Mining the News (11/13/23)

American League

Athletics

• The team isn’t sure what position Miguel Andujar will play next season.

A’s general manager David Forst, who met with Andujar’s agent at the annual GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., this week, spoke highly of the 28-year-old.

“He had a fantastic year at Triple-A for the Pirates,” Forst said. “This is still a young man. He obviously was highly regarded when he came up with the Yankees. It’s a hard place to come up in New York and a lot of attention was paid to his defense at the time and whether he could play third base. I think we believe he’s still a Major League hitter.

“He’s done a nice job transitioning to the outfield. He played both left and right field in Triple-A last year. He’s played some at first base as well, which is a nice option to have because we’re very left-handed at first base between [Ryan] Noda, [Seth] Brown and [Tyler] Soderstrom. I think the bat is a really good fit for us. It’ll remain to be seen where he fits overall on the roster. But there’s a lot of people here who believe he is a Major League hitter.”

Blue Jays

• Mitch White is out of minor-league options.

That was enough for the Jays to prevent White from leaving in minor league free agency. If he keeps his place on the 40-man throughout the offseason, they’ll need to carry him on next year’s MLB roster or make him available to other clubs because he has exhausted his minor league options.

Orioles

• The team is looking to bring in an experienced closer on a one year deal.

Bautista should close games for the Orioles in 2025 and beyond, so this is only a one-year need. But it’s a spot Baltimore is aiming to fill.

“We’re looking. I can’t predict what outcome we get this winter, but we’re looking. I think having somebody who has closed before would be really nice,” Elias said. “We really want to get another back-end reliever, and maybe that guy is the closer.”

Limit expectations on Yennier Cano.

Rays

• René Pinto is expected to be the full-time catcher.

By the end of the season, it became apparent that René Pinto had overtaken Christian Bethancourt 베탄코트 as the Rays’ primary catcher. They bumped Francisco Mejía off the roster to keep Pinto, and they moved on from Bethancourt when he was claimed off waivers by the Guardians on Monday.

That leaves Pinto as the only catcher on the Rays’ roster and, thus, the likely starter to open 2024. But it’s clearly an area to address this winter, either with a veteran pickup or a younger complement to Pinto.

…

“If we find someone to pair with him that deserves a little more of the work, great. If we don’t, we’ll be OK in that regard,” Neander said. “We think highly of René and believe he’s well-positioned to have a chance at a greater role. However, we’ll continue to look to address the position, certainly.”

Red Sox

• No one has the upper hand on the second base job.

That would be second base, which became a revolving door with limited production last season.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow mentioned a quartet of players (Luis Urías, David Hamilton, Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes) who could fill the position by committee, but none of them stand out as everyday solutions.

It seems far more likely the Sox will go outside the organization and get shortstop Trevor Story a permanent double-play partner.

Here are the projected Steamer OPS values of the four players listed.

Name: OPS

• Luis Urías: .738
• David Hamilton: .657
• Enmanuel Valdez: .741
• Pablo Reyes: .713

• Connor Wong is going to be the everyday catcher.

Catcher could theoretically be another place to add but it sounds like the Sox feel good about Connor Wong there. “Very comfortable,” Breslow said about Wong. “We feel good about the catching situation. That’s not to say that we should be closed-minded about opportunities to improve the team. But I think we’re all really happy with him.”

Royals

• Edward Olivares is out of options.

There was some talk surrounding Olivares, who is now out of options, at the Trade Deadline, and he might be a trade option either before the tender deadline or after.

No more of this:

pic.twitter.com/ydHBGNis0T

— Dave L Funnell (@sportz_nutt51) November 12, 2023

Tigers

• Matt Vierling will play at third base and DH next season.

Detroit already had Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Akil Baddoo returning, plus Austin Meadows under club control and prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy knocking on the door. Manager A.J. Hinch has already discussed playing Vierling at third base and using the DH slot to help address the potential glut. Canha adds to the mix and furthers the likelihood of additional moves.

• Nick Maton had knee surgery this offseason.

The same can’t be said for infielder Nick Maton, who recently underwent an arthroscopic procedure to address a left knee problem. The Tigers haven’t indicated whether the issue could linger into Spring Training, noting only that Maton is currently in post-operation rehab. Acquired from the Phillies in last offseason’s Gregory Soto deal, the left-handed hitter ran a .173/.288/.305 line over 93 games during his first season as a Tiger.

