Archives for September 2019

Lovullo: “Strong Chance” Weaver Returns In 2019

By Steve Adams | September 10, 2019 at 7:22am CDT

Luke Weaver hasn’t thrown a pitch for the D-backs since late May, when he was diagnosed with a forearm strain and a UCL injury, but the righty’s 2019 season isn’t necessarily over. Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes that Weaver is slated to throw a bullpen session later today, after which he could either toss a simulated game or pitch in a postseason game for a minor league affiliate. Most encouraging of all for D-backs fans is that Diamondbacks skipper Torey Lovullo tells Ladson he thinks there’s a “strong chance” Weaver will return to a big league mound in 2019.

It’s a welcome development for D-backs fans not only because some have feared that Weaver’s injury would culminate in surgery but also because the Diamondbacks have pulled themselves within two and a half games of the National League’s second Wild Card spot. With 18 games yet to play, they’re still a postseason underdog, but there’s a legitimate chance that they could find their way into a play-in game despite shipping Zack Greinke to the Astros in the final minutes of this year’s trading period. There’s also, apparently, a legitimate chance that Weaver will be able to impact that race and any subsequent postseason endeavors.

It seems unlikely that the Diamondbacks would be able to get Weaver stretched out sufficiently enough to resume his role as a conventional starter, but he could presumably work in shorter stints if he’s cleared to return. Given Robbie Ray’s recent blister issues, some added bullpen depth would be of benefit to Lovullo in the final weeks. Arizona is currently carrying a whopping 12 relievers, so it’s not as if Lovullo is lacking options, but a healthy Weaver would be superior to the majority of said options — many of whom are unproven at the MLB level.

Weaver, 26, went to the Diamondbacks along with Carson Kelly, minor league utilityman Andy Young and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft pick in the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis. While some fans were frustrated by the lack of a marquee prospect headlining the deal, both Weaver and Kelly were top-tier farmhands in St. Louis before debuting and were ready to step directly onto the roster. A strong 2019 showing for Kelly and terrific early results for Weaver have helped to justify that deal for the D-backs. In 62 1/3 innings prior to going on the injured list, Weaver pitched to a 3.03 ERA (3.10 FIP, 3.83 SIERA) with 9.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9 and a 40.7 percent ground-ball rate. He’s controlled through the 2023 season and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2020-21 offseason.

NL Notes: Thor, Mattingly, Panda, Padres

By Jeff Todd | September 10, 2019 at 12:08am CDT

Though he has remained adamant about his desire to remain with the Mets, that doesn’t mean Noah Syndergaard is content with every aspect of his relationship with the team. Joel Sherman and Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reported today that the big righty has been displeased all season with throwing to primary catcher Wilson Ramos, preferring instead reserve Tomas Nido (or perhaps third-stringer Rene Rivera). Thor’s wrath has spawned a full-blown BatteryMateGate involving lengthy internal meetings and multiple engagements with the media. Ultimately, Mets manager Mickey Callaway and GM Brodie Van Wagenen explained that the club has to take into account more than the preferences of a given pitcher. In addition to being highly compensated and well-respected, Ramos is one of the team’s best hitters. While none of the organizational leaders cracked the whip on the star hurler, they didn’t indicate any inclination to bend on the topic. Callaway put it in particularly blunt terms: “You can’t make everybody happy and it’s not about making guys happy. It’s about winning at this point.” Whether this matter will carry over into the future, if not even impact Syndergaard’s long-term status in New York, remains to be seen.

Tony Watson Diagnosed With Fractured Wrist

By Jeff Todd | September 9, 2019 at 9:00pm CDT

Giants southpaw Tony Watson has been diagnosed with a slight fracture in the wrist of his pitching hand, per a club announcement (via MLB.com’s Maria Guardado, on Twitter). He’ll be sidelined for at least ten days, with the remainder of his season in jeopardy.

With the San Francisco organization falling precipitously in the standings, it’s no big deal to go without Watson the rest of the way. That said, it’s still a suboptimal development — particularly given that it’s the latest in a run of changes to what was once a high-quality relief unit.

Watson, 34, has thrown 54 innings of 4.33 ERA ball this year, with 6.8 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9. His 12.7% swinging-strike rate is right in the same range it usually is, as is his 93.5 mph average heater.

If there’s an oddity to Watson’s season statistics, it’s his struggles against lefties. While he has never been a pure LOOGY, Watson has historically performed better when facing same-handed hitters. This year, opposing southpaw swingers have tuned him up for a .359/.414/.500 slash — though that’s only a 71-batter sample.

