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Athletics Claim Donn Roach From Tigers

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The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Donn Roach, whom they had designated for assignment over the weekend, has been claimed off waivers by the Athletics.

Roach, 26, has a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 18 walks in 39 career innings at the Major League level, but his massive ground-ball tendencies continue to intrigue teams enough to land on 40-man rosters. Roach posted a 3.03 ERA in his Triple-A run with the Tigers, fanning 21 batters against just five walks in 29 innings of work. He’s posted a gaudy 67.1 percent ground-ball rate in his big league career and has a 59 percent ground-ball rate in Triple-A this year. He’ll add some depth to the Athletics’ Triple-A team on the eve of the playoffs, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), who points out that recent promotions have depleted the Athletics’ Triple-A roster.

Roach has bounced all over the league in the past two years, spending time on the 40-man roster with the Padres, Cubs, Blue Jays, Reds, Mariners, Tigers and now Athletics.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLBTR Mailbag

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Last week’s edition of the MLBTR Mailbag took a look back at some historical waiver claims, examined J.D. Martinez’s chances at a mega-contract following the 2017 season, looked at the Tigers’ chances of upgrading the rotation and discussed Josh Hamilton’s release from the Rangers (as well as his likely minor league signing this winter).

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 will 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 evening 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.

Orioles Designate Odrisamer Despaigne For Assignment

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The Orioles announced today that they’ve designated right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for lefty reliever Brian Duensing, who has been activated from the 60-day disabled list.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Despaigne was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Class-A righty Jean Cosme to the Padres. Despaigne totaled just 27 1/3 innings for the Orioles at the big league level, pitching to a 5.60 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 38.2 percent ground-ball rate. His work at the Triple-A level was considerably better, as the Cuban-born righty tossed 88 1/3 innings with 3.87 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. In total, Despaigne has a 4.84 ERA in 249 1/3 innings between the Orioles and Padres as a Major Leaguer.

Duensing, 33, hasn’t pitched since June 19 due to inflammation in his left elbow. The longtime Twin signed a minors pact with the O’s earlier this season and pitched just 6 2/3 innings before going down with his elbow ailment. Duensing will give manager Buck Showalter four lefties to choose from in his bullpen, as he’ll join brilliant closer Zach Britton, rookie Donnie Hart and Jayson Aquino in the relief corps. The former third-round pick carries a significant platoon split in his career, so he’s best deployed as a situational lefty. He’s held same-handed opponents to a .238/.289/.329 slash in 935 career plate appearances.

Bartolo Colon Hopes To Pitch For Mets In 2017

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Bartolo Colon may be 43 years of age (44 next May), but the right-hander has no intention of calling it a career after the season and tells ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin that his ideal scenario would be to re-sign with the Mets as a free agent. “If they gave me the opportunity, I would be delighted to come back,” Colon said though his interpreter.

At one point, the notion of Colon returning to the Mets might’ve seemed like a stretch, as New York had built up a vaunted stockpile of enticing young arms. Entering the season, as Rubin reminds, Colon was only supposed to work out of the rotation until Zack Wheeler had recovered from 2015 Tommy John surgery. However, Wheeler won’t pitch in the Majors this season, Matt Harvey has undergone surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, Steven Matz is dealing with a bone spur in his left elbow and now a shoulder impingement, and Noah Syndergaard is also dealing with a more minor spur in his right elbow. Jacob deGrom, meanwhile, is set to miss multiple starts due to forearm soreness.

Right-hander Seth Lugo has stepped up and been a godsend for the Mets recently, pitching to a 2.38 ERA in 41 1/3 innings (four starts, nine relief appearances), and if he can finish out the season with anywhere near that level of success, he’ll enter the 2017 campaign as an excellent safety net. However, given the plethora of injuries facing the Mets’ ballyhooed young starters, adding another insurance policy in the form of the veteran Colon, who is beloved among fans and teammates alike, certainly carries some merit.

The timeless Colon hasn’t pitched like a man whose years are beginning to catch up to him in 2016. His age-43 campaign, in fact, has been his best season yet with the Mets. In 158 2/3 innings, Colon is sporting a 3.35 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent ground-ball rate. His four-seamer’s velocity is down from 90.3 mph to 89.7 mph, but there’s little difference in the velocity of the two-seam fastball upon which he relies so heavily (87.2 mph in 2015; 87.0 mph in 2016). While some detractors might point out that Colon is averaging just 5.8 innings per start after averaging 6.2 and 6.5 per start, respectively, in 2015 and 2014, his 2016 number is weighed down by a June 21 outing in which he exited after one batter after being hit on the hand by a line drive. Subtracting that appearance from the equation, Colon is averaging a hair over six innings per outing — once again demonstrating an ability to work reasonably deep into games on a regular basis.

