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Archives for April 2018

NL East Notes: Rendon, Acuna, Hunter

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The latest from around the NL East…

  • Anthony Rendon left last night’s game after fouling a ball off his left big toe, and he wasn’t in today’s Nationals lineup. X-rays on the toe were negative, and manager Dave Martinez told MLB.com’s Jamal Collier and other reporters that there had yet to be any discussion of a possible DL stint for the star third baseman. Washington is already short Daniel Murphy and Adam Eaton from their first-choice starting lineup, and a Rendon absence would give Bryce Harper even less protection.
  • Ronald Acuna is hitting just .138/.219/.172 over his first 32 Triple-A plate appearances this season, and with Preston Tucker playing well for the Braves in left field, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that we may have to wait a while longer to see Acuna make his big league debut. There had been speculation that Acuna could have been called up as early as today, as he would no longer accumulate a full year of MLB service time if he remained on the roster for the entire season, giving the Braves an extra year of control over the star prospect. Service time considerations aside, it doesn’t seem like Atlanta would try to rush Acuna to the majors when he is on such a cold streak. O’Brien did wonder, however, if the team could promote Acuna on Monday to generate some extra interest for the start of a new homestand.
  • Tommy Hunter will participate in a game at the Phillies’ extended Spring Training camp today, though manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury) that the team would see how Hunter felt afterwards before deciding whether he needed one more rehab outing or not.  Hunter suffered a hamstring strain in late March and has yet to make his debut in a Phillies uniform.  The club signed Hunter to a two-year, $18MM free agent deal in the wake of his very strong 2017 season with the Rays.  Even if Hunter requires one more outing, he is likely to be activated sometime this week, provided there aren’t any health setbacks.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/14/18

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The latest minor league moves from around baseball….

Newest Moves:

  • The Rangers signed infielder Nick Noonan to a minor league deal, according to team executive VP of communication John Blake (Twitter link).  Noonan has been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.  Noonan was selected 32nd overall in the 2007 draft by the Giants and has appeared in 83 Major League games (with San Francisco and San Diego) as he begins his 12th pro season.  The 28-year-old has a .267/.319/.373 slash line over 4497 minor league PA, plus extensive playing time as a second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop, so he’ll provide some extra depth for a Texas club that has lost Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor to the disabled list.

Earlier Today:

  • The Nationals have officially released Miguel Montero, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The veteran catcher was designated for assignment earlier this week. He signed a minor league contract with the Nats over the offseason and ended up appearing in four games with the team, filling in as Washington dealt with some catching injuries.
  • With Montero now gone, the Nationals added some minor league catching depth by inking Tuffy Gosewisch to a minors deal, as per the team’s MLB.com transactions page. Gosewisch was released by the Mariners in early April after re-signing with the organization on a new minor league deal over the offseason. Gosewisch appeared in just 11 big league games with Seattle last season, but received 369 PA as a backup catcher with the D’Backs from 2014-16.

Orioles Place Jonathan Schoop On 10-Day DL, Recall Alex Cobb

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3:42PM: Schoop’s injury is a Grade 1 strain, manager Buck Showalter told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters, which is the least-serious type of oblique strain.

11:07AM: The Orioles announced that second baseman Jonathan Schoop has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a right oblique strain.  In a corresponding move, Alex Cobb was recalled from Double-A to take Schoop’s place on the roster, and Cobb will start this afternoon’s game in Boston.

Schoop suffered the injury last night during a swinging strikeout, and was removed from the game in the seventh inning.  He underwent an MRI this morning, and the results were apparently such that the Orioles felt it necessary for Schoop to take some time off to recover.  The severity of his oblique strain isn’t known, though since similar injuries have generally resulted in players missing at least a couple of weeks of action, the O’s could be without the slugger until the start of May.

Tim Beckham is Baltimore’s starting second baseman today, with Danny Valencia stepping in to take Beckham’s usual spot at third base.  Engelb Vielma was added to the 25-man roster a few days ago for further infield depth, so the O’s could get by with Valencia and Vielma filling in for Schoop on a short-term basis.  Ruben Tejada and Luis Sardinas are veteran infield options both on the farm, while top prospect Ryan Mountcastle is himself on the minor league DL recovering from a fractured right hand.

