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Dodgers Designate Jordan Jankowski For Assignment

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The Dodgers have announced that they’ve designated righty Jordan Jankowski for assignment. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for righty Wilmer Font, whose contract the team selected today. The Dodgers also promoted Font and righty Brock Stewart to the big leagues.

The Dodgers added Jankowski on a waiver claim from the Astros less than two weeks ago. The 28-year-old has a 5.61 ERA, 11.4 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings of relief at the Triple-A level this season. He also debuted with the Astros earlier this year, giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The 27-year-old Font, meanwhile, was named the PCL Pitcher of the Year after a remarkable season for Triple-A Oklahoma City in which he posted a 3.42 ERA, 11.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 134 1/3 innings. The former Rangers farmhand signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays after a stint in independent ball last season, then headed to the Dodgers on another minor-league pact last winter.

Cubs Designate Jack Leathersich For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated lefty Jack Leathersich for assignment, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. The move clears space on the team’s 40-man roster for newly acquired outfielder Leonys Martin.

The 27-year-old Leathersich has spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, posting a 2.84 ERA, 5.7 BB/9 and an eye-popping 14.6 K/9 over 44 1/3 innings. Those numbers, combined with the fact that Leathersich has options remaining, could win him some attention on the waiver wire. He does, however, have limited big-league experience, and he struggled in brief duty with the Cubs earlier this season. The Cubs acquired Leathersich on a waiver claim from the Mets in the 2015-16 offseason, later re-signed him to a minor-league deal, then added him to their 40-man roster last winter.

Mets Sign Nori Aoki

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The Mets have signed veteran outfielder Nori Aoki, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. The Blue Jays released Aoki earlier this week, making him eligible to sign with any team for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary.

The 35-year-old Aoki has produced a respectable .274/.319/.402 line over 258 plate appearances with the Astros and Jays this season, but has now changed teams twice, first heading from Houston to Toronto in the Francisco Liriano deal (likely in part to balance salaries in that trade) and now going from Toronto to New York. He has little power, with just five home runs this season, but he retains some of his established ability to make contact and still rates as approximately an average defender in a corner.

Aoki will aid a Mets team that’s short in the outfield following the departures of Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson last month, as well as significant injuries to Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto. Aoki is eligible for salary arbitration in the offseason, but he would likely be in line to receive a salary above the $5.5MM he’s getting this season, so he appears to be a non-tender candidate.

Reactions To The Justin Verlander Deal

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Here’s a collection of reactions to the Tigers’ headline-grabbing trade of Justin Verlander to the Astros earlier this week.

  • After the Tigers and Astros agreed on a deal, Verlander initially refused to waive his no-trade rights, Jon Morosi of MLB.com writes. Verlander wasn’t opposed to joining the Astros, but first he wanted to see if he could go to the Cubs, since he and fiancée Kate Upton like the city of Chicago. (Verlander was also interested in the Dodgers, although they weren’t actively involved in talks.) When it turned out the Tigers felt the Cubs weren’t offering enough value in a potential deal, Verlander signed off on the trade that would send him to the Astros.
  • Bob Nightengale of USA Today has further details on discussions between Verlander and the Tigers that resulted in Verlander’s departure from Detroit. The Tigers ultimately told Verlander it would be “the Astros or nobody,” as Nightengale describes it. Verlander, who had some concerns about Houston as it dealt with Hurricane Harvey, spoke to Astros owner Jim Crane. “I told him, ’This town is going to be fine. It’s going to take time. You will be received great here. We’ve got a good team, a good manager, a good front office. There won’t be any problems here,'” says Crane.
  • The Tigers’ decision to trade Verlander and Justin Upton was an “obvious rebuild move,” says Tigers GM Al Avila (via MLB.com’s Jason Beck). “We’re going to have a rough month of September, and next year may not be all that pretty, either,” says Avila. “But at some point in the near future, we expect this to turn around, that some of these prospects will be coming up and making a difference. And within a reasonable time then, we should be ready to go.”
  • The trade shows the Astros will treat their coming playoff run as a “crusade” for their beleaguered city, Ken Rosenthal writes for the Athletic. The team already has a franchise-record payroll of around $130MM this season, and that figure could go higher next year. But the Astros are pushing to make it to the World Series, and Rosenthal writes that while a baseball trade hardly makes up for what’s currently a disastrous situation in Houston, it could perhaps be a “ray of sunshine” in an extremely dark time.
  • Franklin Perez now ranks as the Tigers’ second-best prospect behind fellow righty Matt Manning, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen opines in a review of the prospects in the swap. Longenhagen describes Perez as a polished teenager who has the potential to dominate, although he’ll have to increase his stamina to carry a big-league starter’s workload. He calls Daz Cameron a “fringe-to-average hitter with fringe game power” and a borderline future big-league starting outfielder.