The 2017 season would represent the 20th season in Colon’s storied Major League career and, as Rubin notes, bring him within arm’s reach of Juan Marichal’s 243 wins — a record among Dominican-born hurlers — as well as Dennis Martinez’s 245 wins — the all-time record for a Latin American pitcher. “…if I caught up to either of those, it would be very meaningful,” said Colon.

Quick Hits: Murphy, Volquez, Yankees, Fernandez, Ruiz, Morneau

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The Mets felt comfortable in letting Daniel Murphy go in free agency for several reasons, a decision that ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin notes is certainly worth second-guessing given Murphy’s huge season with the Nationals.  Perhaps the biggest factor for the Mets was their belief that Murphy could deliver a good average but little else.  Murphy, of course, has contributed 25 homers and a .340/.383/.593 slash line, pretty resounding the Mets’ criticisms about his lack of power or plate discipline.  (He has also been above average on the basepaths, as per Fangraphs’ baserunning metric.)  Murphy is looking like a bargain signing for the Nats while second base is a question mark for the Mets heading into 2017.

Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • For now, “the most logical scenario” between the Royals and Edinson Volquez is that the club will issue Volquez a qualifying offer that the righty will decline in search of a multi-year contract elsewhere, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes as part of a reader mailbag piece.  It may seem odd that the Royals would risk issuing a one-year, $16.7MM deal to a 33-year-old with a 5.02 ERA through 166 2/3 innings, though the starting pitching market is so thin that Volquez may indeed be able to find a longer-term commitment.  If Volquez leaves, Dodd figures K.C. will pursue inexpensive free agent starters, or possibly look for a higher-caliber arm by trading one of its core roster players.
  • The Yankees heavily reloaded on blue chip minor leaguers with their deadline trades, and John Harper of the New York Daily News wonders if the club will try to deal from this newfound prospect depth to acquire a frontline starter this winter.  Jose Fernandez may be the most available ace on the market, given that the Marlins may not have the money to keep him before he hits free agency after the 2018 season.  Landing Fernandez would likely cost the Yankees Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, one of Jorge Mateo or Gleyber Torres and probably one more pitching prospect.  It might take an even biggest prospect package than that to acquire Chris Sale given Sale’s club-friendly contract, while the Athletics’ Sonny Gray or the Rays’ Chris Archer are coming off down years and may be too risky for the Yankees given the prospect cost it would take to acquire them.
  • Cuban second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez and righty Norge Ruiz will play for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican League this winter, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports.  It will present both players with a valuable opportunity to perform in front of MLB scouts, particularly Fernandez since the infielder hasn’t in competitive games for almost two full years.  That long layoff may have contributed to Fernandez still being unsigned despite being declared a free agent in April, though Badler notes other factors like teams being pretty set at second base and scouts having questions about Fernandez’s power, fielding and speed.  Ruiz left Cuba in May 2015 but has yet to be officially declared a free agent, which Badler finds curious given how several Cuban players have been cleared by the league in far less time.
  • Justin Morneau hopes to play some first base if he plays in 2017, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes writes.  Morneau has only served as a DH since joining the White Sox, thanks to his rehab from elbow surgery and his lack of a Spring Training.  With a proper spring under his belt next season, Morneau feels he can return to his old position at least a couple of times per week.  It should also be noted that Morneau’s free agent value will obviously increase if he is able to play a position rather than be limited to a designated hitter role.

Rockies Notes: Parra, Bullpen, Weiss

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Here’s the latest out of the Mile High City…

  • Gerardo Parra has been getting time at first base for the Rockies, and manager Walt Weiss hinted to reporters (including MLB.com’s Ben Weinrib) that Parra could remain at the position for the rest of the season.  Parra had never played first base at the professional level prior to August 24, though if the Rox are comfortable with him as a first base option going forward, it could solve their outfield logjam.  Trade rumors have long swirled around Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon, given the presence of both Parra (who is signed through the 2018 season) and promising rookie David Dahl.
  • The bullpen has to be GM Jeff Bridich’s “top offseason priority” given how the relief corps has struggled in 2016, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes.  Colorado ranks near the bottom of the league in blown saves, bullpen K/9 and bullpen ERA, though some misfortune has been involved, as the advanced metrics indicate (4.20 FIP, 4.29 xFIP, 4.02 SIERA) that the Rockies’ relievers should have better results than their actual 5.03 ERA indicates.  Of course, the bullpen was a major focus last winter for Colorado, but acquisitions like Jake McGee, Chad Qualls and Jason Motte simply haven’t panned out.
  • In another piece from Saunders, he thinks Walt Weiss will keep his job through the rest of the season “but then the decision could come quickly.”  The Rockies are 65-71 this year, which actually represents their best winning percentage (.478) in their four seasons under Weiss.  The skipper is in the last year of his contract, and his future in Denver could hinge on “how much [Bridich] wants to clean house.”  FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal also recently suggested that Weiss could be a managerial candidate with the Diamondbacks, given Weiss’ shared history with Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart.  (Assuming, of course, that La Russa and Stewart still have their own jobs in Arizona.)

