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Minor MLB Transactions: 6/30/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Nationals opened up a spot on their 40-man roster Saturday by transferring first baseman Ryan Zimmerman from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. The club made the move to create 40-man room for catcher prospect Raudy Read, whom it reinstated from the restricted list after he served an 80-game suspension. Zimmerman has already been on the DL for nearly two months (since May 10) on account of a strained right oblique, though there’s hope he’ll return in the near future, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. He’ll be eligible to rejoin the Nats on July 9.
  • The Angels have acquired catcher Joe Hudson from the Reds for cash, per an announcement from Cincinnati. Hudson had been with the Reds since they chose him in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. Now 27, Hudson has seen his first Triple-A action this year and hit .235/.339/.294 in 60 plate appearances.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/30/18

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Here are today’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft.  Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only)…

  • The Orioles have agreed to a deal with the 37th overall pick, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com tweets. Financial details aren’t yet available, but the 37th choice comes with a slot value of $1,923,500. The 21-year-old Grenier was one of the heroes for an OSU team that just knocked off Arkansas to win the College World Series. Grenier hit an impressive .319/.408/.462 in 273 at-bats this season, though Law was the only one of the abovementioned prospect evaluators to place him in the top 50 entering this year’s draft (No. 46). Law noted then that Grenier could end up as a starting shortstop or a quality utility infielder in the majors.

Earlier updates:

  • The Royals have signed 12th-round pick Rylan Kaufman for a hefty $722.5K bonus, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (Twitter links).  Kaufman is an 18-year-old high school left-hander from Texas, and he stands 6’4″ and owns a fastball in the 92-93mph range.  Since Kaufman was picked beyond the 10th round, $597.5K of his bonus will be counted against Kansas City’s draft bonus pool.  While the Royals entered this year’s draft with the most pool space ($12,781,900) of any team, they already have over $7.6MM of those funds spent (hat tip to Clint Scoles of Baseball Prospectus) and still need to sign their three of their top seven picks.  Two of the unsigned players are Kansas City’s top two selections — 18th overall pick Brady Singer and 33rd overall pick Jackson Kowar.

AL East Notes: Machado, Sabathia, Blue Jays

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With the Orioles having failed to extend Manny Machado in the past, the shortstop noted this weekend (via Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun) that “they never reached out and showed that appreciation like the Angels did to (Mike) Trout. It was a totally different situation.” Machado was referring to the Angels’ decision in 2014 to give the then-22-year-old Trout a six-year, $144.5MM extension – one that canceled out three arbitration-eligible seasons and three free-agent years. Now, Machado says he’s “grateful” he’ll hit free agency this offseason at the age of 26. So, while the Orioles are all but guaranteed to trade Machado to a contender in the next few months, it doesn’t sound as if his next employer will have a legitimate chance to prevent him from reaching the open market with a new contract. Of course, given that Machado is in line to sign one of the majors’ richest deals ever, it’s no surprise he’s eager to test the open market.

Here’s more on a couple other AL East teams:

  • Left-hander CC Sabathia suggested last month that he’d retire at year’s end if the Yankees were to win the World Series. But the 37-year-old now seems more open to returning in 2019 even if the Yankees aren’t the last team standing this season. “If we win the World Series and I pitch well and I’m healthy at the end of the year, then it’s 50-50 that I come back,” Sabathia said (via Marc Carig of The Athletic; subscription required). “It’s not an absolute.” Considering how well he’s pitching, it stands to reason the Yankees would welcome back a healthy Sabathia next year if he decides to keep pitching. In his age 37-season, Sabathia has pitched to a 3.02 ERA/4.04 FIP in 83 1/3 innings, thanks in part to his ability to limit hard contact. Sabathia ranks third among qualified pitchers in average exit velocity against (84.2 mph).
  • The value of Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak’s 2019 club option has climbed from $6MM to $7MM, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets. In order for that to happen, Smoak needed to accrue 950 plate appearances from 2017-18. He surpassed that figure Saturday. And Smoak’s option will go from $7MM to $8MM if he amasses 150 more PAs this year (1,100 total from 2017-18), Davidi notes. Whether his salary ends up at $7MM or $8MM, both numbers look like reasonable salaries for Smoak – who’s enjoying his second straight above-average offensive season. Although, Smoak’s .235/.359/.438 line in 315 PAs falls well short of last year’s .270/.355/.529 showing.
  • More on the Blue Jays, whose willingness to eat portions of veterans’ contracts in trades has them in a good position as the July 31 non-waiver deadline nears, Davidi observes. When Toronto sent infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce to Boston this week, it acquired infield prospect Santiago Espinal in part because it ate $1.66MM of Pearce’s remaining salary. With Pearce gone, the Jays still have several other veteran trade candidates, and paying some of their contracts would improve the team’s returns in deals. Notably, the Jays “have the support of the organization to do it,” general manager Ross Atkins said.

Red Sox Notes: Iglesias, Deadline, Lind, Chavis

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The Red Sox and Astros are among the teams with interest in Reds closer Raisel Iglesias, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Houston, in particular, is “looking hard at Iglesias,” Cafardo writes. The Astros had been eyeing fellow late-game option Kelvin Herrera, per Cafardo, though he’s no longer on the market after the Royals traded him to the Nationals earlier this month. Unlike Herrera, a free agent at season’s end, Iglesias could be a multiyear solution for an acquiring team. The 28-year-old standout is under control through 2020 for affordable salaries ($4.5MM this season, $5MM in each of 2019 and ’20), though he could elect to opt into arbitration over the winter in hopes of securing a raise. Given Iglesias’ track record and remaining team control, the Reds would surely require an impressive haul to consider moving him. It’s worth noting, then, that the Astros have Baseball America’s 10th-best farm system, while the Red Sox’s prospect pool is just 24th.

Here’s more on Boston…

  • Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com and other reporters on Saturday that he’s talking trades with multiple teams, but he suggested he’s content with his roster as it is. Regardless of whether Boston makes more moves (it picked up infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce in a deal with Toronto this week), Dombrowski expects trade action to continue across the league well before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. “I will tell you, as we talk to various clubs, there are a lot more clubs that are motivated to do things quickly from a trading perspective, if they get what they want,” said Dombrowski, who added that the Red Sox’s desire to keep their payroll under $237MM won’t necessarily stop them from making further additions. Should the team exceed that figure, its top pick in the 2019 draft would drop 10 spots.
  • First baseman Adam Lind will have a chance to opt out of his minor league deal with the Red Sox on Sunday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic tweets. McCaffrey adds that Dombrowski is hopeful Lind will remain at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he has batted .263/.321/.455 in 109 plate appearances since inking his minors pact May 29. Given the presences of first basemen Pearce and Mitch Moreland – a fellow left-handed hitter – and corner outfield/designated hitter options Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez, major league playing time looks as if it will be hard to come by for Lind if he stays with the organization.
  • The Red Sox will activate infielder Michael Chavis, their top-ranked prospect at MLB.com, on Sunday, Dombrowski announced (via Cotillo). Chavis served an 80-game suspension after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing drug. The 22-year-old will start with Class-A Lowell and eventually work his way back to Double-A Portland, where he played most of last season.

Danny Salazar To Undergo Exploratory Shoulder Surgery

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Indians right-hander Danny Salazar will undergo exploratory surgery on his bothersome right shoulder on Monday, as per a team announcement (hat tip to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian).  Details on when, or if, Salazar could be back on the mound this season won’t be known until after the procedure.

Salazar first suffered shoulder problems prior to Spring Training, with an issue that was described as rotator cuff inflammation, and later diagnosed as an impingement.  The injury has kept him out of action for the entire season, and after rest and a pair of plasma injections didn’t lead to any progress, it seems as though surgery was the only logical next course of action.

