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Angels Place Luis Rengifo On 10-Day Injured List

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Prior to tonight’s game, the Angels announced that infielder Luis Rengifo had been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Righty Jaime Barria was also optioned to the team’s alternate training site, while the two open roster spots were filled by infielder Jahmai Jones and right-hander Luke Bard, both called up from the alternate site.

It’s been an altogether tough year for Rengifo, who hit only .156/.269/.200 over 106 PA and also had another IL stint due to hamstring problems at the start of the season.  Rengifo didn’t do much with quite a bit of regular playing time this year, as he was needed at second base since Tommy La Stella often played at first base and Andrelton Simmons’ injury meant David Fletcher moved over to shortstop.

This performance came after Rengifo was on the verge of being traded back in February, as the Angels walked away at the last moment from a deal that would have sent Rengifo to the Dodgers as part of a trade package for Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to Anaheim.  While Rengifo is only 23 and has less than two years of MLB service time to his name, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his name again surface in trade talks this winter.

Jones is back in the big leagues after a one-game cup of coffee earlier this season that saw him make his MLB debut as a pinch-runner but not actually take the field or receive an at-bat.  (Jones was in the Angels’ starting lineup and doubled in his first plate appearance tonight, however.)  A second-round pick for the Angels in the 2015 draft, Jones was a consensus top-100 prospect as recently as the 2017-18 offseason, though a pair of unimpressive years at Double-A lowered his stock.  The 23-year-old Jones has a career .258/.338/.386 slash line over 2159 PA in the minors, and has mostly played second base over the last two years but has plenty of experience in the outfield.

MLB Announces Suspensions For Jimmy Cordero, Rick Renteria

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6:38PM: Cordero is appealing his suspension, as per several reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times).

4:39PM: Major League Baseball has handed down a pair of suspensions arising out of last night’s game between Chicago’s crosstown rivals. White Sox reliever Jimmy Cordero has been suspended three games, while Sox manager Rick Renteria was tagged with a one-game ban.

MLB determined that Cordero intentionally hit Cubs’ catcher Willson Contreras with a pitch in the seventh inning last night. Earlier in the game, Contreras flipped his bat after hitting a home run off Dylan Cease. Cordero, Renteria and pitching coach Don Cooper were all ejected in the aftermath of the HBP. Cooper received an undisclosed fine for his actions, MLB added. Renteria will serve his suspension in tonight’s game against the Cubs.

Cordero’s suspension isn’t expected to affect his availability for the postseason, hears James Fegan of the Athletic (Twitter link). Of course, it’s not clear the 28-year-old Cordero should be a big part of the White Sox’s postseason roster regardless. He’s got a 5.61 ERA with a mediocre 17.8% strikeout rate this season.

Mets Place Andres Gimenez On 10-Day IL, Select Ryan Cordell

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Andres Gimenez’s 2020 season is over, as the Mets placed the shortstop on the 10-day injured list due to right oblique tightness.  Outfielder Ryan Cordell’s contract has been selected and he will take Gimenez’s spot on the active roster, with right-hander Robert Gsellman being moved to the 60-day IL to free up a 40-man roster spot for Cordell.

The Mets raised some eyebrows by adding Gimenez to their Opening Day roster, as the top prospect had hit only .257/.317/.380 over 632 plate appearances at the Double-A level and has never appeared in Triple-A, let alone the majors.  That said, Gimenez made a solid accounting for himself in his first big league season, batting .265/.336/.402 (104 OPS+, 106 wRC+) over 131 PA for New York with three home runs.  Gimenez also displayed some skill on the basepaths in going 8-for-9 on stolen base attempts, and wielded a steady glove at shortstop while also getting some action in at second and third base.

The left-handed hitting Gimenez ended up more or less platooning with the right-handed hitting Amed Rosario at shortstop, though in the wake of a tough season for Rosario, it’s possible Gimenez may have the inside track to a regular starting job in 2021.  This isn’t to say that the Mets would move on from Rosario, who is still only 24 years old and was an even higher-touted prospect than Gimenez, plus Rosario himself posted solid numbers over the full 2019 season.  Gimenez’s earlier-than-expected emergence gives (likely) incoming Mets front office boss Sandy Alderson some quality depth to work with as he figures out the team’s infield plans for next season.

