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Archives for June 2019

Rangers Place Joey Gallo On IL With Oblique Strain

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TODAY: Gallo has indeed been placed on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain, as per a Rangers announcement.  Delino DeShields has been recalled to take Gallo’s 25-man roster spot.

YESTERDAY: Rangers slugger Joey Gallo left the team’s game Saturday with tightness in his left oblique, according to the club’s executive vice president of communications,  John Blake. Gallo will undergo an MRI.

Oblique injuries often lead to weeks-long stays on the injured list, which the Rangers certainly hope isn’t the case here. However, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests an IL stint is likely for Gallo.

It would hurt for Texas to go without Gallo, who has been its best player in 2019. The 25-year-old outfielder’s currently on pace for his third straight 40-home run season, though Gallo wasn’t anywhere near this productive in the previous two campaigns. Gallo, who has slashed .272/.415/.633 in 212 plate appearances, ranks fourth in baseball in fWAR (2.9), fifth in homers (17) and seventh in wRC+ (169).

Thanks in large part to Gallo, the Rangers have been one of the majors’ surprise teams this year. The club’s 28-27 with an offense that stands among the league’s highest-scoring groups so far. Texas ranks second in the game in runs (317) and 12th in wRC+ (102).

Latest On Drew Pomeranz

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TODAY: Pomeranz has not been removed from the rotation, Bochy told Schulman (Twitter links) and other reporters today.  Anderson is slated to start on Thursday, which would have been Pomeranz’s normal turn, though Pomeranz could still make a start next weekend.  In the interim, however, Pomeranz could potentially come out of the bullpen if required.

YESTERDAY: Left-hander Drew Pomeranz, one of the Giants’ most notable offseason acquisitions, is changing roles. The team has moved Pomeranz out of its rotation and into its bullpen, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Pomeranz is now the third starter the struggling Giants have dropped from their rotation since the season began. They previously relegated righty Dereck Rodriguez and lefty Derek Holland after they got off to poor starts. With Pomeranz joining those two in the bullpen, lefty Madison Bumgarner and righty Jeff Samardzija are the only survivors from San Francisco’s year-opening starting five.

Along with Holland, Pomeranz was one of just three free agents the Giants signed to major league contracts during a low-spending winter for the franchise. New president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi handed Pomeranz a one-year, $1.5MM guarantee, but the minimal investment hasn’t gone well for either party thus far.

A former Rockie, Athletic, Padre and Red Sox, Pomeranz has racked up 10 starts with the Giants, averaging a bit under four innings per appearance (39 total) while posting a hideous 8.08 ERA/6.45 FIP. Pomeranz has struck out nearly 10 hitters per nine, but that hasn’t been enough to cancel out his other problems – mainly an unappealing walk rate (4.85 BB/9) and significant issues keeping the ball in the park. The 30-year-old Pomeranz’s home run-to-fly ball rate is at a career-worst 26.2 percent, more than double his lifetime mark (12.9). Pomeranz has yielded the majority of his HRs outside of pitcher-friendly San Francisco, unsurprisingly, though he hasn’t been effective there either. He’s also getting demolished by right-handed hitters, who have recorded a .436 weighted on-base average off him (for reference, Christian Yelich’s 2019 wOBA is .440).

Including his work against lefties, batters have feasted on Pomeranz for a .420 wOBA. Statcast paints a less bleak picture, crediting Pomeranz with a still-unimpressive .369 xwOBA against. He’s suffering from poor fortune in the BABIP (.369) and strand rate (67.7) departments, and has experienced a jump in velocity compared to last season. But none of that is of any solace to the Giants, who saw Pomeranz allow 22 earned runs on 25 hits (six HRs) and nine walks in 10 1/3 innings in May.

This is the second straight season a team has taken Pomeranz out of its rotation. The Red Sox did it last year during an injury-limited campaign for Pomeranz, who collected 15 relief appearances out of 26. Among hurlers who have thrown at least 100 innings dating back to 2018, Pomeranz ranks last in ERA (6.77), fourth worst in FIP (5.78) and fWAR (minus-1.0), and fifth from the bottom in BB/9 (5.18). It’s a steep drop for someone who was once a top prospect and isn’t far removed from a terrific run as a big league starter. Pomeranz excelled with San Diego in 2016, when it sent him to Boston that summer in a controversial trade for then-premium pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza, and enjoyed another quality year with the BoSox the next season.

