Injury Notes: Astros, Ray, Nimmo, Voit
The hamstring injury that prompted the Astros to scratch Gerrit Cole from yesterday’s start isn’t immediately believed to be serious, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (Twitter link, with video, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). That doesn’t necessarily preclude a trip to the injured list, but Hinch explained that Cole “doesn’t think it’s that serious.” He’ll nonetheless be tested further to ensure there’s no risk of a more substantial injury. Scratching Cole had a trickle-down effect on the pitching staff, though, as it forced Houston into a bullpen game in the second half of a Tuesday doubleheader against the White Sox. As such, deadline acquisition Joe Biagini was optioned to Triple-A in order to get a fresh arm, Cy Sneed, into the bullpen. Biagini’s trip to the minors seems likely to be brief and won’t impact his arbitration or free-agent timeline.
More on a few other noteworthy injury situations…
- Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray exited his start in Colorado on Wednesday after two innings because of back spasms. Afterward, manager Torey Lovullo told Zach Buchanan of The Athletic and other reporters he hopes Ray won’t “need to miss much time” (subscription link). The club should have a better idea of Ray’s status after he undergoes an MRI on Thursday. With Arizona already looking like a playoff long shot (it’s 3 1/2 back of a wild-card spot), it can ill afford to lose Ray for any decent chunk of time. The 27-year-old is the No. 1 starter left in a rotation that has gone through significant changes this season. Ray was a trade candidate at last month’s deadline, but he stayed put while the team instead moved ace Zack Greinke, bringing in Mike Leake and Zac Gallen to help cover for his exit. Back in May, long before the deadline, the Diamondbacks saw emergent righty Luke Weaver hit the IL with arm troubles. Weaver still hasn’t come back. There is optimism Weaver will return this season, but he’ll likely finish the year as a reliever if he does.
- Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo is within a week or ten days of launching a rehab stint, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). Of course, the most recent prior report had indicated Nimmo might already have been prepared for minor-league game action, and that obviously did not come to pass. The 26-year-old is dealing with a bulging disc in his back. While the club has thrived of late, a healthy Nimmo would be a notable roster upgrade. Injuries have been mounting for the Mets, who’ve now lost Robinson Cano and Jeff McNeil to the IL in the past couple weeks. McNeil, who was placed on the IL today due to a mild hamstring strain, may yet beat Nimmo back from the injured list, though.
- Yankees first baseman Luke Voit could begin his own rehab assignment “next week,” he said Wednesday (via George A. King III of the New York Post). That’s encouraging news for a player who has dealt with core issues since June 29 and looked like a serious candidate for season-ending sports hernia surgery not long ago.
Blake Swihart Clears Waivers, Accepts Outright Assignment
Catcher/outfielder Blake Swihart went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Reno, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports (via Twitter).
Swihart, 27, has enough service time that he could’ve rejected the assignment, but doing so would’ve meant forfeiting the remainder of this season’s $910K big league salary. He’ll now remain with the Diamondbacks through season’s end, but he’ll quite likely elect free agency this offseason, as is his right as a player with three-plus years of service who has been outrighted off the 40-man roster.
It wasn’t long ago that Swihart was widely considered to be among the game’s elite prospects. Prior to the 2015 season, each of MLB.com, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN ranked him among the game’s top 20 overall farmhands — hardly a surprise given his status as a former first-round pick who hit .293/.341/.469 in 110 games between Double-A and Triple-A as a 22-year-old in 2014.
Swihart’s bat didn’t impress much in his 2015 MLB debut, however, as he batted just .274/.319/.392 through 309 trips to the plate. More concerning, though, were the escalating questions about his defensive abilities (or lack thereof) behind the dish. The Red Sox organization began playing Swihart in left field and at first base, but he continued to work with coaches and instructors to hone his defensive chops at catcher.
