White Sox Place Alex Avila On DL With Strained Hamstring
The White Sox have placed catcher Alex Avila on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring and called up Triple-A backstop Kevan Smith to replace him, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter link).
Prior to suffering the injury against the Rangers on Saturday, the lefty-swinging Avila posted a .214/.333/.250 batting line in 28 plate appearances. While those numbers certainly aren’t great, they’re easily superior to the ones his platoon mate, Dioner Navarro, has compiled thus far (.100/.129/.100 in 30 PAs).
Navarro looks poised to accrue more playing time with Avila down, though Smith has put up an outstanding line at Triple-A Charlotte this year, batting .345/.394/.586 with two home runs in 33 PAs. The 27-year-old has hit an impressive .290/.367/.454 in 1,988 career minor league trips to the plate while throwing out 31 percent of base stealers in six seasons. He’s now primed to see his first major league action.
Phillies Send Charlie Morton To DL With Strained Hamstring
The Phillies have placed right-hander Charlie Morton on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring and recalled fellow righty Luis Garcia, the team announced. Morton sustained the injury during his start against the Brewers on Saturday. As a result, he pitched just one inning, allowing three hits and a run while striking out three.
So far this season, the ground-ball-heavy Morton has been a solid veteran addition to the Phillies’ young rotation. After joining Philadelphia via trade with the Pirates during the offseason, Morton has begun his Phillies tenure by inducing grounders 62.8 percent of the time and posting a 4.15 ERA/3.01 FIP/2.87 xFIP in his first four starts (17 1/3 innings). Morton also fanned 19 batters and walked eight during that span. His spot in the rotation could now go to Brett Oberholtzer or Adam Morgan, who’s in Triple-A.
Garcia, 29, has been a member of the Phillies organization since 2013. He made his major league debut that season and has since racked up 112 innings, including a career-best 66 2/3 frames of 3.51 ERA ball last year. Overall, Garcia owns a 3.94 mark with a 7.88 K/9 and 5.57 BB/9.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Orioles, Rays
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski issued a public vote of confidence to manager John Farrell on Friday, writes Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. “I think John Farrell has done a fine job managing our team,” Dombrowski said. “The only thing I would tell him is the same I would tell any manager: You need to manage with your conviction. Whatever you believe is the right move, you’re the one who is most knowledgeable in the case, and you do what you think is the right thing to do.” The Red Sox won the World Series under Farrell in 2013, but they’ve endured back-to-back sub-.500 seasons since and are a so-so 8-8 this year, leading to calls for his ouster from the team’s fan base. Mastrodonato defends Farrell by pointing out that the Red Sox have played disciplined baseball under him this season (they entered Friday with only six errors and just one caught stealing, as the writer notes). Further, Farrell was right to award Travis Shaw and Brock Holt the third base and left field jobs over Pablo Sandoval and Rusney Castillo, respectively, and has handled the team’s various personalities well – including Hanley Ramirez‘s – Mastrodonato offers.
Here’s more from Boston and two of its American League East rivals:
- Red Sox starters are currently toward the bottom of the league in ERA (5.38) and FIP (4.52), and if the team is looking for outside rotation help around July’s trade deadline, Mastrodonato lists five potential options: Jered Weaver (Angels), Mat Latos (White Sox), James Shields (Padres), Andrew Cashner (Padres) and Scott Kazmir (Dodgers). Of that group, only Shields and Kazmir are signed beyond this season, but both have opt-outs in their contracts at the end of the year. Barring an unexpected fall from contention by the Dodgers, Kazmir seems unlikely to be dealt. If the White Sox continue their winning ways, Latos probably won’t end up on the block, either. In the immediate future, the forthcoming return of lefty Eduardo Rodriguez from a knee injury should buoy the Red Sox’s rotation.
- There was a report that Orioles right-hander Yovani Gallardo would see team orthopedist Dr. Mike Jacobs regarding his injured shoulder on Saturday. That examination will actually take place today, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. An MRI should offer more clarity on the status of Gallardo, who landed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with tendinitis.
- With Gallardo on the shelf for at least two weeks, the Orioles need another starter. They may have found a temporary solution in righty Tyler Wilson, who threw five innings of three-run ball in an 8-3 win over Kansas City on Saturday and impressed manager Buck Showalter in the process. “Things don’t seem to bother him mentally. He’s very mentally strong and that bodes well up here,” Showalter told reporters, including Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Showalter indicated that Wilson will start again, per Ghiroli. Wilson, who had been in the Orioles’ bullpen until Saturday, made five big league starts last season and put up a 4.32 ERA/4.05 FIP/5.01 xFIP in 25 innings.
