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Braves Sign Chris Rusin To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed lefty Chris Rusin to a minor league deal and invited him to major league camp, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter).

Rusin made just two appearances for the big league club in Colorado last season, making 25 appearances (10 starts) for the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate. The 33-year-old southpaw spent the last five seasons in Colorado, totaling 164 appearances (29 starts) as a swingman. He put up an overall 4.52 ERA/4.13 FIP, but struggled in 2018 to the tune of a 6.09 ERA/4.94 FIP.

Rusin provides the Braves with a flexible arm from the left side to look at throughout spring training. Though they have more than enough options for both the rotation and bullpen, many of Atlanta’s arms are young, and Rusin could stand in as an injury replacement depending on how the rest of the organization shapes up throughout February and March.

Astros To Interview Dusty Baker

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The Houston Astros will interview veteran skipper Dusty Baker on Monday, writes MLB.com’s Matt Kelly (crediting Jon Paul Morosi). Baker has also drawn interest from the Mets to fill their recent opening. While the Astros and Baker have connected, Baker has yet to hear from the Mets (or Red Sox), per MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.

Baker managed an even 3,500 games across four stints in the majors. The Giants (1993-2002), the Cubs (2003-2006), the Reds (2008-2013) and Nationals (2016-2017) all enjoyed regular season success with Baker at the helm.

Baker hasn’t made much traction in the managerial market since parting ways with the Nationals, but unique circumstances in New York and Houston may open the door for the 70-year-old Baker to return to the bench. Certainly, Baker can handle the media scrutiny that will comes with stepping into the spotlight vacated by A.J. Hinch or Carlos Beltran, respectively.

Baker is no stranger to public scrutiny. He oversaw the Giants through Barry Bonds’ record-breaking home run season and the Cubs during their 2003 playoff collapse and the what-ifs of the Kerry Wood-Mark Prior era. He’s also the only manager in the last 24 years to take the Reds to the playoffs, which he did three times.

Playoff disappointment has also been a feature of Baker teams, however. After twice losing in the first round, Baker took the 2002 Giants to the World Series and lost. The Cubs heartbreak followed. He was unable to get either the Reds or Nationals out of the first round, getting eliminated in a winner-take-all game in each of his last four postseason appearances.

Of course, a manager cannot be solely held accountable for playoff losses, and Baker would certainly provide a semblance of much-needed stability to either franchise. Houston has said they want to have the opening filled by February 3rd.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/18/20

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We’ll use this post to track some minor signings throughout the day…

  • The Indians added a pair of minor leaguers, the team announced (via Twitter). Southpaw Gunner Leger and catcher Yojhan Quevedo will report to minor league camp at the beginning of March. A Louisiana native originally drafted in the 26th round by the Miami Marlins, Leger, 24, instead returned to the University of Louisiana in his hometown of Lafayette, where he concluded a successful NCAA career after the 2019 season. Leger went 24-13 with a 2.44 ERA across 63 games, 53 starts in college. Williamsport fanatics might remember Leger as a first baseman and pitcher for a Lake Charles team that made it all the way to the United States finals before losing to perennial challenger, Hawaii, in 2008.
  • Quevedo, 26, is a Venezuelan native whose latest baseball action came in the Venezuelan Winter League each of the past two seasons. The catcher is clearly on the older end of the prospect spectrum, thought catchers often develop later. His latest output impressed with a .371/.378/.411 line across 136 plate appearances in the winter league.

Indians’ Francona: “Lindor Not On Trading Block”

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Indians’ manager Terry Francona spoke clearly and confidently during an appearance on MLB Network Radio’s Remember When (audio link). According to Francona, Francisco Lindor is not on the trading block.

“I can guarantee you we’re not trying to trade Lindor. We have him for two more years. Keeping him is everybody’s goal. Also know that keeping him and fielding a competitive team is a challenge in our market. There’s no getting around that. It’s not gonna be easy. I think that’s as honest as you can be.”

This jibes more-or-less with what we’ve been hearing out of Cleveland for most of the offseason. Still, Francona lends the message a certain gravitas. If the tone was more forceful, the content doesn’t differ all that significantly from the the equivocating trafficked by front offices. The Indians, like many teams, are in a position of financial maneuvering. The payroll limits imposed by ownership charge the baseball ops department to act creatively and consider options at which they’d otherwise scoff.

Doom and gloom aside, the Indians aren’t devoid of talent. Despite missing the playoffs in 2019 to a Twins team that’s continued their full court press this winter, the Indians are coming off their fourth consecutive 90-win season. They won just one less game in 2020 than in 2016, the year they won the pennant.

New Rule Allows Angels To Keep Ohtani On Roster As Hitter While On Rehab Assignment

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Angels’ GM Billy Eppler has been working with the Commissioner’s office on finding a solution to handling injured list stints for Shohei Ohtani, whom Eppler catalogues nicely as a player with a “dual distinction.”

With Ohtani in mind, the Commissioner’s office has passed a new rule that would allow Ohtani to pitch on a rehab assignment and return to the club as soon as the next day to perform as a hitter, said Eppler on the MLB Network Radio’s Power Alley (audio link). Essentially, the Angels can now treat Ohtani separately as a pitcher and hitter, sending him on a rehab assignment while keeping him on the roster.

