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Archives for May 2014

Rays To Sign Jayson Nix

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5:28pm: Nix receives a July 15 opt-out date in his contract, tweets Cotillo.

4:18pm: The Rays have agreed to a minor league deal with infielder Jayson Nix, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). Nix will start out at Triple-A, according to Cotillo.

Nix, 31, recently elected free agency after being outrighted by the Phillies. While in Philadelphia, he put up a .154/.214/.231 triple-slash while appearing all around the infield in 18 games. Of course, Nix came over from the Rays via trade just before the season started after spending the spring with Tampa.

For the Rays, Nix represents additional depth up the middle with regular second baseman Ben Zobrist on the DL. The club is currently relying on Logan Forsythe, Sean Rodriguez, and recent call-up Cole Figueroa at second.

Jose Fernandez Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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FRIDAY: Fernandez underwent successful surgery today, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The club anticipates the usual twelve to eighteen month recovery period.

TUESDAY, 10:02pm: The Marlins have announced that Tommy John surgery has been recommended to repair a ligament tear in Fernandez’s right elbow, though the team cautions that it has yet to be decided whether (and if so when) the procedure will take place.

9:09pm: The second physician’s assessment was the same as the first, tweets Spencer: a UCL tear for which surgery is recommended.

2:20pm: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has some further details on the situation, reporting that ElAttrache diagnosed Fernandez with a “significant tear” of his ulnar collateral ligament and recommended surgery. Fernandez will visit with Kaplan today for his take, but all expectations are that a Tommy John procedure will ultimately result.

MONDAY, 7:30pm: The Marlins expect that Fernandez will require season-ending surgery, reports Rodriguez (via Twitter). Needless to say, the outstanding 21-year-old would be the crown jewel of the many outstanding pitchers who have succumbed to elbow injuries in recent months.

7:15pm: Fernandez has already undergone a second MRI, Rosenthal tweets. The first was overseen by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, says Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel, with Fernandez then returning to Florida for a second MRI and consultation with team medical director Lee Kaplan.

5:32pm: Rosenthal tweets that Fernandez has been placed on the DL with a right elbow sprain. He adds that Fernandez is returning to Miami and the results of the MRI are still pending. Spencer quotes Redmond’s response when asked if he is concerned about Tommy John surgery: “I think you’re always concerned when you’re talking about elbows. It’s a big blow.”

4:45pm: The Marlins are off to a surprising start to their 2014 season at 20-18, but bad news appears to be on the horizon. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that Jose Fernandez is undergoing an MRI in Los Angeles, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Cy Young hopeful is expected to be placed on the disabled list. The Marlins announced earlier today that manager Mike Redmond would be addressing the media at 6:30pm EST.

Clearly, any substantial injury to Fernandez would be a devastating blow to the Marlins. The 21-year-old is off to a dominant start to the season, having pitched to a 2.44 ERA with 12.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent ground-ball rate in 51 2/3 innings. Fernandez was hit hard by the light-hitting Padres in his last outing, surrendering six runs (five earned) on six hits and a walk in five innings, though he was reportedly ill prior to that outing.

Reds Designate Jeff Francis For Assignment

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The Reds have designated lefty Jeff Francis for assignment, according to the MLB transactions page. Francis, 33, has seen action in ten MLB campaigns.

Francis was called up to start yesterday for Cincinnati and gave up three earned runs through five innings. He had been signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, and was successful at Triple-A. In eight starts, Francis logged 48 2/3 innings of 3.33 ERA ball with 8.3 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. Over 1,254 career big league frames, most of them as a starter for the Rockies, Francis has a lifetime 4.94 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.

Orioles Designate Evan Meek Off Of Active Roster

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The Orioles have designated righty Evan Meek for assignment off of the 25-man roster, the club announced. Meek will be kept on the 40-man roster and placed on optional assignment waivers tomorrow, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links).

Baltimore has recalled fellow righty Brad Brach to take Meek’s place on the active roster; as Kubatko explains, the club had to wait to bring him back up until today because he had not yet been in the minors for the necessary ten-day period. The club can keep Meek in the fold because Brach did not need to take his slot on the 40-man, meaning that Meek was not replaced on the 40-man by the move. He could not, however, be sent down without passing through optional assignment waivers — which are revocable — because he is more than three years removed from his first MLB appearance.

Meek, 31, signed a minor league deal with Baltimore over the offseason. Through 11 2/3 big league innings, he has allowed nine earned runs and struck out nine against six free passes. Over 184 1/3 career innings, most of them with the Pirates, Meek has a 3.56 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. His best season came in 2010, when he put up a 2.14 ERA in 80 innings for Pittsburgh.

