East Notes: Phillies, Red Sox, Nationals
This doesn’t exactly rate as a surprise, but third baseman Maikel Franco‘s time with the Phillies is nearing an end, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer observes. Although Franco has had a stranglehold on the third base position in Philly since his career began in earnest in 2015, the former high-end prospect has clearly fallen out of favor this year. The club demoted him to Triple-A earlier in the season, and though he has since returned, Franco hasn’t gotten his job back. With the Phillies in a heated battle for a playoff spot, they’ve mostly turned to Scott Kingery, Brad Miller and Sean Rodriguez at the hot corner over the past several weeks. It’s understandable the team has all but given up on Franco, who simply hasn’t provided much value since he burst on the scene as a rookie. The 27-year-old has posted minus-0.3 fWAR in 392 plate appearances this season, thanks in no small part to a weak .239/.301/.419 batting line. Franco figures to earn more than his current $5.2MM salary in arbitration over the winter, so it seems quite possible the Phillies will non-tender him.
More from Philadelphia and a couple other East Coast cities…
- After firing president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski on Sunday, the Red Sox are in the market for a new leader of that department. However, it’s not a lock Dombrowski’s successor will have the same title, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. Dombrowski was the first executive in franchise history to earn president of baseball ops honors, and the club might not be as eager to go that route again this time. The Red Sox could instead name a general manager and have that person report to team president Sam Kennedy, Bradford notes.
- Injured Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki hasn’t been in the club’s lineup since Sept. 5, and that’s not going to change “for at least a few more days,” Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. Manager Dave Martinez said Thursday that Suzuki, who has been dealing with right elbow inflammation, still hasn’t returned to throwing. Yan Gomes has caught every game in Suzuki’s absence, but the untested Raudy Read will draw into the lineup sometime over the weekend, per Dougherty. Between Gomes and Suzuki, the former has been the better defender this year. On the other hand, Suzuki (.260/.319/.473 in 301 PA) has outhit Gomes (.210/.310/.352 over 306 PA) by a significant margin.
- An MRI revealed that Phillies outfielder Corey Dickerson suffered a bruised navicular bone in his left foot Wednesday, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. That may sound worse than it is, as the Phillies don’t believe Dickerson would be at risk of doing further damage to his foot by playing. It’ll be a “pain management issue” for the rest of the season, though, according to manager Gabe Kapler. Dickerson’s both a key member of the playoff-contending Phillies’ offense and a pending free agent, meaning it would behoove both parties to make sure he’s healthy enough to take the field. The 30-year-old has enjoyed a strong platform season between Pittsburgh and Philly, having batted .304/.341/.565 with a dozen homers in 279 PA.
Ehire Adrianza Suffers Oblique Strain
Twins utilityman Ehire Adrianza left the team’s game against the Nationals on Thursday with a right oblique strain, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com was among those to report. Considering oblique strains often lead to weeks-long absences, it’s possible this will end Adrianza’s season.
A lengthy absence for Adrianza would count as yet another unfortunate late-season development in a growing line of them for Minnesota. Even though the club’s 89-56 and seemingly on its way to an American League Central title, it has absorbed multiple blows in recent days. Right-hander Michael Pineda won’t pitch again this year as a result of a 60-game suspension, while center fielder Byron Buxton‘s season is done thanks to shoulder surgery.
Adrianza probably isn’t as important to the Twins’ cause as Pineda or Buxton, but the 30-year-old has nonetheless been a solid contributor this season. The switch-hitting Adrianza has slashed a career-best .272/.349/.416 (102 wRC+) with five home runs in 236 trips to the plate. On the other side, Adrianza has amassed 20-plus appearances at three infield positions – first, third and short – and has also seen time at second and in the corner outfield. Fortunately for the Twins, they do have other prominent versatile options, which is among the reasons they’re in the catbird seat in the AL Central. Luis Arraez and Marwin Gonzalez, for instance, can each handle multiple spots with aplomb, though the latter’s dealing with an injury in his own right. The Twins subbed in the just-selected Ronald Torreyes for Adrianza at short on Thursday.
