Mariners first baseman Dan Vogelbach was hit by a pitch in the right foot on Friday and is now in a walking boot, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. Vogelbach is currently awaiting results of an MRI he underwent Saturday. A serious injury to Vogelbach would be another notable preseason blow at first for the Mariners, whose starter, Ryon Healy, underwent hand surgery earlier this month. Consequently, Vogelbach and Rule 5 pick Mike Ford had been the only healthy first basemen on the Mariners’ 40-man roster. Healy, meanwhile, is close to having the stitches removed from his hand and could start defensive work within the next week or so, but it’s not known he’ll be able to begin swinging a bat, Johns writes.
More from the game’s West divisions…
- Although Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson endured an unproductive, injury-shortened 2017, the team’s front office regards him as someone capable of being an everyday player, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. However, because Thompson’s out of options and battling several other outfielders for a spot, it’s possible he’ll find himself on another team soon, as Plunkett notes. The biggest roadblock for Thompson may be fellow right-handed hitter Matt Kemp, whom the Dodgers haven’t been able to trade. If Kemp sticks around, it could help push Thompson out. Despite that, the soon-to-be 27-year-old Thompson has a high opinion of Kemp. “Matt is a guy I’ve always looked up to since I moved to California,” Thompson said. “It’s a privilege to have him here and kind of pick his brain. At one point, he was the best player in the game. He still can really hit and do a lot of things.”
- Rangers utiityman Jurickson Profar was the subject of trade rumors during the winter and is now out of options, which theoretically could put his future with the team in jeopardy. But there’s no doubt he’ll earn a roster spot this year with Texas, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The question is whether Profar will garner enough playing time to produce, Grant writes. The former top prospect has seen time in the outfield, but he’s presently vying for a role in the infield, where Joey Gallo, Rougned Odor, Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre are dug in as starters.
- Athletics infielder/outfielder Renato Nunez suffered a strained left hamstring Saturday, which could negatively affect his chances of earning a roster spot, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle relays. Nunez said Saturday that the injury’s “not good,” and Slusser notes that hamstring strains typically require a two- to three-week recovery period. That would be especially problematic for the out-of-options Nunez. However, it could be a boon for Sheldon Neuse, who Slusser suggests will probably see most of the action at third base with both Nunez and starter Matt Chapman (right hand soreness) on the shelf.
Looking more likely the M’s give Mike Ford a real shot. Would be happy to see him over vogelbach for a little while in the bigs
Mike needs another year or 2 to work on his swing, he’s lacking basic fundamentals when it comes to hitting. I would hate to see them subject him to major league pitchers prematurely, great way to ruin a young players career.
hes a rule 5 pick he’s going to have to this season anyways
Not necessarily
We were pissed losing Ford, who was never given a real shot, but pleased it was to a club giving him the opportunity.
Ford hit 270/.404/.471 (144 wRC+) with 20 homers and way more walks (94) than strikeouts (72)
Ford also had an OPS of .890 in 2016, and .875 in 2017.
Make fun of Jerry for his eccentric trades, all you want But the Rule-5 draft is a crapshoot and you know it. I give him an A+, for nabbing Mike Ford out of NYY’s deep system.
I give any team trying to contend an F for even taking on any Rule V guys.
So you give the Jays an F for Joe Biagini? Phillies for Odubel Herrera? Rangers for DeShields?
The New York Yankees exercised two Rule 5 picks in 2010 after winning 95 games and one Rule 5 pick in 2011 after winning 97 games.
Mike Ford was Seattle’s first Rule 5 pick since the Mariners took David Rollins in 2014 and Lucas Luetge in 2011. The left-handers made minimal contributions despite sticking with the M’s for at least the required one season.
“We were pissed losing Ford” were the words I’ve never heard uttered by any Yankees fan other then you to be honest Xabial..
He’s a quality prospect. Personally, I liked him better than Tyler Austin, who may be on the roster-bubble.
“he’s a quality prospect” other then probably being smart having gone to Princeton. What did he do in the minors that made him stand out?
A .890, .875 OPS, more walks than SO, things like that pretty much stand out.
Why not look at his track record and age. He wasn’t on the Yankees depth radar. Good luck with him the Mariners seem to love slow lumbering players at first anyway…
Compare these lines of two Yankee farmhands who each split one season between the Double A Trenton Thunder and the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:
Player A, age 23, 2015 124 G, 540 PA, .255/.330/.448/.777, 20 HR, .232 ISO at AA, .149 ISO at AAA
Player B, age 24, 2017 126 G, 532 PA, .270/.404/.471/.875, 20 HR, .179 ISO at AA, .277 ISO at AAA
Player A is Aaron Judge and Player B is Mike Ford, who is about 10 weeks younger than Judge..