The 2016-17 version of Pomeranz now looks long gone, and barring a seismic turnaround over the next few months, he’ll likely have to settle for a minor league deal on his next pact. Free agency could come sooner than expected for Pomeranz if the Giants release him during the season, which doesn’t seem like a far-fetched idea. In the meantime, Pomeranz will try to rebuild his stock in the Giants’ bullpen. San Francisco will eventually have to pick someone else to slot into its rotation behind Bumgarner, Samardzija, Shaun Anderson and Tyler Beede, but it has enough off days on the horizon to wait on making a decision.

Brewers Place Jhoulys Chacin On 10-Day Injured List

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The Brewers announced that right-hander Jhoulys Chacin has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain.  Catcher Jacob Nottingham is also headed down to Triple-A, while right-handers Jacob Barnes and Taylor Williams have been recalled from Triple-A to fill the two open spots on the 25-man roster.

Chacin was an quietly effective staple of the Brewers’ pitching staff in 2018, posting a 3.50 ERA over 192 2/3 innings in the regular season and then another 12 1/3 frames of 1.46 ERA ball during Milwaukee’s postseason run.  That effectiveness, however, hasn’t carried over to 2019, as Chacin has been hit hard this season.  The righty has a 5.74 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 1.52 K/BB rate over 58 innings, with ERA indicators and contact rates (.352 xwOBA to a .343 wOBA) suggesting that his poor ERA is no mirage.

Never a hard-thrower or one to miss many bats, Chacin’s modest strikeout rate has dipped in 2019 while his hard-contact rate has rocketed up to 43.4%, a marked increase over his 36.6% total from 2018.  Chacin has also seen a decrease in grounders, and an increase in walks, fly balls, and home runs.

The Brewers have now lost two starters to injury in as many days, after Gio Gonzalez was placed on the IL yesterday with a dead arm.  No timeline is known for either Gonzalez or Chacin, as both hurlers have the type of hard-to-diagnose issues that could linger beyond the 10-day minimum stay on the injured list.  The Brewers would fill that void with a major reinforcement in Jimmy Nelson, as the right-hander will return after missing over a full season to start Wednesday’s game.  Beyond Nelson, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that Freddy Peralta is likely to receive a spot start in the coming days.

AL East Notes: Pearce, Smoak, Orioles

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It was on this day in 1925 that the legendary Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp in the Yankees’ lineup, beginning Gehrig’s then-record streak of 2130 consecutive games played.  While both Pipp and the Yankees themselves were slumping at the time, Gehrig’s insertion into the lineup wasn’t only meant as a way to give a promising youngster some at-bats.  Pipp was given a day off due to a headache, which according to some reports was suffered after being hit in the head with a pitch from a teammate during batting practice.  Since that fateful day, Pipp’s name has become synonymous with being replaced — whenever a player goes on a hot streak replacing an injured teammate, you can count on an announcer mentioning that the injured player might “be Wally Pipp’ed” out of a job.  This unusual legacy has overshadowed a very solid career from Pipp, who hit .281/.341/.408 over 7838 plate appearances with the Yankees, Reds, and Tigers from 1913-28, including serving as the starting first baseman on the Yankees’ first World Series championship team, in 1923.

