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Archives for August 2016

Latest On Padres’ Jon Jay

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AUGUST 21: The bone in Jay’s forearm has fully healed and he could return by the first week of September, Padres manager Andy Green said Sunday (Twitter link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

AUGUST 16, 10:06pm: Jay’s imaging results were clean, Lin adds on Twitter, but he still needs to regain sufficient flexibility to move toward a return. It is still possible he could be back by the first week of September, per the report.

8:36pm: Padres outfielder Jon Jay didn’t receive the news he hoped for when his fractured right forearm was examined today, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. When he was placed on the DL, the hope was that Jay might be back by this point. But after a CT scan and consultation, Jay was not cleared to hit, making mid-September a more realistic target for his return.

While a slight delay in a rehab timeline for a player on an out-of-contention team isn’t generally of much transactional relevance, Jay’s situation is somewhat different. The Padres have been perhaps the most aggressive seller in baseball, and Jay had looked like a solid trade asset — and a nice target for buyers to pursue.

Over his 291 plate appearances on the year, the left-handed-hitting Jay owns a .296/.345/.407 batting line that checks in just above league average. With a solid glove that plays in center, that makes him a useful piece for the right club.

Because he’s now facing continued uncertainty, teams probably won’t be willing to put in a claim on Jay with just over $1.75MM left on his salary. If he clears waivers, he can be dealt freely, but teams may not be willing to give up much of anything when Jay hasn’t even begun swinging the bat. Once the calendar flips to September, though, an acquiring team wouldn’t be able to utilize him on a post-season roster.

Looking beyond the trade market, the downgraded prognosis also represents a blow to Jay’s efforts to boost his free agent stock. The 31-year-old had been on track to draw solid interest as a player who could start or represent a high-quality fourth outfielder. He may still be able to push for a multi-year deal, but without a month or more to lay down more plate appearances after the injury, his market standing will likely be somewhat tamped down.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/21/16

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Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Angels have signed free agent left-hander Manny Banuelos, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). There’s no word yet on whether it’s a minor league contract, though that’s presumably the case. Banuelos had been on the market since the Braves released him last week. Once a highly regarded prospect with the Yankees (he reached No. 29 on Baseball America’s Top 100 after the 2011 season), Banuelos has accumulated a mere 26 1/3 major league innings (all with Atlanta) and compiled a 5.13 K/9, 6.49 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. Injuries have beset Banuelos, who has undergone both Tommy John surgery and a procedure to remove a bone spur from his elbow in recent years. When healthy, he has thrown 583 minor league frames and notched a 3.30 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
  • The Padres have signed free agent southpaw Dylan Stoops to a minor league deal, per a team announcement. Stoops, 24, spent 2015 with Sonoma of the independent Pacific Association and opened this year as a member of another indy team, Traverse City of the Frontier League. In a combined 113 2/3 innings with those clubs, Stoops logged a 3.17 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Orioles, D-backs, Jays, Bucs, Yanks

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This week in the baseball blogosphere…

  • Camden Depot contends that Orioles closer Zach Britton has been the second-best pitcher in the American League this season.
  • Inside the ’Zona covers the Diamondbacks’ off-the-field woes.
  • Baseball Hot Corner talks with former major leaguer Otis Nixon.
  • Jays From The Couch interviews Blue Jays Triple-A outfield prospect Dalton Pompey.
  • Think Blue Planning Committee chats with Dodgers right-handed pitching prospect Isaac Anderson.
  • Outfield Fly Rule and Wayniac Nation focus on the Braves’ promotion of shortstop Dansby Swanson.
  • BigThreeSports looks into whether Mariners catcher Mike Zunino has actually turned into a good hitter.
  • SaberBallBlog studies which players have fared the best while leading off innings this year.
  • Now On Deck highlights the Orioles’ surging offense.
  • Outside Pitch MLB names five teams that could be fits for Yankees catcher Brian McCann.
  • Philliedelphia forecasts how righty Aaron Nola’s injury-shortened season will affect him and the Phillies in 2017.
  • North Shore Nine suggests a two-closer committee for the Pirates.
  • Dan Grant of Same Page Team approves of the job Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins have done since taking over the team’s front office in 2015.
  • Bleeding Royal Blue delves into the struggles of first baseman Eric Hosmer.
  • TPOP compares a recent Pirates acquisition, righty Ivan Nova, to 2015 deadline pickup JA Happ.
  • Pirates Breakdown isn’t wistful about Happ’s time in Pittsburgh.
  • The Game Day Report points out that the fastball-heavy Happ could be the favorite to win the AL Cy Young.
  • Other League presents in-depth scouting reports on Brewers prospects Trent Clark, Isan Diaz and Lucas Erceg.
  • Chin Music Baseball analyzes the Orioles.
  • Deadline Detroit paints a gloomy picture of left fielder Justin Upton’s Tigers tenure.
  • The Runner Sports wonders when the Astros will promote Yulieski Gurriel (Sunday, it turns out).
  • Everything Bluebirds has concerns about the Blue Jays’ strikeout-prone offense.
  • MLB451 ponders how things would have turned out had the Angels, not the Red Sox, signed David Ortiz after the 2002 season.
  • Sports Heaven opines that Jameson Taillon, not Gerrit Cole, should start the wild-card game for the Pirates if they get there.
  • Brew City Sports Report and Brew Crew Fever pay tribute to Prince Fielder’s tenure in Milwaukee.
  • A’s Farm offers a progress report on the the Athletics’ top 20 draft picks of 2016
  • Jays Journal explains that Toronto closer Roberto Osuna’s career is off to a historic start.
  • Super Two Sports is a proponent of first baseman Ryan Howard staying with the Phillies for the rest of the season.
  • Baseball Docs checks in on the MVP races.
  • Yanks Go Yard puts together ideal Yankees lineups against righties and lefties.
  • Rotisserie Duck is a fan of OPS.
  • Notes From The Sally tries to figure out why Red Sox first base prospect Josh Ockimey has had such a poor second half.
  • Pinstriped Prospects provides updates on recent performances by some Yankees farmhands.
  • Halo Headquarters thinks the Angels should part with manager Mike Scioscia when his contract expires.

