Yankees Release Alex Rodriguez, Will Hire Him As Special Advisor
Designated hitter Alex Rodriguez played his final game with the club Friday, and the Yankees have officially released him. They will sign him to a new contract that will keep him in the organization through 2017 as a special instructor and advisor, as Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). However, the 41-year-old Rodriguez hasn’t closed the door on resuming his playing career at some point.
Notably, Rodriguez will continue to count against the luxury-tax threshold as he collects the $26.5MM that he has left on the 10-year contract he signed with the Yankees in 2007. That deal, a then-record-setting $275MM accord, was set to run through next season. Rodriguez secured the contract after opting out of his previously record-setting pact (10 years, $252MM) that he signed with the Rangers before the 2001 campaign.
Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, who was instrumental in keeping Rodriguez in pinstripes in 2007, issued a statement praising the 22-year veteran:
“After spending several days discussing this plan with Alex, I am pleased that he will remain a part of our organization moving forward and transition into a role in which I know he can flourish. We have an exciting group of talented young players at every level of our system. Our job as an organization is to utilize every resource possible to allow them to reach their potential, and I expect Alex to directly contribute to their growth and success. Baseball runs through his blood. He’s a tireless worker and an astute student of the game. Alex has already proven to be a willing and effective mentor to many players who have come through our clubhouse, and I am confident that this next phase of his baseball life will bring out the best in Alex and the next generation of Yankees.”
The news of Rodriguez’s departure from the Yankees’ roster isn’t particularly shocking after they scheduled a Sunday morning press conference that would feature some sort of announcement regarding his future. Speculation then abounded that the team would either cut Rodriguez or he’d retire. It turns out both could be true.
“We had no choice here, given the performance,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of releasing the declining Rodriguez, who now looks primed to walk away from playing a sport he has been a prominent part of since the Mariners selected him first overall in the 1993 draft.
For his part, Rodriguez commented, “I love this game. I love this team. Today I’m saying goodbye to both.”
If this is the end of Rodriguez’s playing career, he’ll go down as one of the most productive performers in baseball history. Since debuting in 1994 as an 18-year-old phenom, he has combined to hit .295/.380/.550 with 696 home runs, the fourth-highest total ever, in 12,000-plus plate appearances. He’s also 13th among position players in fWAR (113.0) and has collected 3,114 hits – which ranks 19th all-time – a record 25 grand slams, 14 All-Star appearances and three MVPs. Further, Rodriguez made a significant impact for the Yankees’ latest World Series-winning club, slashing a jaw-dropping .365/.500/.808 with six homers in 52 at-bats during the team’s run to a championship in 2009.
Rodriguez joined the Yankees in 2004 after they famously acquired him from the Rangers in exchange for second baseman Alfonso Soriano and prospect Joaquin Arias. New York beat out hated Boston for Rodriguez’s services, further fueling what was then a red-hot rivalry. To that point, Rodriguez had been an excellent defensive shortstop, but he agreed to move to third base with the Yankees because of Derek Jeter‘s presence. Like Jeter, Rodriguez is now one of the most accomplished Yankees ever, as he’s eighth among the franchise’s position players in rWAR (54.4) and sixth in home runs (351).
“I want to be remembered as someone who tripped and fell a lot, but kept getting up,” added Rodriguez, whose Hall of Fame-worthy career achievements are tainted in the eyes of many who follow the game.
Rodriguez is a central figure when it comes to steroids’ ties to baseball, having admitted in 2009 to using performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03 as a member of the Rangers. He also sat out the entire 2014 season as a result of a 162-game suspension the league handed him for his role in the Biogenesis scandal. That ban was originally for 211 games, but an appeal knocked 49 contests off it. At the time it disciplined Rodriguez, the league accused him of using and possessing “numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years.” It also alleged that he attempted “to cover up his violations” and engaged “in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner’s investigation.”