Unfortunately, those concerns never really dissipated, and his sparse use in 2018 surely didn’t help matters. The Red Sox were loath to lose Swihart, who was at that point out of minor league options, but they were also reluctant to commit to him as a regular catching option. As such, Boston carried both Christian Vazquez and light-hitting Sandy Leon to open the 2018 campaign, relegating Swihart to a seldom-used third catcher and infielder/outfielder. Swihart received virtually no playing time early in the season and had tallied fewer than 100 plate appearances by the time the All-Star break rolled around. That the Red Sox effectively played the 2018 season with a 24-man roster makes last year’s World Series win all the more impressive, but Swihart’s nonexistent role surely didn’t do him any favors.
With Arizona, Swihart was used exclusively as a corner outfielder and first baseman, tallying just 70 trips to the plate over the life of 31 games in a similarly minimal role. The fact that he went unclaimed on waivers when he’s earning less than $1MM and could’ve been controlled through the 2022 season via arbitration doesn’t bode well for his chances of landing a big league contract this winter. For now, though, he’ll try to open some eyes at Triple-A in an effort to work his way back onto the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster before season’s end.
NL Notes: D-Backs/Greinke, Keller/Rodriguez, Cards, Nats
Zach Buchanan of The Athletic recently took an interesting look at the Diamondbacks‘ recently concluded experience with big-money starter Zack Greinke. While you’ll want to read the entire piece (subscription link), a few comments from team president Derrick Hall are worth highlighting here in particular. “If you’re going to make that kind of commitment, you have to be sure that it’s going to push you over the top,” said Hall of the Greinke signing. “That was clearly a lesson learned.” Though the contract didn’t exactly sink the club — Greinke generally performed to his pay grade and the Snakes were able to get some value out of the tail end — it did make it difficult for the organization to put together a complete roster that was truly competitive and surely shaped the team’s decisionmaking when it came to retaining (or not) core talent. Hall did not rule out any major future splashes, but did suggest a somewhat different strategy is likelier going forward. The Arizona org will “probably prefer spreading and balancing out those salaries more evenly,” he says, thus “making sure you have that flexibility so that, when the time comes, if you want to add more significantly, you can.”
Let’s catch up on a few notes from around the National League …
- The Pirates welcomed prized righty Mitch Keller back to the big leagues yesterday. It was a long-anticipated return after a rough showing in his initial promotion earlier this year. Keller was effective through five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits while recording four strikeouts and a pair of walks. He is now in line to get a full trial down the stretch. Before the game, the team created roster space by placing reliever Richard Rodriguez on the 10-day injured list. Rodriguez is said to be dealing with shoulder inflammation. The 29-year-old has certainly not been in top form this year, turning south after a breakout 2018 showing. While his velocity has held steady, his swinging-strike rate has plummeted from 13.8% to 9.6%. Though Rodriguez has maintained a solid 3.72 ERA, it has come in spite of his poor peripherals (7.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.9 HR/9).
- The Cardinals announced yesterday that they have relieved assistant hitting coach Mark Budaska of his duties. He’ll be replaced by Jobel Jimenez, who had served as the club’s Triple-A hitting coach prior to his promotion. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) interprets the decision as one that “underscores [the] commitment to hitting coach Jeff Albert.” Indeed, the organization is working to spread Albert’s “comprehensive offensive strategy throughout [its] system.” Albert, who has spent time in the Cardinals and Astros organizations prior to taking on the current role in the fall of 2018, discussed his philosophies with David Laurila of Fangraphs not long after getting the gig. Goold had previously examined Budaska’s importance to the Cards’ developmental system before the hiring of Albert. As for Jimenez, he’s a well-known commodity to the St. Louis front office, having spent more than a decade working on the Cardinals farm.
- Finally, the Nationals appear optimistic on the health outlooks of two superstars. The club believes it has dodged a bullet with outfielder Juan Soto, as Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic was among those to cover (Twitter links). Soto was able to participate in baseball activities yesterday after initially fearing he had suffered a significant ankle injury in his latest contest. Meanwhile, ace Max Scherzer continues to make steady progress in his quest to move past a back issue. He remains slated for a sim game and is said to be feeling well, but the team still isn’t confident of a particular timeline. ***Update: Soto is in today’s lineup, while Scherzer threw his sim game as scheduled.