NL Central Notes: Maddon, Nathan, Bruce, Nova

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Some items from around the NL Central…

  • Joe Maddon is hardly the first manager to embrace his players’ versatility, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that though few have done it to the sheer extent of the Cubs’ skipper.  Chicago’s dominant lead in the standings has given Maddon some leeway to experiment, though it could also be argued that the Cubs are enjoying such a great season because Maddon has been so canny about pursuing every possible advantage to help his team win.  Sherman feels that other teams could use the Cubs as a blueprint for future roster construction, as having multi-positional players around can solve many issues.
  • Joe Nathan was understandably let down about being released by the Cubs last month, the veteran reliever tells ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers.  Nathan signed with Chicago in May and eventually pitched in three games for the Cubs after completing his rehab from Tommy John surgery.  “In their defense I don’t think they foresaw picking up [Aroldis] Chapman, picking up Joe Smith, and their bullpen shaping up the way it was,” Nathan said. “On that side of it I completely understand.  Still, it was a disappointing turn of events. Things went from ’this is the plan’ to ’now what?’ ”  Nathan said that Cubs president Theo Epstein personally informed him about the release, and the veteran reliever didn’t have any hard feelings towards his former club.  Of course, Nathan’s disappointment has been mitigated by the fact that he signed on with another contender in the Giants.
  • When Jay Bruce learned he was going to be dealt, the outfielder asked the Reds to trade him “anywhere but New York,” Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News writes.  No specific reason was given for Bruce’s reported misgivings about joining the Mets.  Bruce has, in fact, badly struggled since joining the Mets in a deadline deal, entering today with only a .198/.270/.327 slash line and three homers over 111 plate appearances.
  • With Ivan Nova pitching well since joining the Pirates in July, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review thinks the Bucs could “consider being aggressive in approaching Nova with an extension” before the righty hits free agency in the offseason.  As MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently noted in a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, a strong finish from Nova could line him up for as much as a three-year deal this winter; he’ll stand out in a very thin pitching market and teams could see him as a new J.A. Happ, who blossomed after going to Pittsburgh last season and has continued to pitch well in Toronto.  Extending Nova now would save the Bucs some money, since it’s possible his market could grow to the point that he is priced out of the Pirates’ comfort zone.  That said, my guess would be that Nova will forego an extension to at least test the open market, given that he’s so close to free agency.

Injury Updates: Strasburg, Shoemaker, Pirates, Hamilton

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Here’s the latest health updates on some key names from around baseball…

  • Stephen Strasburg could “possibly” start for the Nationals on Wednesday, manager Dusty Baker told reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link).  Strasburg was placed on the DL with a sore right elbow on August 21, so he would have only missed slightly beyond the 15-day minimum should he indeed return on Wednesday.  Baker said Strasburg threw well in a bullpen session today but the club will see how the star righty is feeling tomorrow before any decisions are made.
  • Angels righty Matt Shoemaker was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of Kyle Seager today.  Shoemaker didn’t lose consciousness during the scary incident, and the Halos announced that he had suffered a laceration but was alert and responsive.  A CT scan revealed that Shoemaker suffered a small skull fracture and a hematoma, and he’ll stay in hospital overnight and visit a neurologist (as per Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times).
  • The struggling Pirates could get some reinforcements in the form of Jung Ho Kang and Gerrit Cole, skipper Clint Hurdle told reporters (including Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Kang, who went on the DL with a left shoulder injury on August 20, could return to the active roster as early as Monday.  Cole’s DL placement due to right elbow inflammation was retroactive to August 25, and the Pirates have him tentatively scheduled to start on September 12 against Philadelphia.  Cole threw a 30-pitch bullpen session yesterday and has to get through two more side sessions scheduled for next week before the Bucs give him the green light to return.
  • Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton exited today’s game with the Cardinals after suffering a left oblique strain during the third inning.  The severity of the injury isn’t known, as while Reds manager Bryan Price told reporters (including Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Hamilton will likely be out of action for a few games, oblique injuries generally take much longer to heal.  Jose Peraza is the Reds’ top center field option while Hamilton recovers.  It’s not out of the question that Hamilton will miss the rest of the season, which would bring a disappointing end to a campaign that saw Hamilton (.260/.321/.343) post career highs in batting average and OBP over 460 plate appearances, while stealing a league-leading 58 bases.

