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MLB, MLBPA Reach Deal On Vesting Options, Roster Bonuses

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Major League Baseball and the MLBPA have finally come to a deal for 2020 centering on key contract issues such as vesting options and roster bonuses, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

As MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored, this agreement will impact several notable veterans, including pitchers Jon Lester, J.A. Happ, Andrew Miller, Charlie Morton, Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee, catcher Stephen Vogt and infielder/outfielder Dee Gordon. All of those players have vesting options based on certain 162-game milestones baked into their contracts (for instance, Happ’s $17MM option for 2021 would have become guaranteed had he thrown 165 innings).

It had been unclear how the league was going to handle those options, but we now have the answer. According to Rosenthal, all 2021 vesting options will be worth their full amounts. The counting numbers that would’ve triggered those options in a 162-game season will now be prorated. As Rosenthal points out, that means Miller – who would have needed 37 appearances for his $12MM option to vest – will only need 14 this year.

Roster bonuses, meanwhile, will be prorated, whereas playoff bonuses will be paid out in full. Rosenthal uses the example of a $200K bonus for 200 innings over a 162-game regular schedule, noting it’ll now require 74 1/3 innings and will earn a player just under $75K in 60 games. In the event a player spends time on the COVID-19 injured list, those days will still count as roster days for bonus purposes.

Nationals Place Roenis Elias, Wander Suero On IL

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The Nationals have placed relievers Roenis Elias and Wander Suero on the injured list, per a club announcement. The team didn’t provide a reason for the moves, though the hope is that neither player is dealing with the coronavirus.

Elias and Suero have not taken part in any of the Nationals’ workouts in Summer Camp thus far. The 31-year-old Elias was one of the Nationals’ summer acquisitions last season, when they were trying to fix a then-struggling bullpen, but injuries limited the left-hander to just four appearances and two innings with the Nats after they got him from the Mariners. Elias didn’t pitch past Sept. 5, meaning he didn’t factor into Washington’s first-ever run to a World Series title.

Suero, meanwhile, was a rather durable member of the Nationals’ bullpen in 2019, easily leading all of their relievers in appearances (78) and innings (71 1/3). And while the right-handed Suero only mustered a 4.54 ERA during that stretch, that came with a far more palatable 3.07 FIP and 10.22 K/9 against 3.28 BB/9.

When healthy, Elias and Suero should be important members of Washington’s relief corps this year. For now, though, it appears the club will have to open 2020 without them.

Charlie Blackmon Rejoins Rockies

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Outfielder Charlie Blackmon arrived at Coors Field on Monday for Summer Camp, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets. It’s an especially notable and encouraging development after Blackmon tested positive for the coronavirus three weeks ago.

Blackmon, a four-time All-Star, explained how he’s doing and expressed hope that he’ll be in Colorado’s lineup when its season starts July 24, saying (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com): “I feel great. I have felt that way for at least a couple of weeks now. I had a day and a half of symptoms. After that I started feeling much better. I want to be ready for Opening Day. That’s a pretty short period of time.”

Of course, if the Rockies are going to pull off a surprise playoff run in 2020, it stands to reason they’ll need a healthy Blackmon. The 34-year-old turned in yet another quality offensive season in 2019, in which he slashed .314/.364/.576 (125 wRC+) with 32 home runs in 634 plate appearances to further cement himself as one of the Rockies’ most important contributors.

Aside from Matt Kemp, a recent minor league signing, Blackmon is by far the most proven outfield-capable player the Rockies have. David Dahl, Raimel Tapia, Sam Hilliard, Garrett Hampson and Yonathan Daza are also on their 40-man roster, but only the injury-plagued Dahl has fared well offensively over a large sample of major league plate appearances.

Indians Place Delino DeShields On IL

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The Indians announced that they have placed outfielder Delino DeShields on the 10-day injured list. The team didn’t give a reason for DeShields’ IL placement, but it’s worth noting he recently tested positive for COVID-19.

DeShields’ positive test forced him to sit out the beginning of Summer Camp, though he did fly to Cleveland last week after a negative test and take batting practice at Progressive Field on Saturday. However, the 27-year-old had not been cleared to rejoin the Indians for instrasquad workouts at that point, as Joe Noga of cleveland.com notes.

