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Mariners Acquire John Andreoli

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The Mariners have acquired outfielder John Andreoli from the Twins, as per reporter Joe Veyera (Twitter link).  Andreoli appeared in the lineup tonight for Triple-A Tacoma.

Andreoli is back for his third separate stint with the Mariners organization, originally signing with the M’s in the 2017-18 offseason and eventually making his MLB debut with the team last May.  Andreoli was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in August and then claimed back by Seattle after the season, kicking off a busy winter of activity that saw Andreoli briefly join the Rangers and Giants on waiver claims before being traded to Minnesota in March.

After that whirlwind, Andreoli ended up batting .196/.324/.359 over 185 PA for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate.  Over 3458 career plate appearances in the minors, Andreoli (who turns 29 next week) has a .266/.370/.386 slash line, plus an impressive 250 stolen bases in 312 chances.  As a big leaguer, Andreoli appeared in 20 games with the Mariners and Orioles last season, amassing 67 PA.  With extensive experience at all three outfield positions, Andreoli will once again give the Mariners some outfield depth at the Triple-A level.

Mariners Reportedly Looking To Sell

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TODAY: The Mariners “have shown a willingness to eat significant money in” trades, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets, and “almost every veteran on their roster” is available.  We’ve seen the first instance of this earlier today, as Seattle covered $18MM of the approximately $21.5MM remaining on Jay Bruce’s contract in trading Bruce to the Phillies.

SATURDAY: The Mariners, who’ve gone a staggering 12-33 after a 13-2 start in which the club made its fans forget the cavernous dimensions of T-Mobile Park, are “deep in sell mode,” tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who lists Edwin Encarnacion, Ryon Healy, Dee Gordon, Mike Leake and Tim Beckham among the players the club is “talking” about.

None in the group seem likely to net a significant return – the 36-year-old Encarnacion may be the most attractive piece, despite the some $18MM remaining on his contract – though it’s possible GM Jerry Dipoto would simply like to clear space for younger players. One feather in Encarnacion’s (and the Mariners’) cap is his renewed vigor in the infield: the one-time third-baseman is on pace for the most first-base innings in his fifteen-year career, and has thus far been surprisingly adequate at the position, per both DRS and UZR. The aging slugger, who’s now just seven homers shy of 400 for his career, seemed on a clear DH-only trajectory after two seasons in Cleveland where he totaled just 388 innings at the position, but has nearly eclipsed that mark in just two short months in Seattle. The three-time all-star’s on pace for nearly 3.0 fWAR in ’19, with a hard-hit rate hovering around his peak average, though teams aren’t typically clamoring for 1B/DHs in the rental market, even one with a track record as glowing as Edwin’s.

Thirty-one year-old Gordon, twice an all-star earlier in his career, is still owed approximately $22MM on his deal through 2020, and may indeed have negative surplus value at this point. After a poor 2018 showing, in which the second baseman-turned-center-fielder posted 0.1 fWAR on the back of a 77 wRC+ and hard-to-fathom 1.5% BB rate, the again infielder hasn’t been much better this year, posting just a .281/.310/.369 line (85 wRC+) with a stolen-base rate that doesn’t even begin to approach the standard he’d set from 2014-17. It’s true that Gordon’s ground-ball rate has dropped below 50% for the first time in his career, and that he’s flashing a bit more power than usual, but it’s hard to foresee this profile netting much more than a bit of salary relief.

Mix-and-match artist Leake, now 31 and with over 1,700 big-league innings under his belt, is still owed upwards of $30MM on his deal that extends through 2020 and is currently in midst of the worst season of his career. Leake’s homer rate has skyrocketed to an a galactical 2.23 per nine, thanks mostly to a career-low grounder rate and an average fastball velocity that’s down over four MPH from his 2015 peak of 93.1. FanGraphs places Leake’s value at below replacement-level this season, and peripheral markers aren’t encouraged. His value would seem to mirror Gordon’s closely.

