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Pitcher Notes: Braves, Stroman, Mets, Wheeler, Fulmer, Giants

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The Braves were among the teams present to scout Marcus Stroman’s latest outing, per David O’Brien of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Braves are in many ways the perfect partner for a team with a moveable asset like the Blue Jays, as Atlanta is flush with near-ready major league arms, but lacking the consistency it desires as a team positioned for the playoffs. The asking price for Stroman is said to be high – in the area of what the Pirates surrendered for Chris Archer – but Toronto is likely taking the call even if Atlanta starts with one of its ready-but-struggling arms, depending on whom the Blue Jays favor from the group of Max Fried, Bryse Wilson, Sean Newcomb, Touki Toussaint and Kyle Wright. Landing in Atlanta would reunite Stroman with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who was the Jays’ GM when they drafted the hurler 22nd overall in 2012.

More on a few other noteworthy pitchers…

  • Mets righty and prime trade candidate Zack Wheeler went on the injured list with a shoulder impingement on July 15, but it doesn’t appear that’s going to stand in the way of a possible deadline deal. Wheeler could throw a full bullpen session Sunday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. If that goes well, there’s potential for Wheeler to return in time to make two starts by the July 31 cutoff for trades, Puma observes. As things stand, the Mets are still optimistic Wheeler would net “a solid return” in a deal, according to Puma.
  • Tigers righty Michael Fulmer provided an update Saturday on his recovery from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News relays. “Everything is going according to plan,” said Fulmer, who added he probably won’t pick up a baseball until October or November. The hope is that Fulmer will make it back to the Tigers’ rotation sometime next summer. While lefty Matthew Boyd is Detroit’s top trade chip nowadays, that honor belonged to Fulmer a couple years ago. However, thanks to the former Rookie of the Year’s recent downturn in performance, multiple injuries and his TJ procedure, Fulmer’s trade value is nil at the moment. Still just 26, Fulmer has another three years of arbitration eligibility left, so he could yet reemerge as a valuable starter for the Tigers.
  • The Giants added righty Jandel Gustave to their 40-man roster Thursday, in part because he has an opt-out in his minors deal and was drawing interest from other teams, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets (sorry, Henry, but Gustave’s placement on the Giants’ 40-man is not the most obscure transaction MLBTR has covered thus far). As Schulman notes, Gustave possesses an enticing high-90s fastball. The 26-year-old hasn’t been able to harness his stuff into positive results with the San Francisco organization yet, however. Gustave has pitched to a 6.56 ERA/6.08 FIP with 9.26 K/9, 4.24 BB/9 and a 48.6 percent groundball in 23 1/3 Triple-A innings this season.

Rockies Designate Mark Reynolds For Assignment

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10:38 am: Hoffman will work out of the Rockies’ bullpen instead of replacing Senzatela in the rotation, tweets Nick Groke of the Athletic. The club’s fifth starter, who is scheduled to start Thursday, remains up in the air.

9:32 am: The Rockies announced they have designated first baseman Mark Reynolds for assignment, clearing space on the 40-man roster for left-handed pitcher Sam Howard. Additionally, the club has optioned right-hander Antonio Senzatela to Triple-A Albuquerque, recalling fellow righty Jeff Hoffman in his place.

The move brings to an end Reynolds’ second stint in Colorado. Soon to turn 36, the longtime power hitter simply hasn’t performed at the plate in 2019. Through 162 plate appearances, Reynolds sports a woeful .170/.290/.311 slash despite calling the most hitter-friendly park in baseball home. While he has continued to sport a keen eye at the plate, evidenced by a 13.6% walk rate, his 35.2% strikeout rate simply became unpalatable. Reynolds is only one year removed from solid offensive production with the Nationals and has a long track record of hitting for power, but as a right-handed hitter who can only play first base, he’s a difficult roster fit. He’ll almost certainly be released in the coming days, before he can explore interest on a minor-league deal from suitors searching for a power-hitting depth piece who’s respected in the clubhouse.

Howard will get his first base of big-league action in 2019 after throwing four innings for Colorado last season. A soft-tosser, Howard converted to relief full-time this season and has seen his production take off in Albuquerque. His strikeout rate in Triple-A is up ten points from where it was last season, perhaps reflecting an uptick in stuff in shorter stints, although his 11.9% walk rate this year is also a career-high. There’s little to lose in giving Howard a look, as the Rockies’ bullpen has a pedestrian 4.93 ERA on the season.