Today’s announcement creates fresh doubt about whether or not Salazar will see any action at all in 2018.  Even if nothing serious is discovered during the procedure, he would still need several weeks to recover and build up arm strength after not pitching since February.  The best-case scenario would seem to be a September return, though the Tribe would most likely deploy Salazar out of the bullpen rather than rely on him for a starter’s workload.

Cleveland has largely managed to withstand Salazar’s absence this season, as the team’s rotation ranks at or near the top of most starting pitching categories.  Over the long term, however, Salazar’s future with the Tribe may now be in question due to continued injuries.  This is the third straight year that Salazar has faced shoulder problems, and he also had forearm and elbow issues in 2016.  As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in our last update on Salazar’s condition, the Indians could decide that Salazar is too risky a proposition to be tendered a contract in his third year of arbitration eligibility.  Even after potentially missing an entire season, Salazar would still be in line for a token raise of his $5MM salary for 2018, which would be a tough fit for a payroll-conscious team like Cleveland.

Rockies Option Jon Gray To Triple-A

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The Rockies optioned right-hander Jon Gray to Triple-A Albuquerque today, as noted as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (Twitter link) and other reporters.  Outfielder Raimel Tapia was promoted in the corresponding move.

Though Gray has struggled this season, the demotion still counts as a surprise on a number of levels.  Formerly one of the game’s top prospects, Gray posted solid numbers in 2016 and then took another positive step with an even better performance (3.67 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 3.73 K/BB) over 110 1/3 innings in an injury-shortened 2017.

The hope in Colorado was that Gray would further establish himself as the front-of-the-rotation arm that the franchise has long sought after, though instead, Gray ran into some rough waters.  Over 92 innings, Gray leads the league in both hits and earned runs allowed, to go along with an ugly 5.77 ERA.  He is allowing more hard contact (34.4%) than in either of the past two seasons, while his home run rate is a career-high 15.5%.  One can’t blame Coors Field for Gray’s issue, as his home and road ERAs are basically identical.

These numbers notwithstanding, there is a lot more evidence that Gray’s 5.77 ERA is the product of terrible luck.  Looking at his ERA predictors (3.07 FIP, 2.77 xFIP, 3.14 SIERA), one would think that Gray was enjoying a breakout season.  He owns a 11.6 K/9 and a 4.1 K/BB rate, and while his hard contact percentage is up, the quality of that contact translates to only a .301 xwOBA.  His xOBA is .342, however, and Gray has been similarly snake-bitten by a whopping .386 BABIP as well as a low 63.1% strand rate.

The Rockies are hoping Gray will be back sometime in July, as MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi tweets that the “team views this as a reset” in the midst of what surely must be a frustrating stretch for the 26-year-old.  Antonio Senzatela and Jeff Hoffman are the likeliest Triple-A candidates to fill Gray’s place in the short term, with rookies Sam Howard and Harrison Musgrave also longer shot options.

Heyman’s Latest: Machado, Beltre, Devers, Morton

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A recent report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale characterized the Dodgers as the early favorite to acquire Manny Machado, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman adds the Phillies to the forefront of the race as well, citing an Orioles-connected source.  Another source with connections to the Phils “suggested they are not amenable to trading their very top pitching prospects like Sixto Sanchez,” though Philadelphia is deep in minor league talent and could put together a package that doesn’t include their top pitching prospect.