The latest from around the AL East…

  • The Red Sox re-signed Steve Pearce on a one-year, $6.25MM contract last November in the wake of Pearce’s epic performance as the World Series MVP.  The deal looked like a solid move at the time, though as the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham notes, now looks like a misstep given Pearce’s rough 2019 season.  Pearce has slashed just .180/.245/.258 over 99 plate appearances, and is currently on the IL with back spasms.  Considering that many comparable first base/DH types of free agents signed for considerably less than Pearce’s $6.5MM guarantee last offseason, the contract now looks like an overpay in hindsight.  A few million dollars normally wouldn’t be a big issue for a wealthy team like the Red Sox, though with the Sox wanting to stay under the $246MM maximum penalty luxury tax threshold, Abraham notes that signing Pearce to a smaller deal (or letting him go altogether) would have freed up more money for Boston to pursue some needed bullpen help, either in the offseason or at the deadline.
  • Could Justin Smoak go from trade candidate to extension candidate?  As Ken Rosenthal opines in his latest FOX Sports video update, the Blue Jays’ efforts to deal Smoak at the deadline could be hampered by the fact that teams have been increasingly hesitant to give much up for veteran first base/DH players.  Smoak’s age (32) and status as a rental player could also work against the Jays in netting any significant return for the first baseman.  With this in mind, Rosenthal suggests that Toronto could explore retaining Smoak as a veteran leader to help the club through its rebuild, perhaps on a one- or two-year extension to split first base and DH duties with Rowdy Tellez.  Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s ability to stick at third base will factor into such a decision, of course, and I’d also add that the Blue Jays might not want to return to a fairly inflexible first base/DH situation so soon after parting ways with Kendrys Morales.
  • While the Orioles have suffered from disastrous pitching, their everyday lineup has featured some unexpected bright spots, the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck writes.  Names like Renato Nunez, Dwight Smith Jr., Pedro Severino, and Hanser Alberto were all acquired in unheralded fashion over the last year, yet all four have delivered decent to above-average production at the plate.  Some of this could stem from a simple increase in playing time, as all four players are getting the chance at regular at-bats for the first time.  Severino, whose .268/.351/.474 slash line through 112 PA dwarfs his previous output as a member of the Nationals, noted that “My job over there [in Washington] was to have the mentality to win the game and call a good game and not think about my offense….It was tough to play once a week and take one at-bat in the ninth inning against a good closer. That’s really tough.”  It remains to be seen if any of this quartet will develop into long-term pieces for the rebuilding Orioles, though if nothing else, the O’s could have some extra trade chips to consider for the July 31st deadline.

Rays Activate Yandy Diaz From 10-Day Injured List

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The Rays announced some roster moves this morning, including the activation of infielder Yandy Diaz from the 10-day injured list.  Nate Lowe, called up just yesterday from Triple-A, is on his way back to the minors in a corresponding move.  The Rays also optioned right-hander Adam Kolarek yesterday, but Kolarek is now making a quick return to the big leagues since southpaw Jose Alvarado has been placed on the family medical emergency list.

Diaz hit the IL on May 23, with a retroactive placement to May 20, with a left hand contusion after being hit by a pitch from the Yankees’ Chance Adams.  While Diaz was reportedly still feeling some soreness in his hand, a brief stint in extended Spring Training camp seems to have done the trick, and the corner infielder will now make his return to Tampa Bay’s lineup.  Acquired as part of the three-team trade that sent Jake Bauers to Cleveland last December, Diaz has hit an impressive .256/.339/.500 with nine homers over 180 plate appearances in a Rays uniform, delivering on the promise that his hard-hit ball statistics indicated during his time with the Tribe.

Lowe’s latest turn in the Show lasted only a day, as the slugging first base prospect now has a .263/.310/.316 slash line over 42 PA this season.  It stands to reason that Lowe will continue to be shuffled between the majors and minors as circumstances warrant, though the Rays will surely keep an eye on his service time so as to gain an extra year of team control over the youngster.

Phillies Close To Acquiring Jay Bruce

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TODAY: The Phillies will cover “the bulk” of Bruce’s remaining salary obligations once the deal is official, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  While the exact dollar figures aren’t yet known, the Phillies were willing to take on more of Bruce’s contract than any other team the Mariners were in talks with about the veteran slugger, Nightengale notes.

SATURDAY, 10:46pm: A deal’s close to the finish line, “pending a review of Bruce’s medicals and other final details,” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. The Mariners will receive cash savings and a minor leaguer in return, Rosenthal adds.

12:57pm: Passan has amended his earlier report to state that a deal between the two sides is “not imminent.”

12:45pm: The Phillies are “nearing a deal” to acquire Jay Bruce, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who notes that the deal’s expected to be completed within the next 24 hours.

Bruce, 32, has rebounded in ’19 for the Mariners after a poor showing in 2018 with the Mets. In 184 plate appearances for Seattle, the three-time all-star’s posted a solid .212/.283/.533 line (114 wRC+) on the back of a career-best .321 ISO.  His hard-hit rate has jumped to near career-best levels, though his average exit velocity (via Statcast) still doesn’t register among the game’s top 100 qualified hitters.

