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Archives for June 2017

Rockies Activate Tom Murphy, Option Ryan Hanigan

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The Rockies have activated catcher Tom Murphy from the 10-day DL, which he has been stuck on all year. In a corresponding move, veteran backstop Ryan Hanigan was optioned to Triple-A.

Murphy, 26, was expected to play a significant role behind the dish for the Rockies after a promising 21-game stint in 2016. But he was sidelined in camp with a fractured forearm and has yet to appear at the major league level in the current season.

Colorado will hope for a boost on offense by swapping in Murphy. He has been a steady producer at the plate as a professional, including his rehab time in 2017. Through 31 plate appearances at Triple-A, Murphy owns a .414/.419/.724 slash — though he has also gone down on strikes nine times.

As for Hanigan, his consent was required for the move given his lengthy service time. Playing a supporting role to Tony Wolters, the 36-year-old has produced a .256/.304/.395 slash in his 46 trips to the plate on the year. He’ll wait in Triple-A to see if a need arises.

Athletics Designate Trevor Plouffe For Assignment

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3:32pm: Oakland has made it official: Chapman is up and Plouffe is in DFA limbo.

1:31pm: With the A’s set to call up top prospect Matt Chapman, the team is preparing to designate third baseman Trevor Plouffe for assignment, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

[Related: Updated Oakland Athletics depth chart]

Plouffe, who turns 31 today, signed a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the A’s this offseason after effectively being non-tendered by the Twins. His bat has yet to recover from a slow start to the season, however, as the former first-round pick is hitting just .214/.276/.357 on the year with seven homers and five doubles. As Slusser notes, Plouffe had recently seen his playing time diminish in Oakland.

When at his best, Plouffe has proven to be a serviceable defender at third base with modest on-base skills but enough pop to hit 20 to 25 homers. From 2012-15 in Minnesota he batted a combined .248/.312/.426 with an average of 23 homers per 162 games played.

Given that track record, it’s possible that the A’s could find a taker for Plouffe in trade, as teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets have received little help from their third basemen in 2017. Presumably, the A’s would need to include some cash to help offset the remaining $3.13MM on his contract. Boston, for what it’s worth, reportedly showed interest in Plouffe over the winter before he signed with the A’s.

If Oakland doesn’t find a trade partner, Plouffe’s salary will very likely allow him to clear waivers, at which point any club could sign him and owe him only the pro-rated portion of the league minimum through season’s end.

Astros Sign Cuban RHP Elian Rodriguez

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JUNE 15: The signing is now official. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart tweets that Rodriguez’s exact bonus is $1.9MM, so he’ll cost the team a total of $3.8MM when accounting for the 100 percent luxury tax they’ll pay.

JUNE 6: The Astros have agreed to sign 20-year-old Cuban righty Elian Rodriguez for $2MM, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. The move will be subject to MLB’s rules regarding international bonus spending and will be part of the pool period that ends June 15. As such, the Astros will have to pay a 100% tax on the signing, bringing the total cost to $4MM.

There isn’t much English-language information about Rodriguez that’s widely available, but Badler reports the 6’4″, 205-pound righty has added velocity since leaving Cuba and can now touch 97 mph with his fastball. Rodriguez also throws a slider and curve, along with a changeup that Badler says he doesn’t use much yet. He pitched briefly for Camaguey in Cuba’s Serie Nacional in 2014.

The Astros have been active in the international market this signing season, inking prospects like Anibal Sierra from Cuba; Freudis Nova, Nerio Rodriguez and Deury Carrasco from the Dominican Republic; and Yorbin Ceuta and Angel Macuare from Veneuzela. (They also signed Yuli Gurriel from Cuba, although his signing was not subject to international bonus pool rules.) Houston had already incurred penalties for its signing totals, meaning the Astros were already ineligible to sign any player for more than $300K in either of the next two signing periods, the first of which begins on July 2.

With a bit more than a week to go until the signing period comes to a close, it’s possible that the Astros could try to sneak in one more signing. They’ve been loosely connected to 19-year-old Cuban shortstop Jose Israel Garcia, though there’s also very little in terms of readily available info on him.

Neil Walker, Matt Harvey Expected To Be Out “Several Weeks”

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The Mets announced today that second baseman Neil Walker and right-hander Matt Harvey are both expected to miss the next “several weeks” due to injuries. Gavin Cecchini is being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Walker’s spot on the roster.

Walker underwent an MRI that revealed a partially torn hamstring, for which he has received a platelet-rich plasma injection. Harvey, meanwhile, was diagnosed with a “stress injury” to his scapula bone following an MRI and a CT scan. He, too, received a PRP injection but will have to wait to begin a throwing program.

