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Blue Jays Outright Reese McGuire, Breyvic Valera

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TODAY: McGuire and Valera have both cleared DFA waivers and been outrighted to the Blue Jays’ alternate training site, as per a team announcement.

APRIL 1: The Blue Jays announced Thursday morning that catcher Reese McGuire and infielder Breyvic Valera have been designated for assignment. Their roster spots will go to infielder Joe Panik and lefty Tim Mayza, whose contracts have formally been selected.

McGuire, 26, was the 14th overall pick by the Pirates back in 2013 and came to the Jays by way of the 2016 Francisco Liriano trade. The longtime top prospect hit well in 2018-19 (.297/.343/.539, seven homers in 138 plate appearances) before his bat fell off a cliff in 2020 (.073/.073/.146 in 45 plate appearances). That downturn in production, a bizarre and troubling Feb. 2020 arrest, and the breakout of fellow catcher Alejandro Kirk all combined to spell the end of McGuire’s days on Toronto’s 40-man roster.

Valera, meanwhile, has bounced around the league via the waiver wire for the past couple seasons. The Jays have claimed the versatile switch-hitter twice in that time, but he’s still only appeared in five games with the club. The 29-year-old Valera is a career .223/.294/.298 hitter in a small sample of 138 plate appearances, but he carries a much more appealing .302/.374/.442 line through 1550 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

The Jays told Panik that he’d made the roster last week, marking the second straight season that he’s cracked their big league club after inking a minor league pact in the offseason. Mayza, 29, pitched 104 innings with the Jays from 2017-19 but missed the 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery that he underwent in Sept. 2019. He’s healthy now and rattled off 6 2/3 shutout innings during Spring Training, yielding just one hit and two walks with six punchouts along the way.

Braves Hire Devon Travis As Minor League Coach

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The Braves announced their minor league coaching staffs earlier this week (The Atlanta Journal-Constitutional was among the outlets with the full listing), and one of the many notable names on the list was former Blue Jays infielder Devon Travis, who is joining the staff of the Braves’ Gulf Coast League rookie ball affiliate.  The news would seem to indicate that the 30-year-old Travis is ending his playing career after four Major League seasons and seven overall seasons in pro ball.

Originally a 13th-round pick out of Florida State in the 2012 draft, Travis turned some heads in his early days in the Tigers’ farm system, even landing on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect ranking prior to the 2014 season.  In an intriguing swap of promising young talents in November 2014, Detroit traded Travis to the Blue Jays for Anthony Gose, and Travis made an immediate impression in his rookie season.  Quickly stepping into everyday second base duties for Toronto, Travis hit .304/.361/.498 with eight home runs in 239 plate appearances for the eventual AL East champions, though a shoulder injury ended Travis’ season in late July and prevented him from taking part in the Jays’ push to the ALCS.

Unfortunately, injuries became the story of Travis’ career.  Finally returning in 2016 after two different shoulder surgeries, Travis then developed knee problems that hampered the remainder of his playing days.  Between the shoulder procedures and surgeries on both knees, Travis ended up playing in only 316 games (all with Toronto) from 2015-18, and hitting .274/.314/.437 with 35 homers over 1246 plate appearances.  He hasn’t played at all since the 2018 season, and Travis chose to become a free agent after the Jays outrighted him off their 40-man roster following the 2019 campaign.

Travis embarks on this new phase of his baseball career under the familiar eye of Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, who brought Travis to Toronto in Anthopoulos’ previous job as the Jays’ GM.  We at MLBTR wish Travis all the best in his coaching endeavors.

Nationals Prospect Mason Denaburg Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Nationals pitching prospect Mason Denaburg recently underwent Tommy John surgery, reports Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The right-hander was Washington’s first-round pick out of a Florida high school in 2018.

This is the latest injury in a career that has been riddled with health problems so far. Seen as one of the most talented pitchers in the 2018 draft class, Denaburg fell to the Nationals at 27th overall due to biceps tendinitis. He didn’t pitch professionally that season, threw 20.1 innings of rookie ball in 2019, then missed all of last year recovering from shoulder surgery. He’ll now miss all of 2021 and quite likely a good portion of 2022 rehabbing from this latest procedure.

Denaburg remains a highly-regarded talent; Baseball America placed him ninth among Washington farmhands in their most recent organizational rankings. The 21-year-old will rehab and hopefully return to action at some point next season. Denaburg will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if he’s not added to the Nationals’ 40-man roster after the 2022 season.

Latest On Anibal Sanchez

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Aníbal Sánchez has attracted interest from multiple teams and could sign within the next week, report Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The Nationals are among the teams with interest in Sánchez, who pitched for Washington from 2019-20.

