Padres outfielder Wil Myers will play third base in a rehab game on Sunday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets, and it’s “virtually certain” that he’ll start at the hot corner when he returns from a short DL stint on Monday, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. If true, it would continue a nomadic pro career around the diamond for Myers, a former catcher prospect who has primarily lined up at first base and in the outfield in the majors. It’s anyone’s guess whether the 27-year-old Myers will be able to handle third base from a defensive standpoint at the MLB level, but he does seem to have the bat for it. The third basemen the Padres have used this year rank 23rd in the majors in fWAR (0.9) and 26th in wRC+ (83).
More from the National League…
- Mets third baseman David Wright will begin a rehab assignment Sunday, and there’s optimism the long-injured captain will actually return to the major leagues. Manager Mickey Callaway told Tim Healey of Newsday and other reporters Saturday that, in his opinion, “there’s a very good chance” Wright will suit up again for the Mets. Upper body injuries have kept the 35-year-old Wright off a major league diamond since May 2016. He’s signed through 2020 on an eight-year, $138MM contract.
- The Nationals hope to have injured right-hander Stephen Strasburg back in their rotation before Aug. 21-23, a key series against division-rival Philadelphia, Jamal Collier of MLB.com writes. Strasburg, out since July 26 with a pinched nerve in his neck, threw a successful 64-pitch bullpen session Saturday.
- The Phillies announced that catcher Wilson Ramos will begin a rehab assignment at the Single-A level on Sunday. Philadelphia acquired Ramos from Tampa Bay at the July 31 non-waiver deadline, but he still hasn’t debuted with his new team. Ramos hasn’t played since July 14, in fact, as he has been dealing with a hamstring strain. The 31-year-old had been amid a quality season at the time and could be a nice reinforcement for the Phillies, who are neck and neck with the Braves for the NL East title. However, it’s not clear whether Ramos is all that close to returning. “From a results standpoint, we just want to see him healthy,” manager Gabe Kapler said (via Katie Woo of MLB.com). “One of the ways to get there is making sure he has the reps under his belt, get a little timing and rhythm at the plate, and then he’s ready to roll.”
- Sticking with the Phillies, the club optioned right-hander Zach Eflin to Triple-A on Saturday to clear 25-man roster room for newly acquired first baseman Justin Bour. Given that Eflin has been a key part of the Phillies’ rotation this year, his demotion’s only temporary, but it’s one that will cost him nearly $30K and 10 days of big league service time, Matt Gelb of The Athletic notes (subscription required). While Eflin was “professional” about the decision, according to Kapler, the hurler’s representative is unhappy about the transaction. As part of a statement issued to Gelb, agent Tom O’Connell called the move “tremendously disappointing” and added, “While the club may feel that they are doing what’s best for the organization, they also lose sight of the human element and how it will affect the player.”
David Wright is paid 20M in 2018, but drops to 15M 2019, 12M 2020. Not end of the world, hardly franchise-crippling
I wish the mlb had a stretch provision like the nba does where you can take a bad contract and break it up into chunks across 3 seasons. Maybe in MLB 5 seasons.
So over next 5 years mets could waive wright but stretch that 27 mill into 5.4 mill over 5 seasons creating 10 mill next year and 7 mill the following year in cap space.
Sounds like deferring salary. In MLB, deferred salary is subject to interest.
The NBA has a salary cap. MLB does not. Thus there is no “cap space” to save. Mets could spend whatever they want on payroll and if over the “luxury tax” they pay the tax like everyone else
Mets have 75% insurance on Wright’s contract so they aren’t really paying him while he’s out the last 2 years or so
Something tells me, Boston takes advantage. 36M over the lux tax. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRghSG2xRO…
Wilpons don’t deserve a “stretch provision” Methinks they probably pocket the money, and NOT re-invest it into the team. Mets’ 166M payroll is under 197M luxury tax threshold.
But to the Mets’ credit, how much of that payroll is on the DL….
