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Archives for August 2016

Michael Brantley Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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AUG. 16: The Indians announced today that Brantley underwent a 45-minute operation, commonly referred to as “bicep tenodesis,” to correct chronic biceps tendinitis in his right shoulder. Surgeons Keith Meister and Mark Schickendantz confirmed that Brantley’s surgically repaired labrum is still intact and projected a four-month recovery for Brantley following this operation (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian).

AUG. 13: Indians manager Terry Francona says outfielder Michael Brantley will have season-ending surgery on Monday, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters have tweeted. The specifics of the surgery have yet to be announced, and the timeline of his recovery isn’t yet clear, but Brantley had been dealing with shoulder and biceps issues and already appeared unlikely to return in 2016.

Brantley had shoulder surgery last November and began the season on the disabled list, then had persistent problems with the shoulder throughout the season. He was also diagnosed with biceps tendinitis in June, and he had surgery last month to remove scar tissue from his biceps tendon.

In the midst of all that, Brantley has collected just 43 plate appearances this season, batting a mere .231/.279/.282. That’s a far cry from the numbers he posted in his healthy 2014 and 2015 seasons, when he hit a combined .319/.382/.494 and rated among the American League’s best players. The Indians have fared quite well in the outfield without Brantley, getting very strong performances from a patchwork group of outfielders led by Rajai Davis, Tyler Naquin, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez. It is, however, hard for a team not to miss a player of Brantley’s caliber.

As Francona explained today (via Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes on Twitter), the timing of Brantley’s surgery now is geared toward getting him healthy for next season and presumably beyond. Brantley remains under contract with the Indians for 2017, and his contract contains a team option for 2018.

Giants, Joe Nathan Agree To Minor League Deal

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Right-hander Joe Nathan last donned a Giants uniform in 2003, but it looks like he’ll have the chance to do so again in the near future, as Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that Nathan is set to sign a minor league pact with San Francisco (Twitter link). The deal is still pending a physical, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Originally selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 1995 draft, Nathan broke into the Majors with the Giants in 1999 and settled in as a strong late-inning relief option with a breakout season in 2003. That campaign preceded a trade that sent Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser to the Twins in exchange for A.J. Pierzynski, after which Nathan went on to establish himself as one of the most successful closers in recent history. At 41 years of age and with a recent Tommy John surgery under his belt, Nathan is no lock to perform like he did in his peak years with the Twins and Rangers, but he looked solid during a brief stint with the Cubs in 2016 and will give manager Bruce Bochy some much-needed depth in his bullpen, either later this month or perhaps when rosters expand in September. Schulman tweets that the Giants may not wait until Sept. 1 to bring Nathan up if he is throwing well.

Current closer Santiago Casilla has had some struggles since the All-Star break, most recently blowing a two-run lead against the Orioles by serving up a three-run homer to Jonathan Schoop over the weekend. Nathan could eventually join Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, Sergio Romo and George Kontos as another right-handed option for Bochy to deploy in the final weeks of a playoff push. The six-time All-Star allowed four runs on three hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings on a minor league rehab assignment earlier this summer and fired a pair of scoreless innings for the Cubs (two hits, two walks, four strikeouts) before being designated for assignment and subsequently released.

Cardinals Place Seth Maness On DL With Elbow Strain

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The Cardinals announced on Tuesday that right-hander Seth Maness has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 14) due to a strain in his right elbow. Fellow righty Sam Tuivailala has been recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster.

The loss of Maness is yet another blow to a Cardinals team that has seen displaced closer Trevor Rosenthal, right-hander Michael Wacha, left-hander Tyler Lyons, left fielder Matt Holliday, first baseman Matt Adams and shortstop Aledmys Diaz all land on the disabled list within the past three weeks. Beyond that group, the Cards have been without righties Lance Lynn and Jordan Walden all season. The injury to Maness is doubly concerning, as the 27-year-old has already missed roughly five weeks this season due to a separate injury in the same elbow.

