NL East Notes: Nats, Syndergaard, Marlins
Following the loss of Adam Eaton for what could be the remainder of the season, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan touched on the possibility of a Royals/Nationals trade in his latest Ten Degrees column. The Nationals, according to Passan, expressed interest in Lorenzo Cain this offseason before they acquired Eaton in the first place. While the two sides obviously didn’t line up on a deal at the time, Passan notes that the combination of Cain and closer Kelvin Herrera, whom FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tied to the Nationals over the weekend, could present the Nats with the ability to fill two needs with one trade. While multiple reports have suggested that the Royals aren’t yet ready to sell, Passan notes that Kansas City’s 7-15 record and -37 run differential are both the worst marks in baseball, which means that even a strong performance in May might not be enough to turn their season around entirely.
A bit more from the NL East…
- Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News spoke to a pair of sports orthopedists about the partial tear of Noah Syndergaard‘s right lat muscle, discussing the ways in which it can be treated and the potential absence Syndergaard could face. While all of those factors are dependent on the severity of the tear, neither medical expert suggested that surgery was likely. Ackert offers quotes from both Dr. Anthony Maddalo and Dr. Kenneth Mautner (the latter of whom is a team physician with the Braves), with each going into detail on the nature of lat injuries. While a platelet-rich plasma injection isn’t a standard treatment for a torn lat muscle, both said it could theoretically help accelerate the healing process. Rest, rehab and stretching were also suggested as possibilities, with a program along those lines taking potentially up to six weeks, Ackert notes. There’s still no official word on a timeline from the Mets, though Sandy Alderson will address reporters at 4pm ET.
- Syndergaard’s injury is obviously a severe problem for the Mets, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that the injury is symbolic of a greater problem for baseball as a whole. The increased emphasis on velocity continues to put pitchers at risk, Rosenthal suggests, as young arms focus more on overpowering hitters than prioritizing durability. Rosenthal spoke extensively with Hall of Famer and current broadcaster John Smoltz on the matter. “(In the past), each pitcher was given the opportunity to learn what kind of pitcher they were going to be,” said Smoltz. “Now they’re all robots. … We’re getting dangerously close to every pitcher red-lining when he doesn’t really have to. They’re not preparing to learn how to pitch like it’s a six-gear car. They’re always in sixth gear. Never in fourth or fifth.”
- Marlins skipper Don Mattingly spoke to Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel about the importance of right-hander Jose Urena and lefty Jarlin Garcia to his bullpen. Mattingly suggested that even after Urena was roughed up in his most recent appearance on Friday, the righty has been vital in terms of keeping other relievers fresh (a point that righty David Phelps also emphasized to Healey). Asked if Urena could be a starting pitcher in the long run, as he was in the minors, Mattingly wouldn’t commit to a role for a long-term role for the 25-year-old. As for Garcia, Mattingly offered plenty of praise on the 24-year-old rookie, who made his MLB debut last month. “I think he thinks he’s ready to be here,” said Mattingly, “and that’s always really important for the younger guys. They believe that they can pitch here. Sometimes that takes a little while, gut Jarlin seems to think he belongs here.” Mattingly noted that having multiple southpaws would be preferable, though as Healey notes, the front office emphasized overall effectiveness over handedness this winter.
Athletics Activate Sonny Gray From Disabled List
The A’s announced that right-hander Sonny Gray has been activated from the disabled list on Monday. Per John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link), Gray will start Tuesday’s game against the Twins. To clear space for Gray on the active roster, outfielder Ryan LaMarre has been optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
The 27-year-old Gray will take the hill for Oakland for the first time this season with tomorrow’s outing. The 2015 Cy Young candidate was sidelined early in Spring Training by a lat strain that required a three-week shutdown from throwing, and he’s since been building strength back up on a minor league rehab assignment. To say that Gray looked sharp in the minors would be an understatement; in 11 innings between Class-A Advanced Stockton and Triple-A Nashville, Gray racked up 13 strikeouts and allowed only three hits without issuing a walk or yielding a run.
That’s a small sample of work against vastly inferior competition, of course, but the results are encouraging for Gray as he looks to put behind a terrible 2016 season behind him. Last year, Gray was slowed by a strained trapezius muscle and a strained forearm, which led to a pair of separate DL stints and limited him to 117 rather ugly innings. Gray’s ERA soared from 2.73 in 2015 to 5.69 in 2016, and he saw increases in hits per nine (7.2 to 10.2), walks per nine (2.6 to 3.2) and home runs per nine (0.7 to 1.4) as well.
