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Mets Sign Brad Brach

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The Mets have signed right-hander Brad Brach, as per the team’s Twitter feed.  Brandon Nimmo was shifted to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot, while left-hander Donnie Hart was optioned to Triple-A to create space on New York’s active roster.

After being released earlier this week by the Cubs, the Mets are hopeful that a change of scenery can turn around what has been easily the roughest full season of Brach’s career.  The righty has a 6.13 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 1.61 K/BB rate over 39 2/3 innings this season, with an ungainly 6.4 BB/9 and a career-high 37.4% hard-hit ball rate standing out as the biggest issues.  That said, Brach was perhaps a touch unlucky to post that big ERA, as his .375 BABIP and ERA predictors (4.13 FIP, 4.88 xFIP, 4.93 SIERA) could hint.

It’s worth noting that Brach also didn’t pitch well last season with the Orioles before a midseason trade to the Braves got him back on track, as Brach had a 1.52 ERA over 23 2/3 frames for Atlanta.  Overall, Brach has spent much of the decade as a solid-to-excellent relief arm for the Padres, Orioles, and Braves, posting a 3.05 ERA, 2.43 K/BB rate, and 9.4 K/9 over 449 innings from 2012-18.

Anything close to that performance would be a big help to a New York bullpen that has largely struggled this season, apart from a superlative year from Seth Lugo and some good work from southpaw Justin Wilson over his 21 innings with the club.  Edwin Diaz is ostensibly still the closer, though Lugo could potentially get more save opportunities down the stretch, so Brach could possibly step right into a setup role.

The Mets will only be paying Brach a prorated minimum salary for the remainder of the season, as the Cubs are covering the rest of the salary owed to Brach under the terms of his rather bonus-heavy one-year contract.  The deal also contains a dual option for 2020 — the Mets can either pay Brach $5MM or buy him out for $100K.  If the latter option occurs, Brach can enact a player option worth $1.35MM.

Though Brodie Van Wagenen has only been the Mets’ general manager for less than a year, the club had interest in Brach prior to the 2018 season, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.  A Brach-for-Matt Harvey deal was discussed between the Mets and Orioles, which creates an interesting what-if scenario for fans.

Mets, Zack Wheeler “Failed To Progress” In Extension Talks

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The Mets were seemingly exploring all options as both buyers and sellers leading up to the trade deadline, including the possibility of signing Zack Wheeler to an extension and (presumably then) trading Noah Syndergaard.  The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal had the original report about the Mets’ interest in extending Wheeler, and in a longer piece (subscription required), Rosenthal notes that Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen actually did broach a long-term deal with Wheeler’s agent.  However, “the conversations failed to progress,” and Wheeler is still on track to reach free agency after the season.

It isn’t any surprise that the two sides didn’t link up, if for no other reason than it’s rare to see a pending free agent sign a midseason extension.  Usually, such deals are completed before Opening Day (or perhaps shortly into April) in the player’s final season under contract.  With over two-thirds of the season in the books, however, it likely would’ve taken a real sweetheart of an offer from the Mets to convince Wheeler to forego his shot at the open market, particularly since he stands to land a rich deal.  MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently slotted Wheeler fourth in his latest power ranking of the 2019-20 free agent class.

If anything, Wheeler’s stock has only risen since the trade deadline.  The right-hander has tossed 15 shutout innings over his last two starts, continuing his career-long trend of pitching better in the second half of the season.  For all of 2019, Wheeler has a 4.20 ERA, 9.62 K/9, 46.3% grounder rate, 4.26 K/BB rate, and .297 xwOBA over 139 1/3 innings, with ERA indicators (3.44 FIP, 3.74 xFIP, 3.93 SIERA) hinting that he is outperforming his actual ERA.

Even before his two post-deadline starts boosted his numbers, Wheeler was still generating a lot of trade interest, though no team was prepared to meet the Mets’ “high, high expectations” (as one team official told Rosenthal) placed on any trade offer for Wheeler, Syndergaard, or any other player who might have been available.  The asking price was high enough even to deter teams who might have been willing to overpay for Wheeler — one rival executive tells Rosenthal that his club was prepared to make a “stupid” offer to add him to their rotation before the deadline.