The club’s rotation has fared even worse than the relief corps, with Senzatela partly to blame. Through 17 starts, he’s posted a woeful 6.29 ERA. The 24 year-old does have an above-average 52.8% ground-ball rate, but his 12.3% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate give him the worst K%-BB% of any starter in baseball in 2019 (minimum 80 innings).

In his stead, the Rockies will turn to Hoffman, a former top prospect who, like most of the team’s arms, has struggled in the majors this year. Through seven starts, Hoffman has a 6.75 ERA, having been undone by the home run ball (1.89 HR/9). He’s been even worse in Albuquerque, but unlike Senzatela, he at least has flashed some strikeout stuff and a mid-90’s fastball. That Hoffman is in the majors at all following his abysmal performance this season, though, sums up the freefalling club’s surprising inability to find competent arms to trot out, just a year after boasting one of the best pitching staffs in franchise history.

Braves To Activate Kevin Gausman

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Braves right-hander Kevin Gausman will be activated from the 10-day injured list to start this evening’s game against the Nationals, reports David O’Brien of the Athletic. Gausman has been out since June 10 with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The team has yet to formally announce the move, which will require a corresponding 25-man roster opening.

The 2019 season has been a challenge for Gausman, owner of a 6.21 ERA over 13 starts. There’s reason to believe he can at least reemerge as a capable mid-rotation starter if the injury is behind him. Gausman’s strikeout, walk and home run rates this year aren’t significantly different from those of the past three seasons. While he’s never quite lived up to the #2 starter billing he received as a former top-five draft choice and top-25 overall prospect, his track record is certainly one of a competent big-league starter. Between 2016-2018, Gausman combined average rate performance (a 4.17 ERA, 21.2% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate) with rare durability, ranking seventh in baseball with 95 starts.

Even a mere return to form would be a boon to an Atlanta rotation that could use the stability. On the season, the Braves’ rotation has posted respectable if unspectacular numbers, but things have been a little more worrisome recently. Mike Soroka’s numbers have tailed off somewhat following his otherworldly start, while Dallas Keuchel and Julio Teheran have worrying peripherals belied by their solid ERA’s (although it’s worth noting both veterans have made something of a habit of outperforming ERA estimators in the past). Most worrisome, #2 starter Max Fried recently hit the 10-day IL with a blister. Former ace Mike Foltynewicz, meanwhile, has been better at Triple-A following a nightmarish start to the season, but the organization evidently feels he has more kinks to work through before getting recalled.

As O’Brien explores more fully in the above-linked piece, though, Gausman isn’t merely targeting a return to the status quo. He’ll bring with him a new toy, having found the grip on a curveball, a pitch he hasn’t thrown since 2016, per Brooks Baseball. Gausman has long had above-average fastball velocity and a vaunted split-change, but he’s yet to settle on a trusted breaking pitch. He scrapped the curveball for a slider entering 2017, but never felt comfortable with the new offering, which was average at best at generating swings-and-misses and ground balls.

Of course, Gausman’s curveball was never an elite pitch either, the reason he dropped it in the first place. It’s fair, then, to be skeptical of the hook unlocking another gear in Gausman until we see him deploy it at the highest level. Nevertheless, it’s at least notable to hear the hurler express excitement about a new breaking pitch, considering he’s essentially pitched the entire 2019 season with only a fastball and splitter, having ditched the slider from the season’s outset.

Whether Gausman’s third offering spurs a new level of performance remains to be seen. Regardless, just having a healthy, competent version of Gausman taking the ball every fifth day should help assuage some of the front office’s concerns about the rotation, which have caused them to poke around on the cream of the crop on the trade market. Perhaps the NL East frontrunners will swing a deal for starting pitching in the coming weeks no matter what, but a return to form (or further breakout) from their prized deadline acquisition last year might allow them to deploy their still-elite farm system to address other weak points on the roster.

Phillies Announce Drew Smyly Signing, Designate Fernando Salas

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The Phillies announced the signing of left-hander Drew Smyly, who will start Sunday. The club designated reliever Fernando Salas for assignment to make room for Smyly.