On the heels of his ignominious suspension, Rodriguez returned to playing last year and improbably hit .250/.356/.466 with 33 homers in 620 trips to the plate. That proved to be a dead cat bounce season, however, as Rodriguez has batted a disappointing .204/.252/.356 in 234 PAs in 2016. With the Yankees unlikely to qualify for the playoffs and now building toward the future, they have phased Rodriguez out of their lineup this year, having given him just one at-bat in August. He’s now the second franchise linchpin whose playing career with the Yankees is on the cusp of ending, joining first baseman Mark Teixeira – who announced earlier this week that he intends to retire after the season.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was first to report that the Yankees would release Rodriguez (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees To Promote Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin
The Yankees’ lineup against the Rays today includes both Aaron Judge (in right field and batting eighth) and Tyler Austin (at first base and batting seventh). FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted yesterday that Austin would be promoted. Both players will make their MLB debuts today. The moves coincide with the Yankees’ expected release of Alex Rodriguez., a move that is now official. The Yankees have also optioned righty Ben Heller and placed righty Conor Mullee (hand) on the 60-day DL.
[Related: Updated Yankees Depth Chart]
Of the two prospects, the 24-year-old Judge has the higher (and, literally, bigger) profile. A hulking (6’7, 275 pounds) slugger with huge raw power, the 2013 first-round pick has hit 19 home runs this season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .270/.366/.489 in the process. MLB.com currently rates him the No. 27 prospect in the Majors, comparing his build and raw power to Giancarlo Stanton. (Baseball America rated Judge the game’s 76th-best prospect heading into the season.) Judge ranks as the Yankees’ fourth-best prospect, behind newcomers Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres as well as Jorge Mateo.
It’s unclear how much success Judge will have right away, as his minor league numbers, while certainly fine overall, haven’t always been overwhelming. His strikeout tendencies (he had 144 whiffs last season and 98 so far this year) might be an area upon which he could improve. His potential tape-measure home runs, however, could make for any number of exciting highlights, and he won’t to hit like a superstar to improve upon current right fielder Aaron Hicks, who has batted just .198/.259/.314 this season.
The 24-year-old Austin has spent parts of seven seasons in the Yankees’ farm system, but has come on strong this season, batting .294/.392/.524 overall, including .323/.415/.637 with 13 home runs in 234 plate appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He can play all four corner spots, although he’s spent most of this season at first base, where he’ll presumably take plate appearances from Mark Teixeira, who’s set to retire at the end of the season. If Judge and/or Austin stick in the big leagues, they’ll each be eligible for arbitration following the 2019 season and free agency following the 2022 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Twins Designate Andrew Albers
The Twins have designated lefty Andrew Albers for assignment, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press was among those to tweet. His replacement has yet to be determined, but Minnesota is in need of fresh arms, necessitating the move.
Albers, 30, had only just returned to the majors and only received one appearance. It was a useful one, though, as he contributed six bullpen-saving innings in relief, allowing 11 hits and three earned runs but also striking out five batters against one walk.
The opportunities have been scarce for Albers, who only has 68 2/3 MLB frames on his ledger, with most of those coming in a 2013 run with the Twins. He opened the current season in independent ball, but has mostly pitched at Triple-A Rochester as a starter. Over his 112 2/3 frames there, Albers owns a 3.51 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
Injury Notes: Harper, De La Rosa, Rasmus, Bour, Gray, Cishek, Zych
A slumping Bryce Harper was out of the lineup again tonight for the Nationals owing to a seemingly minor neck issue, but the precise nature of his injury has been the subject of some debate. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post breaks down all the back-and-forth on the topic. In essence, Nats GM Mike Rizzo strongly denied a report from SI.com’s Tom Verducci indicating that Harper may have been playing through a shoulder injury for some time. Rizzo insists that Harper simply has a stiff neck that has not yet required a DL placement.
Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:
- Diamondbacks righty Rubby De La Rosa has suffered a setback in his efforts to come back from a forearm injury, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. He’s headed for an MRI to see where things stand. It seems as if there’s little reason to expect the 27-year-old to return to the majors this season. That’s a tough blow for the D-Backs, who surely would like to get a longer look at a pitcher who showed a fair bit of promise this year. Over 47 2/3 innings earlier in the season, De La Rosa worked to a 4.15 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
- The Astros will be without Colby Rasmus for a month or more after he underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his ear, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Rasmus has been struggling for some time, and it’s fair to wonder whether the issue may have played a significant role. He’ll need to return in good form to provide a boost to the ‘Stros — and to bolster his fading free agent position.
- Marlins first baseman Justin Bour isn’t progressing in his attempt to return from an ankle injury, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. In fact, manager Don Mattingly says that Bour “went backwards” of late, with the team’s expectation now being that he won’t return until at least early September. That certainly seems to open some room for Miami to look into adding a bat to chip in down the stretch.
- Athletics righty Sonny Gray only just began forearm exercises today, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports. He won’t begin throwing again unless and until the inflammation subsides. At this point, it seems far from certain whether he’ll make it back to a major league hill this season.
- The Mariners may soon send reliever Steve Cishek out on a rehab assignment, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. It appears that his hip labrum issue is indeed as minor as the team had suggested. Meanwhile, fellow pen righty Tony Zych is also finally making some progress and will begin a rehab assignment on Friday. Adding those two arms down the stretch would provide a significant boost to Seattle’s late-inning mix.
Cardinals, Mets Interested In Carlos Gomez
8:56pm: The Mets aren’t giving off indications that they have serious interest in Gomez, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets. Though GM Sandy Alderson has “left [the] door open,” says Carig, his comments “sounded like diplomacy” rather than the prelude to a move on the veteran outfielder.
12:40pm: ESPN’s Mark Saxon tweets that the Cardinals are indeed looking into Gomez, and his ability to play center field is a big draw for them. However, he notes that St. Louis could be outbid by the Mets. Saxon adds in a second tweet that Gomez is expected to be traded rather than waived and released. Shortly after Gomez’s DFA earlier this week, the Mets were said to be “open” to reacquiring him. Gomez came up through the Mets’ farm system and was lauded as one of the game’s top prospects before he was traded to the Twins as part of the Johan Santana package.
11:00am: The Cardinals will explore the possibility of adding recently designated center fielder Carlos Gomez, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). According to Goold, they’ll try to ascertain the reasons for his sudden decline and determine whether they believe he can rediscover his form and help the 2016 club. Adding onto that, Goold said in an appearance on the Ryan Kelley Morning Show on 105.7 FM / 920 AM in St. Louis that the Cards have “legitimate curiosity” in Gomez and were intrigued by him even before last night, when left fielder Matt Holliday suffered a fractured thumb that could cost him much of the remaining season.
Gomez was a big-name addition for the Astros last July, when Houston parted with four prospects to pry Gomez and right-hander Mike Fiers away from the Brewers. However, there were some medical concerns about Gomez at the time — a trade to the Mets was reportedly nixed in part due to concerns surrounding Gomez’s hip — and he performed dreadfully in the calendar year for which he donned an Astros uniform. The 30-year-old batted just .221/.277/.342 in 126 games for the Astros — a far cry from the terrific .278/.342/.475 batting line he compiled from Opening Day 2013 until the time of said trade. Gomez remains a base-stealing threat, but even defensive metrics have soured on his once-elite skill set in center field. Of course, he missed time in 2015 with a hamstring injury, played through alleged hip issues last season and spent more than a month on the DL in 2016 after injuring his rib cage while laying out to make a diving catch. Any and all of those issues could contribute to a decline in his defensive prowess in the outfield.
For the Cardinals, center field has been a revolving door for quite some time. Last year saw Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos deliver underwhelming performances before Randal Grichuk looked to seize the job, but Grichuk has taken a significant step back in 2016 and has been optioned to the minors on multiple occasions (though he’s back in the Majors now). Beyond Grichuk, the Cards have trotted out Tommy Pham, Jeremy Hazelbaker and even displaced second baseman Kolten Wong as they look to find a dependable everyday solution.
