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Archives for April 2017

AL Central Notes: Twins, Bonifacio, Mondesi, Hosmer, Kipnis

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Twins vice president and assistant general manager Rob Antony appeared on Darren Wolfson’s 1500 ESPN Podcast earlier this week (audio link, with Antony talking Twins aroung the 35:00 mark) and covered a number of topics. Antony talks about the current lack of bench options and an unfortunate early injury to Byung Ho Park, Phil Hughes’ early lack of velocity, Jose Berrios’ timeline back to the Majors and the possibility of once again demoting the struggling Byron Buxton.

Antony adds that “there was never any thought” of eating some of the money on Ervin Santana’s contract to facilitate a trade. “I think he’s on a really good contract, and he’s pitched that way,” says Antony. “You look up his numbers since the midway point of last season or almost the course of almost the last entire year, he’s been one of the best pitchers in the league, and he does it day-in and day-out.” Indeed, Santana has a 2.99 ERA over the past calendar year and a ridiculous 2.06 ERA in his past 22 starts dating back to June 19 of last year.

Here’s more from the AL Central…

  • The Royals announced on Friday that they’ve optioned Raul Mondesi and Paulo Orlando to Triple-A Omaha and recalled left-hander Matt Strahm and outfield prospect Jorge Bonifacio from Omaha. Bonifacio, the younger brother of veteran big leaguer Emilio Bonifacio, rates as the organization’s No. 12 prospect at MLB.com, No. 10 over at Fangraphs and No. 9 on the lists from both Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law. He’s pegged mostly as a corner outfielder with a nice hit tool but questionable power and limited defensive prowess. The demotion of Mondesi is obviously something to which the Royals were not hoping to resort with their top-regarded minor leaguer, but his .103/.167/.179 batting line through 46 plate appearances may have left them with little choice. MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez first reported that Bonifacio was on his way up.
  • Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer rates as one of the upcoming offseason’s most interesting free agents, but he isn’t a particularly good player and should consider accepting a qualifying offer if the Royals extend one, FanGraphs’ David Cameron argues. Hosmer has been well below average offensively over the past year, exacerbating mediocre overall hitting with a glaring tendency to ground into double plays, Cameron writes. Overall, Hosmer’s production is comparable to that of Mitch Moreland, who mostly went overlooked on the free-agent market last winter and ultimately signed a $5.5MM deal with the Red Sox. Hosmer is still young and could potentially improve, but there have been few recent indications of that happeneing. It will be interesting to see how teams value him next winter.
  • Second baseman Jason Kipnis is back for the Indians, as Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reported on Twitter. He had been slowed by a shoulder injury, but will now try to pick up where he left off in a solid 2016 season in which he hit a career-high 23 home runs. Yandy Diaz, who had filled in at third, is heading back to Tripe-A to clear room. He struggled to a .236/.295/.255 batting line in his first 61 MLB plate appearances.

Injury Notes: Miggy, Jays, Rox, Britton, Griffin, Reds, Morin, Richards, Cedeno, Kazmir, Garza

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Star Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera left tonight’s game with a groin strain, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com reports on Twitter. For now, there’s no real indication of the severity of the injury; Detroit will take a closer look tomorrow.

Here’s more on the injury front:

  • Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca provides an update on some injured Blue Jays hurlers. While there had been some hope that J.A. Happ would be able to return after missing just one start, he was still feeling elbow discomfort when he played catch yesterday. There is still hope, though, that Aaron Sanchez will be ready to return from his blister issues to re-take his turn in the rotation.
  • The Rockies have received promising updates on the injury front, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. Ian Desmond’s hand has healed to the point that he was able to hit off of a tee. He’ll soon be followed by David Dahl, whose latest medical check-brought positive news.
  • Likewise, the Orioles have reason to hope they’ll welcome back closer Zach Britton in short order. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets, manager Buck Showalter says that Britton’s MRI results were very promising. Britton, who hasn’t been quite his dominant self thus far in 2017, hit the DL with forearm soreness.
  • Rangers righty A.J. Griffin is heading to the 10-day DL with what the team is describing as ankle inflammation caused by gout. It doesn’t seem likely to require an extended absence, but the issue arises at an unfortunate time for the 29-year-old (and the struggling ballclub). Griffin is off to a solid start, having allowed seven earned runs on nine hits — and an excellent 16:4 K/BB ratio — over 15 1/3 innings.
  • There were a few updates from the Reds, as provided by Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter links). Righty Homer Bailey could be ready for mound work as soon as the end of the month, per skipper Bryan Price. Bailey has made just eight starts since the start of the 2015 season; he’s working back from surgery to remove bone spurs. Southpaw reliever Tony Cingrani, meanwhile, was placed on the 10-day DL with an oblique strain, with outfielder Phil Ervin taking his place on the active roster.
  • Alex Meyer made a start tonight for the Angels, taking the roster spot of reliever Mike Morin, who is headed to the DL with neck stiffness, as Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets. Morin, who’ll soon turn 26, has been hit hard in his 6 2/3 frames to open the season.
  • Meanwhile, Angels righty Garrett Richards is said to be making some progress but isn’t yet able to begin throwing, Guardado tweets. Continued biceps weakness is still the culprit. The Halos are understandably taking care to ensure that Richards is at full health before pushing him forward.
  • Rays lefty Xavier Cedeno is experiencing forearm tightness will require at least a brief DL placement, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. It’s not seen as a significant injury, but the loss of Cedeno does leave Tampa Bay without a southpaw in the pen. The 30-year-old has not looked sharp early; as Topkin notes, he has struggled to prevent inherited runners to score. And Cedeno has surrendered four walks without recording a single strikeout in his seven appearances.
  • Dodgers lefty Scott Kazmir is still dealing with hip tightness that is preventing him from progressing back to the hill, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. The veteran southpaw is not yet nearing a rehab stint, per the report.
  • The Brewers will welcome back righty Matt Garza from the DL to make a start on Monday, per a team announcement. Garza was not ready to open the year due to a groin strain. He’ll bump southpaw Tommy Milone to the bullpen.

Marlins Outright Tyler Moore

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The Marlins have outrighted first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro was among those to tweet. He was recently designated for assignment.

While the return of Martin Prado changed the roster calculus for the Fish, there’s still a need for a righty bench bat to pair with Justin Bour at first. (Bour is hitting just .167/.270/.315 and has a poor track record against left-handed pitching.) That could mean Moore will return to the majors at some point this year.

The 30-year-old slugger saw only 11 plate appearances before he was designated for assignment and failed to make it to the majors last year, so there’s not much of a recent track record to go on. From 2012 through 2015, he slashed .228/.281/.401 and hit 24 home runs in 660 plate appearances with the Nationals, so there’s plenty of pop in the bat. But Moore hasn’t reached base enough and offers little in the way of defensive value, limiting his usefulness.

Giants Place Madison Bumgarner On 10-Day DL After Dirt Bike Accident

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8:20pm: There’s internal concern that a two-month estimated absence may be on the low side, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets.

6:03pm: From the club’s perspective, there’s no real timetable at present, manager Bruce Bochy tells reporters including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

4:00pm: The initial expectation is that Bumgarner will be sidelined for six to eight weeks, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). It’s not clear, though, whether that figure includes the time that the lefty will presumably require to ramp up and move through a rehab assignment.

3:39pm: Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is headed to the 10-day DL after injuring himself in a dirt bike accident, the team announced. He is said to have suffered bruised ribs along with “a grade one or two left shoulder AC sprain.”

Fortunately, it seems there’s no reason to worry for Bumgarner’s long-term well-being. He has already been released from the hospital. But from an on-field perspective, the news certainly looks to be concerning.

To be sure, there’s little in the way of detail as to just how the injury will impact Bumgarner. For now, it seems he’ll rest before being reevaluated next week.

The injury is not a common one for a pitcher, but it does happen to quarterbacks with regularity. Treatment and timing will obviously depend upon the final assessment of the severity, though it seems that surgery isn’t likely to be needed for a grade one or two sprain.

