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Archives for August 2020

Cubs DFA Jharel Cotton, Place Tyler Chatwood On IL

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The Cubs announced a series of roster moves today, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales (Twitter links). Tyler Chatwood was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, due to a back strain. His active roster spot will be filled by right-hander Jason Adam. In turn, Jharel Cotton was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Adam on the 40-man roster.

The Cubs will have a week to trade, release, or outright Cotton to the minors. With one option year remaining and four more seasons of team control, he could be a worthwhile depth pickup for teams with thin pitching staffs. At 28 years old, Cotton is still relatively inexperienced at the Major League level and finds himself in a somewhat new role; 2019 marked the first year since his pro debut in 2012 that the majority of Cotton’s appearances came in relief.

Chatwood has started off the season looking like he’s on track for a nice bounce-back season, although you wouldn’t think so based on his unimpressive 5.40 ERA. Still, he’s striking out batters at a career-best rate (13.8 K/9) while his walks, which have thus far been the biggest obstacle to his success, have trended in the opposite direction: 2.4 BB/9, a career-low rate. That’s lent itself to a 2.60 FIP, which the Cubs ought to be pleased with given his unremarkable numbers over the previous two years.

Adam, 29, signed with the Cubs as a minor-league free agent after two Major League stints with the Royals and Blue Jays. He enjoyed a bit of success last year, posting a 2.91 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (18 K/10 BB) was nothing special, but he’s good solid stuff: his fastball, which averaged 94.4 mph last year, brings a spin rate that ranked in the 97th-percentile last year, per Statcast. Supplemented with a curveball and changeup, that type of action can certainly play at the MLB level.

Phillies Place Roman Quinn On IL

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The Phillies have placed outfielder Roman Quinn on the COVID-19 injured list and have recalled Kyle Garlick, according to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Quinn, however, has not tested positive for the coronavirus. Rather, the outfielder cited minor symptoms this morning and will sit out as a precautionary measure. As such, there’s no minimum time that Quinn must spend on the injured list; he may be activated as soon as he is cleared to play.

With Quinn landing on the injured list, the Phillies are left without a true center fielder on the active roster. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle the position in the coming days; Garlick has no experience in center, though Bryce Harper does. Even so, it seems more likely that Scott Kingery will serve as Quinn’s replacement.

Either way, we’re hopeful that it’s a brief absence for Quinn and that he’s avoided contracting COVID-19. If that’s the case and he tests negative, it shouldn’t be long before he’s back in the lineup for Philly. With Adam Haseley on the injured list, Quinn has been a capable starter for the Phillies, batting .278/.297/.500 in 37 plate appearances this year.

Even though they haven’t had any cases during the regular season, they’ve had to work around several postponements due to their proximity to the Marlins at the outset of the outbreak within the Miami organization. Having played their 17th game this afternoon, they’re still slightly behind most MLB teams, but are largely caught up by now.

Pitching Notes: Morton, Farmer, Burnes, Matz, Smith

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Some pitching notes from around baseball:

  • Rays’ right-hander Charlie Morton came out of a twenty-pitch bullpen session feeling well, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’s seemingly on track to return next weekend, Topkin adds. The 36-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier this week with shoulder inflammation, which could partially explain Morton’s two mile per hour drop in fastball velocity from 2019 to 2020.
  • Like Morton, Tigers’ right-hander Buck Farmer looks on track to return from an IL stint in short order. Manager Ron Gardenhire confirmed to reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group) that the important set-up man could return from a groin injury by the middle of next week. Farmer’s swing-and-miss rate is down a bit from his strong 2019 effort, but he’s nevertheless held opponents to two runs over his first 6.2 relief innings this year.
  • Corbin Burnes will get the start for the Brewers on Tuesday, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Jounral Sentinel. He’ll take the place of Eric Lauer, who was optioned this week amidst a rough start to the season. Working primarily in a multi-inning relief capacity, the hard-throwing Burnes has racked up 24 strikeouts in 16 innings this season, although he’s also issued an alarming 11 walks.
  • Mets’ manager Luis Rojas was noncommital when asked if Steven Matz would remain in the team’s rotation, notes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). The southpaw allowed six runs in 4.1 innings in last night’s loss to the Phillies, continuing a disastrous start to his 2020 season. He’s coughed up 23 earned runs in as many innings, thanks almost entirely to an untenable nine home runs. On the other hand, Matz’s velocity has held in its customary 94-95 MPH range, and he’s run a solid 23:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Of course, New York is rather thin on potential starting pitching replacements if they elect to remove Matz from the rotation.
  • As expected, the A’s have placed reliever Burch Smith on the 10-day injured list, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Smith was diagnosed with a forearm strain yesterday. Fellow right-hander James Kaprielian has been recalled to replace him on the active roster. Smith has tossed twelve very strong relief innings for Oakland this season. Kaprielian, meanwhile, will get another chance to make his MLB debut. The former first-rounder got his first MLB call August 4, but he was optioned down two days later without having gotten into a game.

Mets Designate Brian Dozier For Assignment

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The Mets have designated second baseman Brian Dozier for assignment, per various reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Right-hander Franklyn Kilome has been recalled to replace Dozier on the active roster.

Dozier’s time in Queens could have come to an end after just 16 plate appearances across seven games. The 33-year-old has now been cut loose by both the Padres and Mets over the past few months, but he managed a solid season with the Nationals just a year ago. Dozier hit .238/.340/.430 (99 wRC+) in 482 plate appearances in Washington last season. Speculatively speaking, the Nats could look back into a reunion with Dozier in the wake of Starlin Castro’s recent broken wrist, although Washington has quite a few internal options who could be relied upon to fill that void.

The Mets are dealing with an injury to one of their second base options as well. Jeff McNeil hasn’t played since leaving Thursday’s contest after running into the outfield wall. Fortunately, McNeil is available off the bench today, manager Luis Rojas says (via Tim Healey of Newsday). That seemingly bodes well for McNeil’s chances of returning to the starting lineup in short order.

Orioles Designate Chandler Shepherd

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The Orioles are designating right-hander Chandler Shepherd for assignment, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The move clears roster space for John Means, who was activated from the injured list. (Means was placed on the IL while progressing through standard COVID-19 protocols after briefly stepping away from the team on bereavement leave).

Shepherd was just selected to the roster on Friday but didn’t get into a game. The 28-year-old only has 19 MLB innings under his belt, all with the 2019 O’s. Those didn’t go well, but he’s put together a solid minor-league track record. Shepherd is out of options, meaning Baltimore had either to keep him on the active roster or expose him to waivers if they wished to keep him in the organization.

Quick Hits: Trade Deadline, Boras, Lynn, Smith, Padres, Burger

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There’s no doubt the 2020 trade deadline will be the most unusual in baseball history, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) looks at some of the many unique aspects of the lead-up to August 31.  Everything about how teams evaluate their own rosters, decide on being buyers or sellers, scout other teams’ talent, and potentially spend to acquire that talent will be in flux, plus there are some factors unique to the threat of COVID-19.

For instance, there might have to be some back-channel negotiations with trade candidates to ensure that a player wouldn’t opt out of the season rather than be dealt to an undesirable location.  Just the idea of changing locations whatsoever also carries issues, as Rosenthal notes that intake testing could delay a new acquisition’s arrival to his new team by a few days (no small amount of time in a shortened season), and there is inherent risk in travel and in introducing the health x-factor of an unfamiliar player into a new clubhouse.

In regards to the latter concern, agent Scott Boras contacted Rosenthal with the following message (Twitter link): “So that deadline deals are not impacted by COVID, I am letting all owners know if any of our players are traded and asked to leave their existing teams’ protocols, we have arranged a private jet protocol to allow players to be safely transported (between clubs).”