Former number-one overall pick Beckham appeared to have finally turned the corner this season after an early-season hot streak that catapulted him to the top of the league’s leaders in nearly every relevant statistical category. Still sporting an impressive 119 wRC+, Beckham’s secondary markers appear much the same as in years past: his 6.3% walk rate aligns exactly with his career total, and the 30% K rate is actually higher than the standard he’d set in the four years previous. Beckham’s .342 wOBA, on the strength of a middling 32% hard-hit rate, isn’t sustainable, per Statcast, who estimates his true (expected) wOBA title at just .312. The 29-year-old’s defense, too, has been far less than stellar this season, with DRS pegging him at a particularly cruel -7 runs saved already. He’s in his second-to-last year of arbitration, and may yet be a utility target for some contending clubs, but not one that’s likely to yield a blue-chipper in return.

Lesser names, like Healy, Wade LeBlanc, Hunter Strickland, and Domingo Santana, whose 119 wRC+ has been almost entirely offset by poor corner defense, aren’t likely to be coveted on the market. Third baseman Kyle Seager has been hurt for much of the early season, and recent-years returns are probably enough for interested teams to leave the some $50MM remaining on his deal behind.

If Dipoto is feeling particularly frisky, the team could try dangling each of Daniel Vogelbach, Mitch Haniger, Marco Gonzales, and Omar Narvaez to interested teams, though it seems the club is set on contending in the near future, and each of those players are controlled through at least the 2022 season.

Orioles Considering Several Players For First Overall Pick

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With less than a day to go before the 2019 amateur draft, the Orioles seem to still be exploring their options with the first overall pick.  Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman has long been considered the top talent in this year’s draft class by scouts and pundits, though according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the Orioles are also looking at Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn and Vanderbilt outfielder J.J. Bleday as “the top two alternatives” if Rutschman doesn’t end up being the pick (plus, high schooler Bobby Witt Jr. also might be a possibility).

Two scouts on rival teams have told Mayo that the Orioles won’t select Rutschman, though Mayo notes, this could also be some of the gamesmanship every team deploys to create uncertainty about their selections.  Still, Baltimore’s front office hasn’t given any indication about their plans in Mike Elias’ first draft as the team’s GM, and the linking of Rutschman to the O’s was more based on Rutschman’s high profile than it was on any reports coming out of Camden Yards.

A wealth of factors go into any draft pick, of course, especially one as important and potentially franchise-altering as a 1-1 selection.  It’s worth remember that Elias was the Astros’ director of amateur scouting when the team made the then-surprising move to select Carlos Correa with the first overall pick of the 2012 draft.  Mark Appel was widely tabbed as the top prospect of the 2012 class, though since Correa was willing to sign for a lesser bonus than the recommended slot price attached to the first overall pick, Correa ended up being the choice, giving the Astros more space in their draft pool to sign Lance McCullers Jr. for a larger bonus in the supplemental first round (41st overall).

We haven’t heard much about what Rutschman or some of this year’s top prospects are seeking in their first contracts, though if Vaughn or Bleday are willing to sign for less than the first overall pick’s recommended $8,415,300 slot price, that certainly be a point in their favor should Elias again look to spread his bonus pool money around on several top prospects.

Beyond just finances, of course, the O’s could also simply prefer Vaughn, Bleday, Witt, or another player to Rutschman for pure baseball reasons.  The Astros received some criticism for being cheap when they took Correa over Appel, though time has clearly vindicated Houston’s strategy in that draft.

If Rutschman isn’t the top pick, it could greatly shake up the remainder of the first round.  As a matter of due diligence, teams scout virtually all of the top prospects to prepare for just such an unexpected scenario, plus other teams could also be preparing to make outside-the-box situations.  Callis and Mayo cite a number of interesting prospects within their piece, including an item on how high school third baseman Brett Baty’s stock could be on the rise, potentially to the Rangers (who have the #8 pick) or even the White Sox with the third overall choice.  Vaughn, Baty, Bleday, and high schooler CJ Abrams have all been mentioned as being on Chicago’s radar, though these plans could again change should Rutschman or Witt be available when the White Sox are on the clock.

