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Archives for July 2016

Braves Place Arodys Vizcaino On DL

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In a move that could take away a bit of intrigue from the trade deadline, the Braves have announced the placement of closer Arodys Vizcaino on the 15-day disabled list. The right-hander left the Braves’ game against the Rockies on Friday after just three pitches because of an oblique injury. Atlanta has activated left-handed reliever Eric O’Flaherty from the DL to take Vizcaino’s roster spot.

[RELATED: Updated Braves Depth Chart]

Vizcaino drew interest from the Red Sox as recently as three weeks ago, but his newfound performance issues and injury will likely keep him in a Braves uniform for the rest of the season.

“Anybody who gets [an oblique strain], they’re just so time consuming,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “You’ve got to calm everything down until they’re not feeling anything before you can let them begin throwing again.”

In his most recent five pre-injury appearances, Vizcaino allowed five earned runs on eight hits and seven walks while recording only a pair of strikeouts. In total, the 25-year-old has amassed a career-high 36 innings this season and logged a 3.00 ERA, 11.75 K/9, 5.5 BB/9, 54.8 percent ground-ball rate and converted 10 of 13 save opportunities. Since establishing himself as a quality major league reliever last season, the former well-regarded prospect has put up a stingy 2.33 ERA to go with 10.85 K/9 and 4.52 BB/9 across 69 2/3 frames. Vizcaino’s production, youth and team control (three arbitration-eligible years remaining) could have combined to make him an interesting name around the deadline.

With Vizcaino on the shelf, the Braves will likely turn to veteran Jim Johnson as their closer, according to Bowman. Johnson has 136 career saves on his resume, including back-to-back 50-save campaigns in 2012 and ’13.

AL Notes: Sox, Rays, Hill, Mariners, Indians

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Given that they’re in the same division as the Red Sox, the Rays wanted no part of trading any of their controllable arms to Boston before the latter picked up Drew Pomeranz from San Diego earlier this week, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI. The Red Sox might have had interest in Tampa Bay’s young starters had it been open to a deal, Bradford writes. Meanwhile, both the Athletics’ asking price for 36-year-old southpaw Rich Hill and his status as a pending free agent prevented Boston from trying to reacquire him, according to Bradford.

More from Boston and a few other AL cities:

  • The White Sox, who are 4 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot, are looking to buy in advance of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, general manager Rick Hahn said Friday (via Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com). Hahn conceded that deals could be difficult to come by because, at least as of now, “it’s a strong seller’s market.” Chicago already made one trade earlier this season – acquiring right-hander James Shields from the Padres – signed first baseman Justin Morneau, and promoted shortstop prospect Tim Anderson and young righty Carson Fulmer. In regards to those changes (and future moves), Hahn stated, “Already this year, you’ve seen us change 40 percent of the rotation, change the shortstop, add various players to the bullpen, and we’re going to continue to operate in that manner.”
  • Thanks to his season-long struggles and the Pomeranz trade, Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz is now in the bullpen and he realizes his lengthy tenure in Boston might end by the deadline. “They’re going to do everything they can if it’s going to make them better, and if that involves moving me somewhere, that’s what it is. I don’t have any control over that,” he told Ian Browne of MLB.com. “I think of myself as a starting pitcher, and that’s a crowded bunch right now,” continued Buchholz, who acknowledged that he has put himself in this situation by performing poorly. The 31-year-old, whom the Red Sox drafted in 2005, has logged a 5.91 ERA, 5.91 K/9 and 4.13 BB/9 through 80 2/3 innings this season. Buchholz is playing on a $13MM club option this year and has another, for $13.5MM, in 2017.
  • Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto discussed his team’s recent struggles with Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and voiced confidence that a healthy iteration of the club can compete for the postseason. As Divish notes, the Mariners are 17-26 over their past 43 games, but they’ve seen Felix Hernandez, Taijuan Walker, Wade Miley, Leonys Martin and Ketel Marte all spend time on the disabled list over the life of that stretch. Injuries in the rotation, in particular, have taxed the club’s bullpen. “Good teams find a way in struggles to persevere, to get through,” said Dipoto. “You are going to go into streaks and starts and stops and slumps, but you can’t turn it into a death spiral.”
  • With a dreadful .163/.198/.310 batting line, Yan Gomes has the worst wRC+ (29) among players with at least 250 plate appearances this season, but the Indians’ catcher isn’t in danger of losing his job, writes Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. The Indians value Gomes’ defense too much to demote him, per Hoynes. Plus, despite Gomes’ problems with the bat, the Tribe still entered Saturday an above-average fifth in the AL in runs scored. Defensively, Gomes’ framing has drawn minus grades in 2016, but he has thrown out a solid 11 of 30 attempted base stealers and – whether in part because of Gomes or in spite of him – the Indians have a premier pitching staff.

