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Archives for September 2019

Diamondbacks Activate Yoshihisa Hirano

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The Diamondbacks have activated right-handed pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano from the injured list, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.

Hirano, 35, landed on the injured list in mid-August while dealing with elbow inflammation. It turned out to be a three-week stint on the IL for the second-year big leaguer, who pitched a scoreless inning during a rehab appearance with the D-Backs’ High-A affiliate.

After a stellar 2018 season, Hirano has taken a step back this year, as his ERA has jumped to 4.89. However, there are still some positive indicators to suggest that he isn’t far off his 2018 performance: with an increased strikeout rate, Hirano’s FIP sits at 3.89, not far off the 3.69 mark he posted a year ago.

With his activation, Hirano will join a surging Arizona club that has won 11 of its last 12 games and finds itself in the hunt for a Wild Card spot. It remains to be seen just how Hirano, who hasn’t pitched in a big-league game in more than three weeks, will fit into the bullpen mix. However, it seems that manager Torey Lovullo will want to reinstall Hirano, who has been one of the team’s top late-inning options, into high-leverage spots shortly.

AL Notes: Springer, Rangers, Calhoun, Rays

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Astros outfielder George Springer is in the lineup today against Seattle, marking a quick return from a concussion suffered earlier this week after he collided with the center field wall. Some other news from around the AL:

  • The Rangers have uncertainty at the hot corner for 2020, and they’ll at least kick the tires on the top free agent at the position, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. There’s an argument that Anthony Rendon is the top free agent on this offseason’s market, period, with a six-year deal a strong possibility. It’s notable to hear the Rangers could consider shelling out that kind of cash, although Wilson notes they’ll evaluate their internal candidates at third base over the season’s final month. Those include Danny Santana, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Solak, per Wilson, but not Joey Gallo, who is no longer seen as an option at the position.
  • The Rangers have had difficulty developing pitching in recent seasons, causing the organization to modernize its pitching development, explains Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News in a piece that would be of interest to Ranger fans. Texas has upped its usage of wearable technology and curtailed its recent draftees’ workload in an effort to keep their top arms healthy. As Grant notes, the program isn’t off to a rousing start, as Hans Crouse, Owen White and Cole Ragans, among others, have dealt with injury-plagued 2019 seasons. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to monitor the progression of the Rangers’ arms as the program takes a more defined shape.
  • Things don’t appear to be trending well for Kole Calhoun to return to Los Angeles in 2020, observes Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription link). As expected, Olney notes that the Angels hope to clear room alongside Mike Trout and Justin Upton for top outfield prospect Jo Adell, Baseball America’s #2 prospect. The Angels hold a $14MM option (or a $1M buyout) on Calhoun’s services, a borderline price point for a corner outfielder with a .233/.325/.466 slash (107 wRC+). Despite the not-insignificant price tag, Olney believes the Angels will at least consider picking up the option and dangling Calhoun in trade, figuring some outfield-needy team would be willing to take on the veteran for a marginal prospect return.
  • The Rays are making some changes within their baseball operations hierarchy, per a club press release. Mitch Lukevics, the organization’s long-time farm director, is transitioning to a senior advisory role in the front office after 14 years running the club’s minor-league operations. Lukevics “will remain closely involved” with the minor league system, the Rays added. Tampa Bay has also promoted Jeff McLerran to director of minor league operations, promoted Patrick Walter to director of international operations and promoted Steve Miller to director of international scouting. McLerran and Walter had previously been assistant directors in those respective fields, while Miller has spent the past six seasons as an international crosschecker for the Rays.

Pirates Select James Marvel’s Contract

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Sunday: The Pirates have made Marvel’s call-up official. Outfielder Jason Martin was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a dislocated left shoulder to clear 40-man roster space, while right-hander Yefry Ramírez was reinstated from the 10-day IL.

Saturday: The Pirates will call up right-hander James Marvel to start Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, manager Clint Hurdle told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other media.  Pittsburgh will have to make another roster move before selecting Marvel’s contract from Triple-A, as the Bucs currently have a full 40-man roster.

A 36th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2015 draft, Marvel surely would’ve gone higher had Tommy John surgery not wiped out almost two full seasons of eligibility at Duke.  He recovered from that early-career injury setback to work his way up the Bucs’ minor league ladder, posting increasingly impressive numbers in the upper levels.  Marvel has a combined 2.94 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 2.96 K/BB rate over 162 1/3 innings (101 2/3 IP at Double-A, 60 2/3 IP at Triple-A) in 2019.

