Rockies Notes: Gomber, Kinley, TV Deal
The Rockies will place Austin Gomber on the 15-day injured list, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (Twitter link). The left-hander was scratched from his start over the weekend because of back discomfort. He hasn’t pitched since August 28.
Colorado has yet to announce the move, which’ll presumably be backdated by the maximum allotted three days. It isn’t clear if Gomber will be able to return within the final three weeks of the season. He has made 27 starts on the year, ranking second on the team with 139 innings pitched. Gomber owns a 5.50 ERA with a well below-average 14.4% strikeout rate overall, though he showed a bit of progress in the second half. After carrying a 6.40 ERA into the All-Star Break, he has allowed 3.86 earned runs per nine across 49 frames.
It’s certainly not overwhelming production, but Gomber has likely done enough down the stretch to put himself on track for a season-opening spot in next year’s rotation. Only Kyle Freeland looks assured of a rotation job going into the winter, leaving Colorado with plenty of work to do on that front in the offseason.
There’s not much more certainty in the bullpen, which entered play Wednesday ranked 29th with a 5.27 ERA. Among the players the Rox are counting on for key relief roles next season is Tyler Kinley. The right-hander returned from a flexor surgery in August. He briefly landed back on the IL last month and has been limited to eight innings over 10 appearances this year.
Nevertheless, the Rockies are installing Kinley as their closer for the stretch run, as Harding writes. One of the more experienced arms in a young relief group, he turned in 24 innings of 0.75 ERA ball before the injury a season ago. The Rox signed Kinley to a $6.25MM guarantee last offseason, keeping him under contract through at least the 2025 campaign.
The roster isn’t the only thing in flux for the organization going into the winter. The club’s in-market broadcasting is uncertain beyond this season. Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports that AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain has notified its employees it’ll be shuttering operations at year’s end. The club’s local broadcasting picture for 2024 is to be determined.
Newman writes that it’s possible the Rockies land on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which is responsible for carrying Nuggets and Avalanche games in the area. MLB could also take over the broadcasts and stream them on the MLB.TV platform in-market for an additional fee, as it has done for the Padres since San Diego’s RSN contract with Diamond Sports Group collapsed in May.
Matt Manning Out For Season With Fractured Foot
Tigers starter Matt Manning fractured his right foot during tonight’s loss to the Yankees, tweets Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. A Giancarlo Stanton line drive that left the bat at a blistering 119.5 MPH hit Manning’s foot in the first inning. While he fielded the ball and recorded the out, Manning was replaced at the start of the second frame.
It’s astoundingly poor luck for Manning, who also broke a bone in the same foot when he was struck by a comebacker in April. McCosky notes that this fracture occurred in a different area, though that’ll be of little consolation with his third MLB season being cut short.
Manning has battled injuries in each of the last two seasons. He lost time with shoulder and forearm injuries a year ago. The foot issues are more clearly fluke occurrences, though they’ll cost him reps just the same. Manning made 14 starts this year, logging 77 innings of 3.62 ERA ball.
The former ninth overall pick hasn’t missed many bats at the big league level. He struck out under 16% of batters faced this season and has fanned only 16.1% of opponents for his career. Manning has shown above-average control and posted consecutive sub-4.00 ERA seasons, though, so he should have a rotation spot secure for 2024.
Angels Reportedly Place Randal Grichuk Back On Waivers
The Angels have again placed outfielder Randal Grichuk on waivers, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The veteran went unclaimed when the Halos put him on waivers last week.
That appears the likeliest outcome this time around. When Grichuk was available last week, he would’ve been eligible for postseason play with a new team. That’s no longer the case, as anyone acquired from outside the organization after September 1 is ineligible for the playoffs. Any team that puts in a claim for Grichuk, an impending free agent, would only be able to play him for the final three and a half weeks of the regular season.
