The Astros will have a difficult decision to make after the All-Star break, when they will need to find a fifth starter to join the current group. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan writes (subscription required), Houston has gotten by with only four starters lately, thanks to a schedule that has afforded the team some well-timed off days. Corbin Martin would ideally be the guy to step up, but his season was cut short by an elbow injury. As Kaplan notes, the Astros are widely expected to target starting pitching at the trade deadline, so whoever is chosen will only need to hold down the fort for the next few weeks. With the addition of a fifth starter, of course, someone will lose their roster spot, and that may just be Tony Kemp. Kemp has seen his role diminish of late, receiving only sparing playing time while fellow bench bats Myles Straw and Tyler White fill more essential spots. Notably, Kemp is out of options, meaning that he will need to clear waivers if the Astros would like to demote him while keeping him in the organization.
- It doesn’t look like Rangers designated hitter Hunter Pence will be ready to return to game action immediately following the All-Star break, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. As Sullivan notes, Pence, who is recovering from a right groin strain, has yet to get to back to running full speed. Pence hasn’t appeared in a game for the Rangers since the middle of June, when he landed on the injured list. A minor-league signing last winter, Pence has been a revelation for Texas, emerging as a force in the middle of the lineup. His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Star roster, though he won’t be able to participate thanks to the injury.
- After the break, the Angels expect to welcome Matt Harvey back to the starting rotation, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group. On Sunday, he made a start for Triple-A Salt Lake, striking out seven batters in 3 1/3 innings of work. An upper back strain has prevented the veteran from pitching in the Majors since late May. When he has pitched for the Halos, though, the results have not been good: he’s worked to an unsightly 7.50 ERA in 10 starts and has thus far failed to live up to the $11MM contract he received in the offseason. Of course, he’ll have the rest of the season to reverse that, and he certainly has the talent to boost the playoff-hopeful Angels into the Wild Card conversation.
- Mariners right-handed pitcher Dan Altavilla will avoid Tommy John surgery after receiving the results from an MRI, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. That MRI showed no damage to Altavilla’s UCL, though he did endure a flexor strain in his elbow. To be sure, there’s nothing encouraging about elbow injuries, but the silver lining is that Altavilla won’t need to undergo Tommy John. Altavilla landed on the injured list after he “felt something in his forearm” while pitching on Friday.
White is also out of options and is doing much worse than Kemp. White can only play one position (unless you include his relief outings). White will be the first to go.
Completely agree. Anyone who watches the Astros regularly also knows that Kemp has value over White, albeit not by much. Diaz will be back soon and is a capable backup 1B, and we have Reddick, Stassi, and Alvarez in a pinch as well. Heck, Will Harris is about 10 feet tall, give him a 1B mitt if you need to.
I was about to say the same thing. White can only play 1st and DH. Kemp can play every position other than Catcher and Pitcher. Because of that Kemp has a WAR almost a full run higher than White. I’m not sure why the Astros would DFA Kemp over White. I’m honestly surprised he wasn’t tossed out when they called up Alvarez.
Kemp ain’t playing 3B, SS, or 1B, unless there’s an emergency. Coincidentally, White has more experience at SS and 3B than Kemp does.
Unless of course they can included Kemp or White in the trade. My hope is that Lunhow targets a pitcher of higher quality than Detroit’s Boyd. Grenkie or Robbie Ray of Arizona stand out above the rest if Arizona is in a selling mood.
I get your point and I agree, but no to Grienke and Ray. Zack’s dollars are too much even if Arizona agrees to eat some. Crane already on record as saying they won’t go over tax threshold. Ray walks way too many batters for my liking, though he is cheaper. Personally, I’d rather have Bumgarner, Stroman or Syndargaard when the Mets decide to sell.
Reread your sentence on threshold. That eliminates those last ones.
No, when you prorate what is remaining for the rest of this season Stroman and Syndargaard easily fit without going over this year. I think Bumgarner would fit as well as you are only talking about $6M remaining for this season once the trade is made.
Hope it’s White
Harvey goes 3 1/3 and the Angels think he is ready to go back to being a starter?
He’s ball boy material, at best.
His nickname among Angels fans is “Hardly”.
Seems like moat games are bullpen by committee at the moment
Doubt the Angels are actually Welcoming Back… More like, taking him back…
Agreed. Just cut the loss and let canning and saurez stay in rotation, maybe see what jc ramirez has coming back. Felix pena is better than harvey
Salt Lake reports Ramirez’ velocity is waaay down. that’s not good.
dump Harvey. he like Cahill are major embarrassments and don’t even given the team a remote chance to win.
I’d take Kemp any and every day over White as full-time dh. Homer today.
Yeah DH belongs to Alvarez so Hinch will utilize who best fits his depth projections for the club. The more versatile the more valuable.
The fall Harvey has taken really is incredible, injury history considered.