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Tigers Notes: Lorenzen, Wentz, Vest, Haase, Rogers

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Tigers right-hander Michael Lorenzen is going to start the season on the 15-day injured list, manager A.J. Hinch indicated this afternoon (relayed by Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). The offseason signee is dealing with a left groin strain. Hinch indicated it’s not expected to be a serious issue but will require Lorenzen to miss a couple turns through the rotation.

Detroit brought the veteran in on a one-year, $8.5MM guarantee over the winter. He and fellow free agent pickup Matthew Boyd were added to take the final couple rotation spots beyond Eduardo Rodriguez, Spencer Turnbull and Matt Manning.

While that’s on hold, Detroit is likely to turn to Joey Wentz as a starter, McCosky adds. The 6’5″ southpaw was first called up last May. He got into seven games during his debut campaign, working to a 3.03 ERA with a slightly below-average 20% strikeout rate. Wentz had a solid 3.17 mark across 48 1/3 frames with Triple-A Toledo. He’s gotten hit hard this spring, allowing 13 runs in 14 2/3 innings in spite of a respectable 19:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

No pitcher had a tougher go in Detroit camp than reliever Will Vest, however. The righty managed four innings over five appearances, giving up a staggering 13 runs on as many hits with only three strikeouts. That knocked him out of consideration for a season-opening bullpen job, as Detroit optioned him to Toledo this afternoon.

Vest looked to have a bullpen spot more or less sewn up entering camp. The 27-year-old worked 63 innings over 59 outings last season. He allowed exactly four earned runs per nine but posted average or better strikeout (23.2%), walk (8.1%) and ground-ball (49.7%) marks. Vest could certainly factor into the bullpen as the season goes along but will first have to earn his way back up.

Alongside Vest, Detroit optioned catcher Donny Sands this afternoon. Hinch told reporters that non-roster backstops Andrew Knapp and Michael Papierski were being reassigned to minor league camp (link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press). That leaves Eric Haase and Jake Rogers as the season-opening catching duo. Haase always looked assured of a roster spot. He was one of Detroit’s most productive hitters last season and is out of options. Rogers earns the backup job as a defensive specialist, setting him up for his first MLB action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2021.

Pirates Have Continued Interest In Extending Bryan Reynolds

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The Pirates are making a renewed effort to work out a long-term deal with Bryan Reynolds, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). According to Heyman, the club would prefer to have an agreement in place by Opening Day, though it’s unclear how likely that is.

Reynolds addressed the situation briefly this afternoon, saying there wasn’t any major development on the extension front (via Justice delos Santos of MLB.com). The two-time All-Star indicated he shares a desire to not have talks linger into the regular season.

Whether the Pirates would extend or trade Reynolds has been a question for quite some time. He’s come up in offseason and deadline trade rumors for over a year. Pittsburgh has held firm on a huge ask in discussions with other teams but hasn’t seemed to make much progress about keeping him past their allotted window of arbitration control, which runs through 2025. There appeared to be a tipping point in early December. Extension discussions stalled and Reynolds requested a trade around the Winter Meetings.

Pittsburgh brass reiterated they weren’t planning to lower their trade price in response to Reynolds’ wish to move. They ended up him holding him throughout the offseason — without any public indication they came particularly close to a deal — and the switch-hitting outfielder walked things back as camp approached. In mid-February, he told reporters he was still open to extension talks, saying he’d “been pretty open the past few years that (his) No. 1 choice would be to sign an extension in Pittsburgh.”

While it doesn’t seem there’s been any substantive movement, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the sides’ relationship has generally improved over the past couple months. Mackey suggests there’s at least some optimism among those involved that a deal could come together, though it’ll obviously depend on the extent to which the parties budge on financials.

Previous reports have suggested the Pirates offered a six-year deal that’d guarantee somewhere in the $75-80MM range. Meanwhile, Mackey writes that Reynolds’ camp had sought an eight-year deal worth $134MM. That leaves a gap in the $50-60MM vicinity to bridge. A six-year deal would run through Reynolds’ age-33 season, assuming it overwrote the $6.75MM salary he’s presently set to receive. An eight-year pact would take him through age 35.

