Minor MLB Transactions: 7/7/19
Here are the latest moves from around the minors…
- Cody Decker is retiring from pro baseball, as officially confirmed by the Triple-A Reno Aces. The 32-year-old Decker ended his career on a remarkable high note, hitting a walkoff homer on Friday to end his final game. A UCLA product who was selected in the 22nd round of the 2009 draft by the Padres, Decker logged 3843 plate appearances over 1033 games in the minor leagues. After spending his first seven years in San Diego’s farm system, Decker bounced around to five other organizations within the last four seasons, including two years in Reno, the Diamondbacks‘ top affiliate. Though Decker’s only MLB experience consisted of eight games for the Padres in 2015 (that saw him go hitless in 11 at-bats), his lengthy minor league career and colorful personality made him something of a folk hero to teammates and fans. Decker hit .260/.341/.517 in the minors, and his 204 homers were the most of any active minor leaguer. We at MLBTR wish Decker the best in his post-playing career!
- The Rays have signed right-hander Jason Garcia to a minor league deal. The move was announced by the Twitter feed of the independent American Association, as Garcia had been pitching for the Sioux City team since being let go by the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate last season. Originally a 17th-round pick for the Red Sox in 2010, Garcia has a 4.94 ERA, 1.58 K/BB rate, and a 7.2 K/9 over 526 career innings in the minors, though he had posted some strong numbers for Sioux City (including a 2.73 ERA over 56 frames this season). Garcia’s only taste of the big leagues was back in 2015, when he posted a 4.25 ERA over 29 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles.
Diamondbacks Place David Peralta On Injured List
The Diamondbacks placed left fielder David Peralta on the 10-day injured list and recalled infielder Domingo Leyba from Triple-A Reno on Friday, manager Torey Lovullo announced.
Peralta is dealing with right AC joint inflammation, an issue that has dogged him for over a month. The 31-year-old went to the IL with the same injury on May 24, and even though Peralta spent the minimum time on the shelf, his shoulder hasn’t healed since then. Lovullo did express hope Friday that Peralta would once again return after a short IL stay, though.
Peralta boasted a .309/.357/.524 line in 217 plate appearances when he initially went down, but that slash has dropped to .289/.352/.476 (112 wRC+) in 107 PA since his return. While that’s still quality production overall, it falls well short of Peralta’s numbers in comparison to last year, when he recorded a 130 wRC+ with 30 home runs. He has mustered just nine HRs this season while seeing his ISO drop from .223 to .187.
Arizona, which is three games out of the NL wild-card race, has often turned to the righty-hitting Tim Locastro in left when Peralta hasn’t been available. However, with right-hander Antonio Senzatela on the mound for the Rockies on Friday, the Diamondbacks started the lefty-swinging Jarrod Dyson.
Closer Updates: Athletics, D-Backs, Royals
Let’s check in on a few ninth-inning situations from around the game …
- The Athletics are engineering a change in their closer situation, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Just-minted All-Star Liam Hendriks is going to be relied upon to secure final-inning leads for the foreseeable future, she indicates. Blake Treinen had performed the job with aplomb last year but hasn’t been nearly so trustworthy in 2019. He has been issuing a dizzying number of walks of late and took a loss in his most recent appearance after returning from a brief injured-list stint. Hendriks, meanwhile, is humming along at a 1.29 ERA clip through 48 2/3 innings, with 11.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. He has only permitted a single long ball this year, with a paltry 1.8% HR/FB rate. That’ll need to hold up, at least to some extent, if he’s to succeed with an exceptionally flyball heavy approach; his current 0.56 GB/FB rate is by far the lowest in his career.
