Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Archives for 2020
Red Sox Notes: Sale, Opener, Eovaldi, Martinez, Downs
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom declined to speculate on the status of southpaw Chris Sale before getting final word from the doctors. Sale underwent an MRI today for a sore elbow. As Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times covers via Twitter, Bloom acknowledged “concern” but also said that, “hopefully, it is just a bump in the road.” The team does have some information beyond what is known publicly; as Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe notes on Twitter, team doctors have already had a look at the imaging. But it seems that we’ll have to await the assessment of Dr. James Andrews before learning of Sale’ fate.
More from the Boston organization …
- Even before this worrisome situation arose regarding Sale, the Red Sox have been toying with the idea of utilizing a starter at time in the upcoming season. As MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported recently, Bloom has been working with manager Ron Roenicke to work through the possibilities for employing such a strategy. Roenicke says the reasoning behind the concept is largely a reflection of the “personnel” available. Clearly, any lengthy absence from Sale would only increase the appeal.
- On the positive side, the Sox have seen some encouraging signs from Nathan Eovaldi. As Browne further reports, the embattled righty says he “feel[s] really good” and believes his “mechanics are really good right now.” The results have been there to this point, not that there’s much sense putting too much stock in two spring appearances. But the Boston organization has to hope that the 30-year-old can sustain some momentum after a 2019 campaign in which he stumbled to a 5.99 ERA in 67 2/3 innings.
- Veteran Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez held forth on a few labor topics with WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. The star expressed concern with the incentives teams have in constructing rosters. By his reckoning, baseball is “losing a lot of fans because teams are more motivate to lose than they are to win.” Martinez suggests that the competitive balance tax has had the opposite of its intended effect. He advocates for a “floor tax” by which teams would be penalized for under-spending. Ultimately, says Martinez, the game must “figure out a way to reward teams for competing and not reward them for losing” — or risk fading in relevance.
- Infield prospect Jeter Downs was dropped into the Boston spotlight when he was included as a major component of the (re-formulated) Mookie Betts swap. As Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic writes (subscription link), the Sox are getting a player who’s known more as a dedicated grinder than for his flash. Though Downs wasn’t in the initial iteration of the Betts deal, he wasn’t an afterthought. It seems the Red Sox have long had eyes for the 21-year-old and were particularly impressed by some mid-2019 tweaks that both reflected Downs’s attention to detail and raised his foreseeable ceiling as a hitter.
White Sox Sign Zach Putnam
The White Sox have inked righty Zach Putnam to a minor-league pact, the club informed reporters including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). He’ll head to the minors side of camp.
It has been a while since we’ve heard from Putnam. The 32-year-old was sidelined in 2018 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His attempted return last year was thwarted by a hamstring injury.
Putnam was quite an effective relief pitcher for the South Siders before the injuries intervened. Over 139 1/3 frames with the organization, accumulated between 2014 and 2017, he worked to a 2.71 ERA while carrying 9.6 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 along with a 47.6% groundball rate.
Rays Prospect Garrett Whitley Diagnosed With Facial Fractures
In a scary incident during yesterday’s Grapefruit League contest, Rays propect Garrett Whitley was struck in the face by a foul ball that entered the team’s dugout. He has been diagnosed with “multiple facial fractures,” according to manager Kevin Cash (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, on Twitter).
On the positive side, Whitley was in stable enough condition to spend the night at home rather than in a hospital bed. The 22-year-old outfielder did not lose consciousness at any point. It seems there’s reason to hope that he avoided the most grievous injuries that could conceivably have occurred.
That said, the early indication is that Whitley will be sidelined for a lengthy stretch. He’s slated to visit with a specialist to chart a path back to health. It seems fair to presume that the timeline will not really be evident for some time.
It’s particularly unfortunate timing for Whitley, who originally joined the Tampa Bay organization as the 13th overall pick of the 2015 draft. He was sidelined for all of 2018 due to a shoulder injury, then returned with a solid but unexceptional showing last year at the High-A level.
No doubt Whitley had hoped to make up for lost time in 2020. He’ll first have to get back to full health before tackling the upper minors. Fortunately, he’s still quite youthful. MLBTR extends its best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
Chris Sale Headed For Elbow MRI
Star Red Sox lefty Chris Sale is slated to undergo an MRI on his elbow, skipper Ron Roenicke tells reporters including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). At this point, the outlook isn’t known.
Sale reported soreness in the joint after throwing. He had dealt with some arm woes late last year, but seemed to be at full arm health as camp opened. Sale was delayed by illness, but the expectation was that he’d be able to ramp up as normal — just on a slight delay.