Dodgers Notes: Muncy, Alexander, Turner, Lux
Let’s check in on the best team in the National League…
- Expectations are that the Dodgers will activate infielder Max Muncy from the injured list Friday, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times relays. Muncy hasn’t played since he suffered a fractured right wrist Aug. 28, but it obviously wasn’t an overly serious injury. The 29-year-old is the Dodgers’ go-to option at second base, though his injury helped open the door for the promotion of highly touted prospect Gavin Lux, who has performed well over a small sample of plate appearances thus far. But Muncy’s among the Dodgers’ best hitters, evidenced by his .253/.375/.525 line with 33 home runs in 534 PA, and they’ll be happy to welcome him back with a couple weeks left before the playoffs begin.
- Left-handed reliever Scott Alexander underwent surgery to address a nerve issue in his pitching hand, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. The 30-year-old, who hasn’t pitched since the first week of June, wasn’t going to return this season anyway. It’s unclear, though, how long it will take him to recover from this procedure. Alexander has thrown just 17 1/3 innings this year on account of forearm issues. While Alexander was among the game’s foremost southpaw relievers as recently as 2017, when he was with the Royals, his two years with the Dodgers have been somewhat disappointing. He owns a 3.67 ERA/3.88 FIP with 7.02 K/9 and 3.67 BB/9 across 83 1/3 innings as a Dodger, though he has posted an eye-popping 68.5 percent groundball rate in that span.
- More from Plunkett, who reports that third baseman Justin Turner is day-to-day with a mild ankle sprain. That’s a relief for Los Angeles, which has gone without Turner’s services since last Saturday. The 34-year-old went without a hit in two at-bats then, but has otherwise enjoyed yet another outstanding season. Turner’s a .291/.370/.514 hitter with 27 home runs and 3.4 fWAR in 538 trips to the plate.
- Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino recently reflected on the drafting of Lux in a chat with Kyle Glaser of Baseball America. Although Lux just won Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year honors, it was seen as something of a reach when the Dodgers chose the former Wisconsin high schooler 20th overall in the 2016 draft. He impressed Dodgers scouts throughout that year, though, and when the draft rolled around, they took him over an unidentified college pitcher who was also high on their board. “His overall talent level and character assessments were so high, we just felt like, a little bit of liking him just a little bit more than the college pitcher and some of just draft strategy of taking the bat there and getting pitching later,” Gasparino said. The 21-year-old Lux has since surpassed the organization’s expectations, according to Gasparino.
Christian Yelich Fractures Kneecap, Out For Season
Sept. 12: Milwaukee general manager David Stearns confirmed that Yelich won’t need surgery but placed a timeline of eight to ten weeks on his recovery (Twitter links via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Stearns described the injury as a “small” fracture and added that it’s not expected to impact Yelich in the long run.
Sept. 11: The Brewers can breathe a small sigh of relief. Yelich won’t need surgery, and he’ll be out just six weeks, according to Jim Bowden of SiriusXM.
Sept. 10: The Brewers announced devastating news Tuesday: Superstar outfielder Christian Yelich suffered a fractured right kneecap in their win over the Marlins and will miss the rest of the season. He incurred the injury after fouling a ball off his knee in the first inning.
This will cut short a phenomenal season for Yelich, who may have been on his way to Most Valuable Player honors in the National League for the second straight year (and could still win the award). Yelich’s campaign will conclude with a .329/.429/.671 line, 44 home runs, 30 stolen bases and 7.7 fWAR/7.1 rWAR in 580 plate appearances. The 27-year-old currently leads all of baseball in OPS (1.100), paces the NL in wRC+ (172), and stood a legitimate chance to post the first 50-30 season in the history of the sport.
The fact that the Brewers are firmly in the NL postseason race makes the loss of Yelich all the more horrific. After its latest victory, Milwaukee sits 76-68, just 1 1/2 games back of the division-rival Cubs for the league’s second wild-card spot. Now, with Yelich joining fellow offensive linchpin Keston Hiura on the shelf, it’s especially difficult to imagine the Brewers rallying to clinch a playoff spot for the second consecutive year.
At this point, it’s safe to say one of the main concerns for the Brew Crew is whether this injury will affect Yelich going forward. President of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday (via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that there’s not yet “a definitive time frame” for Yelich’s recovery, nor is it clear whether he’ll need surgery. The Brewers will reevaluate Yelich on Wednesday, per Stearns, who called the injury “a gut punch” but expressed hope the club will overcome what could realistically amount to a death blow for its 2019 hopes.
