Braves Place Arodys Vizcaino On DL
In a move that could take away a bit of intrigue from the trade deadline, the Braves have announced the placement of closer Arodys Vizcaino on the 15-day disabled list. The right-hander left the Braves’ game against the Rockies on Friday after just three pitches because of an oblique injury. Atlanta has activated left-handed reliever Eric O’Flaherty from the DL to take Vizcaino’s roster spot.
[RELATED: Updated Braves Depth Chart]
Vizcaino drew interest from the Red Sox as recently as three weeks ago, but his newfound performance issues and injury will likely keep him in a Braves uniform for the rest of the season.
“Anybody who gets [an oblique strain], they’re just so time consuming,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “You’ve got to calm everything down until they’re not feeling anything before you can let them begin throwing again.”
In his most recent five pre-injury appearances, Vizcaino allowed five earned runs on eight hits and seven walks while recording only a pair of strikeouts. In total, the 25-year-old has amassed a career-high 36 innings this season and logged a 3.00 ERA, 11.75 K/9, 5.5 BB/9, 54.8 percent ground-ball rate and converted 10 of 13 save opportunities. Since establishing himself as a quality major league reliever last season, the former well-regarded prospect has put up a stingy 2.33 ERA to go with 10.85 K/9 and 4.52 BB/9 across 69 2/3 frames. Vizcaino’s production, youth and team control (three arbitration-eligible years remaining) could have combined to make him an interesting name around the deadline.
With Vizcaino on the shelf, the Braves will likely turn to veteran Jim Johnson as their closer, according to Bowman. Johnson has 136 career saves on his resume, including back-to-back 50-save campaigns in 2012 and ’13.
Braves To Look For 2017 Starting Catcher On Trade Market
Even before a recent injury to Tyler Flowers, the Braves wanted to acquire a catcher this month who could serve as their primary starter in 2017, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. That means they will likely ask the Brewers about Jonathan Lucroy, who they’ve kept tabs on in the past. They would, however, likely need to feel they could extend Lucroy if they were to acquire him, since he is eligible for free agency after his $5.25MM 2017 option.
In the wake of Flowers’ hand fracture, which Bowman previously reported could keep him out until September, the Braves are using A.J. Pierzynski and Anthony Recker behind the dish. Pierzynski, though, is 39 and has hit .206/.228/.250 this season, and Recker has never started in the big leagues for any extended period and has hit lightly in parts of six Major League seasons.
The team also just added George Kottaras on a minor league contract, as SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets, although that appears to be more of a depth move — Kottaras has at times shown good power for a catcher, but he has not collected more than 100 plate appearances in the big leagues since 2013 and played sparingly even in the minors in the last two seasons.
That’s not to say a major deal seems likely. Flowers hit well this season before his injury (.253/.343/.425), and his framing has been highly rated of late. He’s also under contract for 2017. Bowman notes that the Braves would like to use him as a backup next season (and he mostly hit like one in several seasons before 2016), but he appears to be at least a reasonable option as a starter. Also, Braves president of baseball operations John Hart doesn’t sound optimistic about the possibility of making a significant acquisition, although he acknowledges the team will try.
“Right now, I think we’d have to stand in line to get our catching position solved,” says Hart, via Bowman. “We’re certainly going to look at catching, but I don’t know that we’re going to find the right guy to step in right now. But don’t think for a minute we’re not examining the catching situation.”
This week, MLBTR’s Steve Adams examined this year’s trade market for catchers. Besides Lucroy, top options who are available through 2017 including Welington Castillo, Derek Norris and Cameron Rupp, among others. Former Braves backstop Brian McCann could also be available, although given McCann’s salary, that deal would likely have to be fairly complex. The Braves could also perhaps look for someone younger, although Bowman says they’re looking for someone who’s “established.”
NL Notes: Niese, Vizcaino, Cubs, Giants, Dodgers
In an appearance on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan, Pirates GM Neal Huntington admits that the winter swap of Neil Walker for Jon Niese was a mistake. “We felt that that was our best return, and it has not played out that way, and that’s a challenge,” Huntington said. “We own that. We accept that.” Reports have suggested that the Bucs are hoping to trade Niese. For the time being, he’s headed for bullpen duties, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Though Huntington expressed hope that Niese can turn things around, he was unusually forthright in acknowledging the faulty trade (while also hinting at the team’s alternatives in shopping Walker). “In hindsight, maybe the two fringe prospects and trying to figure out where to reallocate the money might have been a better return,” he said.
