Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2021

Maddon: Shutting Down Mike Trout “A Possibility”

By | at

Mike Trout continues to feel soreness in his right calf, and after almost three and half months on the injured list, it remains to be seen when or if the Angels superstar might return to action in 2021.  Angels manager Joe Maddon told The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters that “it’s a possibility” that Trout might be shut down for the remainder of the season.

“We’re probably getting closer to having to say something like that,” Maddon said.  “But he still wants to continue to fight, and we’re going to honor his wishes.  However Mike sees this, we’re going to go with it that way.”

As one might expect, neither Trout or the Angels want to move forward with a minor league rehab assignment while the outfielder continues to deal with lingering discomfort in his calf.  Trout hasn’t been able to get to that next step of being entirely pain-free, as his calf soreness has persisted after Trout has taken part in baseball activities for several weeks now.

The Angels are all but officially out of the playoff hunt, with a 65-67 record and 9.5 games back of a wild card berth.  It isn’t as if Trout is trying to rush back for a pennant race, though Maddon implied that Trout simply wanted to clear the hurdle of his return now rather than wait until Opening Day 2022 to appear in his next big league game.  “The biggest thing about it right now is his mental well-being, how he feels about now and going into the offseason.  That’s the most important thing, and then how it plays into next year,” Maddon said.

As much as Trout might want to return, however, Maddon noted “there’s got to be that moment where we have to start being realistic about it, where we may just have to say, ’That’s it.’ ”  Considering all the time Trout has missed, it would certainly seem like he’d need at least a week of minor league rehab games to ramp up, and the Angels might require a few days of soreness-free workouts prior to such a rehab assignment just to ensure that Trout has fully put his calf injury behind him.

That would leave late September as the most optimistic timeline for when Trout might be able to return, giving Trout perhaps a week or two of games to put a coda on what was shaping up as another huge season.  Trout was hitting .333/.466/.624 over his first 146 plate appearances, with a 192 wRC+ that stood as the highest of his incredible career.  If Trout indeed doesn’t play again this year, 2021 will go down as the shortest season of his career, with only 36 games played.

Nationals Release Rogelio Armenteros

By | at

The Nationals have released right-hander Rogelio Armenteros, The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reports (Twitter link). The 27-year-old will be free to explore opportunities with other clubs.

Washington claimed Armenteros off waivers from the Diamondbacks last December, but he never appeared in a big league game with the Nats. He began the season with Triple-A Rochester, and was outrighted off the 40-man roster after being designated for assignment in June. Armenteros landed on the minor league injured list not long after, and he made one rehab appearance with the Nats’ complex league affiliate last weekend before being released.

While Armenteros’ tenure with the Nationals didn’t go as hoped, he’s not far removed from a generally well-regarded arm. Baseball America slotted Armenteros among the top thirty prospects in the Astros’ system in each season from 2017-20, thanks to his plus changeup and strike-throwing acumen. Armenteros has a 1.94 ERA over 83 2/3 innings at the Double-A level and has a decent 4.04 mark in 300 2/3 career innings at Triple-A. His big league experience consists of 18 innings with Houston in 2019, as he pitched to an even 4.00 ERA with solid strikeout (24%) and walk (6.7%) rates.

Giants Claim Jose Quintana

By | at

The Giants have claimed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana off waivers from the Angels, per a team announcement from the Halos. The Giants themselves yet to announce the claim or a corresponding move, although they have an open 40-man roster spot after designating Tyler Chatwood for assignment this weekend.

Quintana, 32, signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Angels over the winter in hopes of bouncing back from 2020’s injury-ruined season. However, the left-hander labored through just 10 starts before being ousted from the rotation and dropped to the bullpen. Fourteen of his past 15 games have come in relief, and the one spot start he made since that initial demotion went quite poorly. He’s still owed about $1.5MM between now and season’s end, and by claiming him on waivers, the Giants are assuming the remainder of that commitment.

In a total of 53 1/3 innings this season, Quintana has pitched to a 6.75 ERA with a career-worst 11.4  percent walk rate, but his secondary numbers paint a brighter picture. He’s sporting a 3.90 SIERA and career-best marks in strikeout percentage (28.7), swinging-strike rate (11.9 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (32.6 percent). His 45.6 percent ground-ball mark, meanwhile, is his best since back in 2015 with the White Sox.

Quintana has been rocked in the majority of his starts this season, but he holds a 3.93 ERA, a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 3.9 percent walk rate in 18 1/3 frames as a reliever. It’s obviously a very small sample, but the vastly improved control he’s shown when working in relief perhaps encouraged the Giants to take a flier on a veteran arm who was at one point one of the most consistently solid starters in Major League Baseball.

