Playing Fact or Fiction with All of MLB's Hottest Spring Training Buzz
Opening Day is drawing ever closer. With each passing day, we approach warmer weather, insane ballpark delicacies that only a child or mad scientist could come up with, and most importantly, meaningful baseball.
Rumors and speculation are buzzing around clubhouses as teams put the finishing touches on the rosters that will hopefully lead them to new levels of success in 2015, while keeping one eye on the future.
Will a top prospect make the cut, or is he destined to start the year in the minors? Are extensions in line for players entering their walk year, or are they set on reaching the open market? We'll hit on all that and more in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction.
San Francisco Won't Add an Outfielder Before Opening Day
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Between Angel Pagan's balky back and Hunter Pence's broken arm, San Francisco has rolled with a patchwork outfield for much of the spring, allowing speculation to run rampant that the team would add another outfielder before Opening Day rolled around.
According to general manager Brian Sabean, there's no need for the club to make a move.
“We expect him (Pagan) to be ready Opening Day,” Sabean told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle after watching Pagan play in a Triple-A game Tuesday (he went 0-for-3 in his return to the MLB lineup Wednesday).
“The other thing is, we’re not losing Pence for the year. It could be two weeks. It could be a month. It’s not a long-term situation.”
With Pagan back in center field, it would appear that the Giants have enough in-house options to replace Pence for the short term. Nori Aoki figures to get the bulk of the playing time in right field, while players like Daniel Carbonell and Justin Maxwell will be only a phone call away at Triple-A Sacramento.
Aside from the internal options, Schulman speculates that the Giants may also be up against their payroll limits, which complicates things. It would certainly preclude them from adding a player like Boston's Allen Craig, whom they've been linked to, according to Peter Gammons, but has more than $25 million left on his deal.
Verdict: Fiction
A slew of outfielders around the majors who are out of minor league options, along with a handful of veterans, could fall victim to the numbers game in the next week or so.
With Pagan's shaky injury history—he hasn't played in more than 100 games since 2012—and the limited offensive capabilities of Aoki, Gregor Blanco and Juan Perez, it would behoove the club to add another outfielder to the mix.
It's all speculation on my part, but one name to keep an eye on is Tampa Bay's David DeJesus, who is capable of playing all three outfield positions, has a reasonable salary ($4.375 million) and isn't likely to command much in return to obtain.
Baltimore Will Trade Brian Matusz
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Interest in Baltimore left-handed reliever Brian Matusz has only increased since reports linking him to the New York Mets broke just over a week ago, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.
With four left-handed relievers in the bullpen (including closer Zach Britton), Matusz has become expendable. A failure as a starter, the 28-year-old has found his calling as a reliever, pitching to a 3.26 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 116 innings of work while averaging more than one strikeout per inning.
With Matusz due $3.2 million in 2015 and having another year of arbitration remaining, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal previously reported that the Orioles are willing to eat some of that salary in order to facilitate a deal.
Verdict: Fact
There's always a demand for quality left-handed pitching, whether it be in the rotation or bullpen, and Baltimore is a motivated seller. Per Heyman, the team wants to keep Rule 5 draft picks Jason Garcia and Logan Verrett, who are both right-handed relievers, and moving Matusz would clear a spot for one of them.
Javier Baez Will Be Chicago's Opening Day Second Baseman
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Chicago skipper Joe Maddon wasted little time refuting a report from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, which claimed Javier Baez has been told that he'll be the team's Opening Day second baseman, according to an unnamed source.
"I have no idea where that came from," Maddon told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. "That hasn't been decided yet."
Baez, 22, has struggled at the plate this spring, hitting only .128/.190/.205 with 14 strikeouts in 42 plate appearances. That works out to a 33 percent strikeout rate, which is better, but not too far off, from his showing over 52 games in the majors last season, when he whiffed nearly 42 percent of the time.
"Offensively, obviously the power is prodigious, but the consistency of contact has to improve, and that will come from adjustments," Maddon continued. "For me, this guy is a Major League second baseman. When that clock will begin ticking, I can't give you a 100 percent timetable on that."