Obviously, the fact that the injury occurred to Bumgarner’s throwing arm will be a significant factor. That’ll not only increase the risks of rushing back, but will presumably call for a lengthier timeline — including, perhaps, a rehab stint.

Bumgarner had been himself on the hill in the early going, continuing his outstanding track record of production. (To date, Bumgarner owns a 2.99 ERA with 8.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 over 1,242 2/3 career innings.) Now, he’s headed to the DL for the first time in his career.

What makes the southpaw special, though, isn’t just his effectiveness. It’s the fact that he has had a flawless record of durability. Bumgarner has made at least 31 starts and thrown at least 200 innings in each of his first six full seasons in the majors. Now, it seems those streaks are at risk.

The Giants have options on hand to fill in, with Ty Blach seemingly likely to step into the rotation and Chris Stratton coming up to provide another arm. But there’s no replacing Bumgarner, who is already a legendary figure in the organization due to his incredible postseason efforts.

Melvin Upton Undergoes Surgery For Torn Thumb Ligament

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Giants outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. has undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb, GM Bobby Evans tells reporters including Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News (via Twitter). He is expected to miss at least eight weeks of action.

Upton, 32, came to San Francisco on a minors deal after he failed to crack the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster. He figured to be one of several players who could ultimately have played a role in the team’s still-unsettled mix in left field.

Instead, Upton is headed for a lengthy rehab. The veteran had enjoyed something of a renaissance after moving to San Diego from the Braves, where he failed to deliver on a big free-agent contract. But he struggled late last year with Toronto after a mid-season trade, slashing just .196/.261/.318 in 165 plate appearances down the stretch.

The Inner Monologue of @DimTillard Music & Food

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It’s 2:32pm on Friday April 21st, 2017.  My name is Tim Dillard.  Besides being a Christian, a husband, and father of three, I’m also a veteran minor league baseball pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers Organization.  This is blog number (not sure), that I’ve written for MLB Trade Rumors… and they still use the same google image of me where I’m sporting the “only a mother could love” face.

2:35pm  My attributes include, but are not limited to: Pitching over 1,200 professional innings without a pick-off, seeing over 400 feature films, being an experienced baseball juggler, playing guitar till my wife made me sell the guitar, eating a PB&J sandwich in thirty-one different states, making Al Roker burst into laughter, and I once successfully shot a bird with a Nerf Bow ’n’ Arrow. (bird was fine, but I still feel bad)

2:40pm  Anyway, FYI – After yesterday’s rainout here in Colorado Springs, today’s early work on the field was cancelled because of a wintery-mix precipitation.  So I have about an hour to squeak down some chronological kerfuffle from my brain before the double-header starts.

2:41pm  BTW – I used the word kerfuffle because it was the Thesaurus.com Word of the Day on Wednesday.

2:41pm  TMA – This is the abbreviation I just made up… it means Too Many Abbreviations.

2:42pm  To write these things I sometimes put in headphones and try listening to classical wordless music.  But I’m currently enjoying an interesting mix being played in the clubhouse.  Right now it’s U2’s Where the Streets Have No Name.  Back in 2004, I wasn’t a huge U2 fan, but then my teammate (and super-utility man) Vinny Rottino said I need to be a huge U2 fan.  I said ok.

2:45pm  During a road trip the other day in Nashville, I was walking toward the stadium when a man in the street told me, “Hey Tim!  I’m 55 years old, and you’re the reason I joined twitter!”  Then he asked if we could take a selfie.  I said ok.

2:48pm  That was a good day too because later that night, The Oak Ridge Boys sang the National Anthem before the game!  Growing up in the south, The Oak Ridge Boys were standard listening procedure in the car and at home.  In fact, out of all the “special memento” baseballs I have, only three are worthy of the shelf in my office.  One is a ball signed by Richard Sterban and the other Oak Ridge Boys, one is signed by actor Jon Gries who played Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite, and the last one is signed by freaking Ichiro Suzuki!

