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Archives for June 2017

Victor Martinez Diagnosed With Irregular Heartbeat

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Veteran Tigers slugger Victor Martinez has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, according to manager Brad Ausmus (via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, on Twitter). Martinez will be placed on the 10-day DL.

Martinez left last night’s game with symptoms of illness, though at the time there was no indication of a significant problem. He ended up requiring an overnight stay in the hospital, and Ausmus suggests that he may do so again tonight, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com tweets.

Further details are not available at this time, and obviously the primary concern lies with the 38-year-old’s overall well-being. MLBTR extends its best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Nationals, Edwin Jackson Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Edwin Jackson, reports Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter).  The 33-year-old Jackson, who is represented by the Legacy Agency, will report to Triple-A Syracuse for the time being.

This will mark the second tour of duty for Jackson with the Nationals, as he previously enjoyed a solid 2012 season as a member of the Nats’ rotation back in 2012. That year — the last in which he turned in quality results as a starter over the course of a full season — saw Jackson toss 189 1/3 innings with a 4.03 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate.

Jackson parlayed that season into an ill-fated four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs, though he only made it through two and a half seasons in Chicago before being released. During the third season of that contract (2015), Jackson did manage to post a very respectable 3.07 ERA through 56 2/3 innings between the Cubs and Braves while working exclusively out of the bullpen. His secondary stats were a bit more questionable, however, and he wasn’t able to repeat that success in 2016 with the Padres.

The Nats will hope that Jackson can prove to have something left in the tank, possibly to help out a beleaguered bullpen that has been the club’s definitive Achilles heel all season.

Braves Sign Kyle Wright

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12:42pm: The Braves have now announced the signing. Heyman tweets that Wright’s bonus is exactly $7MM, which tops Kris Bryant ($6.7MM) as the largest bonus given under the current draft structure..

7:45am: The Braves have reached an agreement with No. 5 overall pick Kyle Wright, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The Vanderbilt right-hander will receive a bonus worth a bit more than $7MM, placing him well above the $5,707,300 value of his draft slot. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported yesterday that the two sides were discussing a deal worth close to $7MM. Wright is represented by CAA.

Wright, at one point, was considered to be the likely first overall pick, but draft-day rumors suggested that the Twins had narrowed their choices to Royce Lewis and Brendan McKay, with Lewis ultimately going first. That allowed Wright to drop to the Braves with the fifth overall selection, giving Atlanta the opportunity to pick the player that they had ranked No. 1 on their board, according to scouting director Brian Bridges.

“It’s far-fetched when you get the guy who is still on the board who shouldn’t still be on the board who is advanced for his age,” Bridges said to Bowman. “He brings everything we want to see. He was definitely No. 1 on our board, so we feel really good about where we are.”

Wright was a consensus top five talent, per the pre-draft rankings of Baseball America, ESPN, MLB.com and Fangraphs. The 6’4″, 220-pound righty has drawn praise for a mid-90s fastball that he can run up to 97 mph — the best of his four-pitch mix. Wright is also said to have a curveball that ranges from above-average to plus as well as a slider and a changeup, both of which can be average or better big league offerings. He still has some work to do when it comes to consistently locating his pitches, but most scouting reports on him feel that he’ll ultimately have average or better command in the Majors as well.

Wright joins high school right-hander Shane Baz among first-round picks to reach agreements with their teams already just days after the draft. (Baz agreed to a deal with the Pirates yesterday.) The Braves will spend “approximately $8.7MM” between Wright and their second-round pick, Drew Waters, according to Bowman, which should mean that Waters will agree to a deal in the general vicinity of his $1.675MM slot value.

Trade Chatter: Pitching Market, Nats, Quintana, Rangers, Rox, A’s

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The market for starting pitchers has more question marks than certainties this summer, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports observes. Rosenthal runs down a number of potentially available arms, noting that injuries and/or significant contracts make many of them tough sells. Regarding Zack Greinke, Rosenthal notes that while his contract always made an in-season trade seem like a long shot, the fact that the D-backs are contending and are in current possession of a Wild Card spot all but eliminates the possibility that he’ll be traded this summer.

