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Hot-Stove: Jeremy Hellickson Dealt to the Diamondbacks (Updated)

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The trade of Jeremy Hellickson is the first big move for Matt Silverman. (Photo courtesy of Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The trade of Jeremy Hellickson is the first big move for Matt Silverman. (Photo courtesy of Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

News broke late of Jeremy Hellickson’s trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks — the first big move of each team’s respective new General Manager. The deal, described by many as addition by subtraction, netted Tampa Bay a pair of minor league prospects, INF Andrew Velazquez and OF Justin Williams from Arizona.

Matt Silverman, President of Baseball Operations, thanked Hellickson for his time with the Rays,

“As we thank Jeremy for his contributions to the Rays organization and wish him great success in Arizona, we are pleased to receive two talented young prospects in return. They have the potential to become impact players at the major league level, and we are excited to add them to our player development pipeline.”

Hellickson is coming off two rough seasons, culminating in a combined 13-15 record and a 5.00 ERA. Moreover, many have insisted that he fell out of favor with the organization after waiting until after his arbitration was settled to report elbow discomfort prior to the 2014. The discomfort resulted elbow surgery to clear out bone spurs, delaying his return to the rotation until July.

The move clears approximately $4M in salary, also opening a spot in the rotation for Nate Karns or Alex Colome while Matt Moore continues to mend from Tommy John surgery. It does, however, stack the 40-man roster constraints, necessitating roster moves in the near future.

(Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

(Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

The Rays released a full writeup on the newly acquired prospects,

Velazquez, 20, enjoyed a breakout season in 2014 for Class-A South Bend, and was named Midwest League Prospect of the Year in addition to a midseason and postseason All-Star. The switch-hitter led the Midwest League with 50 stolen bases, 94 runs scored and 15 triples. In 134 games (129 at shortstop), he recorded a .290 (158-for-544) batting average, .367 on-base pct., .428 slugging pct., 18 doubles, nine home runs and 62 walks. His 50 steals ranked seventh among all minor league players. From April 22 to July 16 he reached base safely in 74 consecutive games.

Following the season, Velazquez was named the No. 12 prospect in the D-backs system by MLB.com and the No. 16 prospect in the Midwest League by Baseball America. The Bronx, New York native was selected by Arizona in the seventh round of the 2012 June Draft out of Fordham Prep School.

Williams, 19, hit a combined .351 (102-for-291) between Short-Season A Missoula and South Bend in 2014, and won the Pioneer League batting title with a .386 (73-for-189) mark for Missoula. At the time of his August 3 promotion, he had compiled a Missoula-record 28-game hitting streak, batting .443 (51-for-115) during that time. He recorded 52 hits in the month of July, most of any professional hitter at any level. After the season, Williams was named a postseason Pioneer League All-Star, the league’s No. 7 prospect by Baseball America, and the No. 14 prospect in the D-backs system by MLB.com. He finished the campaign with a combined four home runs, 46 RBI, .403 on-base pct. and .467 slugging pct.

Williams, a left-handed hitter, owns a .351 career batting average over two professional seasons. He was selected by Arizona in the second round of the 2013 June Draft out of Terrebonne High School in Houma, Louisiana.

Scott Grauer (DRaysBay) put together an excellent breakdown of the prospects the Rays received.

Noteworthiness

  • Two things, per Brad Johnson of MLB Trade Rumors: 1. The Rays have concluded the first round of interviews for their open manager position, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Barry Larkin was the last of ten interviewees in the initial round. The club will step back before deciding how many candidates to bring back for a round of in-person interviews. 2. Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams – the players acquired in the Jeremy Hellickson trade – were immediately ranked as the ninth and tenth best prospects in the Rays system by MLB.com, Topkin notes.
  • This article touches on something we previously brought up, if Stu is vying for a new stadium in Hillsborough or Pinellas, he’s going to need to sell it to the taxpayers.