In Walker’s case, it’s likely just a matter of waiting until the injury has healed and then allowing him to ramp back up. A three to four week timeline is often cited for grade 2 hamstring strains; while New York was far less specific than that here, that seems to represent at least some benchmark to consider. Still, Walker has been on fire at the plate and his loss is significant.

As for Harvey, a longer-term asset for the Mets, the injury is the latest in a line of worrying ailments to his throwing arm. The one-time ace initially returned from Tommy John surgery with aplomb, but hasn’t been the same since thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms crept up and ultimately required surgery. Harvey will hit the DL with a 5.25 ERA and more questions than ever about his future.

In further Mets injury news, GM Sandy Alderson told reporters today that ace Noah Syndergaard is still at least four weeks away from beginning a throwing program (Twitter link via the New York Post’s Mike Puma). That’s not exactly surprising, though at one point there was at least some hope of a speedier timeline for Syndergaard, who is dealing with a lat tear.

Meanwhile, Alderson faced questions about the decision to call upon Cecchini — and continue to rely on struggling veteran Jose Reyes — rather than handing over the shortstop position to top prospect Amed Rosario. The veteran executive acknowledged that the production (from Reyes and injured starter Asdrubal Cabrera) hasn’t been reliable this year, but suggested Rosario wasn’t viewed as an immediate answer. “The question is if changes would make us better,” he said. “Right now, we’re comfortable.” Though it seems that the youngster could still become an option later this year, Alderson said the organization has “some good players here” and doesn’t want to bring up Rosario until he’s likely to stay for good.

Tyler Thornburg To Undergo Surgery For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

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The Red Sox announced on Thursday that right-hander Tyler Thornburg will undergo surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome. Thornburg, who has yet to pitch this year due to ongoing shoulder troubles, will miss the entire season.

The team expects Thornburg to be ready for the 2018 season. Per Dombrowski, via Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com (on Twitter), the medical expectation is that the reliever could be ready for MLB action in nine months’ time. That would land in mid-March, right in the middle of 2018 Spring Training.

[Related: Boston Red Sox depth chart]

Boston acquired the 28-year-old Thornburg this offseason on the heels of an excellent 2016 campaign, hoping that he could help to serve as a bridge from the rotation to closer Craig Kimbrel. However, for the second consecutive offseason, Boston’s top bullpen addition will be unable to contribute to the club due to injury. (Carson Smith underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 and has yet to take the hill for the BoSox, either.) The trade looks decidedly lopsided at this point, as Boston sent third baseman Travis Shaw and prospects Mauricio Dubon, Josh Pennington and Yeison Coca to Milwaukee in return.

Of course, thoracic outlet syndrome was entirely unforeseeable, and based on Thornburg’s 2016 success, the Red Sox had every reason to be interested in the breakout righty. Last year, Thornburg tossed 67 innings of 2.15 ERA ball while averaging 12.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 with a 32.4 percent ground-ball rate. The former starter also saw his fastball velocity jump to an average of 94.1 mph, and his 12.1 percent swinging-strike rate was comfortably above average among big league relievers. On top of that, Thornburg entered the 2017 season with just over three years of service time, giving Boston three more years of control over the righty before free agency.

The Sox will have another two years to try to recoup some value from the swap, though there’s no guarantee that Thornburg will simply bounce back to his former self. While some pitchers, such as Chris Young and Jaime Garcia, have come back and enjoyed success following the operation, more recent cases such as Phil Hughes and Matt Harvey have struggled upon returning from the same procedure.

Even without Thornburg contributing, however, Boston’s bullpen has been a strength in 2017. Red Sox relievers have the second-best ERA and FIP of any team in the Majors, and their xFIP ranks fourth among big league clubs. Craig Kimbrel has not only bounced back after a down season (by his standards) in 2016 — he’s turned in the best year of his remarkable career to date. Joe Kelly, meanwhile, is sporting a 1.27 ERA, and Matt Barnes has emerged as a reliable setup arm as well. In fact, the Red Sox have eight relievers that have totaled 10 or more innings in 2017, and all but one (rookie Ben Taylor) has turned in an ERA of 3.77 or better.

Red Sox Place Brian Johnson On DL, Select Contract Of Austin Maddox

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The Red Sox announcedthat they’ve placed left-hander Brian Johnson on the 10-day disabled list due to a left shoulder impingement and selected the contract of right-hander Austin Maddox from Triple-A Pawtucket. Southpaw Roenis Elias has been shifted from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Maddox.