While it seems unlikely a club would be interested in doing that, there’s at least some logic to the Angels trying to move Grichuk again. When he was on waivers last time, fellow right-handed hitting outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Harrison Bader were also available. The Reds, who were near the top of the waiver order among teams with a shot at making the playoffs, claimed both players.
Every team passed on Grichuk. Yet it seems likely there were teams behind the Reds in waiver priority that put in unsuccessful claims for Bader and/or Renfroe. Perhaps the Angels hope that one of those clubs would be willing to pivot to Grichuk now that they know they can’t land one of the other players.
For the Angels, the motivation is clear. Los Angeles has spent the past week endeavoring to get their luxury tax number below the $233MM base threshold. General manager Perry Minasian confirmed on Friday that shedding the contracts of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Matt Moore, Dominic Leone and Renfroe didn’t get them to that point, as they remained on the hook for some of Grichuk’s salary when he went unclaimed. The Halos placed Max Stassi on the restricted list over the weekend, declining to pay him for the final month of the season while he’s away from the team attending to a family health issue. That reportedly knocked around $300K off the club’s tax ledger but still left it unclear if the Angels had limboed below the line.
Grichuk remains eligible to play for the Angels while the waiver process plays out. He would likely stick on the MLB roster for the final few weeks of the season if he again goes unclaimed. Grichuk has hit only .179/.230/.359 in 31 games for the Halos after they acquired him from the Rockies prior to the trade deadline.
Diamondbacks Designate Nick Ahmed For Assignment
The Diamondbacks designated veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed for assignment, manager Torey Lovullo informed reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). That’s the corresponding move for the promotion of top infield prospect Jordan Lawlar.
It’ll close the book on Ahmed’s 10-year tenure in the desert. Arizona initially acquired him as part of a five-player return from the Braves for Justin Upton and Chris Johnson during the 2012-13 offseason. Ahmed debuted in the majors a year later and took over as the starting shortstop heading into 2015.
That was the first of six eventual Opening Day starts over the next nine years. Ahmed has never made much of an offensive impact, but he immediately broke in as one of the game’s preeminent defensive shortstops. In a little over 7000 career innings, Ahmed has rated an elite 80 runs above average by measure of Defensive Runs Saved. Among shortstops, only Andrelton Simmons has topped Ahmed in DRS over that stretch. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric, which dates back to 2015, has placed him only behind Francisco Lindor (who has logged over 3000 more innings).
Ahmed deservedly secured consecutive Gold Glove awards in 2018-19. Heading into the 2020 campaign, Arizona signed him to a $32.5MM contract to cover his final arbitration season and three would-be free agent years. It was a bet in Ahmed maintaining his elite defensive form, but the deal didn’t go as the organization had hoped.
The first season went well. Ahmed hit at a nearly average level in the shortened season while continuing to play excellent defense. His offense plummeted to a .221/.280/.339 slash the following year. Ahmed continued to defend well but battled a shoulder injury toward season’s end. That unfortunately carried over into 2022, as the veteran was forced to undergo season-ending surgery last June.
Arizona turned the shortstop job back over to him headed into 2023. Ahmed continued to struggle offensively, though, and Arizona gave increasing playing time to Geraldo Perdomo. Ahmed has worked as a glove-first backup, appearing in 72 games and hitting .212/.257/.303 across 210 plate appearances.
Between Perdomo and Lawlar, it always seemed as if Arizona would move on from Ahmed once his contract expired at year’s end. With the D-Backs hoping for an offensive spark in calling up the 21-year-old top prospect, they bumped the veteran off the roster a few weeks early. Arizona will put Ahmed on waivers in the coming days. He’ll surely go unclaimed, as no team will want to take on the approximate $1.4MM remaining on his $10MM salary. He will very likely become a free agent — either via release or declining an outright assignment.
While he could then look for other opportunities, he wouldn’t be eligible for postseason play with another team. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he simply waits until the offseason to look for a new landing spot for 2024.