This is already the second time the Phillies have designated Salas since signing him to a minor league contract June 7. As was the case before, the 34-year-old will have the option of declining an outright assignment to the minors if he clears waivers. Salas hasn’t been part of the solution for the Phillies’ bullpen, though he has only thrown 2 2/3 major league innings this year.

Desperate for help in their starting staff, the playoff-contending Phillies are now turning to the once-respectable Smyly at the expense of Salas’ roster spot. The 30-year-old Smyly endured a disastrous stint earlier this season as a member of the Rangers, with whom he mustered an 8.42 ERA/8.06 FIP in 51 1/3 innings. Smyly then joined the Brewers on a minors pact July 1, but he opted out of it Thursday to accept another big league chance with the Phillies.

Cards Rumors: C-Mart, Wacha, Bumgarner, Outfielders

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The Cardinals are reportedly open to trading right-hander Carlos Martinez and outfielder Tyler O’Neill by the July 31 deadline. However, they’re not “aggressively” shopping either of those two or outfielder Harrison Bader, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. On the other hand, they plan to “explore interest” in righty Michael Wacha, according to Goold.

Martinez, the most notable member of the bunch, is someone the Cardinals at least took offers for at last year’s deadline, per Goold. But because Martinez assumed the reins as their closer last month when Jordan Hicks underwent Tommy John surgery, the Redbirds aren’t as willing to consider moving him this season. The former (and possibly future) starter had been eminently effective in a full-time relief role until his past few appearances, having allowed five earned runs on seven hits and three walks across three frames in three outings this week. He now owns a 3.80 ERA, albeit with a far better 3.18 FIP, in 23 2/3 innings on this season. The hard-throwing 27-year-old has picked up seven saves on nine tries and posted 9.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a superb 64.5 percent groundball rate.

For St. Louis, there’s no imminent threat of losing Martinez, whom the club signed to a five-year, $51MM extension entering the 2017 campaign. He’s controllable through 2023 via two club options, and will play for a reasonable $11.5MM salary in each season through 2021.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals could watch Wacha walk in free agency during the offseason, which helps explain their amenability to parting with him now. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak did tell Goold the Cardinals don’t “see anybody on the current roster that we’re looking to move,” but Wacha has fallen from grace this season. The once-promising Wacha has logged a hideous 5.42 ERA/6.15 FIP with 7.27 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 78 innings, and has lost his spot in the Cardinals’ rotation multiple times. Considering the way Wacha has performed in 2019, his $6.35MM salary looks steep.

Thanks in part to Wacha’s struggles, the Cardinals’ starting staff has come up short of expectations thus far. Aside from Dakota Hudson, they don’t have a single hurler with double-digit starts and a sub-4.00 ERA. Even Hudson’s 3.59 ERA is accompanied by a subpar K/BB ratio and a shaky 5.13 FIP. With that in mind, Goold writes that St. Louis has “evaluated” Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner, the top rental starter who could move wind up changing teams before the deadline. However, with the Cardinals on his eight-team no-trade list, Bumgarner would be able to turn down a move to St. Louis.

The Cardinals’ outfield, meantime, may have two long-term building blocks in O’Neill and Bader. Their presences look especially important with Marcell Ozuna set to hit free agency after the season and Jose Martinez not being a viable defensive option in the grass. O’Neill, 24, has been a solid offensive producer since debuting last year, having slashed .275/.314/.502 (115 wRC+) with 14 home runs. He has, however, fanned in a massive percentage of plate appearances (39.2) and drawn walks at only a 4.5 percent clip. It’s also worth noting an impossible-to-sustain .405 bating average on balls in play has buoyed his numbers.

O’Neill won’t even reach arbitration until after 2021, while Bader’s scheduled to start the process at the conclusion of the 2020 season. The 25-year-old Bader was a 3.5-fWAR player in 2018, his first full season, owing to above-average offense and tremendous defense. While Bader remains a star in the field (8 Defensive Runs Saved, 9.4 Ultimate Zone Rating in center this season), his output with the bat has plummeted. He’s hitting a mere .207/.325/.361 (82 wRC+) with six HRs and five steals in 247 PA.

