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Mets Interested In Tyler Flowers

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The Mets are looking for another catcher, and veteran free agent Tyler Flowers is among the names they have discussed, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

The Mets’ first-string spot behind the plate belongs to James McCann, whom they signed to a four-year, $40.6MM contract in free agency. Tomas Nido is slated to begin the season as the club’s backup, but the 26-year-old has typically posted woeful offensive numbers. Patrick Mazeika, the other catcher on the Mets’ 40-man roster, is a 27-year-old who hasn’t played above Double-A ball to this point. The Mets also have vets Caleb Joseph and Bruce Maxwell on hand as non-roster invitees, though their track records in the majors pale in comparison to Flowers’.

Formerly a member of the White Sox and Braves, Flowers, 35, has mixed high-grade pitch-framing skills with passable offense over the past several seasons. He ended his five-year Braves tenure with a .251/.349/.408 batting line (good for a 102 wRC+) in 1,381 plate appearances, but he hit a less impressive .217/.325/.348 last year while playing second fiddle to ex-Met Travis d’Arnaud.

Giants Claim Ashton Goudeau; Dedniel Nunez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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MARCH 19: Nunez will undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Gabe Kapler told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters. He’ll miss this season as a result. Becausee of his Rule 5 Status, Nunez will have to either stick on the Giants’ active roster when he comes off the IL or be offered back to the Mets.

MARCH 18: The Giants have claimed right-hander Ashton Goudeau off waivers from the Orioles, per announcements from both teams. San Francisco placed righty Dedniel Nunez on the 60-day injured list with an elbow sprain in a corresponding move.

The 28-year-old Goudeau spent only a few months with the Orioles, who claimed him from the Pirates in December – less than a month after Pittsburgh claimed him from Colorado. Goudeau made his major league debut in Colorado last year and allowed eight earned runs in 7 1/3 innings. However, he logged a much better 2.07 ERA with fantastic strikeout and walk percentages (30.1 and 4.0, respectively) over 78 1/3 frames with the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate in 2019.

Nunez, 24, joined the Giants as a Rule 5 pick from the Mets last December. He had been competing for a spot in the Giants’ bullpen, but his injury means Tommy John surgery may be a possibility.

Will Harris Has Blood Clot In Right Arm

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Nationals reliever Will Harris has a blood clot in his right arm, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports. The 36-year-old will visit a specialist in St. Louis to determine the severity of the issue.

Harris hasn’t pitched since March 9, and it now appears unlikely he’ll be ready to take the mound when the Nationals’ season starts April 1. That would be a blow to Washington’s bullpen, which received 17 2/3 innings of 3.06 ERA pitching from Harris in 2020 – the first season of the three-year, $24MM contract he signed after an excellent run with the Astros from 2015-19.

A healthy Harris would have joined Tanner Rainey and closer Brad Hand as the Nationals’ primary late-game options at the beginning of the season. With Harris on the shelf, though, manager Dave Martinez said the Nats are considering righties Wander Suero and Kyle Finnegan to fill more significant roles. Both pitchers turned in quality results across a combined 48 1/3 innings a year ago.

Quick Hits: Bruce, Garrett, Mets, Mariners

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Thanks in part to his ability to play both the corner outfield and first base, Jay Bruce has put himself in the running to make the Yankees’ roster, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. The Yankees may have to decide in the next week whether to give a spot to Bruce, who can opt out of the minor league contract he signed on March 25. Bruce isn’t on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, which is full, so they will have to make a corresponding move if they do add him. That could spell bad news for another outfielder, the out-of-options Mike Tauchman. While Tauchman unexpectedly thrived as both a hitter and defender in his first year as a Yankee in 2019, his production dipped on both ends last season. Tauchman did post a .342 on-base percentage in 111 plate appearances, but it came with a .242 batting average and almost no power (.305 slugging percentage, .063 ISO and zero home runs). Then again, Bruce didn’t exactly hold his own as a Phillie last year, when the veteran power hitter slashed .192/.252/.469 with six HRs over 103 PA.

  • Good news for the Reds’ bullpen: Left-hander Amir Garrett will pitch in his first spring training game of the year Saturday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. Forearm soreness has slowed Garrett, perhaps the favorite to close for the Reds if he’s healthy. The 28-year-old notched a 2.45 ERA/2.82 SIERA and fanned hitters at a massive 37.7 percent rate across 18 1/3 innings in 2020.
  • With Carlos Carrasco reportedly to miss six to eight weeks because of a torn hamstring, the Mets are stretching lefty Mike Montgomery out and considering him as a swingman, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relays. Montgomery, whom the Mets signed to a minors pact, has racked up 183 appearances and 70 starts since he debuted in 2013. The former Mariner, Cub and Royal has combined for a respectable 3.84 ERA during his 541-inning career, though his ERA hovered around the 5.00 mark in each of the previous two seasons.
  • Mariners reliever Andres Munoz suffered a “little setback” in his recovery from Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago and hasn’t taken the mound since, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and other reporters. Munoz underwent the procedure almost exactly one year ago (March 20, 2020), and the Padres then dealt him to the Mariners in a seven-player trade last August. Considering how long it takes to return from TJ surgery, Munoz wasn’t likely to debut with the Mariners until sometime this summer, but now it appears they may have to wait a bit longer. Still just 22, Munoz impressed in his first season, 2019, when he pitched to a 3.91 ERA/3.72 SIERA in 23 innings, struck out 30.9 percent of batters and averaged 99.9 mph on his fastball.

