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Quick Hits: Lux, Morrison, Bogaerts

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Some stray items from around the baseball world…

  • It still isn’t clear if the Dodgers will call up infield prospect Gavin Lux this season, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link) said the team is “not ruling out” the possibility that Lux could yet make his big league debut.  The potential upside is obvious, as Lux is hitting .407/.493/.747 with 12 homers over 213 Triple-A plate appearances and clearly has nothing left to prove in the minors.  If Lux was called up and installed at second base, however, that would leave L.A. with a logjam of A.J. Pollock, Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, and Joc Pederson between two outfield positions, as Max Muncy would then become the regular first baseman and Cody Bellinger would play every day in either center or (more likely) right field.  And that’s not even counting other bench options like Matt Beaty, Jedd Gyorko, or how currently-injured players like Alex Verdugo or David Freese would fit back into the roster.  Further developments (injuries, slumps, etc.) could change the situation in the coming weeks, of course, so there’s still time for the Dodgers to decide whether not to make Lux a part of their late-season and postseason plans.
  • Coming off an injury-shortened 2018 season, Logan Morrison went through a quiet offseason of offers before taking a minor league deal with the Yankees in April, and then opting out on July 1 and then catching on with the Phillies on another minors contract.  This has led to appearing in seven MLB games for the Phils, though Morrison tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila that he is considering playing in Japan or South Korea due to both interest in a new cultural experience for he and his family, as well as recognizing his limited future opportunities in North American baseball.  “You look at rosters and know that you’re better than guys, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter because of the economic situation,” the 32-year-old Morrison said.  “Having someone under control for six years is more important than them actually being good. The game has turned into where being young is a tool. If you ask baseball people, and fans who want their teams to win, that shouldn’t be the case. Unfortunately it is.”  While a lack of contractual interest wasn’t surprising following Morrison’s rough 2018 campaign, he also faced a cool market in the aftermath of a 2017 season that saw him hit .246/.353/.516 and 38 homers for the Rays.  That big year only led to a one-year, $6.5MM guarantee from the Twins, with a club/vesting option that could have added another season and $10MM to the contract.
  • Xander Bogaerts (and his twin brother Jair) signed with the Red Sox on August 23, 2009, and in commemoration of a decade passing since that key signing, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe looked back at the circumstances that led the Sox to the superstar shortstop.  The team was only starting to expand its developmental base in the Caribbean, and it was when scout Mike Lord held Boston’s first workout in Aruba that Lord met Jair, only to learn that this impressive young prospect’s brother was an even better player.  Since Xander was absent from the tryout due to chicken pox, Lord arranged for a later private workout, and a film of Xander’s session quickly impressed Boston’s front office.  A handshake deal was reached to sign both twins within the week, and though teams like the Yankees, Mariners, Braves, Astros, and Reds all tried to top Boston’s offer, the Bogaerts brothers stuck to their initial agreement with the Red Sox.  The rest is history, as Xander has emerged as one of the game’s best players.

Pirates Likely To Exercise 2020 Option On Chris Archer

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington discussed Chris Archer’s future with the team both during his Sunday morning radio show and in conversations with reporters today (including Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and MLB.com’s Adam Berry), and strongly implied that the Bucs were going to pick up their $9MM club option on the righty for the 2020 season.  Though Archer is currently on the IL with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, Huntington said that Archer’s current health status didn’t impact the Pirates’ decision on his option, and spoke as though he expects Archer to be part of Pittsburgh’s rotation mix next season.

“There’s a lot to like with Chris Archer. We want to make sure that we do the right thing by him,” Huntington said.  “We don’t want him to feel like he has to come back out to earn his spot. We see some really positive signs. We recognize the issues and challenges, but we see some really positive signs and expect Chris is going to be a really good major league pitcher again next year.”

Archer has posted subpar numbers since coming to the Bucs at the 2018 trade deadline, posting a 4.92 ERA, 2.78 K/BB rate, 1.7 HR/9, and 10.6 K/9 over 172 innings in the black-and-gold.  It’s a far cry from the controllable, front-of-the-rotation arm the club felt it was getting from the Rays, especially given that the Pirates gave up a collection of young talent that now looks like an absolute steal.  Austin Meadows has developed into a very good everyday player for Tampa, Tyler Glasnow was pitching like an ace before being sidelined with injuries, and even Shane Baz (the somewhat overlooked third member of the prospect package) is rated by MLB.com as the sixth-best prospect in the Rays’ farm system.