With the draft out of the way, trade talk should slowly begin to heat up in the coming weeks. Here are a few more items of potential interest…

  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman runs down a number of possible needs on clubs that are in contention, beginning with the Nationals. While there’s been much made of the team’s obvious need for bullpen help, Heyman suggests that the Nats won’t simply acquire a closer and consider their relief corps to be fixed. “We don’t need just one big reliever, we need two,” a Nationals source tells Heyman. One potentially available name on which the Nationals don’t appear to be especially keen, however, is closer A.J. Ramos of the division-rival Marlins. Heyman reports in his weekly National League roundup that Ramos is a ways down Washington’s list of potential targets.
  • On the American League side, Heyman focuses on the White Sox, who have quite a few interesting trade pieces, as recently examined by MLBTR’s Jeff Todd. He suggests that there are indications the Sox do intend to move lefty Jose Quintana this summer — and they don’t think they’ll need to accept a sub-par return despite his struggles so far. There’s some “belief” that Chicago could be hoping to draw interest in Quintana from the Dodgers, Heyman notes in the N.L. post. Meanwhile, the organization isn’t as interested in fielding offers for first baseman Jose Abreu, per the report.
  • Prior to trading designating Sam Dyson for assignment and trading him to the Giants, the Rangers also gave consideration to cutting right-hander Jeremy Jeffress loose, Heyman writes. However, Texas deemed Jeffress more likely to rebound from his struggles and kept him on the roster. I’d imagine that as was the case with Dyson, Jeffress would draw trade interest elsewhere based on his track record and 2016 success.
  • Nick Groke of the Denver Post fielded some Rockies trade questions in his latest chat with readers, noting that there’s virtually no chance that the Rockies would even consider moving top shortstop prospect Brendan Rodgers this summer. Groke does, however, feel that outfielder Raimel Tapia is a plausible trade chip. The 23-year-old outfielder entered the season widely ranked among baseball’s top 100 prospects and is hitting .286/.375/.357 through a small sample of 32 plate appearances in a limited role.
  • With the Athletics progressing into a youth movement, John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News writes that top infield prospect Franklin Barreto likely isn’t far from getting his first big league promotion, though Hickey suggests that in order to create playing time for Barreto, Oakland would first have to trade Jed Lowrie. Hickey also notes that the A’s feel confident that Trevor Plouffe, who was designated for assignment yesterday to clear a spot for top third base prospect Matt Chapman, will catch on with another club. It’s not clear, though, if the A’s expect to trade him or are preparing to release the 31-year-old.

Jair Jurrjens Suspended 80 Games For Failed PED Test

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Veteran right-hander Jair Jurrjens, who was making a comeback attempt with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for testosterone, the league announced yesterday. In a statement following the suspension, Jurrjens states that a prescribed substance that he’d been using to treat depression over the offseason is what triggered the positive test back in April. He had appealed the suspension, but that appeal has been denied.

Jurrjens, still just 31 years of age, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014 and has just 16 2/3 big league innings under his belt since the completion of the 2012 campaign. Once a promising prospect with the Tigers and then the Braves, Jurrjens finished third in the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year voting — the beginning of an excellent four-year run with Atlanta. From 2008-11, he pitched 674 2/3 innings with a 3.34 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9, making the All-Star team in 2011. However, a series of knee injuries torpedoed that promising start to his career, and he’s bounced around the league on a handful of minor league deals since that time.

The Dodgers possess a sizable crop of pitching depth — as can be seen on their depth chart — so it might’ve been a long shot for Jurrjens to resurface in the Majors anyhow. He’s still young enough to latch on with a new organization this offseason and attempt to break camp on a Major League roster, though, and his statement suggests that he plans to continue to pursue a return once his suspension has been served.