Over the long term, of course, Schoop’s absence is a big loss for an Orioles lineup that has had a lot of problems generating offense.  Schoop himself has contributed to these struggles, posting just a .230/.266/.344 slash line and one home run over his first 65 plate appearances of this young season, though he is coming off a breakout 2017 campaign that saw him hit 32 homers and finish 12 in AL MVP voting.  The O’s have been hit hard by the injury bug this year, with Schoop joining Mark Trumbo, Zach Britton, and Colby Rasmus on the DL.

Some type of roster move was expected today so the Orioles could create room for Cobb, as the right-hander will make his first start in the black-and-orange.  Cobb didn’t officially sign his four-year, $57MM deal until March 21, so he needed some extra preparation time in the minors to fully get ready for the season.

Pirates Claim Enny Romero From Nationals

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The Pirates have claimed left-hander Enny Romero off waivers from the Nationals, as per a Pittsburgh media release.  Romero will claim an open spot on the Bucs’ 40-man roster, and the release stated that he’ll join the Major League roster once a corresponding move is made.

Washington designated Romero for assignment last week in the wake of a tough start to the season that saw the lefty allow three runs over two innings pitched.  Romero was something of the victim of a roster crunch, as the Nats chose to subtract from their eight-man bullpen to add extra bench depth in the form of utilityman Matt Reynolds.  In 2017, Romero posted a 3.56 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and a 2.83 K/BB rate over 55 2/3 IP for the Nationals.

Romero will join closer Felipe Vazquez as the only other left-handed reliever on the Pirates’ 25-man roster, with Steven Brault (in the rotation) and Josh Smoker (at Triple-A) representing the only other southpaws on Pittsburgh’s 40-man.  Romero isn’t an ideal candidate, however, to provide balance to the Pirates bullpen since he has been a reverse-splits pitcher over his 138 career innings. Left-handed batters have a healthy .317/.398/.467 slash line against him while right-handed batters have hit just .232/.317/.371.

Padres Claim Tyler Webb

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The Padres announced that they have claimed southpaw Tyler Webb off waivers from the Brewers.  Webb will report to Triple-A, while Dinelson Lamet (who is slated for Tommy John surgery) will be shifted to the 60-day DL to create a 40-man roster spot.

Milwaukee designated Webb for assignment last week, and the 27-year-old will now join his third different organization in less than a year.  Webb was selected by the Yankees in the 10th round of the 2013 draft, and he made his MLB debut in the pinstripes last season before being traded to the Brewers last July for Garrett Cooper.  Webb ended up tossing eight innings for New York and Milwaukee in his first taste of Major League action, and he’ll join Buddy Baumann as San Diego’s top minor league choices for a left-handed bullpen arm.  Southpaw relievers Kyle McGrath and Robbie Erlin currently have places on the 25-man roster, as well as closer Brad Hand.

Webb has worked primarily as a reliever throughout his pro career, only making five starts in 156 career minor league appearances.  Over 264 2/3 frames in the minors, Webb has a 3.64 ERA, 11.2 K/9, and a 4.45 K/BB ratio.

Latest On The Orioles’ Ownership/Front Office Dynamic

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“Virtually every level of the [Orioles] organization is in flux,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes in his latest subscription-only piece, as he describes how John and Lou Angelos (the sons of owner Peter Angelos) are taking an increasingly larger role in the team’s regular operations.  The elder Angelos “is less involved than at any point in his” 25 years of owning the team, Rosenthal notes, and it could mark significant changes in how the O’s do business in the coming seasons.  Most directly, the changes could impact executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter, both of whom are in the final years of their contracts.

Despite the Orioles’ success in Duquette’s tenure, there has long been speculation surrounding his future in Baltimore, particularly after the Blue Jays made a strong push to lure Duquette away in the 2014-15 offseason.  Duquette “is frustrated by his loss of power,” Rosenthal writes, as Lou Angelos, Showalter, and VP of baseball ops Brady Anderson also have significant voices within the team’s front office.  Anderson, in fact, “was the point man” in Baltimore’s signings of Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner, and Chris Tillman this offseason.

It isn’t clear what direction the Orioles will take if Duquette did leave after the season.  Anderson may prefer to remain in his somewhat undefined role (which hasn’t always pleased some past players and coaches) rather than become an official general manager, while it’s also possible Showalter could move into a front office role rather than continue in the dugout.  Sources within the organization aren’t sure if Showalter would prefer to keep managing or shift to a baseball operations position, though he could conceivably do both in some capacity — a GM would be hired to handle day-to-day business while Showalter acted as the de facto front office head while still managing the team.