The A’s are off to an 11-14 start to the season, which already has them five games back from the division-leading Astros. While Oakland isn’t likely to make any sort of determination about its course of action this summer on May 1, if the team doesn’t climb back into contention, a healthy Gray would once again be one of the most-discussed trade chips in the game as the non-waiver deadline approaches. Gray is earning a reasonable $3.575MM salary in 2017 after avoiding arbitration in the offseason, and he’s controlled via that arbitration process through the end of the 2019 season.
Brewers Designate Tommy Milone For Assignment
The Brewers announced that they’ve designated left-hander Tommy Milone for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Rob Scahill from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Milone, 30, opened the season as the lone left-hander on the Brewers’ roster, and his departure will give Milwaukee an all-right-handed staff (h/t: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, on Twitter). The former Nationals, Athletics and Twins hurler has been a fairly regular contributor in the Majors in each of the past five big league seasons, but Minnesota elected to outright him following the 2016 season rather than give him a raise on last year’s $4.5MM salary.
The soft-tossing Milone got quality results in the Oakland and Minnesota rotations from 2012-15, averaging 25 starts per season to go along with a 3.98 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. However, he slipped to a 5.71 ERA last year in Minnesota and ultimately lost his rotation spot. Milone’s ERA has continued to balloon in Milwaukee, where he’s logged a 6.43 mark through his first 21 frames, though his outstanding 16-to-2 K/BB ratio lends some optimism for a turnaround.
Milone is on a very affordable one-year deal that came with a mere $1.25MM base salary. Of that modest sum, just $1.05MM remains, so he’d make for a reasonable pickup should any club with rotation injuries wish to make a claim on waivers (or a minor trade). That said, Milone’s ceiling as a back-of-the-rotation starter, his recent struggles and the remaining cash on his deal could allow him to pass through waivers. At that point, he’d have the right to refuse a minor league assignment in favor of free agency, although as a player with fewer than five years of Major League service time, doing so would mean forfeiting the remaining money on his contract. As such, if has passes through waivers unclaimed, it seems likely that he’d remain in the organization and hope to work his way back to the Major League roster.
Rangers Option Jurickson Profar
The Ranger announced after yesterday’s game that infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar has been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in order to clear a spot on the roster for infielder Pete Kozma, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees.
The decision to option Profar may be a surprise to some that haven’t followed his season closely. Profar clearly comes with plenty of name value after twice topping Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list a few years ago and homering in his first Major League plate appearances as a 19-year-old back in 2012. However, shoulder injuries wiped out two years of Profar’s career, and he’s followed up a lackluster 2016 season with a dismal start to the 2017 campaign. Through his first 46 plate appearances this season, the switch-hitting Profar mustered just a .135/.289/.135 batting line.
The decision to option Profar, general manager Jon Daniels tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, came down to the simple matter that the team did not want him gathering rust on the bench.
“The way the rotation is in left field and the infield right now, with the lack of regular playing time, we felt the time was better spent at Triple-A playing every day,” said Daniels. “We believe he’s capable of more, but he’s just not going to get better sitting on the bench.”
Playing time has been an issue for Profar since returning from his shoulder troubles last season. Elvis Andrus is locked into a long-term deal at Profar’s natural shortstop, while Rougned Odor has broken out as a power-hitting second baseman and been rewarded with a six-year contract of his own. When Adrian Beltre opened the season on the disabled list, the third base role went to Joey Gallo, who has thrived in 2017. Profar was relegated to left field to begin the season, but his anemic performance at the plate ultimately led the Rangers to give Ryan Rua more time there.
Profar’s lack of a defined role on the team has made him a popular trade candidate among speculators over the past year, though it’s currently difficult to imagine his trade value being at a much lower point than it currently resides. Since returning to the Majors in 2016, Profar has batted .227/.317/.314, and though he just turned 24 years old in February, he’s not exactly a highly controllable option, either; Profar entered the 2017 season with three years, 124 days of Major League service time thanks to the fact that he accrued two years of service while on the 60-day disabled list due to his shoulder troubles.
While Grant notes that the demotion temporarily halts Profar’s service clock, it would take a significant amount of time in the minors to prevent him from getting to four years of service in 2017. With 29 days of service time already under his belt this season, Profar would reach four years of service time with just 19 more days at the Major League level. In other words, he’d effectively have to spend almost the rest of the season in Triple-A in order to delay his free agency until the 2020-21 offseason.