Before his 2016 call-up to the Yankees in his age 24 season, Judge posted this line at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre:
2016 93 G, 410 PA, .270/.366/.489/.854, 19 HR, .219 ISO
Mike Ford is a long shot, but his minor-league numbers are impressive.
That was Fords age 25 season in 2017. One season does not mean much when you’re considered by the franchise and scouts not to have much of a ceiling. Please don’t put Judge and Ford together in any scenario there’s a gigantic difference. He’s probably a four A player at best.
The industry standard is to take the player’s age on July 1 of the season in question:
m.mlb.com/glossary/miscellaneous/baseball-age
Mike Ford turned 25 on July 4, 2017.
As I noted, Mike Ford is a long shot.
You are so wrong on this: Minor league numbers are NEVER EVER impressive.
We need to stop this. Players tinker in the minors, they deliberately change mechanics for weeks and months at a time to see if it works over a long sample – this effects hitters hitting off pitchers who are trying out new stuff and getting inauthentic hits off them, and by hitters also not hitting for a month because they’re trying to do what the org requested them (hit more in the air, work the left side etc), and then you come along and act like those numbers are valid. They mostly aren’t, as Judge proved.
Please stop valuing minor league numbers in the same way you do MLB ones. It is the WEAKEST way to argue for/against a player. Mike Ford sucks and the Mariners are run like trash – FACT.
People really hate stats, facts, and anything that calls into question their opinions.
People really hate stats or any other facts that don’t validate their opinions. See how that works?
I was impressed when my children in the third grade were taught the difference between a fact and an opinion. 😉
They also learned the difference between “affect” and “effect.”
Isn’t there a situation where 2 organizations can agree to a trade that’ll keep an R5 draft pick in the minor leagues, rather than having to sell the player back to their old org.?
The player has to clear waivers first, then a trade can be worked out, I believe.
“a club may also work out a trade with the Rule 5 pick’s original club to acquire his full rights, thereby allowing him to be optioned to the Minors under traditional circumstances.”
m.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/rule-5-draft
Yes. The Yankees could agree to a trade that would keep Ford in a Mariners uniform. He would have to clear waivers first so he could be sent down.
At one point Matt kemp was the best player in the game? Lmao, I wouldent go that far.
Matt was the best player in the game when he was dating Rihanna.
Oh is that how you measure a players skill? By who they’re dating? Lol. Yes Kemp was a really good player, extremely good actually. But the best? No.
Nobody gets the joke… >.<
Ding ding ding! Internet winner. Chicken dinner.
He was the best player in baseball during 2011.
You must be a dodgers fan? How about Ryan Braun in 2011? Matt has had some VERY good years, he has never been the best in baseball though. NEVER.
Well that steroids pop seems pretty significant to note. I mean I’m not the biggest Kemp fan, but…..
If you had any ounce credibility before it flew out the window with “How about Ryan Braun in 2011” but you don’t want to come across serious obviously.
Kemp 2011 WAR 8.2 Braun 7.8. Oh and lets see Braun was proven to be on PEDs. Kemp was the best player in 2011. Its just 1 year but he was the best player in the game. So that statement from Thompson was true
Don’t give this guy any leeway if you haven’t noticed he constantly trolls…
When Braun won the MVP in 2011 instead of Kemp it was a major face-palm moment all around baseball. Count on short memories and you will rarely be disappointed.
Jacoby Ellsbury put up a 9.4 WAR in 2011 vs 8.3 for Kemp and 7.1 for Braun.
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&…
Kemp was possibly the best player in the NL in 2011, but not in baseball. If you are just talking offense, then it was Joey Bautista going away.
Roids=Cheater
fWAR is terrible. bWAR is more realistic and Jacoby was at 8.1.
So just quote the single stat, and debate over?
For fun consider that OPS+ in 2011 for Ellsbury was 146, and for Kemp, 172.
If all you are talking about is offense, Kemp was not in Joey Bats class. 182 OPS+.
Not all, no. Simply introducing another way to look at performance instead of accepting that quoting your favorite flavor of WAR ends the discussion. Kemp was also an excellent fielder in those days, before he wrecked his shoulder and then his ankle. Was he the best player in the game at that time? Thompson wasn’t being hyperbolic in saying so. It’s certainly arguable.
If Braun had any decency he would mail his MVP trophy to Kemp
Right about 2011 or so he was a major MVP candidate, so I can see where it is coming from
Second highest fWAR in 2011 behind Jacoby Ellsbury and his roided out year, so you could argue Kemp was #1 eight years ago, sure, fine.
FriendofBoras, why you lying or trying to re-write history? Were you even watching baseball in 2011? Kemp was obviously the best in that year.
He is a troll trying to get your goat. He succeeded
What about the next line, “He can still really hit and do a lot of things”?! What kinds of things are we talking about?
“However, because Thompson’s out of options and battling several other outfielders for a spot, it’s possible he’ll find himself on another team soon…”
Depth proves to be a valuable asset yet again!!