In part because letting Archer go for nothing would make this trade seem even more lopsided, there was little question the Pirates would be picking up that $9MM option, regardless of his struggles.  It was Archer’s controllable years that made him such an attractive trade commodity in the first place.  The original six-year, $25.5MM extension Archer signed with Tampa Bay in March 2014 also contained the $9MM option for 2020 (with a $1.75MM buyout) and an $11MM club option for 2021 ($250K buyout).

The Pirates’ rotation will already miss Jameson Taillon next season since Taillon will be recovering from Tommy John surgery, so beyond hoping that at least a couple of their younger arms emerge, Pittsburgh will likely be on the lookout to add at least one more veteran arm to the pitching mix this offseason.  $9MM for one season is a decent price for a league-average starter, so if Archer’s salary isn’t exorbitant if he can pitch to even an adequate level next year.

As to whether Archer will pitch again in 2019, Huntington said the right-hander will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days after receiving a second opinion about his shoulder.  While Archer is out, Dario Agrazal will continue to fill his spot in the rotation, with Huntington noting that the rookie right-hander is one of many young players who have an opportunity to show their wares as the Pirates play out the stretch.  “Dario is going to do everything in his power to earn a rotation spot going forward,” the GM said, adding that he sees Agrazal as a starting pitcher rather than a reliever.

Tigers Sign Matt Wotherspoon To Minors Deal

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The Tigers signed right-hander Matt Wotherspoon to a minor league contract, MLB Daily Dish’s Andersen Pickard tweets.  Wotherspoon will join the roster at Triple-A Toledo.  Detroit originally drafted Wotherspoon as a 20th-round pick back in 2013, though he chose to remain in college for another year, not turning pro until the Yankees took him in the 34th round of the 2014 draft.

The 27-year-old Wotherspoon made his Major League debut earlier this season, tossing 4 2/3 innings over two games with the Orioles without much success, as he posted a 15.43 ERA over his brief taste of the Show.  He was also twice outrighted off Baltimore’s 40-man roster before being released by the O’s last week.  Over 455 1/3 career innings in the farm systems of the Orioles and Yankees, Wotherspoon has a 3.62 ERA, 9.5 K/9, and 2.93 K/BB rate, though he has struggled to 5.54 ERA over 65 frames at Triple-A Norfolk this season.

Didi Gregorius Day-To-Day With Bone Bruise In Right Shoulder

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Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius suffered what the team described as a right shoulder contusion after Gregorius was hit by a Clayton Kershaw pitch during a first-inning plate appearance.  The shortstop was removed from the game in the third inning.  Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that Gregorius is day-to-day with a bone bruise after x-rays were negative.

It isn’t yet known if the problem could require an injured list placement, as some bone bruises have been known to cause lingering discomfort.  The Yankees are all too familiar with injuries both great and small this season, as virtually every player on their roster has spent at least some time on the IL in 2019.  This includes Gregorius himself, as his recovery from a Tommy John surgery last October delayed his season debut until June 7.

Since taking the field, Gregorius has been essentially a league-average player, with a 97 wRC+ from a .263/.293/.479 slash line over 249 plate appearances.  The shortstop has 13 homers and is still showing a lot of the power he displayed over much of his Yankees tenure, though his on-base numbers are a concern and his .296 xwOBA is well below his .322 wOBA (both of which are below the league average).  It isn’t the platform year Gregorius was hoping for as he enters free agency this winter, though assuming this injury doesn’t sideline him, there’s still time for him to recoup some value in September and throughout what could be a lengthy Yankees postseason run.

A’s To Place Stephen Piscotty On Injured List

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The Athletics will place outfielder Stephen Piscotty on the 10-day injured list due to a high ankle sprain, manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle).  Piscotty was seen in the clubhouse prior to Sunday’s game wearing a walking boot on his right foot, MLB.com’s Chris Haft writes.

Piscotty originally suffered the injury back on August 17, after making a slide into second base.  He missed one game but then returned to the lineup, as it seemed like the A’s hoped a light schedule (off-days on both Monday and Friday) this week would help Piscotty heal up without an IL stint.  However, he’ll now head back to the injured list for the second time this season.

The outfielder has hit .252/.312/.416 with 13 home runs over 389 plate appearances this season.  Despite a 41% hard-hit ball rate that ranks as the best of his career, Piscotty hasn’t been able to translate that better contact into more production at the plate, with only a .323 xwOBA (.313 wOBA), 93 wRC+ and 95 OPS+ this season, a marked dropoff from an impressive 124 OPS+/125 wRC+ performance in 2018.

