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Astros Injury Updates: Keuchel, Bregman, McCullers

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It seems rather unlikely that the Astros will receive further contributions in 2016 from lefty Dallas Keuchel or infielder Alex Bregman, according to updates from GM Jeff Luhnow, via MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter links). There’s at least some positive momentum, though, for righty Lance McCullers Jr., who Luhnow says will throw off of a mound in the coming days, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

Keuchel, who is dealing with shoulder inflammation, wouldn’t be available unless the team is able to qualify for and “go pretty deep” in the postseason, per Luhnow. He has yet to begin throwing at this time, Kaplan tweets, so there’s obviously a long way to go. The 28-year-old last appeared on August 27th, so he’d certainly need to fully build back his arm strength even if the inflammation dies down.

The timeline isn’t much more optimistic for Bregman, whose hamstring injury is significant enough that it would typically require a four to six week layoff. While Luhnow suggests that it’s possible to push a recovery in this situation, even an aggressive timetable would seemingly leave the talented youngster unavailable until early October.

McCullers, meanwhile, has been out for much longer than the other two players with elbow issues. News on his progress has been limited since his last appearance on August 2nd. Presumably, the ’Stros will continue to exercise caution with the prized 22-year-old. But it’s at least promising to hear that he is now in a position to begin working back toward mound work.

What’s clear is that Houston won’t receive any contributions from this key trio of players down the stretch. With a three-game gap between the club and a Wild Card spot entering today’s action, it’ll take a huge showing over the next two weeks just to gain a chance at the playoffs. If the Astros can somehow sneak in — and escape the one-game Wild Card play-in game — it’ll be interesting to see if any of the three are ready for activation for a full postseason series.

Blue Jays Name Paul Beeston President Emeritus

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The Blue Jays announced today that long-time executive Paul Beeston has been named president emeritus of the organization, a designation that he’ll hold “in perpetuity.” Formerly the organization’s president and CEO, Beeston announced his retirement in the fall of 2015.

Beeston’s successor, Mark Shapiro, said that the honorary title was given to honor Beeston’s “incomparable” contributions. “This is simply a small token of recognition for the nearly four decades he’s given the game,” Shapiro said in the press release. “We felt it was right to honour the legacy he has built and ensure he’s a part of the future successes of this team.” 

Meanwhile, the new top exec received plaudits from his predecessor. “Over the past year I have had a front row seat to observe Mark Shapiro’s innovative thinking, his professionalism and his commitment to winning and bringing a championship to Toronto,” Beeston commented in the release.

Beeston also noted his gratitude at today’s gesture. “I am fortunate to once again be welcomed back into this great organization,” he said. “To have a small role moving forward is something that I sincerely appreciate.”

It seems only fitting that Beeston will remain president emeritus for as long as the organization exists. He is, after all, its first employee. After entering the fold as vice president of administration back in 1976, Beeston oversaw the Jays as president & CEO for two separate stints — 1989 to 1997 and 2008 to 2015. The former period included the team’s memorable 1992 and 1993 World Series teams, while the latter was capped off last year with the Jays’ first return to the postseason since its back-to-back championships.

 

Atlanta Braves: Top 5 Bright Spots of 2016

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Rebuilding season or not, falling short of the playoffs and finishing with a losing record probably means that more things went wrong than went right for a team. This series, however, will focus on those silver linings that each team can take away from an otherwise disappointing season.

[Related: “Top Bright Spots” archive]

Here are the biggest bright spots for the Atlanta Braves.

Note: Freddie Freeman’s terrific season does qualify as a bright spot, as does Julio Teheran’s to a lesser extent, but not major ones in regards to what was expected and how it affects the team moving forward. Since neither is expected to be a trade candidate, their performances don’t change the outlook for the offseason or for the 2017 season. 

1. Ender Inciarte/ Matt Kemp/ Nick Markakis, OF

All indications are that the Braves expect to contend in 2017 and will be aggressive in their pursuit of two or three starting pitchers that could help send them in the right direction. Trading from a position of strength didn’t appear to been an option a few months ago. But thanks to the late-season success from their starting outfield trio, this is now a viable strategy. Here’s a look at the three potential trade candidates:

Inciarte: .863 OPS, 14 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 7 SB in 60 games; under club control thru ’20; entering first year of arbitration eligibility (Super Two).
Kemp: .914 OPS, 16 2B, 15 HR in 57 games; owed $47.25MM thru 2019
Markakis: .839 OPS, 16 2B, 7 HR in 60 games; owed $22MM thru 2018

The 25-year-old Inciarte is easily the most valuable trade chip of the three, although I wouldn’t rule out the Braves receiving a decent return for Markakis or Kemp. One of the strong motivators for the Braves in the Kemp deal was to rid themselves of Hector Olivera and his contract. Getting Kemp was an added bonus. They’d likely be more than happy to pay his close to $16MM per season salary and would likely be willing to eat a portion of that in an offseason trade if it brought back a starting pitcher who could help in 2017.