Jacob deGrom To Miss Multiple Starts Due To Forearm Soreness

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SUNDAY: The Mets think deGrom could miss multiple starts, Terry Collins told reporters (including ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin) today.

FRIDAY, 6:17pm: The club is officially labeling the issue forearm soreness, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. deGrom underwent an MRI, which did not reveal any problems, but is nevertheless expected to miss at least one start.

5:38pm: Mets righty Jacob deGrom has been diagnosed with elbow inflammation, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Otherwise, though, an examination was said to have revealed no structural concerns for the key Mets starter.

Manager Terry Collins declined to say earlier today whether deGrom would make his next start, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). The skipper raised eyebrows yet further when he acknowledged there was some concern about the star hurler.

New York had already attempted to give deGrom a rest by skipping a start after he posted two straight rough outings. The hope was that he could get track thereafter and help the team push for a Wild Card spot over the next thirty days. Instead, deGrom labored through his start last night and was spotted calling for the trainer as he departed, leading to questions whether he was experiencing something more than general wear and tear.

Velocity questions arose this spring, but deGrom had steadily been adding speed to his offerings until a recent dip. Somewhat worryingly, perhaps, that change has come along with some modifications to his horizontal and vertical release points.

As things stand, it seems that deGrom won’t miss any kind of extended stretch, though any missed action at all would constitute a big blow to the Mets. While deGrom hasn’t been quite as excellent as he was in 2014 and 2015, he has still been plenty effective. Over 148 frames on the year, he owns a 3.04 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.

If he is able to qualify for Super Two status — which isn’t yet clear given his borderline service time tally (2.139 years) — deGrom will receive a huge raise and set himself up for three more years of big earnings. If he falls shy of the cutoff, he’ll have to settle for waiting another year, which will substantially reduce his overall cost to the team over the next four seasons.

Poll: Clayton Kershaw’s Cy Young Chances

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Sunday that baseball’s preeminent ace, Clayton Kershaw, will make his long-awaited return to Los Angeles’ rotation against the Marlins on Friday. Before landing on the disabled list in late June with a herniated disc in his back, the left-hander was on track for an all-time great season. In addition to posting a 1.79 ERA in 121 pre-injury innings, Kershaw struck out 10.79 batters and walked a microscopic .67 per nine frames, giving him an incredible 16.11 K/BB ratio. The record for a season is a modest-by-comparison 11.63, a figure the Twins’ Phil Hughes put up in 2014.

Kershaw, 28, was clearly the best pitcher in the majors through the end of June and looked poised to ultimately collect his fourth National League Cy Young Award at the conclusion of the season. Now, despite his brilliance this year, the time Kershaw has missed makes racking up any personal hardware look like a long shot. It’s debatable whether that should be the case, however.

If he stays healthy down the stretch, Kershaw will likely close the regular season in the 150-inning range, which would put him far behind fellow NL Cy Young contenders like Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Fernandez and Madison Bumgarner, among others. Nevertheless, as FanGraphs’ Dave Cameron (an NL Cy Young voter) detailed Friday, Kershaw has easily outperformed the rest of his league’s elite this season. For instance, Hendricks leads qualifying NL starters in ERA (2.12), yet he has allowed 20 more earned runs than Kershaw in only 38 more innings. Thus, voters will have to weigh whether a truncated season of sheer dominance from Kershaw is superior to a full year of excellence from Hendricks or any of the other aforementioned options.

History suggests that voters tend to place significant value on workhorses, evidenced by the fact that Kershaw (198 1/3 innings in 2014) and former Dodgers closer Eric Gagne (82 1/3 in 2003) are the only two NL pitchers to throw fewer than 200 frames in a Cy Young-winning season since 1990. Still, Kershaw will finish 2016 with videogamelike numbers, and both results- and FIP-based WAR indicate that he has been among the most valuable pitchers in the NL despite a two-plus-month absence. Unfortunately for Kershaw, his extraordinary output over a limited number of innings might not be enough for him to garner serious Cy Young consideration. Do you think it should?

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