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Archives for April 2018

Pirates To Promote Nick Kingham

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The Pirates will promote right-hander Nick Kingham to make his Major League debut and start Sunday’s game, reports Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).

Now 26 years old, Kingham was widely regarded as one of the game’s top 100 overall prospects back in 2014-15 and looked to be on the precipice of the Major Leagues when a torn ulnar collateral ligament torpedoed his 2015-16 seasons. Kingham underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, tossing just 31 1/3 innings that season and just 46 frames late in the 2016 season upon completing his rehab.

The 2017 season marked his first healthy season since 2014, and while he didn’t dominate, the 2010 fourth-rounder did turn in a solid 3.95 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 with a 45 percent ground-ball rate. He’s off to a torrid start to the 2018 season — as MLBTR’s Jason Martinez noted when including Kingham in the first 2018 edition of Knocking Down The Door — having logged a microscopic 1.59 ERA with a 27-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 49.1 percent grounder rate in 22 2/3 innings. He’s yet to allow a home run this year and allowed only eight in 2017.

[Related: Pittsburgh Pirates depth chart]

It could very well prove to be a spot start for Kingham — MLB.com’s Adam Berry suggested as much, on Twitter — though it would seem as though there’s at least one possible starting job that Kingham could eventually seize. The rotation jobs of Ivan Nova, Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl all seem safe, even with Taillon’s struggles in his past two outings, though southpaw Steven Brault’s spot is less solidified. In four starts this year, Brault has posted a 5.06 ERA with a 12-to-11 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings. He did open the year with three innings of scoreless relief work, but his overall body of work has not been especially impressive to date.

Regardless of whether Kingham arrives for a day or for the rest of the season, he’ll fall shy of a full year of Major League service time, so the Pirates will be able to control him through at least 2024. It’s worth noting that the 2018 season represents Kingham’s final option year, despite the fact that he’s never pitched in the Majors. The Buccos had to add him to the 40-man roster two offseasons ago in order to protect from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft (which he quite likely would have been). That’ll make it all the more important for Kingham to establish himself, to an extent, in the Majors this season. He’ll be out of options next spring and have to make the Opening Day roster, be exposed to waivers or traded to a team willing to carry him.

Matt Holliday Hopes To Continue Playing Career

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Matt Holliday was one of the many veteran players who sat through a brutally slow free-agent market this winter and came away without a contract for the 2018 season, but the seven-time All-Star is still hoping for a chance to get back on the field, he tells Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Holliday, now 38 years of age, explains that he still believes he’s capable of playing at a high level and has a desire to remain in the game. For the time being, he’s doing some work with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, where he’ll make weekly appearances on the Inside Pitch show with Casey Stern every Tuesday, beginning next week. But Holliday adds that he’s working out every day and keeping himself in shape in the event that the right team comes calling. He does sound as though he’ll be a bit selective.

“Not every opportunity is a great one,” Holliday told Caesar. “But if (the right one) comes along … I’m interested. If not, I’m enjoying my time with my family. I’ve got four kids. I’ve played a long time.”

What, precisely, determines the “right” opportunity for Holliday isn’t entirely clear. It’s easy to imagine that he’d prefer the opportunity to join a contending club, but perhaps he’d also prefer a team in relative proximity to his home in Jupiter, Fla.

Presumably, if Holliday were to sign anywhere, he’d have to agree to a minor league deal and head to Triple-A to get some reps in a game setting before joining a big league club. That’d likely come with a relatively minimal salary that’s pro-rated for time spent on the big league roster, though salary probably won’t be the biggest factor for a player who’s earned roughly $160MM over the course of a brilliant playing career.

Holliday spent the 2017 campaign with the Yankees, serving as the primary DH in the Bronx and hitting a respectable .231/.316/.432 with 19 homers and 18 doubles in 427 trips to the plate over the life of 105 games. That marked the lone season in his 14-year MLB career that Holliday turned in an OPS+ south of the league average, though at 95, he wasn’t far off. The Astros, Twins, Indians, Tigers, Orioles and Royals are the only AL clubs that have received below-average production out of the DH spot in their lineup thus far in the 2018 season. It’s always possible that an injury in either league could create a potential opening for Holliday as well.