Of course, much could also depend on the direction of the Orioles’ season, as the team could look to trade one or more of its prominent free agents (i.e. Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton, Brad Brach) if it falls out of contention.  A total rebuild seems unlikely, as Cobb just signed for four seasons and the O’s would still have a core group that includes Jonathan Schoop, Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Trey Mancini, and older veterans like Chris Davis.

Though John and Lou Angelos have been involved in a wide variety of the Orioles’ operations, “concerns exist in the industry about their ability to run a franchise” since Peter Angelos carried such a dominant role in the team’s business, Rosenthal writes. There are some indications, however, that the Angelos brothers’ influence is helping the franchise act in a more efficient way.  For instance, since the owner’s approval is no longer constantly required, some of the decision-making process has gone from “painstakingly slow” to “more streamlined.”  Some in the front office feel that the new direction will lead to the Orioles spending more on young talent pipelines such as the international signing process, which the O’s have (somewhat notoriously) almost entirely avoided in recent years — sources tell Rosenthal that “Peter Angelos never found anyone he trusted to run the international department.”

MLB Issues Suspensions, Fines After Rockies-Padres Brawl

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TODAY: Arenado will begin serving his suspension today, and he has been removed from the Rockies’ lineup, Nick Groke of the Denver Post and others reported.

FRIDAY: MLB is set to hand down a series of suspensions and fines relating to Wednesday’s brawl between the Rockies and Padres. As MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets, the two primary combatants — star Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado and San Diego righty Luis Perdomo — are each slated to sit for a five-game stretch.

Also earning a decent stretch on ice is Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra, who was tagged for four games. Padres reliever Buddy Baumann received a one-game suspension. All of those players were slapped with undisclosed fines, as were Friars veterans A.J. Ellis and Freddy Galvis and Rox righty German Marquez.

It is hardly surprising to see punishment handed down after the tumult that occurred after Perdomo spun a fastball behind Arenado’s back and the latter charged the mound, throwing haymakers as he went. Parra evidently landed a punch, which explains his relatively substantial levy.

Both Arenado and Parra are appealing their suspensions, per Nick Groke of The Athletic (via Twitter). That’ll allow them, at least, to stay in the lineup tonight. Perdomo intends to accept his suspension, per Cassavell (via Twitter), which will likely at least push back his next scheduled start.

Heyman’s Latest: Arrieta, Lucroy, Tigers, Puig, Gordon, K-Rod, Acuna

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The Cubs were known to have made “one last call” to Jake Arrieta’s agent Scott Boras before signing Yu Darvish, and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman provided some new details on that exchange.  Theo Epstein proposed a “theoretical” offer of six years and $120MM to Arrieta if, and only if, things did not work out with Darvish.  Epstein reportedly didn’t seriously think Arrieta’s camp would take the offer, and the executive was “just making the call to show respect” to a player who was such a major factor in Chicago’s recent success.  Even if Darvish had turned the Cubs down, it still doesn’t seem as if Arrieta and the team would’ve been able to come to an agreement, as Arrieta simply wanted a larger average annual value than Chicago was willing to offer (due to their desire to stay under the luxury tax threshold).  The Cubbies also are said to have put $48MM over four years on the table for Alex Cobb earlier in the winter before putting pen to paper with Darvish, and Heyman speculates that the Cubs might have eventually become interested in Alex Cobb had they missed out on both Darvish and Arrieta.