Marvel isn’t ranked within MLB.com’s list of the top 30 Pittsburgh prospects, though since the Pirates will be exploring all avenues for pitching this winter, there’s no risk in seeing what Marvel can do against Major League competition.  Marvel doesn’t miss many bats, though he induces a lot of grounders and (perhaps most notably given baseball’s current hitting environment), doesn’t allow many home runs.  The 25-year-old has only an 0.6 HR/9 over his entire minor league career, maintaining that average even during the most homer-happy Triple-A season in history.

Yankees Activate Gio Urshela From IL

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As expected, the Yankees announced today they have activated third baseman Gio Urshela from the 10-day injured list. The 27-year-old missed the minimum amount of time due to a left groin injury.

Urshela’s breakout stands as one of the most surprising and remarkable stories of the 2019 season. A career .225/.274/.315 hitter entering the year, Urshela was forced into unexpected action by a rash of injuries, most notably Miguel Andújar’s season-ending labrum surgery. To say Urshela took advantage doesn’t come close to doing him justice.

Over 414 plate appearances this season, Urshela has mashed to the tune of a .331/.370/.555 line (142 wRC+), putting him in position to contend for the AL batting crown before this recent IL stint ended his chances of reaching the requisite number of plate appearances to qualify. To be sure, he’s not likely to keep up this level of output. His .366 BABIP seems unsustainable and dwarfs any batted-ball results he’d managed in his career pre-2019. It’s also fair to look askance at MLB’s twelfth-highest chase rate (minimum 400 plate appearances), although players like Javier Báez and Rafael Devers have made similarly aggressive approaches work in recent seasons.

Even if Urshela won’t be quite this good a hitter moving forward, he’s certainly set himself up as a valuable piece for a Yankee franchise that couldn’t have anticipated him doing so a few months back. Statcast loves him, for instance, crediting him with an 80th percentile average exit velocity and above-average hard contact rate, helping to explain his strong ball-in-play results. Urshela also comes with a reputation as a strong defender at the hot corner, even if his advanced metrics suggest he’s more competent than Gold Glove-worthy. What’s more, he comes with four years of team control beyond this season and won’t be arbitration-eligible until after next year, making him an affordable option throughout his prime seasons.

Urshela’s 2019 performance seemingly gives him the inside track on the 2020 third base job in the Bronx, which will lead to an interesting offseason for Brian Cashman and company to decide how to handle Andújar as he returns to a crowded corner infield/DH mix next season. More immediately, Urshela will look to help the Yankees secure home field advantage in the postseason, as they enter Sunday tied with Houston for the AL’s best record.

Twins Acquire Ryan LaMarre

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The Twins announced they have acquired outfielder Ryan LaMarre from the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. He’ll be added to the club’s 40-man roster, tweets Dan Hayes of the Athletic. As Hayes notes, LaMarre won’t be postseason-eligible as a player acquired from outside the organization after September 1. Nevertheless, LaMarre is still eligible to be traded because he signed a minor-league contract with the Braves’ organization. As we’ve discussed at MLBTR in the past, the July 31 trade deadline applies only to players on major-league contracts.

It’ll be the second Twins stint for the 30 year-old, who got into 43 games with Minnesota last season before they designated him for assignment. After wrapping up 2018 with the White Sox, LaMarre was cut loose and sent back to the open market, where he signed with the Braves on the aforementioned minor-league pact last November. LaMarre was productive for the Braves Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, slashing .311/.380/.477, albeit with a .416 BABIP. He also started 44 games in center field for the Stripers, so he’ll give the Twins a center field capable depth piece for the regular season’s final month.

LaMarre will take the 40-man spot of Michael Pineda, who was suspended for the rest of the season yesterday.

Nationals Select Tres Barrera

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9:34 am: The Nationals have announced the moves.

9:24 am: To create 40-man roster space for Barrera, the Nationals will recall catcher Spencer Kieboom and place him on the 60-day injured list, tweets the Talk Nats fan blog (confirmed by Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Kieboom has an elbow injury, Dougherty adds.

8:51 am: The Nationals are set to select the contract of catcher Tres Barrera, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. It’ll be something of an early birthday present for the University of Texas product, who turns 25 next Sunday.

This marks Barrera’s first MLB promotion, no doubt spurred on by a right elbow injury to Kurt Suzuki, who had to be lifted yesterday mid-game. There’s no indication yet Suzuki’s injury is a long-term issue, as it’s possible the Nats just wanted to bolster their catching depth behind Yan Gomes the next few days. Indeed, MASN’s Byron Kerr tweets that Suzuki will not immediately be placed on the injured list, as there’s little incentive for Washington to shelve the bat-first backstop with September roster expansion.