2. Jace Peterson, IF/OF

While Peterson’s season won’t likely have much effect on Ozzie Albies’ arrival in the majors—you can probably pencil Albies into the starting lineup no later than June 1st whether Peterson is in the picture or not—his value to the Braves has increased greatly.

Since returning from a stint in the minors on June 10th, the 26-year-old has a .789 OPS with seven homers, 15 doubles, 44 walks and 46 strikeouts. In addition to functioning as a stop-gap for Albies, he could also push Adonis Garcia for playing time at third base, as well as give the Braves another option in the outfield if they were to trade Inciarte, Kemp or Markakis. That is, if he’s still in the organization on Opening Day.

Peterson’s trade value should be on the rise. Young, controllable players—he’ll be eligible for free agency after that 2020 season—who can play multiple positions (including short and center) and get on base at a high clip are at a premium. The combination of youth, talent and versatility makes him an asset for a contender or rebuilding team.

3. Mike Foltynewicz, SP

The open audition the Braves have been holding for starting pitchers in 2016 hasn’t yielded many answers in regards to who can help them out in the near future. Out of all the young, unproven pitchers who have been given the opportunity to make a start, Foltynewicz is the most likely to be penciled into the 2017 rotation.

In what might have been his last chance to prove that he could be a big league starter—many scouts believe the hard-throwing right-hander is best suited for the bullpen—Foltynewicz had more ups (seven starts with one earned run or less) than downs (five starts with five or more earned runs allowed). At just 24 years of age, there is still plenty of room for growth. Another step forward in 2017 and the Braves could have themselves a solid No. 2 or 3 starter.

4. Mauricio Cabrera, RP

It’s not out of the ordinary for a rookie to look much better than expected in the big leagues based on their Minor League track record. Small-sample success can be a matter of opposing teams not having enough information to formulate the proper plan of attack. Once the book is out, word spreads quickly and that players’ weaknesses are exposed.

In the case of Cabrera, his weakness was that he could not throw strikes consistently enough with a fastball that regularly exceeds 100 MPH. Since 2015, his first year as a full-time relief pitcher in the Minor Leagues, he combined to walk 57 batters in 82 innings (5.7 BB/9) between High-A and Double-A. In the majors, where he’s been since the Braves called him up on June 27th, he’s walked only 14 hitters in 34.2 innings (3.6 BB/9) en route to a solid 3.12 ERA with four saves and eight holds in his 35 appearances. If he can throw a 102 fastball for strikes and employ a secondary pitch or two that somewhat resembles the fastball coming out of his hand, extensive scouting reports probably won’t help much.

While their have been a few expected bumps along the way, the 22-year-old has earned a shot to challenge Arodys Vizcaino (any any other competitors who are brought into the picture) for the closer’s job in 2017 and should at least be penciled into a setup role.

5. Ozzie Albies, 2B/SS (MiLB)

The 19-year-old Albies, who spent the entire 2015 season in Low-A ball, was on the doorstep to the Major Leagues before fracturing his elbow earlier this month. We’ll never know whether the Braves were willing to add him to the 40-man roster and start his service time clock as they did with Dansby Swanson. GM John Coppolella suggested the team didn’t think he was quite ready, but it wouldn’t have been a major surprise. He would’ve been the 2nd player in team history from Wilemstad, Curacao to debut at age 19. The other was center fielder Andruw Jones, a five-time All-Star who won 10 Gold Glove awards as a Brave.

A jump over High-A and to the upper minors wasn’t much of a challenge for the switch-hitting Albies, who finished the season with a .778 OPS, 49 extra-base hits (33 2B, 10 3B, 6 HR) and 30 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A. The fast-rising prospect should make his MLB debut early in the 2017 season, teaming with Swanson to form one of the more intriguing young double-play duos in baseball.