The hope is that DeShields will return to the field as soon as possible, but considering what he has gone through in recent weeks, it seems unlikely he’ll be ready to make his Indians debut when their regular season commences on July 24. The 27-year-old was a key offseason pickup by Cleveland, which acquired him from Texas in a trade for two-time American League Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.

Even without DeShields, the Indians have no shortage of options in the outfield. Oscar Mercado, Jordan Luplow, Tyler Naquin, Greg Allen, Jake Bauers, Domingo Santana, Daniel Johnson and Bradley Zimmer are among the team’s other choices in the grass, but as is the case with the light-hitting DeShields, most or all of those players come with question marks.

Braves Add Bryce Ball To Player Pool

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The Braves have added first base prospect Bryce Ball to their 60-man player pool, per a club announcement. David Lee of bravesprospects.com first reported the news.

While Ball was just a 24th-round pick a year ago, he did nothing but produce in his first action as a minor leaguer. Across a combined 263 plate appearances between the rookie and Single-A levels, the 22-year-old put together a video game-like line of .329/.395/.628 with 17 home runs. Ball now ranks as one of the Braves’ 30 best prospects at Baseball America (No. 16), MLB.com (21) and FanGraphs (22). BA calls Ball the top power hitter in the team’s farm system and writes that he as a chance to wind up as “a late-round steal.”

Considering Ball has so little minor league experience, it seems unlikely he’ll get to the majors this year. Of course, that’s if health issues don’t take a toll on too many hitters ahead of him in the Braves’ 60-man pecking order. They’ve been without one of their top players, fellow first baseman Freddie Freeman, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week. And outfielder Nick Markakis opted out of the season a few days ago because of COVID-related concerns.

Coronavirus Notes: Astros, Diekman, Teheran, Indians

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Astros superstar Alex Bregman had to sit out Wednesday’s practice because the results of his latest coronavirus test did not arrive on time, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle relays. “I look forward to having the issue resolved as soon as possible to rejoin my teammates tomorrow,” Bregman stated. Meanwhile, teammate and outfielder Michael Brantley expressed frustration with the league’s testing problems, saying “[players] kind of want answers.” He added, “I’d love to hear from Rob (Manfred) and some clarity on how we’re going to get this done because that’s very important.” Houston’s among a few teams slowed early in Summer Camp by testing delays, further calling into question whether MLB is capable of pulling off this season.

  • Like Brantley, Athletics reliever Jake Diekman is unhappy with how the league has handled the testing process. There’s plenty at stake for Diekman – the 33-year-old has battled ulcerative colitis for most of his life and underwent surgery to remove his colon in 2017, putting him in greater danger of contracting the virus. Diekman told Alex Coffey of The Athletic: “I’m high-risk, so I have to speak out for everyone. I don’t want to get sick.” He went on to question MLB’s estimate of how many players have tested positive, opining that it must “be getting close to 100.” And while Diekman doesn’t want to opt out of the season, he’s skeptical that one will even happen. “Once the regular season hits, there’s no way I’m opting out,” he said. “But if they don’t get the testing figured out, this whole thing will get shut down. That’s my personal opinion.” Coffey’s piece is worth a full read, as there’s plenty more on the concerns Diekman and his wife, Amanda, have in regards to a potential season.
  • The Angels placed right-hander Julio Teheran on the 10-day injured list earlier this week, but even manager Joe Maddon was uncertain of the reason. It turns out that Teheran’s still in Atlanta – where he pitched previously – because he and his family have shown symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he told Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language link). Teheran revealed he “was not feeling well,” but he’s hopeful of joining his team in Los Angeles this weekend if he gets the go-ahead. Regardless, with the campaign just two weeks away, Maddon’s not sure if Teheran will be available from the jump (via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com), as the skipper observed that “it would probably be a rush” to place him in the Angels’ season-opening rotation.
  • Indians outfielder Delino DeShields tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but it looks as if he’s on the road to recovery. DeShields’ most recent test came back negative, and he’s on his way to Cleveland as a result, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports. If he tests negative again there, he’ll be able to join his teammates for Summer Camp. [JULY 11 UPDATE: DeShields indeed tested negative for the second time, and rejoined the Tribe’s camp.]  More good news: Slugger Franmil Reyes returned to practice Wednesday after testing negative. The Indians held Reyes out of camp for two days amid worries that he contracted the illness at a July 4 party.

