MLB Teams Making the Most Head-Scratching Decisions This Spring
With some of the head-scratching decisions being made around baseball this spring, you couldn't fault fans for wondering whether it's seasoned, knowledgeable baseball people calling the shots for their favorite teams or Freedom Williams and the rest of C&C Music Factory in disguise.
Nowhere on the pages that follow will you see mention of Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs' expected decision to start his season at Triple-A Iowa. While it might be a questionable move from a baseball standpoint given his Ruthian performance this spring, it's what's best for business.
But from figuring out who fits where on a 25-man roster, looking at a lack (or abundance) of quality options at a specific position and seeing who's taking unnecessary risks, there's plenty going on around the game that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Let's take a closer look at five that, thankfully, can still be corrected before Opening Day.
New York Yankees: Stephen Drew and Second Base
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Had Stephen Drew spent a couple of productive years as a member of the New York Yankees before completely falling apart in 2014, that'd be one thing.
But Drew is a hired gun, one that jammed, misfired, backfired and fell apart in his 46 games with the club. His .491 OPS made him only the 16th Yankee since 1901 with at least 150 plate appearances and an OPS below .500. He's one of five to accomplish the feat with at least seven years of MLB experience.
Now there's nothing wrong with the Yankees giving him a shot at redemption. The team's reasoning for bringing Drew back on a one-year, $5 million deal was sound.
"He has a history of being a really good player prior to a season that didn't play out the way anybody expected," general manager Brian Cashman told the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron in late January. "It was just something that's so far out of the norm for his capabilities. The contract reflects that and we're certainly hopeful that he can revert back."
Drew hasn't reverted; he's regressed.
Not only is his bat noticeably slower than it has been in the past, but he's been badly outplayed by Jose Pirela and Rob Refsnyder.
| Drew (14) | .176 | .263 | .294 | 2 (1) | 4/6 |
| Pirela (15) | .370 | .433 | .630 | 5 (0) | 3/6 |
| Refsnyder (16) | .346 | .433 | .538 | 3 (1) | 4/6 |
To be fair, Drew is a better defender at the keystone than either of them, so points to him for that. But it's not like Pirela and Refsnyder are the second coming of Chuck Knoblauch, unable to make an accurate throw to first base. They've both performed well enough to deserve a chance to start.
Yet Drew will be the Opening Day starter because it's part of the plan, as manager Joe Girardi told Newsday's Erik Boland before the exhibition season began: "We signed him to be our second baseman."
It's confounding reasoning like this that causes Yankees fans to yearn for the days of King George, when there were consequences for poor play—and poor decisions.
Cincinnati Reds: Banishing Tony Cingrani to the Bullpen
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If you were Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty and someone asked if you'd like a 25-year-old left-handed pitcher who's pitched to a 3.50 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 29 major league starts, averages more than a strikeout per inning and isn't arbitration-eligible for another two years, what would you say?
"Yes, please" and "Tell me where to pick him up" are the first two things that come to mind.
Rather than give Tony Cingrani a chance to shine every fifth day, the Reds have decided that those less experienced (Anthony DeSclafani and Raisel Iglesias) and well past their prime (Jason Marquis) are better options.
"There's challenges here. As much as there's opportunity because there's two spots open in the rotation with the trades of (Alfredo) Simon and (Mat) Latos, we brought in a bunch of people we feel are worthy competing for those jobs," manager Bryan Price told the Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay. "But we don't have the innings to give them to everybody."
That's true—there are only so many innings to go around. But ask yourself this: How many contending teams would give some of those innings to a 36-year-old pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery, one who pitched to a combined 4.85 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in the four years preceding the procedure?
None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Realistically, a whole heck of a lot is going to have to go right in Cincinnati—and go wrong elsewhere—for the Reds to contend for a playoff spot in 2015. The Reds are more likely to be shopping their ace at the trade deadline than they are to be sitting in the thick of a playoff race come mid-September.
It makes absolutely no sense for a club in that situation to give up on the starting career of a youngster who has shown he can be successful in the role. FanGraphs' Mike Petriello writes that a move to the bullpen was inevitable (and overdue) for Cingrani, and maybe he's right.
But it's a move that the Reds had no reason to make now.
Philadelphia Phillies: Refusing to Trade Cole Hamels (or Listen to Reason)
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Should you ever find yourself in a conversation with Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro Jr., do yourself a favor and leave whatever facts you've got at home. They've got no place in his world of make believe, as ESPN.com's Jayson Stark recently learned.
In what was more like a failed intervention than an interview, Stark came from multiple angles to try and get Amaro to see the folly of his ways when it comes to his refusal to trade the one valuable chip he's got left, Cole Hamels.
"I don't know what lesson could be learned," Amaro told Stark when asked whether Cliff Lee's (potentially) career-ending elbow injury had changed his thinking on Hamels. "There's no lesson learned from Lee's situation because it's a totally different situation. One guy is hurt. The other guy is completely healthy."
Brilliant, Ruben. Simply brilliant.
Philadelphia could have traded Lee on more than one occasion when he was healthy, but it didn't. Now it couldn't pay a team to take him off its hands. But in Amaroland, what happened to Lee couldn't possibly happen to Hamels.