I can see where you are coming from, PLV but they can also bite the bullet the next two years, instead of next 5. Mets’ comfortably under tax, would Wilpons even re-invest the savings?
Pretty hypocritical for a Yankees fan to criticize a team over the luxury tax line.
How many years were the Yankees over the luxury tax line in the last two decades? 15?
Yankees should be over the luxury tax line. The amount of revenue they generate is more than sufficient to afford a tax penalty. Them staying under is just more money in Hal & Co.’s pockets.
First off, why should they be “over the luxury tax line”? Second, “more money in Hal & Co’s Pockets” if you own a business you wouldn’t want more money in your pocket? Lastly, resetting their payroll to get under the threshold is just good business for many reasons. They aren’t the Mets owners for Christ’s sake…
Boston did it last year and LAD is also doing it now. It gives the team the ability next to manage better. Even an “limited budget” type team uses cost-benefit type analysis to evaluate roster moves. Does anyone really believe Boston’s roster and payroll would be where it presently is if they didn’t reset last year? They were forced to bring up Devers earlier than they wanted because of finances. If money wasn’t a temporary issue who knows what they would have done?
Not criticizing or even critiquing. Re-read. Boston’s criticized/trolled so much, you see attacks when not there. Was simply pointing out, Boston would (and SHOULD) be taking advantage of a system that could potentially save them tens of millions in tax payments.
All I am pointing out is Boston would benefit the most from NBA’s “stretch provision “ and Wilpons don’t deserve such a system.
Xab. The only reason the NBA has that rule is because the cap would otherwise hamstring big market teams even more when they make a mistake. All teams benefit but like all leagues, the leagues revenues go up when big market clubs are good. With a hard cap, the Knicks would be even further away from contending if that could be imagined. There is no reason in MLB because they can always go over the threshold if they are willing to pay the price.
You can change should to can. They generate more money than anyone in baseball so they certainly can pay that luxury tax with ease. I’m all for the Yankees maximizing their bottom line but no one needs to play pretend that they HAVE to stay under the line. They certainly don’t. There are only a few teams that can take this hit and the Yankees are one of them. They don’t need to run up the luxury tax line every year but they certainly can go over if they feel like they’re missing a piece that is going to make all the difference.
Bobby Bonilla has a super-duper stretch contract
Wouldn’t have been that long if they let Todd Pratt take the bat to him and Henderson
Chris Davis will become the new Bobby Bonilla. Check out how much he is owed from 2024-2037
Sox are still paying for Manny…
funny thing is, wright is a met thanks to bonilla (mets used the money bonilla is getting paid now to trade for mike hampton back then.)
hampton left as a free agent, mets got a bonus draft pick for him, bonus pick ended up being david wright)
Mets aren’t putting the Wright money back into the team so it doesn’t mean anything in baseball terms.
I love my Phillies but they’re a damn mess with roster management
My guess though is insurance wise either this is a required test or won’t affect the benefits already secured.
Bour and Ramos are better than Santana and Alfaro. Phillies need more offense.
Hopefully Myers can do well at 3rd and stay healthy. With the addition (most likely) of Urias and later Tatis the padres would have a pretty solid line up.
1. CF Margot
2. 2B Urias
3. 1B Hosmer
4. 3B Myers
5. RF Renfroe
6. SS Tatis
7. LF Jankowski
8. C Hedges
9. P
You could basically swap 3-5 however you want based on production probably 1,2 and 7 also. …the whole lineup really just a toss up. Lmao.
I agree, if Myers ends up succeeding at 3B then the Padres have more flexibility with the lineup. You would have Hedges and Mejia sharing the position, Hosmer at 1B with Myers covering on his days off, Urias at 2B, Villanueva at 3B and Myers covering on his days off, Tatis at SS, Margot at CF, and then you have Renfroe, Reyes, Cordero and Myers fighting for RF & LF while Jankawski would make a great outfield backup. Hopefully the Padres end up resigning Galvis, he’s such an underrated defender at SS
Ya but the point is to have Myers at 3rd and keep his bat in the lineup. Villanueva is bat is too shaky he strikes out way too often Myers much better of a hitter. Galvis is a great defender but is not needed if Tatis can make it to the show.
