Jeff Bridich On Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman
Here’s the latest from Rockies GM Jeff Bridich, via an interview with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post:
- Bridich characterizes shortstop Jose Reyes‘ situation as “day by day.” Reyes is suspended through May 31 under MLB’s domestic violence policy, and then he’ll likely begin a two-week rehab assignment. Bridich doesn’t dismiss the possibility that the team could deal Reyes, noting that “anything is possible.” (It doesn’t sound, however, like there will be significant trade interest in an expensive player who’s about to turn 33 and who’s coming off a .274/.310/.378 season and a domestic violence suspension. There has already been speculation that the Rockies could release Reyes once his suspension is complete.)
- The team has no plans to rush pitching prospect Jeff Hoffman, Bridich says. “There are very specific things — not large, general things — but very specific things, that he needs to continue to work on. But that’s actually a good thing,” says the GM. Hoffman, the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft and one of the team’s acquisitions in last year’s Troy Tulowitzki trade, has a 2.70 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 this season in hitter-friendly Triple-A Albuquerque.
- The Rockies are hovering near .500, at 23-24, and are on the fringes of the NL West and NL Wild Card races at this early point in the season. But Bridich suggests the team’s position in the standings will not have a significant effect on their timelines for the promotions of Hoffman or other top prospects. “Jeff and some of the other players we think about as quality depth still are being challenged at Triple-A, and they have to meet those challenges to be ready for this level,” Bridich says.
Week In Review: 5/21/16 – 5/27/16
Here’s a look back at the past week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- The Dodgers promoted top pitching prospect Julio Urias.
- Braves outfielder Hector Olivera received an 82-game suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy.
Trades
- Braves – acquired P Brian Matusz and the 76th overall draft pick from Orioles for P Brandon Barker and P Trevor Belicek
- Cardinals – acquired OF Jose Martinez from Royals for cash considerations
- Reds – acquired international bonus slots from Orioles for P Franderlyn Romero
Claims
- Braves – P Dario Alvarez (from Mets)
- Marlins – P Asher Wojciechowski (from Astros)
- Yankees – P Layne Somsen (from Reds)
Designated For Assignment
- Angels – IF Brendan Ryan (link), P Lucas Luetge (link)
- Braves – IF Reid Brignac (link)
- Rays – 1B/OF Jake Goebbert (link)
- Rangers – IF Patrick Kivlehan (link)
- Cubs – P Neil Ramirez (link)
Outrighted
- Reds – P Steve Delabar (link)
- Marlins – P Tim Berry (link)
- Cubs – P C.J. Riefenhauser (link)
- Angels – P Al Alburquerque, P A.J. Achter, P Dan Reynolds (link)
Opted Out
- Blue Jays – P David Aardsma (link)
Released
- Cubs – OF Shane Victorino (link)
- Yankees – OF Slade Heathcott (link)
Retired
- IF Clint Barmes (link)
Key Minor League Signings
- Royals – IF Steve Tolleson (link)
- Angels – C Erik Kratz (link)
- Marlins – C Carlos Corporan (link)
- Orioles – P Brian Duensing (link)
- Twins – P Sean Burnett (link)
- Braves – P Lucas Harrell, P Rob Wooten (link)
Diamondbacks Place Shelby Miller, Rubby De La Rosa On DL
The Diamondbacks will place struggling righty Shelby Miller on the 15-day DL with a “right finger sprain,” as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported (via Twitter). Arizona also added fellow staff member Rubby De La Rosa to the DL with elbow inflammation, adding to the pitching concerns.
Miller, 25, was acquired from the Braves over the winter with hopes that he’d join Zack Greinke to form an imposing 1-2 punch atop the Snakes’ staff. Instead, he has fallen apart since arriving in Arizona. In 45 2/3 innings over ten starts, Miller has surrendered 7.09 earned runs per nine while recording an untenable 30:29 K/BB ratio. He’s been torched with the long ball while exhibiting a 1.5 mph drop in velocity as against the average fastball he threw over a successful 2015 season.
It appears that Miller’s DL stint will arise as a result of a finger issues he’s been battling of late after scraping his hand on the mound after releasing pitches. But it’s hard to ignore the role that his ugly start has played in the decision, and that could impact his progress back toward the majors.