NL West Notes: Posey, Blackmon, Davis, Padres

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Buster Posey left Saturday’s game after suffering a hamstring injury while running out a ground ball.  The Giants called up catcher Aramis Garcia for today’s game while Posey didn’t play, though manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including MLB.com’s Maria Guardado) that Posey’s sore hamstring isn’t thought to be too serious.  “It’s hard to go into a game with one catcher.  Could Buster go back there? Probably, but I think we’d put him at risk to make it worse…This makes sense right now for a day to see how Buster’s doing,” Bochy said.  “It gives us some time. After the day off in New York, we’ll see if he’s available to go.”  Posey is hitting just .253/.311/.387 through 168 plate appearances, and is on pace for the weakest hitting season of his ten full seasons in the big leagues.  The longtime Giants star has been swinging the bat a bit better since returning from a brief stint on the concussion IL earlier this month, so Posey and the team are obviously hoping his hamstring problem won’t again put him on the sidelines.

Here’s some more from around the NL West…

  • Charlie Blackmon is eligible to come off the IL on Tuesday, though Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post) that Blackmon will remain out of action longer than the 10-day minimum.  Blackmon took batting practice and shagged some fly balls on Sunday, though he might still need a rehab stint in the minors.  Blackmon was hitting .300/.356/.565 at the time of his injury, though the Rockies have surprisingly not missed his bat — Colorado has a 9-1 record in Blackmon’s absence.  “Now that they’ve got me out of there, we’re taking off,” the outfielder joked.
  • In other Rockies injury news, Black said closer Wade Davis could also pitch in a minor league rehab game or a simulated game before returning to the active roster.  Davis threw a bullpen session today, so the right-hander looks to on pace for a relatively quick recovery from a left oblique strain that IL’ed him on May 22.
  • Padres general manager A.J. Preller spoke to reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) today about how the front office will turn its focus to the deadline once the draft is passed.  With the Padres still in the wild card mix, this could mark the first time in Preller’s tenure that the club will be buyers rather than sellers in July, though Preller stressed that the team isn’t planning an all-in push.  “This year we can look at going a lot of different routes….But the most important thing we’ve talked about is it’s still going to be looking toward the long term and looking toward building for the next five years and nothing that will sacrifice that over the next five weeks or so,” the GM said.  San Diego has been linked to a wide array of starting pitchers over the last several months, though “there appears to be increasing pessimism the Padres will sign free agent Dallas Keuchel,” Acee writes, since the Padres have young starters for their rotation and the club would have to outbid several other teams for Keuchel’s services.

Reds Outright Jose Lopez Off 40-Man Roster

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The Reds announced that right-hander Jose Lopez has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the 40-man roster.  Lopez had already been playing at Triple-A Louisville already.  The move opens up a spot on Cincinnati’s 40-man, though no corresponding move has been announced.

Once a promising young arm in the Reds’ farm system, Lopez’s stock diminished after a shaky 2018 season that saw him post a 4.47 ERA over 141 Triple-A innings, and those troubles have only increased this season.  Lopez had an ungainly 6.98 ERA, 7.7 K/9, and 1.62 K/BB rate over 49 frames for Louisville in 2019, experiencing both a sharp increase in his walk rate, and a whopping 13 homers allowed over those 49 innings.

A sixth-round pick for the Reds in the 2014 draft, the 25-year-old Lopez has yet to crack the Major Leagues.  He briefly left Cincinnati’s organization this winter when the Giants claimed him off waivers in February, though the Reds re-claimed Lopez back near the end of Spring Training.

Orioles Option Stevie Wilkerson, Austin Wynns

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Following today’s game, the Orioles have optioned INF/OF Stevie Wilkerson and catcher Austin Wynns to Triple-A Norfolk, per an official team release.

While a corresponding move will be officially announced on Tuesday, Roch Kubatko of MASN adds that Chance Sisco will likely rejoin the team to replace Wynns, with Chris Davis in position to come off the injured list ahead of Tuesday’s series opener in Texas.

In 123 plate appearances with the O’s, Wilkerson has posted a .250/.294/.438 slash line. Those are respectable numbers, especially for an inexperienced player on a rebuilding club, but his unimpressive 6:37 K:BB ratio calls for more seasoning in the minors. Meanwhile, Wynns has played just 15 games for the Orioles and has a .529 OPS in 47 plate appearances.