Cordell signed a minor league deal with the Mets in June and was previously selected to the roster early in the season, though was designated for assignment and then outrighted after four games.  Cordell’s 2020 resume consists of just four plate appearances, this coming after a 2019 season with the White Sox that saw the outfielder hit .221/.290/.355 over 247 PA.

AL Notes: Cabrera, Choo, Twins

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Miguel Cabrera’s contract extension with the Tigers runs through 2023, and the legendary hitter made clear he’s hoping to play out the deal. “I’ve got three years on my contract,” the 37-year-old told reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive) when asked how much longer he planned to play. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after my contract’s over. I’m focused on my contract and three more years and we’ll see what happens.” That’s not too surprising, given that Cabrera’s still due another $102MM after this season (including an $8MM buyout of his 2024 vesting option). The future Hall of Famer discussed the injuries that have weighed him down in recent years, as well as his hope of returning to first base after serving exclusively as a designated hitter this season. His full interview is a worthwhile read for Detroit fans.

More out of the American League

  • Rangers designated hitter Shin-soo Choo is hoping to play in 2021, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). The 38-year-old is wrapping up a seven-year, $130MM deal with Texas. A longtime productive hitter, Choo has taken a big step back offensively this season as he nears free agency. He’s amassed just a .229/.317/.394 line. It’s the first year Choo has been below-average at the dish since he established himself as an everyday player back in 2008.
  • The Twins saw a pair of key players leave last night’s game with injuries. Third baseman Josh Donaldson departed with a right calf cramp, while center fielder Byron Buxton suffered a head contusion, per Dan Hayes of the Athletic. Neither player is in tonight’s starting lineup. Ehire Adrianza stepped in at the hot corner yesterday, while Jake Cave came in to man center. Donaldson’s situation is particularly notable; he’s got a lengthy history of calf troubles and only just returned from an IL stint due to a calf strain. Buxton, meanwhile, was hit in the head by a Lucas Sims pitch, prompting his early exit. Minnesota is a game up on both the Indians and White Sox in the AL Central. [UPDATE: Buxton is dealing with mild concussion symptoms, relays Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Donaldson is feeling better today and being held out as a precautionary measure, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com].
  • In better injury news for Minnesota, second baseman Luis Arraez has been activated from the injured list in advance of this evening’s contest. Arraez garnered some Rookie of the Year support last year thanks to his precocious bat-to-ball skills, as he hit .334/.399/.439 over 366 plate appearances. The 23-year-old hasn’t been as productive in his sophomore effort, but he remains one of the league’s toughest players to strike out.

Hunter Pence Announces Retirement

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Longtime big league outfielder Hunter Pence announced he’s retiring from baseball (Twitter link). This brings to an end a fourteen-year career spent with four teams, although he’ll surely be remembered most for his time with the Giants.

Pence originally broke into pro ball in 2004, selected by the Astros in the second round out of the University of Texas-Arlington. Notably “awkward and unorthodox” as a prospect, in the words of Baseball America, Pence nevertheless played himself into top prospect status by 2007. He broke into the big leagues with a bang, hitting .322/.360/.539 en route to a third place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year voting that season. Pence continually produced over his time in Houston, earning his first two All-Star nods there, before the struggling Astros shipped him off to the Phillies at the 2011 trade deadline for four prospects.

He continued to perform well in Philadelphia, hitting .289/.357/.486 over parts of two seasons, but the Phillies lost in the Division Series in 2011 and were en route to a playoff miss in 2012. Pence again headlined a deadline deal, this one sending him to San Francisco. His midseason acquirer fared much better the second time around, as the Giants erased a pair of big playoff deficits against the Reds and Cardinals before sweeping the Tigers in the 2012 World Series.

Set to reach free agency after the 2013 season, Pence instead re-upped with the Giants that September. Already a highly productive and popular player, that extension set the stage for Pence to become permanently identified with the San Francisco organization. He combined for a .280/.335/.464 line between 2013-14, garnering down ballot MVP support each year. He was perhaps even more instrumental in the Giants’ 2014 World Series run than he’d been in 2012, going 12-27 with a home run in San Francisco’s seven-game triumph over the Royals.

