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Archives for April 2019

Nationals’ Potential Deal With Bud Norris Falls Through

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The Nationals’ potential agreement with free-agent righty Bud Norris has fallen through, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The organization felt that the 34-year-old veteran was as much as a month away from MLB readiness, and the team’s preference is to find bullpen help that is more immediately available.

Norris was in camp with the Blue Jays on a minor league contract and received a $100K retention bonus to remain in the organization’s minor league ranks beyond the end of Spring Training. However, the two side agreed to a release last week due to what appears to be similar circumstances; Norris reportedly felt ready to join the Jays’ big league club sooner rather than later, but the Toronto organization wanted him to continue building arm strength in extended Spring Training.

With his hopes of signing in D.C. dashed, Norris will remain on the free-agent market as he seeks a different opportunity. With two clubs deeming him unready for near-term MLB action, it seems likely that he’ll need to build up strength somewhere before he ultimately returns to a Major League mound. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported in early April that Norris, who averaged 94.6 mph on his fastball in 2018, was sitting in the 90-91 mph during workouts.

If and when Norris does work up to his previous velocity levels, he should be able to help out the majority of big league bullpens. While his career as a starter took a southward turn in 2016, he’s posted strong results over the past two seasons as a reliever. Dating back to Opening Day 2017, Norris has a 3.91 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 1.20 HR/9 and a 44 percent ground-ball rate. He’s also posted a swinging-strike rate north of 12 percent over that two-year span — easily a career best — and last season also set a new highwater mark with a hefty 35.9 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone.

Orioles To Select Josh Lucas, Place Richard Bleier On Injured List

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The Orioles have lockers set up for right-hander Josh Lucas and lefty Tanner Scott this morning, per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (all Twitter links), indicating that both have been brought up to the Major League roster. Lucas isn’t on the team’s 40-man roster, so his contract will be formally selected prior today’s 12:35 ET starting time. Baltimore already optioned Josh Rogers to Triple-A Norfolk following last night’s game, creating one vacancy on the 25-man roster, and the other will be created by placing lefty Richard Bleier on the injured list.

Lucas, 28, signed a minor league pact with the Orioles back in late November. His experience at the MLB level is limited, though he’s appeared in each of the past two big league seasons: with the Cardinals in 2017 and the Athletics in 2018. He’s tallied just 21 2/3 frames in that time, working to a 5.40 ERA with a 21-to-13 K/BB ratio and a promising 54.8 percent ground-ball rate.

Lucas doesn’t throw particularly hard, sitting 91-92 mph with his fastball, but he’s induced a solid 11.4 percent swinging-strike rate and a strong 33.8 percent chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone. He’ll come to the O’s with a nice Triple-A track record, having logged a 3.32 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and above-average ground-ball tendencies.

Bleier, despite a lack of missed bats, was the Orioles’ most effective reliever from 2017-18. Through 4 1/3 innings this season, though, he’s already allowed as many runs (seven) as he did through 32 2/3 frames last year. Bleier’s 2019 season was cut short by a lat tear that required surgery, and it’s possible that he’s still dealing with some lingering effects from that procedure.

Prior to Opening Day, he’s totaled 119 innings in the Majors between the Yankees and O’s, pitching to an immaculate 1.97 ERA despite averaging 4.1 K/9. Bleier’s pristine control (1.6 BB/9) and knack for avoiding hard contact have helped him thrive to this point in his big league career. If he can get back on track between now and July, he’d stand out as a possible trade candidate; the late-blooming Bleier will turn 32 next week but has three years of team control remaining beyond 2019.

The 24-year-old Scott, meanwhile, is already on the 40-man roster after spending the bulk of the 2018 season with the Orioles. Last year, he logged a lackluster 5.40 ERA but did punched out 76 batters in just 53 1/3 innings of Major League relief. The flamethrower has averaged better than 97 mph on his heater at the MLB level with a gaudy 16.4 percent swinging-strike rate and 36.6 percent opponents’ chase rate on out-of-zone pitches. If Scott can rein in his control (4.7 BB/9), he has the makings of a quality late-inning reliever; fielding-independent pitching metrics are already quite bullish on him as it is (3.40 FIP, 2.96 xFIP, 3.18 SIERA in 2018).

AL West Notes: Bregman, Mariners, Chirinos

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There’s no defined timetable for when Alex Bregman will return to the Astros’ lineup, though the star third baseman tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) that an MRI of his ailing right hamstring didn’t reveal anything similar to the 2016 issue that cost him a few weeks of the season. For the time being, Bregman is simply considered day to day, and there’s yet to be any indication that a trip to the injured list is a particular concern for him or the team.