- Rays outfielder Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch a major league-record-tying three times Thursday, a feat that had only been accomplished on 22 previous occasions. Guyer also did it once last year, when he was hit an American League-leading 24 times. Guyer, who has already been hit by five pitches this year, told David Laurila of FanGraphs that there isn’t a special skill involved. “There’s no art to it. I promise,” he said. “It’s not something I’m out there looking to do, it just happens. I don’t know how to get out of the way. It’s just instinctual that I don’t move. I’m not afraid.” Thanks in part to his fearlessness, Guyer got on base an impressive 35.9 percent of the time in 385 plate appearances in 2015 and has a tremendous .485 OBP in 33 PAs this season.
MLBTR Originals
Here’s a look back at MLBTR’s original analysis and reporting over the past seven days:
- In the second edition of the MLBTR College Series, Chuck Wasserstrom spoke with Cubs vice president and general manager Jed Hoyer about his time at Wesleyan University, where he enjoyed an accomplished baseball career at multiple positions.
- On this week’s MLBTR Podcast, prospect guru Ben Badler of Baseball America chatted with host Jeff Todd about the early major league success of youngsters like Trevor Story and Nomar Mazara. Badler also touched on some of the intriguing players on the international market, particularly those coming from Cuba and Japan. A new episode of the podcast is released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
- Steve Adams examined how six teams’ early season bullpen decisions could impact the earning power of their late-game relievers through arbitration or free agency next offseason.
- Continuing MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A Series, Chuck interviewed hard-throwing University of Oklahoma right-hander Alec Hansen, a prospective first-round pick in June’s amateur draft. Hansen touched on why he chose to attend Oklahoma, what it would’ve taken for him to eschew college and sign with the Rockies as a 25th-round pick in 2013, and which big-time pitching prospect he likens himself to, among other subjects.
- In another trip down memory lane with a baseball executive, Chuck talked to Phillies VP and GM Matt Klentak concerning his days at Darmouth College. Klentak helped set the stage for his current role back then by earning a degree in economics and making some important connections.
- Chuck also had a discussion with Mercer University center fielder Kyle Lewis, who’s rated as one of the draft’s premier prospects. Lewis spurned a potential college basketball career elsewhere to play baseball at Mercer, where he has worked his way up from the bench to perhaps become the only major league first-rounder the school has produced.
- To conclude a busy week of MLBTR College Series interviews, Chuck spoke to Tigers executive VP and GM Al Avila – a St. Thomas University alumnus. Interestingly, one of the people who helped Avila climb the ranks in baseball was Hall of Fame football coach Don Shula.
- In the final edition of MLBTR’s 2016 Offseason In Review Series, Steve looked back at the Royals’ winter moves. Kansas City followed its World Series-winning 2015 campaign with a busy offseason headlined by the re-signing of outfielder Alex Gordon, the expensive contract given to right-hander Ian Kennedy, and the return of reliever Joakim Soria.
Quick Hits: Rockies, Hamilton, Gimenez, Mazara, Padres
The Rockies and visiting teams have tried several run-prevention strategies at Coors Field over the years with little success, though ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription-only column) suggests a novel idea — what if the Rockies and others used a fourth outfielder? The idea, which stemmed from a chat with Jake Peavy, would be a natural extension of the defensive shifts that have become more common in recent years. Here’s more from around the baseball world…
- Josh Hamilton and Chris Gimenez are both playing games in extended spring training, Rangers manager Jeff Banister told reporters (including MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan). Gimenez could start a rehab assignment as soon as Monday, as the catcher looks to return after being sidelined for a month by an ankle infection. Hamilton faces a longer road back to the bigs, as he’ll play in extended spring games for the next week and then some minor league action. Banister said the Rangers want to see Hamilton get around 35 plate appearances before considering a return to the MLB roster. Hamilton has battled left knee problems all offseason, and has already undergone two operations and a stem cell/PRP injection within the last eight months.
- The Rangers have a solid history of producing good young position players, MLB.com’s Phil Rogers writes, and Nomar Mazara is one of the most exciting of them all. The 20-year-old Mazara has made a huge impact in his first taste of big league action, taking a .378/.419/.514 slash line over 43 PAs into Saturday’s play.
- Melvin Upton is enjoying a good season and could eventually be a trade chip for the Padres, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes as part of a reader chat. San Diego would probably still have to eat some of the roughly $30.18MM owed to Upton through the 2017 season to make a trade work. That would still represent something of a win for the Padres and Upton, as his deal was though to be one of the worst in baseball at this time just a year ago. In two seasons as a Padres, however, Upton has regained some value by hitting .261/.334/.433 with seven homers over 292 PA and he also posted above-average defensive metrics in center field in 2015.
