AL Central Notes: Yost, Hale, Kinley, Wilson
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
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
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
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
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
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.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Albies/Acuña, Early Deadline Thoughts, O’s, More
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
White Sox Outright Casey Gillaspie
The White Sox have outrighted first baseman Casey Gillaspie, per a club announcement. That opens a spot on the 40-man roster that has yet to be filled.
Gillaspie, a former first-round pick of the Rays back in 2014, was acquired last summer in the deal that sent Dan Jennings to Tampa Bay. The South Siders placed Gillaspie on the 40-man roster over the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Since the start of 2017, however, the switch-hitting Gillaspie has mostly struggled. He is off to a miserable .214/.263/.229 start at the plate this year at Triple-A Charlotte, with 29 strikeouts and no home runs through 76 trips to the dish.
Indians Place Andrew Miller On 10-Day DL, Purchase Contract Of Jeff Beliveau
The Indians have announced that star reliever Andrew Miller is heading to the 10-day DL with a strained hamstring. Replacing him on the active roster will be southpaw Jeff Beliveau, while fellow lefty Jack Leathersich was designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.
Miller suffered the injury in last night’s game. Its full severity is not yet known, so it’s also unclear how long he’ll be down. The 32-year-old has been in typically dominant form thus far in 2018, producing a 17:4 K/BB ratio in ten scoreless innings.
He’ll be replaced for the time being with Beliveau, who had joined the Cleveland organization on a minors deal over the offseason. The 31-year-old had a compelling but brief run in the Rays bullpen back in 2014 but has since been ineffective in limited opportunities at the game’s highest level.
That said, Beliveau did record 17 strikeouts in his 15 2/3 innings last year with the Blue Jays. And he was off to quite the start this year at Triple-A. In 8 2/3 frames over seven appearances, the former 18th-round pick has racked up 14 punchouts while permitting two hits, one walk, and no runs.
As for Leathersich, who was claimed from the Pirates late this spring, he has not shown well in his time at Columbus. The 27-year-old has recorded nine strikeouts and has allowed just three hits through five frames over seven appearances, but has also permitted six earned runs by virtue of issuing seven free passes.
Twins Claim David Hale
The Twins have claimed righty David Hale off waivers from the Yankees, per a club announcement. Hale will be placed onto the active roster, which will require a corresponding move.
Minnesota had just announced a pitching move, calling up Aaron Slegers after dropping Rule 5 pick Tyler Kinley. Now, they’ll have another new addition to the MLB roster, which could mean that Slegers will end up back on optional assignment.
Hale had been designated by the Yankees as part of their own staff tweaking (in that case, claiming A.J. Cole). The 30-year-old Hale turned in one scoreless outing at the MLB level this year but has spent most of the first month of the season at Triple-A, where he owns a 5.52 ERA with ten strikeouts and two walks over 14 2/3 innings.