Braves Rumors

Jose Urena Receives Six-Game Suspension

By Jeff Todd | August 16, 2018 at 5:07pm CDT

Major League Baseball announced today that Marlins righty Jose Urena has received a six-game suspension for plunking Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna last night. Atlanta first base coach Eric Young Sr. was also hit with a one-game ban for his role in the ensuing melee.

Depending upon one’s point of view — and everyone seems to have one on this particular subject — the suspension will likely seem appropriate or gallingly short. This is a rather typical MLB punishment for such a transgression. On the other hand, most MLBTR readers preferred a lengthier ban, with nearly three of four poll respondents this morning opining that Urena should miss ten or more games.

A major aspect of this debate, of course, relates to the unique nature of starting pitching. A six-game ban will mean that Urena won’t be able to make his next scheduled start, but he could just wait and throw a few days later. As many have pointed out over the years, then, such a punishment doesn’t seem to deliver much punch as a disincentive.

There is a bit of an intriguing quirk in the Miami schedule that is worth noting: if Urena does not appeal, he’ll first be eligible to return against the Braves. This being the National League, he’d also have to step up to the plate. While karmic thinking is tempting, though, that tends to further perpetuate the intentional plunking approach to self-policing supposed transgressions against the game of baseball.

Notably, the league’s announcement made clear that the commissioner’s office had determined Urena intentionally hit Acuna, who had led off each of the prior three games against the Marlins with a home run. While Urena has not admitted such an intention, and evidently told manager Don Mattingly he was only trying to work inside on Acuna, there really wasn’t much doubt in most minds as to his culpability. The umps working the game sent Urena packing, after all, for evidently trying to send some sort of misguided message. MLBTR’s Steve Adams provided full details on the situation this morning.

Poll: How Should MLB Punish Jose Urena?

By Steve Adams | August 16, 2018 at 9:02am CDT

Marlins righty Jose Urena was the talk of the league last night, although not for reasons the organization would prefer. Urena was ejected after hitting red-hot Ronald Acuna on the elbow with a 97.5mph fastball — the hardest pitch he’s ever thrown, per Statcast — on the game’s first pitch. Acuna had led off three consecutive games with a home run. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan was among the many pundits who’ve excoriated Urena for his actions, calling them “cowardly” and imploring Major League Baseball to issue a suspension longer than the standard five games for Urena.

Intent, of course, is difficult to prove. However, it’s perhaps telling that Miami manager Don Mattingly seemed to acknowledge some disappointment in his right-hander. Via MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro:

“What we said with Jose is, ’I don’t want to see this kid get hit.’ He’s a great player,” said Mattingly of his talk with Urena after the ejection. “…For us, he’s beat us up, but this is not the way we want to handle that situation. Obviously, this is not something that we represent or believe in as an organization or myself, too. I would never want that kid getting hit and cause that kind of problem.”

Mattingly did tell reporters that Urena claimed to have only been trying to run a pitch inside on Acuna rather than hit him (per the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer, whose column also has quotes from Urena), but the manager also spoke on multiple occasions about the need for Marlins players to be cognizant of how the organization wants to be represented moving forward.

Frankly, it’s difficult to side with or defend Urena. There’s a difference between throwing inside and uncoiling at max velocity with an intent to hit a batter, and it appears that Urena chose to do the latter in response to Acuna’s torrid series at the plate. There will always be traditionalists who extol the game’s “unwritten” (and outdated) rules and point to the fact that these incidents have been a part of baseball for decades. But “that’s the way it’s always been done” isn’t a good defense in most walks of life, and the game has clearly evolved.

Urena’s actions didn’t help his team; to the contrary, an already-overtaxed Marlins bullpen had to cover a complete game upon his ejection, and the Braves went on to complete a four-game sweep while Urena watched from the sidelines. And to those who might think that Urena’s teammates appreciate him making a statement, the Marlins’ best player, J.T. Realmuto, said after the game (via Frisaro) that hitting Acuna “worked out terrible for our team.” Realmuto pointed to Miami’s overworked relief corps and plainly suggested that the team could’ve used six or seven innings out of Urena.

Initial x-rays on Acuna, meanwhile, were thankfully negative (Twitter link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), but he’s still set to undergo a CT scan to further clarify the status of his elbow. Even if he avoids major injury, though, it seems quite likely that the league will bring forth a suspension against Urena, in accordance with previous situations where the intent of the pitcher has been fairly plain to see.