While Gomez is far from a certainty to fill that need, he could add an option with significant upside if he is ultimately released. That fate could very well be his outcome, as Gomez is owed $2.51MM through season’s end, and any claiming team would be on the hook for that sum. (And, while a trade is certainly another possibility, one can imagine that the recent data breach issues between the two teams in question here might create a reluctance to enter into such negotiations.)
Top 20 Trade Candidates: August Edition
Since last week’s edition of MLBTR’s Top 20 trade candidates, we’ve seen Jim Johnson get pulled back off revocable waivers, thus all but eliminating the possibility of a trade. James Shields had another catastrophic outing — eight earned runs in 1 1/3 innings — making it even more difficult to envision him being moved (though he’ll assuredly clear waivers when he’s placed on them, if he hasn’t already). The activation of Trevor Plouffe and Peter Bourjos from the DL has landed each a spot on the list, and some of the holdovers have been rearranged a bit. (Side note: Rather than knock Ryan Braun off the list following Carlos Gomez‘s DFA, I simply elected to expand the list to 21 this week. Bonus player!)
- Carlos Gomez, OF, Astros: Gomez leaps from not ranked to the No. 1 candidate following his DFA earlier this week. The Cardinals and Mets are among the teams with interest, and ESPN’s Mark Saxon tweeted that a trade was more likely than a release earlier today.
- Derek Norris, C, Padres: Norris still isn’t hitting, but the Padres’ motivation to move him keeps him near the top of the list for me. San Diego can see Austin Hedges in September when rosters expand, of course, but getting him to the Majors sooner and giving him more of an opportunity to play even in September by moving Norris makes all the sense in the world.
- Danny Valencia, 3B/1B/OF, Athletics: As injuries around the league continue to pile up — Matt Adams, Matt Holliday Jose Bautista, Scott Van Slyke, Nick Castellanos and Ryan Zimmerman have all gone on the DL since last week’s list was written — the potential landing spots for Valencia rise. He’s a poor fielder but a legitimate asset at the plate.
- Peter Bourjos, OF, Phillies: Bourjos won’t be a marquee addition, but now that he’s off the DL there seems to be a high likelihood that he’ll be moved. He was in a 1-for-17 slump at the time he was placed on the DL, but Bourjos batted .307/.347/.479 in 152 plate appearances in June and July, and he’s long had a terrific defensive reputation. The Phillies may want to get names like Roman Quinn and Nick Williams more at-bats in September, and flipping Bourjos to a team in need of a fourth outfielder that can handle center makes sense.
- Yasiel Puig, OF, Dodgers: Puig’s off-field antics since being demoted can’t have helped him work his way back into the good graces of his current employers. His bat has continually declined as his approach at the plate has worsened, but there’s enough upside here to tantalize a team with some fluidity in its long-term corner outfield picture.
- Brian McCann, C, Yankees: One of only two known players to clear waivers so far, McCann can be traded to any team, but the Yankees will have to shift from their reported reluctance to help pay down McCann’s remaining $17MM annual salary (as first reported by FanRag’s Jon Heyman) if they hope to move him and clear a spot for Gary Sanchez to play regularly.
- Kurt Suzuki, C, Twins: Not much has changed on the catching front, but the Indians, Red Sox, Mets and others could make sense for a short-term upgrade behind the dish (though it strikes me as unlikely that Suzuki would get to the Mets or even to the Indians on waivers).
- Melky Cabrera, OF, White Sox: As noted in the Valencia bullet, there’s been a rash of outfield injuries around the league, and though Cabrera’s ChiSox career started slowly, he’s mashed since June of last year. The $13MM he’s owed in 2017 doesn’t look unreasonable in light of a .295/.338/.449 slash over his past 917 plate appearances.
