The Angels’ closer role has been something of a carousel all season, and just when it looked to be settling on Keynan Middleton, the 24-year-old righty was diagnosed with a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register notes, Blake Parker looks to be first up in line after recording a save last night and now rattling off nine consecutive scoreless innings. “It feels good to finally be back a little bit and command the zone better than I was early on,” said Parker of his recent run of success. Manager Mike Scioscia hasn’t yet re-tabbed Parker as the team’s closer, though given last night’s clean outing and his recent run of success, it seems likely that he’ll receive additional opportunities at the very least.
Fletcher also provides some health updates on Matt Shoemaker and Blake Wood, most notably reporting that Shoemaker played catch for the first time in two weeks yesterday and is headed for a followup visit with a nerve specialist today. Shoemaker was moved to the 60-day DL over the weekend when the Halos selected Ian Krol from Triple-A Salt Lake.
More from the division…
- The Rangers are “open to anything” in terms of listening to trade offers, an exec from another club tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. That comes on the heels of last week’s report from Ken Rosenthal’s report that the team is telling clubs throughout the league that they’re willing to move veteran players. However, that official suggests that the Rangers will also be patient with their approach, telling Grant they’re “willing to wait to get what they deem is fair.” Grant examines several potential trade candidates in depth, specifically listing Adrian Beltre, Cole Hamels, Keone Kela, Mike Minor, Doug Fister and Jake Diekman as players that scouts figure to watch closely in the two months leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
- Corey Brock of The Athletic takes a look at Ryan Cook’s long road back to the Majors with the Mariners after missing two full seasons due to injury (subscription link). Once a dominant reliever in Oakland, Cook discusses a tumultuous career to date that has seen some notable highs (striking out Bryce Harper and David Wright in the 2012 All-Star Game) and some difficult lows. “The most humbling part was wondering if I could ever do it again,” said Cook, who has undergone both Tommy John surgery and ulnar nerve transposition surgery in recent years. “…Those days you come back from rehab and can’t even move your arm or feel your fingers and literally just looking at yourself in the mirror and wondering if it might be over.” Cook, it seems, certainly can do it again. He posted a 2.03 ERA with a 17-to-3 K/BB ratio in 13 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball this year and has already tossed two shutout innings since being selected to the MLB roster in Seattle. Manager Scott Servais, who has seen setup men Juan Nicasio and Nick Vincent struggle recently, said Cook will receive “plenty of opportunities” to re-establish himself as a high-quality ’pen option.
In terms of the Rangers, could an argument be made that Odor is now the 3rd best option at second base? Also, with the number of holes the Rangers have, I wonder if any of their young players should be considered for a trade. This looks to be a multi-year rebuild. The WS runs were worth it, but now the painful part is here.
“if any of their young players should be considered for a trade”
This winter perhaps. They would be selling low now.
Their farm is a big concern. It seems like their talent coordinator has relocated to San Diego and not been replaced.
They are not as bad off as it seems. Talented but underachieving young players, with a lot of salary that could come off books as soon as next year.
The real problem is that the team is just not strong enough to fend off the Astros, Indians, Yankees, Red Sox. The rotation is in shambles, with no calvary on the way. The bullpen is better, but not by much.
They would need to overpay for Corbin and Richards this off season, and/or move some of their pieces for Fulmer or Archer. Both of which I do not see happening.
The sum of the situation reminds me a little of the White Sox from two years ago. There is talent there, just no where near enough of it without a big spend.
“The rotation is in shambles”
If it wasn’t the Rangers would still be in a bad way. Their issue is the lineup, which stinks out loud.
They still see Odor as a building block. Him, Gallo, Mazara, and DeSheilds are who they’ll build around. Potentially Profar too if Elvis opts out this winter.
Why is Bartolo not on the list. He’s probably the best player on the Rangers right now (and yes, I’m serious when I type this!).
The team who should be pursuing Colon is CLE. With Tomlin sent to the bullpen and the Tribe’s organizational SP depth thin at the moment, Colon would be a solid and affordable #5 for them.