If it’s indeed Sisco who replaces Wynns on the roster, it will mark his 2019 season debut. He started this season in the minors after struggling through 2018 as a rookie; however, it appears that the 24-year-old catcher has turned a corner at Triple-A this year, boasting a robust .288/.381/.528 batting line thus far, a marked improvement over his numbers in previous stints at the level.

As for Davis, who is slated to make his return from the injured list, it’s unclear just how he will fit into the Orioles lineup upon his return to action. Trey Mancini has received the first base reps in Davis’s absence and has excelled with the bat, while the team would like to give promising youngster DJ Stewart an extended opportunity to play right field. And Renato Nunez, who has quietly emerged as one of baseball’s hottest hitters of late, currently occupies the DH spot and has done nothing to warrant a reduction in playing time.

In that aforementioned quartet, the Orioles have no fewer than four offense-heavy corner bats on the roster, a construction that could make it difficult for Brandon Hyde to allocate playing time. Davis, of course, is the highest-paid of the bunch, but perhaps also the least deserving of at-bats, based solely on production. With that in mind, it will be interesting to monitor Hyde’s handling of the 1B/DH logjam, especially as he attempts to navigate the challenges of managing a rebuilding team, striking a balance between youth and incumbent veterans like Davis.

Phillies Acquire Jay Bruce

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3:33pm: The trade is now official, per a Phillies announcement, with The Athletic’s Matt Gelb tweeting additional details on the deal: the Mariners will acquire minor league infielder Jake Scheiner from Philadelphia, while the Phillies will receive about $18MM from Seattle to cover the majority of Bruce’s remaining salary.

9:31am: The Phillies and Mariners were rumored to be very close yesterday on a deal that would send first baseman/outfielder Jay Bruce to Philadelphia, and Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link) is reporting that the trade has been completed.  Bruce could potentially join his new club as early as today — the Phillies are in Los Angeles completing a series with the Dodgers, while the Mariners are at home this weekend against the Angels.

The exact return headed back to Seattle isn’t yet known, though The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday that the Mariners would receive a minor leaguer and some money back from Philadelphia to cover the roughly $21.6MM owed on Bruce’s contract through the end of the 2020 season.  As per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Phillies will take on “the bulk” of Bruce’s remaining salary, so it’s safe to assume that the M’s will only be getting a minor prospect in return for getting so much cash off their books.

Bruce is no stranger to the trade market, as the 32-year-old has now been dealt four times in less than three years’ time.  Bruce most recently went to the Mariners as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to Mets, with Bruce included in the deal largely as a way of partially offsetting Cano’s large contract.  In his brief time as a Mariner, Bruce showed plenty of pop, cracking 14 homers and posting a whopping .533 slugging percentage over 184 plate appearances.  While Bruce’s average (.212) and OBP (.283) have a lot of room for improvement, it seems as if Bruce has rebounded from a down year in 2018 that was marred by hip problems.

While Bruce has actually been a reverse-splits hitter in the small sample size of his 2019 numbers, the Phillies are counting on his left-handed bat to help their mediocre numbers (91 wRC+) against right-handed pitching.  The Phils were known to be looking to add left-handed balance to a lineup almost entirely full of righty bats, aside from Bryce Harper and switch-hitting Cesar Hernandez.

With Harper and Rhys Hoskins respectively locked into the right field and first base jobs in Philadelphia, Bruce looks to be slated for left field when he is in the starting lineup.  Andrew McCutchen has been moved over to center field in the wake of Odubel Herrera being placed on administrative leave earlier this week, and it remains to be seen if more outfield moves could be made given that there isn’t any timeline for Herrera’s return.  It has been some time since McCutchen was a defensively-viable center fielder, and Bruce’s metrics as a corner outfielder have also been below average for several seasons.  It stands to reason that the Phillies could still pursue a center field option in order to give them the flexibility of moving McCutchen back to left field, where he has displayed some solid glovework.