Please send submissions to ZachBBWI@ gmail.com.

Latest On Brian McCann, Braves

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With red-hot prospect Gary Sanchez in the midst of taking over the Yankees’ starting catcher role, an offseason deal sending veteran Brian McCann back to Atlanta is a legitimate possibility, writes Randy Miller of NJ.com. In theory, the teams could work out a deal sometime this season, as McCann cleared trade waivers two weeks ago. At the time, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees and Braves engaged in McCann-related discussions prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.

Atlanta likes the idea of adding the 32-year-old McCann as a leader of a young team, Heyman reported. Further, general manager John Coppolella told Jim Bowden of Sirius XM on Sunday that, along with finding a manager and upgrading his club’s rotation, improving at catcher will be a high priority during the offseason (Twitter link).

“We need to win games next year,” Coppolella said of the Braves, who will move to a new ballpark in 2017.

As of now, the Braves’ leading in-house candidate to start behind the dish next season is likely Tyler Flowers, who has been out since mid-July after suffering a broken hand. Flowers hit a solid .254/.343/.422 with seven homers in 210 plate appearances before the injury, but the Braves clearly aren’t buying into him as a solution.

Brian McCann (vertical)

Before joining the Yankees on a five-year, $85MM deal in December 2013, McCann was a star with the Braves. As a full-time member of the team from 2006-13, he batted .277/.350/.477 with 171 home runs in 4,150 PAs. That stellar production hasn’t quite transferred to New York, where McCann has posted a league-average .233/.311/.418 line in 1,452 trips to the plate. Still, McCann’s on-field mix of respectable offense and well-regarded defense (StatCorner and Baseball Prospectus have mostly given him good pitch-framing marks, and the latter is fond of his blocking skills) could make him an appealing option.

Moreover, the Yankees are amid a youth movement, making a McCann deal seem like an inevitably. Of course, McCann would first have to agree to waive his full no-trade clause. Money could also complicate matters, as he’s owed $34MM through the 2018 season. However, McCann’s best chance to continue as an everyday catcher will likely be in another uniform. The writing is on the wall in New York, which has turned to Sanchez lately and shifted McCann to designated hitter. The 23-year-old Sanchez is doing his best to seize the backstop role for good, having recorded a videogamelike .379/.419/.776 line with six long balls in 62 trips to the plate.

“It was always the case that Sanchez at some point was going to come up and hopefully come up to stay,” Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said earlier this week. “So we’ll cross that bridge in the offseason when we come to it, but McCann’s a great player, too.”

McCann is taking the Yankees’ future-oriented approach in stride, telling Miller, “This is the best young group I’ve seen.”

He’ll soon get a look at a different group of young players if a potential return to Atlanta becomes a reality.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tigers Activate Cameron Maybin; Latest On Nick Castellanos

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The Tigers have activated center fielder Cameron Maybin from the 15-day disabled list and optioned shortstop Dixon Machado to Triple-A Toledo, reports Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Maybin, who went on the DL on Aug. 10 (retroactive to Aug. 6) with a sprained left thumb, will rejoin the Tigers’ lineup Sunday and bat second against the Red Sox.