Through 54 1/3 innings with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, Jurrjens had pitched to a 4.64 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 42.4 percent ground-ball rate.

Pitching Health Notes: Gray, ERod, Urias, MadBum, Chargois

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Rockies righty Jon Gray made his first rehab start, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. He may need only one or two more minor league outings before rejoining the Colorado rotation, but holds out the promise of providing a significant boost upon his return. Likewise, southpaw Tyler Anderson is making his way back toward the big leagues, meaning the Rox will face some rotation questions in short order.

Here’s more on a few other pitching health matters from around the league:

  • It’s possible that the Red Sox may soon welcome back lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. per an update from manager John Farrell (h/t Peter Abraham of the Boston Glove; links to Twitter). Rodriguez was “ecstatic” after a 33-pitch pen session today, says Farrell, who indicated that the southpaw may be only one rehab start away from returning to the majors. That would surely be excellent news for Boston; Rodriguez’s knee issue seemed rather frightening when it arose, since he has dealt with significant problems in the joint in the past.
  • Likewise, the Dodgers got good news on young southpaw Julio Urias, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). While he’ll still be shut down until the soreness in his shoulder subsides, Urias did not exhibit any structural issues in an MRI.
  • With the Giants back in Colorado, the team is seeing continued progress from ace Madison Bumgarner, who is still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in an off-day dirtbiking accident during the team’s prior trip out to Denver. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, Bumgarner is set to face live hitting on Sunday and report to the organization’s spring facility. After that, he’d only be a rehab assignment away from a return, though the club will undoubtedly exercise ample caution given the club’s unenviable position in the standings.
  • As the Twins continue to hold onto a surprising AL Central lead, despite one of the league’s worst bullpens, the front office is surely at least thinking of ways to bolster the MLB roster while also remaining mindful of the broader organizational mission. Unfortunately, the club seemingly won’t be able to call upon relief prospect J.T. Chargois, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who tweets that a “stress reaction on the outside of his elbow” will keep the young righty out for some time. The fireballer already missed significant time earlier in his career with elbow problems. Minnesota already lost out on another possible mid-season boost to the bullpen when Nick Burdi required Tommy John surgery earlier this year.

Angels To Sign First-Rounder Jo Adell

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The Angels have agreed to an at-slot, $4,376,800 bonus with tenth overall draft selection Jordon “Jo” Adell, according to Hudson Belinsky of Baseball America (via Twitter). Adell has already passed his physical, with the deal set to be made official in short order.

Adell, an outfielder out of Louisville’s Ballard High School, is said to possess eye-popping tools. But pundits split on his value as a draft prospect due to the uncertainty that scouts see in his game.

Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs joined the Baseball America prospect evaluators in ranking Adell as the seventh-best prospect available, citing his speed, power, and arm strength. But he has also shown plenty of glitches at times, and all acknowledge the risk. MLB.com (#21) and especially ESPN.com’s Keith Law (#50) were much more bearish on Adell’s outlook.

Clearly, the Halos will have a lot of work to do in developing Adell, who is also a notable prospect as a pitcher. While he won’t be expected to contribute in the majors for quite some time, Adell will become one of the top prospects in a weak Angels farm system from the moment he joins it.

Juan Lagares Diagnosed With Fractured Thumb

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The Mets’ injury woes deepened today — again — as the team learned that center fielder Juan Lagares has suffered a fractured IP joint in his left thumb (h/t Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, on Twitter). He appeared to suffer the injury during action in this evening’s game.

While it’s obviously too soon to know just how long the Mets may expect to go without Lagares, a DL stint seems inevitable. He’d join infielders Asdrubal Cabrera, Neil Walker, and David Wright among position players on the disabled list. Fellow outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto have also been banged up of late, though both are active, and the team has a variety of pitchers currently on the shelf.