The results of the MRI will be sent to famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews for analysis. That’s alarming, at first glance, given that Andrews is known for performing so many Tommy John surgeries. That said, it’s also an obvious and sensible decision, given that the orthopedist treated Sale last season and is therefore intimately familiar with his medical situation.
There’s no reason to rush to judgment. But the situation is obviously concerning for a Boston organization that is entering an interesting and uncertain season. Just days ago, Sale told MLB.com that his arm felt good. Now, there’s sufficient cause for imaging.
Sale’s importance to the Red Sox largely goes without saying. The long-time ace is not only a key component of the rotation, but will occupy a big chunk of the team’s spending for the next several years. The extension he signed this time last year guarantees $145MM in salary from 2020 through 2024.
Cashman On Health Of Judge, Stanton; Rotation Needs
Yankees GM Brian Cashman spoke with the media this morning regarding the health uncertainty surrounding star sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. He also disputed recent reporting regarding the team’s efforts to shore up an injury-depleted rotation mix. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch was among those to cover the news (links to Twitter).
First and foremost, it now seems abundantly clear — if it wasn’t already — that the Yanks will go without their twin right-handed power towers for some time to open the season. Cashman didn’t say so expressly regarding Judge, but that’s evident in the fact that he’s still undergoing testing. Judge is said to be “responding well” to the treatment he has received, but his timeline remains uncertain.
As for Stanton, Cashman said plainly that it’s “unrealistic” to expect him to be in the Opening Day lineup. But the top New York baseball ops exec did say he believes the outfielder/DH can make it back to the majors during the month of April. Stanton is rehabbing a calf injury. It doesn’t seem to be a major malady but the team is understandably handling it with care after a 2019 season that was plagued by injuries (for both Stanton and the team).
The hope presumably remains that both of those players will end up being available for most of the coming season. But the Yanks have already endured some major blows to their pitching plans — especially, the loss of Luis Severino for the entire campaign.
The club has given public indication that it’s focused on its internal options. But it stands to reason that the organization will at least look for way to add depth. And there has been some suggestion that the Yankees might attempt to add a rotation piece via trade. MLBTR’s Connor Byrne recently examined a few hypothetical possibilities. Just yesterday, we saw reports of interest in Mets lefty Steven Matz.
Cashman squashed any hope of a surprising mid-spring, cross-town Matz swap — or any other near-term trade. “We have not talked to anybody,” the GM said of trade chatter involving the rotation. That obviously doesn’t rule out future conversations, but it seems at a minimum that the Yankees staff won’t feature any prominent new members in the coming days.
Camp Battles: Blue Jays’ Fifth Starter
The Blue Jays finally made some rotation investments this winter. Most of the money went to Hyun-jin Ryu, but Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson (the latter acquired via trade) each also enjoy sizable guarantees that lock them into the starting staff. With a $4.2MM arbitration deal, Matt Shoemaker is also slated for a rotation spot.
So what of all the arms the Jays have been accumulating of late? The club has loaded its roster with options. They’re now engaged in a sort of battle royale in camp, all striving to impress the Toronto brain trust. The fifth rotation spot is certainly the top prize to be claimed. But the bullpen mix is anything but settled, offering additional paths to the majors. And the Jays will also be lining up their depth chart in the upper minors. 40-man roster pressures could force the club to drop a few players, so the competitors face downside scenarios as well.
Here’s the slate of candidates …
- Trent Thornton: The 26-year-old held down a rotation spot last year, ultimately throwing 154 1/3 innings of 4.84 ERA ball in his debut campaign. He entered camp as the odds-on favorite and is probably the sturdiest candidate with a solid-but-not-exceptional minor-league track record, varied pitch mix, and full season of durable MLB work on his resume.
- Shun Yamaguchi: The long-time Japanese star will be on the MLB roster in some manner after signing a two-year deal. He was a highly effective starter in Nippon Professional Baseball just last year, but also has spent a lot of time working at the back of a bullpen.
- Anthony Kay: The well-regarded lefty had a nice showing at Triple-A last year after coming over via mid-season trade and was rewarded with a late-season promotion. His full 2019 totals from the upper minors — 133 2/3 innings, 2.96 ERA, 9.1 K/9 vs. 3.8 BB/9 — suggest that Kay is just about ready for a full big-league audition.
- Jacob Waguespack: Yet another recent acquisition who got his first shot in the majors last year with the Jays, Waguespack had to be pleased with his initial showing (4.38 ERA, 63:29 K/BB in 78 innings). His deep pitch mix and general track record present a profile roughly similar to that of Thornton.
- T.J. Zeuch: Yep, Zeuch also just saw his first MLB action last year, though he’s a homegrown product and only threw 22 2/3 frames in the majors. The sinkerballer spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he worked to a 3.69 ERA in 78 frames while generating a 57.1% groundball rate but just 4.5 K/9. Zeuch did show that he can get some swings and misses (9.9%) in the majors, it’s fair to note.