From 2013-18, Quintana pitched at least 174 innings and made at least 32 starts per season. His ERA along the way was a rock-solid 3.58 — a number that was largely supported by metrics such as FIP (3.56) and SIERA (3.85). Quintana was a consummate source of reliable, above-average innings throughout that span and an often-overlooked name in All-Star and awards voting. Despite his consistency, he made just one All-Star appearance and only garnered Cy Young votes on one occasion: a 10th-place finish in 2016.

A return to his peak form probably shouldn’t be expected, but Quintana will give the Giants another lefty who is stretched out enough to at least throw a couple of innings per relief stint. And if he can maintain the output that he’s posted as a reliever to this point in the season — or perhaps improve upon it — he’ll be a fine addition to the team’s relief corps down the stretch. By claiming Quintana prior to Sept. 1, the Giants have ensured that he’ll be eligible for their postseason roster. He’s not a lock to be included, of course, but we’ve seen the Giants help turn around the careers of many pitchers to date and Quintana could surface as yet another data point on that growing list.

Yankees Acquire Pitching Prospect Jason Parker From Reds To Complete Cessa/Wilson Trade

By | at

The Yankees announced they have acquired right-handed pitching prospect Jason Parker from the Reds. He is the player to be named later in last month’s trade that sent relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to Cincinnati.

Parker was Cincinnati’s 16th-round pick in 2019 out of North Carolina State University. He’s made his affiliated ball debut this season, working to a 4.05 ERA across 80 innings as a starter in Low-A. The 23-year-old has struck out a strong 27% of opposing hitters against an average 9.8% walk rate, albeit against generally younger competition. Parker was not ranked among the Reds’ top prospects at FanGraphs or Baseball America.

While the Yankees will add Parker as a flier to the lower levels of the organization, the bigger driver of the deal for New York at the time was creating immediate roster and payroll space to accommodate future deadline acquisitions. The Yankees would go on to add Joey Gallo, Joely Rodríguez, Anthony Rizzo and Andrew Heaney over the next few days. By including Cessa, the Yankees were able to incentivize the Reds to take on a little less than half of Wilson’s remaining salary, as well as his $2.3MM player option for next season. That was of particular import given the Yankees’ apparent insistence on narrowly ducking below the first luxury tax threshold.

For the Reds, picking up Cessa and Wilson (as well as Mychal Givens in a later deal with the Rockies) was part of a broader effort to remake a struggling bullpen. As a whole, the relief corps has continued to struggle in recent weeks, but Cessa and Wilson have both been stabilizing forces at the back end. Cessa has allowed four runs over 10 1/3 frames since the trade, while Wilson has worked 9 2/3 innings of two-run ball.

Cole Hamels Intends To Make Another Comeback Attempt

By | at

After losing almost all of the 2020 season to a shoulder injury, Cole Hamels remained on the free agent market for months recuperating. Upon returning to health, he signed a major league contract with the Dodgers earlier this month. Just a few weeks later, renewed shoulder pain during his ramp-up work ended his 2021 season before it began.

In the wake of that latest setback, it was fair to wonder whether Hamels would contemplate retirement. That won’t be the case, however, as Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link) reports that the 37-year-old intends to make another comeback effort.

There’s no specific timetable for Hamels’ return from this latest injury. He’ll reach free agency at the end of the season and will presumably need to conduct at least one showcase for potential suitors whenever he’s healthy. His form in those looks could well determine whether Hamels will be able to land a big league deal again this time around.

The odds of Hamels returning to his All-Star peak form are very low, but it’s not inconceivable he could yet be a decent back-of-the-rotation option. Before these last couple years, Hamels was one of the game’s most durable arms. The southpaw rather remarkably made twenty or more starts and tallied 130+ innings in every season from 2006-19. And during his most recent healthy season, Hamels was still quite productive. With the Cubs in 2019, he worked to a 3.81 ERA over 141 2/3 frames. Given that Hamels has been an exemplar of consistency for the majority of his career and was still capable of performing well when last physically able to pitch, it’s not hard to understand his impulse to try and make another run in 2022.

Rangers Promote A. J. Alexy

By | at

The Rangers announced they’ve recalled right-hander A.J. Alexy to start this evening’s game against the Rockies. It’ll be the 23-year-old’s major league debut. Alexy was already added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

An eleventh-round pick of the Dodgers out of a Pennsylvania high school in 2016, Alexy spent the first year of his career in the Los Angeles system. The Dodgers included him as part of a three-player package to land Yu Darvish at the 2017 trade deadline. Alexy pitched very well at Low-A the following season, but he missed much of 2019 to injury and obviously couldn’t log any minor league action last year.