    • Baseball is Good Business Dispels Myths on the Rays, Smyly’s Arbitration Status, Hellickson News, Etc

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    Drew Smyly (pictured above) qualified for Super 2 arbitration status, and is expected to receive a projected $3MM. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Griffith/USA Today Sports)

    Drew Smyly (pictured above) qualifies for Super 2 arbitration status, and is expected to receive a projected $3MM. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Griffith/USA Today Sports)

    With the recent news that the stadium stalemate may finally be coming to a conclusion, Baseball is Good Business delved into three of the most popular myths about the Rays and Tampa Bay. Though a few points could be debated — they acknowledge as much below — kudos to Baseball is Good Business for putting something out there for you, dear readers, to ponder.

    Tampa Bay can’t sustain a MLB team?

    If the Rays weren’t winning so much, we probably wouldn’t be having this issue. It took the Yankees 21 years to get to the World Series, we did it in 10.

    Historically, most teams have horrible numbers in their beginning years. Fact is, we aren’t doing bad for a team that’s been here for only 16 seasons. (our television numbers are tops in the league!)

    When you talk to the larger attendance area fans, after all the rhetoric, most will admit the same thing…

    My dad was a Yankee Fan.
    My dad was a Sox fan
    My grandfather was a Dodger fan.

    There is NO grandfather, father and son sitting in a row at the Trop rooting for the team that they grew up with. That’s called “Generational Fan Base”. If our neighbors don’t wake up, we may never get that chance.

    The team is moving to Tampa?

    Although possible, not likely. If the Rays are not sure about the area, that includes Tampa also. The price that the Rays would have to pay in penalties and attorney’s fees would make them at least consider several “plug and play” options. The demographics are no secret for top areas with built in fan base. Just visit the US Census Bureau.

    Don’t think other cities are looking? See for yourself . . .

    Which name do you like better? If you owned the Rays had just got out of a long dogfight with an area, you may prefer any of them.

    Mexico City Rays
    Montreal Rays
    Indianapolis Rays
    Charlotte Rays
    Brooklyn Rays

    Those markets and their fans would fall over backwards to get the billion dollars revenue that a MLB team could bring. Most of them have a plan with money set aside.

    And don’t kid yourself, MLB isn’t going to expand to 10 cities in the next 20 years. May not expand to ANY. The easiest way to get a team is to lure one using HUGE incentives for the team ownership. Remember, one of the main reasons that we have baseball today is because WE were prospecting teams with a new stadium. What do you think these cities are going to offer the Rays? Because we are doing so well as a team, stockbrokers would say that we are “ripe” for a takeover. If the Rays determine that the area won’t support the team, it will be too late to change their minds. You’ll know when you see the moving trucks.

    Rays can’t leave the area because of their contract?

    That’s what Montreal, Washington D.C. and Brooklyn thought. If we continue to fight among ourselves and not improve attendance, we are playing with fire.

    Does the truth hurt? It’s has to be better than the lies, lack of knowledge, rumor and innuendo.

    There is good news. We have an awesome team. Let’s face it, we can all agree that the Rays have done their part. The recent renovations are a tremendous investment that the Rays made for the fans. So let’s stop bickering over where the team is going to play and start making lemonade. LET’S NOT FIGHT EACH OTHER! Leave that up to the dopey media in other cities. Lastly, the Rays don’t want to leave. But they are entitled to prosper just like any other business in this great country of ours.

    You don’t have to agree with what we share. One thing We know is that WE all have one thing in common. WE love our team. There are things WE can do and WE need to do them now! At BaseballisGoodBusiness.org, WE have a specific plan and WE’RE not going to keep it a secret. The leaders in this group are ready to do whatever it takes to ensure that our team is here for our children and their children and grandchildren. WE believe that as a group, WE cannot lose. Please join us.

    Moving forward.

    Per Marc Topkin, Drew Smyly qualified for Super 2 arbitration status (with 25 others in MLB), and projects to get around $3MM. This news, however, does not push ahead the need to trade Jeremy Hellickson — Smyly’s Super 2 status was no surprise, therefore it shouldn’t make any difference.

    The Rays interviewed Indians bench coach Kevin Cash Wednesday for the managerial position. Cash is a Tampa native who played briefly for the Rays. He was also a finalist for the Texas Rangers job. Left to be interviewed for are Barry Larkin and Doug Glanville.

