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Archives for June 2019

Twins Sign Supplemental First-Rounder Matt Wallner

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The Twins have signed supplemental first-round pick Matt Wallner, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets, adding the outfielder will receive $1.8MM. That checks in below slot, as Wallner’s selection (No. 39) came with a $1,906,800 value.

The Twins finally got their man in Wallner, a Minnesota native whom they first selected in the 32nd round of the 2016 draft. Wallner, then the state’s Mr. Baseball, chose not to sign. He instead elected to attend Southern Mississippi, where he wound up significantly boosting his stock.

This time, Minnesota grabbed Wallner higher than where most draft pundits ranked him. The 21-year-old didn’t make the top 50 of ESPN’s Keith Law entering the draft, while FanGraphs placed Wallner at No. 44, Baseball America had him 49th and MLB.com put him 60th. Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs note Wallner has “huge power” and suggest he profiles as a right fielder. Callis, meanwhile, points out Wallner also “intrigues” as a right-handed pitcher who can throw up to 97 mph.

With Wallner under wraps, the Twins have now locked up their first three draft choices. They previously signed 13th overall pick Keoni Cavaco for $4.05MM and 54th selection Matt Canterino for $1.10MM. The club went into this year’s draft with just under $9.91MM to spend on its picks.

Rangers Place Hunter Pence On IL, Activate Willie Calhoun

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The Rangers announced that they’ve placed outfielder Hunter Pence on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain. His roster spot’s going to fellow outfielder Willie Calhoun, whom the Rangers activated from the IL after he missed just under a month with a strained left quad.

This is the first setback in what has been a stunning renaissance season for Pence, who’s a key reason why the Rangers are unexpectedly in wild-card position at the moment. Since signing a minor league contract in the offseason, the former Astro, Phillie and Giant, 36, has slashed .294/.353/.608 (143 wRC+) with 15 home runs in 215 plate appearances. For reference, Pence combined for a 145 wRC+ over the previous two seasons, when it appeared his days as even a passable major leaguer were long over.

While the loss of Pence is an unwelcome development for the Rangers, who are tied with the Red Sox for the AL’s last playoff spot, the return of Calhoun is encouraging. Acquired from the Dodgers in July 2017 for right-hander Yu Darvish, Calhoun fell short of expectations during his first year-plus in the Texas organization. But the 24-year-old got off to an excellent start this season at the Triple-A level, where he hit .302/.417/.540 with eight homers and more unintentional walks (24) than strikeouts (21) in 152 attempts, and carried that to the Rangers when they promoted him May 15. Calhoun batted .435/.458/.739 with a pair of HRs in 24 PA in the week between his call-up and his IL placement.

Padres Select Makita, Recall Mejia; Machado Appeals 1-Game Ban

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As part of a series of roster moves, the Padres have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Kazuhisa Makita from Double-A Amarillo. The club recalled catcher Francisco Mejia from Triple-A El Paso, optioned backstop Austin Allen and left-hander Nick Margevicius to El Paso, and transferred outfielder Franchy Cordero to the 60-day injured list in other transactions.

Additionally, Padres third baseman Manny Machado has been issued a one-game suspension “for aggressively arguing and making contact with umpire Bill Welke” in Saturday’s game in Colorado, but he will appeal, Bob Nightengale of USA Today was among those to report.

This is the first big league promotion of the season for the 34-year-old Makita, whom the Padres signed out of Japan to a two-year, $3.8MM guarantee in January 2018. The submarining Makita struggled to a 5.40 ERA/4.85 FIP last season in San Diego, in part because of a microscopic 20.2 percent groundball rate. While Makita did manage 9.51 K/9 against 3.09 BB/9, that wasn’t enough to prevent the Padres from designating him for assignment last November. Makita has since pitched to a 3.82 ERA with 8.6 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 in 35 innings at the Double-A level.

The recall of Mejia may be the most interesting move here, as he’s not far removed from a run as one of the majors’ best hitting prospects. Now 24, the Padres acquired Mejia from the Indians last June for relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. Mejia hasn’t done much in the majors, though, which led the Padres to demote him to El Paso on June 1. But the Padres want more offense from behind the plate – something the light-hitting Allen and Austin Hedges haven’t provided – which explains their decision to bring the gifted Mejia back to the majors.

Machado, the Padres’ highest-profile player, may sit a game stemming from an ejection Saturday. He slammed his helmet to the ground and fired his bat against the backstop amid a heated argument with Welke.

Blue Jays Transfer Elvis Luciano To 60-Day IL

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The Blue Jays have moved right-hander Elvis Luciano to the 60-day injured list to make room for the activation of fellow righty David Phelps, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

Luciano went to the 10-day IL with a sprained elbow on June 12. His 60-day placement means he won’t be back until around mid-August at the earliest. However, as a Rule 5 pick, it’s unlikely to jeopardize Luciano’s place in the organization. Luciano has about two weeks left before he officially becomes Blue Jays property, notes Nicholson-Smith, who suggests that’s a formality.

The Blue Jays plucked Luciano from the Royals last December, and he made Toronto’s roster even though he won’t turn 20 until February 2020. The youngest player in the majors, Luciano has pitched to a 6.51 ERA/6.29 FIP with more unintentional walks (23) than strikeouts (22) in 27 2/3 innings. Luciano has also allowed 33 hits, including four home runs, but the rebuilding Blue Jays have ridden out his struggles thus far and appear likely to keep him around going forward.

