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Phillies Replace Hitting Coach John Mallee With Charlie Manuel

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In a rather surprising turn, the Phillies have announced that hitting coach John Mallee has been “relieved … of his duties.” He’ll be replaced by none other than Charlie Manuel, the club’s grizzled former skipper. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki first tweeted the news.

It’s a decidedly old-school turn for the uber-contemporary Phils. There are some echoes here of a move earlier this year by the division-rival Mets, who installed the 82-year-old Phil Regan as pitching coach and have seemingly benefited from the move. Manuel, 75, has remained a visible figure in the Phillies organization since finishing his time as the manager, but has not occupied a rigorous, everyday role. It seems likely he’ll only be asked to man his new post for the remainder of the present season.

There’s little question the Phillies are in need of a jolt. They’ve steadily slipped behind the Braves, Nats, and Mets since holding the NL East lead in mid-June. Now, the Philadelphia club is separated from postseason position by two games and multiple other teams.

Manuel has long been lauded for his hitting acumen, so he’ll be asked to help the club’s batters with their mechanics and approach. That’s certainly an area of need, given that the Phillies have collectively produced at a mediocre 90 wRC+ clip over the past thirty days. But it seems this move says as much about a need for veteran grit and gravitas as it does a desire to modify the organization’s batting tutelage. And it’s a clear sign that Phillies upper management is not pleased with the way the season has progressed after a winter chock full of big investments.

Anthopolous On Struggling Braves’ Pen: “We’ll Ride It Out”

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The Braves felt they had sorted out their bullpen issues with a trio of trade-deadline acquisitions, but it hasn’t turned out that way. Jeff Schultz of The Athletic (subscription link) recently examined the situation, featuring the thoughts of GM Alex Anthopoulos.

More than anything, the Atlanta roster architect suggested, the difficulties are simply a rough section of the sample-size roller-coaster. “I just think it’s a two-week period and guys aren’t performing at their best,” he says. Anthopoulos says that the club would not “just ignore it” if a player was not performing over a longer stretch, but suggested the organization doesn’t yet feel that point has been reached.

It’d obviously be foolish for the Braves to give up on their three new relief arms — Shane Greene, Chris Martin, and Mark Melancon. Greene was solid all year long before he became the club’s key acquisition. The other two have produced sparkling K/BB and groundball numbers in Atlanta. It’s equally difficult to ignore just how rough the results have been. Through a dozen cumulative frames, each of those three hurlers has allowed more than an earned run for every inning thrown.

“We’ll continue to work and do what we can to get everybody on track,” says Anthopoulos. “But at this point, we’ll ride it out.”

As Schultz rightly notes, there isn’t much of an alternative now that the calendar has flipped to August. But the org does have a few potential avenues to get better. Waiver claims are perhaps the most promising. We’ve seen the Reds add multiple big-league pieces through that mechanism — including former Atlanta righty Kevin Gausman.

True, the Braves won’t likely land any players that look like especially good values. Should such an asset hit the wire, another pitching-needy organization with a higher waiver priority will likely snap it up. But shedding Gausman did draw down the Atlanta payroll by about $2.8MM. That bit of good fortune could theoretically allow the organization to look past value concepts and take a more aggressive waiver-wire stance, particularly since some other contenders may be tapped out financially. Whether a worthwhile opportunity will arise remains to be seen.

Brewers To Sign Tyler Austin

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The Brewers are slated to sign outfielder/first baseman Tyler Austin to a minor-league deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Austin was cut loose recently by the Giants.

While Austin will have to earn his way up to the MLB roster, he could fill a role in the majors. At the deadline, the club shipped away right-handed-hitting slugger Jesus Aguilar. He’s now raking in Tampa Bay while the Brewers appear to be in need of a righty power bat — if only for pinch-hitting and first-base platoon purposes.

Austin, 27, found himself out of a job in San Francisco after a tepid showing in part-time duties there. Over 147 plate appearances in seventy games, he slashed just .185/.279/.400. But Austin was much better against southpaws, as has been the case for his entire career. Through 556 career plate appearances, he’s carrying a spread of more than two-hundred points between his OPS against right-handed (.647) and left-handed (.865) pitching.

Blue Jays Release David Paulino

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The Blue Jays announced that righty David Paulino has cleared release waivers, making him a free agent. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Once a major prospect, the 25-year-old hurler has not developed as hoped. There have been quite a few hiccups along the way, most notably arm injuries and a PED suspension.

Paulino now seems likelier to end up in a big-league relief unit, but he had been functioning as a starter this year at Triple-A. In seven outings this season, he worked to a 3.45 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 28 2/3 innings.

Unfortunately, Paulino has missed the bulk of the campaign with an as-yet-unreported health issue. While no organization was willing to utilize a 40-man spot to add him — notably, he won’t be optionable in 2020 — it stands to reason that one will be glad to take a chance on a minors deal.