    Major League Baseball salary commitments by team. (Courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors)

    Major League Baseball salary commitments by team. (Courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors)

    Would you believe it if I told you the Tampa Bay Rays are 20th in salary commitments? The payroll chart above was compiled by MLB Trade Rumors using the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database and the arbitration projections from MLBTR/Matt Swartz. Of course, teams can still trim from these obligations not just by trading players, but also by non-tendering those who are arb-eligible

    Finally, as we near the end of the week, the focus will likely shift back toward the trade rumors surrounding Jeremy Hellickson. On Monday, Joel Sherman broke the news that the Rays are aggressively shopping Hellickson around, with the potential of a trade taking by weeks end. The question begs: following a pair of down seasons, what trade equity — if any — does Hellickson possess? The simple answer, not much. Ever since 2010, when HellBoy posted an impressive 22.2% K%/5.4% BB%/.267 BABIP/3.47 ERA/3.88 FIP, his numbers have fallen off thanks to an increased number of home runs, walks, and poor sequencing among other things. Ian Malinowski at DRaysBay summed things up well,

    If Matt Silverman is able to trade Helly for useful piece, good job by him. The strong minor league career and the FIP-beater reputation may help him do so. My hopes aren’t all that high though, since by this point, Hellickson seems like a known quantity — known to be able to provide fewer than 200 innings of below average pitching.

    Hmph. Still Hellickson, paired in a package deal, could pull something worthwhile. On the same day as the abovementioned tweet, Sherman reported that they (Tampa Bay) would also like to move Matt Joyce or David DeJesus. Interestingly enough, the Braves are open to shopping Evan Gattis in their search of an apt replacement for Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang. What they’d lose in Gattis could be made up for by Joyce or DeJesus. The caveat, Atlanta probably isn’t one of the teams vying for Hellickson. With the loss of Santana and Harang, the Braves need to get “sure IP” for the rotation — Hellickson may be too risky. And so it goes….

    The Stadium Stalemate Could Be Coming to A Close, Rays Interviewed Charlie Montoyo, Hellickson Deal Pending, and More

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    Evan Longoria celebrates his grand slam, which gave the MLB All-Stars a 6-0 lead. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Kyodo)

    Evan Longoria celebrates his grand slam, which gave the MLB All-Stars a 6-0 lead. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Kyodo)

    To think this was going to be a fairly quiet news day…

    Not only did the Rays interview Charlie Montoyo, managerial candidate number six of 10, rumor has it the Rays are trying to deal RHP Jeremy Hellickson, and the stadium stalemate could be coming to a close.

    Times staff writers Stephen Nohlgren and Charlie Frago broke the news Tuesday afternoon, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Tampa Bay Rays are nearing an agreement granting the team’s long-standing wish to explore new stadium sites in Hillsborough County, people who have talked recently to the mayor say.

    Council Chairman Bill Dudley indicated a deal should be done “within the next month but definitely before Christmas,” with the hope of bringing it to the City Council for approval before the holidays.

    Other sources names report:

    Council member Charlie Gerdes said Kriseman told him about two weeks ago “that talks are going very well.”

    St. Petersburg developer Craig Sher, who chaired a stadium advisory committee for Kriseman, said this week, “I have been led to believe that there is an agreement in principle.”

    The next step is for St. Pete’s lawyers to settle on a monetary fee if the Rays leave for Hillsborough before 2027, when their contract to play at Tropicana Field expires. That number is unknown at the moment, however former mayor Bill Foster reportedly sought about $5 million for each season lost, in the city’s previous proposal.

    With the continued rumors of the potential for a move to Montreal, the timing couldn’t be better for the Rays to find traction.

    Sourcing newspapers from Montreal, DRaysBay brought to light the specific investors interested in purchasing the Tampa Bay Rays and moving them to Montreal, including son of the Expos’ original owner Stephen Bronfman, and the Bell corporation — each powerful voices.