As Rosenthal notes, this “stupid” offer (and possibly other offers from other teams) would likely have given the Mets more in return for Wheeler than the compensatory draft pick they’d be in line to receive if Wheeler signed elsewhere this winter after rejecting a qualifying offer.  Like so many other free agents in recent years, Wheeler’s market could be somewhat impacted by a qualifying offer (a one-year deal in the range of $18MM+), though the odds are good right now that he’d reject the QO in search of a longer-term contract.

The Mets ended up being buyers rather than sellers at the deadline, adding Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays and holding onto the rest of their starting staff.  At the moment, it’s hard to argue with results, as New York was already on a hot streak going into the deadline that has now extended to a run of 13 wins over their last 14 games.  If the Mets did plan to make a playoff push, however, Rosenthal wonders why Stroman ended up being the only move, as the club didn’t address other needs (i.e. relief pitching, center field), and also traded another starter in Jason Vargas to the Phillies, another team in wild card contention.  It’s possible the Mets could be active on the August waiver wire, though Rosenthal also wonders if the $206MM luxury tax threshold could have been a consideration — Roster Resource has the Mets’ luxury tax number at just under $203.22MM.

Blue Jays Claim Zack Godley

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TODAY: The Jays officially added Godley to the active roster, optioning right-hander Brock Stewart to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays have claimed righty Zack Godley off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Toronto will owe Godley the remainder of his $609K salary.

It’s easy to see why the Jays took a shot on the 29-year-old Godley. In need of some additional arms to finish out the season, there’s no harm in giving him an opportunity. And the club could tender Godley a contract for 2020 if he manages to bounce back.

Make no mistake, though: it has been a rough campaign to this point for Godley. His strikeout rate has plummeted to just 6.9 K/9 after sitting at better than a batter-per-inning in the prior two seasons. Godley is giving up more homers than he had in those immediately preceding campaigns as well. The result: a 6.39 ERA over 76 innings.

A mid-season move to a multi-inning relief role did help, as Godley’s velocity turned up a bit. He held opposing hitters to a .218/.297/.414 batting line and posted an improved 28:13 K/BB ratio. But he was also tagged for seven long balls and a 4.62 ERA in his 37 relief frames.

Godley is just two years removed from an excellent 2017 campaign and also posted reasonably promising peripherals last year. But he’ll have to figure some things out if he’s to get back on an upward trajectory. Rediscovering some of the lost velo would help. He’s generating swinging-strikes at a significantly lower rate than he did in his ’17 effort (10.1% vs. 13.3%), with the difference residing almost entirely in the fact that hitters have made way more contact on pitches out of the zone. His groundball rate has sagged from 55.3% at its peak to to just 43.0% this year.

Red Sox Place David Price On 10-Day Injured List

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The Red Sox announced that left-hander David Price has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left wrist injury.  The placement is retroactive to August 5.  Price received a cortisone shot after an MRI revealed a TFCC cyst within his wrist.  Righty Hector Velazquez has been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Price’s spot on Boston’s roster.

This will be Price’s second IL stint of the year, following a relatively minor two-week absence in May to recover from left elbow tendinitis.  This current injury also doesn’t seem overtly serious, though losing Price for any amount of time is another blow to a Red Sox team that is falling further and further back in the AL wild card race.

It’s been a decent, if somewhat unlucky, season for Price, as he has a 4.36 ERA that advanced metrics (3.64 FIP, 3.67 xFIP, 3.81 SIERA) suggest should be lower, plus his .310 xwOBA is slightly outperforming his .324 wOBA.  Price’s 10.77 K/9 is the highest of his career, though he has also posted career highs in hard-hit ball rate (37.2%) and home run rate (15%).

Price hasn’t pitched well since the All-Star break, as he has a whopping 10.59 ERA over his last four starts (17 innings).  The southpaw’s struggles have contributed to the overall desultory recent performance of Boston’s starting pitching, as Red Sox started have a combined 6.24 ERA over the last 30 days, the third-worst mark of any club in baseball over that timeframe.  Velazquez will try and fill Price’s shoes in the rotation, though the swingman has also had a rough go of it in 2019, with a 5.67 ERA over 46 innings this season.

Twins Select Randy Dobnak

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TODAY: The Twins officially announced the move.