It remains to be seen how the Mets will handle this latest malady, but it stands to reason that the club will want another center-field-capable outfielder on hand. The arrow could point to 24-year-old Brandon Nimmo, though he hasn’t exactly been lighting up the stat sheet at hitter-friendly Las Vegas (.223/.361/.378). Veteran Desmond Jennings is also available, though he’d require a 40-man spot and is hitting only .233/.299/.416 himself.

Taking Inventory: San Diego Padres

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This is the sixth entry in MLBTR’s Taking Inventory series. Click for entries on the White Sox, Royals, Phillies, Pirates and Giants.

After trading Derek Norris this past offseason, the part of the Padres’ rebuild that involved trading away veterans to shed salary and/or make room for younger players had come to an end. But that didn’t close the door on general manager A.J. Preller’s ability to wheel and deal during the 2017 season. By signing a quartet of free agent starting pitchers to help bridge the gap until the team’s younger pitchers were ready to contribute—Trevor Cahill, Jhoulys Chacin, Clayton Richard and Jered Weaver were each signed to one-year deals for a combined total of $8.25MM— they also added some potential trade chips to go along with any other players on the roster with less than three years of club control.

With three of the four veteran starters having established some trade value and several other players expected to draw strong interest, the only question is how long Preller waits before pulling the trigger on his first trade of 2017. Let’s break down who could become available…

Rentals

Clayton Richard, LHP (starter) | Salary: $1.75MM

Richard has had a career resurgence since joining the Padres last August, posting a 3.64 ERA over 141.2 innings. The 33-year-old was one out away from a complete game shutout on Tuesday before allowing a 2-run double on his 127th pitch of the game. It was the third time this season he’s flirted with that rare feat. He allowed one earned run in a complete game win against the D’backs on May 21st and pitched eight shutout innings against the Dodgers in his 2017 debut in April. He’s also completed at least six innings in nine of his 14 starts. A reliable lefty starter who can pitch deep into games can be very useful on a playoff contender.

Jhoulys Chacin, RHP (starter) | Salary: $1.75MM

Aside from three disastrous starts, which account for 23 earned runs over 10 innings, Chacin has been pretty good for the Padres. The 29-year-old hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in his other 10 starts and has completed at least six innings on eight different occasions. A reunion with the Rockies would make a lot of sense as their young pitching staff will need some help down the stretch.

Trevor Cahill, RHP (starter) | Salary: $1.75MM

A pair of disabled list stints due to back and shoulder injuries will likely keep Cahill’s trade value to a minimum, but he’s been impressive in a seven-start sample with a 3.27 ERA and 11.1 K/9 in 41.1 innings pitched. If he can return to health—he’s on track to be activated in the next few weeks—the 29-year-old should have at least 4 or 5 starts to showcase his talent to a contending team. He could also draw interest as a reliever based on his strong 2016 season out of the bullpen for the World Champion Cubs.

Erick Aybar, SS | Salary: $1.5MM

There’s not much of a market for shortstops and Aybar has been a disappointment, anyways, with a .215/.282/.328 slash line in 196 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he can be had for very little if a team is looking to add some veteran infield depth. At this rate, he’s more likely to be released than traded.

Craig Stammen, RHP (reliever) | Salary: $900K 

Stammen’s ERA is a bit inflated (4.25) due to a three-appearance stretch in April when he allowed 10 earned runs in three innings. Aside from that, his numbers (36 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.0 K/9) look very similar to his those he posted as a very effective multi-inning reliever with the Washington Nationals from 2012-2014. The 33-year-old has pitched at least two innings in 10 of his 22 appearances and has held right-handed hitters to a .610 OPS.