NL Notes: Harvey, Fedde, Pirates

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Mets righty Matt Harvey is set to return from the disabled list Friday against the Astros, as Mike Puma of the New York Post notes. Harvey has been out since mid-June with a shoulder injury and hasn’t overwhelmed in his four rehab starts, but the Mets were enthused about his last outing, Puma writes. “When he threw in Double-A last time, the reports weren’t all that glowing,” says pitching coach Dan Warthen. “But [minor league pitching coordinator] Glenn Abbott was raving about this last one. Matt’s delivery was the same every pitch, and everything was coming out cleanly.” Harvey has seen most of his last two seasons derailed by injuries, but he’ll have a chance to salvage something from the 2017 season after pitching to a 5.25 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 70 1/3 innings before hitting the DL. Here’s more from the National League.

  • Nationals righty Erick Fedde threw with less velocity than usual on Sunday, pitching in the 89-91 MPH range after previously throwing around 94, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes. Fedde says he’s “not too worried about” the loss in velocity and attributes it to the approaching end of the season. Fedde, though, is still just under 100 innings for the season between the minors and the Majors after throwing 121 last year. Janes does note that Fedde has lately demonstrated a better-rounded repertoire than he showed in Spring Training, with a slower curveball and changeup to go along with his fastball and slider.
  • The Pirates’ rotation hasn’t been overwhelming this season, but they have had good depth they largely haven’t needed, as Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. The Bucs have only used six starters, and one of those, Tyler Glasnow, has a 1.99 ERA with Triple-A Indianapolis and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since early June. Steven Brault (1.94 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 52.2 GB%) has also fared well at Triple-A, with Drew Hutchison, Clay Holmes and Nick Kingham all also getting fairly good results. “It’s a good lesson in humility and patience,” says Brault. “You have to realize it’s not what you’re doing that’s wrong. Sometimes there’s just not a spot.” The Pirates control the rights to everyone in their current rotation for at least two more seasons beyond this one, so an offseason move or two could be a possibility, with Gerrit Cole perhaps being on the trading block. Kingham will be out of options next season, making his name one to watch as well. Of course, rotation depth charts have a way of changing quickly.

West Notes: Astros, Rangers, Giants

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In light of the damage wrought by Tropical Storm Harvey, the Astros have released a statement about their plans for the coming week. The team, after playing the Angels in California this weekend, is currently scheduled to host the Rangers in Houston on Tuesday. However, the team now plans to fly to Dallas, and will provide an update on their schedule on Monday. It seems reasonable to speculate that the upcoming series will be moved to Arlington. “At this point, our focus is on the safety of our fans, our players and their families and our front office staff and their families,” says Astros president of business operations Reid Ryan. “As we continue to monitor the conditions, we have been in communication with Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers and will provide an update on Monday.” Obviously, these potential changes to the baseball calendar pale in importance to the continued dangers Harvey poses, and we at MLBTR send our thoughts to any readers currently dealing with the devastation of the storm.

Here’s more from the West divisions.

  • A series of trades left the Rangers’ minor-league system light on starting pitching talent, so the organization has changed its priorities to accommodate their talent vacuum, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. While pushing for a World Series title, the Rangers dealt Jerad Eickhoff, Alec Asher and Jake Thompson (in the Cole Hamels deal), Luis Ortiz (in the Jonathan Lucroy trade) and Dillon Tate (for Carlos Beltran). In the wake of those departures, the team focused on their prospects’ fastball command and slowed down the pace at which they moved through the system. The team’s remaining top pitching prospect, Yohander Mendez, has exemplified those changes, as Grant points out — last year, Mendez went all the way from Class A+ High Desert to the Majors, mostly with fine results, probably thanks in part to an excellent changeup. This year, though, he’s spent the entire season with Double-A Frisco. “I was uncomfortable at first,” Mendez says. “I was not used to pitching like that. But I was falling in love with my secondary stuff and it hurt me. If I know my mechanics and could locate the fastball, it would make my secondary pitches better.”
  • The Giants’ struggles this season — culminating today in a sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks — show that the team will yet again have to upgrade its bullpen in the coming winter, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. One key recent acquisition, Mark Melancon, has missed part of the season with elbow issues, and another, Will Smith, has missed all of it. Josh Osich and Steven Okert have struggled in their attempts to replace retired lefty Javier Lopez. On the bright side, the team can hope for more from Melancon and Smith next year, and Sam Dyson has proven very helpful. And the team will have pieces it can mix and match in Cory Gearrin, Hunter Strickland, Derek Law and Kyle Crick.

MLBTR Originals

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Here’s the original content published over the last seven days here at MLBTR.

