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Archives for September 2019

Pirates Shut Down Chris Archer

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The Pittsburgh Pirates plan to shut down injured right-hander Chris Archer for the remainder of the season, general manager Neal Huntington told reporters including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archer landed on the injured list on August 21 after prematurely exiting a start the previous day with shoulder discomfort.

While Archer’s season is over, he remains a near-lock to return to the Pirates next year. The team holds a relatively affordable $9MM club option for the 2020 season, and Huntington has given every indication that he intends to exercise that option and bring back Archer for another year.

Regardless, the 2019 season will go down as a forgettable one for Archer, who finishes the year with a 5.19 ERA, the worst mark of his career. He was able to maintain an above-average strikeout rate, but trouble with walks and home runs neutralized that impact. It’s worth noting that in August, prior to the injury, Archer had been enjoying his best month of the season and seemed to finally be trending upward. However, any progress will now be put on hold until next season.

Unfortunately for Archer, he will always be judged in the face of the blockbuster trade that sent him to Pittsburgh. As Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, and even Shane Baz have flourished with Tampa Bay, Archer’s struggles make the deal look like one of the most lopsided in recent memory. With that in mind, the decision to pick up his option is at the very least an effort to mitigate the bad optics of the trade, which would look even worse if the Pirates cut ties with the prized starter after just one full season.

As for the Pirates, they have been rolling with right-hander Dario Agrazal since Archer hit the shelf. Unfortunately, the rookie hasn’t fared much better than Archer, having struck out just 30 batters in 62 1/3 innings.

Quick Hits: Free Agency, Dodgers, General Managers

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Who is this offseason’s top free agent? MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand posed that question to a handful of executives, who came back pretty well split between Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon. Those who pointed to Cole as the likely recipient of the winter’s biggest deal pointed to Rendon’s lengthy injury history and the leaguewide scarcity of ace-level starting pitching. On the other hand, Rendon’s backers pointed out that the highest ceilings in free agency belong to star-level position players, who are generally viewed as less risky from a health perspective than pitchers are.

  • Which organizations pursue each player will no doubt dictate their respective market values in the coming months. To that end, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription link) is hearing chatter the Dodgers figure to be in the Rendon market. The idea, per Olney, would be move Justin Turner to first base to split time with Max Muncy while deploying Cody Bellinger solely on the grass. Whether the Dodgers would be best-served beating what is sure to be a robust market for Rendon when their internal options are already formidable is debatable, but Olney notes that the Dodgers’ collection of cheap young stars gives the team ample financial flexibility to make a splash in free agency. Further, he argues that Rendon is the Dodgers’ ideal hitter- patient, with contact and power skills- although of course LA wouldn’t be the only organization to appreciate a player with Rendon’s superstar track record.
  • In the wake of the Red Sox parting ways with Dave Dombrowski, WEEI’s Rob Bradford sat down with Giants’ special advisor (and former Blue Jays’ GM) J.P. Ricciardi to discuss how the position has changed in recent seasons. Ricciardi pointed to a number of differences in heading a front office now versus the 2000’s, when he was running things north of the border. Perhaps most interestingly, Ricciardi opined that front offices in 2019 have become extremely averse to trading young players, which he attributes partially to fear of being second-guessed with fans and media more attuned to the transactional landscape. Ricciardi’s thoughts are worth checking out in full for fans interested in how the role of MLB executive has changed over the past decade.
  • One person who won’t be taking over for Dombrowski is former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, reports Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Cherington and the organization parted ways after Dombrowski was brought aboard in August 2015. Nevertheless, as Mastrodonato explores in detail, Cherington deserves some credit for the Sox’s 2018 World Series roster, which certainly had the imprints of the vaunted farm system he and his staff had put together before his exit.

NL Notes: Voth, Haseley, Lyles

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We’ll check in some NL postseason hopefuls with two weeks to play in the regular season.