Keep Myers bat in the lineup? Because you enjoy seeing him watch third strikes go by and think his .250 average and 160 k’s is stellar? I’d trade him, free up the time for Renfroe, Cordero and Reyes to prove themselves and keep Spangenberg at 3b. They need the left-handed bat in their lineup, esp. if Urias and Tatis are the future middle infield.
Trade Wil Myers so we can keep Cory Spangenberg at 3B? LOL hook me up with some of those drugs.
The exact same reasons you want to trade Myers is why he won’t bring much back. Plus he’s got a fairly big contract
Hahahah spange over Myers hahahahah hahahaha
Ditto unless Myers comes back next year and hits 30 dingers by the trade deadline hes not going ANYWHERE.
Mejia wasn’t acquired to share the position. You don’t give up one of the best LHP in the game for a platoon catcher. He will catch when Hedges needs a day off and he will play out in the field when Hedges is playing. Plain and simple. The bat is too good to ignore it on the bench, he will be out there almost everyday next season.
You guys are nuts lol there are only 2 guys in the lineup that can hit more than 20 hr(Myers, renfroe) and those guys go into 60 day slumps. Can not have a team where 5-6 guys can only hit 5-10 home runs a year. Lol this site is full of prospects fan boys.
Lol you want another Prellerpalooza?
If that’s next years lineup, you’d have to consider that either Franchy Cordero or Francisco Mejia will be starting in LF, not Jankowski. Tatis won’t win the job out of spring training so you’ll probably have either Galvis back for another 1 year deal to hold the seat down until Tatis is ready. Jose Iglesias makes sense, so does Hechavarria in that spot. But everything else looks like a safe bet to be the case. Barring injury or a big trade.
Yes Franchy and Mejia could be better options at LF but they have that ugly IF attached to them. IF Mejias bat can translate into the big leagues and hes not garbage in the OF and IF Franchys sample size was big enough to continue. The reason I say Jank is because even tho its been spotty hes proved hes a ML outfielder a 4th one at best but atleast a major league one.
Mejia is not an elite prospect if he’s playing the outfield
How so? Mejias not known for his defense at all to my knowlegde. So since he IS a elite prospect its because of his bat..
Correct.
Because of his bat as a catcher, you mean. Having a good hitting catcher is priceless because they are much rarer than good hitting outfielders.
A big part of the reason the Indians were willing to trade Mejia is that he wasn’t really putting a ton of effort into becoming an outfielder. The bat should play either way, but at this point, I think he’s either a catcher or nothing.
Apparently youve never heard of this team called the Padres they will make any player play any position they want…
I hope this Efflin shuffle doesn’t come back to bite them in the ass. You never know how personally young guys can take Moves like this.
Sneak in that extra year
Limit his innings since he is young
Adding in bour? Common now that kid is a beast but tomorrow they will lose
He will not miss his next start. I’m sure he will recoup any earnings he loses… Money is in abundant supply in that organization. Much to do about nothing. Nothing to see here….
Doubt it and like I said they would lose and they lost
As part of a statement issued to Gelb, agent Tom O’Connell called the move “tremendously disappointing” and added, “While the club may feel that they are doing what’s best for the organization, they also lose sight of the human element and how it will affect the player.”
Any negative affect on the player speaks poorly for his client’s character. Not a well thought out statement by this agent.
Not a poor statement by his agent at all. Agent represents the player & not the team.
The kid will get his money…
Oh good Wright can come back for 2 games and be gone another 2 years. Just quit already.
Agreed. Wright has played 75 games in the past four years. And Wright has played 0 games in the past two years. Totally unfair to the team.
In what way is it unfair to the team? They signed him, and at least they can find somebody who actually wants to play for the Mets.
As long as he goes down early, the Mets can keep collecting on that insurance money.