Nationals To Sign First-Rounder Jackson Rutledge

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The Nationals announced an agreement with first-round pick Jackson Rutledge on Monday. Rutledge’s pick (No. 17) comes with a $3.61MM slot value, but he’ll receive $3.45MM, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

The 6-foot-8 Rutledge, a right-handed pitcher from San Jacinto College in Houston, entered the draft as a top 15 prospect in the eyes of MLB.com (No. 12), Baseball America (No. 14) and ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 15). In their free scouting report, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com write that Rutledge is one of the premier junior college draft prospects in recent memory and may have “the best all-around stuff” in this year’s class. The 20-year-old Rutledge’s fastball sits between 94 and 97 mph, and can hit 99 on occasion. He complements that offering with an impressive slider and a potentially “plus” curveball.

FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen are a bit less bullish on Rutledge than the rest, as they ranked him 21st going into the draft. They note there are concerns regarding Rutledge’s “build, athleticism, and injured hips,” though they still regard him as a “physical beast” with an imposing fastball and promising breaking pitches.

Indians Activate Mike Clevinger

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JUNE 17: The Indians will make room for Clevinger by moving Kluber to the 60-day IL and optioning lefty Josh Smith, Bell tweets.

JUNE 12: The Indians will activate starter Mike Clevinger to take the ball on Monday, MLB.com’s Mandy Bell was among those to cover on Twitter. Clevinger recently made a second rehab appearance as part of his recovery from an upper back/teres major strain.

While the club ended up going without the excellent righty for just over two months, that’s actually a relief. When it was determined that his injury was worse than originally believed, it seemed that he might need that much time just for rest and rehab.

Clevinger, 28, will make for a significant boost to a club that has dealt with a trio of blows to its exceptional starting staff. Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco remain sidelined, but the Cleveland organization can now slot in another co-ace alongside Trevor Bauer at the front of the rotation.

The Indians will hope that Clevinger can pick up where he left off. In his first dozen frames of the year, he allowed just a pair of hits while racking up a 22:4 K/BB ratio. It’ll take a big effort from Clevinger and the rest of the roster to track down the division-leading Twins, but that’s not out of the realm of possibility and the Indians remain in the thick of the Wild Card hunt.

Orioles Designate Joey Rickard, Select Sean Gilmartin

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The Orioles announced today that they have designated outfielder Joey Rickard for assignment. That creates a roster opening for the team to select the contract of lefty Sean Gilmartin.

Both of these players are former Rule 5 picks who managed to stick it out in the majors with their new teams. In each case, the initial hope faded over the long term.

Rickard, 28, has slashed just .203/.304/.347 in his 135 plate appearances on the season and hasn’t fared much better over the scope of his MLB career. As for Gilmartin, he has bounced around and failed to find steady work in the majors since a strong rookie year. He has pitched to a 2.48 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 36 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2019.

Red Sox To Sign Chris Owings

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The Red Sox have inked a minors deal with infielder Chris Owings, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He’ll spend some time at extended spring training before heading to Triple-A.

Owings was released previously by the Royals. They’ll remain obligated to him for the $3MM promised over the winter, less any amount of the pro-rated minimum that he might earn in the majors for the rest of the season.

Signed in hopes he’d bounce back in K.C., Owings ended up falling deeper into a malaise at the plate. He ended up slashing a meager .133/.193/.222 in his 145 plate appearances. The Red Sox will see if they can help the versatile defender find a groove in hopes that he could be a second-half roster option at an affordable rate of pay.

Moore: Royals Would Have “Crazy” Asking Price On Merrifield

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Royals GM Dayton Moore strongly downplayed the likelihood of the team dealing away star utilityman Whit Merrifield, as Tom Martin of KCTV5 covers (video link, on Twitter). Calling Merrifield “one of the best players in all of baseball right now,” Moore says “the ask would be just crazy” if rivals come calling this summer.

It’s sensible for the K.C. exec to take a strong public position on Merrifield with the deadline now in sight. After all, he’d surely need something truly compelling to justify parting with a player who has now fully established himself as a high-quality all-around performer who’d improve any team in the league given his defensive versatility.

At the same time, Moore has now set a rather lofty standard at the outset of the trade season. Perhaps the Royals really do not have any interest at all in moving Merrifield. If they’d like to consider offers, though, they’ll now have to deal with a public perception that any return must be overwhelming.

There is an argument to be made that Merrifield would best be utilized as a trade piece. The Royals seem to be a ways from contention and still need to gather up youthful, controllable core assets.

Merrifield is already 30 years of age, which won’t be a turnoff to contenders but perhaps places him outside the optimal range for the Royals. He’s signed to quite an appealing contract that would suit most any budget, making him a high-value trade target. We just ranked Merrifield tenth on our initial list of the top 2019 deadline candidates, but that placement would be much higher if he was clearly available. Merrifield would perhaps be the most widely pursued position player on the market if put up for bidding.

Angels Activate Justin Upton, Designate Cesar Puello

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The Angels announced today that Justin Upton has been activated from the injured list. He’ll take the active and 40-man roster spots of fellow outfielder Cesar Puello, who was designated for assignment.

It’s obviously good news for the Halos to finally welcome Upton back to the active roster. He hasn’t yet suited up owing to a turf toe injury that proved surprisingly problematic. The slugger is a key piece of a roster that has not performed as hoped to this stage of the season.

That said, the L.A. org won’t be able to hope for much of a production bump over Puello. The 28-year-old has produced a hefty .390/.500/.683 output with three home runs in fifty plate appearances this year. That far outstrips anything he had shown previously, though it’s fair to note that Puello has been a steady offensive producer in the high minors for several seasons.

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