- Niese’s former club, the Mets, surely didn’t envision a scenario where the lefty could hold appeal in 2016, but Marc Carig of Newsday writes that the club isn’t ruling out a reunion. New York is still prioritizing pen help, but seems increasingly open to the idea of bringing back a pitcher who had a good deal of success over his time with the club. The 29-year-old has been hit hard in Pittsburgh, but carried a 3.91 ERA in over 1,000 innings through eight years with the Mets.
- Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino left tonight’s action with what appeared to be an oblique issue. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets, the preliminary expectation is that he’ll require a DL stint. The injury comes at an inopportune time for Vizcaino’s trade chances, as he has already missed action of late and has struggled when he has been available. Over his last five appearances, Vizcaino has allowed five earned runs on eight hits and seven walks while recording only a pair of strikeouts. Once viewed as one of the best relief arms on the market, it seems increasingly likely that he’ll end up staying in Atlanta for the rest of the season.
- Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says the his club will be flexible in the build-up to the deadline, as Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago reports. “I don’t think its productive to pigeonhole yourself into thinking you have needs in just one specific role as the key to improving this club,” Epstein said. “There are so many variables. Things change. The way you look now may not be the way you look in mid-September. We are going to be open-minded to adding talented players knowing that could happen.” Epstein did discuss the idea of adding a starter, though Chicago’s rotation has been quite solid. “We are always looking to add long-term starting pitching,” he noted. “Sometimes the trading deadline can be a better forum for that than the offseason. Sometimes it is not. It is important to stay focused this time of year on this year’s club. You still want to keep one eye on opportunities that can help you down the road as well.”
- The Giants are seeing solid progress on some injured players, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports. Outfielder Hunter Pence is set to begin a rehab assignment, where he’ll test his surgically-repaired hamstring. And second baseman Joe Panik has passed a concussion test, meaning he could soon be cleared to start his own brief rehab stint. Righties Cory Gearrin and Matt Cain are also nearing readiness; the former has extended his throwing distance while the latter reached 93 pitches in an outing tonight (though he was also touched for 10 runs).
- The division-rival Dodgers also got some injury news, though it’s not necessarily all positive. Outfielder Trayce Thompson has lower back pain that could land him on the DL. Fellow outfielder Andre Ethier is now looking like he’s more likely to make it back in mid-August, about two weeks later than had been targeted, though the team is still awaiting the results of a bone scan on his injured leg before it gets a clearer picture.
- While the Dodgers think they’ll utilize prized lefty Julio Urias at the major league level again later this year, manager Dave Roberts says he’ll work at the pen at Triple-A for the time being. (Via MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM; Twitter link.) Los Angeles has been understandably cautious with his workload, and seemingly hopes to keep him fresh while also tamping down the innings for the time being.
AL West Notes: Bregman, Healy, Valencia, Rodriguez, Rangers
The Astros‘ reported deal with Yulieski Gurriel adds another notable option to the mix in the left side of the infield, but that doesn’t mean top prospect Alex Bregman is on the trade block. Far from it, in fact, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (on Twitter). A source tells Morosi that the club isn’t interested in flipping Bregman for a top-flight starter — though certainly the rising prospect is the kind of blue-chip asset that could net a major piece in return.
Here’s more from the AL West:
- Just-promoted prospect Ryon Healy will serve as the Athletics‘ primary third baseman, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). That leaves hot-hitting Danny Valencia to pick up plate appearances at first base and the corner outfield. Oakland’s decision to modify and reduce Valencia’s role seems to suggest that he isn’t a major part of the club’s plans for 2017. That, in turn, would presumably increase the team’s inclination to deal him this summer.
- Athletics reliever Fernando Rodriguez will miss four to six weeks after being diagnosed with a lat tear, Hickey tweets. Rodriguez expressed surprise and disappointment with the prognosis. The 32-year-old has been a steady, albeit not a dominant, member of the A’s pen for the last two years. Over 40 2/3 innings in 2015, he owns a 4.20 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
- As the Rangers continue to browse the shelves of potentially-available starters, the team has at least asked the Braves about Julio Teheran, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). That hardly means there’s any real action on the righty, particularly since we’ve seen Texas tied to a whole host of starters in recent weeks. Cotillo also hears that the Rangers have had talks with the Brewers on catcher Jonathan Lucroy and southpaw Will Smith, though Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the chatter “went nowhere.” All told, it still seems that the Texas front office is canvassing possibilities with the deadline a few weeks off.
