Rockies To Promote Jeff Hoffman
The Rockies are set to promote top prospect Jeff Hoffman to make his Major League debut against the Cubs, as Jason Lewis of CBS Albany first reported (on Twitter). MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets that an official announcement should be expected later this afternoon.
Hoffman, 23, was the ninth overall pick by the Blue Jays in the 2014 draft and may have gone first overall had he not required Tommy John surgery during his junior year at Eastern Carolina University. Colorado acquired him as the centerpiece player in last summer’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster with Toronto, and since that time he’s only added to his prospect status. Baseball Prospectus rated him 18th among all MLB prospects on their midseason Top 50, while MLB.com ranked him 41st, Baseball America pegged him 49th, and ESPN’s Keith Law had him as an honorable mention on the fringes of his own midseason Top 50.
While Hoffman’s numbers at Triple-A Albuquerque might not immediately stand out — 4.02 ERA, 8.9 H/9, 9.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 45.1 percent ground-ball rate — the Pacific Coast League is, generally speaking, quite a hitter-friendly environment. He draws praise for a fastball that flirts with 100 mph, a power breaking ball that has plus potential and a changeup that could eventually be a plus offering as well, per the above-linked reports. His 6’5″, 225-pound frame gives him the necessary size to be a starter moving forward, and he’s made 22 starts this season without showing any red flags in what is his first full season back from the aforementioned Tommy John operation.
The Rockies will hope that Hoffman can join emerging righty Jon Gray as a second power arm atop what looks to be a suddenly intriguing mix of young starters in Denver. Beyond that pair of hard-throwing righties, the Rox have received encouraging performances from left-hander Tyler Anderson and right-hander Tyler Chatwood (though Chatwood isn’t exactly a controllable piece, as he’s slated to hit free agency following the 2017 season and is presently on the DL with a back strain). Pitching, of course, has been Colorado’s Achilles heel for virtually the entire existence of the franchise, as general managers, scouts and other executives have struggled to determine ways to build a staff that can pitch effectively at altitude. While this influx of talent hasn’t demonstrated anything over the course of a full big league season together just yet, the promise offered by this collection of Rockies prospects is arguably greater than any in its franchise’s history.
It’s not immediately clear if Hoffman will be inserted into the rotation for the duration of the season, though one would imagine that could be unlikely if only to control his innings. (He’s already at 118 2/3 after tossing a combined 104 frames last year.) However, if Hoffman is in the bigs to stay, he’ll accrue just 44 days of Major League service time, thereby allowing him to reach free agency upon completion of the 2022 season and reach arbitration eligibility upon completion of the 2019 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
MLB Clears Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Howard Of PED Allegations From Al Jazeera Documentary
Major League Baseball announced today that it has completed its investigation into allegations made by news outlet Al Jazeera in the documentary, “The Dark Side,” which claimed that Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard used performance enhancing drugs, finding neither player guilty of any violation. The league’s official statement reads as follows:
“The Office of the Commissioner has completed its investigation into the statements made by Charlie Sly concerning players Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals in the Al Jazeera documentary ‘The Dark Side.’ This thorough investigation did not find any violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by either Howard or Zimmerman. Both Howard and Zimmerman fully cooperated with the Office of the Commissioner’s investigation. Mr. Sly did not agree to speak with the Commissioner’s Office or provide requested information.”
The news comes as very little surprise, as several holes were quickly punctured in the story almost immediately upon the documentary’s release. Al Jazeera enlisted British hurdler Liam Collins to go undercover in an effort to expose users of performance enhancing drugs, and within mere hours of the documentary’s release, Charlie Sly — the key witness and a former pharmacy intern — recanted all of the comments made, telling ESPN that they were “absolutely false and incorrect” and were intended to “pull one over on Collins to see if he had any idea of what he was talking about.” Unsurprisingly, both Howard and Zimmerman filed defamation lawsuits against Al Jazeera, and both players said in statements released today that they fully intend to continue with those legal actions.