The bespectacled Cubs manager might want to have his prescription checked, however, because those comments somewhat oppose what he told Wittenmyer less than 24 hours earlier:
"I might be the only guy sitting around here to tell you I’m really not concerned with [the strikeouts] right now. The swing has nothing to do with it for me. That’s the obvious, surface-layer kind of stuff. That’s the part that’s going to change. But if you break down the other components of his game, he’s one of the best young players I’ve seen, period.
"
Which is it, Joe? Is Baez's penchant for striking out and struggle to make consistent contact an issue or not?
Verdict: Fact
For all his flaws at the plate, Baez remains among the team's biggest offensive threats—and best defender—at the keystone. Arismendy Alcantara offers more value to the club as a super-utility player off the bench, while Tommy La Stella is solid but unremarkable in all aspects of the game.
Cubs fans are already livid that Kris Bryant won't break camp with the club. It would be a public relations nightmare if the two most highly touted pieces of the team's future are absent on Opening Day.
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Texas Is Going to Trade for Another Starter
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Texas has been on the hunt for pitching help since Yu Darvish was lost for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and the rumor mill has been picking up speed, with a focus on the National League East.
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported that the club has spoken to Philadelphia about its ace, Cole Hamels, but it's hard to see the Rangers taking on the more than $90 million left on his contract and meeting the Phillies' asking price, which is sure to include top prospects like Jorge Alfaro and slugger Joey Gallo.
"At this point, the parties weren't necessarily expressing great optimism the gap could be closed, but they aren't closing the door, either," Heyman wrote.
The club was a fringe contender with Darvish—it makes no sense to mortgage the future in order to get back to that level.
More realistic options may exist in Miami, with two southpaws, swingman Brad Hand and reliever Mike Dunn, both on the Rangers' radar, according to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. Hand, 25, has been better in relief but not a complete loss as a starter, pitching to a 4.58 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 30 career starts.
Dunn, entering his age-30 season, is a full-time reliever who knows how to miss bats (career 10.1 K/9) and has been effective over his career, especially against left-handed batters, holding them to a .220/.304/.321 triple-slash line.
The Marlins want to keep Rule 5 draft pick Andrew McKirahan, per MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, and both southpaws are out of minor league options. Moving one of them might be the only way for the Marlins to clear a roster spot.
Verdict: Fact and Fiction
The Rangers are going to add another arm, but it's not necessarily going to be someone that they immediately plug into the rotation. A player like Hand, who has experience bouncing between the bullpen and rotation, would be ideal.
Arms like that typically don't carry a high financial commitment, aren't all that expensive to acquire in terms of talent and provide flexibility should a better option become available as the season rolls along.
An Ace Will Sign an Extension Before Opening Day
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One way or another, David Price is going to be paid handsomely in 2015.
A free agent after the season, Price has reiterated his willingness to forgo the open market and sign a long-term extension to stay in Detroit. "Yeah," he told MLive.com's James Schmehl. "I've said that multiple times," while adding that he'd be open to negotiating a deal during the regular season.
The same can't be said of Baltimore's Chris Tillman, who isn't eligible for free agency until 2017 and has set a deadline of Opening Day to get a deal done, according to both CBS Sports' Jon Heyman and the New York Post's Joel Sherman.
Cleveland's Corey Kluber might be the most intriguing extension candidate of all. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is entering his age-29 season, which isn't old but isn't quite young, either, as far as a pitcher goes. Inking (or not inking) a new deal represents significant risk on both sides.
“If he considers this, he is doing it with his eyes wide open," Kluber's agent, B.B. Abbott, told Sherman. "He knows this will be the only time to sign this kind of multiyear deal.”
Verdict: Fact
While acknowledging that the two sides have talked, Price warns not to read too much into it.
"I wouldn't even call it groundwork," he told MLB.com's Jason Beck about the discussions.
If he signs an extension, it won't be until we're well into the regular season.
But Kluber and Tillman will sign new, long-term deals to stay with their respective clubs. Tillman has been good but not great for the Orioles and should come at a reasonable price, while Kluber, still four years away from free agency, can't afford to not cash in on his breakout season.
Unless otherwise noted, all spring training statistics courtesy of MLB.com and are current through games of March 26. All other statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference or FanGraphs.
All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR
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