Here’s more from the division…

  • The Mariners’ analytics department identified the revamped changeup of right-hander Brandon Brennan as a pitch worth taking a chance on in the Rule 5 Draft, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com, and to this point the team’s investment has paid off nicely. Brennan has been unscored upon in 8 2/3 innings with a 7-to-2 K/BB ratio and a terrific 63.2 percent ground-ball rate. Brennan, who’ll turn 28 this summer, is older than most Rule 5 selections and spoke all the more appreciatively of the opportunity in his interview with Johns. Not only does he relish any big league opportunity as a 27-year-old rookie, but Brennan received the surreal experience of making his MLB debut in the same half-inning that Ichiro Suzuki was pulled from his final game to an uproarious standing ovation in his native Japan. The Mariners will have to carry Brennan all season or else expose him to waivers and, if he clears, offer him back to the White Sox for $50K. So far, he’s given Seattle no reason to do so.
  • Jake Kaplan of The Athletic takes a look at the changes Robinson Chirinos has made to his game since signing with the Astros (subscription required). Chirinos details the drills he worked on throughout Spring Training to change his setup behind the plate as well as the slight alteration to his throwing motion — made at the behest of pitching coach Brent Strom after noticing a mechanical flaw. The season is still extraordinarily young, but Chirinos has drawn slightly positive marks in pitch framing, per both Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus, after ranking as one of the game’s worst in that regard for much of his career. He’s also halted two of the seven stolen-base attempts against him thus far after catching just 10 percent of thieves in 2018. Only time will tell if the changes yield quantifiable improvements, but that’ll be an interesting thread for both Astros and Rangers fans to follow over the course of the season.

Orioles Return Rule 5 Pick Drew Jackson To Dodgers

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The Orioles announced Wednesday that Rule 5 pick Drew Jackson has cleared outright waivers and been returned to the Dodgers organization. He’ll be assigned to a minor league affiliate but won’t require placement on Los Angeles’ 40-man roster. He’d been designated for assignment when the Orioles signed Dan Straily.

Jackson, 25, appeared in three games with the O’s before being designated for assignment but received just four plate appearances. He’s still looking for his first big league hit but will now have to bide his time in the minors as he awaits a fresh opportunity for that milestone.

Jackson has more than 1,000 innings of minor league experience at second base and north of 2100 innings at shortstop, though the O’s deployed him as an outfielder in his brief time with the organization. He spent the ’18 campaign with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, where he hit .251/.356/.447 with 15 homers and 22 steals (in 29 attempts). He’s one of two Rule 5 picks who broke camp with the Orioles, joining shortstop (and No. 1 pick in last December’s draft) Richie Martin. Rostering multiple Rule 5 selections is difficult even for a rebuilding organization like the Orioles, though, and the O’s felt it prudent to evaluate other options both in the middle infield and in the outfield rather than dedicate the necessary playing time to do so with Jackson.

Yankees Notes: Rotation, Keuchel, Andujar, Hicks, Stanton

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Though the Yankees’ rotation was dealt a substantial blow yesterday with the news that Luis Severino would be shut down entirely for another six weeks, the organization isn’t hitting the panic button and making a sudden push for lingering free-agent Dallas Keuchel, SNY’s John Harper reports. New York general manager Brian Cashman would prefer to “exhaust all of the alternatives” before pursuing Keuchel unless the former Cy Young winner’s price tag drops even further. SNY’s Andy Martino tweets a similar sentiment, suggesting there’s no interest in Keuchel at this time.

The Yankees will be getting some help for a beleaguered rotation this weekend, however, as manager Aaron Boone revealed to reporters Wednesday that CC Sabathia will be activated from the injured list and make his 2019 debut on Saturday (Twitter link via Newsday’s Erik Boland). The Yanks also have Gio Gonzalez tuning up in Triple-A, and given that the lefty has an April 20 opt-out in his minor league contract, it seems likely that he’ll get a look sooner rather than later.

More out of the Bronx…

  • Third baseman Miguel Andujar made 25 throws from 60 feet this week and has been cleared to swing a bat on Friday, the team told the media today (Twitter link via George A. King III of the New Pork). It’s not yet clear if the young slugger will be able to avoid surgery to repair the small tear in his right shoulder’s labrum, though both he and the Yankees are hopeful that he can avoid going under the knife. In his absence, DJ LeMahieu has been hitting well while manning the hot corner, though injuries to both Andujar and Troy Tulowitzki have tested the Yankees’ infield depth.
  • Center fielder Aaron Hicks has begun to hit soft-toss in addition to his throwing regimen, tweets James Wagner of the New York Times. He’s also been running the bases recently and is optimistic that he’ll be able to take on-field batting practice in the near future. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton has begun to swing a bat as he works his way toward a return. Both players figure to need to minor league rehab assignments before they’re able to suit up to return to the Yankees, but it seems that each is proceeding free of any setbacks at present.