Diamondbacks Designate Blake Swihart, Select Josh Rojas
The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve designated utilityman Blake Swihart for assignment and selected infielder Joshua Rojas‘ contract from Triple-A Reno.
The Swihart addition hasn’t worked out for the Diamondbacks, who acquired the former highly touted catcher from the Red Sox back in April. The 27-year-old didn’t get a great chance to establish himself as a backstop in Boston, and the same has been true in Arizona. Swihart hasn’t started a single game behind the plate as a member of the Diamondbacks, with whom he has batted a meager .136/.186/.273 in 70 plate appearances. Overall, the 2011 first-round pick is just a .243/.301/.355 hitter over 696 major league PA.
The 25-year-old Rojas is an Arizona native who’s coming up just under two weeks after he joined the team in its trade with Houston for right-handed star Zack Greinke. Rojas, who now ranks as the Diamondbacks’ 29th overall prospect at MLB.com, has slashed an outstanding .332/.418/.606 with 23 home runs and 33 steals (43 attempts) in 479 PA at the Triple-A level this season.
Diamondbacks Release Greg Holland
The Diamondbacks have released right-hander Greg Holland, officially announcing the move today after designating the reliever for assignment earlier this week.
It isn’t surprising to see Holland clear DFA waivers without a claim, as a team interested in his services can now sign him for merely a prorated portion of the minimum salary for the remainder of the season. Between guaranteed salary and already-achieved bonuses, Holland has roughly $1.08MM still owed to him, the bulk of which (subtracting the minimum salary on any new contract) will be paid by the Diamondbacks.
Finances aside, it isn’t out of the question that another team will take a chance at adding Holland, given both his career track record and the fact that he was still posting good results only weeks ago. Holland had a 2.08 ERA over his first 26 innings for the D’Backs, and as recently as July 22, had a 3.00 ERA over 33 innings. Over his last five outings, however, the righty was crushed for a 23.63 ERA and six walks with just one strikeout in 2 2/3 innings of work.
Advanced metrics raised an eyebrow at Holland’s early-season success, however, and given that Holland’s velocity and swinging-strike rate both began to drop off as the season continued, it isn’t a surprise that his numbers took a big dip. Any club looking to sign Holland would be hoping for a repeat of his late-season run in 2018, when he signed with the Nationals (after struggling with the Cardinals and being released) and proceeded to post an 0.84 ERA over 21 1/3 frames for Washington. Speculatively, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Nats themselves perhaps check in on Holland again, given that the Nationals are still looking for bullpen reinforcements.
NL West Notes: Giants, Harper, Padres, Gore, Green, D’Backs
A roller coaster of a season has seen the Giants go from league doormats to wild card contenders, while deploying a seemingly endless revolving door of outfielders along the way. With this in mind, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic looks back on the Giants’ pursuit of Bryce Harper last winter, which obviously would have completely changed the shape of the season had the future Phillie opted to come to San Francisco. While the pursuit of value signings, particularly in the outfield, have defined Farhan Zaidi’s first season running the Giants’ front office, it was Zaidi who led the interest in Harper’s services, with Giants ownership feeling that Harper’s large salary demands would’ve been somewhat offset by an increase in attendance and overall fan interest. “It’s a what-if game they’ll be playing at Oracle Park for years to come,” Pavlovic writes.
More from around the NL West…
- The Padres are shutting down MacKenzie Gore from competitive innings in the coming weeks, Jeff Saunders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes, though the star prospect will continue to throw on the side and could possibly return to help Double-A Amarillo reach their playoffs. The left-hander has tossed 99 1/3 combined innings this season at Double-A and high-A ball this season, a sizeable jump up from the 60 frames Gore tossed at A-level Fort Wayne in 2018 (and his 21 1/3 innings in rookie ball in 2017). While there aren’t any real injury concerns with Gore, San Diego is naturally being as cautious as possible with Gore’s development, given his importance to the Padres’ future plans.