- Sean Reid-Foley: The former second-round draft pick has struck out 10.1 batters per nine in his minor-league career. Unfortunately, he has never really sorted out his walk issues, having dished out 86 free passes in 120 2/3 total innings last year. Reid-Foley spent most of 2019 at Triple-A, where he coughed up 6.47 earned runs per nine over 89 frames.
- Ryan Borucki: Still just 25 years of age, Borucki had a nice 2018 big-league debut. But after 17 starts of 3.87 ERA ball in his rookie campaign, the southpaw stumbled through an injury-limited 2019 season. Borucki surely would’ve been given every chance to make a run at a rotation job in camp but has unfortunately been halted by ongoing elbow issues. He’ll need to get healthy to put himself back on the map.
- Wilmer Font: Font is something of a grizzled journeyman already at 29 years of age. He has already appeared with seven MLB clubs, including five in the past two seasons. Font started 14 games last year for the Jays but threw only 39 1/3 innings in his 23 total appearances in Toronto. While he has plenty of experience in the minors as a true starter, Font likely factors as a possible opener or spot start candidate rather than a true competitor for the fifth rotation opening.
- Yennsy Diaz: Diaz was rewarded with one MLB appearance last year after a strong season at Double-A (144 1/3 innings, 3.74 ERA, 7.2 K/9 vs. 3.3 BB/9). The 23-year-old would need to wow in camp. He’s likelier to continue developing in the minors.
- Tom Hatch, Hector Perez, Patrick Murphy, Julian Merryweather: These four righties all hold 40-man roster spots and have yet to debut in the majors. The first three haven’t yet reached Triple-A, while Merryweather is coming off of an injury riddled 2019 season.
- Nate Pearson: Soon enough. Other non-roster players in camp include MLB veterans Phillippe Aumont and A.J. Cole, though neither seems likely to have a realistic shot at a rotation job out of the gates.
MLBTR Poll: Vlad Jr.’s Second Season
Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. debuted in the major leagues to great fanfare in 2019. The son of a Hall of Famer, Guerrero earned his first promotion toward the end of April – only one month after his 20th birthday. He joined the Blue Jays despite limited experience in Triple-A Buffalo, where he garnered just 162 plate appearances from 2018-19. The sample size may have been small, but Guerrero nonetheless ran roughshod over the highest level of the minors, thereby convincing the Blue Jays he was ready for prime time.
Thanks in part to his stellar production at lower levels, Guerrero was considered an all-world prospect at the time of his promotion. Indeed, four different outlets (Baseball America, MLBPipeline.com, FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus) ranked him as the game’s premier farmhand at the time. Guerrero ultimately didn’t make an enormous impact as a rookie, hitting .272/.339/.433 with 15 home runs in 514 trips to the plate, but that production’s still nothing to scoff at for a first-year man who was among the youngest players in the league last season.
Set to turn 21 on March 16, Guerrero figures to be one of the sport’s most fascinating sophomores in 2020, and the revamped Jays are no doubt hoping he’ll help key a resurgence for the club. For what it’s worth, the big-bodied Guerrero has come to camp in better shape this spring, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet wrote last month. The slimmer Guerrero’s now aiming to increase his launch angle, Andrew Stoeten of The Athletic recently relayed.
Guerrero’s mean launch angle checked in at just 6.7 degrees last year, while his expected weighted on-base average (.330, compared to a .329 real wOBA), average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage all hung around the league’s 50th percentile, per Statcast. However, heading into Year 2, projection systems are bullish. ZiPS, for instance, calls for a .285/.349/.497 line (121 wRC+) with 25 home runs in 571 trips to the plate. Those aren’t superstar-level numbers, but they would represent a nice step forward for such a young hitter.
All that said, let’s hear from you on how you expect Vlad Jr. to perform at the plate this season. Where will his OPS land? How many homers will he hit? (Poll links for app users)
Predict Vlad Jr.'s OPS
.830-859
31.50%
(2,935 votes)
.860-.899
25.30%
(2,357 votes)
.800-.829
20.20%
(1,882 votes)
.900 or better
14.30%
(1,332 votes)
Lower than .800
8.70%
(811 votes)
Total Votes: 9,317
Predict Vlad Jr. HR total
26-30
38.51%
(3,796 votes)
31-35
25.98%
(2,561 votes)
20-25
21.73%
(2,142 votes)
36-40
6.59%
(650 votes)
More than 40
3.78%
(373 votes)
Fewer than 20
3.39%
(334 votes)
Total Votes: 9,856
Roster Notes: Felix, Mondesi, Mariners, Orioles
Longtime Seattle ace Felix Hernandez looks to be leading the competition for a place in Atlanta’s Cole Hamels-less rotation, Mark Bowman of MLB.com relays. The 33-year-old King Felix has given himself the upper hand with 4 2/3 innings of one-run, six-strikeout ball this spring. Hernandez, who’s competing against Sean Newcomb, Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint for one of two spots, is attempting to revive his career back-to-back trying seasons. The former AL Cy Young winner’s recent struggles forced him to settle for a minor league contract over the winter, and if he does make the Braves, he’ll earn a $1MM salary.