Trace Thompson to Atlanta for Dustin Peterson.
Back with the White Sox. Minor league depth. Along with Micah Johnson
Mariners should be jumping on LoMo. Their window is closing rapidly
What window? They cant even make the playoffs in the first place
I think he meant a window for third place..
Seattle was in the WC run up until the last week and a half using AA pitching for most of the year. If they can stay healthy they are better this year. I guess we will see at the end of the season.
Oakland is going to be better than the Mariners this year and it won’t be close. Quote me on that.
Oakland might finish 2nd if the Angels (predictably) get injured. Mariners and Rangers are taking the “finish .500 at best/have no depth in the minors” route, instead of rebuilding like a smart team would. Oakland is mirroring Houston, so they are going to be good pretty soon, maybe this year if Puk is dominant out the gate, which if youve watched any video of him so far, is on the table.
The A’ rotation and pen are complete garbage. If Puk is dominant out the gate? If Paxton is healthy he will win the CY, see pretty easy to make dumb proclamations. M’s Paxton, Hernandez, and Leake are light years better than any 3 SP Oakland will trot to the mound.
The Chicago White Sox are the only American League team with more years of team control on their projected 25-man roster than the Seattle Mariners:
mlb.com/news/jerry-dipoto-adds-to-mariners-athleti…
It’s hard to suggest Seattle’s window is closing.
Please name all those Mike Trout-level players they have control of again?
Laughable concept.
Do you bother reading the linked articles? It might help.
Justin Turner you sir are probably one of those guys that were talking about how great the 49ers and CK were and how they were going to dominate the Seahawks for years. You are just as delusional with the As as with the 49ers. As for the team being run like trash if you had a clue the team is under new ownership so there is not enough to go on to know how they will be run. You can use JDs past as part of the picture but that is part and he has done more good than bad. He is working with a bad minor league system left to him by the last two GMs. They were awful.
I also won’t take your word on anything because any player that has trade value at the trade deadline will be gone. Your cheap owners will trade them away. I am not sure why you think you can say our team is run like trash when your team trades away any player that has any value. Seems like that is run like trash to me. More of putting money in the pocket than a winner on that field.
I remember when Ranger fans said Jurickson Profar was untouchable in terms of trading him when he was their top prospect. Now the Rangers don’t know what to do with him. That’s why I always say prospects are just that…Prospects. Imagine what the Rangers could have gotten for Profar before he made it to the majors. As a Brewer fan, I was glad to see the Brewers trade our top prospect Lewis Brison for Christian Yelich. Yelish is a proven player and Brinson is a prospect. Prospects don’t always turn out. Sometimes it is better to trade them for a proven player.
Thanks for explaining how the whole prospect thing works for every player on every team. I don’t think anybody knew any of that.
Yeah exactly what madman said, but also top prospects are viewed more highly by some teams obviously. Sometimes you might have a future superstar and it’s worth the risk.
It’s insane that sooooo many posters on this site think prospects are more valuable than proven MLB performers. Profar is a great case study on this. Texas could have been huge contenders from 2016-present if they traded him, but instead are stuck in mediocrity with him washed out.
I agree. While you can’t just give them all away like lottery tickets, in many cases it’s a worthwhile risk. The Yelich trade is a great example.
Agreed there Phillies 2017. You make that trade every time.
Oh Cliff so you remember 4 years or so when Profar was the number 1 prospect in baseball that Rangers fans did not want to trade the number 1 prospect then bam 4 years later you jump in and comment. Where was your big mouth years ago
A lot of very good out of options players this year on the bubble
Renato Nuñez, Jefry Marte, Noe Ramirez, Ryan Merritt, Jurickson Profar all could be good additions to other teams.
Good call on all those guys, and also, the fact those guys exist and are on the bubble without a regular route to playing time really shows that MLB needs to expand even more, to 35 teams.
LoMo to the Mariners on a 3 yr. for $10-12,000,000 with buyout options on year 2 and 3?
Are you suggesting that, or did you see a report that the M’s signed him?
We don’t need Lomo back. Our 1st bm is out for a few weeks into the season at worst. Why would see sign Lomo for 3 years? We also have White who will probably ready in 3 years at which time Healy goes to DH. Anyway Lomo is going to Minnesota.
“but it’s not known he’ll be able to begin swinging a bat, Johns writes.”
I think something is missing here..
All the hohumming and fuss over we can’t include profar in a deal. Unless a prospect is Trout, Machado, Harper, Strasburg where you see IT on day 1, they are expendable. If you can turn a prospect into a legit player even better if he is controllable, more than a rental too, you do it. Prospects just are valuable to poor teams. Not mid to high spenders.
Wonder if the Dodgers would be interested in trading Trayce Thompson for a starter from Atlanta. Could get Chase Whitley or Peter Moylan back or even Scott Kazmir.