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Bullpen Notes: Pomeranz, Clippard, Scrubb, Braves

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Drew Pomeranz has been sidelined due to tightness in his left forearm, but testing revealed no structural problems.  (MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell was among those to report the news.)  The Padres southpaw hasn’t pitched since March 9 but the team is hoping Pomeranz can return to action in the coming week.  Pomeranz has dealt with his share of injury problems in the past — including a 10-day IL stint due to a shoulder strain last season — but not the sort of forearm/elbow issues that can sometimes be an ominous precursor to Tommy John surgery.

Fortunately, it seems as though Pomeranz and the Padres have avoided the worst, though it isn’t yet known if Pomeranz’s absence from spring games could require some extra ramp-up time via an injured-list stint at the beginning of the season.  The left-hander’s first season in San Diego was a dominant one, as Pomeranz posted a 1.45 ERA/3.11 SIERA and a whopping 39.7K% over 18 2/3 innings in the regular season, and then four scoreless innings over five games during San Diego’s postseason run.

More from the relief pitching beat…

  • Tyler Clippard didn’t retire any of seven batters faced during yesterday’s outing, and the Diamondbacks said the veteran reliever was suffering from right shoulder discomfort.  “He just felt the discomfort as the inning was building,” manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters, adding that more will be known about Clippard’s condition after examinations from team trainers.  Clippard signed a one-year deal worth $2.25MM in guaranteed money last month, and is expected to work as a setup man behind Joakim Soria or perhaps grab some save opportunities himself.  [UPDATE: Clippard is getting an MRI on his shoulder, The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan tweets.]
  • Andre Scrubb was removed from the Astros’ Grapefruit League game yesterday due to right shoulder soreness.  Catcher Martin Maldonado summoned a trainer to the mound to check on Scrubb, and manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that Maldonado “noticed a change in his velocity.”  More will be known about Scrubb’s condition after medical tests are taken, though even a brief injury setback could hurt his chances of winning a job on the Astros’ Opening Day roster.  The righty made his MLB debut last season and posted a 1.90 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with Houston, but had a lot of control issues, recording almost as many walks (20) as strikeouts (24).
  • After some notable bullpen departures in the offseason, the Braves might yet need to add some relief pitching at the trade deadline, though “We’re going to need some good stories there to have a deep group,” president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  With Shane Greene still unsigned and Darren O’Day and Mark Melancon now pitching elsewhere, others “all get elevated now into more important roles, so now everybody moves up a little bit.”  Namely, A.J. Minter, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, and (perhaps most importantly) prospective closer Will Smith will all be asked to match or better their 2020 numbers.  The Braves have some other interesting relief names on hand, but Anthopoulos said “we need some of these other young guys to take a step” in order to have a satisfactory amount of depth.

NL East Health Notes: Soroka, Phillies, Nats, D. Smith

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Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos told Fox Sports South that right-hander Mike Soroka could make his season debut in mid-April, David O’Brien of The Athletic relays. Soroka got through his third simulated game of the spring without any issues Friday. The 23-year-old remains on the comeback trail from a torn right Achilles that limited him to three starts last season. Before that, Soroka burst on the scene with 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA pitching in 2019.

More from the National League East:

  • Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto played a sim game Friday and could make his Grapefruit League debut next week, manager Joe Girardi announced (via Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer). The star has been on the mend from a fractured right thumb. Girardi added that outfielder Adam Haseley is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from a groin strain. Haseley, who went down March 5, hasn’t officially been ruled out for Opening Day.
  • Sticking with the Phillies, righty Vince Velasquez has an oblique injury, Girardi told Matt Gelb of The Athletic and other reporters. The severity is unknown, but oblique injuries often lead to absences that last for multiple weeks. It could be another shot to Philly’s staff, which has also seen Zach Eflin and Spencer Howard deal with injuries this spring. Velasquez could be their fifth starter to open 2021 if Eflin and Howar aren’t ready to go. In the event all three are shelved, though, it might open the door for veteran minor league addition Ivan Nova to claim a job.
  • Nationals center fielder Victor Robles exited Friday’s game with back tightness, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. It doesn’t seem particularly serious, but the Nats will know more Saturday. Meanwhile, it was an encouraging day for righty Stephen Strasburg, who got through a 74-pitch sim game without any problems, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. A calf injury has slowed Strasburg this spring, after the former World Series MVP missed almost all of 2020 – the first season of a seven-year, $245MM contract – with carpal tunnel syndrome.
  • Mets slugger Dominic Smith informed Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and other reporters that he could return to Grapefruit League action as early as Sunday. Smith, the favorite to start in left field for the Mets, has been dealing with a right wrist issue that has sidelined him for the past couple of the days. He posted back-to-back excellent seasons at the plate from 2019-20, during which he combined for a .299/.366/.571 line with 21 home runs in 396 PA.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/16/21

