AL East Notes: Tulowitzki, Orioles, Buchholz
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve activated shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the 15-day DL, where he had been since May 28 with a right quad strain. To clear space, they’ve optioned infielder Andy Burns to Triple-A Buffalo. The Jays had mostly been using Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney at shortstop. Now Tulowitzki will get something of a second chance to begin his season, which wasn’t going particularly well before the injury — he had batted just .204/.289/.383 before the quad strain. Here are more quick notes from the AL East.
- The Orioles have announced that they’ve activated righty Yovani Gallardo and shortstop J.J. Hardy from the 15-day disabled list. They also optioned lefty T.J. McFarland to Triple-A Norfolk. The O’s placed Gallardo on the DL in late April with biceps tendinitis. Before that, he had struggled in his first four starts as an Oriole, allowing 14 runs in 18 innings. He starts today against the Jays. Hardy has missed the last six weeks with a left foot fracture. He’s batted .244/.291/.410 so far this season — not the most impressive numbers, perhaps, but he retains value thanks to his work at shortstop.
- Righty Clay Buchholz is moving back into the Red Sox‘ rotation, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal notes. Buchholz takes the place of lefty Roenis Elias, who was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket today. Buchholz himself was bumped from the rotation in late May after posting a 6.35 ERA, 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings as a starter. He’s only allowed three earned runs in 9 1/3 innings in the bullpen, although his six walks in that period don’t necessarily inspire confidence. The Sox continue to struggle to fill out their rotation behind David Price, Steven Wright and Rick Porcello, with six other starters, including Buchholz, having taken the mound this season.
Klentak On Howard, Draft, Cozens, Quinn
Here’s the latest from Phillies GM Matt Klentak, via Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
- Klentak says he sees Ryan Howard staying with the team for the rest of the season, even after losing his first base job to Tommy Joseph. The team does not plan to release Howard. “Ryan has handled it like a true professional,” Klentak says. “I don’t view it as a distraction at all.” Howard has hit just .148/.248/.352 in the last guaranteed year of his contract, although Klentak notes that Howard’s home-run power makes him a threat off the bench. The slugger has ten blasts this season.
- Klentak was reluctant to divulge details, but noted that the Phillies could complete the signings of key draft picks in the next week. First overall pick Mickey Moniak remains unsigned, as does their second-round pick, California high school righty Kevin Gowdy.
- The team is not yet ready to promote outfield prospect Dylan Cozens to Triple-A, Klentak says. MLB.com currently ranks Cozens as only the 22nd-best prospect in the Phillies system, but he’s having a tremendous season with Double-A Reading, batting .289/.366/.586 with 19 home runs. (The Phillies would probably like to have him cut down his strikeouts, however — he has 85 in 290 plate appearances so far.) “[F]or most of these guys we want to give them, if we can, a full year’s worth of at-bats at certain levels and I think Dylan could stand to have some more time there,” Klentak says.
- Klentak adds that he expects another outfield prospect, Roman Quinn, to miss significant time with an oblique strain. “I don’t want to put a timetable on [his absence],” says Klentak. “But it’s going to be a while.” The 23-year-old Quinn, currently ranked the Phillies’ seventh-best prospect, is batting .288/.361/.420 for Reading.
Reds Outright Dayan Diaz
The Reds have outrighted righty Dayan Diaz, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. The move clears space on the Reds’ roster for Cody Reed, who will pitch today against the Astros.
[Related: Updated Cincinnati Reds Depth Chart]
The Reds signed the 27-year-old Diaz to a minor league contract in November after a nine-year minor league career that’s included stops in the Astros, Cubs and Red Sox organizations. The Reds have twice promoted him to patch their badly struggling bullpen, but he hasn’t offered much help, allowing seven earned runs and seven walks in 6 2/3 innings. He’s fared somewhat better for Triple-A Louisville, with a 3.66 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 19 2/3 innings.
Angels Activate Andrelton Simmons, Outright Brendan Ryan
SATURDAY: Ryan has cleared waivers, and the Angels have outrighted him to Triple-A Salt Lake, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets.
WEDNESDAY: The Angels have activated shortstop Andrelton Simmons after a long layoff for a thumb injury, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. To create a roster spot, the club designated infielder Brendan Ryan for assignment.
[RELATED: Updated Los Angeles Angels Depth Chart]
Simmons had been out since early May after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb, which required surgery. It’s certainly positive news that he was able to return earlier than had been expected.
The Halos need Simmons’s glove at short, but even more than that will need him to pick up the pace at the plate upon his return. Over his 118 plate appearances earlier in the year, Simmons posted a weak .219/.246/.281 batting line and managed only a single long ball.
As for Ryan, this is his second trip through DFA limbo with Los Angeles this year. He was added as depth with Simmons and then Cliff Pennington injured. The 34-year-old managed only one hit in 14 plate appearances, though he’ll continue to have a niche role in this or another organization due to his well-respected glove.
Angels Designate Todd Cunningham For Assignment
The Angels have designated outfielder Todd Cunningham for assignment, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. The move clears space on the Angels’ active and 40-man rosters for Tim Lincecum, who’s set to start against the Athletics today.
The 27-year-old Cunningham had played in five games for the Angels. He’s spent most of the season so far with Triple-A Salt Lake, posting a solid .299/.401/.382 line and playing all three outfield positions. Despite demonstrating good on-base ability in the minors, though, he lacks home-run power and has struggled in brief stints in the big leagues, batting just .208/.263/.255 in 114 career Major League plate appearances, mostly accumulated with the Braves in 2015.