• GM favorite, Reese Olson, plans to work on his command this offseason.

Scott Harris doesn’t believe in labels like No. 1 starter or No. 2 starter. He does believe in the fast-rising righty.

“Reese has three distinct secondary pitches that miss bats,” Detroit’s President of Baseball Operations told me at this week’s GM meetings. “That’s really hard to find. He also has two different fastballs that reach the upper 90s. I also think he did some things this summer that reminded me of what other really good pitchers do in their first year in the big leagues. I’m not going to throw those expectations on him, but his ceiling is as high as anyone’s.”

Asked if he could elaborate on “what other really good pitchers do in their first year,” the exec explained that Olson had stretches of dominance within games that didn’t necessarily translate into a dominant line. Like many young pitchers, he would string together “three, four innings of truly dominant stuff, then make a couple of mistakes in the zone that lead to home runs.” Harris viewed that as a source of optimism. To him, it suggested that the young hurler was an adjustment away from having dominant stretches for entire starts, if not months or longer.

…

“I added a sinker this year,” said Olson, who was then 175 pounds and is now a sturdier 185. “Other than that, the arsenal is the same. I’ve just got much better command. That just comes from getting older and stronger and not having to put as much effort into it. I don’t know that I’d say I used to force effort, but I was a little smaller, trying to throw hard.”

• Casey Mize is expected to have a normal offseason.

Detroit announced this evening that Mize has been throwing bullpen sessions without issue and is expected to have a normal offseason.

• The expectation is that right-handed Mark Canha will platoon with the other outfielders.

With Miguel Cabrera no longer occupying the DH spot, it’s easy to see Canha spending time in both the outfield and the DH spot and platooning with Detroit’s three left-handed outfielders in Riley Greene, Parker Meadows and Kerry Carpenter.

Here are the career splits on the three lefties to see who is most likely to be platooned.

Name: OPS vs LHP

• Riley Greene: .724
• Parker Meadows: .732
• Kerry Carpenter: .643

While all three names are listed, the platooning will likely start with Carpenter.

Twins

• Byron Buxton is preparing to play center field next season.

It’s likely they’ll seek additional help in center field given Buxton’s history, but Falvey has already indicated the target will be different this year: The Twins will be getting Buxton ready for center field again after his plica excision procedure that the organization hopes will finally take pressure off the patellar tendon in his problematic right knee.

“Our expectation through the winter for him is that we’re getting him ready to play center field,” Falvey said. “We had a different plan last offseason. He had a different procedure. We were hopeful to DH at the start of the year and then build in over time. Obviously, that didn’t happen. But if he can go, our focus is going to be on him playing center field to start next year.”

And I’m preparing to be the Chiefs quarterback.

• The team plans on continuing to platoon hitters.

More than once I saw manager Rocco Baldelli pinch-hitting in the early innings to gain a platoon advantage. Did the A.L. Central champions actually overdo handedness matchups? I asked that question to Derek Falvey earlier this week.

“I don’t think so,” the President of Baseball Operations replied. “To define overdid… when we look at how it worked for some our young players getting established at the big-league level, building on some success, the likes of Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien didn’t see as much left-handed pitching. I feel like that was good for them. They got some development against lefties, but our second-half offense was really what we hoped it would be from the get-go. Our first half offense was not what we thought it was going to be, but our second-half was and I think a lot of that was owed to Rocco really utilizing the matchups to the best of his ability.”

Julien logged 360 plate appearances versus RHP and 48 versus LHP, while Wallner had 208 versus RHP and 46 versus LHP. Meanwhile, right-handed-hitting Donovan Solano pinch-hit a team-high 33 times (and went 8-for-29 with three walks and a sac fly).

• Max Kepler used his “A swing” last season.

In March, Kepler told us the frustration of finding gloves caused him to often switch swings and go away from his A Swing, his best one, to try to hit around the shift. Essentially, he sacrificed power to try and beat the shift. Because he knew the shift was no longer in place, Kepler was allowed to employ his preferred power swing more often this season and it resulted in his best season since 2019. Even if it was tricking his mind, Kepler was confident enough in his best swing to use it more often. And we all know how important confidence can be.