[Braves Depth Chart]

Steve Pearce To Undergo Forearm Surgery With 4-6 Month Recovery Time

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Orioles first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce will undergo surgery to repair the flexor mass in his right forearm and will be sidelined anywhere from four to six months as he recovers, manager Buck Showalter told reporters, including Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic.com (Twitter link). Certainly, as an impending free agent, that timeline is a blow to Pearce’s offseason stock. Assuming that timeline sticks, he won’t be ready until at least late January and could see his recovery linger well into Spring Training.

Viewed through a more immediate lens, Pearce’s injury is a blow to the depth of an Orioles team that is currently in possession of one of the two American League Wild Card spots and still has a chance at the division championship in the American League East (currently three games back from Boston). Pearce was outstanding when healthy this season, hitting .288/.374/.492 with 13 homers and 13 doubles in 302 plate appearances for the Rays and Orioles. Baltimore let Pearce walk this past offseason, electing instead to acquire Mark Trumbo and sign corner bats Pedro Alvarez and Hyun Soo Kim to cost-effective deals. However, the O’s picked Pearce back up in a trade that sent minor league catcher Jonah Heim to the Rays. They’ll ultimately receive just 70 plate appearances and a .217/.329/.400 slash out of their reinvestment in Pearce, though.

Had Pearce finished up the season in healthy fashion, a two-year deal could seemingly have been on the table for him, but it’s difficult now to envision the 33-year-old (34 next April) securing more than a one-year pact — likely one that is laden with incentives — on the open market. If he does make a full recovery, though, Pearce would be a tremendous value on such a deal, as he’s somewhat quietly produced a very strong .266/.348/.485 slash in 1148 plate appearances dating back to the 2013 season.

Steven Souza To Undergo Hip Surgery

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Rays right fielder Steven Souza will undergo surgery to repair an impingement in his left hip on Wednesday, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Souza visited a specialist to have his hip looked at today and told Topkin recently that he’s been playing through discomfort since June.

The 27-year-old Souza had a solid season at the plate and in the field even in spite of the ailment, hitting .247/.303/.409 with 17 homers, 17 doubles and six stolen bases in a career-high 468 plate appearances. He graded out as an above-average defender even in spite of a hip impingement that one would assume impacted his mobility to some extent in the field.

From a big picture standpoint, the surgery doesn’t change too much for the Rays. Topkin notes that Souza is expected to be ready for Spring Training, so he’ll presumably be penciled in as the team’s primary right fielder once again, barring some form of significant setback in his offseason recovery. The Rays will undoubtedly hope that a healthier hip can lead Souza to capitalize more effectively on the combination of power, speed and defense that makes him such a tantalizing talent.

As it stands, the Rays have the least to show at the big league level for the three-team blockbuster that brought Souza to St. Petersburg in the first place, as Trea Turner and Joe Ross look like cornerstone pieces for the Nationals while Wil Myers has enjoyed an excellent breakout season in San Diego. However, they also have Class-A lefty Travis Ott and Double-A first baseman/right fielder Jake Bauers making their way through the minor league ranks. And, of course, Souza won’t even be arbitration-eligible this winter and has an additional four years of club control remaining, so there’s ample opportunity for the Rays to receive more Major League value from that swap.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/19/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves, each coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The Rays have outrighted Tyler Sturdevant to Triple-A Durham. The right-handed reliever was designated for assignment last week despite a solid 3.93 earned run average and a 14-to-6 K/BB ratio in 18 1/3 innings. That small sample represented the first Major League work of the 30-year-old Sturdevant’s career. The former Indians farmhand signed a minors pact with the Rays last offseason and had a nice run with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.66 ERA with 11.2 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 39 1/3 frames. Set to turn 31 this December, Sturdevant can again opt for minor league free agency this winter.
  • Lefty reliever Jack Leathersich will forgo minor league free agency and re-up with the Cubs on a minors pact for the 2017 season. The former Mets reliever had a successful debut in 2015 when he posted a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings, but Tommy John surgery derailed his rookie campaign. The Cubs picked him up on waivers this past November, but he wound up being removed from the 40-man roster and re-signing a minors deal with Chicago. The 26-year-old Leathersich made it back to a minor league mound this year and tossed 23 1/3 innings of 1.93 ERA ball with a hefty 34 strikeouts, though he also issued 13 walks and hit a batter as well. Control has never been a strong point for Leathersich, but he’ll work on reining in the walks as he hopes to bring his career 15.0 K/9 rate back to the Majors at some point next season.
  • Eddy’s post contains several players from teams all throughout the league that elected to skip minor league free agency and sign 2017 deals with their 2016 organizations, though Leathersich is the only one of the bunch with MLB experience under his belt.