Piscotty also missed all of July recovering from a right knee sprain, which allowed Mark Canha to take the bulk of playing time in Piscotty’s customary right field spot.  Canha has taken that ball and run with it, posting a .275/.390/.546 slash line and 22 homers (including the two dingers he hit today in Oakland’s 5-4 loss to the Giants).

It isn’t known how long Piscotty will be out of action, though the A’s are expecting to get another everyday outfielder back within the week as Ramon Laureano is continuing his recovery from a shin fracture.  Laureano’s return would move Canha from center field to right field until Piscotty is back, with Robbie Grossman and Chad Pinder holding the fort in left field.  Once September 1 hits, of course, the A’s will also have the benefit of some extra depth thanks to the expanded rosters.

Rangers Sign Bayron Lora

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One of the biggest names of the 2019-20 international signing class has officially put pen to paper, as 16-year-old Bayron Lora has signed with the Rangers.  (Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report the news.)  The contract will be finalized when Lora, an outfielder from the Dominican Republic, passes a physical.

This isn’t a new signing, as word broke back on July 2 that Lora agreed to a deal with Texas.  At the time, however, Lora was reportedly going to receive a $4.2MM bonus, and his final number ended up being a bit less, as Lora will now receive $3.9MM.  The Rangers entered the July 2 signing period with a total bonus pool of $5,398,300 to spend, and immediately blew by that number on just three prospects.  Besides Lara, Texas also signed young shortstops Maximo Acosta ($1.6MM) and Zion Banister ($835K) to hefty bonuses.

Some more cash was needed to finalize these signings, which was the inspiration for the Rangers’ acquisition of Nate Jones from the White Sox at the trade deadline.  Texas sent two minor leaguers to Chicago in exchange for Jones, some cash considerations to help address Jones’ contract, and $1MM in international pool money, making it one of the largest trades involving int’l pool funds since the new July 2 rules were established in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Even that extra $1MM didn’t quite cover the initial three outlays, which is likely why Lora’s bonus ended up being $300K less than expected.  The $3.9MM figure is still one of the largest bonuses of this year’s international class, befitting Lora’s prospect status.  Lora was ranked third amongst all July 2 prospects by MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez and fifth by Fangraphs, with both sites touting the youngster’s power potential.  At age 16, Lora is already 6’4″ and over 200 pounds, with what Sanchez described as “excellent bat speed.”

AL Notes: Rangers, Montero, Kiermaier, Alberto, White Sox

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Amidst a pitching staff that has continually shuffled through under-the-radar options, the Rangers have been impressed by Rafael Montero, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. A reclamation project who didn’t pitch in 2018 thanks to Tommy John srugery, Montero made a name for himself as a promising prospect in the Mets’ farm system. However, the New York organization relinquished the righty when he opted for free agency in lieu of an outright assignment. After cutting his teeth as a starting pitcher for years, the 28-year-old has transitioned to a bullpen role in Texas, where he has excelled for a team that has constructed a bullpen out of dozens of cast-offs and scrap parts. Appearing in 10 games since coming up in late July, Montero has compiled a 1.08 ERA while striking out 19 batters in 16 2/3 innings of work. He, along with the likes of Emmanuel Clase and Jonathan Hernandez, has been a second-half revelation for a team that employs an increasingly youthful bullpen after dealing Chris Martin and losing Jesse Chavez to injury. Factor in Jose Leclerc, and the Rangers may indeed have discovered some foundational bullpen pieces.

Here are all the latest updates from around the American League…

  • Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier exited Sunday’s game prematurely after crashing into the outfield wall while attempting to catch a DJ Stewart fly ball. After the game, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times offered an encouraging update on the defensive virtuoso, Tweeting that X-rays indicated no broken bones, and that Kiermaier sustained a left ribcage contusion in the collision. It seems to be a minor injury for the Rays and their center fielder, who expects to be back in the lineup after an off day tomorrow. For the time being, it appears that Kiermaier has avoided a stint on the injured list, which would have been his second this season after a thumb sprain in July.
  • In the same game, the Orioles’ Hanser Alberto sustained a knee to the head while attempting to take second base on a ball in the dirt. Manager Brandon Hyde did deliver some promising news, telling reporters (including Joe Trezza of MLB.com) that there was no evidence that the Orioles’ leading hitter suffered a concussion. Rather, it looks to be a head contusion and a cervical neck strain for Alberto. While it looks that the worst-case scenario has been avoided, it’s yet unclear what the diagnosis means for Alberto, with a recovery timeline unknown.
  • More injury news coming from Chicago, where White Sox utilityman Leury Garcia also underwent X-rays after leaving today’s game following a hit by pitch. He was struck in the lower left leg while trying to bunt against the Rangers’ Emmanuel Clase. After the game, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reported that X-rays came back negative and that Garcia’s injuries did not extend beyond a left shin contusion. He’ll be day-to-day for the South Siders, who will have an off day tomorrow before hosting the Twins for a three-game set.