My ideal Phillies roster taking into account options
SP: Nola, Arrieta, Eflin, Vinny, De Los Santos
RP: Neshek, Hunter, Arano, Loup, Garcia, Morgan, Rios
Line-Up
C- Ramos
1B- Santana
2B- Cesar
SS- Cabrera
3B- Franco
OF- Hoskins, Dubs, Williams
First guy off the bench: Bour
Back-Up Catcher- Alfaro
Utility Infielder- Crawford
4th OF- Roman Quinn
Super Utility- Kingery
Once September comes, add Knapp, Valentin, Walding, Davis, Pivetta, Neris, Altherr, Cozens, Leiter, Ranger, Lively and Anderson.
You have to have Pivetta on the ML roster.
Forgot Dominguez replace rios
Pivetta isn’t being sent down for De Los Santos. That’s silly
The funny thing is that Bour was acquired as a bench bat when he has a higher OPS and more power than Santana. I know his numbers against lefties are dreadful, but they should platoon. I’d rather watch Bour strike out than Santana roll another ball right into the shift.
De Los Santos is nowhere near major League ready… Certainly not in a pennant race. Pivetta is your #5
You also forgot Edubray Ramos, who for the record in no shape or form deserves to be in AAA.
Except that since starting his rehab, Ramos hasn’t been able to get anyone out at Lehigh…not too hard to understand the thought process in waiting until he’s right to bring him back.
Who cares about the stretch orange vision for the Mets? No way they will come close to the luxury tax threshold with the Wilsons in charge
Even if Wright makes it back what could he possibly contribute, he was awful the last two parts of seasons that he played and hasn’t been productive since 2012 I believe, maybe 2013.
I don’t think Eflin will lose any service time if he stays in the minors for less than 20 days (which seems probable). Not sure about the 30k though.
The Phillies have 7 games in 6 days this week. No way he stays down. The chances are they’ll just option him back down after that as well. I get having the extra bench bat for that stretch. But his next turn in the rotation Kingery, Crawford or Morgan gotta go.
Ramos played yesterday in rehab and went 0-2.
I get the move with Eflin as he really wont miss any starts being the 26th man for DH and called up in 10 days to make his start after that- but it is alot of juggling simply to keep both Crawford and Kingery on the roster temporarily. Kingery should go back down to the minors and get consistent at bats – but they signed him to that deal and that seems to be affecting other decisions.
Its a master stroke if Wil Myers succeeds at 3B.
I agree, and there is nothing to lose. If he was truly successful with it, it helps the Padres, and it makes his streaky bat and huge contract more likely to have a chance at moving in a trade. I see at least 1 outfielder getting moved this winter…With Cordero, Renfroe, Margot, Jankowski…and I guess Reyes, not to mention Myers, there just isn’t room…That’s not to mention that if Hedges can continue to develop the bat, throw Mejia into the outfield mix. An outfielder or two, possibly a catcher, and young pitching may be on the move. Personally I think it is still early to go after top – end starting pitching, but I could see it happening.
Still more likely than Schoop to SS.
reyes with another bomb to left .. in 2nd inning in miami..now 3 hr in a week plus .. how many has conforto and cespedes hit. in that time span .. lol
The Phillies could easily placate Eflin and his agent by paying him his full major league salary, even during the time he’s technically optioned to Lehigh Valley. I don’t really see what they were gaining by keeping both Kingery and Crawford on the roster ahead of him (a pinch runner???). I’d be pissed too if I were Eflin. Crawford has no future in Philly anyway. The Phillies chose Kingery over him when they gave Kingery that big contract before he ever played a game in the major leagues. That may have been premature too, but I digress. The Phillies will probably try to trade Cesar Hernandez this winter, as he is regressing. His strikeout rate is ridiculous for a leadoff hitter with little power. Maybe Kingery can move to 2nd base if they can get Machado.. If they don’t get Machado, maybe they should consider re-upping Asdrubal Cabrera for another season, for his bat.