Blue Jays Place Jose Bautista On 15-Day DL
2:59pm: Bautista has been diagnosed with a sprained toe, Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star tweets. Though he’s wearing a walking boot, there does not appear to be any concern that he has suffered a fracture.
2:50pm: The Blue Jays have placed star outfielder Jose Bautista on the 15-day DL, according to Barry Davis of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Darrell Ceciliani has been called up to replace him on the active roster.
As Sportsnet’s Kristina Rutherford reported earlier today, Bautista had been dealing with a hip flexor issue and then injured his left big toe in a collision with the outfield wall last night. It’s not yet clear whether either injury is worse than had been hoped, or whether he’s just going to get a rest to allow both to heal up.
Toronto’s bats have come alive of late, even as Bautista’s own production has sagged a bit after a huge first month. Still, the 35-year-old is carrying a .230/.360/.455 slash with a dozen home runs on the year. He has racked up a league-leading 48 walks while striking out just 49 times, so there’s every reason to believe he’ll continue to provide top-line production when he returns.
Needless to say, the 25-year-old Ceciliani won’t be expected to replace Bautista’s offensive output. He struggled in a brief stint last year with the Mets, and has continued to post meager numbers this year at Triple-A.
As the updated Blue Jays depth chart at RosterResource.com shows, Ceciliani will likely move to the bottom of the outfield rotation, with additional opportunities opening up for Ezequiel Carrera.
It’s an unfortunate loss for the Jays, who have climbed to within striking distance of the AL East lead. Unless the matter is much more serious than has been reported to date, though, Toronto will hope to fill in with internal options until Bautista makes his way back.
Mariners Designate Steve Johnson, Place Wade Miley On 15-Day DL
The Mariners have announced a series of roster moves involving their pitching staff. Righty Steve Johnson was designated for assignment and southpaw Wade Miley was placed on the 15-day DL with a shoulder impingement. Seattle has called up right-hander Jonathan Aro and lefty David Rollins to take their places.
Johnson, 28, pitched to a 4.32 ERA over 16 2/3 frames on the year for the M’s. He was striking out better than a batter per inning, but his 11 walks certainly rate as a concern. Those numbers largely match his career line of a 4.26 ERA and 10.2 K/9 against 5.6 BB/9.
The 29-year-old Miley has struggled to keep runs off the board in Seattle and owns a 5.28 earned run average over his 76 2/3 frames on the year. Other than allowing more home runs and drawing a few less grounders than usual, though, he’s looked much like his typical self. Miley has checked in with 6.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 on the year, right around his career averages.
To take a look at the new Mariners pitching alignment, check out the updated Seattle depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Rangers Outright Tom Wilhelmsen, Who Elects Free Agency
The Rangers have outrighted right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen off the 40-man roster, per an announcement from executive VP of communications John Blake. Wilhelmsen declined the assignment after clearing waivers, making him a free agent.
The 32-year-old, who was acquired over the winter in the swap that sent Leonys Martin to the Mariners, has struggled badly in his first year in Texas. Over 21 1/3 innings, he has been torched for 25 earned runs on 38 hits, including seven long balls, while recording just 11 strikeouts against nine walks. Wilhelmsen’s swinging strike rate is down, but not by all that much. The real culprit is a huge amount of hard contact (39.1%).
In spite of his recent difficulties, Wilhelmsen ought to receive some attention as a free agent. He had a nice track record in Seattle, where he compiled a 2.97 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over 312 1/3 innings from 2011 through 2015. Though his velocity is down a tick, Wilhelmsen is still averaging 94 mph with his fastball.
Notably, Wilhelmsen gave up around $1.8MM of guaranteed money to take his freedom from the organization, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains. He had been playing on a $3.1MM salary in his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility.