    The estimated cost of bringing an established franchise to Montreal to be about $1.025 billion: $500 million for a new stadium, and $525 million for the team. That’s about four times the amount of money Canadian investors are willing to spend, and that number could grow.

    However, Nohlgren and Frago were quick to note,

    Apartment complexes, micro-breweries and restaurants are already going up on nearby properties. Ending the stadium stalemate could help the city unlock the Trop’s development potential — with or without a new stadium, Dudley said.

    His preference is for a new stadium at the eastern end of the Trop property, combined with a hotel and small convention center for gatherings of 2,000 to 3,000 people. The city could sweeten the pot by giving the Rays full development rights on remaining Trop land, Dudley said.

    If that’s not possible, he said, he would like to proceed with developing the Trop acreage without a stadium.

    “We are being held hostage” with an undeveloped Trop, Dudley said. If the Ray “are not going to use it, then we want to. If you are not going to use it, it’s best to get on with it.”

    Gerdes thinks the Rays will not find what they are looking for in Hillsborough County. Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik has locked up prime land in the Channelside district of Tampa and has given no signs that he is eager to devote 10 or 12 acres of his land to a baseball stadium.

    Even without land costs, any stadium would cost $500 million to $600 million — and Gerdes doubts that Hillsborough taxpayers would want to shoulder much of that load.

    With many of the locations in Tampa no longer available, the chances of keeping the Rays in Pinellas County are increasing.

    In other news, the Rays interviewed Triple-A Durham’s manager Charlie Montoyo Monday for the managerial job, as well as Giants bench coach Ron Wotus — candidates six and seven of ten to go through the process so far. Montoyo was interviewed in person with at the GM meetings in Phoenix, near his off-season home. As Marc Topkin asserted, with the other interviewees talking by phone, it would seem the front office gave the two in-house guys, Martinez and Montoyo, the benefit of in-person interviews. Interviews with the final four (Cash, Glanville, and Larkin) are expected to come in the near future. After the first round of interviews are complete, Tampa Bay will cut the field down and conduct a second round of longer, face-to-face interviews.

    Per a tweet from Joel Sherman (seen below), the Tampa Bay Rays are moving toward a deal for RHP Jeremy Hellickson to an as of now unspecified National League team. Sources say he will be dealt by weeks end.

    While word that the Atlanta Braves are pushing C/OF Evan Gattis hard (the Rays could use another catcher and DH option) Sherman was quick to point that Atlanta probably isn’t one of the teams vying for Hellickson. With the loss of Santana and Harang, the Braves need to get “sure IP” for the rotation — Hellickson may be too risky.

    Finally, Major League Baseball sent a contingent of stars to Japan this month to take on a combination of different teams throughout the country. Representing the Rays on this trip are Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, and reliever Jeff Beliveau, and all three players came up big in the MLB victory.

    Longoria golf-swung his fourth career grand slam to center field, Zobrist hit a ninth inning one-out single, and Beliveau notched his second save of the 2014 season (technically speaking, of course). Now, if Evan can continue that type of production going into the 2015 season.

    An open letter to Stu Sternberg

    Dear Stu,

    While you’ll deny the rumors you’ve been in contact with New York investors regarding a potential relocation to Montreal, you’re adopting the same tactic other owners have used for years now: Exploiting another city — in this case Montreal — as leverage in the fight for a publicly financed stadium. Is Montreal a legitimate threat? Who can really say?

    What I will say, you’re not making the organization that I love very likable. Perception is everything, and if the Bay Area perceives you to be less than honest — especially since you haven’t come forward with any evidence the organization is losing money — there’s no way that either side of the bay will vote in favor of a new facility for the Rays.

    (And yes, I believe they deserve a new stadium)

    In the end, if both Pinellas and Hillsborough voted down their respective publicly funded mass transit referendums, there’s no way a publicly funded stadium will be approved if the organization isn’t up front and honest.

    Best,
    Anthony

    Noteworthiness

    Hot-Stove: Rays Trade Cesar Ramos, Acquire RHP Mark Sappington

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    Mark Sappington, pitcher for the Inland Empire minor league baseball team of the Los Angeles Angels, in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Dirk Hansen)

    Mark Sappington, pitcher for the Inland Empire minor league baseball team of the Los Angeles Angels, in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Dirk Hansen)

    On Wednesday afternoon the Rays announced a trade with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, of LHRP Cesar Ramos for RHP Mark Sappington.