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The latest minor moves from around the majors…

  • The Braves have reached a minor league agreement with right-handed reliever Chasen Bradford, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. Bradford has appeared in a total of three major league seasons between the Mets and Mariners, logging a 3.89 ERA with a below-average strikeout rate (17.2 percent) and a solid walk rate (7.0 percent) across 104 innings. Along with limiting walks, the 31-year-old has induced grounders at an impressive 50.3 percent clip, which has helped him keep opposing offenses off the board. But Bradford underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2019 campaign and hasn’t pitched in the bigs since June of that season.

NL Notes: Mike Soroka’s Return, Cardinals’ Rotation Health

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Alex Anthopolous spoke to Craig Mish of Sportsgrid about when Mike Soroka might be ready to return to a big-league mound. Anthopolous suggested he’ll be more-or-less ready in April, and though it sounds like he isn’t likely to be on the opening day roster, joining the club before the end of the season’s first month appears likely. That’s great news for an Atlanta rotation that’s looking better by the day. Max Fried remains at the top of their projected pitching staff, while Ian Anderson continues to look the part of a Major League hurler. In the meantime…

  • Huascar Ynoa, Kyle Wright, and Bryse Wilson continue to compete to be Soroka’s understudy. Because of the way the schedule shakes out, the Braves could open the season with a four-man rotation of Fried, Anderson, Charlie Morton, and Drew Smyly. But one of Ynoa, Wright, and Wilson would still likely make the team in that case as a long-man out of the pen, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. All three young pitchers have some experience in that role, but Ynoa, in particular, has struggled somewhat pitching deep into games, which the Braves are monitoring closely this spring, writes Bowman. If the Braves prefer Ynoa as a couple-innings-at-a-time-type arm out of the pen, that could bode well for his chances to make the opening day roster.
  • The Cardinals, meanwhile, might be without yet another starter when the season opens. Manager Mike Shildt put Kwang Hyun Kim in the same camp as Miles Mikolas concerning their readiness for opening day. Kim missed his most recent start after his back tightened up on him during a bullpen session, per MLB.com’s Jeff Jones (Twitter links). There’s not much concern long-term regarding Kim’s health, but there are now a couple of open rotation spots behind Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty and Carlos Martinez. John Gant is the favorite to nab one of those two spots, with Daniel Ponce de Leon, Jake Woodford and Johan Oviedo among the candidates to start games early in the year.
  • The Cardinals have come to terms with 24 pre-arbitration players, per Jones (via Twitter). This is notable because it means they didn’t have to renew anyone’s contract, an option that teams retain under the current arbitration system. While pre-arbitration players don’t have the right to arbitration yet, they do still have to come to terms on a new deal each season. In cases where an agreement can’t be made, the team can unilaterally renew a player’s contract. The Cardinals had had to renew contracts in the past for Flaherty and Jordan Hicks, and while it’s hard to quantify long-term damage, it certainly paints a poor portrait of team-player relations. It is a good sign, in this case, that the Cardinals found common ground with all of their pre-arbitration players.

Nick Markakis Retires

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Veteran outfielder Nick Markakis is calling it a career after 15 seasons at the Major League level, he tells David O’Brien and Dan Connolly of The Athletic. The 37-year-old says he made up his mind shortly after the postseason ended and did not pursue any opportunities this winter. “My No. 1 decision and my main focus on this is obviously my kids and my family,” Markakis said, adding that he’s both fortunate and thankful to have been able to play the game as long as he has.

Nick Markakis | Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The seventh overall  pick back in 2003, Markakis spent fewer than three years in the minors before debuting as a 22-year-old and never looking back. He hit .291/.351/.448 in 147 games and finished sixth in 2006 American League Rookie of the Year voting with the Orioles, setting the stage for a nine-year run of strong play with the organization which originally drafted him.

Baltimore signed Markakis to a six-year, $66MM extension that covered the 2009-14 seasons, keeping him with the O’s for three would-be free agent seasons. Markakis helped the Orioles to playoff berths in 2012 and in 2014, and in total he posted a strong .290/.358/.435 slash through 5966 plate appearances as an Oriole, winning two Gold Gloves along the way.