AL West Notes: Lincecum, Valencia, Lohse, Mariners
Tim Lincecum is set to debut for the Angels tomorrow against the Athletics, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. Per Gonzalez, the Angels felt that Lincecum might’ve been ready for his debut after his second rehab outing, but the pitcher himself asked GM Billy Eppler for one more rehab tune-up because he wasn’t pleased with his ability to command his fastball in that second outing. His third outing proved to be the best of the bunch, as he went seven innings and picked up eight strikeouts while yielding just one hit and one walk. His velocity is still in the 88-91 mph range, Gonzalez notes, but Eppler says that he expects Lincecum will be able to locate his fastball and secondary pitches to get by “with moxie and some deception and pitchability.” Lincecum appears set to join Jered Weaver, Hector Santiago, Jhoulys Chacin and Matt Shoemaker in the Halos’ rotation, as is reflected on their updated depth chart.
More from the American League West…
- Danny Valencia feels like he’s found a home with the Athletics — his sixth team in four years — but he knows there’s a possibility that he could again be traded this summer, he tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “We all joke about it,” said Valencia, who is hitting .302/.353/.529 with 28 homers dating back to the start of the 2015 season. “They are notorious for making trades, so it’s in the back of everybody’s mind. If the team’s not in the thick of things, they will make moves and blow up the team to some degree. I know I don’t want to go anywhere. I love Oakland. I love the Bay Area. I love my coaching staff, my teammates. We all love it here.” Valencia acknowledged that the team’s poor play decreases the likelihood of him remaining there, however, and Nightengale speculates that he could be a strong fit for the Mets, who recently lost David Wright to neck surgery. Valencia’s clubhouse personality has drawn some negative reviews in the past, though teammate Yonder Alonso spoke to Nightengale about that perception, opining that Valencia is the type of player that is loved by his own team but rubs opponents the wrong way. “He’s a guy that if you’re not his team, you may not like him, and you want to beat him,” said Alonso. “If he’s on your team, you want this guy playing every single night, helping you win. And if you’re in a fight, you want him right next to you.”
- The Rangers are “seriously” considering bringing veteran righty Kyle Lohse up to serve as a bullpen option, though their current roster construction make the situation a bit complicated, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Lohse, 37, inked a minor league pact with Texas last month and has been starting for the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock. Lohse’s numbers leave plenty to be desired — he has a 5.35 ERA through six starts, though the bulk of the damage came in one start — but he could add some length to the bullpen or provide the team with some spot starts if necessary.
- While the Mariners‘ bullpen has stumbled lately, general manager Jerry Dipoto tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune that he’s not planning on making an early splash on the trade market to address his relief corps. “It’s not a great time to do trades really,” said Dipoto, “but we are doing our recon, like we always do, as we prepare for July. Right now, this is our group.” Per Dutton, if the Mariners do look to upgrade their ‘pen next month, it would likely be by pursuing someone that can pitch at the very back of the group, but the market isn’t exactly rife with shutdown options for the ninth inning. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently listed the top trade candidates from around the game and did include a fair number of relief options, though certainly not all of them are the types that the Mariners (or another club) would immediately slot into the closer’s role.
Latest On Jose Reyes
The Rockies acted decisively on Wednesday of this week, designating Jose Reyes for assignment rather than affording him the opportunity to settle into a bench role upon returning from his suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy. Said manager Walt Weiss today in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link): “To bring in Reyes, we were going to lose either [Cristhian] Adames or [Daniel] Descalso. … Adames is a young player who’s a very good player, there’s not a lot of at-bats for him or innings for him right now because we got three potential All-Stars in the infield. … Don’t want to lose him, especially at his age. And Descalso has meant so much to this club and in the clubhouse. He’s one of those guys that’s been the constants of our team, and he’s swinging the bat very very well. … You’re going to lose one of those guys if you bring in Reyes. And Story, certainly is going to be looking over his shoulder if that’s the case. For our club, for the culture of our club and what we’re doing right now and the good thing we’ve got going, I think it was going to be counterproductive. I think it’s the best thing for Jose, too.”
Here’s the latest on Reyes, who figures to be released in the coming days…
- ESPN’s Alex Cora tweeted yesterday that the Royals have looked into Reyes as a second base option following the DFA of Omar Infante, though his colleague Jerry Crasnick later tweeted that while there was a brief inquiry, it may have been little more than due diligence. Both Whit Merrifield and Christian Colon are playing well right now, so there isn’t necessarily a clear need to take a chance on Reyes. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan, meanwhile, tweeted that rumors suggesting that the Royals have interest in Reyes were “simply not true.”