Red Sox Move Andrew Cashner To Bullpen

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Manager Alex Cora says that the Red Sox will move righty Andrew Cashner into a relief role, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com was among those to cover (Twitter links). For the time being, at least, the club will go with a four-man rotation.

Cashner is said to have accepted the demotion — not that he really had any choice in the matter. And it’d be hard to argue he deserves otherwise. In six outings since arriving via trade, Cashner carries a brutal 8.01 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 over 30 1/3 innings.

This move comes as the Red Sox continue to sink in the Wild Card standings. With a 7.5-game deficit entering play today, and no end in sight to the veteran hurler’s struggles, the club can ill afford to keep running him out there every fifth game.

There are also some contractual elements at play here, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently explained. Cashner had an outside shot at triggering a vesting option provision had he made all of his remaining potential starts (and gone deep into every one of them). His most recent start, which lasted only 1 2/3 innings, all but eliminated that possibility. Today’s news buries it once and for all.

It’s unlikely the Boston organization really considered that factor in making today’s move, since it remained quite unlikely that Cashner would’ve made the innings tally required to turn the $10MM club option into a guaranteed 2020 salary. It was natural to bump Cashner from the rotation with so many upcoming off days. Indeed, Cora hinted that the club may at times even try to skip another starter — almost certainly, the scuffling Rick Porcello — over the next six weeks.

Now that Cashner is all but assured to return to the open market at season’s end, it raises the stakes for him over the stretch run. It will certainly be interesting to see whether he can change his fortunes in a relief role.

Twins Acquire Ian Miller From Mariners

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Today, 12:38 PM: The Mariners will receive cash considerations in return, per the team.

FRIDAY, 11:56 PM: The Twins are set to acquire outfielder Ian Miller from the Mariners, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). The precise return isn’t known, but Divish indicates it’s not expected to be significant.

Because he isn’t playing on a MLB deal, Miller can still be dealt. The 27-year-old, a former 14th-round pick, is still looking for his first taste of the majors. Miller has been plying his trade in the upper minors in the Seattle system since 2015.

Divish indicates that the chief interest for the Twins lies in Miller’s baserunning abilities, and that makes sense. He is an accomplished base thief, with 237 bags snatched over seven professional seasons.

Miller is less accomplished with the bat, with a .699 career OPS through just under three thousand total plate appearances. He’s sporting a bit of a power surge this year, with a .272/.354/.453 slash and 11 long balls (easily a career high) over 441 plate appearances. But that’s still slightly below the mean for Pacific Coast League hitters.

Braves To Install Mark Melancon As Closer

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The Braves will install veteran righty Mark Melancon as their closer, manager Brian Snitker told reporters including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). He finished out tonight’s game, though it did not come in a save situation.

Melancon was one of three veteran relievers acquired by the Atlanta organization at the trade deadline. At the time, it did not seem terribly likely he’d receive a shot at ninth-inning work. Shane Greene took the inside track to the gig, with fellow newcomer Chris Martin and incumbent Luke Jackson also potentially in the mix.

Things have changed rather quickly. Greene and Martin have been shaky. The Braves don’t want to turn things back over to Jackson. And Melancon has been steady. It’s only a handful of outings, but the Atlanta org is obviously looking for a steadying presence. Perhaps it shouldn’t be seen as a surprise that the experienced late-inning hand has already grasped the reins.

Melancon hasn’t functioned as a steady closer since early in the 2017 season, but he has racked up 183 career saves. Though he has been more steady than dominant of late, carrying a 3.29 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 since the start of the 2018 season, the 34-year-old surely won’t be cowed by the prospect of handling the high-leverage spots.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Braves’ late-inning relief situation shakes out down the stretch. Snitker did not commit to permanently utilizing Melancon in the closer’s role, though he did indicate that the veteran will be trusted with the job for some time to come. The club is obviously willing to switch things up on the fly, but will presumably hope to settle into some kind of established approach before the postseason arrives.

Phillies To Sign Nick Vincent

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10:00pm: There is indeed a deal in place, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).

9:50pm: The Phillies are “working toward” a deal with righty Nick Vincent, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadephia (Twitter link). If completed, it’ll be a minors pact.

Vincent is one of several veteran players who have entered the open market in recent weeks. With no possibility of striking trades for players on MLB contracts, contenders are stockpiling all the depth they can.

Things were going well enough for Vincent to open the year, after he earned an Opening Day roster spot with the Giants. Working in a multi-inning capacity, he made it through 24 innings over 14 appearances with a 2.25 ERA. Then came a brutal, four-appearance stretch in which he coughed up 13 earned runs.

That stretch ended when Vincent went on the injured list with a pectoral injury. He has been sidelined ever since. The Giants elected to set him loose rather than adding him back to the active roster after watching Vincent’s rehab work. He did rack up a dozen strikeouts without a walk over seven appearances.