YESTERDAY: The Twins will select the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North 1500 first reported (Twitter link). Minnesota already optioned righty Kohl Stewart to Rochester following today’s game. The Twins already have a 40-man roster spot open following last month’s bullpen purge that saw the team DFA Adalberto Mejia, Mike Morin, Matt Magill and Blake Parker in less than two weeks’ time.

Dobnak, 24, hasn’t exactly taken a conventional path to the Majors. Undrafted out of Division-II Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia, Dobnak’s first professional outing came with the Utica Unicorns of the independent United Shore League in June 2017. He signed with the Twins less than two months later and began his career in affiliated ball with the Twins’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Appalachian League. Dobnak posted strong numbers there against younger, teenaged competition and enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular 2018 campaign in Class-A Cedar Rapids.

In 2019, Dobnak opened the season in the Class-A Advanced Florida State League but was promoted to Double-A before the calendar flipped to May. By early June, he’d been promoted for his first taste of Triple-A ball. Dobnak hasn’t posted an ERA higher than 2018’s 3.14 mark in the Midwest League at any stop in the minors; in fact, his next-highest ERA at any level is 2.57. Through 125 innings across three minor league levels in 2019, Dobnak has pitched to a minuscule 2.02 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.43 HR/9 and a 59 percent ground-ball rate.

That meteoric rise was enough to land a player who once looked like little more than organizational filler in the No. 30 spot on Baseball America’s midseason update to the Twins’ top prospects, and all he’s done since the publication of that list is toss another 26 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on 12 hits and five walks with 21 strikeouts. While Dobnak still shouldn’t be mistaken for any kind of elite pitching prospect, his ascent from undrafted indie ball player to Major Leaguer in just north of two calendar years is nevertheless remarkable. The Twins currently have Michael Pineda on the injured list, so it’s possible that Dobnak will get a start. If not, he’ll add some length to a Twins bullpen that has been a frequent source of headaches for fans and the organization alike in recent months.

Corey Kluber Begins Rehab Assignment

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Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber set out on a minor league rehab assignment Thursday, tossing three innings for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus.

Kluber made 41 pitches across three innings, allowing a pair of runs on two hits — both solo homers — and a walk with two strikeouts. That line isn’t exactly pretty, but the organization’s focus for Kluber is surely more on the process and how Kluber will feel in the coming days than it is on the bottom-line results. Kluber hasn’t pitched since May 1, when he sustained a fractured forearm upon being struck by a comeback line drive.

Of course, Kluber’s results soon will be the focus, and the version of him that returns from the injured list will have a seismic impact on Cleveland’s postseason chances. If the Indians are greeted by the Cy Young-winning ace that Kluber has been for much of his career — or anything close to it — they’ll pose an even more formidable threat to the Twins and their dwindling division lead. But Kluber opened the season in a disastrous slump, pitching to a 5.80 ERA and battling control issues the likes of which we’ve never seen from him. In just 35 2/3 innings of work, Kluber walked 15 batters (3.8 BB/9) and hit another three. For a pitcher who only walked 34 batters and hit three in 215 innings last season, that was obviously an unsettling start to the year.

There’s little reason to believe Kluber won’t return to form, but he’ll need to sharpen his command quickly with Cleveland in a tight race for the American League Central crown. The Indians’ pitching staff has been rocked by injuries this season, but the team has remained competitive thanks to a breakout from Shane Bieber and solid contributions from lesser known arms like Zach Plesac. A healthy and effective Kluber will be all the more important now that Trevor Bauer is pitching in Cincinnati following a three-team deadline blockbuster. If Kluber can indeed bounce back, he’ll join Bieber and Mike Clevinger in comprising one of the more imposing rotation trios in the game.

Angels Claim Adalberto Mejia (Again)

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The Angels announced Thursday that they’ve claimed lefty Adalberto Mejia off waivers from the Cardinals. It’s the second time this season that the Halos have claimed Mejia, whom they lost to the Cardinals on waivers in late July after designating him for assignment themselves. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Halos requested unconditional release waivers on catcher Jose Briceno.

A former top 100 prospect who profiled as a fourth starter, Mejia never established himself with the Twins and has now bounced from Minnesota to Anaheim to St. Louis and back to Anaheim this season. He’s posted a 7.54 ERA in 22 2/3 innings, though he’s only a season removed from solid numbers as a starter with Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate a season ago. Mejia is out of minor league options, so the Angels will have to keep him on the big league roster or else expose him to waivers for what would be the fourth time this season.