Sánchez was productive in his first year in D.C. He tossed 166 innings of 3.85 ERA/5.07 SIERA ball in the regular season before making a couple strong postseason starts during the Nats’ World Series run. His 2019 peripherals were rather poor, though, hinting at some potential regression. That came in 2020, as Sánchez was tagged for a 6.62 ERA over 53 innings despite posting similar strikeout and walk numbers as the year before.

The Phillies were the only team linked to Sánchez during the winter, but plenty of clubs had representatives on hand for a showcase in which he threw alongside Julio Teheran. Ultimately, Sánchez reportedly turned down multiple major league contract offers over the offseason due to concerns about COVID-19 and accompanying protocols. He wasn’t expected to completely opt out of the season, though, and it seems he’s now comfortable returning to action. It remains to be seen if those guaranteed offers are still on the table.

Pirates Designate Tyler Bashlor For Assignment

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The Pirates are designating reliever Tyler Bashlor for assignment, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to relay. The move opens 40-man roster space for infielder Wilmer Difo, whose previously-reported selection has been made official.

Bashlor, 27, has pitched 62.1 MLB innings with the Mets and Pirates over the past three seasons. He has only a 5.78 ERA with poor strikeout and walk rates (18.5% and 12%, respectively) in that time. Bashlor has been much better in the minors, with a 1.63 ERA in 38.2 Double-A innings and a 3.41 mark in 37 frames at Triple-A.

The Pirates have a week to trade Bashlor or place him on outright waivers. The hard-throwing righty still has a minor-league option remaining, so he can be shuttled back and forth between the majors and the alternate training site/Triple-A for the rest of the year if another team acquires him.

Pirates To Place Ke’Bryan Hayes On Injured List

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The Pirates are placing rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list due to left wrist inflammation, Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette were among those to relay. Infielder Wilmer Difo will be added to the active roster. Difo is not yet on the 40-man roster, so his contract will need to be formally selected.

Additionally, right-hander Kyle Crick has cleared COVID-19 intake protocols and returned to the team after the birth of his child, per a club announcement. Wil Crowe was optioned to the alternate training site to clear active roster space for Crick. Crick’s return filled the Pirates’ 40-man roster, so a corresponding move to clear space for Difo is forthcoming.

Hayes left yesterday’s game after injuring his wrist diving into a bag on a pickoff attempt. X-rays came back negative but an MRI revealed some inflammation. Hayes had issues squeezing his glove this morning so the Pirates elected to shut him down for the time being. There’s no indication at this point his absence is expected to last especially long.

The rebuilding Pirates have plenty of reason to play things cautiously. There’s arguably no more important player in the organization than Hayes, a top prospect who tore the cover off the ball in his brief MLB debut in 2020. Wrist injuries, in particular, can sometimes have a lingering impact on a player’s power potential, so it behooves Pittsburgh to be especially careful.

In Hayes’ absence, Erik González, Phillip Evans and Difo could pick up some extra playing time at third base. Difo was once a frequently deployed utility player for the Nationals, but struggles at the plate caused his playing time to dwindle and ultimately led Washington to cut him loose. The 29-year-old signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh over the winter.

Mets Discussed Extension With Jacob deGrom In Spring Training

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The Mets engaged in preliminary extension talks with ace Jacob deGrom during Spring Training, reports Andy Martino of SNY. Discussions did not get very far and are not expected to continue during the regular season, Martino adds.

With talks now on hold, it certainly doesn’t appear as if another long-term deal between deGrom and the Mets is coming in the near future. There’s not a whole lot of urgency, though. The two-time Cy Young award winner previously signed an extension in March 2019. That deal could keep deGrom in Queens through 2024 but affords him the opportunity to opt out after the 2022 season. The 32-year-old is slated for successive salaries of $36MM in each of the next two years (with some of that money deferred). If deGrom doesn’t opt out two years from now, he’d make $30.5MM in 2023, while the Mets would have to decide on a 2024 club option valued at $32.5MM.

While it’s certainly possible the Mets and deGrom revisit extension talks next winter, the financial picture for the organization has changed significantly in recent days. On Wednesday night, the Mets agreed to a ten-year, $341MM extension with shortstop Francisco Lindor that covers the 2022-31 seasons. That pushed the Mets’ 2022 payroll commitments over $127MM, in the estimation of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

More meaningfully in the context of a potential deGrom extension, New York already has in excess of $100MM on the books for 2023. That takes the form of salaries for Lindor ($34.5MM), deGrom ($30.5MM), Robinson Canó ($20.25MM), James McCann ($12.125MM) and Taijuan Walker ($6MM player option), as well as a $3MM buyout on Carlos Carrasco’s $14MM club option. deGrom opting out after 2022 would remove his salary from that ledger but would obviously require the Mets to make another significant investment if they want to keep him in the fold.