A five-game ban for a starting pitcher has been standard operating procedure in these instances, though it’s clear that such punishments haven’t completely dissuaded pitchers from intentionally plunking opponents. Perhaps they never will, but there’s an argument to be made that steeper penalties ought to be put into place in an effort to at least lessen the likelihood of a recurrence. Even if Acuna is back in the lineup tonight, he’ll be in there after perhaps avoiding a serious injury by a matter of millimeters. Should it really take a serious injury to one of MLB’s most exciting young players to invoke change, or have we reached the point where a more proactive approach should be taken? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)

Brandon McCarthy To Retire At Season’s End

By Jeff Todd | August 15, 2018 at 10:14am CDT

Veteran righty Brandon McCarthy says he’ll wrap up his playing career at the end of the season, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. This is his 13th campaign in the majors.

McCarthy, 35, is still hoping to make it back from a knee injury that has sidelined him for a major portion of the 2018 campaign. Indeed, he says he’d have undergone season-ending surgery on the joint if he planned to continue pitching into the future.

Unsurprisingly, with just six weeks left in the regular season, McCarthy is only considering returning as a reliever. He’s also modifying his delivery in an effort to work through the knee problem. Whether or not it works out, it seems the towering veteran is committed to giving it one final go before finishing out his four-year, $48MM contract and riding off into the sunset.

It’s certainly possible McCarthy could be a useful asset for the Atlanta organization down the stretch. With a division title on the line, the club will need every good arm it can muster. And once the calendar flips to September, it won’t have to worry about active roster limitations.

It’s easy to look at McCarthy’s 4.92 ERA from 78 2/3 innings this year and question whether he has much left. But that only tells part of the story. After opening the year with a significant velocity loss, the speed readings ticked northward. McCarthy has generated a sturdy 48.0% groundball rate with 7.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He has surely been at least somewhat unlucky to surrender a .332 BABIP and 21.7% HR/FB rate (more than double his career level); indeed, both xFIP (3.75) and SIERA (4.09) viewed him as a still-productive hurler.

In any event, it remains to be seen whether McCarthy can come back from injury one final time. Doing so has, unfortunately, been a significant aspect of his career. The former 17th-rounder has only once taken the ball for all 32 starts in a season, in a 2014 campaign in which he recorded exactly two hundred frames. That’s just one of five years in which he reached triple-digit innings tallies.

As things stand, McCarthy owns a 4.20 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 through 1,223 2/3 lifetime MLB innings. Between his debut with the White Sox in 2005 and his current run in Atlanta, he has seen action with the Dodgers, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Athletics, and Yankees, never stopping in one place for more than three seasons.

No matter how things finish out for McCarthy late this season, he’ll wrap up a productive career as a highly respected veteran. Given his well-earned reputation for wit and wisdom, McCarthy seems sure to make a mark in the game — or some other arena — in the future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL East Notes: Bruce, Soroka, Marlins

By Steve Adams | August 13, 2018 at 12:42pm CDT

The emergence of Brandon Nimmo has left Jay Bruce as something of an odd man out with the Mets, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman notes that the Mets’ outfield in 2019 and beyond is likely to include Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes, making it more difficult for Bruce to secure regular at-bats (barring a move to first base, which would come at the expense of the younger Dominic Smith). According to Sherman, Bruce can block trades to the Orioles, Mariners, Blue Jays, Rays and Athletics, but he can be shipped anywhere else without his consent. Sherman runs through some speculative possibilities in which Bruce, who is owed $28MM from 2019-20, could be swapped out for a player earning at a comparable rate. Of course, it’s also worth noting that Nimmo’s bat has declined in each month of the season since a torrid start, while Cespedes and (to a lesser extent) Conforto come with injury question marks.

A few more notes out of the NL East…

David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that Braves righty Mike Soroka still hasn’t begun a throwing program as he continues rehabbing his right shoulder, which makes it increasingly unlikely that he’ll pitch again in 2018. If that’s the case, O’Brien notes that the organization could have Soroka pitch in the instructional league this fall before shutting him down for the winter in hopes of a healthier 2019 campaign. Soroka, who turned 21 last week, was impressive despite his young age in five starts earlier this season before shoulder woes landed him on the disabled list.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently wrote that any of Derek Dietrich, Dan Straily or Starlin Castro could yet be trade candidates for the Marlins in the month of August. Castro didn’t draw any serious interest prior to the non-waiver deadline, Jackson notes, but the Cubs and Indians checked in on Dietrich while the Athletics chatted with the Marlins about a potential re-acquisition of Straily (though those talks came prior to Oakland’s trade for Mike Fiers). Jackson notes that the Fish would want quality prospects in return for Straily if they moved him, as he’s controlled beyond the 2018 season. That seems like a tough sell, given Straily’s diminished strikeout, chase and swinging-strike rates as well as his drastic increase in walk rate.