Gary Sanchez, Ji Man Choi Diagnosed With Fractures
Padres catcher Gary Sánchez broke his right wrist during this afternoon’s loss to the Phillies, manager Bob Melvin tells reporters (including Annie Heilbrunn and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). In other unfortunate news, first baseman Ji Man Choi suffered a Lisfranc fracture when he fouled a ball off his right foot during a rehab game with Triple-A El Paso last night.
Sánchez was hit by a 98 MPH fastball from Philadelphia reliever Jeff Hoffman. The pitch ran inside and caught Sánchez’s back wrist when he checked his swing. He was replaced by Luis Campusano.
It’ll bring an unfortunate end to what had been a solid rebound season. The veteran backstop didn’t find a big league opportunity until mid-May. He’d bounced from the Giants to the Mets on minor league deals and earned a very brief look in Queens. The Mets waived Sánchez after three games, with San Diego claiming him to hopefully solidify their catching situation.
The 30-year-old has performed better than the Friars had likely anticipated. Sánchez slugged 19 home runs in only 267 plate appearances. Even with a meager .288 on-base percentage, the power production made him an above-average hitter. That’s particularly true in comparison to the glove-first position. Catchers entered play Wednesday with a .237/.304/.395 slash.
While Sánchez has been maligned for his glove throughout his career, public metrics rated him as a solid defender this season. He received slightly better than average grades from Statcast for his blocking and pitch framing. His 21.2% caught stealing rate is a little north of this year’s 20% league average.
That all positioned Sánchez nicely in a weak upcoming free agent class. He’s headed back to the open market in a couple months, arguably headlining a group that also includes Mitch Garver, Víctor Caratini and Tom Murphy. That could still be the case, but he’ll now unfortunately go into the winter with some injury uncertainty.
The Friars will turn to Campusano and Brett Sullivan as the catching tandem down the stretch. With that duo already on the MLB roster, they don’t need to call on another catcher as the corresponding move once Sánchez inevitably lands on the injured list. Campusano is hitting .309/.347/.491 in 35 games this season. The 24-year-old will look to stake a claim to the #1 job headed into 2024.
Like Sánchez, Choi will also go into free agency after a major injury. The left-handed hitting first baseman has had an injury-wrecked ’23 campaign. Choi lost most of the season’s first half with a strain in his left Achilles tendon. He returned to the Pirates in the middle of July, in time for Pittsburgh to send him to San Diego alongside Rich Hill in a deadline deal.
Choi only got into seven games for the Friars. He suffered a rib strain a month ago. The foot injury suffered on his rehab stint will end his season and, quite likely, his San Diego tenure. He’ll hit free agency for the first time coming off an almost entirely lost year, in which he hit .179/.239/.440 in 92 big league plate appearances.
Angels Select Brett Phillips
The Angels announced they have optioned infielder Michael Stefanic and selected the contract of outfielder Brett Phillips. No corresponding 40-man move will be required as the club still has several vacancies after losing various players off waivers in the past week.
Phillips returns to the majors for the first time since May. Signed to a $1.2MM free agent contract over the winter, the defensive specialist spent two months on the Halos’ bench. He got into 20 games, mostly as a defensive replacement or pinch runner. Phillips only hit 16 times before being designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers.
The 29-year-old has spent the past few months at Triple-A Salt Lake. He’s striking out in just under a third of his Triple-A plate appearances, posting a .230/.352/.366 line through 264 plate appearances. Strikeouts have prevented Phillips from assuming a regular role at the big league level, as he’s gone down on strikes in 38% of his MLB trips. He’s a career .187/.272/.343 hitter.
Phillips adds a defensive complement to the starting outfield of Mickey Moniak, Randal Grichuk and Luis Rengifo (who moved from shortstop to right field after the Halos waived Hunter Renfroe and promoted Kyren Paris). Now that he’s back on the MLB roster, Phillips is technically controllable via arbitration through 2026, though it seems likely he’ll be non-tendered at season’s end.
