Angels Designate Ian Krol
The Angels have designated left-hander Ian Krol for assignment, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group tweets. The Halos recalled righty Akeel Morris from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Krol is in his first year with the Angels, who signed him to a minor league deal over the winter. The 27-year-old made his debut appearance with the club on Sunday and tossed two scoreless innings of one-hit ball, but that wasn’t enough to keep him on its roster. Krol previously threw 21 effective innings at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.71 ERA with 8.57 K/9, 3.56 BB/9 and a 50.9 percent groundball rate.
Also a former National, Tiger and Brave, Krol has produced passable numbers at the major league level, having combined for a 4.50 ERA with 8.43 K/9, 3.46 BB/9 and a 45.2 percent grounder rate in 190 innings. He’s out of minor league options, though, so if a team does claim Krol, it’ll need to put him on its 25-man roster or try to sneak him back through waivers.
Giants To Select Dereck Rodriguez
The Giants will select right-hander Dereck Rodriguez from Triple-A Sacramento on Monday, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. San Francisco already has a full 40-man roster, so it’ll have to create a spot for Rodriguez.
The 25-year-old Rodriguez comes with an interesting backstory, as Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com detailed in 2017. Not only is Rodriguez the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, but he’s still relatively new to pitching. The younger Rodriguez entered the pro ranks as an outfield prospect in 2011, when the Twins selected him in the sixth round. That didn’t work out, however, leading the Twins to turn Rodriguez into a pitcher back in 2013.
Rodriguez took to his position change quickly and eventually reached the Double-A level with the Twins, but his time with the organization ended after last season. He then signed a minors pact over the winter with the Giants, and has since pitched to a 3.40 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 50 1/3 Triple-A innings (nine appearances, all starts). Rodriguez will work out of the Giants’ bullpen in his first major league call-up.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Vlad Jr., Betts, Freeman, Bucs, Soto, Cards, Gleyber
This week in baseball blogs…
- Blue Jays From Away argues that Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s next stop should be Triple-A, not the majors.
- Bronx To Bushville offers a quality piece on Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
- The Point of Pittsburgh looks at launch angles and exit velocity to see how the Pirates have crafted a top offense.
- NatsGM.com has an in-depth scouting report on Juan Soto.
- Birds on the Black examines Marcell Ozuna‘s struggles.
- Bronx Bomber Ball isn’t closing the door on Gleyber Torres‘ AL Rookie of the Year chances, despite Shohei Ohtani‘s presence in the same league.
- Camden Depot observes that Orioles slugger Chris Davis has been the majors’ worst player over the past year.
- Know Hitter constructs a 25-man roster consisting of players Jerry Dipoto has traded away as Seattle’s GM.
- Hardball Via Hardcore responds to Dipoto’s latest trade, this week’s deal with the Rays.
- East Village Times names five teams that could acquire resurgent Padres righty Tyson Ross.
- The Sports Tank (links: 1, 2) reacts to Boston designating Hanley Ramirez for assignment.
- Chin Music Baseball breaks down 10 players who have put their slow starts behind them.
- MLB & Fantasy Baseball Analyzed wonders whether the playoffs are truly random.
- The K Zone talks with Cuban pitching prospect Sandy Gaston.
- The Loop Sports interviews White Sox catcher prospect Zack Collins.
- A’s Farm speaks with James Naile, one of the Athletics’ top Triple-A starters.
- Good Fundies has an entertaining piece on the history of Keith Hernandez discovering Michael Conforto.
- SportsTalkPhilly.com examines Jorge Alfaro‘s season thus far.
- Pinstriped Prospects expects the Yankees to capitalize on their impressive depth to make trades.
- Believeland Ball looks to determine whether the Indians’ early season mediocrity will persist.
- The 3rd Man In profiles 34 draft prospects.
- Call to the Pen (links: 1, 2) names the six biggest surprises of the early season, and compares Cesar Hernandez and Scott Kingery.
- Mets Daddy is pleased with the club’s Devin Mesoraco acquisition.
- Jays From the Couch isn’t panicking over Toronto’s sub-.500 mark.
- Bucs Dugout examines Jameson Taillon‘s decreased curveball usage.
