The latest from the Junior Circuit . . .
- There’s no timetable on Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor’s return, writes Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal. The 25-year-old three-time all-star will reportedly get a second opinion on his “mild-to-moderate[ly]” sprained left ankle Monday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the Cleveland brass trips over itself to ensure the superstar’s IL stint doesn’t linger. Touted prospect Yu Chang had spent time on the spring shelf with a minor hand injury, so the club has turned for the interim to the uninspiring Max Moroff/Eric Stamets duo to fill the void. The 25-year-old Moroff, an offseason acquisition from Pittsburgh, may be a bit out of his element at the position, though the slick-fielding Stamets is most certainly not. Neither, of course, can hope to approximate Lindor’s 129 wRC+/6.9 WAR projected ZiPS output; the club, then, would figure to spend much of the long weekend with fingers crossed.
- Tribe outfielder Bradley Zimmer suffered a setback in his months-long rehab from mid-summer shoulder surgery, reports MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. The former top prospect felt a side twinge as he attempted a throw to home, the next apparent step in an estimated eight-to-twelve month rehabilitation process. The already-nebulous timetable has been thrown further into the fog, with no concrete return date set for the 26-year-old. Zimmer’s MLB debut, after a banner minor-league career, was inauspicious at best: in 446 plate appearances the lefty boasts just a .237/.300/.370 (75 wRC+) line, with a particularly ugly 38.6% strikeout rate in limited action last season. The wide-open Indian outfield is still mostly up for grabs – per Bell, reports have thus far been positive on the recently-signed Carlos Gonzalez, who’ll soon make his way to Triple-A Columbus once their season begins.
- Orioles Rule 5 pick Richie Martin is likely to see “extended” action at short for the club, writes Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. The 24-year-old Martin was left unprotected by Oakland after uneven minor-league performances since 2015 debut, but the O’s have neither the talent nor the desire to usurp the former first-rounder in the near future. Drew Jackson, another Rule 5 pick who’s been long lauded for his glove, if not his bat, figures to fill the utility role for the club in the early season. Neither player had played an inning above the Double-A level before yesterday, though the club obviously has every incentive to see each premature rise through (both players would have to be returned to their previous organizations if removed from the 25-man roster at any point this season).
Which sucks because when they go back to their original team they go back to AAA anyways
Not always. Some of these kids get pulled out of low a ball and if they end up back there when and if they get shipped back
What if the team doesnt not want the player back? Are they forced to work a trade?
Should the team from which the draftee was taken not accept him back, it is the same as releasing the drafted player from that team’s interest, and the Rule 5 obligations of the drafting team cease upon that release.
Yes. And that’s really never the case. In that situation a deal is usually worked out with the team who drafted him in the rule 5 to send him back for some small return.
It’s a $50000 dollar rental to see if the player has potential or not. That’s pennies to a team
Not sure what kind of offensive numbers he’ll put up but Martin has had some quality at bats so far, and the glove plays well.
This sentence is a bit of a disaster:
“Neither, of course, can hope to approximate Lindor’s 129 wRC+/6.9 WAR projected ZiPS output; the club, then, would figure to spend much of the long weekend with fingers crossed.”
Put “of course” first in the sentence and it works a lot better… and take out “the club, then, would figure” and just say “the club is likely crossing its fingers”. What’s in there now is very verbose. In fact, the entire thing after the semicolon is of dubious importance. I guess that’s to be expected if MLBTR is indeed paying their writers by the word, and has no editors.
They’ll hire editorial staff when they start charging fees to access their material. In the meantime, i appreciate what they do offer.
Constant bitching for a site that’s not only free but one of the best for baseball info out there. Chill out ya babies. Keep doing what you’re doing Ty.
Yeah the grammar trolls have gotten more and more active lately. Almost as bad as the downvote whiners