Angels Option Andrew Velazquez, Jo Adell, Mickey Moniak

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The Angels announced Friday evening that infielder Andrew Velazquez and outfielders Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak have been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. None of that trio will be on the major league team out of camp.

Velazquez was the Halos’ primary shortstop last year, picking up 100 starts at the position after being claimed off waivers from the Yankees over the 2021-22 offseason. A glove-first infielder, he rated highly over his 906 shortstop innings but provided almost nothing at the plate. The switch-hitter posted a .196/.236/.304 line while striking out in 34.1% of his 349 plate appearances. Los Angeles brought in Brandon Drury via free agency and Gio Urshela in a trade with Minnesota to upgrade the infield.

While neither Drury nor Urshela will necessarily see much action at shortstop, they provide general infield depth that could push David Fletcher or Luis Rengifo to shortstop more frequently. That relegated Velazquez back to Triple-A for now.

Adell and Moniak are each one-time top prospects who have struggled in multiple big league looks. The former played in a career-high 88 MLB games last season but only managed a .224/.264/.373 line with a massive 37.5% strikeout rate. He also struck out at a concerning 31.1% clip over 40 Triple-A contests but paired that with a strong 11.1% walk rate and 13 home runs in 180 trips to the plate.

Moniak came over from the Phillies in a deadline trade that sent Noah Syndergaard to Philadelphia. The former first overall pick managed only a .200/.226/.417 line over his first 60 plate appearances with the Halos. He’s a career .157/.218/.268 hitter over parts of three MLB seasons.

Both Adell and Moniak have one minor league option year remaining. If they spend 20+ days in the minors this season, they’ll exhaust that final year and be out of options next spring. That puts pressure on both players to take a significant step forward in 2023 if they’re to carve out long-term roles in Anaheim.

Dodgers Option Michael Grove, Name Ryan Pepiot Fifth Starter

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The Dodgers optioned Michael Grove to Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. That brings to an end the battle for the fifth starter’s role, which had been down to Grove and Ryan Pepiot. Los Angeles also optioned lefty reliever Victor González.

Manager Dave Roberts indicated the Dodgers felt Pepiot outperformed Grove this spring (relayed by Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). Pepiot certainly did a better job keeping runs off the board, allowing five runs in 13 2/3 frames. Grove was tagged for ten runs across 16 2/3 innings, albeit with a quality 17:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Pepiot also fared very well in that regard, punching out 19 while walking five.

L.A. will turn to Pepiot as the #5 starter behind Julio Urías, Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard and Dustin May to open the year. The Dodgers will be without Tony Gonsolin for a few weeks due to an ankle sprain, opening the path for the two younger hurlers to battle for a starting job.

Pepiot, a fairly recent top prospect, made his big league debut last season. The 25-year-old started seven out of nine appearances, working to a quality 3.47 ERA. He punched out an above-average 26.3% of batters faced but issued walks at an untenable 16.9% clip. He’d kept the walks to a more manageable 9.8% rate while striking out over 30% of opposing hitters in 91 1/3 innings in Oklahoma City.

Dombrowski: Darick Hall Favorite For Majority Of First Base Reps

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The Phillies were dealt a huge blow yesterday when Rhys Hoskins went down with an ACL tear that’ll require surgery. They’ll now have to patch things together at first base unexpectedly.

Darick Hall appears the next man up. The left-handed hitter got into his first 42 MLB games last season. He connected on nine longballs and slugged .522 in 142 plate appearances. That’s a promising start but a meager 3.5% walk rate and elevated 31% strikeout percentage contributed to a .282 on-base mark. Hall had hit .254/.330/.528 with 28 homers, a 9.5% walk percentage and a 22.6% strikeout rate in 101 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer today that Hall looks like the favorite to take the bulk of the first base reps. That could come in a platoon capacity, as the 27-year-old had dramatic splits last year. Between the majors and Lehigh Valley, Hall mashed at a .280/.344/.601 clip over 436 plate appearances against right-handed pitching. He limped to a .175/.242/.314 line over 149 trips to the dish against lefties — all but 12 of those coming against Triple-A arms.