Mets Prioritizing Bullpen In Trade Talks
The Mets have seen their vaunted young rotation display its mortality this season, particularly with the loss of Matt Harvey, and have also suffered a number of injuries throughout the starting lineup — most notably, David Wright and Lucas Duda. Nevertheless, the team feels that another relief arm is its top need at the moment, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
New York’s National League entrant isn’t necessarily prioritizing a premium closer or setup man, per the report. Puma lists Ryan Buchter and Brad Hand of the Padres, Chris Withrow of the Braves and John Axford of the Athletics as plausible targets for the Mets. (For what it’s worth, the guess here is that Buchter would require quite a bit more than the other names, given his skyrocketing strikeout rate and lengthy, cheap control.)
The report also names Jeremy Jeffress as a possibility in the event that the Mets wish to pursue another club’s closer, although the asking price on Jeffress is said to be quite high. One name that GM Sandy Alderson and his staff did not pursue, according to Puma, was Fernando Rodney — who recently went from the Padres to the Marlins in an early July swap.
While some fans may prefer to see the Mets pursue some help for their ailing rotation, the club’s current plan is to use Logan Verrett in the rotation until Zack Wheeler is able to return to next month. Should Verrett falter, Puma lists Triple-A righty Gabriel Ynoa as an alternative option. Any further setbacks for Wheeler could also change the calculus.
Having already moved to shore things up in other areas, and having cashed in some notable trade chips during last season’s run, it’s not surprising to see attention move to the pen. The unit rates quite well by most measures, but that’s mostly driven by late-inning righties Jeurys Familia, Addison Reed and Hansel Robles, who are joined by southpaw Jerry Blevins to form a solid core. Beyond that foursome, though, the results have been uneven. Alderson was quite successful in rescuing Reed a summer ago, and may be on the lookout for another chance to harness a talented arm at a reasonable price.
Tyler Flowers Out Six Weeks With Broken Hand
Braves catcher Tyler Flowers has been diagnosed with a fractured left hand, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported. While Heyman lists his projected absence at four to six weeks, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman lists a more pessimistic timeline (via Twitter), suggesting that Flowers will miss “at least” six weeks but may not be able to return until September. Over the weekend, Flowers aggravated a previous injury that was sustained when he was hit by a pitch from A.J. Ramos. Bowman wrote yesterday that Flowers underwent an MRI, though the team has yet to announce the results.
According to Bowman, the Braves are likely to promote veteran backstop Anthony Recker to fill Flowers’ spot on the roster (Twitter link). The MLB.com scribe wrote yesterday that Recker has been on the temporarily inactive list with a non-health issue, but it would seem that is behind him now. Recker, who is no stranger to the NL East due to his time with the division-rival Mets, is hitting .244/.348/.421 in 230 plate appearances between the Triple-A affiliates for the Braves and Indians this season. Fellow veteran Blake Lalli would be the likeliest alternative to Recker, though he’s having a considerably less productive season. Whoever gets the call will pair behind the plate with A.J. Pierzynski, who has been unable to replicate last season’s above-average production, instead struggling to a .205/.227/.250 batting line in his age-39 campaign.
The loss of Flowers not only deprives the Braves of a player that has been far and away the most productive catcher on the big league roster but also all but eliminates the possibility of a Flowers trade prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline. While Flowers hasn’t been an oft-mentioned trade candidate, the Braves have been largely open for business over the past couple of years, and Flowers is enjoying a career-year at the plate while playing on a highly affordable two-year pact. As a short-term piece with a .253/.343/.425 batting line at a premium position on a rebuilding club, trade interest in Flowers certainly wouldn’t have been a stretch of the imagination.
Of course, the Braves may simply have preferred to hang onto him for the duration of the season anyhow. The team is aiming for a considerably better season in 2017, and there’s no immediate replacement for him waiting in the wings in the upper levels of the minor leagues. He’s earning $2MM this season and is owed $3MM in 2017 before his team must make a call on a $4MM club option for the 2018 season (which comes with a $300K buyout). He’s struggled quite a bit with stolen bases this season, catching just two of 37 attempted thieves, but he continues to grade out as one of the best pitch-framing backstops in the game, per Baseball Prospectus.
Coppolella On Snitker, Teheran, Norris, Pitching
Here’s the latest from Braves GM John Coppolella, via the first part of a Q+A with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Brian Snitker is a serious candidate to shed his interim manager tag and take the job on a more permanent basis, but Coppolella indicates the team will look to outside candidates as well.