- While Greg Holland was and probably still is at risk of losing his hold on the 9th with the Diamondbacks, he’ll still be in line for save duties unless and until we hear otherwise. Skipper Torey Lovullo tells reporters, including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link), that he won’t “run from” the veteran reliever — even after a pair of brutal outings. Last we checked, Lovullo was sleeping on the decision so he could make it “with a clear head.” It seems he wasn’t quite ready to open that can of worms. The team would no doubt prefer for Holland to work through things, as we explored in the above-linked post. Another factor: the alternatives, or lack thereof. It has been an off year for Archie Bradley, though he fares much better in the eyes of fielding-independent pitching metrics than his 5.21 ERA would suggest. It’s the opposite scenario for Yoan Lopez, who has secured excellent results despite a pedestrian 6.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9. There’s an argument for Andrew Chafin (3.03 ERA; 11.2 K/9 vs. 3.3 BB/9) and perhaps Yoshihisa Hirano, who long closed in Japan, but it isn’t as if there’s a single, clear alternative to Holland.
- In more forward-looking news, surprise Royals closer Ian Kennedy is settling nicely into his new gig, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. “I]t’s fun to be good at something again and contribute,” says the former starter. While his big contract will run out after 2020, the 34-year-old Kennedy says he anticipates continuing his career thereafter. “You can sign one-year or two-year deals,” he explains, “because even though you’re older, teams know you can still pitch and help a team. You look around the league and you see that all the time.” We’re still a ways away from considering Kennedy as a free agent, but perhaps he will have a shot at a productive run through his mid to late-thirties. Of more immediate concern for the foundering K.C. club is whether Kennedy can be turned into a trade chip. With $16.5MM salaries this year and next, there’s little chance of moving all of the money, but Kennedy’s relief revival makes it reasonable to expect that some kind of deal can be structured to save the rebuilding organization some cash.
Arizona May Have Its Long-Term Catcher
The Cardinals spent a second-round pick on catcher Carson Kelly in 2012 and saw him continue as a strong prospect in the ensuing years, but he never got a chance to shine as a Redbird. Kelly was instead stuck in the shadow of franchise icon Yadier Molina, who further solidified his place in the organization with a three-year, $60MM extension at the outset of the 2017 season. With Molina locked in at high prices through 2020, the Cardinals finally decided last offseason that Kelly was expendable. They traded the 24-year-old to the Diamondbacks in a package for superstar first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who has fallen short of expectations in his first few months in St. Louis.
Unlike Goldschmidt, Kelly has thrived in his new environment. Serving as the Diamondbacks’ primary catcher, Kelly has slashed .275/.352/.538 (123 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 193 plate appearances. Most of the right-handed Kelly’s damage at the plate has come versus lefty pitchers, whom he has destroyed for a line of .383/.473/.766 over a small sample of 55 PA, though he has also been playable against righties. Thanks in part to his impressive offensive output, Kelly has already totaled 1.7 fWAR, which ties for seventh among catchers and happens to easily outdo the minus-0.2 Molina has mustered to this point. It even upstages Goldschmidt’s 0.7.
Adding to his value, Kelly has been an outstanding defender in his first year in the desert. That isn’t necessarily a surprise, as Kelly was a lauded backstop during his days as a prospect. Nevertheless, the fact that he’s delivering in that area in his first extensive action in the majors is no doubt comforting to the Diamondbacks.
According to Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric, only 15 catchers have been superior defenders to Kelly this season. He’s the game’s sixth-best blocker and its 24th-ranked pitch framer, per BP, and has also held his own at the less obscure art of throwing out runners. Kelly has caught 9 of 25 would-be base stealers, giving him a 36 percent success rate which ranks 9 percent better than the league-average mark.
While Kelly does indeed look like a legitimate starting catcher, the question is whether he’s this good. On the offensive side, probably not, says Statcast, which indicates there has been substantial luck behind his .368 weighted on-base average. Kelly’s wOBA places him in company with All-Star Gary Sanchez, yet his .311 expected xwOBA aligns him with Tyler Flowers and puts him in the majors’ 30th percentile. Kelly’s also below average in terms of expected batting average (16th percentile), expected slugging percentage (42nd), hard-hit rate (48th) and exit velocity (48th). That said, catchers don’t have to be offensive juggernauts – especially when they’re as adept as Kelly is behind the plate. Backing up BP’s framing numbers, Statcast places Kelly in the league’s 96th percentile in that area.