A’s Reportedly Discussing One-Year Extension With Khris Davis

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The A’s have approached Khris Davis’ representatives at Octagon about a one-year extension for the 2019 season, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports within his latest column on the A’s (subscription required). The two sides are in the early stages of talks about a deal that’d buy out Davis’ final year of arbitration well in advance. Davis is controlled through 2019 regardless, so a one-year extension would largely be about establishing cost certainty for the club and about protecting against injury or a notable decline from Davis’ vantage point.

Oakland and Davis came to terms on a one-year, $10.5MM contract this past offseason, avoiding arbitration in the process. With another characteristically strong season at the plate — Davis is off to a .257/.339/.535 start with seven homers — the 30-year-old slugger would be primed for one more significant boost in his salary. As a loose point of reference, he received a $5.5MM raise this past offseason, so a typical season could push his salary beyond the $16MM point next year.

Davis’ skill set, while not one that has been rewarded handsomely in free agency in recent years, is one that still plays quite well in the arbitration process. Locking Davis up now could potentially save the A’s a bit of cash over what he’d command in his final trip through the arbitration process. Extensions of this nature aren’t exactly commonplace, though the Nationals brokered a one-year deal that bought out Bryce Harper’s final arbitration around this time last season.

While a salary ranging anywhere from $14-17MM (speaking speculatively) would be substantial for the budget-conscious A’s, Oakland can certainly afford to make that type of commitment to Davis in 2019. At present, right-hander Yusmeiro Petit and outfielder Stephen Piscotty are the only players signed to guaranteed contracts for the 2019 season. They’ll earn just under $13MM combined.

Oakland will have a sizable arbitration class, with Marcus Semien, Kendall Graveman, Blake Treinen, Liam Hendriks, Chris Hatcher, Josh Phegley, Jake Smolinski, Ryan Dull, Ryan Buchter and emerging ace Sean Manaea each qualifying in addition to Davis. Of that group, only Semien seems likely to command anything north of $5MM, though. Manaea will be first-time eligible as a Super Two player, while the others are primarily role players that are either first-time eligible as well (Dull, Buchter) or are currently earning relatively minimal salaries.

The A’s will surely want to leave some room for potential free-agent signings and trade acquisitions, particularly given their increasingly promising young core, though it certainly seems that there’d be room for Davis’ salary, the rest of their arb class, and a few new additions. Oakland will watch $26MM come off the books when Jonathan Lucroy, Matt Joyce, Jed Lowrie, Santiago Casilla and Trevor Cahill come off the books, and their Opening Day payroll of roughly $68.9MM was quite a bit lower than the $83.6MM they averaged from 2014-17.

AL Central Notes: Yost, Hale, Kinley, Wilson

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Ned Yost’s current contract expires at season’s end, but Royals general manager Dayton Moore tells Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports that the organizational hope is that Yost will be managing the team beyond this season. “We definitely want him back,” Moore said.Heyman indicates that the decision on whether Yost remains in Kansas City appears to be one that is dependent on Yost’s own personal preferences. Yost hasn’t made up his mind about managing beyond 2018 yet, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan, who notes that Moore has suggested for years that Yost will effectively have the reins in Kansas City for as long as he likes. Rustin Dodd of The Athletic tweets that Yost says his goal is to see the rebuild through to the point where his successor will be positioned for early success.