Of course, it wasn’t simply Pence’s productivity that made him so revered, both among diehard Giants’ loyalists and many baseball fans generally. He played with an endearing energy and exuberance. Coupled with his oft-awkward hitting mechanics and general lack of gracefulness on the diamond, Pence brought something of an everyman feel to the sport that resonated with outside observers, teammates and coaches.

Unfortunately, that high-energy style of play caught up to him in his 30’s. After 2014, Pence only once again managed to exceed 110 games in a season. He continued to produce when healthy up through 2016, but he seemingly hit a wall thereafter. Pence struggled through a pair of poor years with the 2017-18 Giants, seemingly ending his time with the organization (and putting his career in jeopardy).

Forced to settle for a minor-league deal with his hometown Rangers entering 2019, Pence remade his swing at age 36. He rebounded to post a .297/.358/.552 line over 316 plate appearances in Texas last year, picking up his fourth and final All-Star trip in the process. That also inspired the Giants to offer a major league deal last winter, setting the stage for a tremendous return story.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Pence got off to an abysmal start and was released after just 56 plate appearances. That’ll mark his last work in the big leagues, although it’s fitting that his final games came in the orange and black.

All told, Pence will hang up the spikes with a .279/.334/.461 line over 7006 plate appearances, good for a 115 wRC+. He hit 244 home runs, 324 doubles and 55 triples, while stealing 120 bases. Pence was worth around 31 wins above replacement, in the estimation of both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. He’s obviously most notable for being an integral part of two World Series winners in San Francisco and for the infectious joy he spread to teammates and fans alike. MLBTR congratulates Pence on a stellar career and wishes him the best in retirement.

Giants Place Jeff Samardzija On Release Waivers

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The Giants have designated Jeff Samardzija for assignment and placed him on release waivers, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). This officially ends the righty’s 2020 season, as we’ve long since passed the September 15 deadline for players to be eligible for an acquiring team’s postseason roster.

Of course, if Shark has his way, this won’t mark an end to his MLB tenure. The 35-year-old (36 in January) made clear last night he fully intends on continuing his career. He’ll hit the open market on the heels of disastrous 2020 season, though. Samardzija missed a month with a shoulder impingement and was limited to four starts overall. Those didn’t go well, as he was tagged for 19 runs on 21 hits (including seven homers) with only six strikeouts in 16.2 innings. The 29-29 Giants are up one game on the Brewers and Phillies for the National League’s final postseason spot. They’d evidently concluded that, even if they sew up a berth, Samardzija’s lackluster performance foreclosed him as an option for their playoff roster.

The move brings to an end Samardzija’s five-year tenure in San Francisco. The Giants inked him to a five-year, $90MM contract entering the 2016 season. At the time, the former Cubs, Athletics and White Sox hurler was coming off three consecutive 200-inning seasons. Then-executive vice president Brian Sabean and then-GM Bobby Evans surely envisioned Samardzija soaking up innings in the middle of the club’s rotation.

Over the first two seasons of the deal, that’s what he did. Samardzija combined for 411 innings of 4.12 ERA/3.73 FIP ball between 2016-17. He scuffled in 2018 before rebounding with a decent effort last year, running up 181.1 innings of 3.52 ERA ball (albeit with uninspiring peripherals). Unfortunately, the wheels fell off in the final season of the deal.

All told, Samardzija threw 653.2 innings over 110 starts as a Giant. He logged a 4.24 ERA/4.22 FIP with strikeout (20.3%) and walk (6.1%) rates a bit lower than league average. Samardzija was worth around seven wins above replacement over the course of the deal, in the estimate of both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. That’s a bit of an underwhelming return on investment for the organization, but the deal was far from disastrous. Samardzija’s production in San Francisco was worth around $54.6MM in the estimate of FanGraphs’ dollars per WAR metric, to say nothing of any intangible value the well-traveled veteran brought in the clubhouse.

Jeff Samardzija Plans To Play In 2021

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Jeff Samardzija is wrapping up the final year of his five-year contract with the Giants. Despite that contractual uncertainty, the 35-year-old (36 in January) is fully committed to pitching in 2021. “100 percent, without a doubt,” Samardzija replied when asked if he’s planning on playing next season (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic).