“We have not made that decision yet,” Dombrowski said of a possible platoon. “I know he’ll get the majority of playing time, but of course the majority of playing time we’ll face righties. But I don’t know what we’re going to do in that regard. We haven’t discussed that part of it yet.”

Philadelphia could slide the righty-swinging Alec Bohm over to first base on days when there’s a left-handed opposing starter. That’d leave third base to a more defense-oriented player, likely one of Edmundo Sosa or Josh Harrison. The Phils could also take another look at Scott Kingery, who isn’t on the 40-man roster but has played well this spring. If they wish to look outside the organization, Miguel Sanó remains unsigned while Keston Hiura will be traded or waived within the next week.

As for Hoskins, Dombrowski noted the surgery comes with a recovery timetable of seven months. The Phils haven’t officially ruled him out for the entire season, with the baseball ops president telling Coffey they’re uncertain if Hoskins has a chance to return if the club makes a deep playoff run.

Keston Hiura Will Not Make Brewers’ Roster

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The Brewers have informed infielder Keston Hiura he will not be on the active roster, general manager Matt Arnold told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Since he’s out of minor league option years, Milwaukee will have to trade him or place him on waivers in the next few days.

Arnold also indicated that outfielder Tyler Naquin — who is in camp on a minor league deal — won’t be on the team either (relayed by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). Naquin will have a chance to opt out of his contract and retest free agency if he doesn’t plan to accept an assignment to Triple-A Nashville.

The tougher call for the Milwaukee front office was to cut bait with Hiura. The ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft, he entered pro ball as one of the game’s top offensive prospects. Hiura flew through the minor leagues and was in the majors within two seasons. He hit the ground running, connecting on 19 home runs with a .303/.368/.570 line in 84 games as a rookie at age 22. That came with a somewhat concerning 30.7% strikeout rate, but it seemed fair to anticipate Hiura making strides from a contact perspective as he gained more experience against big league arms.

Unfortunately for player and team alike, that’s not how things have played out. While he hit 13 more homers in 59 games during the shortened season, his strikeouts jumped to 34.6%. That led to a meager .212/.297/.410 slash. The swing-and-miss concerns continued to mount the following year, as he punched out just under 40% of the time in 61 big league contests. That led Milwaukee to yo-yo between him the majors and Nashville, where Hiura hit for a ton of power and drew plenty of walks but continued striking out at an alarming clip.

It was a similar story in 2022. The UC-Irvine product got into 80 MLB games and drilled 14 homers. His .226/.316/.449 line was 15 percentage points better than last year’s league average offense, as measured by wRC+. Yet it came with a personal-high 41.7% strikeout percentage, the second-highest rate among the 358 hitters with 200+ plate appearances. Any regression in his .355 batting average on balls in play could’ve left him around the Mendoza line with a sub-.300 OBP unless he took a step forward with his bat-to-ball skills. He’d been off to a rough start this spring, striking out in 15 of 32 at-bats while hitting .156/.229/.219.

Unlike in prior years, the Brew Crew didn’t have the luxury of sending Hiura to Nashville to try to figure things out. Without any remaining options, they had to determine whether it was worth carrying him in a bench role. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored a couple weeks ago, the decision was complicated by the presence of another right-handed first baseman, Luke Voit, who’s in camp on a minor league deal. Milwaukee parting ways with Hiura would seem to bode well for Voit’s chances of cracking the roster, though the club hasn’t yet indicated whether he’ll make the team.

The Brewers will take the next few days to evaluate their options with Hiura. It seems likely another team will have some interest in a change of scenery trade. He’s under arbitration control through the 2025 campaign and playing this year on an affordable $2.2MM salary. A win-now team like Milwaukee might not have room on the roster but a club with a less immediate contention window like the Nationals or Rockies could take a look. The Phillies are an immediate contender but just lost Rhys Hoskins to a likely season-ending ACL tear and could look for a righty bat to supplement the first base mix.