[Related: Updated St. Louis Cardinals Depth Chart]

When healthy, Maness has been an important part of manager Mike Matheny’s bullpen, logging a 3.41 ERA in 31 2/3 innings of work. However, his strikeout rate has also wilted in 2016 (4.5 K/9), as has his velocity (average fastball down from 89.5 mph to 87.9 mph), and he’s averaging nearly a half a walk more per nine innings pitched than he did in 2015 (2.27 BB/9 in 2016, 1.85 in 2015). Those trends wouldn’t be encouraging in any season but are especially concerning in a year that has included two elbow-related trips to the disabled list.

With Maness, Rosenthal and Lyons all on the disabled list, the Cardinals are suddenly lacking in proven right-handed options in the bullpen. Seung Hwan Oh has been a revelation in his rookie season, but Jonathan Broxton has struggled in the first season of a two-year deal. Beyond that, the Cards are leaning on journeyman Jerome Williams as a long reliever and rookies Matt Bowman and Alex Reyes as other right-handed options. Bowman, though, has begun to fade in the second half. And while Reyes is widely regarded as one of the five or 10 best prospects in all of baseball, he has just four Major League innings under his belt. And on top of all that, lefty Kevin Siegrist said yesterday that he’s been dealing with a “deadish feeling” in his arm. Tuivailala will hope to help patch things up, but he’s limped to a 5.44 ERA out of the Triple-A bullpen in spite of a gaudy 13.8 K/9 rate through 43 innings.

Certainly, it’s logical to expect the Cardinals, who are currently tied with the Marlins for the second NL Wild Card slot, to examine the August trade market for potential bullpen upgrades. Then again, their current place in the standings (one game ahead of the Pirates in the Wild Card race, two ahead of the Mets) allows a pair of teams, including a division rival, to place claims for the purpose of blocking St. Louis from obtaining help. Recently released Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon could potentially be had for nothing more than $130K through season’s end (the pro-rated portion of the league minimum), though that’s purely speculation on my behalf, as there’s been no indication that the Cardinals are in the mix for his services.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Veteran outfielder Chris Denorfia has been released from his minor league contract with the Giants, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Denorfia, 36, signed with San Francisco back in early June and batted .269/.329/.408 in 143 plate appearances across two levels (most of the time spent in Triple-A) before his release. He’s a veteran of 10 big league seasons and is a career .272/.330/.392 hitter at the Major League level.
  • The Dodgers released infielder/outfielder Zach Walters following his DFA on Sunday, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group (Twitter link). Walters received just five big league plate appearances with the Dodgers this season but slashed a respectable .276/.326/.444 in 366 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Walters has plenty of pop, as evidenced by his 10 big league homers in just 181 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out in 36 percent of his trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer. Still, as a player with power and experience at shortstop, second base, third base and in the outfield, the 26-year-old switch-hitter figures to draw interest elsewhere.
  • Right-hander Jeff Ferrell, who was designated for assignment by the Tigers last week, was released by Detroit yesterday, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. The 25-year-old entered the season as Detroit’s No. 21 prospect, per Baseball America, but he hasn’t pitched since May due to injury. Last season, Ferrell notched a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.
  • Outfielder Darin Mastroianni has signed a minor league contract with the Rangers, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Mastroianni, 30, had a nice season as a fourth outfielder for the Twins back in 2012 but battled an ankle injury the following season and ultimately was designated for assignment in 2014. He’s bounced around the league on a number of waiver claims minor league deals since that time, making brief MLB appearances with the Blue Jays and with the Twins (in a second stint). The fleet-footed Mastroianni is a career .271/.341/.349 with 87 steals in 108 tries across 369 games.
  • The Marlins released infielder Pedro Ciriaco, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Miami acquired Ciriaco from the Rangers back on July 8 in exchange for lefty Eric Jokisch (who had been designated for assignment), but he hit just .221/.239/.250 in 68 plate appearances with Triple-A New Orleans. The versatile 30-year-old has plenty of big league experience under his belt, having compiled a .268/.294/.368 slash in 649 plate appearances across 272 Major League games from 2010-15.

Mets Not Showing Interest In Carlos Gomez Trade

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While Mets GM Sandy Alderson said last week that the Mets would keep an open mind regarding Carlos Gomez after Gomez was designated for assignment by the Astros, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin now reports (via Twitter) that the team has yet to show interest in a Gomez trade. Furthermore, he suggests that their thinking may not change even if Gomez becomes a free agent. The Mets, he notes, will get Justin Ruggiano back from the disabled list at some point this week, giving manager Terry Collins a right-handed option in the outfield.