AL East Notes: Teixeira, Souza, Hanley

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With his career winding down, Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira took some time to sit down with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and reflect on his 14 seasons in the Majors. In an excellent Q&A, Teixeira discusses with Rosenthal the feeling of being traded on two different occasions, including an amusing story of a ruined cell phone on a fishing trip with former teammate David Dellucci that prevented him from learning about his trade to the Braves as quickly as he otherwise might have. The switch-hitting slugger candidly discussed his lone trip through free agency, stating that he “didn’t enjoy it at all” and also explaining how he very nearly signed with the division-rival Red Sox that winter before agreeing to terms with the Yankees. He also discusses the differences of being in a pennant race as an expected contributor and as a veteran role player. I’d highly recommend checking out Rosenthal’s piece, as it pulls back the curtain a bit on free agency and trades and also contains a number of interesting anecdotes from Teixeira.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. is seeing a specialist in Nashville to have his hip evaluated today, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Souza has been playing through lingering discomfort in his left hip that has limited him in the weight room and other non-baseball activities. Souza describes the feeling as a pinching sensation that is stemming from an irregular bone growth in his hip. The possibility of surgery is on the table for the 27-year-old, who has batted .247/.303/.409 with 17 homers and six steals while playing above-average defense in spite of the hip troubles this year.
  • Hanley Ramirez has redeemed himself in Boston after a dreadful first year with the Red Sox, and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe spoke to the slugger about his transformation at the plate. Ramirez feels that a shoulder injury sustained when crashing into the left field wall early last season hindered his ability to catch up with fastballs “a lot,” and Speier examines Ramirez’s complete rebound against heaters in 2016. Ramirez hit just .236 against fastballs last season, with only eight of his 19 homers coming against them. He didn’t hit a single homer off a pitch that was thrown 94 mph or greater, but he’s done so four times in the past three weeks alone, including last Thursday’s walk-off blast against Dellin Betances. Ramirez, whose batting line rests at a magnificent .294/.364/.517 (28 homers), discussed the various changes he’s made to his approach at the plate, specifically a lowered hand position that shortens his swing and increases the power. Manager John Farrell raved about Ramirez to reporters following last night’s two-homer performance (via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). “His comeback, his resurgence, it has been a major factor for where we stand today,” said Farrell.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Mailbag

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Last week’s MLBTR Mailbag featured questions on Clayton Richard’s surprising performance since signing with the Padres, the Mets’ likelihood of retaining a trio of free agents, potential free-agent targets for the Giants and Ivan Nova’s earning power on the heels of his incredible run with the Pirates.

If you have a question on the upcoming offseason, free agency, the playoff race, postseason awards or anything else and would like to hear MLBTR’s take, let us know: mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com. We can’t get to every question, of course, but we’ll try to diversify the teams/subject matter as best we can. If you miss out on having your question answered, remember that you can always ask during one of our three weekly live chats — Tuesday afternoons with myself, Wednesday evenings with Jason Martinez and/or Thursday afternoons with Jeff Todd. Mailbag questions are welcome throughout the week, so feel free to send them in at any time.

Mets Notes: Lucroy, Bruce, Conforto, Walker

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Despite the glut of injuries that have hit the Mets’ pitching staff and lineup, and despite the slumps from several expected contributors, the Mets currently have a one-game lead for the top Wild Card spot in the National League. And with 10 of their 13 remaining games coming against the two worst teams in their division (the Phillies and Braves), New York has put itself in position for a return trip to the postseason. Fangraphs puts the Mets’ playoff odds at 88.9 percent, while Baseball Prospectus pegs them at 89.5 percent.