  • Nationals right-hander Austin Voth has pitched himself into strong consideration for a spot on the club’s postseason roster as a multi-inning reliever, manager Dave Martinez tells Mark Zuckerman of MASN. Voth has started six of his seven MLB appearances this year, but he’s thus far maxed out at 80 pitches in September as he continues to build back up from a bout of biceps tendinitis. Working 4-5 innings at a time has clicked for Voth, who has put up a 16:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 innings this month. The Nats’ bullpen has taken its share of heat all season, so it isn’t surprising to hear Martinez contemplating giving the hot hand some important innings. Washington hasn’t yet locked down a postseason berth, of course, but Fangraphs gives them a 93.4% chance of getting to the NL Wild Card game.
  • Washington’s NL East rival Philadelphia hasn’t completely closed the book on 2019, although they’re in a decidedly less favorable position. Sitting 3.5 games out in the Wild Card race with three teams to jump, Philly’s down to a 1.6% shot at the promised land, again per Fangraphs. With that in mind, the Athletic’s Matt Gelb takes a look at the Phillies’ outfield outlook for 2020, specifically through the lens of rookie Adam Haseley. The former eighth overall pick’s .263/.328/.413 slash (92 wRC+) doesn’t jump off the page at first glance, but Gelb notes it’s a surprisingly solid season for a player who was forced to the majors after just 18 Triple-A games due to unexpected developments among the big league club. The Citizens Bank Park grass could become jumbled again in 2020, depending on how the club handles Odúbel Herrera post-suspension and how they deploy utilityman Scott Kingery. It’s a worthwhile read (subscription only) for Philly fans turning their attention to next spring.
  • The Brewers have climbed back to within one game of the Cubs in the NL Wild Card race, and Jordan Lyles is a big reason why, observes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted two weeks ago that Lyles’ deadline acquisition from the division-rival Pirates was proving to be a quiet boon for the Brew Crew, and the tall righty has chipped in three sterling starts since then. As McCalvy notes, Lyles has made only small changes to his repertoire post-trade; indeed, catcher Yasmani Grandal attributed Lyles’ breakout to improved consistency in pitch execution and better sequencing. Soon to turn 29, Lyles is ticketed for free agency again this winter, where he figures to do better than the $2.05MM deal he wrapped up with Pittsburgh his last go-round.

Yankees Designate Ryan Dull; Activate Betances, Montgomery

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The Yankees announced they have designated right-handed reliever Ryan Dull for assignment. That, coupled with the transfer of Jonathan Holder to the 60-day injured list, clears roster space for the previously-reported activations of Dellin Betances and Jordan Mongtomery from the IL.

Betances is the most notable name in today’s series of transactions. The fireballer has missed the entire season to date with a shoulder injury. Notably, he tells Erik Boland of Newsday (via Twitter) that he’s still not up to full strength, although he expressed optimism he’ll be 100% by the end of the regular season. Betances’ progress will be one of the stretch run’s biggest health situations to monitor, as the hulking righty will be elligible for free agency at season’s end, which both player and team surely hope won’t come until after a lengthy postseason run for the soon-to-be AL East champs.

It has been an even longer absence for Montgomery, who hasn’t toed an MLB mound since undergoing Tommy John surgery last June. As a rookie in 2017, Montgomery started 29 games and pitched to a better-than-average 3.88 ERA with solid peripherals. It’ll be interesting to see how the Bombers build him up down the stretch and what role, if any, he’ll play in the postseason.

Those returns to health come at the expense of Dull, a 29 year-old righty. He was blasted in three games as a Yankee, continuing a disappointing season. Dull has never followed up on a 2016 season in which he pitched to a 2.42 ERA in 74.1 innings in Oakland. He does come with one more option year and throws the same 91 MPH fastball he had in his breakthrough effort in the Bay Area, so Dull should still hold some appeal as a depth piece this offseason.

Holder was initially shelved in August with right shoulder inflammation. A longshot to make the Yankees’ postseason roster even when healthy, this almost certainly concludes a trying season for the 26 year-old, who pitched to a 6.31 ERA despite serviceable strikeout (25.4%) and walk (6.1%) rates.