If Milwaukee were to place Hiura on waivers, any other team could grab him while assuming the salary. Should he go unclaimed, he’d almost certainly stick with the organization in Nashville. Hiura has between three and five years of service time, which gives him the right to refuse an outright assignment but would require relinquishing his salary to do so.

As for Naquin, he seems likely to explore his options on the market. The left-handed hitter is a career .274/.326/.468 hitter against righty pitching. He’s not a great defender and is best served in a platoon capacity but he could find immediate interest elsewhere. Naquin hit .194/.278/.258 in 12 games this spring.

With Tyrone Taylor set to open the season on the injured list, Milwaukee has a decision to make in right field. Christian Yelich will be in left and Garrett Mitchell seems a virtual lock for center. Right field time could fall to Brian Anderson or utility player Owen Miller but Milwaukee also has a pair of highly-regarded prospects in Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer. Neither has yet played in the majors but both hit well in Triple-A last year. Arnold said that either of Frelick or Wiemer breaking camp is “definitely in play” (via Hogg).

Guardians, Daniel Norris Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Guardians are in agreement with reliever Daniel Norris on a minor league contract, tweets Mandy Bell of MLB.com. He’ll report to minor league camp and likely open the season with Triple-A Columbus.

Norris had been in camp with the Reds but was released on Monday. That came on the heels of a tough Spring Training, as he’d allowed six runs (five earned) over 6 2/3 innings with seven walks and five strikeouts. That predictably wasn’t enough to earn a season-opening roster spot in spite of a Cincinnati bullpen that only has one lock for left-handed relief (Reiver Sanmartin).

A veteran of parts of nine big league campaigns, the 29-year-old Norris split last season between the Cubs and Tigers. He threw 58 2/3 innings over 41 outings, pitching to a 5.22 ERA with an above-average 26.4% strikeout rate and a lofty 11.6% walk percentage. It was a tail of two seasons, as Norris had plenty of punchouts and walks in Chicago before trimming both numbers later in the year with Detroit.

The Guardians will be without top southpaw Sam Hentges to start the season, as he’s battling shoulder inflammation. That thinned the left-handed bullpen depth. Cleveland informed reporters this afternoon that 26-year-old Tim Herrin will break camp in the MLB bullpen (relayed by Zack Meisel of the Athletic). He’ll be the only southpaw in Terry Francona’s Opening Day relief corps.

Herrin, a 29th-round draftee out of Indiana in 2018, split the 2022 campaign between Double-A Akron and Columbus. He worked 69 1/3 frames, allowing a 4.02 ERA. Herrin’s strikeout and walk numbers were much more eye-catching than the run prevention. He fanned 34.1% of opponents against a 7.8% walk percentage. Cleveland added him to the 40-man roster over the offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He’s now going to get a chance to make his big league debut after striking out 11 with two walks in 9 2/3 frames of five-run ball in camp.

Royals’ Daniel Lynch Likely To Start Season On Injured List With Shoulder Strain

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Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch has a strain in his throwing shoulder and will be shut down for 7-10 days, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. With Opening Day less than a week out, it’s highly likely he’ll begin the year on the 15-day injured list.

Lynch suffered the injury in yesterday’s Spring Training outing against San Diego. Working in relief of Brady Singer, he logged 2 1/3 innings of four-run ball before departing with a trainer. Manager Matt Quatraro noted after the game he was headed for imaging after complaining of shoulder discomfort.

A brief shutdown period and potentially minor IL stint is far from the worst outcome that could come from a pitcher’s shoulder issue. Nevertheless, it’s a disappointing start to what could be a make-or-break year for the former #34 overall pick. Despite a top prospect pedigree built around mid-90s velocity and a slider that at times has looked like a plus offering, Lynch hasn’t yet established himself as an effective MLB starter. He took the ball 27 times last year and threw 131 2/3 innings but managed only a 5.13 ERA. That brought his career run prevention mark to 5.32 earned per nine in just under 200 frames.