- Neither the Yankees nor the Mets have interest in adding Reyes, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Some Mets fans have expressed hope that the team will pursue a reunion with its former All-Star shortstop in the wake of injuries throughout the infield, but Heyman writes that a reunion for the two sides “simply isn’t in the offing” despite a potential need in the infield. Newsday’s David Lennon writes that having spoken to people close to Reyes, a reunion with the Mets would be his preference, and Reyes is willing to move over to third base. That, of course, is largely inconsequential if there’s no interest from the Mets’ side of the equation, and both Heyman and ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin have reported that to be the case since Reyes was designated on Wednesday.
- The Rockies never wanted Reyes in the first place, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but his inclusion in last summer’s trade helped to offset Troy Tulowitzki‘s remaining salary and allowed the team to add a trio of intriguing of young arms to to its minor league ranks. Colorado has been trying to trade Reyes since last July without success, Nightengale writes, and ultimately his suspension and off-field issues left the team with no choice but to release him. “It’s fair to say it was responsible to the situation and to the organization that we talk through every sort of conceivable situation,” GM Jeff Bridich said following Reyes’ DFA. “We certainly had enough time to do that. At the end of the day, we determined that it was best we part ways — best for the direction of the organization, best for what was going on in the clubhouse and best for Jose.”
Indians To Sign First-Rounder Will Benson
The Indians have agreed to terms with first-round pick Will Benson on a $2.5MM signing bonus, reports Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (via Twitter). That figure comes in $473,700 south of the No. 14 slot’s assigned value, so Cleveland will pick up some savings that can be applied further down its draft board.
A high school outfielder out of Georgia, Benson entered the draft ranked as the No. 30 prospect on Baseball America’s Top 500 list. He placed 38th on the Top 200 from Mayo and colleague Jim Callis over at MLB.com, and ESPN’s Keith Law had him rated 41st on his Top 100 ranking. The 6’6″, 220-pound Benson has “arguably the best bat speed in the class” and plus-plus raw power, per BA’s scouting report. He also has a strong arm and plus speed but is described by BA as a “boom or bust” prospect due to an aggressive approach at the plate. ESPN’s Eric Longenhagen writes that Benson’s swing has “considerable effort” and writes that a player of his size will almost certainly have to move to first base as he continues to fill out. MLB.com writes that he didn’t have a great spring and often tries to do too much at the plate, but he has plenty of offensive upside.
Cleveland entered the draft with a total signing pool of $7,499,600 (via Callis at MLB.com), so the Benson savings will amount to about six percent of their entire pool, and they’ll be left with just a hair under $5MM to allocate to the remainder of their picks. Those savings could be allocated in large part to second-round pick Nolan Jones — a high school third baseman and Virgina commit that was projected by some to go in the first round but slid to Cleveland at No. 55 overall.
AL East Notes: Souza, Cobb, Jays, Sox, O’Day, Yankees
The Rays sent right fielder Steven Souza to the 15-day disabled list yesterday due to a strained muscle in his left hip, as MLB.com’s Sam Blum writes. Souza sustained the injury on Tuesday when making a diving attempt at a sinking liner off the bat of Nelson Cruz. He came up just shy of making the catch, and upon getting to his feet had difficulty remaining upright, ultimately falling back to the turf after making the throw into the infield. X-rays taken on his hip were negative, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Souza will receive a cortisone injection to help with the pain. Souza’s hope for now, according to Topkin, is that he can return in the minimum two weeks. The 27-year-old Souza is hitting .255/.315/.443 with 10 homers on the season and has played a solid right field this season. In his absence, the Rays have called up Jaff Decker (as seen on their updated depth chart), and he’ll share some of the duties with Mikie Mahtook.
More from the AL East…
- In other Rays injury news, injured right-hander Alex Cobb is targeting late July or early August as a return date from 2015 Tommy John surgery, tweets Topkin. That target date would put the 28-year-old on track for a 14- to 15-month recovery from replacement of his ulnar collateral ligament, which took place in early May of 2015. The Rays currently have a full rotation with Chris Archer, Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, Drew Smyly and Blake Snell (plus a pair of rotation candidates in the bullpen in Matt Andriese and Erasmo Ramirez), but further injuries or trades could potentially open a spot for Cobb’s return.