- Friars On Base is bullish on the Padres’ future.
- Locked On Pirates is encouraged by Tyler Glasnow‘s improved control.
- Foul Territory Baseball sees enough young talent on the Nationals for them to remain contenders even if Bryce Harper leaves in free agency.
- MetsMerizedOnline.com notes that young Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo has been among the majors’ top offensive players this year.
- The Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network profiles Wright State University’s Diamyn Hall, one of the only full-time mental skills coordinators in Division I college baseball.
- Everything Bluebirds contends that the shorstop position in Toronto still belongs to Troy Tulowitzki.
- PhoulBallz asks if it’s time to be concerned about struggling Phillies outfield prospect Mickey Moniak, the top pick in the 2016 draft.
- Jays Journal runs down 10 Toronto minor leaguers off to impressive starts this year.
- Rising Apple looks into whether the Mets’ Tim Tebow, a former NFL quarterback, is actually a legitimate MLB prospect.
- Motor City Bengals lists the five best trades in Tigers history.
- Rox Pile revisits former Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd’s first-round history.
- Rotisserie Duck focuses on players whose careers ended too early and others who hung around too long.
- The Pinch Runner delves into the three true outcomes.
- The Runner Sports (links: 1, 2) sees an opportunity for the Twins to take over first place in the AL Central, and covers minor league baseball’s return to Fayetteville, N.C., courtesy of the Astros.
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Padres Acquire Phil Hughes
4:51pm: $7.25MM is the precise sum, Jon Heyman of FanRag hears.
1:54pm: The Padres will pick up approximately $7.5MM of Hughes’ contract, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets.
1:05pm: The Padres have acquired right-hander Phil Hughes, cash and the 74th pick in June’s draft from the Twins for young catcher Janigson Villalobos, per announcements from both teams.
The Twins designated Hughes for assignment earlier this week, even though they still owed him the rest of his $13.2MM salary this year and another $13.2MM in 2019. Now, Minnesota will eat the remainder of Hughes’ salary this year, but San Diego will pay nearly half the tab next season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com suggests.
In a best-case scenario for the rebuilding Padres, the 31-year-old Hughes would reemerge as a viable starter or reliever with the club. However, there doesn’t seem to be much hope on either front, given that Hughes has recently undergone two different surgeries to address thoracic outlet syndrome – which is often a death knell for pitchers. Those procedures ended each of Hughes’ previous two seasons prematurely, and have played a role in the bloated 5.99 ERA he has logged across 124 2/3 innings (33 appearances, 22 starts) since 2016.
While Hughes is certainly the eye-catching name in this trade, acquiring the pick in Competitive Balance Round B is the greater boon for San Diego. The Padres now have four of the draft’s top 85 choices, including Nos. 7 and 38, with which to add to an already deep farm system. The Friars’ newest selection carries a slot value of $812,200, and adding it will help make up for the pick they lost when they signed free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer in the offseason.
Villalobos, a Venezuela native, immigrated to the United States when he signed a deal with the Padres in March 2016. He went on to post a .253/.408/.322 line in 233 plate appearances at the Rookie level from 2016-17, though the 21-year-old hasn’t played anywhere this season. He’ll suit up for the Rookie level Gulf Coast Twins when their season begins.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL Injury Notes: Acuna, Kershaw, Wright, Mets
Braves uber-prospect Ronald Acuna left the team’s game Sunday in Boston with knee and lower-back pain, the team announced. The 20-year-old outfielder exited in the seventh inning after suffering a gruesome-looking injury (video via Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports), though he eventually was able to walk off the field on his own power, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes. Acuna’s currently undergoing an exam at a nearby clinic, O’Brien tweets. The up-and-coming Braves and the baseball world in general are holding their breath that isn’t a serious injury for the exciting Acuna, who has emerged as one of the game’s best rookies and a key part of a playoff contender.
More from around the NL…
- Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will come off the disabled list and start against the Phillies on Thursday, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report. All told, Kershaw will miss just under a month after going on the DL on May 7 with biceps tendinitis. He’ll rejoin a team that has won seven of nine since reaching a season-worst 10 games under .500 on May 16, though LA still entered Sunday just 23-28 and 3.5 games out of the NL West lead.
