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West Notes: Bumgarner, Ross, Haniger, Gossett

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Giants star Madison Bumgarner is facing live hitters this weekend as he attempts to return from a shoulder injury suffered in a fateful dirt bike accident, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News and other reporters have noted. That means Bumgarner could return to game action sooner than anticipated, although manager Bruce Bochy says he doesn’t believe Bumgarner will be back before the All-Star Break. Here’s more injury news from the West divisions.

  • A pitcher whose return date appears to be closer is the Rangers’ Tyson Ross, who told reporters, including MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (on Twitter), that he’s ready to make his 2017 big-league debut. (The team hasn’t yet set a date for his first start.) The Rangers signed Ross to a one-year deal last offseason knowing it was uncertain when he’d be able to pitch after having surgery to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome. With Ross having four Triple-A rehab starts under his belt, it appears that moment is soon to arrive. Ross, of course, had a great three-year run with the Padres from 2013 through 2015, posting a 3.07 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in over 500 innings during that span. It remains to be seen how he’ll pitch after missing most of the last season and a half with arm trouble, however.
  • The Mariners have announced that they’ve activated outfielder Mitch Haniger from the 10-day DL, where he landed after suffering a strained right oblique. To clear space, the team has optioned fellow outfielder Boog Powell to Triple-A Tacoma. Haniger joined Jean Segura in getting off to a hot start to his big-league career after arriving in a big offseason trade with the Diamondbacks, but Haniger has been out since April 25. He’s batting .342/.447/.608 in his first 95 plate appearances with Seattle.
  • Athletics righty Daniel Gossett will make his big-league debut in a start Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Gossett will replace Andrew Triggs, who went on the DL Saturday with a hip injury. MLB.com rates Gossett as the Athletics’ No. 5 prospect, praising his durability and the life on his low-90s fastball. He’s produced a 3.41 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 60 2/3 innings this season for Triple-A Nashville.

Alvarez, Gray, Triggs Unlikely To Pitch Again In 2016

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The Athletics had been holding out hope for Henderson Alvarez pitching for the team in September, but manager Bob Melvin said on Tuesday that Alvarez will not pitch for the A’s in 2016 due to further setbacks in his return from 2015 shoulder surgery, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Alvarez’s rehab stint with Class-A Stockton was cut short recently, and he’ll head to Dr. James Andrews to have his shoulder evaluated, with the possibility of second shoulder operation looming, per Slusser. She adds that a second surgery could prevent Alvarez from pitching in 2017 as well.

Alvarez, 26, was non-tendered by the Marlins last offseason. While some questioned the wisdom of cutting a young starter that was only projected to earn about $4MM via arbitration and had two years of control remaining, the decision looks prudent with the benefit of hindsight. Alvarez missed much of the 2015 campaign with shoulder problems, and while he was excellent during his last healthy season — 2.65 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 53.8 percent ground-ball rate in 187 innings in 2014 — he’s now two years removed from that strong performance.

Even if Alvarez is able to avoid a second shoulder surgery, he remains a non-tender candidate after being largely unable to take the field for the past two seasons. He’s earning $4.25MM after signing a one-year deal with Oakland this winter, and the least the A’s could offer him would be 80 percent of that amount, or $3.4MM.

Beyond the unfortunate news regarding Alvarez, Slusser writes that neither Sonny Gray nor Andrew Triggs is likely to return to the Athletics’ rotation this year. Gray has been sidelined by a right forearm strain for the past month and has yet to progress to flat-ground work, according to Slusser. He’s struggled for much of the season, spending time on the DL with a strained trapezius muscle in addition to his current forearm injury. A Cy Young contender in 2015, Gray has tossed just 116 innings with a 5.74 ERA this year due largely to a massive spike in his home run rate.

Triggs, on the other hand, exited his most recent start with back pain. While hardly a household name, the March waiver claim has posted a quietly solid year in Oakland, tossing 56 1/3 innings of 4.31 ERA ball with 8.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 50.9 percent ground-ball rate. ERA estimators like FIP, xFIP and SIERA all peg Triggs for an ERA in the 3.30 range moving forward, and his quality work this season could very well have forced his way into the Oakland rotation plans in 2017.

A’s Claim Andrew Triggs From Orioles

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Andrew Triggs has been claimed off of release waivers by the A’s.  Baltimore cut Triggs from the roster late last week to make room for the addition of Pedro Alvarez.

Triggs, 27 on Wednesday, is no stranger to trades, having gone from the Royals to the Orioles in a minor trade last April.  In 2015, Triggs mowed down his Double-A competition, posting a 1.03 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.  However, it remains to be seen whether he can enjoy similar success at a higher level.  Triggs only has a cup of coffee in Triple-A on his resume with the rest of his experience coming at Double-A and lower levels.

The Orioles reportedly were hoping to re-sign Triggs on a minor league deal, but Oakland spoiled those plans.

Orioles Release Andrew Triggs

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The Orioles announced that they have released minor league right-hander Andrew Triggs in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for the newly signed Pedro Alvarez, whose one-year deal is now official. As MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko points out (links to Twitter), players can’t be designated for assignment this early in Spring Training, so the O’s will likely try to re-sign Triggs on a minor league deal. Baltimore took the same approach with lefty Chris Jones two springs ago after signing Nelson Cruz.

Triggs, a relief prospect that will turn 27 next week, was acquired by the Orioles from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations last April. The former 19th-round pick posted a strong 2.90 ERA and very briefly reached Triple-A in his final full season with the Royals organization (2014), but his previously strong K/9 rate plummeted to 5.5. Triggs experienced a huge rebound in that department in 2015, recording not only a 1.03 ERA in 61 innings at the Double-A level but also posting excellent averages of 10.3 strikeouts and 1.6 walks per nine innings. Per MLBfarm.com, Triggs also posted a gaudy 61.15 percent ground-ball rate last season. Of course, Triggs was pitching at the Double-A level for the second full season and was older than the average competition that he was facing, so one would expect fairly successful numbers.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo recently rated Triggs as the 28th-best prospect in a weak Orioles farm system, noting that his sidearm delivery created deception on a 90-94 mph fastball. Paired with a sweeping slider for which he has good feel, that helps Triggs exhibit mastery over right-handed batters. Indeed, while his work against lefties was impressive (lefties hit just .218/.295/.244 against Triggs in 2015), opposing right-handers experienced even more futility, hitting just .184/.234/.206 against Triggs. MLB.com’s scouting report notes that despite a lack of experience at the Triple-A level, Triggs shouldn’t require much more minor league time before he’s ready for a look in the Majors.

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