[Related: Updated Boston Red Sox depth chart]

Johnson, 26, tossed a complete game shutout back on May 27 but has coughed up six runs over seven innings in his two starts since that time. Yesterday’s outing lasted just 2 2/3 innings before he was lifted from the game. He joins Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez and Elias as rotation options for the Sox that are currently on the disabled list. With that quartet on the disabled list, the Sox have David Price, Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and Drew Pomeranz lined up in the rotation. Henry Owens and Kyle Kendrick are both on the 40-man roster in Triple-A and could step into the starting five next week, speculatively speaking.

Maddox, also 26, will make his MLB debut the first time he steps on the mound for Boston. The 2012 third-rounder has pitched to a pristine 1.33 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 11 walks through 27 innings between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket this season. He won’t be an option to make a start for the Sox, as all but 13 of his 124 professional appearances have come in relief, and he’s made just two starts in the past four years.

Draft Notes: Lewis, McKay, Day 2, Gore, Greene, Wright, Beck

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No. 1 overall draft pick Royce Lewis will take his physical with the Twins soon, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. There aren’t expected to be any hangups in negotiations, per Berardino, who notes that the industry expectation is for Lewis to receive a bonus north of Dansby Swanson’s $6.5MM bonus from the 2015 draft. The top pick in the draft came with a slot value of $7.7MM, and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger wrote this week that Lewis could sign for around $1MM less than that sum. That’d put his bonus in the $6.5MM to $6.7MM range, saving the Twins anywhere from $1MM to $1.2MM from the slot value. FanRag’s Jon Heyman pegs the expected value at “just a tick over” $6.7MM. Rays top pick Brendan McKay, meanwhile, is expected to sign for somewhere between $7MM and $7.2MM, according to Berardino. That’d be the largest bonus ever given to a college player under the current draft structure, surpassing Kris Bryant’s $6.7MM sum.

More notes on the draft…

  • The Twins “crushed” Day 2 of the draft, MLB.com’s Jim Callis opines. Adding high school right-hander Blayne Enlow, a potential first-round talent that dropped due to a strong commitment to LSU, kicked off a day in which Minnesota selected five players that ranked inside MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospects. Enlow, Callis writes, has the best curveball in the draft as well as a fastball that has touched 94 mph and has room to grow as his projectable frame grows. Callis also lauds the White Sox, Dodgers, Red Sox and Brewers for the talent they secured in rounds three through 10. ESPN’s Keith Law agrees that the Twins did quite well to land Enlow with the No. 76 pick and also gives quite a bit of praise to the Athletics, who landed a first-round talent (in his estimation) with the 81st pick by taking shortstop Nick Allen. Law opines that the undersized Allen, who is listed at 5’8″, would’ve been a top 10 pick if he were three inches taller.
  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman provides some insight into the progress being made with the top five picks in the draft. The Padres, according to Heyman, are expected to sign No. 3 overall pick MacKenzie Gore, a high school left-hander, for the full slot value of $6,668,100. Reds top pick Hunter Greene, meanwhile, is expected to sign for a deal “close” to the $7,193,200 slot value of his No. 2 overall selection, per Heyman. (Also of note for Reds fans: Heyman spoke to a rival exec who heaped praise on the Reds’ draft, opining that they “won the draft by far.”) And the Braves look to be going well over slot to sign Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright, as Heyman reports that they’re discussing a deal worth close to $7MM, while the No. 5 slot carries a value of $5,707,300. Of course, Wright was long rumored to be a potential No. 1 overall pick, so it stands to reason that he’d come with a fairly sizable price tag.
  • Baseball America’s John Manuel reported yesterday that Stanford right-hander Tristan Beck, a potential first-round talent that missed the 2017 season due to a stress fracture in his lower back, will not sign and plans to head back to Stanford (Twitter link). That didn’t stop the Yankees from drafting him late (29th round), though New York would obviously need to give him a massive bonus in order to convince him to forgo a return to college, as a healthy Beck would do quite well in next year’s draft. The Yankees may not have the leftover money even to make a legitimate effort to sign Beck, though he makes for a nice contingency plan if the team unexpectedly finds itself with some extra pool money to play with.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/15/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Twins released left-hander Kevin Chapman and re-signed right-hander Drew Rucinski to a new minor league contract, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). The 29-year-old Chapman was acquired from the Braves in exchange for Danny Santana following Santana’s DFA and tossed 11 1/3 innings of 5.56 ERA ball in Triple-A prior to his release. He has a career 4.09 ERA in parts of four big league seasons — all coming with the Astros. As for Rucinski, the 28-year-old posted solid numbers in 23 1/3 Triple-A innings before being hit hard in his small sample of work in the Majors. Despite a career 5.50 ERA in Triple-A, he’s pitched 23 1/3 innings of 2.13 ERA ball with a 25-to-3 K/BB ratio as a member of Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate in 2017.
  • The Royals picked up infielder/outfielder Zach Walters on a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link). Walters, 27, was hitting well for the independent Kansas City T-Bones before returning to affiliated ball. He’s seen time with the Nats, Indians and Dodgers in the Majors and has shown power but struggled to get on base. In 181 Major League plate appearances, he’s a .176/.227/.382 hitter with 10 home runs. He’s been better in his Triple-A career, hitting .262/.309/.475 through 1711 plate appearances in parts of six seasons.
  • Former Orioles outfielder Henry Urrutia has landed with the Red Sox, as Double-A Portland broadcasting and media director Mike Antonellis tweets. Urrutia, a former Cuban star, had struggled in his brief MLB opportunities with the O’s and was released late in May after losing his 40-man spot last summer. Through over a thousand trips to the plate at Triple-A in his career, Urrutia carries a mediocre .277/.327/.374 slash.