David Stearns Has Spoken With Mets, Astros About Potential Front Office Positions
For the past few years, speculation has abounded about the future of Brewers’ executive David Stearns. The Mets have made no secret of their affinity for Milwaukee’s longtime baseball operations leader.
New York’s interest hadn’t amounted to much to this point. Stearns has been under contract with Milwaukee, allowing Brewers’ owner Mark Attanasio to block the Mets from interviewing him over the 2021-22 offseason. Attanasio retained that freedom last winter, even as Stearns stepped down from running baseball operations and moved into an advisory role for longtime lieutenant Matt Arnold.
That’s no longer the case. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of the Athletic report that Stearns’ contract allowed him to begin speaking with other teams about a possible front office job following the August 1 trade deadline. Rosenthal and Sammon report that Stearns has already been in contact with both the Mets and Astros (potentially among other teams).
There has been plenty of speculation around the industry about the Mets turning baseball operations over to Stearns once his contract with Milwaukee was finished. Not only is he clearly well-regarded by Mets’ owner Steve Cohen, the 38-year-old executive is a Manhattan native who worked in the Mets’ front office early in his career. While New York signed Billy Eppler to a four-year contract to take over as general manager in the 2021-22 offseason, Cohen has gone on record about a desire to add a baseball operations president to take over above Eppler (who would remain as GM).
It’s unclear how far along talks between Stearns and the New York organization have gotten. Andy Martino of SNY suggests (Twitter link) that discussions have already advanced further than the Mets’ talks with Theo Epstein had two offseasons ago, though he cautions that a deal coming together is not certain.
Perhaps that’s related to the possibility of Houston staying involved. Stearns worked as an assistant general manager for the Astros from 2013-15, the immediate precursor to taking over baseball operations in Milwaukee. He’s clearly familiar with Houston owner Jim Crane, who reportedly showed interest in bringing Stearns back last offseason (but denied in January that he’d requested formal permission from the Brewers for an interview).
The path to running baseball operations is clearer in Queens than in Houston, however. The Astros surprisingly moved on from James Click last offseason despite winning the World Series. They operated without a baseball operations leader until tabbing Braves’ vice president of scouting Dana Brown in late January. While Crane took an unconventional path with Click — with whom he’d reportedly had a frosty relationship despite the team’s success — there’s no indication the now first-place club is considering diminishing Brown’s responsibility after eight months on the job.
That all seems to point to the Mets as the most logical landing spot. Rosenthal and Sammon hear from individuals close to Stearns that he was “re-energized” by a season with less responsibility and is prepared to reassume a key role in baseball operations. (Stearns declined comment to The Athletic.) That’d be a change from last winter, when he said he was “looking forward to taking a deep breath, spending time with my family and exploring some other interests” when stepping down from the president role with Milwaukee.
Pirates Outright Cal Mitchell
The Pirates sent outfielder Cal Mitchell outright to Triple-A Indianapolis this afternoon, tweets Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.
Mitchell and Yohan Ramirez were each DFA last Friday. Ramirez was claimed by the White Sox this afternoon. Mitchell went unclaimed and will stick in the organization. Since this is his first career outright and he has under three years of major league service, he doesn’t have the ability to decline the assignment.
A second round pick in 2017, Mitchell attracted some prospect attention throughout his time in Pittsburgh’s system. He performed reasonably well through Double-A before raking at a .339/.391/.547 clip in 63 Triple-A contests a year ago. That earned him a major league look in late May, but Mitchell didn’t found much success against big league pitching.
Over 232 trips to the dish, the lefty-swinging outfielder put up a .226/.286/.349 line. As a result, Mitchell has spent almost all of 2023 in Indianapolis. He hasn’t recaptured last year’s success at that level. He’s hitting .264/.338/.426 while striking out at a lofty 29.3% clip through 300 plate appearances. That eventually squeezed him off the roster.
Mitchell will try to work his way back onto the 40-man over the last month of the season. He’d qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason if the Bucs don’t reselect his contract.