- Albert Abreu would be a much-hyped prospect in most farm systems, but he’s something of a hidden gem within the Astros‘ deep minor league organization. Baseball America’s Ben Badler profiles Abreu, a 20-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic who signed a $185K international deal in 2013. Abreu has a 5.11 ERA over 12 1/3 innings at high-A ball this season, though with very impressive peripherals (13.9 K/9, 4.75 K/BB rate, no homers allowed).
Braves Promote Aaron Blair
The Braves have announced that right-handed pitching prospect Aaron Blair will be called up to make his Major League debut on Sunday in a start against the Mets. Southpaw Matt Marksberry was optioned to Triple-A to create a roster spot in a corresponding move.
Blair, 23, has looked tremendous in three starts for Triple-A Gwinnett this season, posting a 1.42 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 4.4 K/BB rate over 19 innings. He would be making a regular turn in the rotation by starting on Sunday, which David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently cited as a possible reason why Blair could get the call over Mike Foltynewicz, beyond the fact that Blair has simply pitched better than Foltynewicz has this season.
Selected by the Diamondbacks with the 36th overall pick of the 2013 draft, Blair came to Atlanta as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Shelby Miller and minor league lefty Gabe Speier to the D’Backs in exchange for Blair, Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte. Much of the attention was focused on Inciarte (a hot trade target coming off a breakout season) and Swanson (last summer’s first overall draft pick), though Blair’s inclusion was also seen as a major get for Atlanta, and a reason why some pundits considered the trade as the steal of the offseason from the Braves’ perspective.
Blair was ranked as the 39th-best prospect in the sport by ESPN’s Keith Law, and the righty also had prominent spots on top 100 lists from Baseball Prospectus (ranked 43rd), MLB.com (54th) and Baseball America (60th). The 2016 BA Prospect Handbook described Blair as “projecting as a workhorse with a knack for going deep into starts,” praising his ability to generate both grounders and weak contact off a heavy fastball in the 91-95 mph range. Blair also has plus command, a plus changeup and a greatly improved curveball. In 382 career minor league frames, Blair has a 3.13 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.88 K/BB rate.
Should Blair remain on Atlanta’s roster for the rest of the season, he’ll gain 159 days of service time and be well on pace to earn an extra year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player. Over the last seven seasons, the Super Two cutoff point hasn’t been any higher than two years and 146 days. It isn’t yet clear if Blair will just be up for a spot start and then ahead back to Triple-A (a la Blake Snell‘s start for the Rays today), or if the Braves want to take a longer look at their prized young arm.
AL East Notes: Snell, Hicks, Yankees, Bogaerts, Farrell
Blake Snell looked impressive in his Major League debut, holding the Yankees to one run on two hits and a walk over five innings on Saturday, while striking out six. “I just settled in, and it felt like it felt my whole life when I went out there and pitched,” Snell told reporters, including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Snell has already been optioned back to Triple-A since the Rays only needed him for one start (due to Erasmo Ramirez being needed in the bullpen) but it seems quite likely that you’ll see Snell back in the Show later this season. Here’s some more from around the AL East…
- Aaron Hicks will be out of action for four-to-five days after receiving a cortisone injection in his left shoulder, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Dan Martin of the New York Post). Hicks suffered the injury, described as Girardi as traumatic bursitis, when diving for a ball in Friday night’s game. If there’s no improvement shown over the next couple of days, the team could end up placing Hicks on the DL.
- Losing the right-handed hitting Hicks will only worsen the Yankees‘ problems against left-handed pitching, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, an issue that developed late in 2015 and seemingly hasn’t been solved after the offseason’s moves. The Yankees entered today’s game with a .235/.324/.315 cumulative line against southpaws, and middling numbers overall against all pitching. A lackluster offense, Sherman notes, isn’t helping the team take advantage of its greatest weapon, the Andrew Miller/Dellin Betances combo at the end of games.
- X-rays were negative on Xander Bogaerts‘ right wrist after the Red Sox shortstop was hit by a Luke Gregerson pitch in Friday’s game. Manager John Farrell told reporters (including WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford) that Bogaerts would’ve only been used in an emergency situation today, though the hope is that Bogaerts can return for Sunday’s game. Farrell also provided injury updates on Carson Smith and Eduardo Rodriguez, with Smith possibly on track to return from the DL later this week.
- Some Red Sox fans have already begun to whisper that Farrell should be fired in the wake of the club’s 8-9 start, which Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe considered to be very premature thinking. It’s rare for any team to fire a manager so early in a season, and Cafardo doesn’t think Farrell should be blamed so quickly given how the Sox have faced several pitching injuries.
- It’s already been a busy day for AL East news, as beyond just Yovani Gallardo‘s DL stint and Branden Pinder‘s UCL tear, more division items were collected in a pair of Notes posts.