Here’s more from Heyman, via his latest notes column…

  • Adrian Beltre has informed the Rangers he’s willing to consider trades, though he hopes to return to the Rangers in 2019.  “I don’t think he’s going anywhere,” a source close to Beltre told Heyman, as it seems like the veteran third baseman would only waive his full no-trade protection for a perfect situation.  Since Texas also wants Beltre back next season, a win-win situation for the team would be to get some young talent in a trade and then just re-sign Beltre in the offseason.  It all depends on whether Beltre is willing to uproot himself for a couple of months to join a contender, or if he prefers to just remain in a comfortable environment in Texas.  Still, it can’t hurt Beltre to at least listen to trade offers in case an ideal short-term opportunity presents itself.
  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently emphasized Rafael Devers’ status as Boston’s third baseman of the present and future, and Heyman hears from a source that the Sox have no plans to deal the young slugger.  Devers has hit only .239/.284/.425 with 13 homers over 328 PA this season, leading to speculation that the Sox could look for third base help, either for the short term (Boston has been linked to Adrian Beltre in the rumor mill) or perhaps with Devers himself heading elsewhere in a deal.  It certainly seems way too early for the Sox to give up on Devers, who is just 21 and in the midst of his first full season in the majors.  He would be a major trade chip, however, if the Red Sox did explore moving him for another major veteran acquisition.
  • It isn’t yet certain if Charlie Morton will pursue another contract or retire after the season, though if he does hit the open market, Heyman speculates that the veteran could earn something between $16MM and $25MM (the average annual values given to Rich Hill and Jake Arrieta the last two offseasons) next season.  Morton turns 35 in November but has been fantastic since joining the Astros, and is currently in the midst of the best season of his 11-year career.  It seems likely that the Astros will extend a qualifying offer to Morton after the season, as Heyman notes, and Morton certainly seems like a good candidate to accept the one-year deal in the $18MM+ range, given his love of playing in Houston.

John Lamb To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Angels southpaw John Lamb will undergo Tommy John surgery after an MRI revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, according to a team media release.  Lamb just hit the disabled list a few days ago due to shoulder and elbow inflammation.

Lamb signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles in the 2016-17 offseason and made three starts for the team this year, which represented his first taste of MLB action since pitching for the Reds in 2016.  Lamb was solid in his first outing but struggled in his next two starts, and he’ll end the year with an ugly 7.20 ERA and four homers allowed over just 10 innings pitched.

The surgery represents the latest setback for Lamb in a career that has been marked by injuries and off-the-field issues.  Considered one of the game’s top pitching prospects in his early days in the Royals’ farm system, Lamb was never quite the same after undergoing his first Tommy John procedure in 2011.  He has also battled back injuries and served a 50-game suspension last season after testing positive for a drug of abuse.  Over 129 2/3 career innings with the Reds and Angels, Lamb has a 6.25 ERA, 8.8 K/9, and 3.25 K/BB rate, with the long ball being a consistent problem (1.8 HR/9) for the left-hander.

The Angels have been ravaged by pitching injuries over the last few seasons, and Lamb is now the fourth Halos pitcher (after J.C. Ramirez, Keynan Middleton, and Blake Wood) to require Tommy John surgery in the last two-plus months.  Jake Jewell is also gone for the season after undergoing right fibula surgery, while Matt Shoemaker could potentially miss the rest of the year after he needed to go under the knife to fix a split tendon in his forearm.  All told, Anaheim currently has a whopping 11 pitchers on its disabled list, including front-of-the-rotation names like Garrett Richards and Shohei Ohtani (though Ohtani may be close to a return as a hitter, if not yet as a pitcher as the team continues to monitor his UCL sprain.)

Darren O’Day To Undergo Season-Ending Hamstring Surgery

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TODAY: O’Day will undergo season-ending surgery on his hamstring, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) was among those to report.  The projected recovery time is six months, so O’Day should be ready to go for Spring Training.

YESTERDAY: The Orioles have placed reliever Darren O’Day on the 60-day disabled list and designated infielder Corban Joseph for assignment, per a club announcement. O’Day had previously been placed on the 10-day DL with a left hamstring injury.

Those moves cleared two needed 40-man roster spots to facilitate a pair of promotions. To create active roster space, the O’s optioned pitchers Jimmy Yacabonis and Yefry Ramirez.