D’backs Willing To Trade Relievers, But Not Starters

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Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart is willing to deal relievers Daniel Hudson and Tyler Clippard, but not starters Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray, Nick Piecoro and Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic write. (Stewart had previously told Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball he wasn’t interested in dealing Corbin.) The Diamondbacks have already traded Brad Ziegler and appear amenable to continuing to trade from their bullpen, but it looks like their starters are off limits.

“We’ve gotten calls, and you have to call to ask, but I don’t really have an ear to listen,” says Stewart, speaking of Corbin and Ray. “If you want to talk about Hudson or Clippard, I’ll listen. That’s pretty much how it is.”

Stewart also says that, at this point, he’s unlikely to complete an extension for Hudson before the deadline, putting pressure on the Diamondbacks to deal him while they can. (Last month, Stewart named Hudson and Ziegler as potential extension candidates.)

“Once we get past that deadline, there’s uncertainty for the organization to be able to sign these guys,” says Stewart. “I don’t think I can put the organization in a position to not get some value back for Huddy.”

Stewart’s willingness to deal Hudson and Clippard but not Corbin or Ray makes sense, given the free agency timelines of the players involved. The Diamondbacks’ 2016 season appears to be mostly lost, with the team posting a 38-53 record so far, but Corbin and Ray could easily be significant contributors in future seasons. Corbin can’t become a free agent until after 2018, while Ray isn’t eligible until after 2020.

Hudson, meanwhile, is eligible for free agency this coming winter, while Clippard can become a free agent after 2017.  Hudson has had a modestly productive season at best (4.91 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 in 33 innings) and might not fetch much on the trade market. Clippard has been better, with a 2.97 ERA, 3.0 BB/9 and strong strikeout numbers (11.1 K/9) that help compensate for his usual fly-ball tendencies. Given his long track record of productivity and experience closing, he ought to be able to net the Diamondbacks a nice return.

Ross Atkins On The Justin Smoak Extension

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Earlier today, the Blue Jays made the somewhat surprising decision to extend first baseman Justin Smoak through 2018, with an option for 2019. Via MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, Jays GM Ross Atkins this afternoon explained the rationale behind the move.

Edwin Encarnacion is due to become eligible for free agency after the season, provoking speculation that the Jays extended Smoak because they don’t believe they’ll be able to retain Encarnacion. Atkins denies that’s the case.

“Edwin could be a DH and Justin could be playing regularly at first base, as he was earlier this year. There’s a lot of different alternatives there,” says Atkins. “They’re on the same team now and could be on the same team moving forward.”

Atkins says the move had more to do with the possibility the 29-year-old Smoak could further develop. “[T]here’s the potential of Justin being more than the complementary player he has been over the last couple of years,” he argues.

This offseason, in addition to Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, R.A. Dickey, Drew Storen and Jesse Chavez, among others, can all become free agents, creating a difficult situation for the Blue Jays that will be exacerbated by a relatively thin free agent market. So, Atkins suggests, retaining Smoak helps ease the transition from this year’s team to next.

“Absolutely, and that’s part of it,” Atkins says. “So [we] saw this as an opportunity in a short window to see if there was something there with Justin.”

5 Key Stories: 7/9/16 – 7/15/16

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Here’s a look back at this week’s top stories here at MLBTR.

The Astros agree to terms with Yulieski Gurriel. The Astros made a huge splash late this week, agreeing to sign Cuban superstar Yulieski Gurriel to a five-year, $47.5MM deal. The move further strengthened what had already been a very strong projected Astros infield, but the team has no plans to trade top prospect Alex Bregman. Instead, the Astros plan to promote Gurriel later this season, and when both he and Bregman are in the Majors, they could use them both at a variety of positions. Gurriel had lately also been connected to the Dodgers and Mets.