Royals Designate Justin Maxwell For Assignment

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The Royals have designated outfielder Justin Maxwell for assignment, reports Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, the team promoted righty Casey Coleman.

Maxwell, 30, had just four hits and two walks to go with 15 strikeouts in a meager 32 trips to the plate this year for Kansas City after agreeing to a $1.325MM deal to avoid arbitration. He came to the Royals from the Astros on a trade deadline deal last summer in exchange for a mid-level prospect.

Maxwell has been useful at times in his career, including down the stretch last year, and has a lifetime .225/.312/.420 line in parts of six seasons. Given his reasonably solid track record and versatility (he can play all three outfield positions), Maxwell should draw a decent amount of interest, though his salary could be an obstacle to a trade or claim.

Marlins Nearing Minor League Deal With Miguel Tejada

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The Marlins are nearing a minor league contract with veteran infielder and former American League MVP Miguel Tejada, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Spanish Twitter link). The 39-year-old Tejada is a client of Relativity Sports.

Tejada received a 105-game suspension last season for a pair of positive tests for a banned amphetamine (Adderall), resulting in a 25-game and 80-game suspension, as he had already tested positive for Adderall once in the past. Tejada also faced potential punishment from the Biogenesis scandal, but Major League Baseball gave him a choice between accepting his 105-game ban for Adderall use or facing further punishment due to his Biogenesis link.

Prior to last year’s suspension issues, he’d been playing with the Royals in a utility infield capacity, batting .288/.317/.378 with three homers in 167 plate appearances. That marked his first big league action since 2011, as he sat out the 2012 season entirely.

Tejada is a career .285/.336/.456 hitter in parts of 16 seasons with the A’s, Orioles, Astros, Royals, Giants and Padres. The six-time All-Star took home AL MVP honors in 2002 when he hit .308/.354/.508 with 34 home runs for the Athletics, but his legacy has been tainted by connections to performance enhancing drugs and the falsification of his age, in which he led Major League teams to believe he was two years younger than he actually is.

Reds Notes: Votto, Cueto, Marquis

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While most of the major injuries we’ve seen this season have come on the pitching front, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that there could be another significant injury to a hitter. Sources tell Rosenthal that Joey Votto did not make the current road trip with the Reds and is staying back to undergo an MRI on the same knee that he had surgically repaired in 2012. Cincinnati has already lost roughly a month of Jay Bruce as well as two months of Mat Latos, and an extended absence for Votto is the last thing they need to see as they sit seven games back in the NL Central. However, a DL stint does appear to be likely, according to Rosenthal. Here are some more Reds-related items…

  • Jeff Sullivan is up in the latest edition of Fangraphs on FOX, and within it, he breaks down the changes that Reds ace Johnny Cueto has made to his two-strike approach. The changes, which have resulted in Cueto more than tripling his rate of called third strikes, have vaulted Cueto into the elite ranks of Major League pitchers and made him the clear favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, writes Sullivan.
  • Cueto knows that he’s dominating this season and told Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News that he considers himself the best pitcher in baseball right now. Said Cueto (through a translator): “I would say, yes, definitely yes. My numbers have to talk for me. Every time I go on the mound I do my job. And I do my job to get the best numbers.” Cueto has a no-brainer $10MM club option this offseason and would then hit the open market entering his age-30 season in 2016. If he can continue on this trajectory, suffice it to say that he’ll be one of the wealthiest players in baseball history.
  • Former Major Leaguer Jose Cruz Jr. tweeted earlier this week that he saw right-hander Jason Marquis throw a bullpen session for the Reds and Padres (hat tip: Chris Cotillo). Marquis was throwing 88-90 mph, per Cruz, which is impressive given that Marquis is just nine and a half months removed from Tommy John surgery on July 30 of last year. It was reported last September that Marquis didn’t plan to retire after his Tommy John surgery and could sign a minor league deal come April or May.

AL West Links: Rangers, Tepesch, Blanks, Sipp, McHugh

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The surprising outbreak of injuries to Rangers pitchers has forced GM Jon Daniels to turn his attention from an underperforming offense to the gaping holes in the rotation, writes MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. Texas will rely on Colby Lewis, Nick Tepesch, Robbie Ross and Nick Martinez to fill in behind ace Yu Darvish for the time being, with Scott Baker representing an alternative as Joe Saunders and Derek Holland mend. Daniels’ preference is to remain in-house, writes Sullivan, who also briefly notes that the Rangers have scouted Kendrys Morales to help the offense, but don’t want to meet his asking price.