Needless to say, it’s hardly promising to see O’Day heading to the 60-day DL so soon after being diagnosed with a strained hammy. Clearly, it’s not a minor injury. Indeed, a second opinion has already confirmed that initial impression, per Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com (via Twitter).

O’Day is still weighing (and perhaps leaning toward) surgery, Connolly notes. If that’s necessary, it is likely he won’t return this year. Even if the prognosis turns out to be slightly more promising, the veteran reliever no longer seems like a plausible trade candidate.

In theory, O’Day could return in very late August. His contract would certainly clear waivers, facilitating a deal. And we have seen deadline deals worked out for injured players in some prior cases (see, e.g., here). But with $9MM still to go in 2019, in addition to the remainder of this season’s $9MM salary, it’s all but impossible to imagine something coming together unless the contract is simply utilized to offset other salary being swapped.

It’s yet more unfortunate news for an Orioles organization that is saddled with multiple undesirable contracts. O’Day had pitched quite well this year when healthy, with a 3.60 ERA and impressive combination of 12.2 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 over his twenty innings, leaving some hope that the club could at least save some money and perhaps get a bit of talent back in return.

As for the 29-year-old Joseph, today’s move wraps up his second brief turn in the majors. He had performed quite well at Double-A prior to his promotion, slashing .332/.398/.534 in 281 plate appearances.

Zack Cozart Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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TODAY: Cozart underwent the surgery, the Angels announced.  The procedure carries a recovery timetable of 6-8 months, so Cozart will indeed miss the rest of the season and could miss some Spring Training time if his rehab is on the longer end of the spectrum.

WEDNESDAY: The Angels announced tonight that infielder Zack Cozart has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will require surgical repair. The Angels didn’t provide a timetable for his return, though it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to recover in time to return in 2018.

Cozart, 32, signed a three-year, $38MM contract with the Angels to serve as their everyday third baseman this past offseason. However, after a strong start to the season, he faded badly, hitting just .184/.287/.224 in his final 27 games before landing on the disabled list on June 15. Given today’s medical update, it seems quite likely that his first season with the Halos will come to a close with an overall .219/.296/.362 batting line.

It’s the latest in a staggeringly long line of injuries for an Angels club that now has an incredible 13 players on its Major League disabled list. Beyond Cozart, key players including Shohei Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Nick Tropeano and Keynan Middleton are all on the shelf at present.

[Related: Los Angeles Angels depth chart]

Rookie David Fletcher and veteran Luis Valbuena have been sharing the workload at third base since Cozart landed on the disabled list, though Valbuena is in the midst of his worst offensive season since 2012. Fletcher was on an otherworldly tear in Triple-A before his call to the Majors and has hit well in a tiny sample  of 24 plate appearances. Certainly, the Angels could elect to stick with that pair for the remainder of the season, but the loss of Cozart also presents GM Billy Eppler and his staff with the possibility of acquiring a short-term upgrade at the hot corner at a time when the market figures to be flush with options.

Manny Machado, of course, is the biggest name on the trade market who fits that bill, but there will surely be others on the table. Mike Moustakas is already available, and it stands to reason that the Mets would be willing to part with either Todd Frazier or Asdrubal Cabrera. Adrian Beltre stands out as yet another intriguing possibility, as the Rangers are reportedly open to dealing the future Hall of Famer, who is a free agent at season’s end. Old friend David Freese, too, could emerge as a trade candidate next month, depending on the Pirates’ play.

At a certain point, however, it’s worth wondering if the Angels will even function as buyers on the summer trade market. The Halos are 4-11 in their past 15 games and have fallen to fourth place in the AL West, currently sitting a likely insurmountable 12 games back of the Astros. The Wild Card prospects are a bit better for the Halos, as they’re “only” eight games out of that race. That said, with injuries mounting and a tough schedule ahead — they have two series against the Mariners and Dodgers each before the All-Star break — it shouldn’t necessarily be considered a lock that the Angels will be in position to be adding pieces a month from now.

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