Since Gomez’s DFA, the Mets have been linked to him on a few occasions, but Rubin’s report would suggest that New York’s interest in its former top prospect has been somewhat overstated. The Mets did come close to acquiring Gomez shortly before the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline, of course, though that trade fell through, prompting Alderson and his lieutenants to pivot to Yoenis Cespedes.

On paper, Gomez does seem like a reasonable roll of the dice for the Mets, who currently have Ruggiano, Cespedes and Juan Lagares all on the disabled list. The latter of that trio is possibly out for the remainder of the season following thumb surgery to repair a torn ligament in late July, and neither Ruggiano nor Cespedes is considered a plus option in center field from a defensive standpoint. But, with Gomez’s lackluster .210/.272/.322 slash this season and the Mets’ reported concerns about his hip last summer (plus a rib cage injury that sidelined him for a month earlier this year), there’s no guarantee that he’d ultimately serve as an upgrade.

The Marlins and Cardinals have also been linked to Gomez since he was designated on Wednesday of last week, with injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Matt Holliday creating a need in the respective outfields of those two teams.

Forecasting The Free Agent Qualifying Offer Market

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With six weeks of regular season and the entire postseason still to come, there’s obviously a lot of time for this winter’s free agents to improve (or, unfortunately, lower) their stock in the open market.  There’s also the fact that the qualifying offer as we know it could be altered if the league and the players’ union come to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement within the next month or so, as several players and agents have voiced concerns about how the current QO system can adversely impact a free agent’s market. (Though even if that occurs, it may not come into effect for the coming offseason.)

But hey, it’s never too early for some speculation, right?  Last offseason saw a record 20 players receive qualifying offers, and for the first time, some of them (Colby Rasmus, Brett Anderson, Matt Wieters) accepted the one-year contracts rather than hit free agency.  Anderson and Wieters were hoping to have healthier seasons in 2016 that would lead to richer multi-year deals this offseason, while Rasmus simply seemed to want to stay in Houston because he so enjoyed the environment, particularly in the wake of some clubhouse issues with other teams in his career.  With teams and players both seemingly becoming more comfortable with the QO, it will undoubtedly once again play a big factor in several free agent cases this year.

A quick recap: the qualifying offer is a one-year contract (this year expected to be worth $16.7MM) that a team can offer to any of its own free agents.  The QO must be issued within five days of the conclusion of the World Series, and if the player accepts, he remains with the team.  If he rejects it and ends up signing elsewhere, the team will get compensation in the form of a bonus draft pick after the first round.  The team signing the QO free agent will have to surrender a first-round draft pick (or a second-rounder, if the team owns protected a top-10 draft selection), and teams who sign multiple QO free agents will have to give up their top pick in a later round.  For instance, the Tigers held the #9 overall pick in the 2016 draft, so when they signed Jordan Zimmermann and Justin Upton last offseason, they kept their first-rounder and surrendered their second- and third-round choices. Teams re-signing players who declined qualifying offers lose the chance to add that compensatory selection.

Since a qualifying offer can only be issued to a player who has been on a team’s roster for an entire season, several pending free agents who were moved at the trade deadline won’t have to worry about draft pick compensation hanging over their markets.  This applies to such notable names as Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Beltran, Josh Reddick, Mark Melancon, Rich Hill and Steve Pearce, all of whom would’ve ranged from locks to decent bets to receive qualifying offers.

It’s not impossible that one of the remaining names cited is also traded, though it’s pretty unlikely given that most of them are playing for pennant contenders and those who aren’t would likely be blocked during the August trade waiver process.  So with this in mind, let’s look at who could be weighing a one-year, $16.7MM contract after the season…

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West Notes: Crisp, Sardinas, Dickerson, Padres, Paxton

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Veteran Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp says that he believes the team is artificially holding down his playing time to prevent his option from vesting, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Crisp says that he’s “extremely hurt” by the team’s “shady” handling of the situation. While GM David Forst and manager Bob Melvin have stated that Crisp is sitting against lefties to afford younger players more exposure, he sees more to it — particularly since he is not being used much off the bench. Crisp’s $13MM option vests at 130 games played; entering today’s action, he had appeared in 93 contests, meaning he’d need to take the field for most of the club’s remaining 43 games to reach the threshold. “I’m healthy, I’m playing hard and this has surprised me,” said Crisp, who noted that he has loved playing in Oakland. “This calls their integrity into question, it’s very sad.” The 36-year-old, who owns a .239/.307/.410 slash on the year, indicated that he may not be interested in playing after this season, adding: “The business side sure makes it hard to love the game, and I’ve loved the game since I was six years old.”