The Mets have a few more pressing decisions to make in the coming months. Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman are all scheduled for free agency after this season. New York discussed an extension with Conforto during Spring Training. Those talks could continue into the regular season but it seems there’s still quite the gap to close if they’re to keep the productive outfielder off the open market.

Steve Cohen is the game’s wealthiest owner and has already pushed the Mets’ player payroll well above the previous ownership group’s recent limits. It remains to be seen how much further Cohen is willing to go and how team president Sandy Alderson chooses to allocate those resources in an attempt to build a perennial contender around Lindor.

Blue Jays Select Tommy Milone

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Tommy Milone. Reliever Joel Payamps has been optioned to the alternate training site in a corresponding move. To clear space on the 40-man roster, the Jays placed reliever Kirby Yates on the 60-day injured list. Yates will miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Toronto signed Milone to a minor league deal in February. The soft-tossing lefty started nine games between the Orioles and Braves in 2020, including getting the nod for Baltimore on Opening Day. After a decent start to the year with the O’s, Milone got knocked around in Atlanta. All told, he pitched to a 6.69 ERA/4.12 SIERA despite a career-best 22.1% strikeout rate (just worse than league average) and a stellar 3.3% walk rate.

Milone has never missed many bats or induced ground balls at an especially strong clip. However, the 34-year-old’s ability to throw strikes at an incredible rate has continued to get him MLB opportunities. When Milone takes the mound for the Jays, he’ll be suiting up for his ninth different team over the past eleven years.

Injury Notes: Elieser, Brantley, Bracho, Senzel

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Marlins righty Elieser Hernandez left today’s start in the third inning due to what the team described as “inflammation in his right biceps tendon.”  Hernandez experienced a big velocity drop after his previous two innings of work, and manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola) that he initially thought it could be a recurrence of the blister problem that has bothered Hernandez in the past.  Mattingly didn’t have any updates about Hernandez’s status after the game, other than to say “obviously, it’s something that we’ll have to be careful with.”

After posting a 3.16 ERA over the small sample size of 25 2/3 innings in 2020, Hernandez was being eyed by the Marlins as a candidate for a much more extended breakout this year.  However, with Hernandez now possibly sidelined and Sixto Sanchez and prospect Edward Cabrera already nursing injuries, Miami already finds itself short on pitching depth.  The Marlins have a bit of flexibility due to off-days both tomorrow and on April 9, but with Hernandez possibly facing an IL stint, De Nicola suggests the club could again look to acquire some veteran starting depth to replace the recently-retired Gio Gonzalez.

More injury updates from around baseball…

  • X-rays were negative on Michael Brantley’s right wrist after the Astros slugger was hit by a pitch from Oakland’s Cole Irvin today.  Brantley remained in the game to play left field in the bottom half of the inning, but was replaced by pinch-hitter Chas McCormick the next inning when it was Brantley’s next turn at the plate.  Manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Alyson Footer and other reporters that the team initially feared a much worse injury: “I went out to talk to Michael, he couldn’t feel his fingers….He’ll probably be sore for a couple days.  He couldn’t turn the bat head over so he’s day to day until then.”  McCormick was playing in just his second career big league game today, though on a Houston club that was already lacking in outfield depth, McCormick looks to be the top fill-in option if Brantley has to miss a significant amount of time.
  • Right-hander Silvino Bracho suffered a left oblique strain in his final spring outing, Giants manager Gabe Kapler told Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group and other reporters.  Bracho is back playing catch but he will kept off a mound for the next 7-10 days.  The oblique problem represents yet another health setback for Bracho, who missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery and then pitched only a single inning in 2020 due to both a setback in his TJ recovery and then a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.  With 89 2/3 total MLB innings on his resume, Bracho had spent his entire pro career in the Diamondbacks organization before signing a minor league deal with the Giants during the offseason.
  • Nick Senzel left the Reds’ first game of the season due to a shoulder injury, but the outfielder returned to action today as a midgame defensive substitution.  He also received one plate appearance in the Reds’ 9-6 victory over the Cardinals.  There was certainly reason to fear the worst given Senzel’s lengthy injury history, though manager David Bell told reporters (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith) that Senzel’s issue was “nothing serious” and that Senzel could be “back in the lineup in a matter of a day or two.”

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