Yankees Shut Down Anthony Rizzo For Season
The Yankees are shutting down first baseman Anthony Rizzo for the rest of the season, manager Aaron Boone told the beat this afternoon (relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). The three-time All-Star has spent the past month on the injured list while battling post-concussion syndrome.
According to Boone, Rizzo has made recent cognitive progress. With less than a month to go before season’s end, however, the Yankees have decided not to push for a return. Despite taking seven of their last 10, New York still sits eight games back of a playoff spot. They’ve clearly turned their attention toward 2024, bringing up Oswald Peraza, Everson Pereira, Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells for the stretch run.
Rizzo concludes the year with a .244/.328/.378 line through 421 plate appearances. It seems fair to attribute those uncharacteristically middling numbers in large part to the injury. At the time of his IL placement, Boone indicated that the Yankees believed Rizzo’s symptoms tracked back to a collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. on May 28. Rizzo carried a .304/.376/.505 slash through that date but hit just .172/.271/.225 thereafter.
The primary goal is to get him back to full strength. The veteran told reporters last month that he’d felt unusually fatigued and sometimes struggled to remember how many outs were recorded in an inning. There’s clearly reason for utmost caution, particularly with the team all but officially out of contention.
Rizzo is under contract for another season at $17MM. He’s also guaranteed at least a $6MM buyout on a $17MM club option for the ’25 campaign. He’ll presumably have the inside track at the season-opening first base job in 2024 if he’s able to progress through a standard offseason.
Since Rizzo’s IL placement, the Yankees have divided first base reps between DJ LeMahieu and Jake Bauers. Bauers got the early run but has fallen off of late, leaving the position primarily to LeMahieu. He’s hitting well in the second half to hold things down while Gleyber Torres and Peraza handle second and third base, respectively.
Astros Place Ryne Stanek On Injured List, Outright Rylan Bannon
The Astros announced that reliever Ryne Stanek has landed on the 15-day injured list due to a right ankle sprain. Parker Mushinski is up from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his spot on the active roster. Additionally, infielder Rylan Bannon has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Sugar Land after being designated for assignment over the weekend.
Stanek was injured in the ninth inning of yesterday’s blowout win in Arlington. The right-hander covered first base on a Leody Taveras grounder to the right side (video provided by Talkin’ Baseball). Stanek hit the bag awkwardly while receiving the throw from José Abreu. He went down in pain and was eventually taken off the field on a cart.
Given that alarming scene, it’s arguably a relief to hear the preliminary diagnosis as a strain. The veteran hurler isn’t finished going through tests, though. Chandler Rome of the Athletic tweets that Stanek is en route back to Houston for further imaging. Those results will obviously determine the recovery timetable.
Stanek has worked to a 4.07 ERA over 48 2/3 innings this year. He’s striking out a roughly average 23.8% of opposing hitters against a lofty 10.2% walk percentage. That’s below the level he showed over his first two seasons in Houston. Stanek was rather quietly an integral part of excellent Astros’ bullpens in 2021-22, combining for a 2.41 ERA while punching out 28.2% of batters faced.
While this hasn’t been his best season, the hard-throwing hurler still seems likely to secure a spot on the Houston playoff roster if the team qualifies and he’s able to get back on the mound. He’s a couple months from his first trip to the open market.
Bannon, meanwhile, was DFA when Houston claimed Bennett Sousa off waivers. The 27-year-old infielder has only played in two big league games for the Astros after being claimed over the offseason. He has spent the bulk of the season with Sugar Land, putting together a .230/.346/.433 line with 15 home runs over 350 plate appearances in a hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting.
It’s the first career outright for Bannon, who had been claimed off waivers the first four times he landed on the wire. With less than three years of major league service, he doesn’t have the right to decline the assignment. He’ll remain in Triple-A for the remainder of the season but would qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason unless the Astros add him back to the 40-man roster.
Ari Alexander of KPRC2 first reported Mushinski’s recall and Stanek’s ankle sprain.