- Trevor Plouffe, 3B, Twins: Plouffe hasn’t hit in 2016, but he was a slightly above-average bat with average or better defense at the hot corner from 2014-15. That makes his upside more along the lines of a solid regular (think David Freese with the Angels) than a star, but a club with corner infield needs could certainly look to Plouffe and hope for improved performance now that he’s healthy. He’s controllable through 2017 and shouldn’t earn much of a raise on this year’s $7.25MM salary due to all of the missed time.
- Ervin Santana, SP, Twins: Santana might be the best “available” pitcher on the August market, though the Twins weren’t overly motivated to move him even prior to the non-waiver deadline. He’s owed $28MM in 2017-18 with a 2019 option. Santana is a legitimate mid-rotation starter on a reasonable contract, so the Twins are understandably asking for a fairly significant return in advance of this summer’s woefully poor free agent market for starting pitching.
- Adam Lind, 1B, Mariners: Dan Vogelbach hasn’t hit much at all since being picked up in the Mike Montgomery trade, so the urgency to move Lind isn’t as great as it could be. Dae-ho Lee, too, has seen his offense tail off in recent weeks. Lind is hitting better of late which could make him more marketable but also makes him increasingly important to a Mariners club that is just one game out of a Wild Card berth at the moment.
- Edinson Volquez, SP, Royals: Reports out of Kansas City continue to suggest that the Royals could make Volquez a qualifying offer, and I remain extremely skeptical. Volquez’s ERA is now north of 5.00 once again after he was rocked in three straight starts. I advocate for teams acting aggressively in extending qualifying offers, as I think accepting rarely makes sense for the player, but barring a late surge, I don’t see how Volquez could reject. It’s in the Royals’ best interest to get some value for him right now if a team is willing to make such an offer (which is no sure thing).
- Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Phillies: I hesitate to list Hellickson this high, because it seems unlikely that the Phillies will get a better offer now than they did prior to the non-waiver deadline when they could negotiate with each contending club. Hellickson is a lock to be claimed, but perhaps injuries or an even thinner market for starters in the month of August will motivate the claiming club to make a more substantial offer.
- Jeff Francoeur, OF, Braves: Francoeur has cleared waivers and can be dealt anywhere, though the Braves apparently are only willing to do so if they receive some degree of prospect in exchange. Atlanta values Francoeur’s clubhouse presence and doesn’t seem keen on moving him just to open a spot for a younger player or to save a small amount of cash. Francoeur isn’t the most exciting bat and has highly limited range in right field but does still possess a strong throwing arm.
- David Robertson, RP, White Sox: With more than $25MM still owed to him and an underwhelming stat line on the year, Robertson isn’t especially likely to go. However, he drew interest from clubs looking for impact bullpen arms, and he figures to clear waivers, giving the White Sox ample opportunity to explore trades with teams in need of relief help. That’s especially true if a contender decides it needs to try for a significant pen upgrade despite the risk. Robertson has a long track record of excellence, and probably carries more upside than any other potentially available relievers.
- Ian Krol, RP, Braves: Krol has only allowed one baserunner in his past 6 2/3 innings. He’ll finish the season a couple weeks shy of three years of service, so he’s on target to be a Super Two eligible reliever that is controllable through the 2020 season. He could be a future piece for the Braves, but Atlanta moved a highly controllable lefty in Hunter Cervenka and could do the same with Krol.
- Jeanmar Gomez, RP, Phillies: I’m not especially confident that Gomez will move after the Phillies didn’t find an offer to their liking prior to the non-waiver deadline, but as an affordable short-term asset (controllable through 2017) on a rebuilding club, Gomez will be on the list until he’s either traded or pulled back off revocable waivers.
- Nick Markakis, OF, Braves: Markakis is on fire and has even found some pop as of late (two homers in August, .128 ISO since the All-Star break). That could be enough to attract attention, but he’s still a near-lock to clear waivers. He makes more sense as an offseason trade candidate to me, but if a team believes he’s regaining some pop the further removed he is from 2014 neck surgery, then perhaps an August swap can be achieved (if, of course, the Braves eat some money).
- Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees: The Yankees made a clear move toward getting younger in July, and dealing the still-quite-useful Gardner would help toward that end, as he’s still a strong enough performer to warrant some solid minor league talent. There’s still $28.6MM on his contract, though, so he’s similar to an outfield version of Ervin Santana — an effective veteran that isn’t teeming with surplus value but comes at a fair price.
- Clay Buchholz, SP, Red Sox: Buchholz has had a terrible season but has thrown better as a reliever as of late. A team like the Marlins that is in great need of a back-of-the-rotation arm could roll the dice on Buchholz if the cost of acquisition is low. Buchholz is getting a start this weekend, and how he looks in that outing could impact his candidacy.
- Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers: Braun is going to be the best hitter to clear waivers this month, but he has four years remaining on a $105MM extension after this season, recent health issues in his past and comes with the negative PR associated with his steroid suspension. The Brewers want prospects over salary relief with Braun, whose no-trade clause was reportedly a non-starter in the Brewers’ brief talks with the Braves.
Injured, Could Return In August
Jon Jay (Padres), Logan Morrison (Rays), Jed Lowrie (Athletics), Huston Street (Angels), Steve Cishek (Mariners)
Also Considered
Yunel Escobar, Fernando Salas (Angels); Jorge De La Rosa, Boone Logan, Jake McGee (Rockies); Ian Kennedy, Kendrys Morales (Royals); Shelby Miller (D-backs); Matt Garza, Chris Carter (Brewers); John Jaso (Pirates); Ryan Madson (Athletics); Brandon Kintzler (Twins); Zack Cozart (Reds)
Tigers Place Jose Iglesias On 15-Day DL
The Tigers have placed shortstop Jose Iglesias on the 15-day DL with a left hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. His active roster spot will be taken over by righty Warwick Saupold.
[Related: Updated Tigers Depth Chart]
Detroit will utilize utilityman Andrew Romine at shortstop for the time being. But with third baseman Nick Castellanos also sidelined, there’s increasing pressure on the organization to find an outside addition on the left side of the infield. That’s all before considering the needs that have arisen from injuries to outfielder Cameron Maybin as well as pitchers Jordan Zimmerman and Mike Pelfrey.
Iglesias, 26, has not produced at the league-average rate that he did last year. Over his 399 plate appearances in 2016, he’s slashing just .249/.297/.328. Still, he has managed to rate as a middle-tier starting option at the shortstop position (by measure of fWAR) owing to his top-line glovework.
It’s not yet clear whether Detroit will act to fill the void with a trade — particularly given that there’s no timeline as yet for Iglesias to return. Hamstring issues, it bears noting, are notorious for lingering. While Castellanos is expected back by early to mid-September, he’ll be working back from a fractured hand that could pose its own uncertainties. And his replacement, the veteran Casey McGehee, has struggled of late in the majors, though he was hitting well at Triple-A.
Of course, finding a match is more complicated in August. With the trade deadline having already passed, the Tigers would be left looking at waiver claims or players who have already cleared. Still, with Detroit sitting a half game out of the Wild Card and four back in the AL Central, wins are at a premium. Only one shortstop, Zack Cozart, cracked MLBTR’s latest listing of the top trade candidates, though he’d be a tough target given his appealing contract status and solid play (which not only raises the acquisition cost, but makes him a likely player to be claimed by teams with higher waiver priority). There are several third basemen who could potentially be had, though none would help account for the absence of Iglesias.
The Tigers do have some options kicking around at Triple-A, of course, and it appears that the team is preparing to use them. John Wagner of the Toledo Blade tweets that both shortstop Dixon Machado and outfielder Alex Presley aren’t in tonight’s lineup for the club’s top affiliate, suggesting that either or both could be on the way to the majors in short order. Machado, 24, struggled in limited action in the majors last year, and carries a .266/.356/.354 batting line in his 507 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
Angels Claim Cody Ege
The Angels have claimed southpaw Cody Ege off waivers from the Marlins, per an announcement from Los Angeles. Right-hander Nick Tropeano was moved to the 60-day DL to create a 40-man opening.