[RELATED: Updated Tigers Depth Chart]

Maybin has endured two DL stints this season, but the 29-year-old has posted strong numbers in between. In 261 plate appearances, Maybin has slashed .325/.394/.398, also adding 13 stolen bases on 17 attempts. A difficult-to-maintain BABIP of .382 has helped fuel Maybin’s output at the dish, but the former Marlin, Padre and Brave has made legitimate gains this year in terms of plate discipline. Both Maybin’s 14.9 percent strikeout rate and 10 percent walk rate are career bests, and his BB/K ratio of .67 ranks well above the league-average mark of .39.

Maybin’s return is a welcome one for 64-59 Detroit, which has lost two in a row to fall 3 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the American League’s second wild-card spot. In addition to Maybin, the Tigers’ lineup has been without third baseman Nick Castellanos for most of August. Castellanos, who suffered a fractured left hand on an Aug. 6 hit by pitch, is nowhere near ready to swing a bat or return to game action, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. As a result, the Tigers have increased the timeline of his recovery from the originally announced four weeks.

“Four [weeks] is probably too short,” general manager Avila said, “and we’re hoping seven [weeks] is too much.”

Seven weeks would point to a mid-September return for Castellanos. In the meantime, barring an outside acquisition, Casey McGehee is likely to continue filling in for Castellanos. The 33-year-old McGehee has hit just .264/.278/.283 with one extra-base hit and one walk in 54 plate appearances this season.

Marlins Activate A.J. Ramos From DL

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The Marlins have activated closer A.J. Ramos from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Brian Ellington to Triple-A New Orleans, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Ramos landed on the DL Aug. 9 (retroactive to Aug. 6) with a finger injury, meaning he ended up staying on the shelf for the minimum amount of time.

[RELATED: Updated Marlins Depth Chart]

Ramos, 29, is amid his fourth consecutive season as a quality option out of the Marlins’ bullpen. This season, his second as Miami’s closer, Ramos has converted 32 of 34 save opportunities and posted a 3.05 ERA and 11.37 K/9 in 44 1/3 innings. On the negative side, control has been an issue at times during Ramos’ major league career – including this year. Ramos currently has a lofty 5.28 BB/9, which isn’t that far above the 4.77 figure he has recorded in 268 innings as a Marlin.

With Ramos back, midseason acquisition Fernando Rodney should head back to a setup role for 64-59 Miami, which is just 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the National League’s second wild-card spot. Since Aug. 5 – Ramos’ latest appearance – Rodney has allowed a mere one earned run and five hits in eight innings, though he has walked five against seven strikeouts. In all, the 39-year-old has compiled a 2.25 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 56.6 percent ground-ball rate across 52 frames with the Marlins and Padres this season. With him, Ramos and Kyle Barraclough, Miami has an enviable trio of late-game righties.

Blue Jays Option Aaron Sanchez To Minors

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In a surprise move, the Blue Jays have optioned one of the American League’s best starters, right-hander Aaron Sanchez, to Single-A Dunedin, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (Twitter link). To take Sanchez’s roster spot, the club recalled left-handed reliever Aaron Loup from Triple-A Buffalo.

[RELATED: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]

Manager John Gibbons said Friday that the Jays were considering skipping a Sanchez start to limit his workload, notes Davidi (Twitter link), so the fact that he’s headed to the minors isn’t a total shock. As long as he’s down for fewer than 20 days, Sanchez will still accrue a full year of service time, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. That will indeed be the case, as Sanchez expects to rejoin the Jays for an Aug. 31 start against the Orioles, per Davidi (Twitter link).

The hard-throwing Sanchez was previously scheduled to make his 25th start of the year next Saturday against the Twins. In his 24th outing, Sanchez yielded five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk in four innings of a 6-5 win over the Indians on Saturday. Despite that less-than-stellar showing, Sanchez has fared brilliantly this season. In his first full year as a starter, Sanchez has emerged as a high-end option while logging a 2.99 ERA, 7.60 K/9, 2.65 BB/9 and 57.1 percent ground-ball rate in 156 1/3 frames. There has been much discussion along the way about an innings limit for Sanchez, who tossed just over 100 last season in the majors and minors. His previous high since joining the Blue Jays organization as a first-round pick in the 2010 draft came in 2014, when he amassed a combined 133 1/3 innings at three levels. When the Jays switched to a six-man rotation earlier this month to help preserve Sanchez, president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro told the media “no scenario” exists in which the 24-year-old will throw 220-plus innings this season.

At 70-53 and in first place in the American League East, the Blue Jays look as though they’ll play into October, which further complicates the Sanchez situation. If Toronto does clinch a playoff berth, the expectation is that Sanchez will factor heavily into the team’s plans as it attempts to win a World Series. For now, though, Sanchez will go down a few levels to help ensure his place in a potential playoff run. His departure will leave the Jays with a capable rotation featuring AL Cy Young hopeful JA Happ, Marco Estrada, Marcus Stroman, RA Dickey and Francisco Liriano.