- Coppolella says flatly that the Braves aren’t trading Julio Teheran, who, of course, has been the subject of months of rumors and discussion. As we’ve noted elsewhere in these pages, Teheran is controllable through 2020, so the Braves could conceivably hang onto him as a veteran anchor for their rotation, even though his fine season and the relatively limited number of good starting pitchers available would also make him a strong trade chip this summer.
- The recent spate of injuries to pitchers — both within the Braves organization and elsewhere — itself demonstrates why the Braves emphasized pitching so much in their current rebuild, Coppolella says. He notes, though, that part of the Braves’ strategy was a function of opportunity. The organization’s core of young pitching now includes Ian Anderson, who the team selected with the third overall draft pick last month even though they already had lots of young pitching. “There’s so much attrition associated with pitching that you truly can never have enough talent or depth when it comes to arms,” Coppolella says. “It’s great the Cubs built around bats, but that’s what was available to them in the draft. There was no Kris Bryant or Kyle Schwarber in the draft this year.”
- The Braves’ trade of Bud Norris late last month was motivated in part by a desire to beat the trade-deadline rush and get as much as possible for a player who would be a rental for his new team, Coppolella confirms. “It was difficult to trade Bud, but knowing he was a free agent after the season was the overriding factor,” says Coppolella. “Bud was pitching terrific and the Dodgers made us an offer that we felt compelled us to make that move at that time.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/11/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, each courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…
- Second baseman Cole Figueroa has elected free agency instead of an outright assignment to Triple-A from the Dodgers, per an announcement. Los Angeles designated the 29-year-old for assignment Friday after claiming him off waivers from the Pirates two weeks ago. Figueroa has picked up only 84 major league trips to the plate, but he has produced a respectable .288/.356/.376 line in nearly 2,000 Triple-A PAs.
- The Red Sox have outrighted outfielder Ryan LaMarre to Triple-A Pawtucket, tweets Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Boston designated LaMarre for assignment when it acquired infielder Aaron Hill from the Brewers last week. Since the Reds took him in the second round of the 2010 draft, LaMarre has totaled just 32 major league plate appearances – six of which came earlier this year with the Red Sox. The 27-year-old has batted .265/.343/.379 over 2,469 trips to the plate in the minors.
- The Reds have outrighted Juan Duran off their 40-man roster. The 24-year-old outfielder got a late start to his season and has struggled to a .191/.235/.255 batting line through 15 games and 51 plate appearances this season. Duran ranked among BA’s top 30 Reds prospects from 2008-11 but hasn’t appeared on that list since.
- The Braves signed right-hander Maikel Cleto to a minor league contract. The hard-throwing 27-year-old has experience in parts of four big league seasons with the Cardinals and White Sox but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014. He’s averaged an impressive 11.6 K/9 in the Majors but has also averaged six walks per nine innings and posted an unsightly 6.60 ERA in 45 innings. Cleto pitched 14 innings in the Mexican League and caught Atlanta’s eye it seems, perhaps due to a much-improved 16-to-1 K/BB ratio in that brief stint.
- Right-hander Vinnie Pestano has been released by the Yankees. The 31-year-old opened the season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and enjoyed a strong April, pitching to a 3.38 ERA with 16 strikeouts and one walk in 10 2/3 innings but hasn’t pitched for the club since due to injury. Pestano has six seasons of big league experience and has worked to a 2.98 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 202 2/3 innings at the big league level.
- The Marlins traded left-hander Tim Berry to the Padres in exchange for cash considerations. Berry, who was outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster earlier this season, began the year in Double-A and was hit exceptionally hard, but he’s righted the ship after a stint on the disabled list and some time at Class-A Advanced, posting a 2.78 ERA over his past 22 2/3 innings (including one appearance with San Diego’s Class-A affiliate).
NL Notes: Jeffress, Bell, Nationals, Braves
The bullpen market has been picking up some steam lately, with the Red Sox acquiring Brad Ziegler from the D-backs and the Marlins landing Fernando Rodney in a trade with the Padres. Miami was apparently in the market for some more controllable bullpen help prior to landing Rodney, though, as MLB Network’s Peter Gammons reports (on Twitter) that the Marlins also spoke with the Brewers about Jeremy Jeffress. Milwaukee had a significant asking price on its closer, however, as Gammons hears that the Brewers asked for right-hander Chris Paddack (the pitcher Miami traded to get Rodney) and two more prospects in exchange for Jeffress. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd has long listed Jeffress on his weekly rankings of trade candidates, noting that it’s understandable for the Brewers to have a steep ask with another three years of club control remaining beyond 2016.
