After Josh Johnson ended a Friday rehab start after four pitches due to elbow discomfort, the Padres confirmed that they’ve shut Johnson down for the rest of the season, assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr. told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Johnson will meet with Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday for further evaluation. The right-hander is trying to return from his second Tommy John surgery, and Friday’s abbreviated start marked the first competitive pitches Johnson has thrown since August 2013. Here’s some more from around the NL West…
- Rockies GM Jeff Bridich tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that despite Carlos Gonzalez’s red-hot bat, there has been only “a little uptake on calls” from teams interested in acquiring the outfielder. Suitors may be more eager in pursuing Gonzalez this winter now that he’s stayed healthy and kept hitting, though Bridich notes that the Rox weren’t and aren’t actively shopping Gonzalez. “It wasn’t like we were doing a full-court press internally to make the trade. We treated him like everyone else on the team,” Bridich said. “We would think about it and have a discussion when it was warranted. It wasn’t like it was some huge orchestrated effort on our part. And, with the pedigree of CarGo, it can be tough to find dance partners in a trade.” For another interview with Bridich, check out his recent appearance with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast.
- In another piece from Saunders, he thinks the Rockies will try to trade Jose Reyes this winter in order to create a spot for shortstop prospect Trevor Story. Reyes is owed $44MM through 2017, plus his contract has a $22MM club option for 2018 that can be bought out for $4MM. Colorado is prepared to eat a major piece of Reyes’ remaining salary to make a deal happen, Saunders believes.
- Brett Anderson left today’s start in the sixth inning after a trainer’s visit to the mound, yet the injury-plagued southpaw told reporters (including MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) that he only suffered a cramped calf and doesn’t expect to miss any time. Anderson has stayed healthy and effective for the Dodgers this season, posting a 3.36 ERA, 5.92 K/9 and 66.7% grounder rate over 158 innings. Just today, as noted as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Anderson added his second $300K bonus of the year for passing an innings-pitched threshold. He seems like a solid bet to collect a huge chunk of the other $3.4MM still available in total incentives, as per his one-year, $10MM contract.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts (via Twitter) Tim Lincecum will return to the Giants on a minor league deal for 2016. Lincecum recently underwent season-ending hip surgery and since he’ll have trouble finding a Major League contract, it makes sense that he could return to familiar surroundings, especially since Bruce Bochy and CEO Larry Baer both seem open to the idea.