Although Kelly’s production as a hitter this year may not be sustainable, you don’t need to be a force at the plate to serve as a quality starting catcher. Just 18 backstops, Kelly included, have cleared the 1.0-fWAR bar this season. Furthermore, even if Kelly’s offense wanes, his defensive chops give him a high floor which could help make him the Diamondbacks’ answer at his position for the foreseeable future. Kelly won’t be eligible for arbitration until after 2020 or free agency until the conclusion of the 2024 campaign, so Arizona may not have to look for another primary catcher for a while.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Greg Holland’s Closer Job At Risk After 2nd Consecutive Blown Save
Diamondbacks reliever Greg Holland‘s hold on the club’s closer role appears to be tenuous after a second-straight blown save. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes, skipper Torey Lovullo declined last night to confirm that the veteran hurler will keep the job moving forward.
To his credit, Lovullo wasn’t willing to make a rash decision in the immediate aftermath of another late-inning collapse. “I’m in an emotional state right now,” he said. “I want to probably think through it with a clear head.”
At the same time, the skipper acknowledge that he’s “concerned” with his veteran closer. That stands in contrast to Lovullo’s words after Holland’s hard-to-watch meltdown the night prior, when he nearly shut the door on the rival Dodgers before summoning a cavalcade around the bases with a series of free passes.
As Piecoro documents, Holland’s steady start to the year has given way to increasingly shaky performances. He has blown three of his last five save opportunities. Since a scoreless appearance against the Los Angeles club on June 5th, Holland’s earned run average has shot up from 1.31 to 3.21. Worse, he has managed just five strikeouts against seven walks in that 7 1/3-inning span.
It’s not entirely surprising that Holland has failed to sustain the early success. He’s no longer a dominating pitcher: his arm speed continues to trail off (career-low 92.2 average fastball, 84.8 mph slider) and his swinging-strike rate has fallen to levels (12.3%) not seen since his debut campaign. Free passes continue to be an issue, with Holland dishing out 5.2 per nine since the start of the 2015 season.
That said, there was (and perhaps still is) hope that Holland would be a key piece for the Snakes the rest of the way. Statcast suggests that he has been legitimately excellent at limiting hard contact, crediting him with a .253 xwOBA-against that is actually a shade better than his .256 wOBA-against.
No matter the course the team takes, Holland is an important player to the organization. Should the club elect to hang in there and continue fighting, despite a yawning divisional deficit and tough Wild Card competition, then it’ll need to take more than its fair share of tight contests. If it decides instead to cash in some chips at the deadline, Holland would be the team’s most obvious rental piece to sell. The difficulties, then, come at an awkward time for Arizona. At the moment, Holland is neither helping the team keep pace nor boosting his own trade value.
While it’d be silly to overplay the notion of the proven closer, contending teams still value late-inning experience and steadiness (and not all that infrequently will give up notable prospects in search of certainty in the 9th). Now, it’s increasingly hard to imagine the Arizona franchise successfully marketing Holland as a reliable veteran who could handle closing duties down the stretch.
Holland is guaranteed only $3.25MM on the year and needs not feature as a closer to have trade appeal. But that’s where his greatest potential value lies to the team. Odds are, he’ll be given a shot to regain his standing over the next several weeks even if he’s removed temporarily from the role.
There are also some direct financial considerations worthy of note. With thirty appearances and twenty games finished, Holland is also already in the meat of his contract’s incentive package. He has already picked up $300K in extra earnings. He can earn $100K upon reaching 35, 40, 45, and 50 appearances, with $200K apiece if he logs a 55th and 60th. And there’s $150K promised for finishing games number 25, 30, 35, and 40, with even bigger numbers thereafter ($300K at 45 and 50, $600K for 55 and 60).