NL Central Notes: Kang, Cardinals, Braun

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Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang will almost surely miss all of the 2017 MLB campaign after failing to secure a visa following a DUI conviction, his third, last offseason. But the Pirates are hopeful that they can get Kang on the field this winter. Earlier this week, GrandesenlosDeportes in the Dominican Republic tweeted that Kang would be joining Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League. Pirates GM Neal Huntington has confirmed the Bucs’ plans, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes. “We know we have a club that will play him, provided we can get him into the (Dominican Republic),” Huntington says. “In our minds, this is the best level of competition we could get him in the offseason.” The Pirates still have Kang under contract for 2018, with a club option for 2019. He’s currently on the restricted list, which means he hasn’t collected any salary for the year. The Pirates recently acquired Sean Rodriguez from Atlanta as an insurance policy for next season, in case Kang is unable to return. Here’s more from the NL Central.

  • The Cardinals feel they suddenly have a “traffic jam” of outfield talent, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Tommy Pham has had a terrific season in the Majors, with Harrison Bader playing well in Triple-A Memphis and Oscar Mercado having a mini-breakout (driven in part by his impressive defense) at Double-A Springfield. The team also has Dexter Fowler, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty in the big leagues, plus a number of other interesting prospects (including Tyler O’Neill, Jose Adolis Garcia, Magneuris Sierra and Randy Arozarena) in the high minors. That means various Cardinals outfielders could become trade bait this winter — not only because the team has assets to spend, but because there might simply not be enough opportunities for all of them, particularly since all of the outfielders mentioned above except Fowler and Pham are young. “We’re not going to have enough room at the inn,” says Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. “That is something we, as an organization, are going to have to take a very hard look at this offseason and decide what makes the most sense.”
  • Ryan Braun remains as the last key veteran from the Brewers’ 2014 club who’s still with the team as it makes another run at contention in 2017, and he’s happy to still be in Milwaukee, he tells MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby. Rumors about being traded to the Dodgers last winter makes Braun feel especially grateful, he says. “Last year, obviously, I was close to getting traded,” says Braun. “When it didn’t happen, obviously, it makes me that much more appreciative of however much time I do end up spending here.” Braun adds that it isn’t lost on him that after him, the position player who has been with the Brewers the longest is Domingo Santana, who first suited up with Milwaukee a little over two years ago this week.

West Notes: Gomez, Renfroe, Astros

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The Rangers have announced that they’ve placed outfielder Carlos Gomez on the 10-day DL after having a cyst on his right shoulder excised. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have recalled infielder Phil Gosselin from Triple-A Round Rock. Gomez has not played since last Sunday, but the Rangers were hopeful until recently that a DL stint wouldn’t be necessary. Delino DeShields and Drew Robinson figure to continue to play center until Gomez returns. Here’s more from the West divisions.

  • The Padres have optioned outfielder Hunter Renfroe to Triple-A El Paso, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Jabari Blash will take Renfroe’s place on the active roster. Renfroe, a former top prospect, was batting a respectable .230/.285/.443 as the Padres’ regular right fielder, but was hitting just .189/.286/.243 in the past two weeks. He seems like a good bet to return once rosters expand in September.
  • The Astros recently fired at least eight scouts, as Peter Gammons tweeted yesterday. These firings are a bit surprising coming from an organization whose big-league team is currently thriving thanks to the contributions of a number of young, homegrown players. GM Jeff Luhnow, though, says the team’s scouting division will remain about the same size going forward, and that the area is being realigned, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes. “This is not a cutback in scouting,” says Luhnow. “We are reconfiguring within and across the three scouting departments – international, domestic and pro.” Luhnow added that he expects the team will make new scouting hires.

Dodgers Place Yu Darvish On 10-Day DL

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The Dodgers have formally announced that they’ve placed righty Yu Darvish on the 10-day DL with lower back tightness. They also officially activated outfielder Curtis Granderson, optioned outfielder Joc Pederson to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and recalled lefty Edward Paredes from Oklahoma City.

Darvish’s injury is not expected to be serious, as GM Farhan Zaidi tells the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett (all Twitter links). “He could potentially go out there and he certainly feels he could. But in our situation, it’s important for us to feel that he’s 100 percent. To err on the side of caution with an injury that’s relatively minor still makes sense,” says Zaidi. As Plunkett explains, the Dodgers’ enormous 19-game lead on the NL West (and, really, their huge lead in wins on every team in baseball at this point) gives them the luxury of not taking risks on August games that ultimately won’t matter much.

Darvish left his start on Wednesday due to his back trouble. He’s allowed five runs while striking out 22 and walking four in 18 innings since the Dodgers acquired him at last month’s non-waiver deadline.

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