MLBTR Podcast: Prospect Chatter With Ben Badler
On this week’s show, Ben Badler of Baseball America joins host Jeff Todd to share his prospect expertise. Among the players considered are Trevor Story of the Rockies and Nomar Mazara of the Rangers. Badler also discusses some of the most intriguing names to watch on the international market — with a particular focus on near-to-the-majors players from Cuba and Japan.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.
The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.
Braves Notes: Maffei, Smith, Inciarte, Banuelos
It was on this day in 1954 that the legendary Hank Aaron recorded his first home run and first two RBIs in a big league uniform. Aaron’s first-inning single drove in Danny O’Connell for the first of Aaron’s MLB record 2297 career RBIs. In the sixth, Aaron collected his second RBI in the form of a solo shot off Cardinals’ starter Vic Raschi, putting Aaron on the path to 755 home runs. Here’s the latest from the modern-day Braves…
- Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei tells Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his corporation has no plans to sell the Braves in the near future, though there will eventually be a “separation” between the team and the company. “Liberty has been a company that has tended to move through assets,” Maffei said. “It wouldn’t be forever. Here we are nine years later (since buying the team). I don’t know when that’s going to be. It could be another nine years. But someday I suspect the Braves will be out on their own.” For now, Liberty Media “are happy owners” and Maffei is looking forward to the new opportunities provided by the Braves’ new stadium.
- Maffei also responded to local criticism that the Braves would be better served by local ownership who spent more on payroll. “What happens is, we have a budgeting process where the Braves’ management brings us a budget, a payroll budget included. And I don’t think we have once changed the number,” Maffei said. “It’s not like we come and say, ‘Nah, you got to cut that.’ I don’t think that has happened in the nine years that we have been involved.”
- Manager Fredi Gonzalez wants outfielder Mallex Smith to remain in the majors, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Smith has hit just .162/.262/.243 over his first 42 career plate appearances but Gonzalez feels that more big league experience “will be better for him than going down [to Triple-A].”
- Smith was called up when Ender Inciarte went on the DL with a hamstring injury, and Inciarte is still around 10-14 days away from a return, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Inciarte is hitting in extended spring training games but has yet to run the bases.
- In other Braves injury news, Manny Banuelos recently threw a 20-pitch bullpen session but there isn’t a timetable for his return, Grant McAuley of CBS Radio 92.9 tweets. Banuelos has yet to pitch this season due to a sore elbow, which is a particularly worrisome injury in his case given that Banuelos has already undergone a Tommy John procedure earlier in this career.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltran, Royals, Gray, Astros
Here’s the latest from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, via his weekly Full Count video…
- Carlos Beltran wants to keep playing beyond this season and there’s a chance he could return to the Royals in 2017. Kansas City will have a vacancy at DH next season since Kendrys Morales is a free agent, and the Royals made a push to sign Beltran in the 2013-14 offseason before the Yankees boosted their offer to include a third guaranteed year. Beltran, who turns 39 tomorrow, is still swinging a strong bat, and it’s possible he could better preserve himself in a regular DH role — Alex Rodriguez‘s presence in New York has kept Beltran mostly in right field as a Yankee.
- Aside from Ian Kennedy, the Royals also targeted free agent hurlers Zack Greinke, Wei-Yin Chen and Mike Leake as good fits for their rotation last winter. “All throw changeups, all field their positions well and, most importantly, all command their fastballs,” Rosenthal noted, and GM Dayton Moore told him that pitchers who tend to fall behind in the count didn’t mesh with the Royals’ style. K.C. ended up signing Kennedy to a five-year, $70MM contract, which was less than the five years/$80MM Leake and Chen respectively received from the Cardinals and Marlins and obviously well below Greinke’s $206.5MM megadeal with the Diamondbacks. (Leake, unlike the other three, didn’t have qualifying offer draft compensation to his services.) In the early going, Kennedy has been outstanding as a Royal, posting a 1.35 ERA over his first three starts.
- The Athletics‘ good start will make it less likely that Sonny Gray is traded, though Rosenthal notes that even if Gray was shopped and a team was willing to give up “a ton” for the star righty, the A’s would still face a tough decision about pulling the trigger on a deal. Gray will become eligible for arbitration next winter, and though his arb costs may eventually price him out of Oakland’s comfort zone, Gray would still certainly be “affordable” for the A’s in 2017 (and really a bargain if he continues to post ace-type numbers).
- In another video from Rosenthal, he notes that the Astros might eventually need to make a trade to add some velocity to their rotation. Houston’s starters entered today with the lowest average velocity (87.8 mph) of any club in baseball, with the Orioles next to last at 90.1 mph. The rotation woes are just one of many problems plaguing the Astros right now as the team is off to a rough 5-12 start.