Cardinals Extend Matt Carpenter

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The Cardinals have locked up a key member of their lineup and one of their longest-tenured players, announcing on Wednesday the signing of infielder Matt Carpenter to a two-year contract extension spanning the 2020-21 seasons. Carpenter, a client of SSG Baseball, will reportedly earn $39MM on the new arrangement. He’d previously been signed through the end of the 2019 season with a club option for the 2020 campaign.

Matt Carpenter | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Carpenter will reportedly take home annual salaries of $18.5MM in 2020 and 2021, with a vesting option for the same amount triggering if he makes a combined 1100 plate appearances in 2020-21 (with at least 550 of those 1100 coming in 2021). If the option does not vest, it’ll function as a pure club option with a $2MM buyout. Carpenter will also pick up a no-trade provision for the 2020 season.

Carpenter, 33, is coming off of a stellar 2018 season in which he posted a hefty .257/.374/.523 slash line with a career-high 36 home runs. He has turned in well-above-average offensive work in every one of his seven full seasons in the majors. The new deal comes as Carpenter’s prior pact neared a conclusion. His early 2014 extension included a $14.5MM salary for the current season along with a $18.5MM club option ($2MM buyout) for 2020.

Carpenter joins newly acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in signing on for the foreseeable future. There’s risk in locking into two such corner pieces into their mid-thirties, but both are immensely productive hitters. With that duo now under control through the 2021 season at the very least, it seems that Carpenter will continue to hold down third base for the Cards for the foreseeable future. Carpenter has some experience at second base as well, but the Cards already have a premium defensive option at that position, Kolten Wong, under contract on a long-term deal of his own that runs through the 2020 season and contains a club option for 2021.

That $19.5MM annual value on the new contract won’t put the Cardinals near the luxury tax threshold but will boost the amount of money already committed to next year’s payroll to a hefty $147MM. Fortunately for the Cards, they’re likely ticketed for a small class of arbitration-eligible players, as only John Brebbia, Alex Reyes, John Gant and Dominic Leone are set to receive arbitration raises. Of that quartet, the first three will be eligible for the first time. The Cards will also face a $13MM option ($1MM buyout) on infielder Jedd Gyorko.

With Carpenter now locked into place, the Cardinals suddenly look to have nearly their entire 2020 lineup in house. Goldschmidt, Carpenter, Wong and Paul DeJong are all under contract for next season, as is franchise icon Yadier Molina. Harrison Bader has cemented himself as the team’s center fielder, and although Marcell Ozuna is slated to hit free agency, he’s expected to be replaced by Tyler O’Neill in 2020 and beyond. Dexter Fowler remains under contract through 2021 and figures to handle a corner position unless he struggles through a similarly nightmarish campaign to the one he experienced in 2018.

The Cardinals’ system has a few quality third base prospects, led by 2018 first-rounder Nolan Gorman, but most of the team’s talent in that regard is still multiple years from MLB readiness. It’s possible that Elehuris Montero could’ve been ready for a look in the Majors late in 2019 or at some point in 2020, but he’s still just 20 years of age and only getting his feet wet in Double-A. Gorman has yet to play above A-ball, while well-regarded 18-year-old Malcom Nunez will start his pro career in Rookie ball this summer. By the time Carpenter’s contract is nearing its conclusion, perhaps one of those promising young players will be on the cusp of the big leagues, but the lack of an immediate heir-apparent likely further pushed the Cards into keeping Carpenter on board into the 2021 season.

The Cardinals originally announced a press conference earlier this afternoon. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch broke the news that the presser was to announce a new deal for Carpenter. MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reported the length of the contract (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Mark Saxon reported the terms of the deal (via Twitter), with Goold adding the yearly breakdown and 2020 no-trade protection.

Dodgers Place Russell Martin On 10-Day IL

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The Dodgers announced today that backstop Russell Martin has been placed on the 10-day injured list with lower back inflammation. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow receiver Rocky Gale.

Acquired over the winter via trade, Martin has shared time behind the plate with Austin Barnes. Expectations were tempered for the 36-year-old’s second stint in Los Angeles, as he has been limited by injuries and seen his offensive numbers dip in recent seasons. But things had gone rather well to this point, with Martin off to a .333/.500/.600 start with the bat through 22 plate appearances.

Dipoto On Mariners’ Hot Start

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Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto’s frequent roster tinkering is now legend. It’s only natural to wonder whether the club’s fast start to the 2019 season will spur another round of action, and Dipoto discussed the matter with Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.

Dipoto’s most recent round of tweaks was intended to set the club up for near-future success, with the idea being to spend a year regrouping in hopes of a breakout 2020 campaign. While he says an 11-2 run to begin the year won’t likely result in a mid-season buying spree, the top Seattle baseball exec did seem to acknowledge that the performance could impact the team’s roster calculations.