Barrera would have been eligible for the Rule V draft this offseason if not selected to the club’s 40-man. He’s not a top prospect, so it’s possible Washington would’ve left him exposed if not for Suzuki’s injury, but he stood a decent shot at being drafted if left unprotected. Fangraphs called Barrera a defensive-minded third catcher type in their writeup of the Nationals’ farm system entering the season, but he’s produced fine numbers at the plate in the minors. In 403 plate appearances in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Eastern League this season, Barrera slashed .249/.323/.381, passable production for a viable defensive catcher.

Rays To Activate Tyler Glasnow

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Sunday: Glasnow has officially been activated from the injured list to start this afternoon’s game against Toronto.

Friday: The Rays will activate righty Tyler Glasnow to take the ball to start Sunday’s game, manager Kevin Cash told reporters including MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (Twitter link). Glasnow, who has been sidelined for much of the season with a forearm injury, is expected to be limited to two or three innings of work.

While Glasnow isn’t going to step right back into a full starting role, that was never the expectation. For one thing, he’s returning without the benefit of a lengthy minor-league rehab schedule. For another, he is needed in the majors as soon as possible with the Rays engaged in a closely fought battle for Wild Card position.

It’s hard to predict how the situation will unfold. Glasnow could perhaps build his arm strength up while working as an opener. Perhaps that’ll morph into something more akin to a typical starter’s workload as the postseason approaches.

Glasnow, who recently turned 26, is a key piece (in the present and the future) for a Tampa Bay organization that is hoping to return to full health in the pitching department at just the right time. Fellow hurlers Blake Snell and Yonny Chirinos are also trying to work back to the MLB bump. In eight starts to open the year, Glasnow pitched to a 1.86 ERA in 48 1/3 innings.

Severino, Betances Closing In On Returns

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Luis Severino and Dellin Betances each pitched on rehab Friday night with the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate in Trenton. According to manager Aaron Boone, Severino is the further along of the two hurlers. In fact, Boone tells Dan Martin of the New York Post, Severino’s next appearance might be on a major-league mound.

“Overall, it was pretty successful,” Boone told Martin of Severino’s rehab outing. “We’ll talk about whether one more is beneficial or [if he will] come with us.” The Yankees, tied with the Astros for the AL’s best record, are amidst a ten-game road trip.

Interestingly, it’s possible Severino returns as more or less a traditional starting pitcher. While we’ve seen a few teams bring back injured arms to work short stints in September, typically as openers, the Yankees seem determined to build their injured ace back up. “I think there’s a chance with where the calendar is, he could get built up pretty high,” Boone said of Severino, although he quickly cautioned that “we could always throttle him back and I could see him in a variety of roles for us.”

For his part, Severino, who has missed the entire season with lat and shoulder trouble, seems optimistic about his chances of building up the requisite arm strength to work deep into games by the time the postseason comes around. He only threw 50 pitches Friday for Trenton but told local reporters he believed he could ramp up to 90-100 pitches in a start by season’s end, Martin adds. While the Yankees have marvelously weathered myriad injuries this season, the starting rotation has proven to be something of a weak spot. Yankees’ starters rank 14th leaguewide in park-adjusted ERA, while the other top five teams in the AL standings all rank among the top seven in rotation run prevention.

In the wake of C.C. Sabathia’s most recent IL placement, the Yankees turned to a bullpen game to fill out the fifth slot in their rotation, so there seems to be an ideal opportunity for building up Severino’s workload at the MLB level. Notably, pitching coach Larry Rothschild raved to Martin about Severino’s shape, praising his fastball velocity and slider spin. Taking Rothschild at his word, it seems plausible the 25 year-old could be in position to handle major league hitters quite shortly.

The Bombers have had an easier time replacing Betances thanks to a never-ending shuttle of quality relief arms. Like Severino, the big righty hasn’t pitched in the majors this season, with a shoulder impingement explaining his absence. Boone told Martin the Yankees expect Betances will need some more minor-league time to build up strength, but his season debut also seems to be in the near future, Martin adds. It’ll be important for the 31 year-old to show his trademark power stuff when he does return, as Betances is scheduled to hit free agency for the first time this offseason.

Quick Hits: Montas, Laureano, JDM, Yankees, Mendez

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Once the ace of the Athletics’ rotation, Frankie Montas has been something of a forgotten man since being issued an 80-game PED suspension on June 21.  Montas will be eligible for the last five games of Oakland’s regular season, however, could still help the A’s get into the playoffs.  GM David Forst told Chris Townsend of the A’s Cast podcast (partial transcript from Ben Ross of NBC Sports Bay Area) that the team is prepared to use Montas as either a starter or reliever, and has kept him stretched out in simulated games in case a start is required in one of those five games.  Montas could also get a minor league game under his belt if Oakland’s Double-A or Triple-A affiliates advance in the postseason, as Montas is eligible to begin a rehab assignment beginning on September 10.