- The Royals aren’t sure when Adalberto Mondesi will make his Cactus League debut, but they continue to expect the shortstop to be ready for the season opener, manager Mike Matheny stated over the weekend (via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com). “It’s just about getting him enough reps to be ready by Opening Day. We should be good,” Matheny said of Mondesi, who’s working back from the left shoulder surgery he underwent last September. Before suffering that injury, the 24-year-old turned in his second straight productive season, totaling 2.4 fWAR with a .263/.291/.424 line and 43 stolen bases.
- Turning to Hernandez’s ex-team, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times delves into the competition among infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore, outfielder Braden Bishop and infielder/outfielder Tim Lopes for the Mariners’ final two bench spots. The most major league experience of the three belongs to Moore, who took 282 trips to the plate for the Mariners last season and hit .206/.302/.389 with nine home runs and 11 steals. He saw action at every position on the diamond but catcher, even pitching an inning. Bishop’s a decently regarded prospect (Baseball America ranks him 19th in the team’s system), but injuries – including a lacerated spleen – have slowed him down. He made a brutal debut in the majors last season, batting .107/.153/.107 in 60 PA. Lopes hit well, on the other hand (.270/.359/.360 in 128 PA), and has continued to do so this spring.
- Andrew Velazquez hasn’t been an Oriole for long, having joined the club via waivers two weeks ago, but he’s making a good early impression. Velazquez, who’s among those competing for a bench role with the Orioles, is “migrating toward the front of the line of utility candidates,” Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The switch-hitting 25-year-old spent time in the majors with the Rays and Indians from 2018-19, though he only combined for 36 plate appearances with those teams. Most of his recent work has come in Triple-A ball, where he owns a .260/.316/.415 line in 648 PA.
Phillies Notes: Lineup, Hunter, Dominguez
With the recent news that Andrew McCutchen will open the season on the IL, Phillies manager Joe Girardi will have to decide on what to do about the leadoff spot, as Todd Zolecki of MLB.com observes. Girardi mentioned Scott Kingery, Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn as options. But Girardi also “did not rule out” J.T. Realmuto, and he went on to note that he is taking the new three-batter minimum into consideration when thinking about lineup construction. “You want to bring in your lefty to face Bryce (Harper),” he says, “but I’m going to have him surrounded with my best two right-handers around him. So pick your poison.” Regardless of the solution, Girardi and Phillies fans will be hoping for McCutchen to return in short order and retake his position at the top of the lineup.
- Per reports from Matt Gelb of The Athletic and Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports, expectations are that right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter will begin the season on the IL. The 33-year-old will be ready “a month or so into the season,” Salisbury adds. Hunter’s 2019 season was ended by elbow surgery in July. But that didn’t stop the Phillies from giving him an incentive-laden deal in February. Hunter was quite effective for the Phillies in 2018, providing 64 innings with an ERA of 3.80. However, he was limited to just 5 1/3 innings in 2019 before the aforementioned elbow issues. It remains to be seen which version the Phillies will get in 2020.
- Like Hunter, righty Victor Arano also seems ticketed for the IL to open the year, according to Gelb. Arano appeared in just three of Philly’s games last season (all in April) before elbow surgery knocked his year off the rails and stopped him from building on a quality 2018. That season, Arano notched a 2.73 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9 over 59 1/3 frames.
- With Hunter and Arano joining David Robertson on the IL, that could create high-leverage opportunities for other relievers, such as Seranthony Dominguez. However, it’s still not clear if he can avoid the IL himself. Salisbury notes that Dominguez himself “believes he will be ready for opening day, but officials will be cautious.” The reliever emerged as a weapon out of the Philly bullpen in 2018, putting together 58 innings of work with a 2.95 ERA, even compiling 16 saves in the process. The following year, however, saw that ERA balloon to 4.01 over 24 2/3 innings before a ligament strain in his right elbow finished his season on June 5th. The 25-year-old pitched in a simulated game on Sunday, with Girardi noting that his fastball got up to 94 mph. That’s still short of his normal average of 98 mph, according to StatCast. But Philly fans will surely take solace in the fact that he is seemingly healthy and still has some time to ramp up to full strength.