Those statements by both Howard and Zimmerman have been released to many in the media, including ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (links to Twitter). Said Howard: “The accusations from Al Jazeera came out of nowhere, and I was shocked and outraged by their false claims. I welcomed the investigation by Major League Baseball as an opportunity to clear my name. I was fully cooperative and transparent in the process, and MLB’s findings validate what I have said publicly. I am glad that this part of the process has concluded, and I look forward to holding the responsible people accountable for these false and defamatory claims in my ongoing litigation against Al Jazeera and its reporters.”
Zimmerman’s comments are similar in nature: “I understand why Major League Baseball found it necessary to explore this matter, and I appreciate that MLB, after a thorough investigation, was able to publicly affirm my innocence. Throughout my life and career, I have been true to myself, my family, the Nationals organization and my community. It is not right that a so-called news organization and its personnel can publicly make false accusations that damage my reputation and call into question my integrity without any consequences whatsoever. As I said in January when I filed my defamation lawsuit, I am determined to hold Al Jazeera and its reporters accountable for their defamatory actions.”
The documentary in question also made claims against former big league catcher Taylor Teagarden and NFL legend Peyton Manning. However, unlike the other players alleged to have used PEDs, Teagarden himself was recorded on camera discussing PED usage and accordingly received an 80-game suspension from Major League Baseball. Manning, meanwhile, was cleared of any PED use by the NFL in a similar fashion last month (as can be seen over at MLBTR’s sister site, Pro Football Rumors).
Nationals Acquire Sean Burnett From Twins
12:15pm: The Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate announced the acquisition of Burnett from Minnesota in exchange for cash considerations.
11:51am: The Nationals have agreed to a deal to acquire left-hander Sean Burnett from the Twins, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). The veteran southpaw had been pitching for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate prior to the trade. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets that it’s not clear what the return will be, but it doesn’t sound like the Nats gave up a player, which would indicate that some presumably nominal cash considerations are going back to the Twins.
Burnett, 34 next month, has split the season between the Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers, Braves and Twins, working to a 1.91 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings. Left-handers, in particular, have mustered a pitiful .164/.203/.236 batting line against Burnett in Triple-A this season.
Cotillo adds that Burnett is bound for Triple-A with the Nats as well, so he won’t have his contract selected to the big league roster right away. However, the Nationals currently have Oliver Perez as the lone southpaw in their bullpen, and he hasn’t been pitching well as of late, so it’s certainly quite plausible that Burnett could return to the Nationals’ big league roster, where he spent parts of four seasons from 2009-12. During that stretch, Burnett logged an outstanding 2.81 ERA in 201 2/3 innings of relief.
Astros Request Release Waivers On Carlos Gomez
The Astros have requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Carlos Gomez, who had recently been designated for assignment, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Though Houston was said at one point to be likely to reach a deal to trade the former star, he’ll instead hit the open market in 48 hours, assuming no team claims the $2.21MM he is owed through season’s end.
With the move, Gomez’s disappointing tenure with the Astros officially ends. Acquired to provide a major boost to the organization just over one year ago, he ultimately contributed a meager .221/.277/.342 batting line in 486 plate appearances.
That represented an unbelievable fall-off given the 30-year-old’s recent track record. Though his numbers were down a bit early in 2015, he was coming off of a two-year run in which he slashed .284/.347/.491 and launched 47 home runs with 74 steals in 1,234 plate appearances. That was all the more impressive given Gomez’s excellent defensive metrics in center.
All told, at the time of the deal, he seemed to be one of the better all-around players in all of baseball. With one more year of control (2016) then left on Gomez’s highly affordable contract at the time, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow elected to part with four quality prospects to add Gomez and righty Mike Fiers.