The injury will not have an impact on earnings, at least directly. Watson’s unusually structured contract included loads of bonuses, topping out at his 55th appearance. Having already reached that mark, he’s slated to take home an extra $4MM on top of his $6.5MM base salary (itself boosted by his effort in 2018).

Ending the campaign on the injured list could conceivably increase the allure of the $2.5MM player option that Watson holds, though it still seems reasonably likely he’ll instead take a $500K buyout and re-test free agency. He might have boosted his open-market stock with a strong final month, though Watson does have a long track record to stand on.

Javier Baez Unlikely To Return In September

By Jeff Todd | September 9, 2019 at 7:04pm CDT

The Cubs announced today that Cubs shortstop Javier Baez likely won’t be able to return to the field of play this month, with ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers among those covering the news on Twitter. He’s planning to rehab his hairline thumb fracture in hopes of being ready for some or all of the postseason.

The news is obviously disappointing, if not unexpected given recent developments. That said, it’s promising that the examination by a specialist did not result in the identification of any damage to thumb ligaments.

Going without Baez undoubtedly hurts the Cubs, who are still trying to chase down the Cardinals in the NL Central while holding off challengers for the final Wild Card spot. With Addison Russell also sidelined, the club was forced to dip into its minor-league system and call up top prospect Nico Hoerner today.

While Baez won’t be able to help the Cubs make it into the postseason, it seems there’s still hope he’ll return to action if they do qualify. His progress, therefore, remains of keen interest even though it doesn’t seem there’s any cause for long-term worry.

Cubs Designate Randy Rosario

By Jeff Todd | September 9, 2019 at 6:21pm CDT

The Cubs have designated Randy Rosario, per a club announcement (h/t Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter). That’s the corresponding move for the previously reported promotion of top prospect Nico Hoerner.

In other news, the club has recalled James Norwood and optioned fellow righty Adbert Alzolay. Indications are that the club decided that Alzolay had thrown enough innings — just over eighty at all levels — on the heels of an injury-limited 2018 season. While there was no need to utilize the option to create active roster space, that’ll hit pause on Alzolay’s service clock.

Rosario, 25, had turned in good results for the Chicago organization in 2018, albeit with less-than-promising peripherals. The groundball-oriented southpaw ended up spending the bulk of the present campaign at Triple-A. Through 59 2/3 total innings at the MLB level, Rosario carries a 5.13 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 along with a 53.6% groundball rate.

Mike Trout Day To Day After Foot Procedure

By Jeff Todd | September 9, 2019 at 6:08pm CDT

6:07pm: Trout isn’t likely to be sidelined for more than a few days, but may require further offseason medical care to address the foot issue, per skipper Brad Ausmus (via Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group, on Twitter). There’s no concern that playing out the year will cause greater harm.

5:52pm: Angels superstar Mike Trout has undergone a cryoablation procedure on his right foot to “address a neuroma,” per a club announcement. He’s considered day-to-day.

In plain English, the procedure froze some nerve tissue that had been causing pain in or around Trout’s right toe. It is not entirely clear at this point how long the center fielder will be sidelined, but it seems that his own pain tolerance will largely dictate the recovery schedule.

All indications are that this non-invasive approach will not be much of a short or long-term limitation on the game’s greatest player. Medical literature suggests it can take a full month for such a procedure to be fully effective, but that full resumption of activity is possible within a few days.

The Halos will surely exercise caution, lest their franchise icon somehow come down with a more significant malady. Barring a surprise development, the procedure shouldn’t even ding Trout’s chances at securing an American League MVP award. (It’s no surprise that he’s easily pacing all of baseball with 8.7 fWAR to this point.)

Mike Tauchman Out Six To Eight Weeks With Grade 2 Calf Strain

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2019 at 4:02pm CDT

The Yankees have lost outfielder Mike Tauchman for the remainder of the regular season and quite likely for the entirety of the postseason. The team announced to reporters that Tauchman has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 calf strain (Twitter link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com).

Initial indications are that Tauchman will be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks. That spells big trouble for his hopes of being a part of the Yankees’ postseason roster. It’s theoretically possible that Tauchman could be ready if the club makes it into the World Series, but it seems likelier that he won’t suit up again this season.

If this is the last we’ve seen of Tauchman in 2019, his last impression was a good one. Tauchman was two-for-two before departing last night, bringing his season-long batting line to a hefty .277/.361/.504 slash with 13 home runs over 296 plate appearances. That’s stunning production from a player who was acquired late in Spring Training when he became a Rockies roster casualty.