NL Notes: Hiura, BA Awards, Freeland

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With a .301/.369/.571 line, 16 home runs, and nine stolen bases in his first 295 plate appearances in the majors, Brewers infielder Keston Hiura has this season put on prominent display the skills that made him a top-10 pick in the 2017 Rule IV draft. Today comes word that the UC Irvine product is a little closer to putting those tools to further use, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets that Hiura did a full workout (including batting practice) before logging one at-bat in today’s game against the Cardinals (link). Hiura has been out with a left hamstring strain since Aug. 31. Though the club certainly awaits his return with eagerness, they have been doing just fine for themselves in Hiura’s absence. Saturday’s win brings their record to 8-2 over their last ten contests. They are now just 1.0 games back of the Cubs for the last Wild Card play-in spot.

More notes from around the NL…

  • Baseball America has released their annual “Classification All-Stars” list, in which they name their All-Stars, MVPs, and Pitchers of the Year for each minor league level irrespective of league. Notably, NL prospects took home Pitcher of the Year honors at every minor league level except Double-A (a level which Tigers farmhand Matt Manning trounced in 2019). The complete list of garlanded NL pitchers includes Arizona’s Zac Gallen (Triple-A), San Diego’s Mackenzie Gore (High-A), San Francisco’s Seth Corry (Single-A), Arizona’s Luis Frias (Short Season), Miami’s Luis Palacios (Rookie), and Jerming Rosario of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (Dominican Summer League).
  • The Rockies play the Padres this weekend in a three-game series that has few relevant ramifications–aside from which team may be hung with the unflattering distinction of being the so-called cellar dweller in the NL West this year. There may be another bright spot in the offing for Colorado as their season yawns to a close, however, as word now comes that pitcher Kyle Freeland is one step closer to ending his troubled 2019 season on a positive note. Manager Bud Black told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that Freeland threw an issue-free, two-inning simulated bullpen session on Saturday–the 26-year-old’s latest step in recovery from a groin injury suffered on Aug. 21. After vexing hitters thoroughly in 2018 (2.85 ERA in 202.2 innings), this season has been a true test of faith for Freeland, as his 6.98 ERA in 99.1 innings of work was the worst mark among all pitchers who tossed more than 90 IP this year.

AL Notes: Miggy, Ortiz Shooting, M’s Record

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The Tigers pulled out an 8-4 victory today over the equally troubled Orioles, but the win didn’t come without a fair share of bummer news. Baseball legend Miguel Cabrera was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, and the club announced after the game that the former Triple Crown winner is dealing with right knee soreness; as veteran reporter Chris McCosky of the Detroit News was quick to note, Cabrera has been dealing with chronic pain in that knee all season (link).

Across 1200 plate appearances since the beginning of the 2017 season, Cabrera owns a .273/.347/.405 batting line; his wRC+ of an even 100 indicates that he has been the perfect exemplar of a league-average hitter over that time frame. Of course, it is without the slightest bit of schadenfreude that one would point out how far those marks have fallen since Cabrera’s heyday. Miggy garnered MVP votes in every season ranging from 2003-2016; in that same span, he made ten All-Star games, won two MVP awards, and took home seven Silver Slugger trophies. Jason Beck of MLB.com indicates that Cabrera is considered “day-to-day” for the time being (link).

More notes from around the American League…

  • Bob Hohler of The Boston Globe had the privilege of interfacing this week with retired Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who made his first public comments to an English-language publication since being shot in a near-fatal June 9 incident in the Dominican Republic. “People need to understand, this isn’t a movie where you get shot in the street and you’re back two minutes later,’’ Ortiz said in the wide-ranging piece, which covers the events of that fateful night and his ensuing recovery process. “I got shot and almost died. I only have one life to live. I can’t just go to the pharmacy and buy another one.’’ As Hohler’s piece goes on to delineate, justice has still been hard to come by for the future Hall of Famer, as detectives in the DR are still yet to pinpoint a motive behind the attack that seems coherent to Ortiz; the former Boston great has since hired former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis to investigate the case.
  • The Mariners have set something of an ignoble record in 2019, as Cut4’s Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman point out that Seattle has given playing time to an all-time-high 67 players this season (link). While many around baseball are giving attention to the litany of home run records being broken this year, manager Scott Servais and GM Jerry Dipoto have arguably accomplished a much more impressive feat in managing such a revolving door of a clubhouse.

