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Archives for 2021
Blue Jays Hopeful Of Retaining Marcus Semien, Robbie Ray
Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray have been two of baseball’s best players this season, let alone big reasons why the Blue Jays are still in the hunt for an AL wild card berth. Both are scheduled to hit free agency this winter, and it isn’t any surprise that the Jays have interest in keeping both players in the fold. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Jays have already tried to sign Semien to a contract extension, while the club intends to discuss a long-term deal with Ray after the season.
The wording would seem to imply that the Jays have yet to broach an extension with Ray, which might not necessarily mean that the team is prioritizing Semien. Ray (like many players) might simply prefer to not talk contract during the season, in order to focus solely on baseball. Also of note, Semien is represented by the Wasserman Agency, which has traditionally been more open to in-season negotiating — in the last month alone, Wasserman clients Travis d’Arnaud and Brandon Crawford each inked new deals to remain with their current teams.
Barring a truly massive offer from the Blue Jays, it was probably unlikely that Semien would’ve accepted an extension this close to free agency, as the veteran infielder looks set to land the pricey multi-year deal that eluded him on the open market last year. Semien didn’t hit well over the first month of the shortened 2020 season, leaving him with only a .223/.305/.374 slash line in 236 total PA even after he hit much better in late September and during the Athletics’ playoff run. Rather than take a multi-year contract at a lowered cost, Semien opted for a one-year, $18MM deal with Toronto, betting on himself to deliver bigger numbers over a full season.
That bet has paid off handsomely, as Semien hit his 35th homer of the season today, and is now batting .266/.334/.530 over 601 plate appearances. With the abbreviated 2020 season folded between Semien’s big years in 2019 and 2021, his three-season cumulative total of a .268/.346/.501 slash line over 1579 PA works out to a 128 wRC+, solidly placing him amongst the best middle infielders in baseball. Semien had been a starting shortstop in Oakland before becoming the Jays’ second baseman this season, to accommodate Bo Bichette at short.
Ray also had something to prove in the wake of a rough 2020 season with the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays, and he moved quickly to rejoin the Blue Jays on a one-year, $8MM pact soon after the opening of the official free agent period. Ray had always been plagued by inconsistency and high walk totals during his five-plus seasons in Arizona, but after working with the Jays’ coaching staff and overhauling his offseason training regimen, Ray has blossomed as a candidate for the AL Cy Young Award.
Including today’s 6 2/3 shutout innings of work against Oakland, Ray has a 2.60 ERA and 32.3% strikeout rate over 166 frames. Perhaps most importantly, Ray has only a six percent walk rate — easily his career best, and in the 82nd percentile of all qualified pitchers this season. Ray has also gained enough innings to qualify as baseball’s all-time leader in K/9, with an 11.2 total over his eight MLB seasons.
In short, both Semien and Ray project to be two of the offseason’s top free agents, and re-signing both could potentially cost the Blue Jays upwards of $200MM. While it remains to be seen if the Jays will indeed be able to bring even one of the duo back for 2022 and beyond, money alone shouldn’t be a deterrent. The signings of George Springer and Hyun Jin Ryu are evidence that Toronto is willing to spend big in free agency, and many of the Jays’ young stars are either cost-controlled via arbitration or (in Bichette’s case) are still over a year away from arbitration eligibility. The Blue Jays also don’t have that much money on the books in future years, creating the possibility that both Semien and Ray could be slotted alongside Springer, Ryu, and possibly major extensions for the likes of Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Teoscar Hernandez.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/21
Today’s minor league moves…
- The Dodgers cleared a 40-man roster spot by outrighting right-hander Ryan Meisinger to Triple-A. Los Angeles claimed Meisinger off waivers from the Cubs on Tuesday and only briefly kept him on the big league roster before assigning him to the minors. Meisinger has tossed 31 innings over parts of three MLB seasons, including 7 1/3 frames with Chicago this season that saw the righty post a 12.27 ERA. The results have been much better for Meisinger at Triple-A over his career, as he has a 3.18 ERA and 31.25% strikeout rate over 93 1/3 frames at the top minor league level.
Dodgers Place AJ Pollock On 10-Day Injured List
4:06PM: The Dodgers officially placed Pollock on the 10-day injured list. Right-hander Mitch White was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
TODAY, 1:15AM: Pollock has a Grade 2 strain, and will miss “two, three weeks at a bare minimum,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett and other reporters.