Here’s more from out west:

  • The Padres seemingly intend to give just-acquired infielder Luis Sardinas a good run late this year, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Though he hasn’t hit much at Triple-A or the majors thus far in 2016, Sardinas has a solid pedigree — as club GM A.J. Preller well knows having signed him as an amateur. “I don’t think we [acquired] him to relegate him to Triple-A the rest of the year,” said manager Andy Green.
  • One Padres player who has thrived upon receiving an opportunity is 26-year-old outfielder Alex Dickerson, who entered the day with a .280/.319/.528 slash and seven home runs over 135 plate appearances. Lin writes that there’s more concern over Dickerson’s glove than his bat, though Green also suggests he has been better than the defensive metrics might suggest. Still, the exciting element of Dickerson’s game is his work on offense. “The way he sees the ball, his plate discipline, he’s a guy that could easily have a 10 percent walk rate to go along with the way he hits, the power numbers he puts up,” said Green. “I’m very pleased with what he’s shown early in his major league career and have every expectation he’ll keep improving.”
  • It was reported recently that Major League Baseball is looking into the Padres’ provision of medical information in a pair of recent trades. The initial review, at least, is expected to wrap up this week, Lin tweets. It remains largely unclear whether there’s any possibility of punitive measures being taken against the team, or whether the review is focused more on arriving at a standard approach to swapping health documents for all teams.
  • Mariners lefty James Paxton has been scratched from his next scheduled start, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports, and could be headed to the DL. Though Paxton wants to pitch, and the team no doubt wants to give him the ball, manager Scott Servais says that the prudent course is further rest. Forearm soreness is almost always scary, but in this case it resulted not from a throwing injury but a line drive. Regardless, Seattle will hope to get the southpaw back in action as soon as reasonably possible. The 27-year-old appears to be harnessing his talent at an opportune time for a Mariners team that is trying to make a run at a Wild Card, if not the AL West title. Over his 81 2/3 innings on the year, Paxton owns a 3.53 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9, and he has been even better of late.

AL Central Notes: Sano, Berrios, Salazar, Fulmer

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Twins third baseman Miguel Sano’s MRI on his right elbow came back clean today, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 23-year-old slugger has been playing through some soreness in his elbow that has impacted his throwing in recent weeks, he revealed over the weekend, but the issue appears to be minor in nature. Sano told reporters that the elbow is feeling better today, and he’ll have the opportunity to rest it with an off-day in the schedule. Sano has struggled tremendously at third base since opening the year in right field and then being shifted back to the hot corner, but his bat has come to life lately. Over his past 18 games, Sano is hitting .297/.368/.622 with six home runs.