- Mets third baseman David Wright last appeared in a major league game on May 27, 2017, exactly two years ago today. A laundry list of upper-body injuries have kept Wright off the field for all but 75 games since 2015, and he may be in the midst of yet another lost season. However, the captain isn’t calling it a career. Rather, the 35-year-old Wright continues to hold out hope that he’ll return to the field, and he’ll go for a re-evaluation by the end of the month, Tim Healey of Newsday writes. Healey spoke to a few of Wright’s Mets teammates about his plight, and each offered effusive praise for the seven-time All-Star. Wright, of course, is still under contract through 2020 for $47MM – including $20MM this year – but the team has an insurance policy covering about 75 percent of that money.
- Wright’s injuries helped open the door for the Mets‘ offseason signing of veteran third baseman Todd Frazier, who has dealt with his own injury issues this year. Frazier went to the DL with a hamstring issue back on May 8, but he’s almost ready for a Triple-A rehab assignment, Healey reports. The same goes for reliever and fellow winter free-agent signing Anthony Swarzak, out since the first week of the season with an oblique strain (Twitter link via Mike Puma of the New York Post).
- More injury news on the Mets, who will send reliever AJ Ramos for an MRI on his right shoulder, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. It’s the latest negative development this season for the 31-year-old Ramos, who has posted a 6.41 ERA with 6.86 walks per nine over 19 2/3 innings. Ramos has been especially poor lately, having given up at least two earned runs in three of six appearances, perhaps because of an injury.
Mariners Designate Taylor Motter
The Mariners have designated infielder Taylor Motter for assignment, the team announced. His 40-man roster spot will go to catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann, whom they selected from Triple-A Tacoma.
Motter has been with the Mariners organization since they acquired him from the Rays in November 2016, though he may now be on his way to another franchise. With one minor league option remaining, a club could acquire Motter in a trade or via waivers and use him as depth.
The 28-year-old Motter hasn’t impressed offensively since debuting in 2016, having recorded a .198/.269/.326 line in 390 trips to the plate. Motter brings defensive versatility, though, with major league experience at every position but catcher (including one appearance as a pitcher).
Kris Medlen Retires
Veteran right-hander Kris Medlen has retired, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports. He had been pitching in the minors with the Diamondbacks organization.
The 32-year-old Medlen only spent a few months with the Diamondbacks, who signed him to a minor league deal in January. He eventually worked his way back to the majors, earning a start in early May as the Diamondbacks dealt with injuries to Robbie Ray and Taijuan Walker. That May 4 outing didn’t go well for Medlen, who allowed seven earned runs on nine hits and four walks (with four strikeouts) across four frames in a loss to the reigning World Series champion Astros. Arizona then optioned Medlen to Triple-A, where he spent the final few weeks of his career.
Even though his last season didn’t go well, Medlen enjoyed an accomplished big league career. The California native went in the 10th round of the 2006 draft to the Braves, who initially used him solely out of the bullpen before he later worked as both a starter and a reliever with the club. Medlen debuted in Atlanta in 2009 and went on to turn in 512 2/3 innings of 2.95 ERA ball with the team through 2013, also notching 7.62 K/9, 2.12 BB/9 and a 46.2 percent groundball rate over 152 appearances (61 starts).
While Medlen offered high-end production in Atlanta, his arm health began to deteriorate with the club. Medlen missed the majority of the 2011 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, which proved to the first of two TJ procedures he’d undergo in his career. Medlen went back under the knife prior to the 2014 campaign, bringing about the end of his first Braves tenure.
The Royals took a flyer on Medlen in the wake of his second surgery, inking him to a two-year deal, but he wasn’t able to regain his old form in Kansas City. However, in the better of those years – 2015 – Medlen pitched to a respectable 4.01 ERA over 58 1/3 innings (15 appearances, eight starts) and was part of the Royals’ first World Series-winning team since 1985. Neither Medlen nor the Royals could replicate that success the next season, leading him to exit and reunite with the Braves on a minor league deal entering the 2017 campaign. Medlen didn’t return to the majors with the Braves, instead spending the season primarily with their Triple-A affiliate.