Although there are causes for concern with regards to O’Neill and Bader, it appears they’ll remain in place through the deadline. But Mozeliak informed Goold,  “We don’t know where we need to go to change our team.”  No matter what the Cardinals do change by month’s end, they’ll try to stop their playoff drought from reaching four years. Despite a lukewarm 50-47 record, they’re very much in the race, trailing a wild-card spot by half a game and the NL Central-leading Cubs by 3 1/2.

Orioles Designate Keon Broxton For Assignment

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The Orioles announced today they’ve designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. Right-handed reliever Branden Kline is up from Triple-A Norfolk to take Broxton’s place on the active roster.

So continues a lost season for the 29-year-old Broxton, who enters DFA limbo for the second time in three months. A former third-round draft choice of the Diamondbacks, Broxton was most famous for his time in Milwaukee, where he totaled 796 plate appearances between 2016 and 2018, showing flashes of plate discipline, power and elite defense in center field. The Brewers’ outfield depth, combined with concerns about Broxton’s huge swing-and-miss tendencies, led the club to flip him to the Mets in January for a package of three fringe prospects.

Broxton’s strikeouts have gotten completely out control in 2019, though, leading the Mets to send him to Baltimore in May for cash considerations. Those problems have gotten only more worrisome since, leading the Orioles to cut bait on the out-of-options outfielder. It’s not out of the question he’ll draw some interest around the league given the tools he’s shown in the past, but his .184/.244/.289 slash line and 43% strikeout rate make it seem more likely he’ll clear waivers for the first time in his career.

As for Kline, the 27 year-old rookie has gotten off to a slow start to his big-league career. Like seemingly every Oriole pitcher, Kline’s been plagued especially by the home run, allowing 2.49 HR/9, en route to a 6.75 ERA, with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate in 25.1 innings.

Rays Place Kevin Kiermaier On IL

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SUNDAY: The Rays have placed Kiermaier on the IL with a sprained thumb, Toribio tweets. He won’t need surgery, though. Heredia’s coming up to replace Kiermaier.

SATURDAY: Sour news out of Tampa tonight, as MLB.com’s Juan Toribio indicates that Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier will likely miss time after injuring his left thumb in a matchup with the White Sox this evening (Twitter link). Toribio adds that the former Gold Glove winner was escorted from Tropicana Field to a local health facility for MRI testing, and that the club should have a better idea of his status on Sunday morning.

Apparently, Kiermaier was hurt while diving headfirst into first base. This kind of athletic abandon has helped make Kiermaier a fan favorite since debuting with the Rays in 2013, and he usually draws strong marks for both his baserunning and defense. This year’s effort at the plate has produced a substandard 87 wRC+ (.245/.292/.424 slash), which is below his almost exactly league-average career offensive output (99wRC+). The outfielder has missed time in recent years with right hip, left wrist and right thumb injuries.

Though it’s possible this injury is only of the day-to-day variety, the Rays do have a few options in the event of an extended absence for Kiermaier. Tommy Pham and Austin Meadows have both played some center in their careers, and Guillermo Heredia is on hand at AAA Durham should the club need reinforcement in their pursuit of postseason entry. Tonight’s loss to Chicago marked Tampa’s fifth straight defeat.

Latest On Carlos Correa, Aledmys Díaz

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Astros manager A.J. Hinch provided optimistic updates today concerning the respective returns of infielders Carlos Correa and Aledmys Diaz. The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan reports that, according to Hinch, Correa has “looked great” in his rehab assignment thus far and is on track to be activated for this coming Friday’s game against the Cardinals (link); meanwhile, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart relays that Diaz is likely to return from his own rehab stint in the “next couple of days”(link).

Entering Saturday, Correa and Diaz have missed 45 games each since both were sidelined in a May 26th contest against the Red Sox. Correa, who had been enjoying a .295/.360/.547 season when he landed on the shelf, suffered a rib injury serious enough to warrant placement on the 60-day IL; if Correa does indeed make it back for Hinch’s Friday target date, he will have spent the minimum 60 days out of action.

Diaz, acquired in an offseason deal in exchange for starter Trent Thornton, was also off to a fine start to 2019 before tweaking his left hamstring. In reflection of his multi-positional role with the big club, the Swiss army man has been working at first base, left field, and second base with AAA Round Rock and AA Corpus Christi.