More from around the baseball world…

  • Rosenthal’s piece also notes that the Rangers have been getting trade interest in Lance Lynn, though a move doesn’t seem likely with Texas battling for a playoff spot.  Lynn theoretically would be a good trade candidate if the Rangers were to fall out of the race, as the veteran is under contract for $8MM in 2021 and has been one of the sport’s best pitchers this season.  After yesterday’s complete-game victory over the Rockies, Lynn has a sparkling 1.11 ERA, 3.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over a league-best 32 1/3 innings.
  • Athletics reliever Burch Smith suffered a right forearm strain during Saturday’s game with the Giants.  (Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report the news.)  The hurler will undergo an MRI on Monday and an injured list placement seems inevitable, though the A’s are hopeful that the injury isn’t structural in nature.  Smith allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings of work tonight, boosting his ERA to 2.25 after he delivered scoreless work over his previous 10 1/3 frames for Oakland.  Smith was dealt from the Giants to the A’s back in February.
  • Tommy Pham and Wil Myers both made early exits from the Padres’ game with the Diamondbacks tonight.  Pham left during the second inning due to cramping in both calves, while Myers left in the fifth inning due to lower back tightness.
  • White Sox prospect Jake Burger is now represented by The Bledsoe Agency, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Picked 11th overall in the 2017 draft, Burger’s young career has been waylaid with injuries, as two torn Achilles tendons and a severe heel bruise have kept him off the field since 2017.  Burger’s switch has been noted in MLB Trade Rumors’ updated Agency Database.

Royals’ Foster Griffin Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Royals left-hander Foster Griffin revealed in a tweet tonight that he underwent Tommy John surgery last Tuesday in Los Angeles, with Dr. Neal ElAttrache performing the procedure.  As such, Griffin will be out of action for the next 12-14 months, quite possibly sidelining him until the 2022 season.

Griffin suffered a tear in his UCL during his very first Major League game, back on July 27 in Kansas City’s 14-6 win over the Tigers.  Griffin earned the win after tossing 1 2/3 innings of relief, retiring all five batters without a hit or a walk, and was perfect apart from one runner reaching via error.  Adding to the bittersweet nature of Griffin’s debut and subsequent injury, July 27 was also his 25th birthday.

Drafted 28th overall in 2014, Griffin was making his MLB debut after an inconsistent six-year stint in the Royals’ farm system.  The southpaw has a 4.77 ERA, 2.19 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 708 minor league innings, starting 139 of his 141 games.  Given this lack of a track record, back-end starter or long man might be his eventual ticket to remaining in the big leagues, though obviously Griffin’s first order of business will be getting healthy after a long rehab period.

DJ LeMahieu Leaves Game Due To Thumb Sprain

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9:28PM: LeMahieu is undergoing an MRI and CT scan but x-rays were negative on his thumb, Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters.  The injured list “could be” a possibility, Boone said.

8:28PM: Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu left tonight’s game due to what the team announced as a sprained left thumb.  LeMahieu will undergo tests to determine the extent of the injury.

The injury seemed to occur during a fourth-inning at-bat, as LeMahieu was visited by trainers after swinging at a Nathan Eovaldi pitch.  LeMahieu finished his plate appearance and then played second base in the top of the fifth, though not before another on-field visit from trainers and manager Aaron Boone.  LeMahieu finished the inning but Tyler Wade replaced him at the keystone in the sixth inning.

After an injury-plagued 2019 season, the Yankees have again been hit with several notable health problems this season, including with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton currently sidelined.  Losing LeMahieu would be another significant blow, as the second baseman entered Saturday’s action with a .429/.474/.557 slash line over his first 76 plate appearances.  Leading the AL in batting average, OBP, and hits thus far, LeMahieu is on pace to top even his outstanding numbers from his 2019 debut season in the Bronx.

Wade and Thairo Estrada would be the top choices at second base if LeMahieu is out, plus veteran infielder Matt Duffy is at the Yankees’ alternate training site.  While it’s too early to know whether LeMahieu will even require an IL placement let alone miss significant time, the lack of second base depth represents a potential area of focus for New York at the trade deadline should LeMahieu indeed face any sort of extended absence.

