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Archives for June 2018

Pirates Release Johnny Hellweg To Pursue Opportunity In Japan

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June 29: Hellweg has signed with the Hiroshima Carp, per an announcement from the club (link via the Japan Times). He’ll earn a $300K base salary and can increase that total via incentives.

June 25: The Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate announced on Monday that right-hander Johnny Hellweg has been granted his release in order to pursue an opportunity to play in Japan. Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com first tweeted the news.

Hellweg, 29, was once considered one of the Angels’ better prospects and was one traded to the Brewers alongside Jean Segura in the 2012 Zack Greinke blockbuster. Hellweg wasn’t able to establish himself with the Brewers, however, totaling just 30 2/3 innings with Milwaukee in 2013. Hellweg sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament in 2014 that limited him to 20 innings that season, and he pitched just 60 2/3 innings in Triple-A in his final season with the Brewers organization in 2015.

Since that time, Hellweg has pitched for the Padres and has had two stints with the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am Association as well. The 2018 season was his second in the Pirates organization, and he’d been throwing quite well in Triple-A, leading to the interest from overseas. In 27 innings, he’s posted a 1.33 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 with a superlative 68.1 percent ground-ball rate.

Orioles To Select Ryan Meisinger, Paul Fry

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The Orioles will select the contracts of right-hander Ryan Meisinger and left-hander Paul Fry on Friday, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). Baltimore has a full 40-man roster, so the O’s will need to make a pair of corresponding moves to accommodate the pair of new additions.

Meisinger, 24, was the Orioles’ 11th-round pick back in 2015. After a solid season in Double-A last year (3.00 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 in 63 innings), he opened the 2018 season for a second stint there but moved up to Triple-A in relatively short order. He’s been lights out in Norfolk since that promotion, tossing 22 innings with a 30-to-5 K/BB ratio and a 2.05 ERA. He wasn’t considered to be among the organization’s top tier of prospects heading into the season, though he’s certainly elevated his stock with a terrific showing so far in Triple-A.

For the 25-year-old Fry, this’ll be his second call to the Majors, though he’s still looking for his first MLB appearance. Baltimore recalled him last April, but he never got into a game in the two days he spent in the Majors. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster later that season.

Like Meisinger, Fry has pitched well between Double-A and Triple-A this season. In a combined 42 1/3 innings of relief, he’s worked to a 3.19 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. Fry posted a 68.6 percent ground-ball rate in 19 innings of Double-A ball and has a 51.7 percent grounder rate in 23 1/3 innings in Triple-A. He’s allowed just four home runs on the season, and lefties have logged an awful .194/.286/.323 slash against him so far in 2018.

Red Sox Acquire Steve Pearce

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June 29: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Blue Jays included $1.66MM as part of the deal. That’s a bit more than half of what Pearce is owed through season’s end and will help to keep the Red Sox from eclipsing the top tier of penalties in the luxury tax bracket. Boston is just narrowly shy of exceeding the tax threshold by a total of $40MM. Were Boston to cross that $237MM threshold, the team’s top pick in next year’s draft would be moved back 10 spaces.

June 28: The Red Sox have acquired infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce from the Blue Jays, per a club announcement. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe had reported that the team was close to acquiring a right-handed-hitting player (via Twitter).

Minor-leaguer Santiago Espinal will head to the Jays in return. Toronto will also send some cash to their division rivals to help offset Pearce’s salary. The amount of cash remains unknown.

Pearce, 35, was set to return to the open market after the season, when his two-year contract will expire. He’s earning $6.25MM this year, some portion of which will remain on the Toronto books. Pearce, interestingly, has now appeared with each of the five AL East organizations, in addition to time spent with the Astros and Pirates.

To this point of the season, Pearce has been limited to 26 games of action due to injury — a recurring problem for a player who has otherwise generally been quite productive. He’s slashing a robust .291/.349/.519 through 86 plate appearances in 2018. Since the start of the 2013 campaign, he owns a cumulative 121 OPS+. When healthy, then, he’s a rather accomplished hitter — especially against left-handed pitching.

While his calling card is his bat, Pearce also brings solid versatility to the table. He has shown an ability to perform at least passably in the corner outfield, corner infield,and even at second base. For Boston, Pearce could share time at first with the lefty-swinging Mitch Moreland and perhaps also line up at times in left. Whether he’ll be an option at second isn’t yet clear, though that has certainly been an area of some attention given concerns over Dustin Pedroia. (For what it’s worth, the announcement lists Pearce specifically as a first baseman and outfielder.)

With the move, the Jays have likely launched a long-anticipated summer sell-off. Given the state of affairs in the division, and a tough Wild Card race as well, it’s not surprising to see the organization begin moving veterans. It remains to be seen, though, how willing the Blue Jays will be to consider moving more controllable assets.

For their trouble, the Blue Jays will not only save some cash but will also pick up a potentially useful prospect asset. Espinal, a tenth-round pick in the 2016 draft, is hitting well this year at the High-A level. The 23-year-old carries a .314/.364/.478 slash with seven home runs and nine steals over 280 plate appearances. He has lined up primarily at shortstop but has also seen time at second and third base as a professional.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Report: “Increasingly Possible” Cole Hamels Is Traded Before All-Star Break

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FRIDAY, 12:17am: The Mariners have engaged in some “dialogue” regarding Hamels, Morosi tweets, though there’s no indication at present that they’re particularly likely to end up with him.