- The Blue Jays could find themselves competing against the majority of their own division for pitching help on the summer trade market, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. The Red Sox and Orioles, in particular, need rotation help and could challenge the Jays as they look to fortify their own collection of starters. The fact that right-hander Aaron Sanchez will inevitably move to the bullpen to limit his innings looms large over the Blue Jays, Nicholson-Smith notes, and while that move (plus the return of Brett Cecil) could eliminate a separate need for relief help, the Blue Jays are light on depth in the rotation. Right-hander Drew Hutchison is throwing well at Triple-A and is expected to return to the rotation later this summer, but as Nicholson-Smith points out, any injury to a starter after Hutchison’s return would severely compromise the team’s depth. Veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc is probably the next line of defense, and while he’s throwing brilliantly in Triple-A (1.51 ERA in 83 2/3 innings), his track record in the Majors is fairly limited.
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski should be fully invested in the 2016 season, even if it means parting with a prized prospect such as outfielder Andrew Benintendi or Rafael Devers in order to bolster the rotation, opines the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. With David Ortiz‘s impending retirement and the brilliant performances from other members of the offense (Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley, Dustin Pedroia), it’s unlikely that the Sox will receive this level of across-the-board domination from their offense again, and the core of their team is controlled long enough that parting with someone such as Benintendi or Devers is manageable, Abraham writes. In addition to seeking an impact rotation arm and a quality setup piece, Abraham feels that a platoon-mate for Chris Young in left field would be a prudent investment. He suggests Jon Jay as a logical target (though clearly not in connection with Benintendi or Devers), and the fit does indeed make sense for Boston.
- Catcher/outfielder Blake Swihart could return to the Red Sox in August, writes the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich. Dombrowski said that the team’s initial timeline on Swihart was six to eight weeks, and early August would be on the further end of that spectrum. Swihart will be reevaluated in the near future, per Dombrowski, but he didn’t seem to think there was any reason to expect a lengthier absence. Dombrowski played it cool when asked about his left field situation, praising Young’s work at the position and adding that he’s confident the team will have Swihart and Brock Holt back in the mix eventually.
- Orioles righty Darren O’Day, who is currently on the disabled list due to a hamstring injury, offered a fairly vague update on his status on Thursday (links to Twitter via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). The Baltimore setup ace is still unsure of when he’ll be able to get back on a mound but conceded that his recovery has been coming along more slowly than he’d expected. O’Day did add that he doesn’t think he’d require more than two rehab appearances to get back up to speed, so when he is able to get back on a mound, his return from that point could be expedited.
- The Yankees aren’t interested in signing Jose Reyes, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The Yanks had interest in Reyes following his trade from Toronto to Colorado, but they’re no longer intrigued by the possibility. Reyes was designated for assignment earlier this week and is all but certain to be released by the Rockies.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports profiles one of the more interesting draft stories of the year: Yankees ninth-round pick Tim Lynch. A first baseman out of Southern Mississippi, Lynch was long an avid autograph collector before developing into a legitimate draft prospect. At 14 years of age, needing only Lorenzo Cain‘s signature to complete an entire set of Bowman autographs, Lynch picked up a half-dozen donuts and waited for Cain behind the back gate of a minor league stadium, offering him and his teammates a snack in exchange for the completion of the set. Reminded of the exchange by Rosenthal, Cain called it “unreal … crazy, unbelievable” that the donut-wielding autograph collector from nine years ago was drafted by the Yankees. Rosenthal spoke with Lynch about his entire collection, with the 23-year-old senior sign revealing that he’s picked up more than 20,000 signatures in total over the years (100+ from Miguel Cabrera alone) and still hopes to obtain an autograph from Alex Rodriguez now that he’s been drafted by New York.