Indians Owner Paul Dolan On Team Name, Lindor, Francona

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Indians owner Paul Dolan discussed several noteworthy topics regarding the team with the Akron Roundtable on Thursday, fielding questions from Amanda Rabinowitz of WKSU and a virtual audience, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (links: 1, 2). Here are some of the issues Dolan touched on during the Q&A…

  • The Indians are going to change their name, but the move may take longer than expected. While Dolan wants this to be the franchise’s final season with its current name, “It could be sometime in the middle of this year whether we know we’ve got it down where we can do it for 2022,” he said. “If not we’d have to push it to 2023. We’re working hard to get it done by then, but there’s no certainty in that.” Dolan added: “There aren’t many words in the English language that somebody doesn’t own in some shape or form. Particularly in the sports realm, that’s a real challenge.”
  • Dolan also addressed Cleveland’s decision to trade its most recognizable player, shortstop Francisco Lindor, to the Mets during the winter. “We could afford a player like Lindor. We just couldn’t afford to build a team around him,” stated Dolan, who pointed out that it’s difficult for a small-market team to dedicate so much payroll to one player. It was no surprise the Indians dealt Lindor, as Dolan all but admitted in 2019 they’d eventually trade the four-time All-Star when he told the team’s fans to “enjoy him” while he was still on the roster. Lindor is down to his last year of team control, in which he’ll earn $22.3MM, and could score a $300MM-plus contract by the 2022 campaign. With Lindor gone, the Indians are projected to open 2021 with a paltry $53MM payroll, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates.
  • Terry Francona dealt with health problems last season and only managed 14 games as a result, but Dolan gave the 61-year-old a major of confidence Thursday. “I think he’s with us until he’s no longer managing,” Dolan declared. “He’s under contract for a couple more years (through 2022), but I feel like we’re now in a situation where he’s going to be here until he decides not to manage.” Francona, who previously won two World Series with the Red Sox, took over the Indians in 2013 and has helped them to a 673-519 regular-season mark with five playoff appearances and an American League pennant.

Pitching Notes: King Felix, Teheran, Red Sox, D-backs, Angels

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Orioles manager Brandon Hyde issued a fairly encouraging update on right-hander Felix Hernandez, who left his outing Tuesday with discomfort in his pitching elbow. Hyde told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and other reporters that the issue is “just bothering him a little bit right now,” but there isn’t a timetable for his return. As of now, the Orioles have not scheduled any exams for Hernandez, a minor league signing who looked likely to win a season-opening rotation spot in the bigs before this injury cropped up. He should still be in position to start for the O’s this year if his elbow heals.

  • After an ugly season with the Angels in 2020, righty Julio Teheran sat on the free-agent market until last month, when he settled for a minors deal with the Tigers. The 30-year-old has fared so well this spring that he’s on track to claim a spot on Detroit’s Opening Day roster. Manager AJ Hinch said Wednesday that Teheran is “getting pretty close to” earning a job, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press relays. If the longtime Brave is able to pull that off, he’ll earn a $3MM salary this season.
  • Righty Tanner Houck was among the players the Red Sox sent down Wednesday, leaving fellow RHP Nick Pivetta as a lock to open the season as their fifth starter, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. Pivetta, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Phillies last summer, endured his share of struggles during the first four years of his career, but he finished 2020 in encouraging fashion and has continued to turn heads this spring. Houck, meanwhile, was outstanding during a three-start, 17-inning major league debut last year, when he pitched to a near-spotless 0.53 ERA and struck out 33.3 percent of the batters he faced. However, unlike Pivetta, Houck has minor league options remaining – which surely impacted Boston’s decision.
  • Even though Diamondbacks right J.B. Bukauskas flashed an impressive repertoire across four scoreless innings this spring, the club demoted him earlier this week. Agent Scott Boras took exception to the decision, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic, saying “we all know it’s about service-clock issues” and adding that “We all know we’ll see J.B. on April 15.” Unsurprisingly, general manager Mike Hazen denied that service time was one of the causes for the move, claiming it had “zero” impact. Rather, according to Hazen, the Diamondbacks preferred to open the season with more experienced options in their bullpen. Manager Torey Lovullo does expect the 24-year-old to make his major league debut this year, though, “if he continues on the same path.”
  • Angels righty Felix Pena is expected to miss two to four weeks with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. That should rule out Pena for the beginning of the season, which is a blow to the Angels’ bullpen. Last year, Pena threw 26 2/3 innings of 4.05 ERA/3.52 SIERA ball with above-average strikeout and walk percentages of 25.2 and 7.0, respectively.