Except that it could.
Yet the Phillies continue to hold onto Hamels, who, as ESPN's Buster Olney wrote in early February, loses value with each passing day: "As time goes by, Hamels’ value in the market slowly depreciates, like that of a car, with the Phillies continuing to carry the inherent risk that if any significant damage develops—if he has any physical setback—the return in trade could essentially evaporate."
Amaro continues to insist that the club is "open-minded" when it comes to trading Hamels, who, lest we forget, wants out of Philadelphia. But in reality, he's about as close-minded as one could possibly be.
"He has set his Hamels bar high from the moment he started telling teams he would listen," Stark writes. "He has no intention of lowering it now."
Nobody's suggesting that the Phillies should sell low on Hamels. This is a trade that the organization can't afford to screw up—which makes the very fact that it's allowing Amaro to make the decision all the more baffling, considering that he's the one who created the mess that is the Phillies in the first place.
But come July, he's not going to be the only front-line starter available. Teams are going to have other options, all far less expensive to acquire in terms of both dollars and talent. Next winter's free-agent class of starters could be as deep as it's been in years, further complicating matters.
Amaro needs to take the best offer he can get for Hamels and trade him now before it's too late.
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Arizona Diamondbacks: Unwillingness to Acquire a Catcher
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In late February, Arizona's catching situation was "unique," according to the team's chief baseball officer, Tony La Russa, who espoused praise on the likes of Tuffy Gosewisch and Peter O'Brien while a guest on Arizona Sports' Burns and Gambo, per Adam Green of ArizonaSports.com.
Shortly after that, Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart reiterated the team's belief in its unique catching situation, telling Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, "We’re not going to trade for a catcher. Some people think we are. We’re not."
Just about a week later, Stewart was telling MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that a trade for a catcher like Toronto's Dioner Navarro wasn't going to happen because he couldn't fit the veteran's $5 million salary into the team's budget for 2015.
For what it's worth, I've figured out the secret to fitting his salary into the team's budget—twice.
It's been one excuse after another when it comes to the Diamondbacks finding a suitable replacement for two-time All-Star Miguel Montero, who was traded to the Chicago Cubs in early December.
Gosewisch (pictured) is a fine defensive catcher, one whom any team would be happy to have as its primary backup. But he's a career .213 hitter with little power and, essentially, is close to an automatic out when he steps to the plate.
Only those in Arizona believe that prospect Peter O'Brien can stick behind the plate, while the team's other internal options are all backup types like Gosewisch. There's simply no reason why the Diamondbacks haven't added a legitimate, major league-caliber starter to the mix other than this—they don't want to.
It almost seems as if the team thinks it's smarter than everyone else, something that wasn't lost on FanGraphs' David Cameron. Or maybe the powers-that-be are in denial, simply having a hard time accepting the truth, which is u-g-l-y—and left them without an alibi.
Boston Red Sox: Reluctance to Ease the Outfield Logjam
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With all the talent Boston has available to it, the Red Sox could fill three major league outfields—and pretty good ones at that.
“When does a good problem become a problem?” Boston skipper John Farrell rhetorically asked during a recent conversation with The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo. “We have to take these next few days of camp and determine what’s best for us as an organization. I’m not suggesting there’s player movement, but there’s only three spots and really two coming off the bench.”
Well, without any player movement, it's hard to see how this situation gets cleared up.
Hanley Ramirez is going to be the team's starting left fielder, and Farrell reiterated to Cafardo his stance that, if healthy, Shane Victorino will be his starter in right. Daniel Nava has proven to be a reliable reserve, while Brock Holt's versatility allows the team to carry him as a utility player.
That leaves five players—Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts, Bryce Brentz, Rusney Castillo and Allen Craig—vying for one, maybe two roster spots. It's safe to assume that both Bradley Jr. and Brentz will start the season in Triple-A, as both have minor league options remaining.
Boston has steadfastly refused to include Betts in its on-again, off-again discussions with Philadelphia regarding the aforementioned Hamels, and while he's got options left, there's nothing left for him to prove down on the farm. He's earned the right to start for this team.
But the Red Sox aren't paying Rusney Castillo $72.5 million to ride the pine, and he's shown no ill effects from an oblique injury that sidelined him earlier this spring.
They could probably trade Allen Craig (pictured), a player whom the San Francisco Giants are known to have interest in, as MLB Network's Peter Gammons has previously reported. But Gammons notes that the team is leery of "selling low" on Craig.
Additionally, he's the team's primary backup for first baseman Mike Napoli, who has a shaky injury history and is currently dealing with a sore ankle.
It's possible, albeit unlikely, that Victorino, who is recovering from back surgery, would agree to begin the year on the disabled list as he works his way into regular-season form. Even if he was amenable to such a scenario, that only temporarily solves the problem.
Moving forward with such a convoluted, potentially messy situation that could wind up alienating some good ballplayers and negatively impacting the clubhouse isn't an option. Something's got to give, and someone's feelings are going to be hurt, his ego bruised.
The longer Boston waits to make a decision, the worse things could potentially get.
Unless otherwise noted, all spring training statistics are courtesy of MLB.com and current through games of March 24. All other statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.
All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR
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