Braves Promote Touki Toussaint

By Steve Adams | August 13, 2018 at 10:04am CDT

The Braves announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of top pitching prospect Touki Toussaint from Triple-A Gwinnett. He’ll serve as the 26th man in today’s doubleheader and is slated to start the first game of that twin bill.

Toussaint, who turned 22 in late June, ranked as the game’s No. 76 prospect on the midseason update from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, while Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs currently peg him 56th overall.

Atlanta infamously acquired — or, more accurately, purchased — Toussaint from the D-backs barely a year after Arizona had selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2014 draft. The Braves took on the remaining half season of Bronson Arroyo’s contract in order to extract the well-regarded Toussaint from the D-backs organization in a trade that saved Arizona roughly $10MM.

While it’s taken nearly three years (as was to be expected when purchasing a recent high school draftee), the Braves appear poised to reap the benefit from that Arizona misstep. Through 117 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018, Toussaint has been excellent, working to a combined 2.68 ERA with 10.7 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. He’s allowed only seven home runs in that time. Callis and Mayo praise both his fastball and curveball as plus offerings, adding that his changeup could be an average or better third pitch.

Toussaint will become the latest arm from the Braves’ vaunted collection of pitching prospects to surface at the MLB level over the past couple of seasons. While the results have been mixed to this point, the team has seen positive signs from that group — most notably from Sean Newcomb but also Mike Soroka (prior to his shoulder troubles) and Max Fried. Kolby Allard and Luiz Gohara, meanwhile, are still waiting for earnest looks in the rotation after brief exposure to big league opponents, while others such as Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson are still awaiting their first call to the big leagues.

It seems likely that Toussaint’s promotion will simply be a spot start, though the fact that he’s serving as the 26th man would mean that he’s eligible to return whenever the Braves next need a fifth starter. There’s no predicting yet exactly how Toussaint’s service clock will play out, as it remains to be seen when the Braves will bring him to the Majors on a permanent basis, but he’s currently controlled through at least the 2024 season. If he finishes the 2019 campaign with less than one full year of MLB service, that’d allow the Braves to control him through the 2025 season, although Atlanta likely hopes that Toussaint is capable of securing a long-term spot on the MLB roster in quicker fashion.

Braves Release Fernando Salas

By Steve Adams | August 13, 2018 at 9:08am CDT

The Braves have released veteran right-hander Fernando Salas from their Triple-A club in Gwinnett, as was first reflected on the Triple-A International League transactions page. His tenure with the organization will last just under a month in total.

Atlanta signed Salas, 33, to a minor league contract in mid-July after he’d been cut loose by the D-backs. The veteran reliever had worked to a 4.50 ERA with 30 strikeouts against nine unintentional walks (13 total) in 40 innings with Arizona this season, though he slumped late in his time with the Diamondbacks after a more promising start to the season. His 90.5 mph average fastball velocity with the D-backs didn’t represent a significant decline from his career marks or from his 2017 levels, though his swinging-strike rate did suffer a more noticeable drop (12.9 percent in 2017, 9.3 percent in 2018).

Salas’ limited time in the Braves organization didn’t go well, as he was tagged for eight runs in six innings with Gwinnett. He did post a 9-to-2 K/BB ratio in that brief stretch of Triple-A work and, of course, carries a good bit of MLB success on his resume as well. In 487 frames at the Major League level, Salas owns a 3.90 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. He’ll once again be available to 29 other clubs on a minor league pact as he looks to latch on with a new team for the final couple months of the 2018 campaign.

NL East Notes: Kintzler, Toussaint, Crawford, Arano

By Mark Polishuk | August 12, 2018 at 11:57am CDT

It seems as if some behind-the-scenes drama contributed to the Nationals’ decision to trade Brandon Kintzler to the Cubs, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. GM Mike Rizzo reportedly believed Kintzler was an unnamed source in two recent stories (by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post) that detailed internal criticisms of the Nats’ clubhouse culture and Dave Martinez’s handling of pitchers. Kintzler has vigorously denied these claims, saying as much to Rizzo personally. Once word spread about the situation, Passan even contacted Cubs president of baseball ops Theo Epstein to state that he’d never been in contact with Kintzler and that the reliever wasn’t the one who provided the much-discussed quote about the Nationals’ clubhouse being “a mess.” Furthermore, as Heyman notes, it seems odd that Rizzo would single Kintzler out for any role in Janes’ piece when several other Nats relievers were quoted by name. Ken Rosenthal provided an alternate view on the Kintzler trade in a video for FOX Sports, saying that Washington’s primary reason for moving Kintzler may have been to escape his $5MM player option for the 2019 season.