White Sox

• Yoán Moncada may play some first and second base next season.

“He is capable of playing different positions,” said Getz, when asked if Moncada could go back to second base from his current third-base locale. “He has played second base with us. I think he’s a better third baseman than second baseman.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be perhaps times where he goes over to second or plays first base and perhaps even the outfield. We’ll do what’s best for our club.”

Hearing outfield mentioned in connection with the 28-year-old brought about my follow-up question, with Moncada’s back in consideration.

“Well, health dependent,” Getz added.

• Oscar Colás is expected to start the season in AAA.

Getz mentioned that Oscar Colás would benefit from more regular playing time at Triple-A Charlotte…

Yankees

• Brian Cashman likes DJ LeMahieu’s second half.

Cashman also said that DJ LeMahieu saw some promising signs at the end of the 2023 season and believes he can contribute like he did in the past.

I read this info from two different sources and both were vague, so I found the actual clip (start at 48 seconds).

Brian Cashman says the Yankees need 2 outfielders, "preferably lefthanded", reinforce pitching, and notes the Yankees' infield "surplus"

"Do you try to find a lane to get [Oswald] Peraza involved? We have Gleyber Torres in the last year of his contract" pic.twitter.com/IPLtP9ElBn

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) November 7, 2023

It just sounds like the Yankees plan on giving LeMahieu the starting third base job.

National League

Cardinals

• Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, and Jordan Walker are the leading outfield candidates.

When asked to project next year’s Opening Day outfield, Mozeliak was clear that the lineup was not set in stone, but that Lars Nootbaar (left field), Tommy Edman (center field) and Jordan Walker (right field) were the leading candidates. With Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson seemingly pushed out of starting roles at this time, St. Louis could field calls on either player, along with outfielders like Alec Burleson, Juan Yepez, Moises Gomez and Luken Baker.

Without a trade, Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson look to have minimal fantasy value.

Cubs

• Christopher Morel will try his hand at first base in winter ball.

Morel’s power production and potential is undeniable, but the Cubs have had a hard time finding a regular spot for him on the diamond. He has bounced between multiple infield and outfield spots, but Hoyer said the Cubs will have Morel try his hand at first base (a position of need for Chicago) in winter ball with Aguilas in the Dominican Republic.

“We’ve talked a lot. It’s just an ongoing conversation,” Hoyer said. “We’ve talked a lot about finding him a home. I do think we want to give him some work at first and see how he reacts to that. He’s shown he can play third. He’s shown he can play second. He can play in the outfield, but finding a home for him is something that would be really valuable.”

• The team isn’t looking for closer but many bullpen arms.

The bullpen will be an area of need this winter for the Cubs, who saw their relief corps labor down the stretch amid injuries and high workloads. Expect Chicago to cast a wide net in that department as the team works to build up the depth of options.

“You have to be creative in the bullpen,” Hoyer said. “You have to find guys with good stuff. You have to find guys on bounceback years. You have to find guys coming off injuries. And I think you’ve got to take all those demographics, and then a couple of guys that might provide certainty, so to speak, and you’ve got to blend that together. But I do think taking a lot of shots on goal can certainly help.”

Giants

• Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto should get plenty of DH at-bats.

To free up spots in the outfield, Zaidi said Mitch Haniger and Conforto could get more at-bats at designated hitter next year, particularly now that Joc Pederson is a free agent.

“I think we can move things around,” Zaidi said. “As of now, our DH spot is open, as well. We may adopt an approach of rotating a couple of different guys through there. That could open up some outfield playing time.”

• Marco Luciano will no longer be given the shortstop job with the team possibly bringing in a replacement.

Zaire’s stance on shortstop walks back comments from last month a little bit. At the time, the front office leader said that 22-year-old Marco Luciano would get “the chance to be the everyday guy.” While Zaidi reiterated the organization is hopeful that Luciano seizes the job, he acknowledged yesterday “it makes sense for us to have some insurance.”

• The GM is all happy about signing Yoshi Tsutsugo.

The Giants plucked Tsutsugo out of the independent Atlantic League in August, and he played for Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento.