The Royals overhauled their coaching staff this offseason. Quatraro was brought in from the Rays to replace Mike Matheny as manager. Brian Sweeney was hired from the Guardians to take Cal Eldred’s spot as pitching coach. The hope was that new voices could unlock better performance from the likes of Lynch, Kris Bubic and Carlos Hernández.

That might still prove to be the case, though Lynch’s development path will be on pause as he recovers from the shoulder issue. It also takes him out of the mix for a season-opening rotation job. Singer, Zack Greinke and Jordan Lyles are locks. The final couple spots could go to Ryan Yarbrough and Brad Keller, each of whom has plenty of starting experience but has recently worked out of relief because of inconsistent production. Bubic, Max Castillo and Jonathan Heasley are among the depth options who occupy spots on the 40-man roster.

Rhys Hoskins Diagnosed With Torn ACL, Will Undergo Surgery

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The Phillies have lost Rhys Hoskins for almost certainly the entire season. Philadelphia announced Thursday evening the veteran first baseman tore the ACL in his left knee. He’ll undergo surgery at an unspecified date. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will meet with the media to discuss the situation tomorrow morning.

Hoskins was injured during this morning’s Spring Training action against the Tigers. He retreated to field an Austin Meadows chopper that pushed him just into the outfield grass. After the ball kicked off his glove, Hoskins scrambled to retrieve it but immediately went down in pain (video provided on Twitter by Chris Brown of the Woodward Sports Network). The club had to call for a cart to take him off the field. While manager Rob Thomson later indicated that Hoskins was able to walk in the clubhouse, imaging revealed the devastating injury.

It’s a horrible development for team and player alike. Hoskins had been set to occupy his typical middle-of-the-order lineup spot for the defending National League champions. A paragon of offensive consistency, he’s hit between 27 and 34 home runs in all four of his full MLB seasons. Hoskins pairs that power with plus walk totals to more than compensate for slightly higher than average strikeout rates. Even after accounting for Philadelphia’s hitter-friendly home park, he’s been a well above-average offensive player throughout his career.

Hoskins is coming off his typical season. He connected on 30 homers with a .246/.332/.462 line while suiting up in 156 regular season games. While he only hit .159 with a .205 on-base percentage in the playoffs, he popped six homers in 73 postseason PA’s.

That kind of power production would have been of particular import for the Phils early in the 2023 campaign. Bryce Harper is recovering from Tommy John surgery and will open the year on the injured list. While Philadelphia doesn’t have any imminent plans to put the two-time MVP on the 60-day IL, the club has only specified they expect him back around the All-Star Break. They’ll now be down two of their best hitters early in the year and, in Hoskins’ case, likely for the entire season.

The Phils added another star position player this offseason, signing Trea Turner to a $300MM deal. The Phils have a pair of more traditional sluggers in last winter’s signees Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. Schwarber is coming off a 46-homer season in his first year with the club. Castellanos, on the other hand, struggled to a .263/.305/.389 line in the initial season of a five-year deal. With Hoskins out, there’s more pressure on Castellanos to return to peak form alongside Turner, Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and eventually Harper in the lineup.

In the immediate future, the Phils will have to sort out how to divvy up first base playing time. The most straightforward decision would be to give the job to 27-year-old Darick Hall. A left-handed power bat, Hall got into his first 42 MLB games last season. He connected on nine longballs and slugged .522 in 142 plate appearances. That’s a promising start but a meager 3.5% walk rate and elevated 31% strikeout percentage contributed to a .282 OBP. Hall had hit .254/.330/.528 with 28 homers, a 9.5% walk percentage and a 22.6% strikeout rate in 101 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Aside from Hall, the Phils could give occasional first base reps to either of Schwarber or Castellanos. Utility players like Josh Harrison or Kody Clemens could take some at-bats but aren’t likely to hit enough to play there regularly. The Phillies could also slide third baseman Alec Bohm across the diamond — particularly if they want the right-handed Bohm to take some reps from Hall against lefty pitching — while plugging Harrison or Edmundo Sosa at the hot corner for defensive purposes. Realmuto also seems likely to pick up a few starts on days when the Phils want to get him some time off from behind the dish.