Here are a few items from Heyman, in his latest notes column…

  • The Nationals could potentially be contenders to sign Jonathan Lucroy next offseason.  Matt Wieters is in his last year under contract, and Washington had some interest in Lucroy this winter despite Wieters still being on the hook for $10.5MM this season.  Of course, quite a bit could happen to affect this interest between now and next winter, particularly since Lucroy is looking to rebound with the Athletics after a very inconsistent 2017 season.  If Lucroy does bounce back and the A’s are out of contention this year, I would think it possible that the Nats could even target Lucroy at the trade deadline.
  • In some Tigers agency news, righty Franklin Perez is joining Beverly Hills Sports Council while infielder Dixon Machado is now with Octagon. You can track the latest representation information with MLBTR’s agency database.
  • Speaking of agents, Yasiel Puig has been in talks with “several agencies” about representation since the Wasserman agency cut ties with the Dodgers outfielder in February.  Puig has also been considering having one of his current financial advisors represent him, though the MLBPA has “strongly advised” Puig to work with an established agency.
  • “It was very much a split decision” within the Royals front office to re-sign Alex Gordon to a four-year, $72MM deal in the 2015-16 offseason.  Gordon’s return to Kansas City was seen as something of a surprise at the time, though he had a strong personal desire to return to the team and the Royals were willing to spend extra to retain a key member of their World Series-winning team.  Gordon was entering his age-32 season at the time, however, and some in the organization felt “he had had worn down by that point” and wasn’t a good investment.  These concerns seem to have been well-founded, as Gordon has hit just .213/.300/.343 over 1071 PA through two-plus years of that contract.
  • Reliever Francisco Rodriguez is determined to continue pitching at age 36, even if it means going to an indy ball club.  He was released by the Phillies last month after spending most of the spring with the organization on a minor league deal, and K-Rod posted a 5.40 ERA over 6 2/3 Grapefruit League innings.
  • Shortstop Luisangel Acuna, the younger brother of star Braves prospect Ronald Acuna, will be a sought-after name in the next July 2 international signing period, Heyman writes in a separate piece.  The Rangers are one of multiple teams interested in the younger Acuna, who could receive a bonus as high as $500K.  This estimated price tag will keep the Braves out of the running, as they are limited to spending no more than $300K on any single international prospect for the next July 2 period.  MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes that some scouts feel Acuna will eventually have to move to second base, and he “has shown some power and has the potential to be an average-or-better hitter with proper instruction, but he’ll have to grow” beyond his current 5’9″, 160-pound frame.

Indians Prospect Francisco Mejia Embroiled In Legal Dispute Over Future Earnings

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Indians prospect Francisco Mejia, who is generally considered one of the game’s very best prospects, has brought suit against an entity known as Big League Advance, according to a report from ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick. The litigation seeks to set aside a series of contracts between Mejia and BLA.

The precise nature of the agreements is itself evidently a subject of the lawsuit. Generally, though, the arrangement was for Mejia to receive a payment ($360K in this case) in exchange for a portion (10%) of his future earnings. Mejia clams the up-front money was in the nature of a loan, whereas BLA characterizes it as a no-strings-attached payment.

This general scheme shares plenty in common with Fantex, which previously struck some notable bargains with young MLB players. Of course, that company originally sought to sell “shares” of its investments to the general public, a novel marketing concept that seems not to have worked in practice. The BLA approach appears to be more of a hedge fund model and is (per its website) focused on pre-MLB players. Unlike players who are already in the majors, many prospects’ earnings are somewhat less certain and presumably can, therefore, be secured for lesser investments.

Unsurprisingly, Mejia’s allegations paint a less savory account of BLA’s business model than would the entity itself. CEO Michael Schwimer, a former MLB pitcher, denied that the organization utilizes abusive recruitment tactics and disputes certain elements of Mejia’s claims in particular. Crasnick ticks through some of the chief allegations. Whether or not the contract is enforceable will ultimately be decided by the pending court case, which is only just getting underway, unless the sides agree instead to a settlement.

Whether or not Mejia will be bound by this agreement is itself of note, as he’s a significant player who is expected to have a chance at staking a claim to a regular MLB job in short order. (Indeed, he already touched the bigs last year, leading BLA to seek its first payment.) But the lawsuit is potentially also of broader consequences, as it could have implications for the still-uncertain development of this model of outside investment in professional athletes’ future earnings.

Most notably, perhaps, is the simple fact that this sort of agreement was struck in the first place. Unlike the Fantex situation, BLA seemingly has not sought visibility. Indeed, it asks in a counterclaim for an injunction forbidding Mejia from publicizing his interactions with BLA. But it certainly seems this isn’t an isolated matter. The entity’s website claims that it has arrangements with at least three (anonymous) players who have reached the majors since originally signing with BLA. The site also quotes some unattributed statements of gratitude from those players.

As all this is going on, the 22-year-old Mejia is trying to force his way into the Indians’ immediate plans. He’s off to a tepid start at Triple-A and still doesn’t have a clear position at the game’s highest level. (A catcher by trade, Mejia is also working in the outfield at Columbus.) But most evaluators expect the youngster to establish himself before long as a high-quality hitter at the game’s highest level.

Prospect rankings — including Baseball Prospectus (#5), ESPN.com (#7), MLB.com (#11), and Baseball America (#20) — unanimously value Mejia as a top-end talent. He’s obviously already on the verge of drawing a major-league salary. Certainly, there’s every chance that ten percent of his eventual earnings will turn out to be quite a tidy return on the initial investment reputedly embodied in the contract that’s now in dispute.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Andrus, Donaldson, Gurriel, Plawecki

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(April 13th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

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