Thus far this year, his numbers show him to be far more effective than merely a #5.. I ultimately think that there will be a bit of a “bidding war” for Big Sexy and the Rangers will get a surprisingly decent haul for a 1/2 year rental.
More wishful thinking than truth behind your thought process. At best one maybe two low level prospects. Based on recent track record and his age the wheels can fall off any moment. No real value there especially as a rental.
Have you looked at his 2018 numbers? I’m certainly not advocating that teams will give up massive prospects for him, but there’s no doubt that any team competing for the playoffs who could use an additional starter would at least inquire and potentially part with a #20 – 30 organizational prospect.
I believe there’s plenty of teams that would take a low-level risk that Bartolo can continue to string together strong starts for the remainder of ’18.
Bartolo may be one of the few players that has MORE value as a rental. Teams would be much more hesitant if he was signed to additional years.
I want Colon to stay a Ranger. A veteran (i.e. Older) pitcher who throws well is something I’ve missed for the Rangers since guys like Charlie Hough and Nolan Ryan were in their rotation. They just make the game more interesting.
Cole Hamels is trying to get your attention
Only Brian Cashman has been with the same team as GM longer than JD at this point. Fresh blood and a new perspective is needed for the upcoming rebuild. Jon has never had any success without Nolan Ryan’s supervision.
Also does anyone trust JD to not to get fleeced on trades like he always has in the past?
As a life long ranger fan, what exactly did Nolan Ryan do? Most of the talent that got them to back to back World Series was already in place before he arrived. Same deal in Houston, he walked into a perfect situation twice. He is a figure head.. he does nothing tangible for an organization besides dole out pitching tips
And serves a hell of a hotdog.
The bullpen situation with the Angels fits in neatly with the recent post about the rising cost of reliable relievers. Angels are doing, in a sense, exactly the opposite of the trend: relying heavily on good but erratic and cheap arms for the most part, and, i suspect, the result is showing: they do fairly well on average, but with (seemingly) more frequent (at least given their pretty decent on average performance) implosions when it’s most inconvenient. Ironically, if this is indeed true, this harkens back to the logic of a designated “closer”–assuming that a team does have that reliable arm (not a suboptimal arm designated as a closer…)
I wish Cook well, but isnt it a little early to say he can “certainly do it, again” after an enormous 15 innings this year? How his arm holds up over time, and innings is not certain at all.
Most certainly is and I’m hesitant to anoint him as the next 8th inning set-up man- in fact he gave up a hit on Sundays game but Nicasio and Vincent have been so bad lately I’m desperate! I completely forgot Cook was on our roster.
Rangers don’t have enough pitching in the farm system to be competitive until 2021-2022 at the earliest. Not only do they not have any starters in the pipeline, they don’t have any relievers either. Then consider the sad state of their hitters. Most strike outs in the ML, lowest BA in the AL as well as lowest OBP, lowest slugging pct. and lowest OPS. Texas does have some young players that have talent and will be good ML players in another yr or so, but Odor is not one of them. He has gotten worse every year since 2015. At this point he seems to be uncoachable. Gallo has shown some progress in lowering his Ks, still as a long way to go, but you can tell he is working on that. He is working on going the other way. He will emerge as a really good and valuable player in another year. Mazara will be there by the end of this year. DeShields has a future if he can start taking more walks and his defense continues to improve.. Both Kiner-Falefa and Profar are far more productive than Odor. Guzman has a solid future as well. Texas needs a catcher, Trevino has not shown that he can hit AA pitching yet and he is getting close to 26, I don’t see him as a prospect any longer. Calhoun will be the DH in the next yr or two, but he can not play in the field, a horrible outfielder. On the pitching end, Texas has Mendez and Jurado, Mendez should have been ready this year, but has regressed. Jurado has stepped up into his place. Other than Leclerc I don’t see much in the way of help for the bullpen. Kela has his problems as well as Bush. Other than those three guys, their bullpen is a bunch of washed up guys that can’t get people out. Texas is in sad shape right now and will be for the next 3-5 years.
I think you missed a couple of key points here