More from the NL…
- Josh Bell has been quite impressive in his limited big league experience, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a monstrous grand slam in three pinch-hit appearances over the weekend. However, Ron Cook of the Pittburgh Post-Gazette writes that the Pirates will option Bell back to Triple-A in spite of his strong first impression, as the team informed him from day one that he was being promoted for the weekend only. “I don’t see moving him to first base in front of [John] Jaso right now with the job [Jaso] has done,” said manager Clint Hurdle to Cook. “I think down the line we’ll see what a little bit more [of Bell] would look like. I don’t know when down the line is.” General manager Neal Huntington tells Cook that he still kicks himself for rushing Gregory Polanco and Pedro Alvarez to the Majors and doesn’t want to make the same mistake with Bell.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo tells Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post that he doesn’t see a glaring need anywhere on his roster that needs to be addressed at the trade deadline. “That’s not to say that we’re a perfect team and we couldn’t upgrade if the right possibility comes,” says Rizzo of his club, however. As far as payroll is concerned, Rizzo adds that the Nationals would be able to take on payroll in order to lessen the prospect cost of a trade.
- Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is having an MRI on his hand today after aggravating an injury that he sustained a week ago when he was hit by a pitch against the Marlins, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. If a trip to the disabled list is necessary, the Braves could turn to Triple-A backstop Blake Lalli, though doing so would require a 40-man roster move. Bowman has updates on a number of injured Braves, noting that right-hander Shae Simmons has seen improvements in his shoulder since he resumed throwing off a mound. He’s been sidelined all season recovering from Tommy John surgery and twice had setbacks involving his right shoulder.
Quick Hits: Pitching, Teheran, Kershaw, Giants, Maeda, Prospect Trades
Starting pitching is still “severely overpriced” on the trade market, according to scouts who spoke with ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) at the Futures Game. “You want to get a guy who’ll pitch for you in the postseason. Teams want to trade you a No. 5 starter who might help you get to the postseason,” said one scout who works for a contending club. Eight starters landed on the latest edition of the Top 25 Trade Candidates list from MLBTR’s Jeff Todd, though of that octet, only a few seem like they would be real difference-makers in a playoff series. Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up the first half…
- In another tweet from Crasnick, he describes the chances of the Braves trading Julio Teheran as “not likely” unless Atlanta significantly lowers its asking price before the deadline. Given that the Braves reportedly want more for Teheran than they received from the D’Backs in the already-infamous Shelby Miller trade, it’s not hard to see why teams are balking at such a huge asking price. (And it’s also clear why Atlanta would demand so much for a controllable young arm with ace potential.)
- Clayton Kershaw will miss at least one start after the All-Star break as the Dodgers’ ace is still recovering from his back injury. L.A. manager Dave Roberts lined up his post-All-Star break rotation for reporters (including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick) and Kershaw wasn’t in the mix, as the star lefty just threw off a mound today for the first time since June 26. Early reports about his DL placement suggested Kershaw could miss up to a month, so while today’s news wasn’t necessarily a surprise, it’s possible he could return in the latter half of the 10-day road trip the Dodgers will face after the break.
- Speaking of NL West stars on the DL, Bruce Bochy provided some updates to the media (including Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News) about some notable Giants. Joe Panik is recovering well from concussion symptoms and could be back for the Giants’ series with the Red Sox that begins on July 19, while Hunter Pence could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week as he recovers from surgery to fix a torn hamstring. Matt Duffy‘s strained Achilles tendon in his left foot is still causing him problems when he runs in a straight line, so his timeline is uncertain though Duffy can perform other baseball activities with no issues.
- Kenta Maeda exceeded the 100-inning plateau in his start today, thus unlocking another $250K bonus in his Dodgers contract (hat tip to ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla). Maeda is only guaranteed $3MM per season from 2016 through 2023, though he can collect significant bonuses based on innings pitched, starts and making the Opening Day roster. Thus far, Maeda has received an extra $1.65MM in bonuses this season. Even if he maxes out those bonuses over the eight years under contract, Maeda is already looking like a bargain for the Dodgers given how well he has pitched in his first MLB season.
- With today’s MLB Futures Game in mind, ESPN’s Jim Bowden (subscription required) details seven prospects from the game who could be trade chips at the deadline.