Of course, that’s the hitch in the plan as well, that Ohtani would remain on the ML roster while pitching elsewhere, leaving the Angels roster down a man for a day. Eppler also reminds us that when he was healthy as a two-way star, the Angels preferred to give Ohtani a full day of rest the day before and after pitching assignments that took him past 65 pitches or so.

Still, the Angels now have the option to send Ohtani to the Pacific Coast League or the California league nearby without totally removing him from the roster. Whether that amount of travel behooves team or player in this case will be up to the Angels to decide.

Cubs’ Players, Personnel on the State of the Team

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The Cubs are one of two teams without a guaranteed signing this offseason, and there’s a good chance their caution continues. By all accounts, the Cubs will have a chance at returning to National League prominence in 2020 only if they make significant strides internally, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. On that front, there are definitely issues to address.

Star shortstop Javier Baez made the point clearly: “The biggest problem to fix? “I think everybody was being there for the team but at the same time for their own numbers.” Wittenmyer also provides a quote from new manager David Ross, who strikes a similar tone in saying, “I think we’ve got to let everybody talk about us like it use to be – not us talking about other people.”

Given the success of the Nationals’ last season, driven by a persistent narrative of clubhouse camaraderie, coupled with the clear morale questions at the heart of the Astros’ controversy heading into the season, soft skills are having a moment in MLB right now. The Cubs will give the 2020 season another test case. That is, if they can make the clubhouse adjustments the team has been talking about for two seasons now.

As has been the case for most of the offseason, however, the conversation never veers far from the grievance filed by Kris Bryant, per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma. The Cubs continue to wait for a resolution.

President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein answered questions about the open case – as he has all offseason – at the outset of the Cubs’ Convention. Said Epstein, “Our role was to show up when they told us to show up, answer questions truthfully, which we did, and sit back and wait for a decision. There were a lot of documents and a lot of arguments involved in the case. We respect the role of the arbitrator. He’s gotta work through everything methodically until he’s confident in his decision. Then, he can move forward. It’s out of our control; we’re not going to worry about it. Whenever it happens, it happens.”

A ruling would theoretically free the Cubs to take final offers on a Bryant trade and consummate a deal, if there’s one out there to Epstein’s liking. Moving Bryant would get the Cubs under the luxury tax, clearly a benchmark they’d like to clear prior to the 2020 season.

That said, don’t expect the financial floodgates to open. Removing Bryant’s contract ducks the tax, but not enough to create space to sign, say, Nicholas Castellanos. Other than Castellanos, who took a definite liking to Wrigley Field last season, there aren’t a lot of free agents that make sense for the Cubs at this time. Not anymore. There’s certainly nobody available that comes close to matching Bryant in talent. There are other ways the Cubs could sneak under the tax that would be less harmless to their on-field product in 2020, so moving Bryant only makes sense if the return satisfies Epstein’s asking price.

For now, the waiting game continues on the Northside, much to the chagrin of the fanbase. Their inactivity is well-documented, addressed yesterday by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco here, but it remains one of the stories of the offseason. The only imaginable impact move left for the Cubs is dealing Bryant for a young collection of  players that can help both now and in the future. Whether a team like the Braves or Diamondbacks pony up talent enough for Epstein to pull the trigger is the unknown variable that won’t come to light until after the resolution of the Bryant case.

Until then, as Epstein put it (per Sharma), “I think we’re realistic about it. It’s been a few years with some of these guys that we’ve tried to get something done. It hasn’t happened, but that doesn’t mean it can’t in the future. It’s really hard to predict the future. Sometimes you’re only one phone call away from signing a guy to a long-term contract. Sometimes you’re one phone call away from a deal. What’s most likely is the status quo.”

Carlos Zambrano Ends Comeback Attempt

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Right-hander Carlos Zambrano hung up his cleats back in 2014, but he returned to professional baseball last season with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association. That comeback didn’t lead to a new opportunity in the majors, though, and now Zambrano says he’s done for good, per Carrie Muskat.

The fiery Zambrano, now 38, threw 61 innings with the Dogs last season. He posted a bloated 5.16 ERA over that span, though he did manage 7.5 strikeouts against 2.5 walks per nine. None of that was enough to put Zambrano back on the big league radar, however.

At his best, the man known as Big Z was one of the majors’ most effective starters. The longtime Cub, a three-time All-Star and someone who once pitched a no-hitter, was particularly good from 2003-10. He racked up 1,548 innings during that stretch, ranked 10th among starters in fWAR (28.7) and recorded a 3.42 ERA/3.89 FIP.

Also a former Marlin, with whom he concluded his MLB playing days in 2012, Zambrano put up a 3.66 ERA/4.01 FIP with 7.52 K/9, 4.13 BB/9 and a 48.4 percent groundball rate in almost 2,000 innings at the sport’s highest level.

Not to be forgotten, Zambrano’s also one of the most threatening hitters in the history of his position. Pitchers are often automatic outs, but not Zambrano, who totaled 24 home runs and batted .238/.248/.388 across 748 plate appearances.