A few notes on the current NL Wild Card favorites…

  • John Harper of the New York Daily News spoke to a Mets official who admitted that the Mets badly wanted to acquire Jonathan Lucroy at the non-waiver trade deadline but found the asking price to be too substantial. The Brewers were insistent that any package for Lucroy be headlined by one of Michael Conforto or top shortstop prospect Amed Rosario, and the Mets simply weren’t comfortable trading either player. “We knew how much Lucroy would help us, but we couldn’t do it,” the unnamed source told Harper. “And looking back now, it was still the right decision. Conforto and Rosario are young, cornerstone players.”
  • Conforto, of course, is receiving scarce playing time because the Mets’ apparent fallback option, Jay Bruce, has occupied right field regularly since being acquired on Aug. 1. Bruce, though, hasn’t hit at all for the Mets, and Harper writes that his struggles have been pronounced enough that the team could have to consider buying out his $13MM option rather than exercising it. If anything, Harper argues, the struggles of Bruce in New York illustrates how badly the Mets need to retain Yoenis Cespedes, and shedding Bruce’s $13MM commitment could help them to achieve that end.
  • Interestingly, Harper also writes that there’s a “faction” among Mets decision-makers that would like to see Conforto shift over the first base full-time in 2017, but there’s still no consensus as to whether the Mets will retain Lucas Duda. The 30-year-old Duda was just activated from the disabled list yesterday after missing months due to a stress fracture in his back. He hasn’t been able to take the field much this season (41 games) and is due a raise on his $6.7MM salary in his final scheduled trip through arbitration this winter. I’m of the belief that a $7-8MM salary for a healthy Duda is a no-brainer, but only the Mets know how likely it is that Duda’s back issues will pose a lingering problem into the 2017 season.
  • Speaking of back issues, Neil Walker tells Kristie Ackert of the Daily News that he considers the Mets a “good fit” for him, but he’s remaining open to all possibilities in free agency as he heals from season-ending back surgery. Walker is already pain-free in his back and can walk and perform resistance-band exercises, but he says it’ll be three months before he can resume baseball activities. Walker adds that his agent doesn’t believe the injury will severely hamper his free agent stock. “To be honest with you, I have been playing with this for over two-and-a half-years, this has been something I have been living with,” the second baseman said. “I can tell you the last three days, I’ve gotten out of bed and my back hasn’t hurt and I haven’t had that for about two-and-a-half years.”

Diamondbacks To Part Ways With De Jon Watson

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SEPT. 19: In an updated version of his story, Piecoro now reports that while it was La Russa who made the announcement about Watson, the decision to let him go came from ownership and not from La Russa and Stewart.

“In talking with De Jon when his option was not picked up at the end of August,” La Russa explained, “he asked about how long it would take because if it wasn’t going to work out, he’s got contacts to make so he can land on his feet. That kind of sped the process up in his case.”

La Russa went on to offer praise for Watson but suggested that there may be some redundancies within the roles occupied by Watson, himself and Stewart, thus leading to the idea of “consolidating” some of the front office duties. “As we’ve worked through a couple of years, there’s more communication like I’m having with scouting and player development, and Stew is having the same,” said La Russa. “It’s not that there’s not a role for someone like De Jon, but that’s a possibility that there’s some duplication.”

SEPT. 18: The Diamondbacks will not pick up senior vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson’s contract for 2017, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The decision to cut ties with Watson was made by chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and general manager Dave Stewart, a source told Piecoro. La Russa and Stewart are facing uncertain futures in Arizona, which could move on from one or both in the coming weeks.

The D-backs announced the hirings of Stewart and Watson on Sept. 25, 2014, which came a few months after they tabbed La Russa to lead their baseball department. The trio has since come under fire for a slew of questionable moves that have helped contribute to the last-place club’s 62-86 record this year. Among the front office’s panned transactions have been the big-money signings of Cuban free agents Yoan Lopez and Yasmany Tomas. Watson was instrumental in those additions, per Piecoro, as he was an important figure in their international scouting efforts.

Lopez, a right-hander whom the Diamondbacks gave a then-record $8.27MM bonus as an international free agent in 2014, has scuffled in the minors and has even contemplated giving up baseball. Inking Lopez at such a high cost has prevented the D-backs from landing any international free agent for more than $300K over the past two signing periods.

Unlike Lopez, Tomas has cracked the majors, but the six-year, $68.5MM deal Arizona signed the third baseman-turned-outfielder to before the 2015 season hasn’t exactly been a bargain. The 25-year-old Tomas has hit a below-average .269/.306/.456 with 38 home runs, including an impressive 29 this season, in 943 major league plate appearances. Thanks largely to the big-bodied Tomas’ inability to make positive contributions as a defender or baserunner, he has posted a minus-1.6 fWAR with the D-backs.

While the moves he helped guide the Diamondbacks to haven’t gone as planned, Watson also didn’t get along well with farm director Mike Bell, according to Piecoro. Bell told the team’s higher-ups in July that he couldn’t work with Watson anymore. If Bell continues with the organization past this season, Watson will no longer serve as a hindrance to him.

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