Armed with a no-trade clause and a hefty $22.5 MM remaining on the three-year deal he signed with New York prior to the 2018 season, Bruce didn’t seem a likely candidate to move so soon, especially to a club which already featured Bryce Harper and an aging Andrew McCutchen at the corner-outfield spots. McCutchen, though, has more often been deployed in his traditional center-field post (despite frightening advanced metrics at the position in his last two prolonged attempts) in the absence of Odubel Herrera, who’s been placed on administrative leave after his arrest for a domestic violence charge.

Bruce, then, could fill Nick Williams’ current role as the strong side of a left-field platoon, or perhaps simply as a bench option (MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Phils are looking to upgrade the unit) and DH in AL parks. The longtime Red’s always been a bit of a liability against southpaws, and his defense, like McCutchen’s, has declined rapidly in recent seasons.

Trigger-happy Mariners GM Jerry DiPoto again seems to be on the prowl for Seattle, this time in perhaps the more thorough iteration of a multi-stage teardown that began in earnest last November. There’ll be no shortage of candidates with which to shuffle, though many of the choicest names have been injured (Kyle Seager) or seen their performance slide to immovable levels (Dee Gordon, Mike Leake).

Royals Reportedly Ready To Trade “Nearly Anybody”

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With just a 19-39 record to show for the 2019 season, the Royals have the second-worst record in baseball, and are already looking ahead to next year.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that Kansas City is open to trading “nearly anybody on their roster,” with the obvious exception of a few key young players.  Adalberto Mondesi and Hunter Dozier are two of “the select untouchables,” though it seems as if K.C. is willing to at least discuss anyone else.

This includes Whit Merrifield, despite the fact that the super-utilityman just signed a $16.25MM contract extension with the Royals before the season.  As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explained at the time of the deal, however, Merrifield’s extension was something of a unique circumstance, as the contract only extended Kansas City’s control over Merrifield by as much as one free agent season (via a club option for the 2023 campaign) and thus didn’t offer much financial risk to the Royals beyond what Merrifield likely would have earned anyway in his arbitration years.  From Merrifield’s perspective, he was able to lock in at least one big guaranteed payday in his late-blooming career, as Merrifield is already in his age-30 season.

From a trade perspective, that extension also makes Merrifield all the more attractive as a long-term piece for interested suitors.  He is enjoying another strong year at the plate, hitting .300/.355/.508 over 262 plate appearances, with seven homers and a league-high seven triples to go along with eight stolen bases.  Merrifield has significantly increased his pop (a .208 Isolated Slugging mark) and hard-hit ball rate (43.1%) from last season, though that latter number offers some promise of regression, as Merrifield’s xwOBA is only .349 (compared to a wOBA of .364).

Merrifield has spent much of his time at second base and right field this season, though he has experience playing everywhere but catcher and pitcher over his four MLB seasons.  His age could be a minor red flag, though between Merrifield’s hitting prowess, defensive versatility, and long-term control, he stands out as one of the better trade chips available this deadline season.  It’s also worth noting that since Merrifield is locked up on an affordable deal, Kansas City is under no particular pressure to deal the 30-year-old unless the club really wants to sell high.  As Feinsand puts it, “the Royals will need to be overwhelmed by an offer to trade” Merrifield.

Besides Mondesi and Dozier, it’s probably safe to assume that other younger, club-controlled Royals players (i.e. Brad Keller, Nicky Lopez, Jakob Junis, Jorge Lopez) are also unavailable in trade talks.  Alex Gordon is in the midst of a comeback year, though the veteran has already indicated that he wants to spend his entire career with the Royals, and thus isn’t willing to waive his no-trade production as a 10-and-5 player to approve a swap to a contender.

Beyond that group, any other Royal could potentially be on the trade block.  Feinsald cites such notable names as Jorge Soler, Danny Duffy, and Ian Kennedy, though for the latter two players, the Royals would have to eat a big portion of their remaining contracts to accommodate a deal.