Diamondbacks, City Of Las Vegas Signed NDA In 2018

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The Diamondbacks have been engaged in an ongoing stadium kerfuffle for a considerable chunk of this decade, as the club looks to pull the shutters on the 21-year-old auspices of Chase Field and develop a new stadium project–in Arizona, or, possibly, elsewhere.

Last month, word spread that the club had been in discussions with the city of Henderson, NV as recently as this past February about the possibility of constructing a publicly owned, property tax-exempt ballpark with approximately 32,000 seats in the Las Vegas-adjacent city. Those talks were believed to have “stalled”, but Thursday brought word–although inconclusive word–of Arizona’s apparent discussions with at least one other municipal body.

According to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Shea Johnson, the Diamondbacks and the city of Las Vegas proper signed a nondisclosure agreement on Aug. 14, 2018. Johnson relays that the nondisclosure agreement indicated both parties were evaluating or pursuing “certain mutually beneficial opportunities”.

To be clear: this is no sure sign that the Diamondbacks are planning a Las Vegas move. In fact, a team spokesperson told the Review-Journal that no stadium agreement is imminent: “We’re focused on Arizona and a local solution and have not made any determination on the future stadium site for the Diamondbacks,” the team spokesperson said.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was also not inclined to give life to speculation, telling Johnson that she believes that the Diamondbacks prefer to stay in Arizona. “Conversations are great, but I am a bottom-line person,” Mayor Goodman said. “Everybody can hype it, ‘This may happen,’ but I don’t talk ‘may.’”

In a recap of previously reported developments, the stadium lease the Diamondbacks agreed to with Maricopa County in Arizona in May 2018 will allow the club to leave its current home – Chase Field – as early as 2022. If the Diamondbacks were to exit Arizona of their own accord at that point, they’d have to pay the state between $5MM and $25MM in fees. However, they could depart without penalty if Major League Baseball were to mandate a move.

Mike Fiers Exits With Right Arm Nerve Irritation

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9:31 pm: The club has announced that Fiers was pulled with “right arm nerve irritation”. As Slusser points out, that descriptor can foreshadow a wide range of possible outcomes and recovery timetables; Brett Anderson was sidelined briefly last year with left arm irritation, while Andrew Triggs required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome (link).

8:52 pm: Athletics starter Mike Fiers set Twitter ablaze twice on Saturday. Initially, it was the veteran’s flamboyant, swirl-shaped facial hair that drew attention; however, by the second inning of tonight’s game with the Rangers, eyes were on Fiers for far more troublesome reasons, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle points out (link). After issuing a balk placed Danny Santana at second base, Fiers was visited on the mound by manager Bob Melvin and a trainer; Fiers rubbed his arm several times during the mound visit. Melvin left the righty in the game, but Fiers proceeded to serve up a home run and a walk while throwing his fastball 3-5 mph below normal velocity. Melvin then pulled Fiers from the game.

Oakland fans will hope that this is just a case of late-season dead arm for the 34-year-old Fiers. Their staff, of course, has already been something of a carousel in 2019, while Fiers has been a source of consistency.

Fiers entered Saturday with a 14-4 record buttressed and 3.97 ERA in 30 starts–numbers recorded in the first season of a two-year, $14.1MM deal signed with Oakland this past offseason. 2019’s version of Fiers certainly hasn’t been an overpowering one, as he’s logged just a 6.14 K/9 rate in 170.0 innings this year, but he’s managed free passes (2.65 BB/9) and, as he did last year, far outpitched his fielding-independent estimators (5.11 FIP). Oakland has recently been using a six-man rotation frontlined by the impressive return of starter Sean Manaea.

Ron Gardenhire Discusses Future With Tigers

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On Saturday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News published an interesting story regarding the ongoing contract situation of Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire. As McCosky points out, both Tigers owner Christopher Illitch and GM Al Avila have been complimentary of Gardenhire’s influence on Detroit’s young roster, and the veteran manager has himself indicated that he expects to return in 2020 to execute the third and final season of his current managerial contract. There may be one thing standing in the way of that goal: the status of Gardenhire’s staff.