 

Controlled Through 2019

Brad Hand, LHP (reliever) | Salary: $1.375MM (arbitration-eligible this winter)

While there was some early-season trade buzz surrounding Hand after a dominant first month, his more recent struggles—he has a 4.57 ERA over his last 18 appearances with two blown saves and four losses—have most likely scared off any suitors who would’ve been willing to strike early and meet what would’ve been a very high asking price. Still, the 27-year-old has emerged as one of the better lefty setup men in baseball over the past year. The Red Sox were able to flip two-and-a-half months of Andrew Miller for a Top 100 prospect (Eduardo Rodriguez) at the 2014 trade deadline. Hand isn’t Miller, but he’s under team control for two-and-a-half years so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Padres could net a fairly significant return.

Brandon Maurer, RHP (reliever) | Salary: $1.9MM in 2017, (arbitration-eligible this winter)

Maurer could be a tough sell with his 6.15 ERA, but he’s saved 12 of 14 games, throws a sinking fastball that reaches the upper 90s and is averaging 9.6 K/9. He was also very good after taking over as the Padres’ closer last July, converting 13 of 15 save chances while posting a 3.09 ERA. A team would have to be willing to pay the price for what Maurer has been aside from a handful of bad games—he has a 2.45 ERA if you throw out three awful appearances. Otherwise, the Padres will be happy to hold on to him until at least the upcoming offseason.

Yangervis Solarte, 2B/3B | Salary: $2.625MM in 2017, $4.125MM in 2018, $5.5MM club option for 2019, not eligible for free agency if declined (plus $750K buyout of $8MM club option for 2020)

The 29-year-old, who was rewarded with a two-year contract extension after a breakout season in 2016, has finally heated up after struggling through the first month-and-a-half of 2017. As a result—Solarte is slashing .333/.429/.474 over his last 21 games—trade interest could soon pick up for the switch-hitting infielder. His team-friendly contract, defensive versatility and ability to come through in the clutch—he has a .956 OPS with runners in scoring position—could make him a nice under-the-radar acquisition for a contending team.

 

Longer-Term Assets

Wil Myers, 1B (starter) | Salary: $4.5MM in 2017, $4.5MM in 2018, $5.5MM in 2019, $22.5MM in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (plus $1MM buyout of $20MM club option for 2023)

The Padres made it clear that Myers was a player they wanted to build around when they gave him a franchise-record $83MM contract extension in January. That doesn’t mean they’re not willing to listen if a team was interested in trading for the 26-year-old All-Star, who had 29 homers and 28 stolen bases in 2016. Teams probably won’t be willing to take on that big contract, however, until he’s proven that he can be an MVP-caliber player since he’ll be paid like one in a few years. Based on his current slump (.547 OPS, HR, 37 strikeouts in 97 plate appearances), I’m guessing that he’s not quite ready to make the jump from “very good” player to “great” player.

Yankees Halt Greg Bird’s Rehab Assignment, Place CC Sabathia On DL

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The Yankees have “pulled the plug” on the rehabilitation efforts of first baseman Greg Bird, GM Brian Cashman tells Erik Boland of Newsday. New York has now announced that move, while also placing lefty CC Sabathia on the 10-day DL — as had been expected — and optioning righty Ronald Herrera.

Heading up to the active roster are righties Luis Cessa and Domingo German. The former will enter the rotation for at least one start, Boland tweets.

Bird, 24, raised expectations with a thrilling debut in 2015, then missed all of last year after shoulder surgery. Hopes were high that he’d lock down the first base job in the Bronx, but he struggled before hitting the DL with a bone bruise in his right ankle.

Now, a setback has Bird heading to visit with team doctor Christopher Ahmad tomorrow. Per Cashman, Bird reports that his “leg isn’t feeling right and not functioning right.” That has been reflected in his numbers; through six games at Triple-A, he’s slashing just .143/.357/.238 — with seven walks against just three strikeouts but also only three hits in 28 plate appearances.

With Bird’s outlook in question and Chris Carter struggling in his stead, New York is facing some questions at first base. But Carter has hit much better of late — .263/.333/.447 since the calendar flipped to June — and it stands to reason that the organization will have a variety of options at the trade deadline. Finding a left-handed bat would seem to make the most sense.

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