Here are some more links pertaining to the Rangers’ pitching woes and the rest of the AL West…

  • Over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron compares injured Rangers lefty Martin Perez to his likely replacement — Nick Tepesch. Cameron points out that despite Perez’s prospect status and the perception that Tepesch doesn’t have as much ceiling, the two have had remarkably similar results in their short careers. Tepesch’s ERA looks worse due to a high BABIP with runner in scoring position, but aside from that, they compare favorably. While Tepesch’s numbers have come in a smaller sample, his recent work at Triple-A and his MLB track record cause the ZiPS and Steamer projection systems to project that he’ll be as good or better than Perez over the rest of the season.
  • Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area was among the reporters to speak with Athletics GM Billy Beane about his acquisition of Kyle Blanks. The A’s were looking for a right-handed bat that could capably play both first base and the outfield, and Beane feels that Blanks fits that bill “exactly,” adding that “there aren’t many out there.” As Stiglich notes, Tommy John surgery and shoulder surgery have slowed what once looked to be a promising career for Blanks. Said Beane: “He was a pretty highly thought of prospect coming through the minors. It looked like he was going to be that guy in the majors until injuries derailed him.”
  • The Astros have gotten big contributions from lefty Tony Sipp and right-hander Collin McHugh in the season’s early stages, but Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports that the team’s first attempts to acquire each player failed. The Astros pursued Sipp this offseason and made an offer before he elected to sign with the Padres, and GM Jeff Luhnow told Drellich he tried to acquire McHugh from the Mets and Rockies in trades last season.
  • Within that same piece, Luhnow discussed the early success of left-hander Dallas Keuchel, which has come as no surprise to him. Each member of the Astros front office made a “pick to click” during Spring Training this year, writes Drellich, and Luhnow’s was Keuchel, and the GM certainly makes it sound like Keuchel is viewed as a long-term rotation piece. “He’s never been handed a job … I think after this year he will put himself in a position where that’s no longer a question.”

Chris Getz Retires

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Second baseman Chris Getz, who was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays and outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, has decided to retire rather than accept his outright assignment, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo. He quotes Getz:

“I’ve enjoyed every minute that I’ve played and will always be passionate about the game. I’m starting a family, and I’m interested in other endeavors both inside and outside of the game.”

The 30-year-old Getz signed a minor league deal with Toronto this offseason after being non-tendered by the Royals last November but struggled in his 10 games with the Jays, hitting .160/.222/.200.

Getz spent the 2009 season as the primary second base option for the White Sox and posted a .261/.324/.347 batting line, delivering outstanding value on the basepaths that year and going 25-for-27 in stolen base attempts. He was afforded similar playing time with the Royals in 2011 and batted .255/.313/.287 with 21 steals in 28 attempts.

Overall, Getz’s big league career will come to a close with a .250/.309/.307 batting line in 1574 plate appearances. The former fourth-round pick stole 89 bases in 107 attempts, good for an 82 percent success rate. Between his $225K signing bonus out of the draft and his yearly salaries, Getz made more than $3.5MM in his big league career. MLBTR wishes Chris the best of luck in his post-playing endeavors.

Yankees Notes: Whitley, Beltran, Payroll

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The Yankees got 4 2/3 shutout innings in a spot start from rookie right-hander Chase Whitley tonight, and manager Joe Girardi praised his effort as “spectacular,” writes Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. Girardi said he pulled Whitley in the fifth due to the fact that his arm isn’t used to such a large workload — Whitley just converted from reliever to starter in 2014 — but the 24-year-old did more than enough to earn himself a second start while CC Sabathia mends. More on the Yankees…

  • Carlos Beltran has been placed on the disabled list, and the injury could be very serious. The 37-year-old received a cortisone shot in attempt to alleviate pain stemming from a bone spur in his elbow, but he told reporters (including ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand) that if the shot doesn’t do the trick, he could require surgery that would sideline him for up to eight weeks.
  • Though owner Hal Steinbrenner eventually put a limit on the Yankees’ offseason spending, he’s willing to stretch the payroll this summer in order to make trade acquisitions, he told the Post’s Ken Davidoff. “[We’re] always willing to look at options come July. … [W]e’re not going to ever lay down and die. We’re going to do what we need to do to stay in.” Steinbrenner noted that injuries have raised numerous concerns and specifically called the onslaught of pitching injuries a “big concern.” As Davidoff points out, the amount of money they’re able to take on is a big factor, as the team doesn’t have the prospects to outbid many other clubs but could be better equipped to absorb salary when acquiring a player’s contract.

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