SEPTEMBER 4: Dodgers outfielder AJ Pollock left tonight’s game with what the team described as a right hamstring strain. Pollock hurt himself while trying to steal third base in the top of the first inning, as he was limping off the field following the play.
The fact that Pollock’s injury has already been diagnosed as a strain would seem to imply that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. The next step will be learning the severity, as anything more than a minor strain could potentially cause Pollock to miss most or even all of the Dodgers’ remaining regular-season games (and into the postseason). Pollock missed just shy of three weeks with a strain to his left hamstring earlier in the season.
Perhaps a little overshadowed by the many big names on the Dodgers’ roster, Pollock has rather quietly been a key cog in the L.A. lineup. He entered tonight’s game hitting .295/.351/.504 with 16 homers over 385 plate appearances, with plenty of hard contact backing up his 131 OPS+/wRC+. Playing mostly left field, Pollock has also been a solid defensive force, with +3 Defensive Runs Saved and +1 Outs Above Average (though the UZR/150 metric has a -2.0 score on his glovework).
Should Pollock indeed be heading back to the IL, Los Angeles can turn to a combination of Zach McKinstry, Billy McKinney, or (down at Triple-A) Matt Beaty to handle left field duty, or utilityman Chris Taylor could simply assume the everyday role. Taylor has already been seeing more regular work in center field, however, as the struggling Cody Bellinger hasn’t been playing against left-handed pitching. In short, the Dodgers’ depth will be tested yet again, which isn’t optimal for a team fighting hard with the Giants for first place in the NL West.
Tigers Shut Julio Teheran Down For The Season
After spending almost the entire season on the injured list, right-hander Julio Teheran has been officially shut down for the remainder of the 2021 campaign. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen and other reporters that the decision was made after Teheran “wasn’t himself” during some recent throwing sessions.
Teheran suffered a shoulder strain while warming up for his second start of the season, way back in early April. That shoulder issue simply never got better, as Teheran was also temporarily shut down from throwing in August when he was throwing at an unusually low velocity during a live batting practice session. Barring a reunion on another minor league deal this offseason, Teheran’s tenure in Detroit will be limited to just a single start — a quality outing that saw Teheran allow one run over five innings in a 5-2 victory over the Indians back on April 3.
Ironically, Teheran has been best known for his durability over his 11 MLB seasons, averaging 191 innings per year with the Braves from 2013-19. After struggling through a tough 2020 season with the Angels, Teheran settled for a minor league pact with the Tigers, and he locked in a $3MM guaranteed salary by reaching the big league roster. The Tigers were hoping to add an innings-eating veteran to their young rotation, though their investment in Teheran simply didn’t pan out.
It seems as though Teheran will again have to showcase himself for scouts this winter in order to attract another minors contract, but the larger concern could be Teheran’s overall health, if he is still not able to effectively throw almost five months after his initial injury. The exact nature of Teheran’s shoulder strain isn’t known, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if some type of surgical procedure was required to fully correct the problem.
Braves Sign Maikel Franco
The Braves signed third baseman Maikel Franco last week, according to Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. The signing took place prior to September 1, as per The Athletic’s David O’Brien, so Franco would be eligible for inclusion on a postseason roster.
It can be assumed that Franco’s deal is a minor league pact, and if he does reach Atlanta’s active roster, the Braves will only owe him the prorated portion of a minimum salary. The Orioles are on the hook for the remainder of Franco’s salary (what is left on the infielder’s one-year, $1MM deal) after releasing Franco on August 27.
After a solid season with the Royals in 2020, Franco couldn’t keep the momentum going during his lone season in Baltimore, hitting only .210/.253/.355 with 11 home runs over 403 plate appearances in an O’s uniform. These struggles prevented Franco from being a trade chip for the rebuilding Orioles at the trade deadline, and so the team opted to cut him loose to open up more playing time for younger players.
Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has shown a propensity for adding veterans as roster depth, and Franco’s presence will provide some extra backing for Austin Riley at third base. Riley (enjoying a big breakout season) has seen almost all of the action at the hot corner this season, with utilityman Ehire Adrianza serving as the primary backup. Franco also has experience at first base, so he could theoretically also back up Freddie Freeman
Franco was a Riley-esque top prospect himself when coming up in the Phillies farm system, though now in his eighth MLB season, Franco hasn’t been able to consistently deliver on that potential. As per the wRC+ and OPS+ metrics, Franco has been an above-average hitter only three times (2015, 2018, 2020) in his career, and he has a .246/.297/.423 slash line over 3185 total PA in the big leagues. He does have 121 home runs, as Franco has topped the 20-homer threshold three times.