Some more from the NL East…

The Braves plan to have right-hander Touki Toussaint make his Major League debut on Monday, manager Brian Snitker told Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) and other reporters. Toussaint would be making a spot start in one half of the Braves’ double-header against the Marlins. Selected 16th overall by Arizona in the 2014 draft, Toussaint and Bronson Arroyo were dealt to the Braves in June 2015, with Atlanta taking Arroyo’s contract off the Diamondbacks’ hands in order to obtain the young righty. A few middling seasons dropped Toussaint’s prospect stock, though he has gotten back on track with a combined 2.68 ERA, 10.7 K/9, and 2.84 K/BB rate over 86 Double-A innings and 31.1 Triple-A innings in 2018. Fangraphs ranked Toussaint 51st in its midseason top-100 prospects list, while MLB.com ranks the 22-year-old 76th among all minor leaguers.
“It’s hard to see where [J.P.] Crawford fits into the future plans” of the Phillies following what “looks more and more like a lost season” for the infielder, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb writes (subscription required). Due to both a forearm strain and a fractured hand, Crawford has been limited to just 34 games this season, and has thus been relegated to pinch-hit and utilityman duty behind third baseman Maikel Franco and newly-acquired shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Franco has revived his stock with the club with a bounce-back season, and while Cabrera is a free agent after the year, the Phils also have Scott Kingery signed to an extension and in need of a regular spot on the diamond given the Phillies’ crowded outfield and the presence of Cesar Hernandez at second base. Plus, there are the ever-present rumors that Philadelphia will soon push to acquire a major position player like Manny Machado. It’s worth noting that Crawford is still just 23 and has only 199 MLB plate appearances to his name, so it’s far too early to write off a player who has been a consensus top prospect for the last four years. Still, the Phillies could now consider Crawford as a trade chip rather than a future cornerstone, though it would be something of a sell-low scenario given Crawford’s rough 2018 season.
On the other side of the young talent equation, Gelb also writes about Victor Arano’s journey from trade afterthought to a major part of the Phillies bullpen. Arano came to the organization as a player to be named later in the Roberto Hernandez trade with the Dodgers in August 2014, and he posted some good strikeout totals but overall only decent numbers as a minor leaguer. Philadelphia promoted Arano from Double-A to the big leagues last year, and the right-hander has blossomed, with a 1.95 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and a 3.59 K/BB rate over 55 1/3 career innings.

Added To The 40-Man: Ortega, Stewart, Sobotka, Kelly

By Jeff Todd | August 10, 2018 at 9:11pm CDT

There has been a fair amount of roster movement today. We’ll use this post to keep tabs on the players moving onto MLB rosters:

After shipping out first baseman Justin Bour earlier today, the Marlins announced they would replace him by selecting the contract of outfielder Rafael Ortega. The 27-year-old Ortega got a solid shot with the Angels in 2016 but could not take advantage. He had a productive season last year with the plate at Triple-A and has been solid as well at the highest level of the minors in 2018, though he hasn’t sustained the power he showed in 2017. In the current season, he has slashed .275/.375/.404 with an impressive combination of 44 walks and 31 strikeouts over 328 plate appearances.
The Twins will select the contract of righty Kohl Stewart, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter). Chosen fourth overall in the 2013 draft, Stewart is now slated for his MLB debut after being left unprotected from the Rule 5 draft last winter. Through 108 2/3 innings this season in the upper minors, he owns only a 4.47 ERA. But Stewart has seen a real boost in his K/BB numbers over past years. He’s carrying 8.4 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 along with a 57.3% groundball rate on the season.
As part of a series of pitching moves, the Braves purchased the contract of righty Chad Sobotka. He and lefty Chad Bell will join the active roster as the team has optioned down relievers Wes Parsons and Adam McCreery. Sobotka is a 25-year-old reliever who came to the Atlanta organizatino as a fourth-round pick in 2015. He had already climbed to Triple-A for the first time after dominating performances at High-A (2.21 ERA, 28:7 K/BB in 20 1/3 innings) and Double-A (2.89 ERA, 37:13 K/BB in 28 innings). He has been giving out too many free passes so far at the highest level of the minors (eight in 6 1/3 frames) but has still been getting strikeouts and keeping runs off the board.
The Giants announced that they selected the contract of righty Casey Kelly, bumping Johnny Cueto to the 60-day DL as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery. Kelly, a first-round pick way back in 2008, has seen brief MLB action in parts of three seasons. He owns only a 4.78 ERA in his 130 Triple-A innings this year, with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