If Philadelphia were to go outside the organization, Miguel Sanó stands as the top unsigned first baseman. Other players should come available as teams make roster cuts. The Brewers may wind up having to decide between minor league signee Luke Voit and the out-of-options Keston Hiura. The Marlins could soon have to decide whether to keep non-roster invitee Yuli Gurriel or allow him to retest the market. Phillies brass figures to provide insight into the plans over the coming days.

In addition to the difficulty of losing an entire season on a championship contender, it’s hard to draw up a worse time for an injury of this nature for Hoskins personally. The 30-year-old will be a free agent for the first time next offseason. One of the top bats in what looks to be a shallow free agent position player class, he looked like an obvious choice to reject a qualifying offer and sign a lucrative multi-year deal. Instead, he might have to take a pillow contract to reestablish himself before testing the market again over the 2024-25 offseason. Josh Bell and Trey Mancini, who can each opt out of the deals they signed this winter, now look like the top impending free agents at first base.

Rangers Notes: Dunning, Ragans, Smith, Foscue

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The Rangers could carry righty Dane Dunning and left-hander Cole Ragans in the big league bullpen to open the season, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Both pitchers were squeezed out of the initial rotation mix by Texas’ busy offseason. Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney and Nathan Eovaldi were all brought in to join Martín Pérez and Jon Gray in the starting five. Even with trade pickup Jake Odorizzi headed to the injured list, there’s no room in the season-opening five for Dunning or Ragans.

Rather than option either to Triple-A Round Rock to start the year, the Rangers might prefer to keep them stretched out as multi-inning options at the MLB level. The Rangers plan to be cautious with early-season workloads for deGrom and Eovaldi after each had minor soreness that slightly delayed them in camp. Dunning and Ragans could handle bulk work in relief. The former was second on the team with 153 1/3 innings over 29 starts last year; the latter worked 40 frames over nine big league starts after tallying 94 2/3 innings in the upper minors.

There are also some roster questions on the position player side, perhaps none bigger than in center field. Adolis García and Robbie Grossman are ticketed for most of the corner outfield work. Leody Taveras should get first crack up the middle if healthy, but his status for Opening Day is still up in the air owing to an oblique strain earlier this month.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Texas has begun to get Josh Smith some work in center field, as Grant writes in a separate piece. The 25-year-old didn’t see any big league time there last year, instead splitting his rookie campaign between third base, shortstop and left field. Texas gave Smith 131 innings in center in Triple-A. They were apparently sufficiently impressed to consider him a potential part-time option there at the highest level. He’s a slightly above-average runner who has plenty of experience in the middle infield, so it’s not out of the question he’s athletic enough to handle the outfield’s toughest position.

Smith doesn’t have a path to everyday playing time at any one spot after hitting .197/.307/.249 over his first 253 MLB plate appearances. An ability to take on tough defensive assignments would increase his utility off the bench. The Rangers have Bubba Thompson and non-roster invitee Travis Jankowski — neither of whom is hitting this spring — as the most straightforward center field replacements for Taveras. Smith might have the most offensive upside of that trio in spite of his slow start against big league pitching. He’d hit .290/.395/.466 in 55 games in Triple-A.

The efforts to broaden versatility aren’t limited to the MLB level. As part of a reader mailbag earlier this week, The Athletic’s Jamey Newberg noted that Texas is planning to get prospect Justin Foscue more work on the corner infield this year in Round Rock. Texas’ first-round draftee in 2020, Foscue has mostly played second base as a professional. He logged 106 innings at the hot corner with Double-A Frisco last year and played there regularly during his first couple collegiate seasons at Mississippi State. He has virtually no experience at first base.

Foscue will continue to get time at second base as well, though finding comfort at multiple positions could aid him in getting to the majors as a bat-first utility player. Marcus Semien should have the keystone secure for years to come. Foscue isn’t far off the majors from an offensive perspective after hitting .288/.367/.483 with 15 homers and a meager 14.3% strikeout rate in Round Rock last year.

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