Athletics Pause Jharel Cotton’s Rehab Assignment

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Athletics right-hander Jharel Cotton has been working back from Tommy John surgery since March 2018, and recent reports indicated he was progressing toward a return.

Unfortunately, Cotton’s now dealing with a new injury – a right hamstring strain – which has forced the Athletics to halt his rehab assignment, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The A’s will shut down Cotton “for the time being,” manager Bob Melvin said.

When he has been healthy enough to take the mound, the 27-year-old Cotton has functioned as a full-time starter. He debuted with the Athletics back in 2016, the summer they acquired him and two fellow righties (Frankie Montas and Grant Holmes) from the Dodgers for lefty Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick. Cotton then proceeded to make 29 starts with Oakland through the 2017 season. However, after an impressive five-start run in ’16, Cotton fell flat across 24 outings two years ago. In all, Cotton owns a 4.95 ERA/5.32 FIP with 7.28 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and a 37.1 percent groundball rate in 158 1/3 innings.

Considering Cotton’s coming off a severe injury and hasn’t thrived as a starter, the A’s are likely to bring him back as a reliever when he’s good to return. Now, though, it doesn’t appear Cotton will be back in the majors in the very near future.

Latest On Scooter Gennett

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The Reds have gone without injured second baseman Scooter Gennett all season, but his return is getting closer. Gennett could begin a rehab assignment within “two or three weeks,” manager David Bell said Saturday (via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com).

Gennett suffered a right groin strain March 22, at which point he was projected to miss eight to 12 weeks. It’s now clear the 29-year-old won’t return until near the end of that timeline, if not later. Fortunately for the Reds, they’ve received excellent second base production even without Gennett. Minor league signing Derek Dietrich has been a revelation in Gennett’s place, having slashed an elite .260/.366/.707 (168 wRC+) with 17 home runs over 145 plate appearances.

Like Dietrich, Gennett originally arrived in Cincinnati as a low-risk pickup. The Reds claimed Gennett off waivers from the NL Central rival Brewers on the brink of the 2017 campaign. Little did either team know Gennett would emerge as one of the game’s most valuable second basemen in Cincy. The 28-year-old’s coming off a two-season, 1,135-PA stretch in which he batted .303/.351/.508 with 50 home runs to place third at his position in wRC+ (124) and sixth in fWAR (6.7).

Gennett will reclaim his spot once he returns, Bell suggested, saying, “Obviously, Scooter is going to be playing.” But Bell indicated the Reds’ lineup is big enough for Gennett and Dietrich, pointing to the latter’s ability to play multiple other infield positions – first and third base – as well as the outfield.

First (Joey Votto) and third (Eugenio Suarez) are spoken for in Cincinnati, whereas corner outfielders Yasiel Puig and Jesse Winker haven’t established themselves as Reds cornerstones the way Votto and Suarez have. And Dietrich has handily outproduced Puig and Winker, which could open the door for him in the outfield. Platooning Dietrich – a lefty hitter who does all his damage versus righties – with Puig or Winker wouldn’t be easy, though. The righty-swinging Puig has typically caused more harm to same-handed pitchers (that hasn’t been the case this year, but he has scuffled in general), while the lefty Winker hasn’t had any success against southpaws this season. Of course, the Reds could resolve the situation to a degree if they fall out of contention in the coming weeks and trade Puig – an impending free agent.

Diamondbacks Outright John Ryan Murphy

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Diamondbacks catcher John Ryan Murphy has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Reno, per a team announcement. The Diamondbacks designated Murphy for assignment last Saturday.

The 28-year-old Murphy will continue with the D-backs, who acquired him from the Twins for left-hander Gabriel Moya in July 2017. It was the second trade of Murphy’s career, as the Yankees sent him to the Twins for center fielder Aaron Hicks in a November 2015 swap. Needless to say, New York got the better end of that transaction.

Dating back to his big league debut with the Yankees in 2013, Murphy has hit .219/.265/.357 (65 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 673 plate appearances. While Murphy limped to a 70 wRC+ in 69 PA this year before Arizona cut him from its 40-man roster, his defense has been an asset in the desert. Baseball Prospectus has given the backstop outstanding grades behind the plate over the past year-plus, and Murphy even served as ace Zack Greinke’s personal catcher until the team went in another direction.

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