Mets Add Francisco Alvarez, Matthew Allan To 60-Man Player Pool

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The Mets have added two of their top prospects to their 60-man player pool, as the team announced that catcher Francisco Alvarez and right-hander Matthew Allan will head to the alternate training site in Brooklyn.

Joining the player pool allows Alvarez and Allan to be eligible for a big league call-up, though such a promotion would seem a bit unlikely given how both players only began their pro careers last season.  Alvarez appeared in 42 games in rookie ball in 2019, while Allan pitched just 10 1/3 innings in rookie ball before making one appearance for the Mets’ lower A-ball affiliate.

It should be noted that being added to the player pool also makes Alvarez and Allan eligible to be traded prior to the August 31 deadline.  However, The Athletic’s Tim Britton tweets that the Mets “aren’t looking to move” either prospect, and that today’s transaction was only made help the two youngsters continue their development.

Alvarez was rated as a top-100 prospect in preseason rankings from The Athletic’s Keith Law (who had Alvarez 48th), MLB.com (63rd), Baseball America (67th), and Baseball Prospectus (88th).  Signed to a $2.7MM bonus during the 2018-19 international signing window, Law praised Alvarez’s well-rounded hitting potential and described his swing as “arguably the best in the Mets’ system.”  Defensively, Alvarez is unsurprisingly a little raw considering he is only 18 years old, though MLB.com’s scouting report cited his athleticism, “accurate, plus arm strength” and “energy level and willingness to learn” as reasons why Alvarez could eventually become at least an average defender behind the plate.

A third-round pick in the 2019 draft, Allan was heavily targeted by the Mets, who signed several other picks to underslot deals to free up enough pool money for a $2.5MM bonus for the righty.  The strategy paid off, as Allan opted to join the Mets rather than pitch at the University Of Florida.  Allan already boasts a strong fastball (in the mid-90’s range) and curveball, and is widely seen as a future rotation member, perhaps even a front-of-the-rotation type if all goes well.

Dodgers Place Will Smith On 10-Day IL, Promote Keibert Ruiz

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The Dodgers have placed catcher Will Smith on the 10-day injured list due to neck inflammation.  Top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz has been recalled from the Dodgers’ alternate training site and is in line to make his Major League debut.

Smith’s neck issues led to an early exit from the Dodgers’ 6-0 win over the Padres last Wednesday, though the problem initially arose after a collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. over a week ago.  The injury doesn’t seem overly serious, as manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other reporters yesterday that Smith was feeling “not pain, but really the stiffness moving his head side to side,” yet an IL stint will allow the catcher to fully recover and also allow Los Angeles to add depth behind the plate.  Ruiz will join Austin Barnes as the only catchers on the active roster, and given Ruiz’s potential, it’s fair to wonder if L.A. will give him a solid amount of playing time.

Ruiz has been a regular on top-100 prospect lists for the last three seasons, entering 2020 rated 73rd by MLB Pipeline, 79th by Baseball Prospectus, 81st by Baseball America, and 91st by Fangraphs.  The 22-year-old has hit .299/.351/.420 over 1580 career plate appearances in the minors, though he only has 40 Triple-A plate appearances to his credit.  The lack of Triple-A playing time was due to both a finger injury and rather a lackluster .659 OPS over 310 PA for the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate.

Baseball America’s scouting report (subscription required) mentions that Ruiz “struggled with motivation” after not starting the season at Triple-A, and his production notably picked up once he did get promoted.  The switch-hitting Ruiz’s “elite-hand eye coordination and ability to manipulate the barrel give him the foundation of a plus hitter, and he almost never swings and misses,” according to BA, though Ruiz is also hampered by a lack of aggressiveness at the plate and a frequency to fall behind in counts.  Ruiz has shown some good defensive potential, though Fangraphs’ report notes that scouts became more “mixed” on his ability behind the plate during the 2019 season.

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