- The Padres face several questions heading into the offseason, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (subscription required) addresses in a reader mailbag piece. The Padres still have to learn whether several young players, such as Francisco Mejia and Manuel Margot, can be reliable everyday big leaguers, but Lin also feels some of the uncertainty could extend to manager Andy Green. While winning wasn’t a priority in Green’s first three seasons since the team was rebuilding, more than a 52-61 mark was expected in 2019, particularly after Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. joined the roster. “Has Green proven himself particularly adept at player development or capable of steering a competitive team? No one will dispute his work ethic, but nearly four years in, the jury remains out on both counts,” Lin writes. While Green’s contract runs through the 2021 season, Lin notes that other rebuilding teams in recent years (i.e. the Cubs and Joe Maddon, the Phillies and Gabe Kapler) have made a managerial change once they felt on the cusp of returning to contention.
- Now that the Diamondbacks have dealt Zack Greinke, GM Mike Hazen estimates the team could have around $20MM in extra funds in both 2020 and 2021. “I’m assuming there’s going to be some more freedom to explore some things we haven’t explored in the past,” Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, though specifics aren’t yet known about what the club’s payroll capacity will be without Greinke on the books. 2018 and 2019 saw the D’Backs post the two highest Opening Day payrolls in club history, topping out at over $131.5MM at the start of the 2018 season. Now, the D’Backs have just under $68MM in guaranteed money for 2020, though that number will increase significantly due to arbitration raises. While it doesn’t seem likely that the Snakes will again approach $206.5MM on a future signing, Hazen didn’t feel the Greinke contract was a mistake given how well the ace righty pitched, crediting the much-maligned former D’Backs front office led by Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart. “They were right on Zack Greinke. We weren’t able to put it together the way we would have hoped while he was here,” Hazen said. “But they were right on him. It was a good deal.”
Blue Jays Claim Zack Godley
TODAY: The Jays officially added Godley to the active roster, optioning right-hander Brock Stewart to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays have claimed righty Zack Godley off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Toronto will owe Godley the remainder of his $609K salary.
It’s easy to see why the Jays took a shot on the 29-year-old Godley. In need of some additional arms to finish out the season, there’s no harm in giving him an opportunity. And the club could tender Godley a contract for 2020 if he manages to bounce back.
Make no mistake, though: it has been a rough campaign to this point for Godley. His strikeout rate has plummeted to just 6.9 K/9 after sitting at better than a batter-per-inning in the prior two seasons. Godley is giving up more homers than he had in those immediately preceding campaigns as well. The result: a 6.39 ERA over 76 innings.
A mid-season move to a multi-inning relief role did help, as Godley’s velocity turned up a bit. He held opposing hitters to a .218/.297/.414 batting line and posted an improved 28:13 K/BB ratio. But he was also tagged for seven long balls and a 4.62 ERA in his 37 relief frames.
Godley is just two years removed from an excellent 2017 campaign and also posted reasonably promising peripherals last year. But he’ll have to figure some things out if he’s to get back on an upward trajectory. Rediscovering some of the lost velo would help. He’s generating swinging-strikes at a significantly lower rate than he did in his ’17 effort (10.1% vs. 13.3%), with the difference residing almost entirely in the fact that hitters have made way more contact on pitches out of the zone. His groundball rate has sagged from 55.3% at its peak to to just 43.0% this year.
Latest On Luke Weaver, Taijuan Walker
Right-hander Luke Weaver‘s success over the first couple months of 2019 was among the most encouraging early season developments for the Diamondbacks. UCL and flexor pronator sprains cut Weaver down near the end of May, however, and he hasn’t taken a major league mound since. Finally, though, Weaver’s making “major” progress, as Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic reports. Weaver threw off flat ground Tuesday and is slated for a bullpen session Friday.