“He did a great job for us in Double A and Triple A, he swung the bat really well coming out of independent ball,” Zaidi said. “Hopefully, if we can get a deal done, we’ll have him in big-league camp and give him an opportunity to make our team. He’s got a great track record in Japan, he’s had some success over here, and he thinks he figured out something with his swing later in the season. We saw really good results.”

Mets

• According to the GM, both Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio (who will play in the Dominican Republic) will be considered for the third base job. Mark Vientos will get reps at DH and first base.

Pitching likely ranks atop the winter agenda for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, but what to do at third base demands attention too.

Based on Stearns’ comments this week at the GM meetings, it sounds as if young internal options Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio remain in the mix. Both players possess tantalizing talent but also carry concerns. By May, the Mets turned third base over to Baty, but he failed to run with the opportunity. Mauricio flashed intriguing tools during his September call-up but lacks experience at the position. Mark Vientos, another young player, received inconsistent looks at third base, and Stearns said he views the 23-year-old as a “bat-first player.” Vientos profiles more as a designated hitter or first baseman.

Though both Baty and Mauricio have dabbled in left field during their minor-league careers, Stearns said both players belong on the infield dirt — where they also need to improve defensively.

In particular, when asked about Mauricio’s lack of experience at third base, Stearns said the 22-year-old has the hands and reflexes necessary to handle the position. Mauricio needs reps and will get more during winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

• David Peterson will be back mid-season after hip surgery to repair an issue he’s dealt with for years.

The procedure, which Peterson underwent Monday in New York, carries a typical recovery timetable of six to seven months. That would sideline the left-hander into early May or June.

According to a person familiar with the situation, the labrum tear is something Peterson has dealt with for years, but he put off surgery because he felt able to pitch without discomfort on many occasions. Other starts proved more challenging for Peterson, who felt some irritation as he began his offseason throwing program at home in Colorado.

Padres

• With the team not looking to add a “closer”, the GM has mentioned Robert Suarez as a possible candidate.

Even with Josh Hader on the market, Preller said the Padres don’t necessarily need to add a closer. But they need relievers. Plural.

“We focus more on guys that have quality arms, quality stuff, quality command,” Preller said. “Guys that have real makeup that could pitch in some big spots. Yeah, we probably need to add to that here in the next couple of weeks.”

If the Padres don’t sign a lockdown closer like Hader, Preller mentioned Robert Suarez — Hader’s setup man the past two seasons — as a candidate for that role.

Phillies

• Bryce Harper will not play any outfield next season.

Dombrowski said Harper will play only first base next year and that there are no plans to occasionally play him in right field.

• Kyle Schwarber will be the primary DH.

“We look at Bryce being our first baseman, we look at [Kyle] Schwarber being our DH the majority of the time,” Dombrowski said.

Pirates

• Oneil Cruz is doing “baseball activities”.

Oneil Cruz is in Bradenton, Fla., right now, and he’s been doing all baseball activities, per Cherington. Cruz is being assessed day by day as he nears a return to game action after missing much of the season with a fractured left fibula, though Cherington said that may be at the Pirates’ complex in Bradenton or their academy in the Dominican Republic if they feel that winter ball is not in the best interest of Cruz and the team’s assessments.

Reds

• Jose Barrero is out of minor-league options.

Also lurking in the infield mix is Jose Barrero, who endured anemic hitting over 46 games in ’23 before spending the rest of the season at Triple-A Louisville. Barrero is out of Minor League options going into next spring.

• According to Scott Boras, Elly De La Cruz was “fatigue[d]” to end the season, and that caused him to struggle against lefties.

“Yes, I would be very surprised,” Boras said. “[Elly De La Cruz] had 250 at-bats in the Minor Leagues right-handed and now you’re playing in the Major Leagues — wow. For those of us who played Minor League ball, to think about how many at-bats we needed in Double-A — we asked a lot of him.

“He’s working obviously [on] strength, getting ready to play a full 162-game schedule. He’s not come anywhere near that prior to this year. There was a big fatigue factor for him late in the year. [He’s] getting his strength, durability there and also getting more focus on how to work on his technique for the right-handed at-bats.”

The second half (.191/.271/.355) and against lefties (.184/.231/.263) struggles were real.