It remains to be seen what will come next for Gomez, who not long ago seemed set for a monster contract in free agency after the present season. Instead, he’ll hit the open market early. The Cardinals and Mets had been said to have interest in his services, but recent reports have downplayed the likelihood of those landing spots. However with Giancarlo Stanton out for the year, the Marlins have been said to have interest and do appear to make for a good match.
Teams eyeing Gomez will probably be able to hang their hat on his still-useful outfield glove, which has fallen in defense metrics but remains playable in center. A signing, though, would mean a roll of the dice on his fading bat. Of course, once he clears release waivers Gomez can be had for nothing but the pro-rated portion of the league minimum — which amounts to roughly $125K — as Houston will cover the remainder of his $9MM salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Post-Trade Deadline Contender Needs (American League)
It’s still too early to decide which pre-deadline trades (or non-trades) were good or bad moves. It isn’t too early, though, for contenders to determine whether they still need more help down the stretch and make any necessary adjustments.
Here’s a spoiler alert. Eight of the 10 American League contenders listed in this article are in need of starting pitching. Unfortunately, there is not much of it available as evidenced by our Top 20 August Trade Candidate list. The biggest name available as a free agent, Jonathan Papelbon, will likely sign with a contending team in the near future. Carlos Gomez, too, could soon be available to any club. Keep in mind, though, that each player was recently released by a playoff contender due to very poor performance.
Here’s an update on the American League teams that currently hold a playoff spot or are close enough to be considered playoff contenders and their biggest needs as we approach the stretch run. (Note: I elected to list any team within arm’s reach of a Wild Card spot as a contender at this point, in spite of the direction they signaled prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.)
AL EAST
Toronto Blue Jays
Current Place in Standings: 69-52; 1st Place +1.5
Key pre-deadline additions: Melvin Upton Jr., Francisco Liriano, Scott Feldman, Joaquin Benoit
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar
Record Since Trade Deadline: 10-6
The acquisition of Melvin Upton Jr. gave the team an excellent fourth outfielder who is capable of playing all three outfield spots well, providing speed and power off of the bench and giving veteran Jose Bautista an occasional day off. Those plans have been altered, however, with Kevin Pillar (sprained thumb on August 7th) and Bautista (sprained knee on August 9th) both on the disabled list.
Upton’s struggles since joining the Jays, along with those of Michael Saunders and Justin Smoak haven’t helped. Unless Dalton Pompey starts playing like the guy the Jays thought he would be when he burst onto the scene two seasons ago, the Jays might need to go shopping again. Several outfielders, including Peter Bourjos and former Blue Jay Melky Cabrera, could be targeted in an August deal. They could also take a shot on Carlos Gomez in hopes that a change of scenery would help him turn things around.
Alderson: “No Present Plans” To Dismiss Terry Collins
Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that the club has “no present plans” to part ways with manager Terry Collins or any of his staff, as ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. Alderson declined to endorse the skipper for the rest of the way, though he did so while noting that he would never issue such an assurance “unequivocally.”
Sitting at .500 entering play tonight, New York is beginning a critical, four-game series in San Francisco. The club sat at seven games over back after splitting a doubleheader on July 26th, but has gone just 7-and-14 since. Still, a recent report suggested that Collins’s job was safe for the time being.
Collins helped guide the Mets to a NL East title and World Series appearance last year, and entered his sixth season on the job with a seemingly firm grasp of the position. Indeed, he struck a new deal with the organization in November which guaranteed his salary through next season.
That successful campaign raised expectations, though, and Collins carries a sub-.500 mark during his time in New York. Of course, his tenure has coincided with a forced austerity plan occasioned by ownership’s financial limitations in the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal.
At the time of his extension last fall, Collins suggested he was interested only in continuing on for a relatively short period of time. It seemed fairly likely that he had hoped to remain in command for this season and one more — the life of the deal — as the Mets sought to take advantage of their current window of contention.