Despite missing almost two full seasons, Alexy hasn’t shown much sign of rust this year. He’s split the 2021 campaign between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, pitching to a 1.66 ERA over 65 innings. Along the way, Alexy has struck out a whopping 29.8% of batters faced, although he’s partially offset that by issuing walks at a lofty 10.6% clip.

Alexy has been an inconsistent strike-thrower throughout his career. Both Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs and Baseball America suggest he’s likely to wind up in a bullpen role someday because of those control issues. Nevertheless, both outlets slotted him among the back half of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects thanks to the quality of his arsenal. Each of FanGraphs and BA suggest Alexy has a pair of plus offerings: a mid-high 90s fastball and a sharp 12-6 curveball, in addition to a passable changeup that serves as his third pitch.

The Rangers have almost no certainty in their starting rotation at the moment. Each of Spencer Howard, Dane Dunning and Mike Foltynewicz are on the COVID-19 injured list, forcing Texas to turn to a series of rookies in their place. Alexy becomes the third Rangers starter to make his MLB debut within the past week, joining Jake Latz and Glenn Otto. Amidst a larger-scale retooling effort, Texas figures to give continued chances to younger players over the season’s final five weeks as they look ahead to 2022.

Latz, however, has been returned to Round Rock after one appearance. Because he was selected as a COVID replacement, he needn’t be exposed to waivers to be removed from the 40-man roster. Latz will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if he’s not re-selected to the big league roster before November.

Red Sox Place Matt Barnes On COVID-19 Injured List

By | at

6:36 pm: Barnes has tested positive for the virus, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com (Twitter link).

5:59 pm: Boston has placed Pérez and Barnes on the injured list, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe was among those to relay. In corresponding moves, righty Phillips Valdéz has been recalled from Triple-A Worcester while Boston selected righty Raynel Espinal to the big league roster.

Espinal will make his major league debut whenever he first gets into a game. A longtime Yankees farmhand, Espinal signed a minor league deal with Boston over the winter and has spent the entire season with Worcester. He’s been a reliable and generally productive member of the starting rotation there, pitching to a 3.74 ERA across 91 1/3 innings with league average strikeout and walk rates (23.9% and 9.7%, respectively). Because Espinal was selected to replace a player who landed on the COVID IL, he can be removed from the 40-man roster without being exposed to waivers whenever one of the players on the COVID list is ready to return.

5:52 pm: The Red Sox are placing closer Matt Barnes on the COVID-19 injured list, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). He becomes the fourth Boston player to land on the IL for virus-related reasons in recent days, as each of Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo and Martín Pérez tested positive. It isn’t yet clear whether Barnes has also tested positive.

Barnes has had a productive season on the whole, tossing 49 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA/2.34 SIERA ball. He was absolutely lights-out early in the year, though, but has run into some uncharacteristic struggles in recent weeks. Dating back to the All-Star Break, Barnes has been tagged for a 7.71 ERA over sixteen appearances, allowing a .283/.383/.543 opponents’ slash line.

With Barnes out, Boston figures to lean more heavily on Adam Ottavino, Garrett Whitlock and Josh Taylor in high-leverage situations. With a little less than five weeks to play in the regular season, Boston currently holds a two and a half game advantage over the A’s for the American League’s final playoff spot. They’re beginning a four-game series with the Rays tonight, followed by sets against the Indians, Rays again, and White Sox through next Sunday.

Yankees Activate Corey Kluber, Transfer Zack Britton To 60-Day Injured List

By | at

AUGUST 30, 6:22 pm: Britton is likely to undergo a procedure to remove bone chips from his elbow, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link).

AUGUST 30, 6:10 pm: Kluber has officially been reinstated from the 60-day IL, the team announced. Right-hander Albert Abreu was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night to open an active roster spot. To create space on the 40-man roster, New York transferred reliever Zack Britton from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Britton just landed on the 10-day IL on August 23. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that date — in all likelihood marking an end to his season. That’s a disappointing but not entirely surprising development, as Britton has been dealing with an elbow sprain that might require surgical repair.

AUGUST 26: The Yankees are planning to activate Corey Kluber in time to start Monday’s game. Luis Severino has also been cleared to begin throwing again, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (Twitter links).