Royals Place Cam Gallagher On Injured List, Recall Tyler Zuber
The Royals have placed catcher Cam Gallagher on the injured list with left knee inflammation, per a team announcement. Right-handed pitcher Tyler Zuber has been recalled to take his place on the roster.
It’s been a tough season for Gallagher, after he seemed to have taken a step forward in 2020. In the shortened campaign last year, Gallagher got into 25 games and hit .283/.356/.434, good enough for a wRC+ of 116. This year, however, he’s been hampered by various injuries, getting into only 41 games and slashing .202/.262/.277, a wRC+ of just 48. This stint on the injured list will be his fourth of the year, after twice going on the concussion IL and also being put on the shelf with shoulder impingement syndrome.
Salvador Perez will continue to take the bulk of the playing time behind the dish as he has been one of the best catchers in baseball since missing all of 2019 because of Tommy John surgery. Since the start of the 2020 campaign, Perez is slashing .289/.324/.565, for an outstanding wRC+ of 136. 22-year-old Sebastian Rivero is on the active roster to absorb whatever playing time isn’t taken by Salvy.
Angels Place Justin Upton On Injured List, Recall Kean Wong
The Angels have placed outfielder Justin Upton on the injured list with a right lumbar strain, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, fellow outfielder Kean Wong has been recalled.
This will be the second stint on the injured list for Upton this year, after missing almost a month with a low back strain earlier in the season. He’s only played in three games over the past couple weeks, perhaps because of this injury, but also because the Angels are out of contention and have been increasingly using playing time to audition youngsters such as Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell.
Upton still has one season remaining on the five-year deal he signed with the club back in November of 2017. The 34-year-old will be making $28MM next year. The first year of the deal went well, as Upton slashed .257/.344/.463, for a wRC+ of 121 in 2018. But the three subsequent seasons have all been disappointing, with a collective slash line of .211/.296/.409 and a wRC+ of 93.
Because of the remaining playing time going to those younger players, the club can let Upton focus on getting healthy and hopefully finding some of his former, more-productive form in the last year of his deal.
Reds Activate Brad Brach, Option Alejo Lopez
The Reds have activated right-handed pitcher Brad Brach from the injured list, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, infielder Alejo Lopez has been optioned Triple-A.
Signed to a minor league deal May 6th, the Reds selected Brach’s contract May 21st. The righty went on to log 29 innings out of the Cincy bullpen, with an ERA of 5.59. Barring a strong finish, this would be Brach’s third consecutive season with an ERA north of 5.00, after seven solid seasons split between the Padres, Orioles and Braves.
Brach’s 24.1% strikeout rate on the year is close to league average, but command has been the issue for him of late. His 12.8% walk rate is well above the league-wide rate of 8.7%, though it’s at least an improvement over the ghastly 24.1% rate he put up in 2020.
Despite dealing with bullpen issues all year, the Reds find themselves holding down the second National League wild card spot, going into today’s games with a half game lead over the Padres. Brach figures to be used in low-leverage situations for the time being, with Mychal Givens, Michael Lorenzen, Lucas Sims and Amir Garrett covering the high-leverage spots.
Astros Select Marwin Gonzalez, Option Josh James
The Astros have selected the contract of Marwin Gonzalez, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Josh James was optioned to make room on the active roster.
The Astros 40-man roster had a vacancy because Zack Greinke and Taylor Jones were recently placed on the COVID IL. Neither counts against the 40-man roster at this time. Gonzalez, and the recently-called-up Jose Siri, could potentially be considered COVID replacement players, which would mean they’d be able to be sent back down to Triple-A and removed from the 40-man roster without needing to pass through waivers.
Gonzalez was released by the Red Sox a few weeks ago after a disappointing season. In 77 games for Boston, he slashed .202/.281/.285, producing a wRC+ of 56, the second-lowest such mark of his career, behind only his 54 way back in 2013. The Astros added him on a minor league deal on August 27th. Gonzalez will now see if a return to the Houston organization can bring him back to something resembling the best stretch of his career, which came as an Astro from 2014 to 2018. Over those seasons, he hit .271/.328/.438, for a wRC+ of 111. Since the minor league deal was signed before the end of August, Gonzalez is eligible to play in the postseason for the Astros.