Things haven’t gone as hoped, however, and some have argued that Collins is at least partially to blame. Certainly, Collins isn’t responsible for the team’s roster decisions over the winter and injuries to key players such as David Wright, Matt Harvey, and Lucas Duda. But there has been simmering frustration over his bullpen management, handling of struggling young outfielder Michael Conforto, and other matters — though much the same could be said of many other managers around the game.
It’s always difficult to assess from the outside just how much blame should fall on a skipper, excepting at least certain in-game decisionmaking. Conforto’s playing time, for instance, was presumably determined in conjunction with the front office. Still, Alderson’s somewhat tepid statement on his manager’s situation seems to suggest that the organization isn’t fully on board with his work this season.
Whether or not a change could make any kind of meaningful difference at this stage, of course, is an open question. And it’s not yet clear whether the Mets will see if a new in-uniform leader can effect a sudden turnaround, or whether instead the team will wait until the offseason to assess its options.
AL Notes: Mariners, Angels, Red Sox, Aybar
Major League Baseball’s owners have voted to approve the recent sale of the Mariners from Nintendo to a group led by new chairman and CEO John Stanton, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. That step was largely a formality to finalize the major transaction, which also transfers the team-owned Root Sports network. The sale placed the value of the franchise at $1.4B.
Here’s more from the American League:
- Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris is leaving the organization, according to Keith Law of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The big league veteran had held his position since the fall of 2011, when he was hired by then-GM Jerry Dipoto. Much has changed since that time, of course, as Dipoto left his post last summer and the organization ended up replacing him with Billy Eppler over the offseason.
- Of the five young Red Sox international signees who were recently returned to the open market as a penalty for the team’s signing violations, only one — righty Cesar Gonzalez — had failed to sign with a new organization in the immediate aftermath of the move. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald recently reported, Gonzalez has now found a new home with the Padres. The 17-year-old was not considered a significant prospect, and landed only $25K from San Diego, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter), though he’ll also get to hold onto his original signing bonus from Boston and will get a fresh start with a new organization.
- The Tigers are looking to just-acquired infielder Erick Aybar for a boost, though they won’t necessarily install him as the regular shortstop, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press writes. It seems that the 32-year-old is likely to share time up the middle with Dixon Machado for the time being, and presumably he’ll move into more of a utility role upon the anticipated return of Jose Iglesias and Nick Castellanos from the DL later this year. Aybar got off to a hideous start with the Braves, though he had hit much better leading up to the trade. “I know it’s been a down year,” manager Brad Ausmus said of Aybar’s season to date. “He’s not necessarily here to replace anybody. If he comes in here and plays well he’ll play. Simple as that. We’re in the business of winning baseball games. If he helps us win baseball games he’ll play.”
Injury Notes: McCullers, Cain, Gray, Ross, Soto
The Astros still don’t know whether they can expect top young righty Lance McCullers Jr. to return this season from his elbow woes, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports on Twitter. “We won’t know until he gets evaluated in a week,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “It’s all guess work at this point.” After climbing back from a rough start to the year, Houston now sits just one game over .500 and is in danger of falling out of contention. The 22-year-old McCullers owns a 3.22 ERA — matching his results from a season ago — and is sorely missed.
Here are some more notable pieces of information on the injury front:
- Giants righty Matt Cain is headed to the DL with a lower back strain, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. San Francisco activated righty Cory Gearrin from his own DL stint in a concurrent move, which does at least bolster the pen. It seems possible that veteran righty Jake Peavy could slide back into the rotation in place of Cain, who hasn’t completed six innings in a start since May 21st and was tagged for 11 earned runs over his last two outings.
- While it’s still far from a sure thing, the Athletics may yet welcome back righty Sonny Gray this year, manager Bob Melvin said yesterday. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, the 26-year-old staff ace is beginning plyometric workouts and is feeling better. He recently hit the disabled list with a forearm strain and has struggled all year long, compiling an uncharacteristic 5.74 ERA in 116 innings of work.