2:52pm  I got Ichiro’s autograph in 2006 during the first World Baseball Classic.  Team Japan was using the Brewers minor league clubhouse for a few days, so a small group of us players timidly walked into their locker room, found Ichiro, and formally presented him with a baseball and a fresh tipped Sharpie.

2:54pm  NOW PLAYING:  Spirit In The Sky by Norman Greenbaum

2:54pm  The availability of music nowadays is fascinating.  My car in high school only had a cassette player. (that’s what was used for music before CDs)  Actually, my first few seasons in pro ball, I used a portable CD player. (it was anti-skip)

2:57pm  Music is a huge part of the baseball world.  For instance, the first home game back after a road trip, you are guaranteed to hear The Boys Are Back in Town from the press box.  Clever.

2:58pm  Some songs are played at nearly every game, like:  Put Me In Coach or The Chicken Dance.  And when it’s “Kids’ Day” at the field, we hear a steady barrage of Let It Go and Spongebob Squarepants.  Thankfully, stadiums are starting to cut back on the most over-played song of all time… YMCA.

3:01pm  Come to think of it, a few days ago I was on a television show because of music!  Via Skype, teammate Ivan De Jesus and I were on the American Spanish language Miami morning show Despierta Ameríca that airs on Univision.  A great interview with lots of laughs and lots of singing!  I’m a big fan of the Latin hits!  Muy Bueno!

3:10pm  All this typing made me hungry so I took a break.  You guessed it… PB&J.

3:10pm  NOW PLAYING:  Lose Yourself by Eminem

3:11pm  Mom’s spaghetti is great, but meals in minor league baseball can vary depending on places and circumstances.  Like in 2009, veteran outfielder Mike Cameron was rehabbing with us in Triple-A, and he bought us an awesome post-game spread!  Sitting shoulder to shoulder in a tiny clubhouse at Omaha’s old Rosenblatt Stadium, we ate steak and lobster with real utensils!  On real plates!

3:14pm  The following year, we arrived in Memphis around 2:00am after a long bus trip, and was greeted by legendary closer Trevor Hoffman!  Like zombies we walked into the lobby and saw a rehabbing Hoffman surrounded by fifty pizzas, coolers of soda, chips, and cookies!

3:16pm  NOW PLAYING:  La Bicicleta by Carlos Vives & Shakira

3:15pm  The hardest I worked for a post-game meal was on Margarita Island in Venezuela.  Around 1:00am I found myself hiking through a backyard, an abandoned casino parking lot, and into a wooded area.  Only to emerge on a dead-end street lined with food trucks!  Muy Bueno!

3:17pm  But probably the most interesting meal I’ve encountered in baseball was in Mexico.  After a game, the home team brought us a huge table with a giant fish on it.  It was sliced open and we just grabbed and ate.  I honestly can’t remember how it tasted, but I do remember the in-meal entertainment was the rambunctious cock fight going on over by first base.

3:18pm  Almost time to “SUIT UP” for the game!

3:20pm  NOW PLAYING:  a commercial… by AT&T.

3:20pm  Some people don’t like AT&T, but I actually love AT&T.

3:21pm  Nine years ago my wife and I rented a small house in Arizona for spring training.  We went to an AT&T store and got a USB thing for internet.  I immediately plugged it into my Xbox, and started downloading episodes of The Office and Lost.

3:23pm  After streaming for two weeks (“That’s what she said!”), AT&T cut our service off, called me up, and said, “Hello Mr. Dillard, we stopped your internet because you’ve gone over your available usage.”  I said ok.

3:24pm  Then said, “Your bill Mr. Dillard… is $12,237.” 

3:24pm  (insert scared/hurl emoji)

3:25pm  SOooo… I’ve set many kinds of baseball records at various levels with different teams over my career, but setting the record for highest bill in AT&T history… that is special!

3:26pm  NOW PLAYING:  Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

To Be Concluded…

White Sox Select Mike Pelfrey, Place James Shields On 10-Day DL

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The White Sox have swapped out veteran hurlers with a roster move today, placing James Shields on the DL and selecting the contract of Mike Pelfrey, as JJ Stankevitz (Twitter links) and Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link) report. Shields is dealing with a lat strain, though GM Rick Hahn says it’s not believed to be serious.