Free agency took Markakis to his native Georgia, however, as he inked a four-year, $44MM contract to join an up-and-coming Braves club as their primary right fielder. He spent his next (and final) six seasons in Atlanta, batting a combined .283/.357/.402 and making his lone All-Star appearance with the ’18 Braves — a season in which he also took home a Silver Slugger Award and his third career Gold Glove.

Markakis was a workhorse both in Baltimore and Atlanta, averaging 151 games played from his 2006 debut up through the 2019 season. His only two injuries of note were a fractured hamate bone 2012 and a fractured wrist in 2019. He played in all 162 games of the 2018 season — one of seven seasons in which the ultra-durable Markakis played at least 160 games.

All in all, Markakis will wrap up his career as a .288/.357/.423 batter over the life of 9321 plate appearances. He racked up 2388 hits along the way, including 189 home runs, 514 doubles and 22 triples to go along with 66 steals, 1046 runs batted in and 1119 runs scored. Always somewhat of an under-the-radar star, Markakis derived much of his value from strong on-base percentages and terrific defense for much of his career — one that was valued at 28.7 wins above replacement by FanGraphs and 34 WAR by Baseball-Reference. Markakis earned more than $120MM over 15 seasons in the big leagues and will be remembered as a beloved member of two franchises.

Pitching Notes: Gallen, Greene, Braves, Pearson, H. Harvey

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The Diamondbacks renewed right-hander Zac Gallen’s contract on Thursday, meaning he’ll earn roughly the major league minimum of $570.5K this season. That’s standard operating procedure for most teams when it comes to players who aren’t yet eligible for arbitration, though Gallen said it “wasn’t fair based on my performance last year,” Zach Buchanan of The Athletic tweets. While Gallen acknowledged there’s “a business side to this game,” he would like to see the pre-arb salary situation addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement because the system’s “not necessarily in the favor of younger players.” Whether or not you agree with Gallen, there is no doubt the 25-year-old has vastly outperformed his salaries since he debuted with the Marlins in 2019. So far, the 25-year-old has logged a 2.78 ERA across 152 big league innings. Gallen is not on track to reach arbitration until after 2022. There will be a new CBA in place by then, but it remains to be seen whether it will address Gallen’s concerns on this subject.  

  • Righty reliever Shane Greene spent the previous year-plus as a member of the Braves, with whom he held his own, but he remains a free agent as the regular season nears. Greene could prove to be a late-spring bargain for someone, but it doesn’t appear the Braves will re-sign him for anything other than “a really cheap offer” in the $1MM range, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes. Unless Greene elects to settle for that type of deal, the Braves will be content to start the year with Will Smith, Chris Martin, A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek as their main end-of-game options, according to O’Brien.
  • A groin strain has slowed Blue Jays right-hander Nate Pearson this spring, but manager Charlie Montoyo said Friday (via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) that he’ll throw a bullpen Saturday. Pearson will not have enough time to build up for a five-inning role by Opening Day, though the Blue Jays aren’t ruling him out for the start of the season, according to Montoyo. A healthy version of Pearson could play a major role in a Toronto starting staff that has little in the way of surefire answers after ace Hyun Jin Ryu.
  • Orioles righty Hunter Harvey exited his outing Friday with a left oblique issue. The severity isn’t known yet, but Harvey – who had been in line for a bullpen spot – is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, per Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. It’s the latest injury-related setback for Harvey, a 2013 first-round pick who has dealt with multiple health issues (including Tommy John surgery) during his professional career. The 26-year-old has totaled 15 innings out of the O’s bullpen dating back to his 2019 debut.

Latest On Maikel Franco

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Free agent third baseman Maikel Franco is likely to choose his next club either today or tomorrow, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The former Phillies and Royals slugger has been connected to both the Mets and the Orioles over the past week, and Heyman now adds that the Braves are among the teams “in the mix” for Franco.

While Franco has been connected to three clubs over the past week now, there have been indicators that not every rumored club is a serious player for his services. The Athletic’s Tim Britton reported that although the Mets indeed checked in on Franco at one point, they also don’t believe a deal will come together at this time. Meanwhile, in the days since the Orioles were first tied to Franco, Baltimore general manager Mike Elias has publicly stated that he does not foresee any free-agent additions for his team (link via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko).

“I don’t feel that there are any imminent additions at this time coming from the free agent market.” Elias said as recently as Wednesday. “That could change, but I don’t see anything kind of barreling down the pike here right this second.” Certainly, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that Franco could land there, but it does throw some cold water on the possibility.

Turning to the latest rumored fit, the Braves make some sense as a potential landing spot for Franco, although they’ve already added veteran corner infielder Jake Lamb to the third base competition. Lamb signed a one-year, $1MM contract earlier in the spring, and while the deal isn’t fully guaranteed, it did place him on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. That gives the Braves three possible options already, as Lamb joins holdovers Austin Riley and Johan Camargo in the mix for playing time.