Montas was in the midst of a breakout campaign at the time of his suspension, with a 2.70 ERA, 9.7 K/9, and 4.62 K/BB rate over 90 innings.  Though he won’t be eligible for the postseason if the Athletics are able to claim a wild card, Montas could certainly still be a valuable x-factor during what could be a very tense final week of action as the A’s, Indians, and Rays battle for the two wild card slots.

Some stray items from around baseball…

  • After returning from the injured list just yesterday, Ramon Laureano left the Athletics’ 10-2 win over the Tigers tonight due to what the A’s described as a right leg cramp.  After a leadoff double in the sixth inning, Laureano made it into second base despite “limping right out of the box,” as MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos described the situation.  Manager Bob Melvin told Gallegos and other reporters that he hoped Laureano would be back on Monday, as the outfielder was already scheduled for a planned day off on Sunday.  Laureano missed over five weeks due to a stress reaction in his right shin, and another absence would be the last thing he and the A’s need as the club chases down a wild card berth.
  • Amidst the speculation about whether or not J.D. Martinez will exercise the opt-out clause in his Red Sox contract after the season, Ken Rosenthal (in his latest video report for FOX Sports) points out that Martinez doesn’t necessarily have to decide right now if he wants to leave Boston.  The slugger also has opt-out clauses after both the 2020 season and (assuming he can avoid another Lisfranc-related right foot injury) 2021 season, so he could perhaps wait one more year to see if his market evolves.  Despite Martinez’s hitting prowess, there aren’t too many obvious suitors for a mostly DH-only player….unless the National League were to become involved, as Rosenthal wonders if Martinez would stay in his contract to see if the NL adopted the designated hitter in the next collective bargaining agreement.
  • Also from Rosenthal’s video, he makes a case for why Didi Gregorius could be “the odd man out” for the Yankees even if he performed well for the remainder of the season.  New York might simply prefer to use Gleyber Torres at shortstop in 2020 rather than re-sign Gregorius, who is almost seven years older than Torres.  Recovery from Tommy John surgery kept Gregorius from playing until June 7, and he is one of the few Yankees not tearing the cover off the ball, with a .252/.282/.462 slash line and 14 homers over 280 plate appearances (for a below-average 90 wRC+).  If the Yankees did decide to move on from Gregorius, however, Rosenthal figures the team would still need to extend another veteran infielder, as DJ LeMahieu (who’d play every day at second base if Gregorius departed) is only under contract through the 2020 season.
  • The Rangers and Yohander Mendez will learn in the offseason whether the left-hander’s one remaining minor league option will still be retained for 2020.  Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details the situation, as the league already granted Mendez a fourth option for this season, though the lefty only made his 2019 debut today after missing the first five-plus months rehabbing a sprained UCL.  This means Mendez hasn’t accumulated the 20 days of optional minor league assignment necessary to burn an option year.  If Mendez is ruled to be out of options, the Rangers would then have to designate him for assignment (and thus expose him to a waiver claim) if they wished to remove him from the 40-man roster.

Johnny Cueto Scheduled To Start On Tuesday

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After over a year of rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery, Johnny Cueto is set to return to the Giants.  Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to report the news that Cueto is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against the Pirates, which will mark Cueto’s first Major League outing since July 28, 2018.

The usual 12-15 month timeline associated with Tommy John recovery created doubt that Cueto would be back before the 2020 season, and despite a minor back injury that it now seems will delay his return by a few days, Cueto will now get a chance to work off the rust over at least a few outings in September.  If all goes well, Cueto (who turns 34 in February) should be ready to hit the ground running come Opening Day.

After signing a six-year, $130MM deal with San Francisco in the 2015-16 offseason, Cueto delivered an outstanding 2016 campaign before blisters and a flexor strain contributed to a disappointing 2017.  It seemed as if Cueto was back on track in nine 2018 starts prior to his surgery, though it remains to be seen if Cueto can truly regain his past form — it isn’t surprising to see any pitcher decline in his age-34 season, even if that pitcher isn’t coming off a major arm surgery.

The Giants could potentially lose Madison Bumgarner in free agency this offseason, leaving Cueto and Jeff Samardzija as the prohibitive top two in San Francisco’s rotation.  Even if Samardzija isn’t traded, there is still a lot of uncertainty within the starting five, as younger arms like Shaun Anderson, Dereck Rodriguez, Tyler Beede, and Logan Webb have all struggled this year.  A healthy Cueto provides at least some stability as the club will have to decide what they have with their internal options, and weigh how to much to spend on veteran starters over the winter.

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