Right-hander Aaron Nola says he’s healthy and ready to go for Spring Training, and the Phillies aren’t placing any restrictions on him.
Before his season ended prematurely due to a low grade UCL and flexor strain, Nola was having excellent year with a 2.65 ERA. a 9.8 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent ground-ball rate in 78 innings (12 starts) through June 5th. Over his final eight starts, just 33 innings, Nola had a 9.82 ERA. His walk rate more than doubled during that time (3.8 BB/9), and hit five batters.
Welington Castillo has a reputation among scouts and front offices for being a poor game-caller even though he seemed to be well-liked by pitchers, including Zack Greinke, who had nothing but good things to say about him. His pitch framing statistics, which take pitch-location data and determine how catchers fare in influencing umpires’ strike zones, rank poorly
Chris Davis was inconsistent in 2016, striking out more than any other player in the majors while batting .221 and hitting 38 home runs with 83 RBI. After the season, manager Buck Showalter blamed a thumb injury on most of Davis’ troubles.
Just once in the recent history has received a contract worth more than $100 million after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and that was Jordan Zimmermann.
Starlin Castro doesn’t mind moving to third base in order to make room for Gleyber Torres if the Yankees ask. Castro said. “I’ll do whatever they want me to do. I just want to help the team win. Whatever I can do to help, I’m in.”
Lance Lynn will continue to challenge hitters with his fastball.“If you looked at the success I’ve had, why change?” he says without a hint of a smile. “I’m going to be who I am, whether you like it or not.” Lynn is 61-39 with a 3.37 ERA, a 1.303 Whip and 8.7K/9 over his career.
Koda Glover could emerge as the Nats closer, but he is inexperienced. Manager Dusty Baker thinks highly of Glover, in terms of makeup and stuff, and seems likely to give the kid with the high-90s fastball and fearless approach a chance in the later innings.
The Astros are still interested in adding a starting pitcher, and remain in contact with teams regarding Sonny Gray, Jose Quintana and Chris Archer. The asking prices on each make it seem unlikely though. They’ve already balked at Chicago’s reported asking price of Francis Martes, Kyle Tucker and Joe Musgrove for Quintana
Ryon Healy did well as the everyday third baseman in the second half of 2016, but he will split most of his time between first base and DH in 2017, with Trevor Plouffe, a plus defender, playing third. Healy will platoon with Yonder Alonso at first, spend time at DH and back up Plouffe at third.
Matt Chapman hit 36 homers last year, 29 of them at Double-A Midland, and is a highly touted defensive player, but the A’s would like to see him have most of a full season at Triple-A Nashville to work on getting the rest of his game in big league shape. He averaged just .237 in the minor leagues last year.
Oakland has some promising young offensive players including:
3B Ryon Healy
1B Matt Olson
2B Joey Wendle
3B Matt Chapman.
Jeanmar Gomez will get a chance to earn his closing job back this spring, according to manager Pete Mackanin who said “I’m going to give Gomez every opportunity to show that he’s the guy that pitched the first five months and not the guy that pitched in September,”
Gomez earned 37 saves last year before losing his job in September. Other closer options include Joaquin Benoit, Hector Neris and Edubray Ramos
By the end of the season Tony Wolters was drawing praise from pitchers for his game-calling ability and solid receiving skills. Wolters ranked ninth in the majors in pitch-framing metrics. Offensively, Wolters still has a lot to prove after batting .215 with a .296 on-base percentage last season. After the all-star break, however, he hit .321 with a .374 OBP.
Tom Murphy shows the raw offensive power Wolters is missing, as he went 12-for-44 (.273 average) with five home runs 13 RBI and a 1.006 OPS
The Tigers new acquisition, Mikie Mahtook is a career .272 hitter over five minor league seasons. He will join Tyler Collins, JaCoby Jones – and possibly Anthony Gose – in competition for the starting centerfield spot this spring.
The Twins’ current payroll for 2017 is $98 million. Their opening day payroll last season was $105 million; the MLB average payroll last year was $145 million. Manager Paul Molitor would like to add a quality veteran to the roster, which should not be too difficult since 17 of ESPN’s top 50 free agents are still available.
Tommy Joseph got better as the season rolled on in 2016, posting a 1.065 OPS in July and a .929 OPS in September/October. .
Carlos Martinez is on the fringe as a possible Cy Young candidate in 2017. He has only ever spent time on the disabled list once in 2015 due to a shoulder strain and in 2016, Martinez:
- Led his team in wins (16)
- Led his team in quality starts (20)
- Led his team in strikeouts (171)
- Led his team in ERA among pitchers who made more than five starts (3.04).
- Was second only to Adam Wainwright in innings pitched (195 ⅓)
The owners of the Washington Nationals are known to be risk averse, so it seems unlikely that they would agree to pay Bryce Harper anywhere near the record breaking $400 million he expects to get.
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