Riley excited fans and the organization alike with a huge first month in the big leagues back in 2019, he’s struggled since that point. Over his past 380 Major League plate appearances, Riley has posted a .211/.274/.387 slash with a 31.1 percent strikeout rate. Add in last year’s postseason numbers, and the overall line dips to .207/.270/.371 in a sample of 429 trips to the plate. Camargo, meanwhile, turned in an impressive 2018 effort but has posted a dismal .222/.267/.378 slash in 375 plate appearances since. As for Lamb, his 2018-19 seasons were ruined by shoulder injuries, and he got out to a miserable start in 2020 as well. After being cut loose in Arizona and landing in Oakland, however, he looked like the Lamb of old in 13 games down the stretch with the A’s.

Riley is a former top prospect who won’t turn 24 until next month, so there’s still quite a bit of upside in the former No. 41 overall draft pick. Lamb gives the Braves upside as well. He belted 59 home runs from 2016-17 in Arizona and made the 2017 All-Star team. Camargo, at the very least, is a strong defender at the hot corner and a switch-hitter at the plate.

Franco could still fit into the mix, particularly if he’s open to a minor league pact. It’s also possible that the Braves aren’t thrilled with Lamb’s slow start this spring — he’s 1-for-12 with a walk and a HBP — and could look to pivot. Lamb could be cut from his non-guaranteed deal prior to Opening Day for $161K or $242K, depending on the point at which the club makes the move, although 14 plate appearances would be an extraordinarily brief audition.

Baltimore represents the cleanest and most obvious fit of the three teams rumored to be in the mix for Franco. Incumbent Rio Ruiz hasn’t hit much over the past two seasons and is out to a slow start in camp. He also has a pair of minor league options remaining. Prospect Rylan Bannon figures to eventually get a look in 2021, but he’s only played 20 games of Triple-A ball and could potentially benefit from some additional development time.

Franco was at least a mildly surprising non-tender by the Royals back in December, as he’d turned in a solid 2020 season and drawn public praise from both his manager and general manager. Appearing in all 60 games for Kansas City, the former top prospect posted a .278/.321/.457 batting line with eight homers, 16 doubles and improved defensive marks at the hot corner. The Royals, however, cut him loose and moved Hunter Dozier back to third base, opting instead to add several players to their outfield mix.

Injury Notes: Realmuto, Grisham, Inciarte, Romine, Guzman

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J.T. Realmuto has been cleared for baseball activities, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury).  Realmuto’s tasks today included hitting off a tee and making 40 throws from 90-foot distances, as the catcher continues to work his way back from a right thumb fracture.  There is some optimism that Realmuto will be ready to go for the Phillies’ opener on April 1, with Salisbury writing that the club could take it easy with Realmuto’s playing time over the season’s first week or so, should Realmuto still need a bit of prep time.

A brief injured list to begin the season also isn’t out of the question for Realmuto, as with backdating, he would only miss the first six games.  Backup catcher Andrew Knapp would step in as the interim starter, though finding a second catcher could be a little complicated.  Rafael Marchan (the only other catcher on the 40-man roster) is battling a hamstring problem, so the Phillies could need to open up a 40-man space to find room for Jeff Mathis or Christian Bethancourt, both in camp on minor league deals.

More injury updates from around baseball….

  • Padres outfielder Trent Grisham left today’s game with what manager Jayce Tingler called “a slight strain in his hamstring.”  Grisham didn’t think the injury was terribly serious, but Tingler told MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell and other reporters that Grisham will be re-evaluated tomorrow.  Grisham enjoyed a breakout season in 2020 that included a Gold Glove, and while the Padres have a lot of depth, they won’t be able to easily cover center field if Grisham’s hamstring lands him on the IL.  Jurickson Profar might be the top fill-in choice, as Profar has been getting some work in center field this spring.
  • Ender Inciarte has been hampered by a thumb injury that has kept him out of action since March 4.  Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Inciarte is “progressing, but he’s not to the point he can go out and get a game at-bat right now, so we’ll have to see.”  As Burns notes, star prospect Cristian Pache was already looking like a strong bet to break camp with the team, and an Inciarte absence would all but assure Pache of a spot on the Opening Day roster.  Inciarte hit only .190/.262/.250 over 131 PA in 2020, and is now entering the last guaranteed year of his contract.  With Pache and another noteworthy prospect in Drew Waters both knocking on the door for MLB playing time, Inciarte might be in his final year in Atlanta even if he does have a bounce-back season.
  • Cubs catcher Austin Romine hasn’t played since the weekend due to a right knee sprain, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets.  While the problem isn’t considered to be too serious, there isn’t yet any plan for when Romine could return to action.  The veteran catcher signed a one-year, $1.5MM free agent deal to act as Willson Contreras’ backup this season.  Should Romine have to miss any time, veteran Jose Lobaton (in camp on a minors contract) would likely get the call, though the Cubs would have to make another move to add Lobaton to the 40-man roster.
  • Marlins righty Jorge Guzman is battling elbow inflammation and will be “out for a bit” of time, GM Kim Ng told the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson (Twitter link) and other reporters.  The hard-throwing Guzman was acquired as part of the Giancarlo Stanton trade in December 2017, and he ranked 87th on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list prior to the 2018 season.  Guzman made his MLB debut in cup-of-coffee fashion in 2020, tossing one inning and allowing two homers.