Latest On Byron Buxton

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In a Twins lineup loaded with power hitters, center fielder Byron Buxton can get lost in the shuffle. Buxton’s nevertheless a valuable member of the reigning AL Central champions’ roster, though, and after undergoing left shoulder surgery last September, he’s recovering well, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports.

The 26-year-old Buxton received medical clearance this week to swing a bat again and could be ready to face live pitching by the time the Twins’ full-squad workouts begin Feb. 17. That’s yet another bit of encouraging for the Twins, who won 101 games a season ago and, after they struck a deal with star third baseman Josh Donaldson, appear very likely to open 2020 as the favorites in their division.

Buxton’s known to play the field with reckless abandon, which helped lead to injuries that limited him to a meager 87 games and 295 plate appearances last year. Despite an abbreviated campaign, he was an important part of Minnesota’s superb effort. The former No. 2 overall pick managed 2.7 fWAR, hit .262/.314/.513 with 10 home runs and 14 stolen bases, and posted 10 Defensive Runs Saved, a plus-8.7 Ultimate Zone Rating and 12 Outs Above Average in center. None of that production is easily replaceable, and if Buxton’s healthy enough to start 2020 in the Twins’ outfield, it’ll make an already strong team even better.

Josh Donaldson Discusses Braves’ Pursuit In Free Agency

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The Josh Donaldson free-agency derby came to a long-awaited end Wednesday when the star third baseman agreed to a four-year, $92MM contract with the Twins. Previous reports indicated Donaldson’s preference was to re-sign with the Braves, with whom he thrived in 2019, but it doesn’t appear they made a spirited attempt to retain the 34-year-old.

Asked by Alison Mastrangelo of WSB-TV whether Atlanta made him a “competitive” offer, Donaldson said, “No, I mean, they ended up offering me late, like a day or so before.” Donaldson went on to state that he “really enjoyed” his one-year stint with the Braves, whom he called “a good fit for me,” and added that it was “a dream come true to be able to play there.”

Details of Atlanta’s offer to the former MVP are unclear. Regardless, the loss of Donaldson is an enormous blow to the Braves, who are now tasked with replacing one of the foremost players in the game at a time when free-agent choices have greatly decreased. Donaldson was among the Braves’ premier players in 2019, their second straight NL East-winning season, and there’s essentially no way to fill his void via the open market even if the club signs one of the two best bats available in outfielders Nicholas Castellanos and Marcell Ozuna.

For one, neither Castellanos nor Ozuna is in Donaldson’s stratosphere. Furthermore, signing one of the two would still leave the Braves devoid of a high-end option at third base, where they’re currently projected to rely on Johan Camargo and Austin Riley. There are answers on the trade market in the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado and the Cubs’ Kris Bryant – players capable of replicating or bettering Donaldson’s 2019 production – but it doesn’t seem the Braves are prepared to swing a deal for either of them.

Besides the fallout from baseball’s much-publicized sign-stealing fiasco, the Braves’ 3B situation stands as one of the game’s most interesting storylines as spring training nears. They still boast a very talented roster, yet they’re unquestionably weaker after failing to pony up for Donaldson. General manager Alex Anthopoulos is now likely at work to find a hitter with the ability to help make up for Donaldson’s loss, but it’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll pull it off before the season begins.

Jim Crane On Astros’ Search For Manager, GM

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The Astros’ sign-stealing scandal from their World Series-winning 2017 season has cost them a GM and a manager this week. The club let go of Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch, who were regarded as two of the best in the game at their jobs, on Monday after Major League Baseball suspended them for one season apiece. So what’s next for the Astros? Owner Jim Crane spoke about the team’s direction Friday with Jake Kaplan of The Athletic, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters.

Houston has hit the ground running in its managerial search, having reportedly interviewed two out-of-work candidates – John Gibbons and Buck Showalter – as well as Cubs third base coach Will Venable this week. Venable hasn’t managed before, but prior experience in that role is “not mandatory, by any means,” according to Crane. To that end, would the Astros consider one of their franchise legends? Crane didn’t shoot down the possibility of hiring, say, Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell or Craig Biggio.

“We’ve talked to all of our Killer Bs and they’ve contacted me and they’ve all expressed interest that they’d like to help,” Crane said (via Rome). “Berkman, Bagwell and Biggio have all called me and said, ’Hey, if there’s anything I can do, I’m here for you.’ We’ll continue to visit with those guys and see if there’s something there.”

Regardless of whether Venable or one of the Killer Bs lands the gig, the Astros’ goal is to find a replacement for Hinch by Feb. 3, per Crane, who noted the team’s current coaching staff should stay largely intact under its next manager. The Astros don’t expect to make “any wholesale changes” to their list of coaches, Crane revealed.

While the Astros have already gotten going on talks with potential new managers, Crane indicated they won’t begin interviewing GM possibilities until next week. The individuals who end up occupying the Astros’ two suddenly vacant, high-profile positions will be inheriting one of the most talented teams in the game – a club fresh off a World Series appearance and three consecutive 100-win seasons.

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