USATSI_9341135_154513410_lowresThe Red Sox continue to add. Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox had already been busy on the trade market, adding Brad Ziegler and Aaron Hill, but this week they reached even higher, nabbing Drew Pomeranz from the Padres. They can keep Pomeranz in Boston through 2018, so he isn’t a rental, but they paid heavily to get him, sending top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to San Diego. On a related note, shortly after the Ziegler deal last week, it emerged that Sox closer Craig Kimbrel would have to miss three to six weeks due to a knee injury; the Sox have said the Ziegler deal wasn’t directly related to Kimbrel’s situation, but Ziegler certainly provides the Red Sox’ bullpen with a convenient bit of help. The Padres’ willingness to deal Pomeranz, meanwhile, might not mean they’ll be opening the shop on all their veterans — both they and first baseman Wil Myers are interested in an extension.

The Diamondbacks demote Shelby Miller. The Diamondbacks’ controversial winter trade for Shelby Miller took another turn for the worse this week, as they demoted the slumping starter to Triple-A Reno after he posted a 7.14 ERA in 14 starts. The Diamondbacks as a team, meanwhile, are just 38-53 despite their flashy offseason, and there are whispers within the game that the organization could fire manager Chip Hale.

The Blue Jays extend Justin Smoak. The Jays signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a somewhat two-year extension Saturday, removing an infielder from next year’s free agent market. Toronto also, of course, has a couple higher-profile sluggers in Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion who remain set to become free agents. Via a tweet from Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, the Jays maintain that the Smoak deal has no impact on their ability to re-sign Bautista and Encarnacion, but it’s hard not to see Smoak’s extension a bit of insurance if the Jays aren’t able to retain those players.

The draft signing deadline passes. The deadline to sign players from the 2016 draft was Friday. While many key draftees signed earlier in the summer, a few key picks waited until just before the deadline, including Jason Groome (Red Sox), Braxton Garrett (Marlins) and Anthony Kay (Mets).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Yulieski Gurriel, Astros

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The Astros’ signing of Serie Nacional superstar Yulieski Gurriel became official today. Here’s the latest on what the signing means, with most of the details emerging from a Saturday press conference at Minute Maid Park.

  • The Astros also plan to pursue Yulieski’s 22-year-old brother Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Mark Berman of FOX 26 tweets. Lourdes and Yulieski defected from Cuba together earlier this year. Lourdes, unlike Yuliesky, is currently subject to rules regarding international bonus pools (although he’ll be exempt starting in October) and will likely command a very large bonus to sign — he’s regarded as a top prospect.
  • The Astros acknowledge that, with all their infield talent, Yulieski isn’t the easiest fit for them, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal explains (all Twitter links). They do not intend to trade top prospect Alex Bregman, however. Instead, they plan to use their DH spot to create opportunities for both Gurriel and Bregman, with Evan Gattis and A.J. Reed likely to lose playing time as a result. The Astros could potentially use Gurriel and Bregman at a variety of infield positions, with Bregman also potentially seeing time in the outfield.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says Gurriel could also play the outfield, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). The team has had Gurriel work out in the outfield and feels he has athleticism and a plus arm. The Astros’ aim has simply been to acquire as many good hitters as possible and allow defensive alignments to fall where they may.
  • The Astros will send Gurriel to their Florida complex, then perhaps to Double-A Corpus Christi, Jake Kaplan of the Chronicle tweets. Via Berman, though (on Twitter), the Astros do hope to have Gurriel in the big leagues later this season.

Astros Designate Matt Duffy For Assignment

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The Astros have designated infielder Matt Duffy for assignment, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart tweets. (Duffy is not to be confused with the Giants third baseman of the same name.) The move clears space for Cuban star Yulieski Gurriel, whose signing the Astros officially announced at Minute Maid Park today.

The 27-year-old Duffy has played sparingly for the Astros in the past two seasons, with three hits in a total of 12 plate appearances. He had a good season with Triple-A Fresno in 2015, but has struggled there this year, batting just .226/.303/.350 while playing third base, shortstop, first base and left field.

Blue Jays Extend Justin Smoak

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USATSI_9380505_154513410_lowresThe Blue Jays have announced that they’ve signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a two-year extension for $4.125MM per season, with a $6MM option or a $250K buyout for 2019. The value of the option can increase to $7MM with 950 plate appearances combined in 2017 and 2018, or $8MM with 1,100 plate appearances. Smoak, who is making $3.9MM this season, was scheduled to be eligible for free agency at season’s end. He is a client of the Bledsoe Agency.