Arizona desperately needs to get Miller on track. The club entered the day seven games under .500 after a winter in which it dropped over $200MM on Greinke and gave up three significant assets — center fielder Ender Inciarte, pitching prospect Aaron Blair, and top overall 2015 draft pick Dansby Swanson — for the rights to Miller.
The still-youthful righty is owed $4.35MM this year and has two more seasons of arb control remaining. But the Diamondbacks will need him to pitch like the front-of-the-line arm they thought they were getting for that trade to look like anything but a bust. Of course, that may have been asking too much of Miller even at the time the deal was struck.
A timetable on Miller is wholly unclear at present. Conceivably, he could rest up and miss the minimum fifteen-day stretch. It could be, though, that the organization will spend some time looking for a fix, possibly sending Miller out on a rehab assignment to get some work in before he returns.
With Miller officially out of the rotation for the time being, the D-Backs will be even more stretched. The club surely hoped its rotation would be a strength, but Greinke and Patrick Corbin have also fallen shy of expectations — albeit nowhere near to the same extent as Miller — while De La Rosa and Robby Ray have been solid but largely unspectacular.
De La Rosa tells Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com (via Twitter) that he expects to miss a month. There does not appear to be any concern that he’ll need surgery, which is certainly good news. But the injury looks to be significant, and it’s always troubling to see a young pitcher dealing with elbow troubles.
The organization announced several other roster moves, too. Among them, Josh Collmenter was activated from his DL stint. Also coming up is young slugger Peter O’Brien, as are righties Dominic Leone and Silvino Bracho. The club will need to promote new rotation options early next week, with former top prospect Archie Bradley set to get another shot at the majors.
Bradley has scuffled in two outings earlier this year, but has been better at the Triple-A level. O’Brien, who has shifted from catcher to outfielder, made a brief major league debut last year. He’s put up a stellar .306/.330/.601 batting line in 182 plate appearances at Triple-A.
AL Notes: Profar, Young, Jays’ Farm, Twins, Ausmus
In theory, Jurickson Profar could stay up for the Rangers even after Rougned Odor returns from his suspension, functioning in some kind of utility capacity. But as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains, the likelihood remains that he’ll head back to Triple-A: while Profar could well represent an upgrade over Hanser Alberto, it would be tough to find sufficient action for a player who still needs reps after a long layoff. It is worth noting that Texas slotted Profar right into the leadoff spot tonight, and he could conceivably play his way into a bigger role.
More from the American League:
- Righty Chris Young will join the bullpen upon his return to the Royals, manager Ned Yost told reporters including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Yost did add, though, that he foresees Young returning to the starting staff at some point this year.
- In addition to addressing other topics, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins raised some concerns with the state of talent in the team’s farm system, he tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While he sees “some guys who could be everyday major league players,” Atkins says he’s concerned that the organization lacks “the depth of those guys that could turn into major league players, that larger number of what we call in the industry a Role 4 player, someone who is maybe not an everyday player but a solid contributing player, who could turn into a five.” That could tell when it comes to deadline additions, the new general manager suggests. “There’s no question that it impacts it,” he said. “We will have to keep our eyes on the future, but we recognize this window and opportunity. … I think fortunately we do have enough assets that if we wanted to make a move like that, we could. I think the question then becomes at what expense and at what level of sacrifice.”
- The Twins spoke with the reps for Yadiel Hernandez, but the team doesn’t seem inclined to pursue him, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether Minnesota has interest in fellow Cuban free agents Jose Miguel Fernandez and Lazaro Armenteros, but Wolfson adds that the club did have eyes on them in their recent showcase.
- Tigers GM Al Avila tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link) that he stands behind embattled skipper Brad Ausmus. After tonight’s win, Detroit is on a 9-and-2 run since dropping to a season-worst 15-21 record recently. That leaves the club well within striking distance in the AL Central, which still looks to be a four-team dogfight.
Injury Notes: Jordan, Gray, Ross, Martin, Ottavino, Smith, Chirinos
Nationals right-hander Taylor Jordan underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team announced. It’s his second time undergoing a UCL replacement for the 27-year-old. Jordan burst onto the scene for the Nats in 2013, but has failed to maintain that promise at the major league level. He did have a strong season in the results department last year at Triple-A, though, and allowed just three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the 2016 campaign. Now, it’ll be at least a year or so before Jordan can try to get back on track.
Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:
- Athletics staff ace Sonny Gray is readying to throw from a mound tomorrow, per Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California (via Twitter). It’s certainly good to hear that Gray feels good enough to begin working his way back from a trapezius issue, though his timeline remains completely unknown.
- Padres skipper Andy Green says that righty Tyson Ross may be ready to begin throwing within one week’s time, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. It’s been a slow process for Ross, as the Pads seek to ensure that his shoulder issues don’t worsen. While the trade deadline remains two months away, leaving some time to turn him back into a potentially valuable trade chip, it’s worth bearing in mind that Ross will need a full build-up and rehab stint before returning to the major league hill.
- The Mariners have placed outfielder Leonys Martin on the 15-day DL today with a hamstring strain, the club announced. The team had believed he might avoid such an outcome altogether, so it doesn’t seem as if there’s any reason for significant concern. Stefen Romero will take Martin’s roster spot for the meantime. Martin, an offseason trade acquisition, had been off to an eye-opening .262/.339/.483 start at the plate for Seattle.
- Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is nearly ready to throw live batting practice, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. He’s still working back from Tommy John surgery, but it’s encouraging to hear that his rehab could soon begin in earnest. Colorado, meanwhile, will no doubt be excited to look forward to receiving a return on the team’s investment in Ottavino over the winter.
- Southpaw Will Smith is expected to return to the Brewers by next week, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. That’s great news for Milwaukee, which has been without the excellent 26-year-old reliever all year long. He’ll join Jeremy Jeffress at the back of the pen — and, perhaps, on the trade block.
- Rangers backstop Robinson Chirinos will begin a rehab stint tomorrow with hopes of returning to the majors on June 9, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan was among those to tweet. Texas has been blessed with surprisingly productive starts from the catching position, but Chirinos had been expected to handle most of the duties before suffering a forearm fracture.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/27/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Backstop Michael McKenry has signed on with the Cardinals on a minor league pact, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 31-year-old had put up a .220/.389/.341 slash at the Triple-A level with the Rangers thus far on the year. He’s seen six seasons of action in the majors previously, with just-below-average offensive results but a reputation for less-than-stellar defensive work behind the plate.
- The Angels announced that southpaw Lucas Luetge has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. He had recently been designated for assignment. The 29-year-old Luetge is among a dizzying array of Halos pitchers involved in various roster moves of late. He’ll return to Salt Lake, where he’s already thrown 19 1/3 innings, posting a 2.33 ERA and 7.9 K/9 versus 4.7 BB/9.
- Catcher Ryan Lavarnway has signed with the Blue Jays, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). He’ll head to the organization’s Double-A affiliate. The 28-year-old had been playing at Triple-A with the Braves before he was released, putting up a .276/.336/.357 slash in his first 107 plate appearances on the season. In 407 trips to the plate at the major league level over the last five years, the one-time top Red Sox prospect has compiled a .198/.258/.316 batting line.
Latest On Mets’ First Base Search
Mets GM Sandy Alderson said today that the club is “not ruling anything out externally” as it deals with a significant injury to first baseman Lucas Duda, as ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. Assistant GM John Ricco suggested recently that the club wasn’t content with what it has in house.
While the Mets are obviously interested to see what’s out there, Alderson suggested that there isn’t much urgency. “We’ll continue to monitor what’s available,” he said. “We haven’t at this point decided that we’re just going to go with what we have.”
One possibility that many have mentioned is to make a play for James Loney. He’s an established veteran with a high-on-base approach who’s playing well at Triple-A in the Padres organization, and New York has been said to have at least some “curiosity” in him.
New York has been scouting Loney, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter), but it certainly doesn’t appear that the team has rushed out to get him. Loney is not the only player that the club is looking at, according to that report. I recently ran down the different ways the team could go about filling the void, with Loney featuring as one of the most obvious options but far from the only one.
While it’s early to be dealing, Alderson called a trade “doable.” Nevertheless, he warned that it wouldn’t be easy to find and acquire the right piece. “The circumstances have to be right,” said the veteran executive. “Whether it’s doable or not is one thing. Actually pursuing it and trying to identify something is something else.”