Rangers’ Jon Daniels On Carlos Gomez Signing

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10:14am: Manager Jeff Banister revealed Sunday that Gomez will be the Rangers’ everyday left fielder when he joins the team, tweets Wilson. Profar and DeShields have been platooning there recently.

9:12am: Newly signed Rangers outfielder Carlos Gomez will report to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday, but he could join the big league team as early as Thursday, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Unsurprisingly, Rangers president and general manager Jon Daniels would like Gomez to debut with the first-place club in short order.

“We signed him with the hope that he can help us in the big leagues,” Daniels told Wilson. “Probably sooner than later given where we are on the calendar. We want to take a look at it before too much time passes.”

The 73-51 Rangers, who have a six-game lead in the American League West and own the AL’s best record, haven’t yet decided how often they’ll play Gomez or which position he’ll fill. One place he won’t line up is center field, Daniels said. While center is Gomez’s natural position and where he has spent nearly his entire major league career since debuting with the Mets in 2007, Texas has a better option on its roster in Ian Desmond.

Desmond has solidified the Rangers’ outfield up the middle, but they aren’t as well off in the corners – especially given the loss of right fielder Shin-Soo Choo to a fractured forearm earlier this week. Without Choo around, Jurickson Profar, Nomar Mazara, Ryan Rua, Delino DeShields Jr. and Drew Stubbs are the Rangers’ current choices, as their depth chart shows.

Like Gomez, Rua, DeShields and Stubbs are all right-handed hitters. The only one who has fared nicely versus lefties this year is Rua, though the 31-year-old Stubbs does own a .274/.349/.445 line against them in 932 career plate appearances. Historically, Gomez has performed similarly against both left- and right-handers, and that has continued this season. Unfortunately, though, that’s no longer a positive for the erstwhile star, whom lefties have held to a .221/.275/.326 line and righties have limited to a .205/.271/.320 output in 2016. As evidenced by those numbers, and the fact that the wild-card contending Astros released him amid a playoff race, Gomez no longer looks like any kind of a solution. However, Daniels felt Gomez was worth taking a flyer on for the prorated league minimum of $110K.

“The way we’re looking at it is he’s an extremely talented player who is having a down year,” Daniels stated. “He’s 30 years old; he’s still in his physical prime. Sometimes trades don’t work out the way the acquiring club intends. We’re taking a chance on him thinking he’s better than his most recent performance.”

Gomez, of course, was among the majors’ premier all-around players from 2013-14, when the ex-Brewer combined for 13.1 fWAR in 1,234 PAs and slashed .284/.347/.491 with 47 home runs and 74 stolen bases. Gomez’s career went into a tailspin when Houston acquired him last summer. Now, the Rangers are left to hope that a change of scenery serves him well.

MLBTR Originals

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Here’s a recap of the original analysis MLBTR offered over the last week:

Rangers Sign Carlos Gomez

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The Rangers have officially announced that they’ve signed veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez to a minor league deal, as FanRag’s Jon Heyman was first to report (Twitter links). Gomez is expected to play a few games in the minors before being called up. The Astros requested release waivers on Gomez yesterday after previously designating him for assignment. The Astros will be responsible for most of what remains of his $9MM 2016 salary.

Carlos GomezThe Rangers might have had interest in Gomez in part because of Shin-Soo Choo’s recent forearm fracture. They currently have infielder Jurickson Profar listed as their starter in left field, alongside Ian Desmond in center and Nomar Mazara in right. Few would dispute that the 23-year-old Profar is an interesting player, but he has only a handful of games of professional experience in the outfield and might be best utilized elsewhere.

The team also currently has Ryan Rua, Delino DeShields and Drew Stubbs on its active roster (along with Carlos Beltran, who has played in the field only occasionally since the Rangers acquired him). DeShields and Stubbs have not hit particularly well this season, however. Gomez, of course, is only available because he hasn’t hit much this season either, but he does have a more established track record and a still-decent glove. Gomez’s likely role on the Rangers isn’t clear, however — he has typically played center field in his career but isn’t likely to unseat Desmond, who has been successful there. Also, he’s right-handed, as are Desmond, Rua, DeShields and Stubbs. Gomez could potentially play right field against some lefties, spelling the left-handed Mazara.

Gomez once looked likely to land a huge deal in free agency next offseason, but his career has gone way off the rails since the Brewers dealt him to Houston last year. This season, he’s batted just .210/.272/.322, leading to his release from the contending Astros. At 30, it’s surely possible Gomez has upside remaining, but the Rangers will have very limited time to realize it.

Yesterday, MLBTR’s Steve Adams named the Rangers as one of eight potential fits for Gomez. The 30-year-old Gomez had also been connected to the Giants and Marlins.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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