Phillies Health Notes: Didi, Eflin, Howard

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A few Phillies health updates, courtesy of Matt Gelb of The Athletic:

  • Shortstop Didi Gregorius left Tuesday’s game after taking an 89 mph fastball off the back of the head from Blue Jays right-hander Tanner Roark. Manager Joe Girardi said at the time that Gregorius was dealing with“a minor, minor headache” (via Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia), but he then told Gelb and other reporters that the Phillies will re-evaluate him on Friday. Going without Gregorius for any period of regular-season time would be a shot to the Phillies’ offense, as he batted .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs in 237 appearances and appeared in all 60 of their games last year. That performance persuaded the Phillies to re-sign Gregorius to a two-year, $28MM guarantee in free agency.
  • Right-hander Zach Eflin will not pitch this week because of a back injury that the Phillies are somewhat concerned about, Girardi said. Just as Gregorius is a key cog in Philadelphia’s offense, Eflin is an integral part of its rotation. The top complement to the one-two punch of Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, Eflin is looking to build on a career year in which he logged personal-best numbers in several categories. Eflin finished 2020 with a 3.97 ERA/3.50 FIP, excellent strikeout and walk percentages (28.6 and 6.1, respectively), and a strong 47.4 percent groundball rate over 59 innings. If Eflin isn’t ready for the start of the season, it could open the door for Vince Velasquez to claim the open spot in the Phillies’ rotation, Gelb notes.
  • In yet another unwelcome bit of news for Philly’s staff, righty Spencer Howard still hasn’t been cleared to throw after going down with back spasms earlier this week. The 24-year-old had been in line to compete for a spot in the club’s rotation, but that appears to be out the window for the time being. Howard, whom Baseball America ranked as the game’s 27th-best prospect in 2020, made a rocky debut last year with six starts and 24 1/3 frames of 5.92 ERA ball (with a more encouraging 4.87 SIERA). However, he did dominate the High-A and Double-A levels in 2019.

Felix Hernandez Exits Outing With Right Elbow Discomfort

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Orioles right-hander Felix Hernandez exited his outing Tuesday with discomfort in his pitching elbow, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com was among those to report. The Orioles will know more about the injury Wednesday after they re-evaluate Hernandez, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com tweets.

Despite a fantastic run with the Mariners from 2005-19, the soon-to-be 35-year-old Hernandez was only able to secure a minor league contract during the offseason. It’s the second straight minors pact for the former Cy Young winner, who inked a deal with the Braves heading into 2020. King Felix didn’t pitch at all last year, though, instead opting out because of concerns over COVID-19.

Hernandez is nowhere near the pitcher he was during his heyday, having combined for a 5.82 ERA in 227 1/3 innings during his two most recent seasons, but he does have a legitimate chance to earn a spot in Baltimore’s rotation if he’s healthy. Alongside Hernandez, John Means, Keegan Akin, Jorge Lopez, Dean Kremer, Matt Harvey and Wade LeBlanc are among O’s who are at least competing for starting jobs.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/16/21

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The latest minor moves from around the majors…

  • The Braves have reached a minor league agreement with right-handed reliever Chasen Bradford, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. Bradford has appeared in a total of three major league seasons between the Mets and Mariners, logging a 3.89 ERA with a below-average strikeout rate (17.2 percent) and a solid walk rate (7.0 percent) across 104 innings. Along with limiting walks, the 31-year-old has induced grounders at an impressive 50.3 percent clip, which has helped him keep opposing offenses off the board. But Bradford underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2019 campaign and hasn’t pitched in the bigs since June of that season.

Alex Wood To Undergo Ablation Procedure On Spine

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Giants left-hander Alex Wood will undergo an ablation procedure on his spine, Maria Guardado of MLB.com was among those to report. However, the club has not ruled Wood out for Opening Day, according to manager Gabe Kapler.

Wood, a former Brave, Red and Dodger, joined the Giants for a $3MM guarantee in the offseason. He’s expected to rack up plenty of starts for the club this season if he’s healthy, though injuries have been a frequent problem for the 30-year-old dating back to his major league debut in 2013. Wood combined for only 48 1/3 innings during the previous two seasons, owing to back and shoulder problems, but he was highly effective in last fall’s playoffs as the Dodgers stormed to a World Series title. Wood threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball in the postseason, including four scoreless frames during the Fall Classic.

Although his regular-season stretch from 2019-20 didn’t go according to plan, it’s not difficult to see why the Giants took a chance on Wood over the winter. He owns a quality 3.45 ERA/3.72 SIERA across 851 2/3 innings and is familiar with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who was in the Dodgers’ front office for part of Wood’s time there. Assuming he comes back quickly from this procedure, Wood figures to join Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Anthony DeSclafani and either Aaron Sanchez or Logan Webb in the Giants’ rotation.

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