When he joined the Tigers before the 2018 season, Gardenhire brought with him a number of familiar faces from his time managing the Twins: pitching coach Rick Anderson, bench coach Steve Liddle, and quality control coach Joe Vavra all worked with Gardenhire in Minnesota. The rest of the Tigers’ staff—a group that includes Lloyd McClendon and Ramon Santiago, among others—has evidently earned Gardenhire’s trust and respect, and he may now look at those coaches as an invaluable part of his working process.

If the 61-year-old will indeed continue to shepherd the Tigers toward eventual contention, it seems like the retention of his current staff is something of a non-starter. “I want to talk about my coaches more than anything else. I defend those guys no matter what happens here,” Gardenhire told McCosky. “That would be hard for me to take–if anything happens to my coaches. Those are the conversations we’re going to have.”

For the time being, the possibility of an extension beyond 2020 seems to be the last thing on Gardenhire’s mind. That conversation will happen in due time, assuming there is mutual interest. Avila inked a “multi-year” contract extension earlier this season, which will keep him in Detroit for an as-yet-unreported length of time.

“It’s always up to the boss and Al has said I want you back; I don’t have to worry about that,” Gardenhire said Saturday. “Now we’ll have to have a conversation on the rest of it. Not about an extension; I don’t (care) about that. That’s to be determined.”

For his managerial career, Gardenhire holds an 1175-1240 record, including playoff berths in six of the thirteen years he spent in Minnesota. Since joining the Tigers, though, it’s been a different story: in nearly two full seasons in Detroit, Gardy’s teams have managed just a .347 winning percentage as the club has jettisoned productive veterans like Mike Fiers and Nicholas Castellanos from the active roster in pursuit of a prospect-oriented setup.

West Notes: Richards, Trout, Piscotty

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When the Padres signed erstwhile Angels ace Garrett Richards to a two-year, $15.5MM deal in December, expectations were that Richards would return in time to lead their young staff in 2020–and, if everything broke right in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, that Richards might squeeze in a few September frames. Apparently, that vision is coming into focus now, as the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee reports that Richards is expected to take the ball in his club’s matchup with the Brewers on Monday (link). “Getting him healthy on the mound, competing at the big-league level is going to set him up for success next year,” Padres manager Andy Green told Acee. “We look at it like get him on the mound, make sure he knows going into the offseason he’s ready to go and he doesn’t have a question in the back of his mind — that he’s stared down a few major league lineups and he’s been back on the big stage and he’s ready to go.”

Though Richards will be limited to 60-65 pitches on Monday, it will surely be a welcome sight for a San Diego team short on battle-tested rotation options. Aside from Richards, the club will be heading into 2020 with a collection of starters who remain largely unestablished. Though fronted by impressive rookie Chris Paddack, San Diego’s current rotation features recent returnees from injury (Dinelson Lamet), unproven projects (Ronald Bolanos), and stagnating sophomores (Eric Lauer, Joey Lucchesi). Though the 31-year-old Richards, who has been limited to 138 2/3 frames since the beginning of 2016, could hardly be called a rotational stalwart, he did hold a 3.15 ERA over his last five seasons of pitching–a number which was good enough for third-lowest in the American League during that timeframe.

More notes from just right of the Pacific…

  • Angels outfielder Mike Trout was out of today’s lineup as he continues to deal with a foot issue, and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger relays that the MVP candidate will likely be limited to DH duty in the immediate future (link). Trout underwent a procedure to address a neuroma in his foot last week, and his continued presence in the Los Angeles lineup is largely a question of pain tolerance. The Angels have already been eliminated from playoff contention, but Trout will, hopefully, be able to return to action–if only to stave off a possible MVP run from players like DJ LeMahieu and Alex Bregman.
  • Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty is ramping up activity, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser reports that Piscotty, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury since Aug. 25th, was taking batting practice with the team today (link). He had better hurry in his recovery–Oakland entered play today with just a .5-game lead for the top spot in the American League Wild Card race. Piscotty, 28, holds a .252/.312/.416 slash this year in 389 plate appearances, representing roughly league-average offensive output (95 wRC+).

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