This surely isn’t the platform year the veteran rigthy was hoping for. A shoulder impingement sidelined Samardzija for over a month, and he’s been limited to four starts altogether. Those haven’t gone well, as Samardzija’s coughed up 19 runs (18 earned) in 16.2 innings. He’s struck out just six batters in that time while being tagged for seven home runs.

Lost year notwithstanding, Samardzija isn’t far removed from offering solid volume. He tossed 181.1 innings of 3.52 ERA ball last season. While his underlying metrics didn’t support that level of run prevention, he was unquestionably a useful part of last year’s pitching staff. Samardzija’s status with the 2020 Giants is less clear; he started last night’s game against the Padres, marking his final regular season appearance. At 29-29, San Francisco is one game up on the Phillies and Brewers for the National League’s final playoff spot with two days remaining. It’s theoretically possible Samardzija will pitch in the postseason, then, but it’s hardly a lock he’d be included on their postseason roster (should they qualify) in light of his struggles this season.

For what it’s worth, Samardzija spoke highly of the Giants’ organization and training staff, telling reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) he’d hope to land in a similar environment on his next deal. Presumably, he’d be amenable to staying in San Francisco if the club were interested in a reunion. Regardless of his ultimate destination, Samardzija’s next contract will be a low-cost one, possibly of the minor-league variety. Having banked upwards of $116MM in his career, the amiable veteran can afford to prioritize the right fit this offseason.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/26/20

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Rounding up the latest minor moves:

  • The Yankees announced last night that left-hander Tyler Lyons has been outrighted to the alternate training site. Rookie right-hander Miguel Yajure was recalled in his place. New York just selected Lyons to its roster earlier this week. The veteran got into one game, allowing four runs (all earned) on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. That marked an eighth straight season of MLB action for Lyons, who has a career 4.30 ERA/4.06 FIP in 162 appearances. Because Lyons was sent to the alternate site, he is eligible to return to the Yankees this season.

Nationals Extend Dave Martinez

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SEPTEMBER 26: Washington officially announced a “multi-year” extension for Martinez.

SEPTEMBER 25: The Nationals have agreed to a contract extension with manager Dave Martinez, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). It’s a three-year, $7.5MM contract that will take effect in 2021, Bob Nightengale of USA Today was among those to tweet. His previous three-year contract was set to expire at season’s end, and the Nats had yet to formally make a call on Martinez’s 2021 club option or on a lengthier deal. The new contract will make quite the birthday present for Martinez, who turns 56 years old tomorrow.

Typically, clubs seek to avoid having a manager or general manager navigate a season with the dreaded “lame duck” status — i.e. no contract in place for the following year — but the Nationals have repeatedly bucked that trend by waiting until the eleventh hour to make decisions one way or another on both their managers and GMs. The Nats didn’t extend general manager Mike Rizzo, whose contract didn’t even have a 2021 option, until three weeks ago.

No club in baseball has had more managerial turnover in recent years than the Nationals, but it appears that last year’s World Series win will bring about the type of continuity this current generation of Nats players has yet to see. Martinez became the sixth man to manage a Nationals game in an eight-year span (2011-18) when he was hired, and since moving to D.C., the Nats have never had a skipper last more than three seasons on the job. The Lerner family opted to replace former skipper Dusty Baker even after Rizzo reportedly fought to keep him in place, and Baker only landed with the Nats after the club alienated Bud Black with a lowball, one-year offer when he had emerged as the favorite following the interview process.

Replacing Baker with Martinez, previously the Cubs’ bench coach, has worked out for the Nationals. Despite losing Bryce Harper to free agency before 2019, the Martinez-led club won 93 games and its first title. On the other hand, this year has been a struggle for the Nationals, who saw star third baseman Anthony Rendon leave in free agency and have gone almost entirely without injured World Series MVP-wining right-hander Stephen Strasburg. At 23-34, the Nationals won’t defend their title in this year’s playoffs, but that championship was understandably enough to convince the club that Martinez is the right person for the job. Along with their World Series win, Martinez has guided the Nats to a 198-183 regular-season record during his tenure in D.C.

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