- Tyson Ross has made it through a 30-pitch live BP session with added pen work, giving some hope that he’ll return for the Padres late this year, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Still, the veteran righty will need to throw another such session before a rehab stint can be considered as he tries to return from shoulder troubles. With just one outing on his record for the season, Ross won’t command much if any raise on his $9.625MM arbitration salary in his final year of eligibility, but it will surely be difficult for the Pads to trade him over the winter if he can’t return to full health by the end of the year. Ross may yet feature as a spring or mid-season trade candidate next season, as he’ll qualify for free agency after the 2017 campaign.
- The Angels placed catcher Geovany Soto on the 15-day DL with knee inflammation, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Soto had appeared to be a plausible August trade candidate, but his knee surgery earlier this year seems to have lingered. The 33-year-old carries a useful .269/.321/.487 slash on the year, though he has compiled that in only 86 plate appearances. He is set to return to the open market at season’s end.
Blue Jays Shake Up Scouting & Player Development
TODAY: Toronto has also relieved minor league field coordinator Doug Davis of his duties, Shi David of Sportsnet.ca. A part of the organization since 2006, Davis was one of the highest-ranking members of the player development staff.
YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays have made two significant changes at the top of their scouting department, Baseball America’s John Manuel reports. Scouting director Brian Parker and national crosschecker Blake Davis have been let go from their positions, per the report.
Parker has been with the Toronto organization since 2009 and took the seat atop the amateur scouting group in 2012. Davis has a history not only in scouting, but also as an agent, BP Toronto’s Gideon Turk explains in further detailing their respective roles.
The Jays’ drafting history over the last several years is somewhat mixed, though obviously it remains incomplete. As both of the above-cited pieces detail, the Parker-led drafts have focused on projectable righties. Among the selections, some have reached the majors (Manuel cites Matt Boyd and Kendall Graveman), while others have shown promise (e.g. Conner Greene, Sean Reid-Foley), but none appear particularly likely to be stars.
Regardless of how the work of these two men was assessed, their eventual departure from the organization was fairly likely with the installation of the Mark Shapiro/Ross Atkins-led front office. With this year’s draft recently going in the books — the Jays took right-hander TJ Zeuch with their first selection — it was an opportune time for Shapiro and Atkins to continue re-shaping their support group.
Latest On A-Rod’s Plans For The Future
Just-released slugger Alex Rodriguez has already announced that he won’t play with a team other than the Yankees in 2016, but it is still unclear whether he’ll look to suit up again in the future. While there’s nothing official, and plenty of time remains for him to change his mind, A-Rod has told friends that he’s done playing, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag.
The 41-year-old, who is among the most productive players in major league history, hasn’t yet had much time to digest his time away from the game. New York cut him loose five days ago after a mini-farewell tour of sorts.
Despite a remarkable bounceback season in 2015, coming on the heels of a highly publicized PED suspension, Rodriguez hadn’t managed to stay productive in his age-40 campaign. Over his 243 plate appearances, he carried a weak .200/.247/.351 batting line while exclusively appearing in the DH spot (up until the final inning of his tenure in New York).
Part of the severance included a deal that will make Rodriguez a special instructor and adviser next year. That doesn’t mean, though, that the organization would get in the way of him joining another team in a playing capacity. Owner Hal Steinbrenner says that it’s “a very flexible situation.”
Whether or not another team would have serious interest also remains to be seen, but it can’t be forgotten that Rodriguez posted a .250/.356/.486 slash just last year. He also contributed 33 home runs in the 2015 season, so he’s not far removed from showing serious pop.
One club that has been mentioned with some interest is the Marlins, and Heyman says the team did at least have some internal dialogue on the possibility of bringing in the hometown star. But Marlins president David Samson tamped down the concept in comments to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Samson downplayed the reports as the product of Rodriguez’s geographic ties to the Miami area. Of course, given his defensive limitations at this stage of his career, the former shortstop and third baseman would seem best suited to play in the American League if he ends up deciding to make a return endeavor.