NL Notes: Brewers, Braun, Reed, Lagares, Urias
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio says that his club is “not actively shopping” either Jonathan Lucroy or Ryan Braun, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwakee Journal-Sentinel reports. Both have drawn their share of trade speculation; indeed, the pair landed atop my recent list of 15 top trade candidates. (To be clear, that ranking is a subjective analysis based upon MLBTR’s assessment of both value and potential availability.) When asked about the volume of chatter thus far, Attanasio said there has been “very little, actually, for whatever reason.”
Here’s more from the National League:
- Speaking of Braun, the Giants reportedly have at least had some contact with the Brewers about the slugger. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle took a look at that concept, reporting that talks were “cursory” and citing a team source as saying: “It’s far-fetched to go from a conversation to a trade.” As Schulman goes on to explain, there are a whole host of reasons that a match likely won’t come to fruition.
- The Reds announced that young lefty Cody Reed will be promoted to make his MLB debut on Saturday. The 23-year-old was one of three southpaws who came over in last summer’s Johnny Cueto deal. He has impressed in his first run at the Triple-A level, working to a 3.20 ERA in 64 2/3 innings with 8.8 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. At this stage of the year, future Super Two qualification is not a major concern. For more on Reed, check out this scouting report from Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper.
- Mets outfielder Juan Lagares is headed to the 15-day with a sprained left thumb, the club announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Ty Kelly. New York suffered another scare tonight when infielder Wilmer Flores was hit on the hand by a pitch, but it appears that he escaped any significant damage.
- Dodgers phenom Julio Urias has followed two iffy starts with two good ones, but his time in the majors doesn’t seem long — for 2016, at least. As Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter, manager Dave Roberts said today that Urias will get two more starts before the team assesses his status, with the focus on watching his innings tally. The 19-year-old is up to 58 frames on the year between Triple-A and the bigs, and has not yet topped 87 2/3 total innings in a single season as a pro.
J.D. Martinez To DL With Fractured Bone In Elbow
Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez left tonight’s action with what has been diagnosed as a non-displaced fracture of the radial neck of his right elbow, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press reports (Twitter links). Martinez will undergo a CT scan tomorrow to further assess the injury, but he’s already headed for the 15-day DL, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter link).
Preliminary expectations are that Martinez will miss four to six weeks, though it would appear that we’ll need to await a full assessment before the timeline is fully clear. Youngster Steven Moya will return to the majors to take his place.
[Related: Updated Tigers depth chart]
The injury occurred when Martinez reached out to brace himself as he chased a ball into the right-field corner. He appeared to make contact with the wall at a funny angle, and immediately reacted in pain.
It’s a big loss for the Tigers, who are fighting for position in a tightly-bunched AL Central. Martinez continues to provide big-time offensive production from the heart of the order. The 28-year-old, once a reclamation project, has now established himself as one of the game’s most consistent sluggers who won’t easily be replaced.
Even if Martinez is able to make it back relatively quickly, it seems he’ll be out for most or all of the run-up to the trade deadline. That hurts the team’s chances of staying in the hunt and also may make it tough for the organization to assess its needs, though presumably the Tigers will at least have a good sense by that point of when Martinez will return.
Twins Designate Oswaldo Arcia
The Twins have designated outfielder Oswaldo Arcia for assignment, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger was among those to report on Twitter. His roster spot will go to Danny Santana, who was activated from the DL.
[Related: Updated Twins depth chart]
Arcia only just turned 25, and isn’t long removed from being an above-average hitter in a semi-regular role. Indeed, he popped twenty home runs in 2014. But Arcia has long been considered a marginal defender, and he hasn’t been quite as productive at the plate of late.
In 114 plate appearances this year at the major league level, Arcia owns a .214/.289/.369 slash with four home runs. That comes on the heels of a 2015 campaign in which Arcia spent most of his time playing poorly at Triple-A.
All said, it’s a disappointing turn of events for both team and player. With no options remaining, Arcia needed to perform well enough to keep a roster spot this year, and that obviously hasn’t occurred.
Arcia could draw interest on the trade market or be claimed if he makes it to waivers. The question, really, is whether any team is willing to utilize a 40-man spot and put him onto an active roster. With just over two years of major league service entering the year, Arcia is playing at just over the league minimum and can be controlled for three more seasons via arbitration.