both Greiner and Hicks may ultimately be keeping the catcher’s spot warm for prospect Jake Rogers in a year or two.) The Tigers didn’t add any veteran outfield help, preferring to stick with incumbents JaCoby Jones and Mikie Mahtook in center field, and giving prospect Christin Stewart a full shot as the everyday left fielder.
Perhaps the most notable element of the Tigers’ offseason was what they didn’t do — namely, trade any of their notable veterans. It probably isn’t surprising that Michael Fulmer and Shane Greene weren’t moved in the wake of down years, as the Tigers don’t want to sell low. Swingman Blaine Hardy drew some interest from Oakland, though nothing came together. All three of those pitchers will very likely still be in a Detroit jersey on Opening Day. None of this group can said to be premium trade chips, and the slowed free agent market also undoubtedly hampered Detroit’s trade negotiations. For instance, if you’re the Athletics, why deal for Hardy when you could simply sign a similar type of pitcher in free agency without having to give anything up in return?
This could also explain why the Tigers non-tendered Alex Wilson, who was projected to earn a modest $2.8MM salary in arbitration. It wasn’t a high figure for an unspectacular but solid reliever like Wilson, though since the Tigers considered him expendable, they decided to simply part ways before the arb deadline since no trade interest could be located.
The most prominent figure in Detroit trade rumors, of course, has been slugger Nicholas Castellanos. The Braves, Mets, and Dodgers were all linked to Castellanos at various points this winter, though none were willing to meet the high asking price the Tigers placed on the outfielder. Detroit was looking for a prospect (or prospects) that would top the compensatory first-round sandwich pick they could receive next winter if Castellanos receives and rejects a qualifying offer and then signs elsewhere. Castellanos himself expressed a desire to be moved before the start of camp, but nothing appealing ever came across the desk of GM Al Avila.
As with the Tigers’ lower-level trade candidates, Castellanos’ market was undoubtedly harmed by the presence of so many other outfielders available in free agency (or in other trades). Furthermore, while Castellanos has posted some fine numbers (.285/.336/.495 in 1790 PA, 67 homers) over the last three seasons, his bat isn’t elite enough that teams are willing to overlook his poor right field defense. To this end, it’s interesting that all of Castellanos’ known suitors were NL teams, though it’s fair to assume that some American League clubs also made inquiries.
If Castellanos keeps up his hitting production, he’ll still get some looks at the trade deadline, and his market will only grow if he becomes even borderline passable as a right fielder. Still, it seems like the Tigers will need to lower expectations about what they’ll be able to receive in a Castellanos trade, given how bat-only players have become far less sought-after than they were even only a few years ago. Topping a QO draft pick may not be feasible — if that’s even a reasonable guide to go by. Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press recently observed that the Tigers may not end up issuing Castellanos a qualifying offer in the fall, as he could accept that one-year deal (which will be in excess of $17.9MM) rather than taking his chances on the open market with draft compensation attached.
Castellanos has recently expressed interest in a contract extension to remain in Detroit, a possibility the team has pursued previously. With Cabrera already locked into DH duty through the 2023 season, though, there isn’t much room for the Tigers to carry another bat-only player over the long term. Since Avila has intimated that the Tigers won’t look to really boost payroll until after the 2020 season, keeping Castellanos at a hefty salary doesn’t seem to fit Detroit’s timeline.
2019 Season Outlook
It looks to be another long year for Detroit fans. Even in a weak AL Central, the Tigers aren’t likely to make much noise. Perhaps the club can hope to top the ghastly 64-98 record it has posted in successive seasons, but it’d be hard to expect more than modest improvement given the present state of the rosterComment -
Who's your dark horse to win the world series this year?????Comment -
^
Rockies probablyComment -
Kershaw questionable for opening day.Comment -
Asked about ex-Yankee Sonny Gray's comments about being forced into throwing sliders in New York, Aaron Boone said: "I don't know if I would characterize it as pushing him to throw sliders. He throws a slider ... We tried as best we could to try and get him to be successful. So I think we all kind of shared in the frustration at times. I know he was frustrated. We were. But we just tried to get him to be the best he could be and as successful as he could be."Comment -
Posey is as classy as they come, but I agree he needs some help on offense.Comment -
Looks like Luis Severino might not be ready for opening day. A pitcher battling shoulder inflammation this early is never a good sign...Comment -
Left-hander Gio Gonzalez had at least been discussed “by some Yankees people” even before the team learned of Luis Severino’s rotator cuff inflammation earlier today, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Similarly, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Yankees do like Gonzalez and may inquire with agent Scott Boras about the lefty’s current asking price.
With Severino and CC Sabathia both unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, the Yankees’ rotation depth isn’t quite as strong as it once appeared. Of course, neither Severino nor Sabathia is expected to miss significant time, and the Yankees have quite a few other options on hand to fill in on a short-term basis; Domingo German, Luis Cessa, Chance Adams and Jonathan Loaisiga are all on the 40-man roster and all saw some experience at the MLB level last season.
Beyond that, the Yankees are already projected to enter the season with a luxury tax payroll that sits at just over $226MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Because they’re already $20MM north of the $206MM threshold, the Yankees are not only subject to the initial 20 percent tax — they’ll also pay a 12 percent surcharge on any additional contracts. In order to sign Gonzalez (or any other Major League free agent), they’d effectively pay an additional $320K in taxes for every million dollars they spend.
As Feinsand points out, as well, there’s the more straightforward question of what to do with Gonzalez if (or when) the team’s rotation is fully healthy. Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and Sabathia are expected to comprise the Yankees’ rotation, and none of that quintet would figure to be pushed out by Gonzalez. Speculatively, the Yankees could deploy a six-man rotation or gauge Gonzalez’s willingness to pitch out of the ’pen. Ultimately, though, a pitcher as established as the 33-year-old Gonzalez seems like a tough fit in the Bronx, given the seemingly short-term nature of the absences with which Severino and Sabathia are currently faced.
That said, the tentative interest in Gonzalez is still of some note. If the Yankees incur further injuries or if Severino’s shoulder troubles prove to be more severe than initial testing has thus far suggested, a match with Gonzalez would suddenly appear considerably more plausible.Comment -
I cant help but feel like Gio would be a poor fit in the Bronx. I am just going off memory here but dont his splits point to being a fly ball pitcher in recent years? Not exactly what you wanna be inYankee Stadium, a low K, high FB guy...Comment -
Gio might be washed upComment -
Travis Jankowski out 3 months with a broken wrist.Comment -
Gio is done, best days behind him for sure.Comment -
Luis Severino says the strength is still the same in his shoulder, and for that reason he didn't think the news post-MRI of his shoulder injury wouldn't be too bad. He also is thankful that if this was going to happen that it happened in spring training, and not later in year.Comment