Mejia was designated by the Angels at the conclusion of a 16-inning marathon game that depleted their ’pen, and the club was perhaps reluctant to make that move. They’ll now get a second look at the big lefty as they evaluate whether he can be a potential piece of the pitching staff moving forward — be it in the ’pen or in the rotation. He has experience in both arenas.

As for Briceno, the 26-year-old has spent the season in Triple-A Salt Lake, where he’s managed a tepid .215/.262/.405 slash in 84 plate appearances. He’s shown a bit of pop in limited Triple-A action over the past couple seasons but has a sub-.300 OBP at every level above Class-A ball in his career.

Tigers Select John Schreiber

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The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander John Schreiber from Triple-A Toledo. He’ll step into the vacancy that was created when Detroit designated veteran reliever Trevor Rosenthal for assignment yesterday.

Schreiber, 25, is a Michigan native whom the Tigers selected in the 15th round back in 2016. He hasn’t drawn any rankings in the top echelon of an improved Tigers farm system, but he’s enjoyed a strong 2019 campaign all the same. In a combined 54 2/3 innings out of the bullpen between Double-A Erie (seven innings) and Triple-A Toledo (47 2/3 innings), Schreiber owns a 2.80 ERA with averages of 11.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 0.82 HR/9.

Detroit’s bullpen has been in a state of flux for much of the season, as is to be expected with a rebuilding club. The deadline trade of Shane Greene to the Braves and Rosenthal’s departure only further open the door for auditions over the final two months of the 2019 season.

Rangers Notes: Kiner-Falefa, Pence, Closer, Volquez

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The Rangers have essentially put an end to Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s days as a catcher, writes Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. Kiner-Falefa, 24, was drafted as an infielder and didn’t suit up behind the plate until being asked to learn the position in 2016. He’s logged 30-plus games behind the dish each year since that 2016 campaign, and manager Chris Woodward said this week that Kiner-Falefa might catch on rare occasions, but he’ll now function primarily as an infielder. Learning such a demanding position in the upper minors and at the MLB level is no easy task, and Kiner-Falefa candidly acknowledged that while he was 100 percent dedicated to learning the craft, he was still uncomfortable behind the plate. “When I was catching this year, I was feeling a lot of pressure just based on the pitcher’s career,” he said. “I did everything I could to call the game the right way, be the best receiver I could possibly, and I kind of forgot everything else.” Kiner-Falefa added that he feels as though he’s “home” again, returning to his infield roots.

More out of Arlington…

  • Hunter Pence isn’t bothered by seeing his role with the club reduced as Texas auditions younger players down the stretch, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Rather, he took the reduced role in stride and called a team meeting to urge that the entire roster buy into the youth movement. “I’m going to put my best foot forward no matter the situation,” Pence explained. “I’m happy every day I am at the park, and I’m going to give everything I have … Part of being on a team is not worrying about playing time. Whether I play less, more or the same, I will give what I have.” Fellow veteran Shin-Soo Choo echoed the sentiment, praising Woodward’s communication and the manner in which he cares for his players. Choo is under contract with the Rangers next season, so the play of the team’s young talent down the stretch could impact his role next season. Pence, a strong candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, is a free agent at season’s end, though one can only assume he has interest in re-upping with his hometown team.
  • While Shawn Kelley had been closing games for the Rangers prior to landing on the injured list last month, he’ll return to a setup role now that he’s been activated, Woodward said yesterday (link via Brian Dulik of MLB.com). Jose Leclerc lost the handle on ninth-inning duties earlier this season but has regained that role for the time being despite a recent blown save and a total of four runs allowed in seven innings since the All-Star break. With Texas fading from Wild Card contention, it makes sense to put Leclerc back into the role the club envisioned when signing him to an extension during Spring Training. The Rangers are obviously invested in helping the flamethrowing young righty return to form and surely still hope that he’ll be a top-tier late-inning option for them for the foreseeable future.
  • The Rangers announced yesterday that veteran righty Edinson Volquez is embarking on a minor league rehab assignment, beginning with the club’s Rookie-level Arizona League affiliate. The 36-year-old Volquez made a brief return from his second career Tommy John surgery early in the season, only to go down with another elbow issue that has sidelined him since April. Volquez initially feared a third tear of his UCL, but it seems he’s avoided that fate. Now, he hopes to make it back to a big league mound for one last run in 2019 so that he can retire on his own terms following the season.

