CARLSBAD, Calif. — As if it needed its annual pronouncement, Angels GM Billy Eppler said at the GM meetings here Tuesday, “We’re not going to trade him,” regarding Mike Trout.
Eppler would not address whether he has attempted to begin extension talks for Trout, who is due to be a free agent after the 2020 campaign.
As for Shohei Ohtani, Eppler said the starter/DH “has more range of motion than the typical Tommy John [patient] after five weeks.”
Eppler, though, said he would not have a clear status of Ohtani��s 2019 availability before follow-up testing in January. He did say that he does not expect Ohtani to pitch, but does expect him to be available as a hitter for at least a significant part of the season.
As part of early-offseason due diligence, the Yankees have requested medical information from the agent for pitchers Charlie Morton, Daniel Hudson and David Phelps, the former Yankee who missed all of last year following Tommy John surgery.
In the preliminary stages of their search for a new bench coach, the Mets are doing background work on recent NL managers such as Jim Riggelman, Fredi Gonzalez, Bryan Price, Pete Mackanin and John Russell.
Lance McCullers Jr. underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, which means he will be lost to the Astros for 2019. Houston already was dealing with the free agency of Dallas Keuchel and Morton, and have Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander set to hit the market next offseason.
The Orioles, with John Angelos running the process in place of his ailing father Peter, are using what those who have been briefed described as a methodical process to find a head of baseball operations to replace Dan Duquette.
It is possible that Baltimore is still a week or more away from making a choice as the younger Angelos prioritizes thoroughness to make a good big-picture choice over emphasizing the short term, in which the Orioles will also have to pick a manager to succeed Buck Showalter.
Sources say Angelos has promised candidates — that include Toronto executive Ben Cherington, Philadelphia assistant GM Ned Rice and Detroit assistant GM David Chadd — that ownership will not meddle, and the hope is to create a more modern operation than existed under Duquette.