Heyman’s Latest: Donaldson, Braves, Machado, Wheeler, Harper, Fiers, Riggleman

By Mark Polishuk | August 10, 2018 at 12:27pm CDT

If Josh Donaldson is able to return from the DL soon and display some of his usual form, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman writes that the Blue Jays might yet be able to trade the third baseman before August ends. In this scenario, the Indians are “perhaps the most realistic landing spot.” Jays president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins have ties to Cleveland and knowledge of the franchise’s prospects, plus the Tribe was trying to make a splash at the deadline by checking in on big names like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Acquiring Donaldson would allow Cleveland to move Jose Ramirez to second, and Jason Kipnis into the outfield to help shore up the Tribe’s outfield depth. Heyman also lists the Cardinals, Braves, Cubs (if Kris Bryant’s shoulder keeps him on the DL), and Red Sox as potential suitors for Donaldson, though Boston seems like the longest shot of that group.

Here’s more from Heyman, via his weekly notes column…

The Braves “check in on just about everyone” in trade talks and were involved in many discussions around the deadline. While Atlanta swung two deals with the Orioles for Kevin Gausman, Darren O’Day, and Brad Brach, Heyman writes that “the player the Braves really wanted was Manny Machado.” The Dodgers acquired Machado during the All-Star break, and at that time, the Braves weren’t entirely sure they were contenders, so they didn’t make the blockbuster offer to land the infielder.
Heyman also connects the Braves to Zack Wheeler, noting that they and the Brewers looked to have the most interest in the Mets right-hander. Neither team was close to actually landing Wheeler, however.
The Orioles originally hoped to land a trade package for Gausman similar to what the A’s received for Sonny Gray at last year’s trade deadline, though as Heyman puts it, “the reality is that Gray was thriving in Oakland when dealt while Gausman has been perpetually average.” Baltimore ended up moving Gausman and O’Day to the Braves for four relatively unheralded prospects, though the O’s saved a lot of payroll space and obtained some international bonus pool funds.
The Nationals received calls from “about eight teams” about Bryce Harper when rumors arose around the trade deadline that Washington was at least open to considering dealing the star outfielder. Despite the interest in Harper’s services, it doesn’t seem like talks got very far with any suitor, as the Nats were understandably hesitant about dealing Harper whatsoever. The Indians were the only team known to have shown interest in Harper.
The Athletics added some needed starting pitching by acquiring Mike Fiers from the Tigers this week, though Heyman wonders why the Mariners didn’t block their divisional and wild card rivals by putting a waiver claim on Fiers themselves. The A’s were already known to have interest in Fiers prior to the trade deadline, and since Seattle was behind Oakland in the standings when Fiers was on waivers, the M’s had first dibs on claiming the right-hander. Heyman wonders if the Mariners simply weren’t interested in Fiers actually ending up on their roster, if Detroit had let the claim stand in order to get his remaining salary off their payroll. Of course, an extra arm might look pretty good to the Mariners right about now, given how the team is without a stable fifth starter now that Felix Hernandez is out of the rotation.
Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman’s chances of winning the full-time job look to be increasing, as team owner Bob Castellini is reportedly “a big fan” of the veteran skipper. Cincinnati has posted a 47-50 record since Riggleman took over from Bryan Price, who was fired after the Reds stumbled out of the gate with a 3-15 start to the season.

Quick Hits: Werth, Mets, Wainwright, Soroka, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | August 8, 2018 at 5:11pm CDT

In a recent interview with 94 WIP sports radio in Philadelphia, just-retired outfielder Jayson Werth was critical of agent Scott Boras, saying (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post): “I had offers in November, and I was advised by my former agent to wait. Ill-advised, I guess.” The 39-year-old Werth, who largely struggled with the Nationals from 2015-17 and ended up signing a minor league contract with the Mariners in late March, added that he personally “called every team [but one] and tried to get a job.” That one team? The Mets, whom Werth “wouldn’t play for” after spending his career with the division-rival Phillies and Nats. Boras issued a response to Werth’s comments Wednesday, saying (via Janes, on Twitter): “Unfortunately, it appears someone has misled Jayson. We contacted all 30 teams numerous times during the offseason on his behalf, and we have phone logs, emails, and other records to back it up. We received no offers for Jayson in November, or otherwise. We are always prepared to support our work against inaccuracies spread by third parties. We understand the frustration and disappointment players can face and wish Jayson all the best.”

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