It’s fair to ask whether Tauchman’s output is sustainable. We did just that in early August, and he responded by ripping off another strong month at the plate. While there’s still cause for some wariness, there’s also little doubt that Tauchman deserves to enter camp in 2020 with a presumption of an active roster spot. (It’s worth noting that he’ll be out of options.) Whether or not that’ll be with the Yanks remains to be seen; the Bronx Bombers could take any number of different directions in compiling their outfield unit over the offseason to come.

Athletics Promote Jesus Luzardo

By Mark Polishuk | September 9, 2019 at 3:32pm CDT

Sept. 9: The Athletics have formally announced Luzardo’s promotion, adding that they’ve also recalled right-hander Daniel Mengden from Las Vegas. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Luzardo, outfielder Luis Barrera was recalled to the Majors and immediately placed on the 60-day injured list. The 23-year-old Barrera has been out since late June due to a right shoulder issue. He’s yet to play in the Majors but will receive MLB service time for the time he spends on the injured list between now and season’s end.

Sept. 8: The A’s are calling up top prospect Jesus Luzardo, MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reports (Twitter link). The star left-hander is expected to join the team on Monday when they begin a series against the Astros. Another transaction will have to be made before Monday’s game to create space for Luzardo on the 40-man roster.

It had been widely expected that Oakland would call on the prized 21-year-old southpaw at some point during the playoff stretch, though had it not been for injuries, Luzardo would almost certainly have made his MLB debut months ago. Luzardo was sidelined by both a shoulder strain and then a lat strain in the early part of the season, and has only 43 total innings pitched in the minors in 2019. After a clean bill of health over the last few weeks of Triple-A action, however, Luzardo is finally ready for the Show.

His solid numbers in those four Triple-A outings (3.19 ERA, 4.25 K/BB rate, 9.9 K/9) have done little to quell expectations that Luzardo can provide an immediate help to the Athletics’ pitching mix. All of Luzardo’s Triple-A appearances came as a starting pitcher, though since the A’s are already using a six-man rotation, it’s more likely that the club will deploy the lefty as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen.

Oakland has taking something of a patchwork approach to its pitching situation all season, yet the results have spoken for themselves — both the Athletics’ starters and relievers rank within the top ten in several major statistical categories among all teams. As the A’s continue to fight for a wild card spot, however, the club wants as many arms as possible on hand given the lack of proven and reliable talent on hand. For much of the year, the A’s have been playing the waiting game until Sean Manaea, A.J. Puk, and Luzardo have been healthy and ready to contribute.

Though Luzardo hasn’t clocked many innings this season, it has done little to dim his status as one of the sport’s top minor leaguers, as midseason prospect rankings from Baseball America (9th), MLB.com (18th), and Fangraphs (24th) still placed Luzardo very highly on their boards. Originally a third-round pick for the Nationals in the 2016 draft, Luzardo came to the A’s — along with Blake Treinen and Sheldon Neuse — in the trade that sent Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to Washington July 2017. Over 195 2/3 frames in the minors, Luzardo has a 2.53 ERA, 5.44 K/BB rate, and 10.8 K/9, while also showing an ability to keep the ball in the park with only an 0.6 HR/9.

It seems likely that Luzardo would have been more than a third-rounder had he not undergone Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school. Despite that early surgery, however, Luzardo still generate a lot of heat on his fastball, hitting the 97mph mark during Spring Training and routinely reaching the mid-90’s. Despite that plus fastball, Baseball America ranks it as only his second-best pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale, as BA’s 60-grade for Luzardo’s heater was topped by a 70-grade changeup. MLB.com’s scouting report also praises Luzardo’s curveball, which “has improved and is at least above-average, a pitch he adds to and subtracts from at will.”

Assuming good health and a good showing in September (and, the A’s hope, in the playoffs), Luzardo projects to join Oakland’s rotation in 2020. Veterans Tanner Roark, Homer Bailey, and Brett Anderson are all free agents, paving the way for Manaea, Puk, Mike Fiers, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt, and Luzardo to all factor into the starting picture for next season. It’s a relatively inexperienced group with a lot of injury history, though starting pitching certainly looks like it could be a strength for the Athletics going forward, notwithstanding how the team has succeeded despite an uncertain rotation mix over the last two years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

MRI On Max Kepler Comes Back Clean

By Mark Polishuk | September 9, 2019 at 3:20pm CDT

Sept. 9: Kepler’s MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North 1500. He’s dealing with inflammation in his left shoulder but has seemingly avoided a major injury, which is obviously a sigh relief for the Twins and their fans. There’s still no clear timeline on Kepler’s return to the lineup.