More from the division…

  • The Twins tried to sign right-hander David Hale this offseason, GM Thad Levine told reporters today after claiming Hale off waivers (link via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger). “We think we may have been the runners-up to the Yankees in terms of enticing him to come to Spring Training,” said Levine. “From a pitch profile standpoint, we’ve liked him. I think at this stage in the year, it’s important to add to your depth, and we did that. He can pitch in a variety of roles.” The 30-year-old Hale has a 4.33 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9 and a 52.1 percent ground-ball rate in 180 1/3 innings at the Major League level.
  • Also from Bollinger’s piece, the Twins are hoping they can find a way to retain right-hander Tyler Kinley, whom they selected in the Rule 5 Draft but designated for assignment yesterday. Kinley will first have to be exposed to waivers, but if he clears, the Twins could look to work out a trade with the Marlins that would allow them to keep Kinley in their minor league ranks. “We’ve talked about the possibility of what had to be done, even last night, to be able to keep him in a Twins uniform,” manager Paul Molitor told reporters. “I don’t know how likely that is. But we’ll see what kind of response and interest there is.”
  • Tigers reliever Alex Wilson is going through the toughest stretch of his career, he told reporters after serving up a walk-off homer to Corey Dickerson today (links via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com and George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press). “The only other time I can think of searching a little bit was Double-A, my first go-round in Double-A,” said Wilson. “And that was just learning curve. It’s not so much that anymore. I feel good about what I’m doing. It’s just not being rewarded right now.” Woodery notes that the Tigers have been quick to take action with struggling players this season, optioning Mikie Mahtook and designating Drew VerHagen for assignment. However, Woodbery adds that the Tigers will likely try to get him straightened out in some low-leverage spots before considering a more drastic move. As he points out, Wilson does have a minor league option remaining.

Athletics Option Kendall Graveman

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The Athletics announced this afternoon that they’ve optioned Opening Day starter Kendall Graveman to Triple-A Nashville. Fellow righty Chris Bassitt is also being optioned to Triple-A, while recently acquired reliever Wilmer Font has been added to the active roster. The A’s will announce another move tomorrow (perhaps Yusmeiro Petit being activated from the bereavement list, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests).

The move comes as somewhat of a surprise given Graveman’s standing in the organization. The 27-year-old has been a reliable member of the starting five (when healthy) dating back to the 2015 season, pitching to a 4.11 ERA through 407 innings from 2015-17.

Thus far, the 2018 campaign has proven to be a nightmare for Graveman, however. In 28 1/3 innings, Graveman has allowed 28 earned runs on 41 hits (seven homers) and 11 walks with 23 strikeouts. No pitcher in Major League Baseball has allowed more hits or earned runs, and Graveman’s seven homers trail only Cole Hamels for the MLB lead. (Hamels has tossed 6 1/3 more innings.)

[Related: Oakland Athletics depth chart]

Graveman entered the season with three years, 14 days of Major League service time, putting him on track to reach free agency after the completion of the 2020 season. He needs to accumulate a total of 158 days of big league service time in 2018 in order to surpass four years of service and remain on track for that free agency date, which should still be attainable unless the demotion proves to be an especially lengthy one. He’d need to spend about a full month in the minors in order to miss out on the requisite service time for free agency that offseason.

With Graveman temporarily out of the rotation, the A’s have Sean Manaea, Daniel Mengden, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Triggs holding starting jobs. There’s been no announcement as to who’ll step into his spot, but righty Daniel Gossett has pitched well in two starts since being optioned to Nashville. Flamethrowing Frankie Montas is also starting down in Nashville and is on the 40-man roster, though he’s gotten off to a poor start. Veteran lefty Brett Anderson is also with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate and throwing well — 1.89 ERA, 25-to-2 K/BB ratio in 19 innings — and the A’s have an open 40-man roster spot to accommodate him if he is the preferred option.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/26/18

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Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Pirates have traded minor league outfielder Todd Cunningham to the White Sox, per a club announcement. John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com first broke news of the trade (via Twitter). The Bucs will receive a player to be named later in return. The 29-year-old Cunningham spent parts of three seasons in the Majors with the Braves (2013, 2015) and Angels (2016) but struggled to a .207/.256/.264 slash through 130 plate appearances. He’s off to a rough start in Triple-A this season but turned in an excellent .284/.404/.414 batting line in 358 plate appearances between the Cardinals’ and Dodgers’ top affiliates in 2017. In all, the 2010 second-round pick is a career .274/.356/.372 hitter in nearly 2200 Triple-A plate appearances.

Follow The NFL Draft At ProFootballRumors.com

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The NFL Draft is just hours away! This year’s draft is full of intrigue and you’ll want to stay tuned to Pro Football Rumors, whether you’re a hardcore football fan or just a casual observer.