More from the AL Central…

  • Fellow top young Twins talent Jose Berrios is receiving plenty of organizational attention as he struggles to complete his transition to the game’s highest level, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Even Hall-of-Famer and current TV analyst Bert Blyleven has chipped in as the team looks to get Berrios on track. Though he has long shown ample polish in the minors, the 22-year-old has uncharacteristically permitted 14 walks in his 28 big league frames, coughing up 29 earned runs on 39 hits — including seven long balls. On the positive side, he is still getting plenty of swings and misses with thirty punch-outs. Among the issues being explored are fastball command and tipping of offspeed pitches, per the report. Minnesota is relying heavily upon the development of players like Berrios, Sano, and Byron Buxton, and their current record reflects the uneven recent path of those hyped youngsters (among other players).
  • The Indians plan for right-hander Danny Salazar to come off the disabled list on Thursday to start against the White Sox, manager Terry Francona told reporters, including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Cleveland placed Salazar on the disabled list back on Aug. 2 due to inflammation in his right elbow, but the issues appears to have been minor in nature, as an Aug. 18 activation would represent a very minimal DL stint. Salazar has thrown all of his pitches to test his elbow and feels ready to get back onto a big league mound, though the Indians will be cautious with him. Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway said Salazar won’t be cleared to throw 100 pitches right out of the gate. Rather, he could be piggybacked, to some extent, with right-hander Mike Clevinger, who will move to the bullpen upon Salazar’s return.
  • Even as the Tigers continue to push hard for a post-season berth, the club faces tough impending questions on rising young righty Michael Fulmer. As Lynn Henning of the Detroit News writes, the organization still hasn’t decided precisely how to manage his workload with both the present and future in mind. The 23-year-old has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations in his rookie campaign, spinning 120 innings of 2.25 ERA pitching. But with his minor league frames included, he is already moving past his previous single-season high of 124 2/3 total innings pitched. Though manager Brad Ausmus notes that Fulmer doesn’t tend to run high pitch counts and isn’t throwing many high-stress frames, it appears that several skipped starts will be required to keep him on the bump down the stretch — and that’s all before considering a potential playoff berth.

Jed Lowrie To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie will undergo surgery to remove a bunion and repair a ligament in his left foot, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report (links to Twitter). He is expected to miss the remainder of the season as a result of the procedure.

The veteran infielder has struggled with the problem for some time, and attempts to battle through it failed. He’ll have the work done now in hopes of having plenty of time to recover in advance of Spring Training next year.

Lowrie, 32, had seemed like a viable trade candidate prior to the foot problem and related struggles. He had been hitting at a fairly typical, roughly league-average clip before suffering through a rough month of July. As things stand, Lowrie owns a .263/.314/.322 batting line over 369 plate appearances on the year. Acquired over the winter to help anchor the Oakland infield, Lowrie has also posted below-average defensive ratings.

There’s no question that the foot malady has played a role, as reporters have documented how much of an impact it has had. Hopefully for both player and team, he’ll be able to return to full health in advance of the 2017 campaign. Lowrie is set to earn $6.5MM next year and can be controlled for an additional season with a $6MM club option, which comes with a $1MM buyout.

Shin-Soo Choo Suffers Fractured Forearm

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Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is hitting the DL with a fractured left forearm, according to an announcement from VP of communications John Blake. The tough-luck injury occurred on a hit-by-pitch.

Given that it’s mid-August, it’s certainly possible that Choo’s latest injury could keep him out for the rest of the season. After all, Jon Jay is still on the DL after breaking his forearm nearly two months ago. And Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos missed two months with his own, similar injury.

That sort of timetable makes a post-season return possible, though that may be a tall ask if Choo doesn’t have a chance to rehab in live game action. And it isn’t yet clear whether Choo will require a full two months; we’ll need to wait to learn of his particular prognosis.

Regardless, it’s a big blow to Texas and to Choo. It seems that Ryan Rua will take his spot on the active roster, and the club also has slugger Joey Gallo available. Those two will be useful replacements, as will Delino DeShields Jr., and Drew Stubbs, and the club can mix and match at its leisure once rosters expand in September.

But Choo remains a strong on-base threat at 34 years of age, and is especially excellent against right-handed pitching (despite carrying reverse platoon splits in his limited action this year), making him a difficult player to replace. It just hasn’t been meant to be this year, as he has now hit the DL on four separate occasions for a variety of ailments. Texas has already needed to find replacements for Josh Hamilton (Ian Desmond) and Prince Fielder (Carlos Beltran) earlier in the year.

If the Rangers do take to the market once more, they’ll have a few options, as MLBTR’s top twenty current trade candidates list shows. Melky Cabrera would represent a rather similar player, though the Rangers may not love the idea of taking over his future commitments. Brett Gardner and Nick Markakis are other potential left-handed-hitting options. Carlos Gomez can be had, though he’s an uncertain commodity and hits from the right side.

Looking past the present campaign, Choo remains a somewhat frustrating player for the Rangers. He carries a useful .259/.361/.422 slash over 1,377 plate appearances since signing before the 2014 season. But that’s not quite what the team hoped to receive out of the first three of seven years in his huge contract. Choo is still owed $82MM over the remainder of that pact.

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