Manager Torey Lovullo called the latest development on Weaver “very good news.” The hope is that Weaver and fellow injured righty Taijuan Walker will be able to make it back to the Diamondbacks’ staff this season. Walker is approximately “10 days” behind Weaver’s program, per Lovullo. It’s been an injury-ruined couple years for the once-touted Walker, who missed almost all of last season on account of Tommy John surgery and then suffered a sprained shoulder capsule this past May. He hasn’t made a big league appearance since April 14, 2018.
If Weaver and Walker do factor back into the mix for Arizona this year, they’ll likely do so as relievers, Morin relays. There probably isn’t enough time for either to work their way back as starters in 2019. It’s fair to say their absences are among the reasons the Diamondbacks (57-57) are 2 1/2 games out of a National League wild-card spot instead of in playoff position right now. After all, the club has struggled for most of the season to fill out its staff with capable starters. Plus, at least on paper, losing Zack Greinke while gaining Mike Leake and Zac Gallen at the July-ending trade deadline should make matters that much more difficult.
Regardless of whether Weaver pitches again this season, Arizona likely believes it has a long-term building block on its hands in the soon-to-be 26-year-old. Acquired with now-breakout catcher Carson Kelly from the Cardinals in last winter’s Paul Goldschmidt blockbuster, Weaver has recorded a terrific 3.02 ERA/3.11 FIP with 9.82 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings this season. Weaver’s not on track to become eligible for arbitration until after next season or a free agent until the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. If healthy, he could help ease the pain of Greinke’s exit in the years ahead.
Diamondbacks Designate Greg Holland, Reinstate Blake Swihart
4:30pm: Arizona has announced Holland’s DFA and reinstated Blake Swihart from the 60-day injured list, thus filling his spot on the 25-man and 40-man rosters.
10:07am: The Diamondbacks will designate veteran reliever Greg Holland for assignment, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter). Holland cannot be traded out of DFA limbo but can be claimed by a rival organization.
It’s somewhat difficult, but not impossible, to imagine another club stepping into the shoes of the Holland contract. He’s due the remainder of a $3.25MM guarantee and is also in line to pick up some added bonuses. Having already finished 27 games over forty appearances, Holland is already owed an additional $650K by the Snakes. He can still earn another $100K upon throwing in his 45th and 50th games along with $200K apiece if he reaches 55 and 60. There are also additional potential earnings for further games finished — not that a contender would be likely to utilize Holland in the ninth inning.
If he clears waivers, the 33-year-old Holland will either be released or have the right to elect free agency by virtue of his service time. Regardless, the D-Backs would remain on the hook for all that’s still owed to Holland — except for a pro-rated portion of the league-minimum salary for any time the veteran spends pitching for another team.
Holland seemed to be humming along nicely through June, at which point he had secured a dozen saves and thrown 27 innings of 2.33 ERA ball. As we explained when the struggles began, there were plenty of warning signs of good old-fashioned regression but no particular indications that Holland would completely fall apart.
The situation has simply not improved since. Over his 8 2/3 frames of work since the calendar flipped to July, Holland has dished out eleven free passes to go with nine strikeouts. Opposing batters have plated eleven earned runs. And though he posted a run of five consecutive saves in the midst of that stretch, Holland was removed from the ninth after a pair of brutal late-July appearances against the Marlins.
Even as the results have suffered, Holland has seen his velocity embark upon a steady downturn — with a corresponding decline in the swings and misses against his four-seamer. That fact will surely weigh heavily in the minds of organization’s considering a move for the once-great closer, who has had some stretches of good work in recent years while struggling to maintain consistency.
D-Backs Announce Pitching Roster Moves
The Diamondbacks announced a series of pitching moves. Heading onto the roster are lefty Robby Scott and righty Kevin Ginkel. The latter had to be added to the 40-man roster.
Clearing the 40-man spot was accomplished by designating Zack Godley for assignment, as expected. To procure an additional active roster spot, righty Taylor Clarke was optioned down.
Ginkel, 25, heads up to the bigs for the first time after an impressive showing in the upper minors this year. In 35 1/3 total frames on the season, he carries a 1.78 ERA with an eye-popping 16.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Ginkel has allowed only 19 base hits.