Moreover, the deal is notable in that a trade of this variety is relatively rare in the first days of June. Yes, the playoff race has begun to take shape, but the trade market is not a robust one and plenty of teams have not firmly taken a stance towards buying or selling. For that reason, interest in Bruce may have been limited compared to where it might have been in July, especially if Bruce’s power keeps up. The deal may perhaps be compared to the Braves’ 2017 acquisition of Matt Adams, which occurred on May 20, with Adams stepping in as a stopgap for Freddie Freeman, who suffered a wrist injury that would keep him out for about six weeks. Analogously, Herrera’s stay on the administrative leave has no timetable, leaving the Phils in search of a short-term replacement.

For the Mariners, this could be the first of many trades coming over the next two months, as the team is reportedly open to moving several veteran players.  Since GM Jerry Dipoto announced his intentions to “re-imagine” the roster last November, the M’s have parted ways with Cano, Diaz, Jean Segura, James Paxton, Mike Zunino, Alex Colome, and a host of other players, significantly cutting payroll and adding young talent to both the farm system and the MLB roster.  Getting the Phillies to take the majority of Bruce’s salary already counts as a win for Dipoto, as Bruce’s contract was looking like something of an albatross in the wake of his disappointing 2018 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Dodgers Injury Notes: Cingrani, Turner, Barnes

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  • Dodgers left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani, who has yet to play this season, will likely see his season come to an end, per The Athletic’s Pedro Moura. Cingrani will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, which “probably” marks the end of his season, manager Dave Roberts told Moura. Currently on the 10-day injured list with shoulder soreness, Cingrani suffered a setback during his rehab assignment that required the club to shut down the 29-year-old. After undergoing an MRI, it’s been determined that the injury will require surgery, a disappointing and frustrating development for both Cingrani and the Dodgers, who acquired the southpaw from the Reds at the 2017 trade deadline. He has thus far been able to pitch in just 52 games for the Dodgers, and with Cingrani eligible for free agency at season’s end, he may have already appeared in his last game in Los Angeles.
  • Third baseman Justin Turner will return to the starting lineup for Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California Media Group. His absence from Sunday’s game marks the fourth consecutive game that Turner is out of the lineup thanks to right hamstring tightness, and Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports that Turner’s injury is “a little more severe” than anticipated, but evidently the 34-year-old is healthy enough to play in tomorrow’s series opener in Phoenix.
  • Catcher Austin Barnes, who recently landed on the injured list with a groin strain, is on track to return in time for Friday’s series opener against the Giants, tweets Castillo, who adds that Barnes is slated to make a pair of rehab appearances for the Dodgers’ Class A-Advanced affiliate before coming off the injured list late this week. Barnes has posted a solid .738 OPS in 40 games for the Dodgers this year, working in tandem with Russell Martin to form a serviceable catching combination for a first-place team.

Yankees Reinstate CC Sabathia From Injured List

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Prior to tonight’s game against the Red Sox, the Yankees have reinstated veteran left-hander CC Sabathia from the 10-day injured list, according to an official team release. Sabathia is in line to start Sunday’s game for the Bombers.

Sabathia landed on the injured list on May 23 thanks to a bout with right knee inflammation. Thankfully for the Yankees, the injury didn’t keep him out of action for an extended period of time and his stay of the IL was a short one.

The big southpaw’s return to action certainly won’t be a walk in the park, though, as he draws a tough Red Sox lineup in primetime, though it’s a lineup that has mustered just four runs in the first two games of this weekend set in the Bronx.

Amidst an injury-riddled season for the Yankees, Sabathia has helped to counterbalance injuries to Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, and briefly James Paxton. Of course, Sabathia has not been spectacular, but the 38-year-old has offered stability to a team that has faced considerable adversity.

In eight starts, Sabathia has provided 41 1/3 innings of solid ball, working to a 3.48 ERA, though troubles with the home run ball (allowing 2.4 homers per nine innings pitched) are driving a less promising 6.27 FIP. Regardless, with Severino, Montgomery, and Jonathan Loaisiga on the shelf, the team will gladly welcome back the experienced Sabathia.

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