6 Non-Tendered Players Who Could Be Re-Tendered This Fall

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MLBTR is the hottest spot on the internet for all your arbitration needs! I know, I know … bold marketing statement. But it’s true. We take the arb process seriously in these parts, from essential arbitration projections to detailed breakdowns to in-time coverage of the market as it unfolds. (Wondering about those projections? No doubt we’ll be aiming again for an early-October release.)

We also understand that the arb process is a bit of a wonky niche in the baseball transactional world. Even big hearing victories like these barely register on the news wire. But they are still quite important. And many smaller decisions are as well. If you’re the type who appreciates this sort of thing … well, that’s why you’re here.

Anyway, that’s all a bit of background to help explain why I thought it’d be worthwhile to follow up on a few notable players who were non-tendered (or designated just before the tender deadline) by their teams last fall. I even invented a new term, “re-tendered,” to encapsulate players who go from being non-tendered one year to offered arbitration again with another team. (Exciting times, I know.) This doesn’t work for non-tendered players who have already exhausted their arb eligibility (hence, no Avisail Garcia). We also won’t list players who are not yet arb-eligible but were non-tendered last fall (it’s possible for pre-arb players, too; Adrian Sampson is a possible example).

Tim Beckham would’ve been a prime candidate but for his recent PED suspension. Here are six remaining re-tender candidates:

Derek Dietrich, INF, Reds: Okay, he wasn’t technically non-tendered. But Dietrich was designated by the Marlins just before the non-tender deadline, so he’s in. Dietrich ended up on a minors deal in Cincinnati that pays $2MM in the bigs. He has repaid that handsomely, with 273 plate appearances of .207/.349/.514 hitting. While he hasn’t maintained an early storm of productivity, Dietrich remains a plausible tender candidate for 2020.

James McCann, C, White Sox: Another player who has faded after a blistering start, McCann still seems an easy tender choice for the White Sox. That’s a bummer for the division-rival Tigers, who finally decided to cut him loose. McCann owns a .282/.338/.458 batting line with a dozen long balls in 335 plate appearances.

Matt Shoemaker, SP, Blue Jays: He is nearing his 33rd birthday and has been hurt an awful lot — including an ACL tear that cost him the bulk of the present campaign. But Shoemaker has talent, as evidenced by the 1.57 ERA he posted in five starts before shredding his knee. He signed with the pitching-needy Jays for $3.5MM over the winter after the Angels non-tendered him. Perhaps the Toronto organization will double down, bettering that a lengthy respite for Shoemaker’s right arm will help him finally bounce back in full in 2020.

Hunter Strickland, RP, Nationals: Another player who was DFA’ed just before the arb decision point, the former Giants late-inning man signed in Seattle for $1.3MM and ended up in D.C. on deadline day. Strickland hasn’t actually thrown many innings this season due to injury, but a solid showing down the stretch could make him a keeper for a Nats club that will be looking to fill multiple bullpen vacancies over the offseason to come.

Blake Parker, RP, Phillies: Non-tendered by the Angels and inked for $1.8MM by the Twins, Parker sacrificed the remainder of his guaranteed salary when he elected free agency after he was cut loose by the Minnesota org earlier this season. He has already coughed up four earned runs on two long balls in five innings in Philly. The thing is, the Philadelphia organization is facing a strain on its relief unit and has good reason to keep running Parker out there. He has run up eight strikeouts without a walk thus far in Philly. While his velocity has continued to trail off, it’s still imaginable he’ll end up being worth a relatively affordable tender this fall.

Chris Herrmann, C, Athletics: It’s too soon to say on Herrmann, who’s earning just $1MM in Oakland after being non-tendered by the Astros following an offseason deal from the Mariners. He hasn’t hit a ton since making it back from a long injured list stint, but Herrmann has a nice opportunity ahead of him down the stretch. It’s certainly possible to imagine he’ll show the A’s enough to warrant a tender. You could throw teammate Robbie Grossman on this list, too, though he has produced tepid numbers in a much lengthier sample this year.

Did I miss anyone? Let me know in the comments!

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