THURSDAY, 8:37pm: It’s “increasingly possible” that the Rangers will strike a deal involving veteran starter Cole Hamels in advance of the All-Star break, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). This year’s mid-summer classic is scheduled for July 17th.

It has long been apparent that Hamels was in position to be traded. The Rangers stumbled out of the gates and never made up ground. Meanwhile, the 34-year-old southpaw has produced good results with good-enough peripherals. With just one option year left on his high-priced contract, he’s a clear trade candidate.

While this evening’s report hints at some movement, much is still unknown. It’s largely unclear just which teams have interest, though there are a limited number of “buying” organizations and most of them could stand to add a rotation piece. It remains to be seen whether any will really push to get Hamels on board well in advance of the deadline. There’s no indication that a single suitor has emerged to this point.

It is also not yet apparent how much of an obstacle Hamels’s contract situation will pose. He can block trades to twenty teams. While he indicated a willingness to facilitate a move, he also could still seek some additional inducement. Teams will surely not be enthused with the fact that Hamels is earning a hefty $22.5MM salary this season. There’s yet greater potential for complication from his $20MM club option for 2019, which comes with an unusually large $6MM buyout.

Of course, those matters wouldn’t be quite so important were it not for the fact that Hamels is no longer the pitcher he was when the Rangers originally acquired him. We examined some of these limitations a month back. For the most part, the situation remains the same: Hamels has restored most of his lost ability to get swings and misses, but he’s giving up far too many homers and has perhaps been a bit fortunate to carry a 3.61 ERA. Opponents this year own only a .266 batting average on balls in play (well below the mark Hamels has allowed in his career) despite making hard contact at a lofty 44.1% rate (by far the highest Hamels has permitted).

To be sure, Hamels still warranted a top spot in our recent list of the top fifty summer trade candidates. But that’s due in no small part to the fact that few high-end rental starters seem likely to be made available. Other pitchers — J.A. Happ and Tyson Ross, in particular — are arguably preferable given their strong numbers and cheaper contracts.

In fairness, there are some factors that point in favor of Hamels, too. He has a lengthy track record as a standout pitcher and had reeled off seven-straight 200+ inning campaigns before missing some starts last season. Hamels also has ample postseason experience, carrying a composite 3.48 ERA in 98 1/3 total playoff innings.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Acuña, Buehler, Morrow, Ray

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(June 27th-June 28th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS | Depth Chart
    • Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Robbie Ray
      • Ray pitched 6 shutout innings in his return on Wednesday.
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: C Alex Avila (strained hamstring)
  • LOS ANGELES DODGERS | Depth Chart
    • Activated from 10-Day DL: P Walker Buehler
      • Buehler allowing 5 ER and picked up his 2nd loss in a relief appearance on Thursday. It has not been determined if or when he’ll return to the rotation.
    • Suspension: OF Matt Kemp served a 1-game suspension on Wednesday.
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: RP Josh Fields (shoulder inflammation)

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Astros To Promote Cionel Perez

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The Astros will call up young southpaw Cionel Perez, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll take the open roster spot created when Carlos Correa was placed on the 10-day DL.

Perez was already on the 40-man roster, as he needed to be protected from the most recent Rule 5 draft. Accordingly, the move is not necessarily a particularly consequential one.

That said, this will be his first turn at the game’s highest level. And it stands to reason that the ’Stros would not have made the move unless they were interested to see how the highly regarded lefty looks in the MLB bullpen.

Perez, 22, has been a nice addition to the Houston farm since signing in 2016 out of Cuba — a process that had some twists and turns but left him with a $2MM signing bonus. He entered the current season ranked 6th among the organization’s prospects by MLB.com.

Questions remain as to Perez’s long-term outlook as a starter. Per MLB.com, he’s still refining his primary three-pitch mix — sinker/slider/change — and faces concerns about his small stature. There’s also the matter of the elbow concerns that gummed up his original deal with Houston.

That said, Perez has sure looked the part this year. In his 57 1/3 Double-A frames, he carries a 2.20 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. He has compiled that stat line over ten starts and four relief appearances, so clearly the Astros aren’t pushing him too hard. Perez tallied 93 2/3 total innings in 2017, his first professional campaign, so he wasn’t quite set up for a full workload this year.

All things considered, it’s certainly possible that Houston could look at Perez as a potential multi-inning relief asset. He’d still be able to return to the rotation in the long run. It’s more likely, though, that this call-up will represent only a first taste of the majors. The Astros’ pen has been rather dominant, after all, though it’d be nice to have another option available if any cracks begin to form.

Reds Prospect Nick Senzel Undergoes Finger Surgery

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THURSDAY: The surgery was to “reduce the fracture,” per a club announcement, with “no damage to the tendon” requiring treatment. Whether or not that impacts the timeline is not known, but it seems there could be some hope for an improved outlook.