First and foremost, Dipoto made clear that the M’s “won’t take anything away from our long-term plan in order to address short-term needs.” But he wasn’t shy to admit that he’s “intrigued” and “excited” by the development and output he’s seen from the roster he has already assembled. If the club is “still performing like the best lineup in history” at the trade deadline, he says, “clearly we’ll address areas of need.”

It sounds as if the door is at least potentially open to some win-now movement, then, though the Mariners will likely see how things play out and may not be overly bold when the time comes. As Dipoto says, though, he has been “creative” in his past dealmaking — including an early-season, buy-side swap last year — so it’s tough to rule anything out.

Putting aside the possibility of additions, the early run may be enough to stave off or even eliminate some veteran departures that might otherwise have been anticipated. “The way guys are playing together right now, I have no interest in changing the rhythm and mojo going on,” Dipoto said when asked about some of the team’s short-term, elder statesmen. “Let’s let it play out a bit.”

That attitude seemingly represents a departure from the late-spring dealmaking posture that the M’s seemed to take. Their decision to hold onto sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce, in particular, seemed mostly to reflect a lack of demand. Keeping them on the roster was supposed to help keep the team competitive and provide a showcase for a potential mid-season swap.

Now, there’s a greater likelihood that the Mariners will at least hold steady and let the roster take things wherever it can. But as Dipoto and Stone both caution, there’s still plenty of time in advance of the trade deadline for the situation to change. For now, the GM is just watching and enjoying.

Nationals, Bud Norris Discussing Minor League Deal

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TODAY: The team is evaluating the results of an MRI that Norris underwent today, Ghiroli tweets. If it comes back clean, the agreement will go into effect; otherwise, the club will potentially reconsider.

YESTERDAY, 3:52pm: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo tells reporters that there’s no agreement between the two sides, but Norris is headed to the team’s spring complex to evaluate him (Twitter link via Zuckerman). If the team deems him physically ready, a minor league agreement will be completed.

3:32pm: There’s no agreement in place between the two sides just yet, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. There’s mutual interest between the two sides, but Dougherty notes that the Nats “need to be convinced that Norris is healthy enough to be effective.”

Norris and the Jays agreed to part ways last week due to the fact that he felt ready to pitch at the MLB level while the Toronto organization wanted him to continue building arm strength, so perhaps there’s a similar dynamic at play here.

2:23pm: The Nationals have agreed to a deal with right-hander Bud Norris, according to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’ll be a minors pact if completed, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. Norris will first need to pass a physical before a deal is finalized.

Norris will not head directly onto the active roster, but may not be far from joining a team that’s badly in need of relief. The Nats bullpen has been a mess in the early going, with all but two members of the unit carrying earned run averages north of 5 per nine.

The veteran Norris could offer a key stabilizing presence. The 34-year-old has been a solid performer since moving into a full-time relief role. Over the past two seasons, he owns a 3.91 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over 119 2/3 innings. Norris has compiled 47 saves in that span as well, though he won’t be expected to handle the ninth in D.C.

Norris had been expected to crack the Blue Jays pen after surprisingly settling for a minor-league deal. The Toronto org paid him a $100K retention bonus late in camp to keep him around, but ultimately released him right at the start of the season. It seems that Norris believed he was ready for the majors, while the club wanted him to keep throwing in extended camp to build his arm strength.

It’s not known how the Nats feel about the matter of Norris’s readiness. He has worked in the mid-nineties with his fastball in recent years. Like most pitchers, Norris is likelier to be successful if he has the velocity when he wants it. But the D.C. org is also in no position to turn up its nose at an experienced pitcher who isn’t quite on top of his game. Presumably, they’ll bring him onto the active roster in relatively short order so long as Norris seems mostly himself.

Call-Ups: Tim Collins, Joe Harvey

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We’ll cover a few of the day’s notable call-ups in this post:

  • The Cubs will promote lefty Tim Collins to take the roster spot of injured starter Jon Lester, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com (via Twitter). Collins inked a MLB deal late this spring after being cut loose by the Twins and was optioned to open the season. He’ll try to help settle a relief unit that has sputtered out of the gates. Collins didn’t exactly excel last year with the Nats, but did make it his way back to full health and back up to the majors after several lost seasons. He has racked up an impressive number of strikeouts in 2019, with 13 in 9 1/3 spring innings and three more in 2 2/3 at Triple-A.
  • Joining the Yankees roster is right-handed reliever Joe Harvey, per a club announcement. The club dropped Jonathan Loaisiga back to Triple-A on optional assignment to clear active roster space; Harvey already owned a 40-man spot. With a pair of off-days in the upcoming schedule, Loaisiga can get some work in at Triple-A while the MLB club enjoys an extra reliever. Harvey will get his first taste of the majors at 27 years of age. Last year, he worked to an impressive 1.66 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings over 38 appearances at the highest level of the minors.

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