Quick Hits: Buchholz, Keuchel, Phils, Mets, Indians
Blue Jays right-hander Clay Buchholz, who turned 35 last month and is closing in on another trip to free agency, told Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe that he intends to play again in 2020. But there’s one condition: Buchholz isn’t willing to pitch in the minors, Abraham reports. “I told my agent that,” Buchholz said. “I feel like I’m capable of pitching as well as I did five or six years ago. It’s not about money. It’s about considering myself a major league pitcher.” Buchholz took a minor league contract a year ago and then proceeded to revive his career with the Diamondbacks, which persuaded Toronto to hand him a $3MM guarantee last offseason. The investment hasn’t paid off for the Jays, though, as a shoulder injury has limited Buchholz to eight starts and 42 1/3 innings of 5.31 ERA/5.15 FIP ball. Buchholz could have trouble landing a guaranteed deal during the upcoming winter as a result, and that might put his career in jeopardy if he’s not up for another minor league stint.
More from around the majors…
- The Phillies reportedly showed interest in left-hander Dallas Keuchel during his long stay in free agency, but the 31-year-old suggested Wednesday that wasn’t the case. “If you don’t come calling, what is there for me to be mad about? I think a lot of those guys over there in that front office are second-guessing themselves. I would too,” Keuchel said to Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other reporters. He made those comments after stymieing the Phillies with six innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 victory for the Braves. Despite the defeat, the Phillies (75-70) are still just two games back of a wild-card spot, though they might be in better position had they signed Keuchel. The former AL Cy Young winner has posted a terrific 3.35 ERA over 96 2/3 innings since joining the Braves on a one-year, $13MM contract in June. While Keuchel’s peripherals aren’t as impressive, he’d still rank among the absolute best starters on a Philly team whose rotation has fallen flat in 2019.
- The Mets have named Terry Collins a senior advisor for player personnel, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. Collins had already been serving as a special assistant to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, so it’s unclear what new responsibilities he’ll take on in a changed role. Of course, the 70-year-old isn’t far removed from a run as the Mets’ manager. He held that job from 2011-17 – a span in which the team went 551-583 with two playoff trips, including a World Series appearance in 2015.
- Indians closer Brad Hand underwent an MRI on his left arm Wednesday, but results came back clean, manager Terry Francona revealed (via Always The Jake and James Rapien of 92.3 The Fan). Hand’s dealing with “kind of a tired arm” and will get the next couple days off, according to Francona. That’s a less-than-ideal development for a Cleveland team that’s in a three-way battle for a wild-card spot. The Indians have been without the 29-year-old Hand since Sunday, and though that was an effective performance, he yielded two earned runs on four hits in a third of an inning in the appearance preceding that one. The normally lights-out Hand has surrendered at least a pair of ER four times since the beginning of August.
Injury Notes: Hiura, Cubs, Ender, Rockies, Mariners
The playoff-contending Brewers received terrible news Tuesday when their best player, all-world outfielder Christian Yelich, suffered a season-ending broken kneecap. Fortunately for the club, though, one of its other top players is on the way back from the injured list. Second baseman Keston Hiura, out since Aug. 31 with a left hamstring strain, could get “some at-bats maybe over the weekend and more game action and field action on the home stand, is what it’s looking like,” according to manager Craig Counsell (via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The Brewers, who are now tied with division-rival Chicago for the Nl’s second wild-card spot, will open up a seven-game home stand next Monday. They’re in contention thanks in part to the rookie Hiura, who has slashed .301/.369/.571 with 16 home runs and nine stolen bases in his first 295 plate appearances in the majors.
- More unwelcome news for the Cubs, who are in real danger of missing the postseason: They won’t get closer Craig Kimbrel back from the injured list for “at least” another week, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. The club has been without Kimbrel since Sept. 1 because of right elbow inflammation. Meanwhile, the Cubs will evaluate shortstop Addison Russell when they return home Friday, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com relays. Russell has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms since last weekend.
- Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte likely won’t return until the last week of September, David O’Brien of The Athletic suggests. Inciarte has been on the shelf since mid-August with a hamstring strain. It’s the second long-term injury of the year for Inciarte, who previously missed two months with a back issue. Inciarte had been amid a hot streak when he suffered his current ailment, as his OPS skyrocketed from .605 to .740 in the month between his IL stints. He and the soon-to-return Nick Markakis could act as a pair of important outfield reinforcements for the Braves as they gear up for the postseason.
- Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson underwent season-ending left knee surgery back on June 11, but he still won’t be at full strength at the beginning of next year, per manager Bud Black (via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). The hope is that Anderson will come back “within the first couple of months” of 2020, Black said. The 29-year-old Anderson’s procedure wrapped up a nightmarish campaign for a hurler who was a respectable member of the Rockies’ rotation from 2016-18. He yielded 27 earned runs on 33 hits, including eight homers, in 20 2/3 innings this season.
- Mariners outfielder Jake Fraley will miss the remainder of the season because of sprained ligaments in his right thumb, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Fraley got his first taste of major league action in recent weeks, though he struggled to a .150/.171/.200 line with no home runs in a span of 41 trips to the plate. The 24-year-old offseason acquisition was far better in the minors, though, as he slashed a combined .298/.365/.545 with 19 long balls in 427 plate appearances between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.
Latest On Garrett Richards
Having scored a 10-year, $300MM contract, Manny Machado was easily the Padres’ biggest free-agent signing last winter. Long before that addition, though, the Padres made headlines by awarding right-hander Garrett Richards a two-year, $15.5MM guarantee.
The Padres handed Richards his deal knowing they likely wouldn’t get much from the former Angel this season after he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2018. Indeed, with little time left this year, Richards hasn’t yet made his Padres debut. It appears to be on the way, however. Richards will throw a bullpen session Saturday, and if he gets through that unscathed, he’ll likely take the hill during San Diego’s series in Milwaukee next week, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.
At 67-77, the Padres have sewn up their 13th consecutive season without a playoff berth. But if they’re going to make a long-awaited return to contention a year from now, a healthy Richards could be a key factor. The problem is that good health has been hard to come by for Richards, whom arm injuries have consistently dogged over the past few seasons. The 31-year-old hasn’t logged a full season since 2015, and has only amassed 138 2/3 innings dating back to the 2016 campaign. When he has been able to take the ball, though, Richards has served as a more-than-respectable big league starter, evidenced by his 3.54 ERA/3.62 FIP with 7.8 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and a 52.5 percent groundball rate across 744 2/3 innings.
Going forward, the Padres could certainly use the type of production that Richards has typically offered. On paper, he’d fit nicely into a group that has gotten solid numbers this year from Chris Paddack, Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer and Dinelson Lamet. San Diego hasn’t found a quality option to fill out its starting staff, however, as Cal Quantrill, Matt Strahm and Nick Margevicius have each failed to truly seize hold of a rotation spot. If the team has its way, Richards won’t encounter that type of difficulty when he’s finally ready to join its staff – a unit that could also include elite prospect MacKenzie Gore in the near future.
Rangers Could Prioritize Third Base In Offseason
Few teams have been worse off at the hot corner this season than the Rangers. Their third basemen rank 23rd in the majors in fWAR (8.6) and 24th in wRC+ (87). It’s fair to say life after Adrian Beltre hasn’t gone smoothly for Texas, which tried to replace the future Hall of Famer with free-agent stopgap Asdrubal Cabrera. But Cabrera performed so poorly over the season’s first few months that the Rangers released him in the first week of August. Logan Forsythe and Isiah Kiner-Falefa haven’t been productive, meanwhile, and utilityman Danny Santana and rookie Nick Solak – although extremely impressive during his very young career – have each started just a handful of games at the position.
Considering their issues at third this year, it seems the Rangers will prioritize the spot over the winter, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. As you’d expect, manager Chris Woodward indicated Wednesday that he’d rather go forward with one player at third – not a cast of different faces.
Asked if third will be an important offseason focus for the Rangers, Woodward said: “It’s pretty big. I’m guessing we will be in pursuit of a third baseman. We’d like to not have rotating third basemen next year.”