Contract Renewals: Gallen, Lewis, Alonso, McNeil, Anderson

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As a standard course of business every spring, teams reach agreement on contracts with their pre-arbitration players.  Since pre-arb players have virtually no negotiating leverage, their salaries aren’t far beyond the MLB minimum ($570.5K), and most teams now adopt a particular formula for assigning modest raises to pre-arbitration players who have performed above and beyond expectations.

When a player doesn’t accept this agreement, it has no change on his contractual status with the team.  It just means that his contract is “renewed,” and the team will impose the player’s salary for the coming season.  For a further explanation of the renewal process, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd provided an outline in a YouTube video last year.

Why would a player not accept the terms of his team’s raise?  Often, it is just a matter of “principle,” as Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty (who had his last two pre-arbitration salaries renewed) said last year, as a player who excels during a season simply feels he is worth more than the minor raise a team is offering.  Occasionally, you’ll see a player look for a more substantive raise, as Mike Trout’s camp asked for a $1MM salary for the 2013 season, following a 2012 campaign that saw Trout finish second in AL MVP voting in his first full year in the big leagues.

While Trout didn’t get his $1MM ask, some clubs have indeed rewarded players with pre-arb salaries worth well above (by a few hundred thousand dollars, in some cases) the minimum, both as a nod to performance and perhaps as a way to continue good relations with a player and his agent in advance of extension talks.

Here is a list of players whose contracts have been renewed for the 2021 season.  As you’ll note, the members of this group have already enjoyed significant early-career success.

  • Zac Gallen: The Diamondbacks right-hander finished ninth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2020, and has a 2.78 ERA over 152 career MLB innings.
  • Kyle Lewis: The Mariners outfielder took a renewal on the heels of his Rookie Of The Year campaign.
  • Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil: The two Mets regulars took renewals.  As noted by Mike Puma of the New York Post, Alonso’s 2019 NL Rookie Of The Year campaign got him a larger-than-expected salary bump to $652,521 for the 2020 season “as a goodwill gesture” from the team.
  • Ian Anderson: The Braves righty made a big impact in his first MLB season, with a 1.95 ERA over 32 1/3 innings.  Anderson also has the least amount of big league service time (0.094 days) of any player on this list.  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Anderson will earn $575K while in the majors and $142,978 in the minor leagues.

Braves, Ryan Goins Agree To Minor League Deal

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Although the team never made a formal announcement, the Braves agreed to a minor league pact with infielder Ryan Goins, as noted Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle in his latest roundup of minor league transactions. Goins is in camp and has collected two hits in six early spring plate appearances.

Goins, 33, has seen Major League time in parts of eight seasons, mostly with the Blue Jays but also with the Royals in 2018 and the White Sox from 2019-20. He’s never been much of a threat at the plate, as evidenced by a career .228/.278/.333 batting line in 1690 plate appearances at the MLB level, but Goins is a versatile defender with strong ratings at several positions. The bulk of his MLB work has come at second base (25 Defensive Runs Saved in 2095 innings), but he’s also graded out well at shortstop (7 DRS in 1460 innings) and at third base (average in 299 innings). Goins has seen brief stints in the outfield corners and at first base as well.

The Braves’ infield and bench is largely set, with Austin Riley slated for significant time at third base and both Jake Lamb and Johan Camargo behind him. Former Twins and Giants infielder Ehire Adrianza is in camp on a non-roster deal, vying for a spot as well. There may not be a clear path to a roster spot for Goins at the moment, but stashing Goins at their alternate site/Triple-A to begin the season would give the Braves some additional cover at multiple infield spots in the event of an injury on the Major League roster.

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