With just hours to go, we still don’t know who the Browns will take with the No. 1 overall pick. For weeks, the Browns were closely linked with USC quarterback Sam Darnold or Wyoming QB Josh Allen, but more and more people in the football world are starting to believe that they’ll take the talented, yet undersized, Baker Mayfield instead. Meanwhile, Allen is in the midst of a controversy that could impact his draft stock.

With multiple possibilities at the top, the Giants (No. 2) and Jets (No. 3) are preparing for every possible scenario. The Giants have been widely connected to Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and are divided on this year’s top QB prospects, but it’s still entirely possible that they’ll use this opportunity to tab Eli Manning’s successor. The Jets had been wrestling with whether to take Mayfield or UCLA QB Josh Rosen, but they could have an opportunity to snag Darnold, which at one point seemed unthinkable. At the same time, Jets coaches are pushing the front office to take Allen, if he’s there.

This year’s draft is one of the most uncertain in recent memory and you’ll want to follow along every step of the way. To stay plugged in with up-to-the-minute updates, follow Pro Football Rumors on Twitter: @pfrumors.

Tim Beckham Out At Least Six Weeks Following Core Muscle Surgery

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Orioles third baseman Tim Beckham will be out of action for at least the next six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery, the team told reporters (Twitter links via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com). Beckham was placed on the DL yesterday and was said at the time to be considering surgery as an option.

The injury will leave the O’s quite shorthanded in the infield, as Jonathan Schoop is also on the shelf. Ghiroli, though, notes that Schoop is headed to extended Spring Training following the team’s homestand and could begin playing in rehab games next week. Mark Trumbo, too, is nearing a return and could join the team on Tuesday.

[Related: Baltimore Orioles depth chart]

It’s been a dismal start to the season for the 28-year-old Beckham, who is hitting just .179/.247/.262 with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate. Baltimore had high hopes for Beckham, who looked like a transformed player after being acquired just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline last season. Beckham batted .394/.417/.646 in the month of August and looked to have altered his approach at the plate, as he also boasted a dramatically reduced 18.9 strikeout percent that month. The punchouts came back in September, though, as Beckham’s production cratered. He’s now carrying a .179/.251/.306 line through 191 PAs dating back to Sept. 1.

With Beckham and Schoop sidelined, the O’s figure to deploy Danny Valencia at third base, with Luis Sardinas and Jace Peterson on hand as options at second base and also at third when Valencia is out of the lineup.

Jung Ho Kang Receives Visa, Set To Rejoin Pirates

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Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang has received a work visa and is expected to resume his career with the team, according to a report from Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Kang had not been able to secure a visa for quite some time after being convicted of a DUI in his native South Korea.

Kang ended up missing the entire 2017 season. He did play briefly in the Dominican Winter League recently, but that stint was cut short when he failed to perform with his new team. The Bucs control him for the 2019 season via club option, valued at $5.5MM, and he’ll play the remainder of the 2018 season on a pro-rated $3MM salary. While there was some question as to how the Pirates would handle the situation if Kang were to receive a visa, it appears as though the team is willing to welcome him back into the fold without issuing any discipline of its own.

“We are encouraged by the steps that Jung Ho has taken to date and are hopeful that having the game he loves taken away from him for more than a year has driven home the reality that he must make better life decisions as we move forward together,” Pirates president Frank Coonelly said in a statement issued via press release. “As we have communicated to him throughout this process, we will work to provide Jung Ho with the resources and support necessary for him to meet the high expectations that we have for him as a member of our organization and our community.”

For the time being, Kang will remain on the restricted list as he works his way toward MLB readiness with in extended Spring Training at the Pirates’ complex in Bradenton, Fla. There’s no indication from the team as to how long he’ll spend ramping up in Florida.

A healthy and effective Kang would be an unexpected boost to the Pirates, as the former KBO superstar was quite productive in his first two big league campaigns prior to his legal troubles. In 837 MLB plate appearances, Kang has slashed .273/.355/.483 with 36 homers, 43 doubles and a pair of triples. He’ll give the Pirates an option at multiple infield positions, as he’s seen action third base and shortstop in his two seasons and can also be entrusted to handle second base duties.

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