Cardinals Sign Dakota Hudson
The Cardinals have announced that they’ve signed righty Dakota Hudson, the 34th overall pick in the draft. According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter), Hudson will receive $2MM, a bit more than the pool value of the 34th pick, which is $1.878MM. That figure still leaves the Cardinals with surplus pool space with which to sign remaining picks, since another Cards first-rounder, outfielder Dylan Carlson, signed for about $560K less than his pool value.
Hudson, a 6’5 junior from Mississippi State, was ranked the No. 15 prospect in the draft by MLB.com, which notes that he sits 93-95 MPH with his fastball (although he can touch 97) and throws a terrific slider/cutter. He also has a curveball and changeup, giving him a four-pitch mix. This season, he posted a 2.55 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 113 innings. He also excelled last summer in the wood-bat Cape Cod League.
The Cardinals received the 34th overall pick as compensation for the departure of Jason Heyward. Hudson was the team’s third 2016 draft pick, after shortstop Delvin Perez (No. 23 overall) and Carlson (No. 33). All three have now agreed to terms.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/18/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Red Sox announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Ryan LaMarre. They also recalled infielder Deven Marrero and optioned outfielder Rusney Castillo and lefty Roenis Elias to Triple-A Pawtucket. The 27-year-old LaMarre was hitting a solid .313/.383/.475 for Pawtucket. He also stole 11 bases and played mostly center field, so a number of facets of his game could prove useful to the Sox. He made his big-league debut with the Reds last season, then headed to the Red Sox last winter on a minor league deal.
- The Mariners have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Adrian Sampson and optioned lefty David Rollins to Triple-A Tacoma. Sampson will make his big-league debut this afternoon against the Red Sox, starting in place of the injured Wade Miley. The Mariners acquired Sampson last July in the trade that sent J.A. Happ to the Pirates. The 24-year-old Sampson has exhibited characteristically strong control this season at Tacoma, posting a 3.25 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings.
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Rangers To Consider Trading For Relief Help
Rangers GM Jon Daniels says the team could consider making a trade to improve its bullpen, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. “The bullpen is the area we’ll look at,” he says. “Other areas, it would have to be a pretty unique situation, because we feel good about our ballclub. You always look to do better, but realistically, what’s going to be out there and whether or not it fits, I don’t know.”
The Rangers’ 4.95 bullpen ERA this season ranks ahead of that of only the Reds, although the team’s current relief corps contains a number of pitchers in the midst of successful seasons, including Jake Diekman, Matt Bush, Tony Barnette and closer Sam Dyson. Daniels indicates he’s happy with that group. He also thinks Shawn Tolleson (whose awful start has been a key to the struggles of the bullpen as a whole) will pitch better than he has so far, and he looks forward to activating Keone Kela (elbow) and Tanner Scheppers (knee) from the disabled list at some point next month. As Sullivan points out, Justin De Fratus, Kyle Lohse, Luke Jackson and Jose Leclerc, all of them currently at Triple-A Round Rock, could also be candidates to help in the future. Daniels notes, though, that the team has relied heavily on its core group of relievers, and could use an extra arm to share the load.
It’s probably too early to speculate about who the Rangers might add. Daniels says that, as is typical at this early point in the year, only a few teams have determined that they’re clear sellers. Still, the Rangers’ potential pursuit of bullpen help will be worth watching as June turns into July.
Week In Review: 6/11/16 – 6/17/16
Here’s a look back at the past week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- Teams signed their draft picks at a furious pace this week, with highlights including the Reds signing second overall pick Nick Senzel, the Rockies signing fourth overall selection Riley Pint, the Padres signing eighth overall pick Cal Quantrill, the Rays signing 13th overall selection Josh Lowe, and the Indians inking 14th overall pick Will Benson. To track other top draft signings, click here.
Signings
- Dodgers – OF Will Venable (link)
- Yankees – 1B Ike Davis (link)
Trades
- Rangers – acquired P Justin De Fratus from Mariners to complete an earlier trade for IF Patrick Kivlehan
- Pirates – acquired C Erik Kratz from Angels for cash considerations
Top Prospect Promotions
- Cubs – C Willson Contreras (link)
- White Sox – IF Tim Anderson (link)
Claims
- Royals – P Tyler Olson (from Yankees)
- Twins – P Neil Ramirez (from Brewers)
Designated For Assignment
- Twins – OF Oswaldo Arcia (link)
- Cubs – C Tim Federowicz (link)
- Rockies – IF Jose Reyes (link)
- Royals – IF Omar Infante (link)
- Angels – IF Brendan Ryan (link), IF Kyle Kubitza (link), P David Huff (link)
- Rays – P Dana Eveland (link)
- Padres – C Hector Sanchez (link)
- Astros – P Juan Minaya (link)
- Mariners – P Steve Johnson (link)
- Yankees – P Layne Somsen (link)
- Pirates – P Trey Haley (link)
Outrighted
- White Sox – 1B/OF Jerry Sands (link)
- Blue Jays – P Scott Diamond (link)
- Rangers – P Tom Wilhelmsen (elected free agency)
Released
- White Sox – P Mat Latos (link), IF Jimmy Rollins (link)
- Dodgers – OF Carl Crawford (link)
Key Minor League Signings
- Dodgers – Cuban OF prospect Yordan Alvarez (link)
- Padres – P Edwin Jackson (link)
- Giants – P Jean Machi (link), IF Ruben Tejada (link)
- Red Sox – P Casey Janssen (link)
- Cubs – P Brian Matusz (link)