Rangers Outright Shane Carle

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On Sunday the Rangers announced that right-handed pitcher Shane Carle has been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. He had been designated for assignment on Friday.

Carle, 27, will remain in the Texas organization, though he’ll no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. Since he was acquired from the Braves, he has pitched out of the Triple-A bullpen and has yet to appear in a Major League game for the Rangers.

After a 2018 season in which Carle posted a 2.86 ERA for Atlanta, he fell out of the organization’s good graces after he regressed to a 9.64 mark in six games this year. During his career year in 2018, Carle was an interesting case, tallying relatively few strikeouts (6.1 K/9) compared to high walk totals. His 1.59 K:BB ratio alone may have been interpreted as a red flag that his sub-3.00 ERA wouldn’t hold up in the long run. However, his value came from an extreme groundball tendency that greatly limited home runs, as he allowed just two round-trippers in 63 innings of work. Despite the unspectacular strikeout and walk numbers, that ability to keep the ball in the yard contributed to a 3.54 FIP. While still a notch below his ERA, that’s a solid mark that is usually enough to hold a spot in a Major League bullpen.

This season, though, Carle’s carrying skill vanished entirely while his shortcomings were exaggerated. In just six games of work with the Braves, Carle surrendered more home runs (3) than the entire season prior. While his strikeouts remained essentially unchanged, his walks ballooned to untenable levels, conceding nine bases on balls in 9 1/3 innings. That was enough to earn him a demotion to the minors, though his performance didn’t quite return to ideal levels.

Blue Jays Announce Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Blue Jays made a series of roster moves on Sunday, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The club has optioned pitchers Brock Stewart and Justin Shafer, allowing for the activation of Clay Buchholz from the injured list and Ken Giles from the paternity list. In addition, right-hander Nick Kingham has been designated for assignment.

Buchholz last pitched for the Jays on May 5, before a shoulder strain forced him onto the 60-day injured list and kept him out of commission for more more than three months. After completing a rehab assignment in which he made three starts, the veteran will rejoin the Toronto rotation in time to start Sunday’s game. He’ll certainly face some restrictions in his workload as he works back into Major League action; his pitch count maxed out at 67 during his rehab.

After a resurgent season in Arizona last year, Buchholz hasn’t gotten much of a chance to ingratiate himself to the Toronto organization, having made just five starts with his new club. However, that five-game sample hasn’t given the Blue Jays much to be optimistic about, as Buchholz has managed to strike out just 4.4 batters per nine innings, fueling an unimpressive 5.67 FIP. Regardless, he’ll have just over a month to straighten things out and make good on the $3MM contract he earned last winter.

Giles, meanwhile, will return to the Toronto bullpen after a few days away from the game. He’s been far and away the Jays’ most reliable pitcher, enjoying his best season since he was traded out of Philadelphia. In 40 innings this year, he’s posted a 1.80 ERA while striking out batters at a career-best rate. While the 29-year-old, who can be a free agent after next season, may not be a part of the promising Blue Jays’ future plans, he certainly provides a boon to a club that has turned some heads with its young core.

27-year-old Kingham has been on the injured list since early August owing to a strained oblique, and will now be removed from Toronto’s 40-man in favor of Buchholz. While he could remain in the organization, he’ll first need to pass through waivers. He’s already done that once this year, when the Pirates designated him and later traded him to the Blue Jays. Despite his outwardly impressive 3.00 ERA in Toronto, most indicators suggest that Kingham’s performance is roughly in line with the poor numbers that earned him a ticket out of Pittsburgh.

After more than three seasons bouncing between the ranks of the Dodgers organization, Stewart now finds himself doing more of the same, only now with Toronto. Since joining the Jays, he’s already been optioned several times, though he’s shown himself to be a serviceable long-man for the starter-thin Blue Jays. Shafer, for his part, has been a solid bullpen choice for a Toronto organization that has shuttled seemingly dozens of relievers into and out of the Major League bullpen. The 26-year-old has struck out 29 batters in 31 innings, though he has had trouble keeping the walks in check, surrendering 22 free passes for an average of 6.4 per nine innings pitched.

 

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