Injury Notes: Lowrie, Manaea, D-backs, Scooter, Tigers
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Mets infielder Jed Lowrie still isn’t close to making his 2019 debut, manager Mickey Callaway told Tim Healey of Newsday and other reporters Wednesday. Lower body injuries have kept Lowrie from playing this season after he joined the Mets on a two-year, $20MM contract over the winter. With the season now at the halfway point, Callaway doesn’t even seem willing to commit to Lowrie taking the field at all in 2019. Asked if he expects to see Lowrie this year, Callaway said: “That’s hard to say. There’s so much of the season left. We’ll just have to play that by ear.”
MLB Draft Signings: 7/3/19
We’ll use this post to track the latest noteworthy draft signings. Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500, Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law …
- The Diamondbacks have a $750K deal with southpaw Tommy Henry, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). The 74th overall selection came with a $844K slot value, so there are some savings here for the team to work with. Henry recently capped a strong season with an excellent showing in the College World Series. Now, he’ll launch his pro career with the Arizona organization. Henry ranked just inside the top 50 among all draft prospects on the BA board, with MLB.com (#59) and Fangraphs (#64) generally concurring with that range of placement. While there were some ups and downs in Henry’s arsenal over the course of the 2019 campaign, he’s said to command a strong, three-pitch mix at his best.
Pitcher Notes: Scherzer, Tigers, Archer, Angels, D-backs
Washington is visiting Detroit, where current Nationals ace Max Scherzer will start against his former team Sunday. Scherzer blossomed into a star as a member of the Tigers, with whom he won his first Cy Young Award in 2013. At the conclusion of the next season, though, Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210MM contract with the Nationals after rejecting a $144MM extension from the Tigers. Scherzer, now a three-time Cy Young winner and a potential Hall of Famer, reflected on his Detroit departure Saturday, saying (via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News): “That’s just the business side. I didn’t feel slighted. That stuff just all takes care of itself. I don’t hold any grudges or anything like. When I look back on my time in Detroit, I have great memories here and great friends.” Scherzer also noted he and fellow righty Anibal Sanchez, teammates in Detroit and again in D.C., still lament they were never able to win a World Series with the Tigers. The club clinched playoff spots from 2011-14, each of the four seasons Scherzer and Sanchez were part of its rotation. Those teams earned one World Series berth, falling to the Giants in a 2012 sweep.
More on a few other pitchers…
- Pirates righty Chris Archer left his start against the Brewers on Friday after just four innings with left hip discomfort. However, it’s still unclear whether he’ll require a stint on the injured list. The club will reevaluate Archer when it returns to Pittsburgh on Monday, according to Adam Berry of MLB.com. Archer was already on the IL earlier this season with a thumb injury, and has come up well short of expectations when healthy. The 30-year-old has managed a discouraging 5.50 ERA/5.77 FIP in 73 2/3 innings.
- Angels righty JC Ramirez is at least one more rehab start from making his 2019 MLB debut, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Ramirez, who’s working back from April 2018 Tommy John surgery, made his fifth rehab start Saturday and threw five innings of two-run ball for Triple-A Salt Lake. His average fastball was sitting in the 88 to 91 mph range, according to Salt Lake broadcaster Steve Klauke. That’s down significantly from the 95.5 mean Ramirez posted in 2017, the last time he logged extensive major league action.
- Injured Diamondbacks righty Jon Duplantier‘s most recent MRI on his shoulder yielded positive news, manager Torey Lovullo announced Saturday (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Still, the Diamondbacks aren’t any closer to determining how much more time Duplantier will miss. The 24-year-old has already sat out almost three weeks, having gone on the IL on June 12. With Luke Weaver and Taijuan Walker also injured, the Diamondbacks have cycled through Taylor Clarke, Zack Godley and Alex Young at the back of their rotation during Duplantier’s absence. Clarke and Godley have struggled mightily, though the former did turn in a solid five innings in a win over the Dodgers on Wednesday. Young just made his MLB debut Thursday and tossed five innings of one-run ball in a victory over San Francisco.