SATURDAY: The Reds have announced that their top prospect, third baseman Nick Senzel, will undergo season-ending surgery in order to repair a torn tendon in his right index finger.

It appears as though Senzel suffered the injury while making a defensive play during the top half of the first inning in a Triple-A matchup against the Norfolk Tides. Although he initially remained in the game for the Louisville Bats, he was removed in the bottom half of the inning, and now it appears the Reds are facing one of the worst-case outcomes, as a player who seemed ready to contribute in the majors at some point soon will instead miss the remainder of 2018.

The 22-year-old Senzel is a consensus top-flight young talent in the game, with all four of Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus labeling him as either the game’s sixth- or seventh-best prospect in their most recent rankings. A 6’1″ third baseman, Senzel has raked at a .310/.378/.509 clip in 193 Triple-A plate appearances this season while slugging six homers and swiping eight bags.

For what it’s worth, The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosencrans reports that the Reds expect Senzel to make a full recovery, and they believe the injury is unlikely to affect him moving forward. Furthermore, it seems as though he could still feasibly be ready in time for further development in the Arizona Fall League or in winter ball. Online research, at least, would seem to corroborate that last point, as a few sources suggest that a finger with said injury can handle heavy sports activities after about 12 weeks post-surgery.

Prior to this stunning turn of events, Senzel seemed to be on the brink of a potential major-league call-up, at least by basic logic. He was just coming off a two-homer game and had three in the past week in addition to his strong Triple-A batting line. Furthermore, a promotion at this point in the season would not have helped him qualify for Super Two status, as that deadline has almost certainly passed for the season. Though he would appear to be blocked at third base by a red-hot Eugenio Suarez, Senzel’s actually been getting some reps at the keystone this season in order to give him a more direct path to the majors.

For now, though, the young wunderkind will sit on the MiLB injury shelf, where he won’t gather any MLB service time. That means Reds fans will likely have to wait until at least three weeks into next season to see Senzel at Great American Ballpark, as Cincinnati will almost certainly look to manipulate his service clock in order to gain an extra year of team control over him.

Astros To Place Carlos Correa On 10-Day DL

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The Astros will place star shortstop Carlos Correa on the 10-day disabled list, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (video link on Twitter). The move will formally be made tomorrow.

Correa has been dealing with lower back soreness for a few days but had hoped to avoid the DL. The 23-year-old last played on June 25th, so the club can backdate the placement to the 26th. It seems the hope is that Correa will be back after missing only the minimum, or close to it.

Hinch explains that the young slugger is “doing great” in his progress, but says the club did not want to set up a situation that allowed uncertainty as to whether or not he’d be available on any given day. Rather than take any risks, the call was made to take Correa off of the active roster until he is “completely symptom-free.”

There’s no reason, then, to think that this issue will be much of an impediment for Correa or the ’Stros. There hasn’t been much stopping either to this point of the season, with Correa carrying a 129 wRC+and the ballclub tied for the AL lead with 54 wins.

Angels Righty Jake Jewell Diagnosed With Fractured Fibula

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Angels reliever Jake Jewell has been diagnosed with a fractured right fibula, the team announced and MLB.com’s Maria Guardado was among those to report (Twitter links). He will require season-ending surgery.

Jewell suffered the injury on a play at the plate last night. The images left little doubt that he was seriously hurt, with a cart removing him from the diamond. At this point, his long-term outlook is not clear, though hopefully he’ll be able to rest and rehab over the winter and return to full strength next spring.

Certainly, that’s not how anyone would have wished Jewell’s third MLB outing would end. The 25-year-old, a former fifth-round draft pick, had only just ascended to the big leagues to help fill out an increasingly thin Halos’ staff. Now, he’s the latest to go down with injury — in this case, in quite an unusual and unfortunate manner.

Jewell had never even pitched at Triple-A when the 2018 season began. He quickly earned a promotion to the highest level of the minors, but had struggled there before moving to the bigs. In 25 frames at Triple-A, Jewell managed a 3.60 ERA but handed out 6.1 BB/9 to go with his 8.6 K/9 and 54.9% groundball rate. Jewell, who had previously been added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, did show a 97+ mph heater in his brief time in the majors.

Brewers Select Mike Zagurski

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The Brewers announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski from Triple-A Colorado Springs and optioned right-hander Adrian Houser back to Triple-A in his place.

It’s a somewhat remarkable return to the Majors for Zagurski, who last appeared at the big league level back in 2013. Since that time, he’s been with the Triple-A affiliates for the Blue Jays, Indians and Tigers in addition to spending two seasons pitching for the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Zagurski has a 7.05 ERA in 75 1/3 innings at the MLB level, but he posted terrific K/BB numbers in the Tigers’ minor league system last season and has racked up 48 strikeouts against a dozen walks in 30 innings with the Sky Sox so far in 2018. Lefties have managed just a .224/.283/.286 slash against him through 53 plate appearances this season. He’s currently sporting a 3.90 ERA in Triple-A despite the exceptionally hitter-friendly nature of his home environment, and he owns a lifetime 2.90 ERA with 12.4 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 in 279 1/3 Triple-A frames.

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