Sept. 8: Max Kepler left the Twins’ 5-2 loss to the Indians today after just one inning, as the outfielder was feeling discomfort in his left shoulder and scapula after an at-bat in the bottom of the first. As MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park described it, “Kepler appeared to swing awkwardly” during the plate appearance, which resulted in a pop-up to Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger. Kepler didn’t return to right field for the top of the second.

This marks the second time in less than a week that the issue has forced Kepler to make an early exit from a game, and these shoulder/scapula problems have been bothering the outfielder for months, as he told Park and other reporters after the game. The injury has become worse in recent days, which Kepler felt could have been due to aggravating his shoulder while making throws. Kepler said the soreness is “concerning,” and will undergo an MRI to investigate the problem on Monday.

Kepler has just four hits over his last 32 plate appearances, so it isn’t surprising to learn that this nagging problem has become a greater issue. For now, he is just listed as day-to-day, joining a number of notable Twins players battling the injury bug. As Park notes, the club is already trying to get by without Nelson Cruz (wrist), Miguel Sano (back), Marwin Gonzalez (oblique), Byron Buxton (shoulder) and Sam Dyson (biceps), not to mention the permanent loss of Michael Pineda for the remainder of the season due to a PED suspension.

If Kepler has to miss time, Minnesota’s outfield depth will consist of regular Eddie Rosario and then a host of second-choice options, such as utilitymen Luis Arraez and Ehire Adrianza, Jake Cave, the newly-acquired Ryan LaMarre, and rookies LaMonte Wade Jr. and Ian Miller. On the plus side, the Twins still have a 5.5 game lead over the Indians in the AL Central, though they face the Tribe in Cleveland in a big three-game set next weekend.

Kepler has been in the midst of a breakout season, hitting .252/.337/.522 with 36 homers over 587 PA. The 26-year-old has reached new personal bests in just about every major offensive category, making the five-year, $35MM extension the Twins reached with Kepler in February look like an even cannier investment for the club.

Mariners Expected To Promote Justin Dunn

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2019 at 2:58pm CDT

One longtime Mariners top prospect (Kyle Lewis) is already on his way to the big leagues, but Greg Johns of MLB.com writes that the Seattle organization is also expected to call up righty Justin Dunn now that his Double-A season has wrapped up. Dunn came to the Mariners alongside outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic and hard-throwing right-hander Gerson Bautista in the trade that sent Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano to the Mets.

Kelenic, who has breezed through three minor league levels this season and reached Double-A as a 20-year-old, has garnered the most fanfare of the players Seattle picked up in that deal. But Dunn has elevated his own stock in 2019 and now sits 73rd and 98th on the respective midseason leaguewide prospect rankings from MLB.com and Fangraphs. The 23-year-old has spent the season with Double-A Arkansas, where he’s posted a 3.55 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.89 HR/9 and a 37.2 percent ground-ball rate in 131 2/3 innings (just shy of his career-high 135 1/3 from 2018).

Dunn draws praise for a heater that sits in the 93-95 mph range (but can reach a bit higher), and MLB.com’s report on him touts both a slider and curveball that can be average or better offerings for him in the big leagues. Fangraphs notes that he also made some gains with his changeup late in 2018 and has improved his slider command, making him a “good bet” to be a fourth starter at the MLB level. MLB.com touts him as a potential midrotation arm.

Like the aforementioned Lewis, Dunn is a former first-round pick himself and, in fact, was selected just eight picks after Lewis in 2016. Both now figure to make their MLB debuts at the same time for the same team, and they’re not the only candidates who could be brought up to the Majors. Johns lists shortstop Donnie Walton and righty Art Warren as others who could make the jump. Seattle would need to open one spot on its 40-man roster in order to accommodate that final wave of promotions, but everyone from that group will be selected to the 40-man roster this winter anyhow, as they’d otherwise be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.

Assuming that group does indeed get the call, it figures to be an exciting glimpse of the future for Mariners fans who’ve endured some rough lows in 2019 — none worse than this past weekend’s 21-to-1 drubbing at the hands of the division-leading Astros. Dunn is the most highly regarded of the bunch, while Lewis is a ways ahead of Walton and Warren, both of whom rank near the back of the Mariners’ top 30 list at MLB.com. All four from that quartet should get opportunities to prove themselves capable as MLB contributors in the very near future.

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