[Related: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Smoak is batting .234/.333/.402 with nine homers in 246 plate appearances, demonstrating his usual blend of low batting averages, decent power, good plate discipline and average or slightly above average first base defense. That base of skills is hardly overwhelming, and Smoak has posted just 0.1 fWAR for the season and 0.5 for his career.

From that perspective, it’s somewhat surprising that the Jays elected to extend Smoak, even at the modest total price tag of $8.5MM. Still, he could have value for an AL club as a left-handed option at first base and perhaps occasionally at DH, particularly since Smoak was rather young for an impending free agent. The extension also hedges against the possible departures of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, who are both eligible for free agency this winter. There currently seems to be a gap between what Bautista is asking and what the Jays would like to pay, and Encarnacion appears set on testing the market.

SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter) and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported details of the structure of the deal. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Yankees, Hellickson, Rays

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman recently spoke to MLB Network Radio (audio link; some transcribed quotes are also available via Chad Jennings at the Journal News) about his team’s strategy heading toward the non-waiver trade deadline. The Yankees are currently 44-45 and 5 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race. Cashman notes that the team’s ultimate approach could be dictated in part by how the team performs in the next few series. For now, the Yankees are “having both conversations,” meaning that they’re considering both buying and selling. He lists the starting rotation and the front end of the bullpen as areas he’s already tried to improve, although offensive upgrades appear unlikely. Here are more notes from the East divisions.

  • The Phillies have Jeremy Hellickson’s turns in the rotation lined up with those of prospect Jake Thompson’s starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, as CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury notes. That’s potentially significant in that Thompson could slide into the big-league rotation if the Phillies deal Hellickson in the next couple weeks. Thompson, one of the prospects the Phillies acquired in last year’s Cole Hamels deal, has posted a 2.42 ERA and 2.6 BB/9, albeit with just 6.2 K/9, in 111 2/3 innings with Lehigh Valley this year. Hellickson, for his part, says he isn’t focused on the trade rumors surrounding him. “I’d love to be here the rest of the year, but obviously I’ve been through it before and know that side of the game,” he says. “But, yeah, my focus is on here and my next start right now.”
  • The Rays are attracting plenty of interest in their starting pitchers, as SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets — the Cubs, Rangers, Dodgers, Pirates, Yankees, Astros, Blue Jays, Orioles and Tigers have all inquired. Representatives from the Pirates and Dodgers, along with the Nationals, Red Sox and Marlins, were all on hand yesterday to watch Chris Archer’s start against the Orioles, according to the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin (Twitter links). (It is perhaps worth noting that those teams might have been scouting the game for other reasons, not purely to watch Archer.) Archer seems perhaps less likely to be dealt than fellow Rays starters Matt Moore or Jake Odorizzi. Various recent reports have indicated that the Rays aren’t currently interested in trading Archer, who has struggled a bit this year and is under control for the next several seasons.

Pirates, Yankees Have Discussed Nathan Eovaldi Trade

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The Pirates and Yankees have discussed a swap involving Yankees righty Nathan Eovaldi, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. The Bucs are currently seeking stability in their rotation after watching Jon Niese and Jeff Locke struggle this year. They recently sent Niese to the bullpen.

Eovaldi, too, has had his troubles this year, with a 5.11 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 to go with 19 home runs allowed in 98 2/3 innings. But the Pirates, whose 2013-2015 playoff runs were built in large part upon their ability to fix other organizations’ struggling pitchers (including former Yankees starter A.J. Burnett), might see promise in Eovaldi, given his high-90s fastball and good ground ball rate (50.7% this season). He also is controllable through 2017, potentially giving the Pirates a longer-term rotation fix. The Yankees recently moved Eovaldi to the bullpen, although he is scheduled to return to the rotation Tuesday.

The Pirates were briefly connected to Eovaldi when he was with the Marlins, with MLB.com’s Tom Singer tweeting at the time that there were discussions between the two teams. Bucs president Frank Coonelly said shortly thereafter that the Pirates hadn’t come close to acquiring Eovaldi, however.

The Yankees are currently 44-45 and on the fringes of the Wild Card race, although dealing Eovaldi might be seen less as part of an overall selling strategy and more as an effort to move a veteran who has been ineffective. Biertempfel points out that the Pirates have several ready or nearly-ready young starting pitchers to trade, including Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault and Trevor Williams.

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