Of course, the Astros have managed to maintain an upper hand on the AL West in the absence of these key players, with a 27-18 record since Correa and Diaz went down on May 26th. At 62-37, they hold a 5.5-game lead over the Athletics in this year’s divisional race.

West Notes: Leake, Young, Clarke, Mazara

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On the heels of a Seattle Times report that hinted the Mariners and starter Mike Leake were “ready to be done with” each other, the veteran righty gave some insight on his professional priorities vis-a-vis the trade deadline in an appearance on today’s broadcast of MLB Network Radio’s “Home Plate” radio show (link).

“I want to win,” said Leake, before adding, “I’m not at liberty to sit around and wait on a non-winning team.” True to that earlier Times report, which characterized league-wide interest in the pitcher as “minimal,” Leake admitted that he hasn’t to this point been presented with any trade proposals from the Mariners front office. Leake, who possesses a no-trade clause as part of the five-year, $80MM deal he signed with the Cardinals prior to the 2016 campaign, would need to approve any move to an acquiring club, but it remains to be seen whether anyone wants a stake in the well-compensated righty. Leake is still owed approximately $25.5MM before his contract terminates at the conclusion of the 2020 season, with the Cardinals still responsible for nearly $6.5MM of that total. He has a 4.27 ERA across 2o starts on the year (4.80 FIP).

More doings from around the West…

  • In a piece for AZCentral.com, Nick Piecoro paints a picture of two young Diamondbacks hurlers heading in opposite directions (link). While rookie Alex Young has begun to earn the trust of manager Torey Lovullo in a starting role, fellow big league neophyte Taylor Clarke has begun to produce some organizational hand-wringing after a string of shoddy appearances. After being called up in late June to fill the club’s “fifth starter” role, Young has responded by throwing 18.2 nearly untarnished innings (0.96 ERA). Though never a widely lauded prospect, the 25-year-old is turning heads with this introductory performance. “I think every year there’s going to be certain surprises and Alex Young has definitely fit in that criteria right now,” Lovullo said. Clarke, meanwhile, owns an 8.20 ERA over his last eight starts, and Lovullo conceded to Piecoro that his performance is an “obvious concern” for the club.
  • In other news concerning a concerned manager, the Rangers are troubled by the recent slump of Nomar Mazara–and skipper Chris Woodward has been cutting his playing time, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News points out (link). Though Woodward largely maintained that Mazara will still be a starter for the team moving forward, Saturday marked Mazara’s third time on the bench in eight post-break Texas games. Never an elite defender, Mazara holds a career-worst 83 wRC+ on the year and is walking at a 6.0% rate that also represents a personal low point. With just eight hits in his last 57 at-bats, it is unclear how Woodward will continue to divide outfield playing time between Mazara and a rejuvenated Danny Santana. Of Mazara’s performance, Woodward allowed only that, “We want to see the results be a little bit higher.”

Giants To Select Zach Green

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The Giants will select corner infielder Zach Green from Triple-A Sacramento prior to Sunday’s game, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The team will need to make corresponding 40-man moves to create space for Green and the promotion of left-hander Conner Menez.

Green entered the professional ranks as a third-round pick of the Phillies in 2012, but the Northern California native left the organization as a free agent last offseason to sign with the Giants. Since then, the right-handed 25-year-old has slashed an outstanding .302/.402/.698 with 23 home runs in 264 plate appearances. Even in the offense-driven Pacific Coast League, Green’s production has been 55 percent better than average, according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric. It has also been markedly superior to the numbers Green put up in 2018, his first year at the minors’ top level, as he hit .248/.312/.412 (108 wRC+) with three HRs in 138 PA to conclude his Phillies tenure.

The promotion of Green will give a suddenly contending Giants team more corner depth in the wake of starting third baseman Evan Longoria’s placement on the injured list this week. Although Pablo Sandoval has taken the reins at the hot corner in Longoria’s absence, it’s up in the air how much longer the Kung Fu Panda will remain with the organization. After all, Sandoval’s an impending free agent on a team that might sell by the July 31 trade deadline, despite its recent success.

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