Ege, 25, will head to Triple-A Salt Lake City to begin his tenure in the Los Angeles organization. He has spent most of the year at that level with Miami, compiling a 4.50 ERA over 44 frames with 7.2 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9.
That obviously isn’t a terribly promising pitching line, though Ege did earn a brief MLB promotion. He was also much better in the upper minors last year — good enough, in fact, to be a part of an under-the-radar deadline trade that has turned out to be more important than it initially seemed.
Ege was dealt along with Tomas Telis in the deal that sent Sam Dyson to the Rangers. That swap has certainly had an impact on both organizations, as Texas has utilized Dyson as its closer while the Fish have been forced to hunt for extra arms at the back of their pen.
Zack Wheeler To Visit Dr. Andrews After Elbow Discomfort
Mets righty Zack Wheeler is set for a visit to orthopedist Dr. James Andrews after experiencing discomfort in his surgically-repaired right elbow, Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to tweet. It seems that the flare-up occurred after his most recent rehab outing.
Though it’s still far from clear whether Wheeler has a new injury with which to contend, the news makes it tough to imagine that he’ll return to New York this season. The prized 26-year-old had seemed primed to make a late-season return from Tommy John surgery, potentially giving the Mets a boost down the stretch.
At this point, the greater concern lies in the long run. Wheeler last pitched in the majors in 2014, when he wrapped up a stellar campaign for the Mets. He had been brought back slowly from his UCL replacement procedure, but attempts to ramp things up toward a major league return have not gone according to plan. Now, a dreaded trip to the famed Dr. Andrews may help to ascertain whether there’s a new problem to contend with.
The expectation has long been that Wheeler would constitute a major part of a loaded Mets pitching staff full of frontline starters. But while Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom have continued to thrive, though the former has pitched through a bone spur, but some cracks have formed elsewhere. Though Steven Matz has been productive in his first full MLB campaign, he has dealt with some inconsistency while battling his own elbow bone spur. And Matt Harvey has undergone a shocking downfall, struggling badly before undergoing season-ending surgery.
Wheeler certainly deserves mention in that company. Over his first 285 1/3 innings at the big league level, from 2013-14, Wheeler owns a 3.50 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. Returning to that form may once have seemed a foregone conclusion, given the prevalence of Tommy John surgery, but the fact is that the surgery isn’t always successful. Indeed, as MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum has explained, a prior TJ procedure “strongly predicts a second surgery.”
Rockies Place Mark Reynolds On DL, Designate Gonzalez Germen
The Rockies have placed first baseman Mark Reynolds on the 15-day DL, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter). That move had been expected after Reynolds was diagnosed with a hamate bone injury, though the severity of the injury remains to be seen.
[Related: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]
First baseman/outfielder Ben Paulsen has been called up to replace Reynolds on the active roster. Colorado has also designated righty Gonzalez Germen, whose roster spot will go to righty Matt Carasiti.
It seems likely that Reynolds will be lost for much of the rest of the season, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that the veteran slugger has suffered a break to the hamate bone. That’s a fairly common malady, but one that typically requires four to six weeks off after surgery.
The 28-year-old Germen has bounced around quite a bit in recent years, but managed to accumulated 73 1/3 innings for Colorado over the last two years. But he owns only a 4.66 ERA in that span, with 7.0 K/9 and a troubling 5.6 BB/9 on his ledger.
It’s the first trip to the majors for Carasiti, a 25-year-old reliever who owns a 1.96 ERA over 46 innings (mostly at the Double-A level) on the year. He has struck out 9.4 and walked 1.8 batters per nine over that span of quality work, and had recently earned a promotion to the highest level minors. Carasiti had allowed only two hits in seven frames at Triple-A, leading to his bump up to the majors.