Padres’ Jose Castillo Dealing With Possible Lat Strain

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Padres southpaw reliever Jose Castillo left the team’s intrasquad game Tuesday with a possible lat strain, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Manager Jayce Tingler said he expects to have more information on Castillo’s status in the next couple days.

While it’s unknown how severe the injury is, lat strains often lead to weeks-long absences. With that in mind, it’s in question how much the 24-year-old Castillo will be able to contribute to the Padres over a 60-game season. For now, it appears he’ll be in for a second straight injury-limited campaign, having made just one appearance in the majors last year because of forearm and finger issues.

When healthy, the hard-throwing Castillo has shown he’s capable of serving as a key member of the Padres’ bullpen. As a rookie in 2018, he recorded highly promising production across 38 1/3 innings with a 3.29 ERA/2.64 FIP and 12.21 K/9 against 2.82 BB/9. Castillo shut down lefties and righties alike that year, holding opposing hitters to a woeful .170/.253/.267 mark.

Rangers Add Yohander Mendez To 60-Player Pool

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The Rangers reinstated left-hander Yohander Mendez on Wednesday and added him to their 60-man player pool, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes. The move leaves the Rangers with two open spots on their Summer Camp roster.

Mendez had been on the club’s suspended list since March for seeking unauthorized medical care as a result of shoulder inflammation. His team-imposed ban was the most recent disappointment in a career that hasn’t gone according to plan thus far. When he debuted in the majors in 2016, multiple outlets considered Mendez a top 50 prospect. The 25-year-old hasn’t seen much action in the bigs since then, though, and the results haven’t been pretty when he has pitched. Mendez owns a 6.23 ERA with a matching 6.23 K/9 against 4.72 BB/9 across 47 2/3 innings in a Rangers uniform. Home runs have been a problem for Mendez, whose difficulty keeping the ball out of the air (35.5 percent groundball rate) has led to 1.7 HRs per nine.

To his credit, Mendez has been much better at the Triple-A level, where he has logged 97 innings of 3.71 ERA ball with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. But with no minor league season in 2020, MLB is Mendez’s only hope of pitching competitively this year.

Pitching Notes: Teheran, G. Holland, Taijuan

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The latest on a few well-known major league hurlers…

  • The Angels have placed right-hander Julio Teheran on the 10-day injured list for an undisclosed reason, J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register was among those to report. “I have not heard from him specifically and I have not heard from the medical group either,” manager Joe Maddon said of Teheran. “For me, there’s been no contact.” That obviously doesn’t sound encouraging for Teheran or the Angels, who signed the ex-Brave to a one-year, $9MM guarantee in the offseason. The 29-year-old Teheran has effectively chewed up innings for the majority of his career, which is one of the reasons the Angels added him to a staff that has been low on reliable options in recent seasons. But it’s now unknown when Teheran will be in position to make his debut with the club.
  • Once among the game’s elite relievers during his younger, pre-injury days with the Royals, righty Greg Holland is now fighting for a chance to make the team. Holland, whom the Royals reunited with on a minor league contract in the offseason, looked as if he’d earn his way back during the spring, but it’s up in the air whether he’ll do enough in Summer Camp to crack the club’s 30-man Opening Day roster, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes. Fortunately for Holland, he has a fan in pitching coach Cal Eldred. “What I’ve seen here is just as good as his body of work was in spring,” Eldred told Flanagan. “Actually, the ball is coming out even better. I think he’s been really sharp. I think he’s in a great spot.” The 34-year-old three-time All-Star hasn’t pitched in the majors since last August, when the Diamondbacks released him after he tossed 35 2/3 frames of 4.54 ERA ball with 10.35 K/9 and 6.06 BB/9.
  • Mariners righty Taijuan Walker took the hill for the first time at camp Tuesday and was hitting 90 to 93 mph with his fastball, per Greg Johns of MLB.com. Walker has averaged 94 mph on his heater during his career, but serious arm injuries limited him to just 14 innings with Arizona from 2018-19. He’s now back in his old stomping grounds in Seattle, where he was once a top prospect and a capable starter. And as Johns explains in his piece, while many players are understandably nervous about participating this year because of the coronavirus, Walker’s champing at the bit to reestablish himself after two lost seasons. He’ll open 2020 in what figures to be a six-man M’s rotation after signing a one-year, $2MM pact in free agency.

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