If Texas enters the winter in a spending mood (Grant reports the team’s expected to be more aggressive in free agency), it could be among the clubs in on a pair of big-time free agents in Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson. Rendon, a 29-year-old superstar for the Nationals, figures to rake in the highest-paying contract of any position player during the offseason. Whether the Rangers will be up to the task of ponying up for him remains to be seen, but if they are, it could help their cause that Rendon is a native of Texas. The next deal for Donaldson, who will turn 34 in December, won’t come close to Rendon’s in total value, but the Brave is a standout in his own right who will no doubt earn a sizable guarantee on the open market.
After Rendon, Donaldson and perhaps Mike Moustakas (who has a mutual option with the Brewers for 2020), it doesn’t appear as if free agency will be teeming with third base solutions in the next couple months. The Rangers have spent big in the past, though, and if they’re committed to breaking a three-year playoff drought in 2020, it wouldn’t be a shock to see them reel in any of those three via the open market.
Angels Notes: Bedrosian, Upton
With the playoffs officially out of the question for the Angels, they’ve decided to shut injured reliever Cam Bedrosian down for the season, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Meanwhile, outfielder Justin Upton underwent an MRI on his right knee Wednesday. The results aren’t yet known.
Bedrosian has been a clear bright spot in a Halos pitching staff that has lacked reasons for optimism this year, but the right-hander hasn’t pitched in two weeks on account of a forearm issue. Fortunately, the Angels didn’t find any kind of alarming issue before shutting him down, per Fletcher. They’re simply erring on the side of caution because their postseason hopes are gone. The 27-year-old Bedrosian’s 2019 will end with a 3.23 ERA/3.83 FIP, 9.39 K/9, 3.23 BB/9 and a 47.6 percent groundball rate in 61 1/3 innings. Bedrosian’s set to go through his penultimate trip through arbitration in the offseason, when he’ll collect a raise on his current salary of $1.75MM.
Contrary to Bedrosian, Upton has gone through a rough 2019 – the second season of a five-year, $106MM contract. The 32-year-old has typically been an above-average contributor since his career began in 2007, but Upton has been among the least valuable players in baseball this season. Since missing the first few months of the season with a toe injury and debuting June 17, Upton has hit a meager .215/.309/.416 with 12 home runs and a personal-worst 30.5 percent strikeout rate in 256 plate appearances. Depending on the severity of his injury, Upton could join Bedrosian in missing the last couple weeks of the season.
Michael Pineda Hopes To Stay With Twins
Even though the AL Central-leading Twins are well on their way to a playoff berth, the 2019 season is already in the rearview mirror for one of their top starters, Michael Pineda. Major League Baseball hit the right-hander with a 60-game suspension last weekend after he tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide, which is on its list of banned substances. It’s a costly ban for Pineda, writes the Star Tribune’s Phil Miller, who explains that the 30-year-old will surrender a substantial amount of money. He’s out the rest of his $8MM salary this season ($984K), could lose as much as $1.5MM in bonuses and won’t collect any of his salary during the rest of his suspension in 2020 (39 games).
The question now is where Pineda, a pending free agent, will pitch next season. The former Mariner and Yankee joined the Twins on a two-year, $10MM contract in December 2017, at which point he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Pineda didn’t pitch in the majors at all last year as a result, but he made an impressive return this season before his misdeed sent him to the shelf. He concluded his campaign with 146 innings of 4.01 ERA/4.02 FIP pitching and 8.63 K/9 against 1.73 BB/9.
If not for his ban, Pineda would have been a strong bet to land a quality payday on the open market during the upcoming winter. It’s conceivable he’ll still get one, but regardless, Pineda’s hopeful he’ll stay in Minnesota, according to Miller. While Pineda wants to re-sign with the Twins, he noted he doesn’t “have control over that. We’ll let time decide that.”
For now, Pineda – who expressed contrition over his suspension – will continue to hang around the team as it tries to win its first World Series title since 1991. It’s going to be all the more difficult to accomplish that feat without Pineda, though, and it’s possible his ill-timed suspension will turn the Twins’ hierarchy off of the concept of re-signing him. On the other hand, however, starting pitching’s going to be an obvious need for the Twins in the offseason, which could steer them toward a Pineda reunion.
The lone full-time starter on the Twins who’s set to return next year is their No. 1 option, Jose Berrios. Pineda, Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi – who have each been effective over a combined 81 starts – are all slated to reach free agency. Martin Perez could join them, though the Twins will first have to decide whether to exercise his $7.5MM club option or buy him out for $500K.