Unfortunately, thanks to injuries, Medlen’s career didn’t reach the heights it could have. Nevertheless, he still registered a more-than-respectable 3.33 ERA in 599 1/3 major league frames. MLBTR wishes Medlen the best in retirement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mariners Select Chris Herrmann
The Mariners have selected catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann from Triple-A, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. The club sent fellow catcher David Freitas to Triple-A in a corresponding 25-man move, though the Mariners will still need to create a 40-man spot for Herrmann.
The 30-year-old Herrmann is in the Mariners’ starting lineup Sunday, which will be his first major league action of the season. He previously played in the majors with the Twins (2012-15) and Diamondbacks (2016-17), combining for a .202/.278/.344 line in 811 plate appearances. Herrmann remained with the D-backs organization through the offseason, but they released him in late March and he quickly hooked on with the Mariners on a minors pact.
Herrmann earned his promotion to the Mariners with a solid offensive showing in Tacoma, where he opened 2018 with a .266/.424/.444 line and six home runs across 177 PAs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Freitas fared decently at the MLB level, meanwhile, with a .217/.321/.304 slash in 55 trips to the plate. But for now, he’ll cede the role of Mike Zunino‘s backup to Herrmann.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/27/18
Keeping track of Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball…
- The Yankees have outrighted left-hander Ryan Bollinger to Double-A, per a team announcement. Bollinger had a short stint with the Yankees, who selected his contract in time for Wednesday’s game against the Rangers and then optioned him afterward. The well-traveled 27-year-old will continue in Trenton, where he has logged 20 innings this season and posted a microscopic ERA (.90) with 5.9 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9.
AL Notes: Hamels, Yanks, Orioles, Miggy, Mariners
The Rangers may trade left-hander Cole Hamels in the next couple months, and “it looks like the Yankees could be interested,” Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Although the Yankees are among 20 teams on Hamels’ no-trade list, the 34-year-old suggested earlier this week that he wouldn’t block a move to a contender. New York certainly looks as if it’ll contend all season, which would appeal to Hamels, and the team figures to end up acquiring him or another legitimate starter at some point this summer. General manager Brian Cashman pointed to his pitching staff as an area that he could address Saturday, before Sonny Gray continued his disappointing season with an ugly start against the Angels.
Regardless of whether the Yankees go outside for help, they should get back a rotation reinforcement, lefty Jordan Montgomery, in the coming weeks. Montgomery, who has been out since May 2 with an elbow strain, is “progressing” without any issues, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. The second-year man is three-plus weeks into a potential six- to eight-week absence, and he had been in the midst of another effective season prior to going down. Righty Domingo German has served as a Montgomery fill-in for three starts, the first of which went swimmingly and the next two rather poorly.
More on a few other AL teams…
- There have been questions about the Orioles’ power structure, a group that includes general manager Dan Duquette, manager Buck Showalter, VP Brady Anderson and ownership (Peter Angelos and his two sons), but signs are pointing to Duquette making the calls this summer, per Cafardo. Based on Cafardo’s report, Duquette will run point on a potential Manny Machado trade, one that could provide long-term benefits for the Orioles if the GM secures the right talent in return. Whether Duquette will continue in his post beyond this season remains unclear, though, given that his contract’s set to expire and the O’s look primed to begin a rebuild.
- Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera could come off the disabled list as early as Monday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com tweets. The 35-year-old has missed upward of three weeks with a hamstring strain, which derailed an excellent start to his season. Cabrera put together a .323/.407/.516 line in 108 plate appearances before landing on the shelf.
- The surging Mariners picked up another win Saturday to move to 31-20, though they may have lost a couple important contributors in the process. Shortstop Jean Segura exited after being kicked in the head, and manager Scott Servais said afterward that he’d enter concussion protocol, while reliever Nick Vincent departed with a strained right groin (Twitter links via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). A DL stint seems like a good possibility for Vincent, who ranks third among Mariners in relievers in innings (22) and has logged a 4.09 ERA with 9.41 K/9 against 2.45 BB/9. The Mariners will presumably know more Sunday on Vincent and Segura, one of their offensive catalysts. Segura has slashed .329/.345/.469 with four home runs and 12 stolen bases in 226 PAs this season.