[RELATED: Updated White Sox Depth Chart]

While the prognosis looks good, it’s unfortunate timing for the 35-year-old Shields. He has turned in three impressive starts thus far, allowing just three earned runs on only nine hits over 16 2/3 innings while recording 16 strikeouts against ten walks.

There’s some sample-size noise here, to be sure. Shields has stranded literally every runner to reach base against him — he has allowed three solo homers — and is benefiting from a .150 BABIP. At the very least, though, it’s encouraging that he has been able to generate some soft contact and get some results after a brutal 2016 season.

Shields would seem a plausible trade chip this summer if he’s able to return to health. There’s little reason to expect he’ll keep up anything approaching his first three outings, but there’d surely be interest in the respected veteran if he can return to the form he showed in 2015, when he gave the Padres over 200 innings of 3.91 ERA ball. There’s still the matter of salary, of course; Shields is under contract for 2017 and 2018 at $21MM apiece, though the Padres are on the hook for $22MM of that. (Chicago also owes him a $2MM buyout on his 2019 club option.)

The 33-year-old Pelfrey, meanwhile, landed in Chicago when the Tigers cut him loose late in camp. He has not been very successful in his two Triple-A outings thus far, lasting just six total innings while coughing up five earned on ten hits. But Pelfrey has long logged serviceable frames at the MLB level, and he’ll look to get back on track while providing the rebuilding organization some innings — at the league-minimum salary — while they wait for Shields to return.

Mets Injury Updates: Duda, Flores, Cespedes, Cabrera, d’Arnaud

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The health issues have begun to pile up for the Mets, who just began their first series of the year against the division-rival Nationals. Manager Terry Collins spoke with reporters (including MLB.com’s Danny Knobler) before the game and provided updates on several players:

  • First baseman Lucas Duda is heading to the DL after hyperextending his elbow in a collision at first base on Wednesday. It’s not known how long he’s expected to miss, but clearly the expectation is he needs at least a ten-day layoff. While the hot-hitting, left-handed slugger will be missed in the lineup, he’s actually a fairly easy player to replace for New York given the presence of three left-handed corner outfielders — including Jay Bruce, who’s playing at first again tonight.
  • Also hitting the 10-day DL is infielder Wilmer Flores, who is currently in the hospital for treatment of an infection in his right knee. It’s not immediately clear what it’ll take to get him back in working order, but he’s expected to remain hospitalized through the weekend, per the report.
  • Coming up to fill in for that pair are utilityman T.J. Rivera and lefty Sean Gilmartin. The latter is expected to function in a relief role, but could see a spot start. Jacob deGrom was unable to take the hill tonight after coming down with a stiff neck, but he’ll try again tomorrow. If the seemingly minor issue still proves problematic, then Gilmartin will step into the rotation briefly.
  • While those two DL placements were the only ones required at this point, there are several other key players who are too banged up to play tonight. Yoenis Cespedes will need a few days off to rest his hamstring, though it’s surely a good sign that he’s being kept on the active roster. Likewise, a hammy issue is holding back shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, though he’s expected to be back in the lineup tomorrow. And backstop Travis d’Arnaud’s bruised wrist left him unable to throw well enough to suit up tonight, though it seems he too will be back in short order. While the club has a skeleton crew tonight, they’ll seek to get by without further roster shakeups for the time being.

Blue Jays Select Mat Latos, Designate Ty Kelly

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The Blue Jays announced today that infielder Ty Kelly was designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to righty Mat Latos, whose pending call-up was reported recently.

The 28-year-old Kelly was only just acquired from the Mets through a waiver claim. He was optioned to Triple-A upon landing with the Toronto organization, and only got into two games of action before this latest roster move. Of course, he could still end up back at Buffalo if he clears waivers this time around — though Kelly would also have the opportunity to elect free agency instead.