Red Sox To Activate Eduardo Rodriguez, Move Clay Buchholz To Pen
The Red Sox have some important pitching changes in the works, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports on Twitter. Manager John Farrell says that the club will activate lefty Eduardo Rodriguez to start on Tuesday, with veteran right-hander Clay Buchholz bumped to the pen.
It’s been a long wait for Rodriguez, who has missed the first two months of the season while working back from a knee issue. He showed immense promise last year, and was expected to hold down a rotation spot for the foreseeable future.
Of course, expectations never were that he’d be taking the ball from Buchholz. That move may not last the rest of the season, but it’s a major step for a pitcher whose last major league relief appearance came in his sophomore season of 2008.
Shifting to a relief role also speaks volumes about where things stand with regard to Buchholz’s 2017 club option, which is valued at $13.5MM and comes with a $500K buyout. It seemed reasonably likely to be picked up heading into the year, but Buchholz has managed only a 6.35 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over his first ten starts.
That’s a steep drop-off from Buchholz’s work last year and most of the rest of his ten-year MLB career. If he can’t turn things around during the 2016 season, he could end up looking for a make-good free agent opportunity come next fall.
Braves To Designate Reid Brignac
The Braves have designated infielder Reid Brignac for assignment, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. A corresponding move has yet to be reported.
Brignac, 30, has seen action in every major league season dating back to 2008, though he’s still yet to accumulate over 1,000 total plate appearances and has only cracked 100 in a single season twice. He’s a lifetime .219/.264/.309 hitter and has fallen below even that line in his 13 games this year with Atlanta. Of course, the utilityman is valued more as a depth option with a reliable glove.
Billy Beane Suggests A’s Injuries Won’t Lead To Early Sell-Off
The Athletics are dealing with a run of injuries that VP of baseball operations Billy Beane calls “the worst one since I’ve been here,” as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The pitching staff, in particular, has been dogged by health issues.
“Where it’s really hit us has been our starting pitching — and that’s an area we tried to create a lot of depth,” explained Beane. “We’ve already wiped out that depth in the first six weeks.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that Oakland is ready to sell. In Beane’s view, “There’s no rational reason to move anyone when you don’t have enough bodies.”
It’s fair to note, too, that several of the team’s hypothetical trade pieces — especially outfielder Josh Reddick, but also infielder Jed Lowrie and even staff ace Sonny Gray — are or recently have been unavailable due to injury, meaning that they aren’t really near-term trade candidates regardless. That also helps to explain some of Oakland’s struggles.
On the other hand, the A’s now sit nine back in the division, in a dead heat with an Astros club that also hopes to climb out of the cellar. And the team has numerous other players that could hold significant appeal to the rest of the league.
No player has done more to increase their stock early in 2016 than southpaw Rich Hill, who Beane says is “doing exactly what you want a number one starter to do.” MLBTR’s Connor Byrne took a look at Hill’s trade deadline profile just yesterday, explaining that he could conceivably be the best starter made available this summer. While his modest $6MM salary making him affordable for any contender, he could be in high demand.
Hill isn’t alone, of course. Oakland could market third baseman Danny Valencia, who is stinging the ball while earning a reasonable $3.15MM salary with one more year of arb control still to come, and is also capable of playing the outfield. Veteran outfielder Coco Crisp owns a useful .250/.305/.429 slash in the final guaranteed year of his contract, though as MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted recently his vesting option could come into play. The 36-year-old is also playing on a relatively expensive $11MM annual salary, and defensive metrics have soured considerably on his glove.
Struggling DH Billy Butler wouldn’t seem to hold much appeal to other organizations, but pen arms such as Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle, and John Axford might. All three of those relievers come with future seasons of control, though only the southpaw Doolittle is controlled at below-market rates.
As Slusser explains, the A’s do not typically prefer to abandon hopes of contention, and probably won’t have much interest in a full-blown teardown. But the club is in a tough spot. While it seems that the front office will at least give things a few weeks, it may prove hard to resist an opportunity to cash in a few expiring assets later this summer, with Hill and Reddick still looking like the most plausible and valuable chips.