    Sappington is a 23-year-old right-hander who came into the 2014 season rated as the Angels’ fifth-best prospect by Baseball America. He, however, took a big step back and struggled mightily as a starter in 2014. A demotion and mid-season move to the bullpen revitalized Sappington, however, as Mike DiGiovanna wrote recently for Baseball America. Sappington’s big fastball and biting slider make him a potentially valuable power arm out of the pen — over 32 relief frames last season with the Angels’ High-A affiliate, Sappington struck out 49 and walked ten.

    Per a staff report from Baseball America:

    Sappington was one of the best arms in the Angels’ system, but his difficulty repeating his delivery and his struggles to throw strikes never allowed him to reach his potential despite a plus fastball (92-95 mph), average slider and tick below average change up.

    Sappington’s emotional, adrenaline-fueled pitching approach and his inconsistent delivery have led scouts to believe that he would be a better fit as a reliever. The Angels moved him to the bullpen not longer after he was demoted to high Class A Inland Empire this season and he did show significant improvement.

    Sappington had walked 69 batters in only 82 innings as a starter, but he had much better control once he moved to the pen, walking only 10 and striking out 49 in 32 innings. He is a potential setup man if he can keep put together even fringe-average control thanks to his plus stuff, but that’s been a struggle for him throughout his career.

    Mark Sappington's 2014 numbers. (Courtesy of Baseball America)

    Mark Sappington’s 2014 numbers. (Screenshot courtesy of Baseball America)

    The move is interesting and could open the long relief role for Jeremy Hellickson. With the Rays 2015 starting rotation all but sorted out, and without any accrued trade value following a pair of down seasons which bookended an injury culminating in surgery, Hellickson could excel out of the bullpen.

    Noteworthiness

    • Ian Malinowski asserted, “Yesterday, the Rays traded long-reliever Cesar Ramos for to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for 23 year old relief prospect Mark Sappington. Scott covered already gave a description of Sappington, based on the available scouting reports. He’s something of a project. The Angels tried to make him into a starter and they failed. Now that he’s been moved back to the bullpen, Sappington has a live fastball that he apparently has trouble commanding, probably because of his funky, max-effort delivery. None of his other pitches project as good major league offerings right now,” in a piece titled The potential of Mark Sappington.

    Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Fall 11-3 — A Recap as a Series of Tweets

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    Wil Myers lies on the ground after tripping over first base and being called out in the sixth inning. (Photo courtesy of Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

    Wil Myers lies on the ground after tripping over first base and being called out in the sixth inning. (Photo courtesy of Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

    You may call it lazy journalism, however the last thing I wanted to do was relive Wednesday night’s UGLY 11-3 loss to the Red Sox. Instead, I decided to recap the game as a series of tweets from Marc Topkin and the Tampa Bay Rays.


    Source: FanGraphs

    The New What Next

    Back at it Thursday, Jeremy Hellickson will take on Allen Webster in the series finale. Webster (3-2, 5.81 ERA) put together a good three hit/two run outing against Tampa Bay back at the end of July — his first start with the Red Sox. However, in his last start against the Rays, he was tagged for six runs on five hits in four innings of work. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.

    Rays 9/25/14 Starting Lineup

    Zobrist SS
    DeJesus DH
    Longoria 3B
    Loney 1B
    Myers RF
    Franklin 2B
    Joyce LF
    Hanigan C
    Kiermaier CF
    Hellickson RHP

    Noteworthiness

    • The Rays lead the majors with 1,169 runners LOB despite .248 BA. Since 1969, teams that led MLB with runners LOB had average BA of .272.
    • As is it wasn’t ugly enough, three Rays have gone down with some sort of an injury in the last two days: Yunel Escobar (strained left knee), Curt Casali (concussion), and Wil Myers. Both Escobar and Casali are expected to be out for the last four games of the season.