Diamondbacks To Activate Jake Lamb, Select Alex Young
TODAY: The D’Backs have officially announced that Young’s contract has been selected. Stefan Crichton was optioned to Triple-A and Steven Souza Jr. was moved to the 60-day injured list to create the necessary roster space for Young to join the club.
YESTERDAY: Diamondbacks corner infielder Jake Lamb will return Wednesday after a long stay on the injured list, manager Torey Lovullo told Zach Buchanan of The Athletic and other reporters. Lovullo also announced the Diamondbacks plan to select Triple-A left-hander Alex Young to start in San Francisco on Thursday. Arizona will need to make a corresponding 40-man move when it officially adds Young.
This will go down as the second straight truncated season for Lamb, a 2017 All-Star third baseman whose 2018 concluded after 56 games because of left shoulder surgery. Lamb came back this year to suffer a Grade 2 left quad strain in early April, knocking him out for almost three months.
The 28-year-old Lamb has been a regular presence in the Diamondbacks’ lineup for a large portion of his career. However, playing time may not be as easy to come by for him this season. Third baseman Eduardo Escobar has been one of the Diamondbacks’ best players, while Christian Walker has held his own at first base since Lamb went down. The Diamondbacks could shift Escobar to second base and Ketel Marte to center field to create opportunities for Lamb, writes the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, though he notes that looks infeasible at the moment with Marte’s recovering from a groin injury. Lovullo’s unsure when Marte will be able to return to the outfield, per Piecoro.
Young joined the Diamondbacks as a high draft pick in 2015, when they used the 43rd overall choice on him. Despite Young’s draft pedigree, he doesn’t rank among the D-backs’ top 32 prospects at FanGraphs or their top 30 at MLB.com. The 25-year-old has been pitching with Reno of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League since last season, and has combined for a 6.01 ERA with 8.4 K/9 an 3.3 BB/9 in 134 2/3 innings at the level.
Young’s promotion will be Arizona’s latest attempt to get passable production from the back end of its rotation. Zack Godley and Taylor Clarke haven’t been able to step up during the injury-forced absences of Luke Weaver, Taijuan Walker and Jon Duplantier.
Luke Weaver Making Progress
Arm problems have kept Diamondbacks starter Luke Weaver out of action for almost a month, but the right-hander’s seemingly moving toward a return. A follow-up MRI on Weaver “showed improvement,” Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. It’s still unclear when he’ll begin a throwing program, per Gilbert, though manager Torey Lovullo called Weaver’s progress “a very good sign.”
An injury to Weaver’s right ulnar collateral ligament and flexor pronator could have sent him to the operating table at the end of May, but a group of doctors agreed he could try to rehab without surgery. So far, so good for Weaver and the Diamondbacks, who can ill afford to see the 25-year-old go under the knife. The club’s starting staff has already been without the injured Taijuan Walker, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2018 and has more recently battled shoulder problems. Plus, in addition to Weaver and Walker, the team put fellow promising righty Jon Duplantier on the injured list June 12 with shoulder inflammation.
The absences of Weaver, Walker and Duplantier have left sizable holes in Arizona’s rotation after Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray and Merrill Kelly, helping to explain its recent slide down the standings. Having received unappealing results from Zack Godley and Taylor Clarke, the Diamondbacks are an unimpressive 39-40. However, they’re still just two games behind the Cardinals for the NL’s second wild-card spot.
Should the D-backs continue to hang around the playoff picture, a healthy Weaver could serve as an important in-season reinforcement. Acquired from the Cardinals last winter in a package for first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Weaver has pitched to an outstanding 3.03 ERA/3.07 FIP with 9.82 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings this season in his first action in the desert.