Getting Kluber back for the stretch run would be a significant boon for a Yankees team that’s definitively trending upward. There will be a ripple effect in the rotation, however. For the short term, Andrew Heaney will likely piggyback with Kluber’s start, adds The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler. The pairing should benefit both hurlers as Kluber works himself up to full speed and Heaney attempts to re-calibrate after a difficult start to his Yankee career.

Kluber has been out since May 26th, but he posted a solid 10 starts prior to going down — most notably, of course, the no-hitter he threw against his former team, the Rangers, on May 19th. Kluber would start just one more game after that effort in Texas, however.

Hoch provided an update on another injured Yankee: Gleyber Torres will look to begin a rehab assignment shortly. The hope is that he could be ready to re-join the team at the start of their home stand on September 3rd.

Blue Jays Activate George Springer From Injured List

By | at

The Blue Jays are reinstating George Springer from the 10-day injured list, general manager Ross Atkins told reporters (including Scott Mitchell of TSN and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). Fellow outfielder Josh Palacios is being optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to open an active roster spot.

Springer will work as a designated hitter for the time being, according to Atkins, as he continues to progress from the sprained left knee that has kept him out of action. While it’ll hurt not to have Springer patrolling center field in the near-term, getting anything at all this quickly is something of a blessing. The Jays didn’t release any sort of timetable on Springer’s return in the immediate aftermath of his injury, leading to fears it could be an extended absence. Instead, Springer returns to the lineup after fifteen days away.

That was Springer’s third separate IL stint during his first season in Toronto, as nagging quad issues kept him from playing regularly until late June. When healthy, Springer has been incredible. Through 211 plate appearances, the 31-year-old is hitting .269/.362/.610 and has already launched sixteen home runs. On a rate basis, that’s among the best performances of Springer’s career, as his 157 wRC+ matches his single-season high during his time with the Astros (which came in 2019).

Even without any defensive value, Springer performing at that level at the plate would be a huge boon for the Jays. At 68-61, Toronto has fallen to the periphery of the playoff picture, as they enter play tonight five and half games back of the Red Sox for the final postseason spot (with the A’s and Mariners also ahead of them). They’ll need a stellar run of play over the season’s final five weeks to get to the playoffs, but Springer’s return to the lineup increases their odds of pulling that off.

Red Sox Acquire Brad Peacock From Indians

By | at

The Red Sox announced they’ve acquired Brad Peacock from the Indians for cash considerations. Peacock is eligible to be traded even after the July 30 deadline because he hasn’t been on a 40-man roster this season and had joined Cleveland on a minor league deal.

Peacock landed with Cleveland a little more than two months ago. He has since made eleven appearances (ten starts) with their top affiliate in Columbus, where he’s worked to a 7.68 ERA over 34 innings. That’s obviously an unsightly run prevention number, but Peacock’s peripherals are quite a bit better. The 33-year-old has essentially league average marks in strikeout rate (23.8%) and walk percentage (8.8%). His 34.3% ground-ball rate is rather low — contributing to some home run troubles — but he’s also been plagued by an abnormally high .340 opponents’ batting average on balls in play and should strand runners at a better clip than his current 56.5% mark moving forward.

While Peacock hasn’t made it onto a big league roster yet this season, he has plenty of experience under his belt at the highest level. The right-hander broke into the majors with the Nationals in 2011 and saw action with the Astros every season from 2013-20. Peacock was generally productive in a swing role in Houston, where his tenure partially overlapped with Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s stint as the Astros’ bench coach. Between 2017-19, Peacock worked to a 3.46 ERA/3.59 FIP across 288 2/3 frames split between the rotation and the bullpen. He only made three relief appearances in 2020 before suffering a shoulder injury that ultimately required arthroscopic surgery — keeping him out of action until he landed with the Indians in late June.

Because Peacock wasn’t on Cleveland’s 40-man roster, he’ll head to Triple-A Worcester and won’t require an immediate roster spot with the Red Sox. He can remain on hand as high minors depth for either the rotation or long relief over the season’s final few weeks. Players acquired prior to September 1 are eligible for a team’s postseason roster, so Peacock could be a playoff option for Boston if he earns a big league promotion and if the team qualifies. The Red Sox enter play tonight holding a two and a half game advantage over the A’s for the American League’s final playoff spot.

Adding a pitcher capable of working multiple innings of relief took on some added importance for the Red Sox this afternoon. Martín Pérez has tested positive for COVID-19, the team informed reporters (including Rob Bradford of WEEI). That’ll keep the veteran southpaw out of action for at least the next week-plus. Pérez has allowed nine runs (five earned) in seven innings since being moved to the bullpen earlier this month.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top