Injury Notes: Shields, Walker, Harvey, Johnson, Zobrist, Skaggs, Hamels, Cosart, Urias

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The White Sox will activate righty James Shields to make a start on Sunday, as JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago reports (Twitter links). That’ll leave plenty of time for the veteran to show not only that he’s back from a lat strain, but also that he still has some gas left in the tank. Shields, 35, turned in three solid starts to open the year after a terrible 2016 season. Possible trade suitors will be looking to see whether he can manage extended productivity between now and the deadline.

Here’s more on the injury front:

  • Mets second baseman Neil Walker appeared to suffer a left hamstring injury while trying to leg out a bunt single in tonight’s game. The club did not reveal any details in an official announcement, though the team did state that Walker is already slated to undergo an MRI tomorrow. Not coincidentally, perhaps, infielder Gavin Cecchini was removed from the Triple-A Las Vegas lineup, as Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal tweets.
  • There were also some fresh concerns on the pitching side of the equation for the Mets. Matt Harvey was hooked after four innings and 58 pitches, as David Lennon of Newsday reports (Twitter links). He’ll head in for a medical check tomorrow after what he called a “fatigued” outing in which his fastball velocity dropped as low as 87 mph — a level that, per Harvey, he hadn’t visited since he was a freshman in high school. Also, before the game, the Mets placed lefty Josh Smoker on the DL with a left shoulder strain. New York was forced to lean on the reliever for four innings and 81 pitches last night. Righty Rafael Montero will return to the majors in his stead.
  • The Red Sox saw another starter leave with an injury tonight, as southpaw Brian Johnson exited with what the team is calling left shoulder discomfort, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. While all involved expressed hope that the issue wouldn’t turn out to be anything significant, Johnson will be given a full checkup in Boston tomorrow to be sure.
  • The Cubs are weighing a DL move for Ben Zobrist, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. His left wrist isn’t healing up as hoped, so Zobrist will be looked at more closely tomorrow. If he’s not able to suit up, then a DL placement seems likely.
  • There’s some positive news on Angels southpaw Tyler Skaggs. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, the 25-year-old is heading to the team’s spring complex with an eye on making back to the majors by early July. Hell be hoping to finally put an end to the string of injuries that have slowed his promising career. Skaggs is currently working back from an oblique strain.
  • Also now looking toward a return is Rangers lefty Cole Hamels. As Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, Hamels could take a rehab start on Friday — the same day that Tyson Ross is set to make his Rangers debut. That could potentially line Hamels up to return to the majors before month’s end. That’s promising news for a Texas team that is off to a middling start to the season. The Rangers are also likely to welcome back first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Carlos Gomez in the coming days.
  • Things aren’t looking as promising for Padres righty Jarred Cosart. According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, on Twitter, Cosart has been diagnosed with a flexor strain. He’s not yet ready to begin throwing and will partake in some rehab efforts at the club’s spring facility.
  • Finally, the Dodgers are holding their breath as prized young lefty Julio Urias reports to Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a look at his shoulder. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links), soreness in the joint has forced the 20-year-old to the DL at Triple-A. Things haven’t gone as hoped this year for Urias, who showed immense promise in 2016. He largely struggled in five MLB starts and was carrying higher-than-usual walk totals at Triple-A.

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