Kelly has minimal experience in the majors, but has shown excellent contact ability and plate discipline in the upper minors. In six campaigns and over 1,500 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kelly has compiled a .381 OBP (though he has slugged just .383) by drawing 230 walks against 237 strikeouts. He also brings some versatility to the table, with experience at second, third, and the corner outfield.

Francisco Lindor Reportedly Turned Down Roughly $100MM Extension

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4:57pm: Lindor says that he could imagine reaching a long-term deal at some point, but that the time wasn’t right to do so over the winter, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. The talks that did occur are “in the past,” says Lindor.

9:18am: There were reports during Spring Training that the Indians had attempted to work out a multi-year extension with star shortstop Francisco Lindor, but details on the talks never surfaced. This morning, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reports that Lindor turned down an offer that would’ve paid him “around $100 million.” Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer adds that the Indians did indeed make a “substantial” offer to Lindor, though he wasn’t able to confirm the $100MM figure (Twitter links). Furthermore, Hoynes says that there are no active extension talks with Lindor or any other player at this time.

Lindor’s rejection of the reported $100MM figure — or anything even close to that figure, for that matter — means that the rising superstar turned down an extension that would’ve shattered the current record for a player in his service class. Lindor, 23, entered the year with just one year, 113 days of Major League service time. As MLBTR’s Extension Tracker shows, the previous record for an extension for any player in the one-plus years of service bracket is Andrelton Simmons’ seven-year, $58MM contract, signed with the Braves prior to the 2014 season.

It’s certainly possible that the $100MM figure wasn’t entirely guaranteed and is including the value of some option years, but it does seem all but certain that such an offer would’ve set a new record. Also of note is that the years of the extension offer aren’t included in the Verducci report; a $100MM offer over a term of eight years would be considerably different than $100MM over the next 10 seasons, for instance. The number of free-agent years involved in the deal as well as option years and no-trade provisions all come into play when negotiating extensions, meaning a rough value of the overall package doesn’t provide enough context to fully judge the offer.

And while it’s undoubtedly difficult for Indians fans to stomach the fact that Lindor wouldn’t take what would’ve been far and away the largest contract in franchise history, it’s also not entirely stunning to hear that he rebuffed the team. Lindor did, after all, receive a healthy $2.9MM bonus as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2011 draft, so he started his career in a considerably better place than most of his peers. Beyond that, as Verducci notes in the heart of his column, the free-agent market is moving forward and figures to do so substantially between now and the time that Lindor reaches free agency in the 2021-22 offseason.

The 2018-19 free agent class is stocked with premium talent and figures to be headlined by Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. The common consensus is that each of those players could command at least $300MM, and the possibility of a $400MM contract for either, given that their youth — each will be 26 when entering free agency — will lead to contract offers of extreme length. Lindor won’t be quite so young when he reaches the open market, but he’ll hit free agency at the age of 27 as he heads into his age-28 campaign. That’s still quite young for a player to reach the open market, and Lindor of course figures to do quite well for himself in arbitration over the five years between now and the open market, though he won’t qualify for that process until the completion of the 2018 season.

Notably, Verducci did speak to Lindor’s agent, David Meter, and while Meter understandably didn’t get into any specifics on what was or wasn’t offered, he didn’t take a firm stance against ever agreeing to a long-term deal. “It’s just one of those things we’ll look at on a year-by-year basis,” Meter tells Verducci. “I don’t think it’s very productive to draw a line in the sand.”

While that lends some mild optimism about the possibility of an extension further down the road, it also likely means that the Indians will be required to substantially increase their offer if they’re to have any chances of getting an agreement in place. By the time next offseason rolls around, Lindor will be just one year removed from arbitration eligibility. And though he’d already established himself as one of the game’s elite young talents with a .306/.356/.454 batting line through his first 1122 plate appearances (accompanied by premium baserunning and defense), there are still signs that the best is yet to come. Lindor has already homered four times in 2017 after hitting 15 all of last year, and he’s off to a .351/.415/.684 start to his season through 66 plate appearances. It’s unlikely that he sustains that pace, but any improvement in his production, paired with the increasing proximity to arbitration, will only serve to further escalate the price tag on a Lindor extension.

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