For the most part, Vincent has been much the same reliever as always in 2019. He carries an 11.3% swinging-strike rate with 8.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9, numbers that sit right at his career average. With a long track record of strong work — he owns a lifetime 3.38 ERA in 362 2/3 MLB frames — Vincent was sure to secure an opportunity somewhere. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him back in the majors in relatively short order.

Checking In On Last Winter’s 8 Biggest Free Agent Pitcher Contracts

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Last winter’s free-agent market was debated for years in advance. Its slow pace led to a long period of tension that has extended into early CBA negotiations. There was and is much at stake that goes beyond the bounds of the individual contracts that were negotiated. But those specific deals are also interesting and important standing alone — particularly those that involved significant, multi-year commitments.

We’ll check in on the thirteen players who signed for $30MM or more in total guaranteed money to see how those contracts look now that we’re more than two-thirds of the way through their first seasons. We’ve already gone through the five position players. Now, here are the eight pitchers who inked such deals:

Patrick Corbin, SP, Nationals (6 years, $140MM): Corbin has been just about everything the Nats hoped he’d be, turning in 141 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball with 10.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 along with a 46.0% groundball rate. The numbers aren’t quite as exceptional as they were last year, but it’s promising to see that he has mostly maintained his breakout (and has even nudged his velocity back a bit toward his career average). It still feels like a pretty heavy price, but … let’s just say the D.C. org is probably pleased it made this investment rather than topping the Phillies to bring back Bryce.

Nathan Eovaldi, SP, Red Sox (4 years, $67.5MM): Yeah, I know he’s pitching as a reliever for the moment. But that’s not what he was signed for. And it doesn’t even capture the full scope of the problems. Eovaldi came back to the Boston bullpen from a long elbow-related absence. He’s pumping heat, as usual, but the results have been ugly all year long. Eovaldi does carry a 14:2 K/BB ratio in 7 2/3 innings as a reliever, but he has also been tagged for a .591 batting average in balls in play and seven earned runs in that capacity. Overall, his swinging-strike rate has dropped back to 8.8% after popping up to 10.7% last year. There’s still time for the 29-year-old to figure things out, but his performance thus far has left his 2018 uptick looking like an outlier.

Yusei Kikuchi, SP, Mariners (4 years, $56MM): MLBTR’s Connor Byrne took a closer look at Kikuchi just the other day, so I’ll point you to that rather than re-listing the core facts here. The key fact for the Seattle organization is that Kikuchi was always a long-term play rather than a win-now gambit, so there’s still hope they can help him learn and adjust. But the initial showing doesn’t admit of much promise.

Zack Britton, RP, Yankees (3 years, $39MM): The groundball artist formerly known as “Zach” doesn’t get swings and misses like he did in his prime, but he’s still excelling with a 2.30 ERA in 47 frames. Opposing hitters still haven’t figured out the power sinker. They’re putting the ball on the ground at a 78.7% clip and failing (particularly given this offensive environment) to put the ball over the fence (0.57 HR/9). Britton is again giving out more free passes than one might prefer, but he’s better equipped to erase them with double plays than any reliever in the history of baseball.

J.A. Happ, SP, Yankees (2 years, $34MM): The Yanks’ other significant pitching investment hasn’t worked out as well. Happ is through 115 innings of 5.24 ERA ball, with 7.1 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 and a hefty 26 home runs allowed. The velo is fine. The swings and misses are at the same level as his successful 2018. But Happ just hasn’t been able to tamp down the hard contact and has been far too prone to the long ball. The positive is that the veteran southpaw is healthy and still seems to be exhibiting the same arsenal and general skillset that has worked for him in recent seasons.

Charlie Morton, SP, Rays (2 years, $30MM): And you thought Happ had a late-career renaissance. It’s still unclear why the Astros didn’t issue Morton a qualifying offer after his strong two-year run with the team. He has been even better in Tampa Bay, spinning 143 frames of 2.77 ERA pitching with 11.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and a 49.1% groundball rate. Morton has allowed only eleven long balls, a markedly low figure for a starter in this offensive context. He’s a fantastic buy on this deal.

Jeurys Familia, RP, Mets (3 years, $30MM): I won’t lie. This struck me as a nice move for the Mets at the time it was made. Familia still hasn’t reached thirty years of age and was a solid late-inning asset in 2018. Unfortunately, he has fallen apart in his return to New York. Through 37 2/3 innings, he’s sporting an awful 6.69 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 7.4 BB/9. Familia is having trouble getting opposing hitters to chase out of the zone, which is leading to the walks and explains the reduction in his swinging-strike rate (from 14.1% last year to 10.2%). He’s not throwing his four-seamer as hard as usual, but his heavily utilized sinker is still sitting in its typical 96+ mph range. While there’s still hope of a turnaround, it’s safe to say that rival clubs wouldn’t be anxious to take on the remainder of this deal.

Lance Lynn, SP, Rangers (3 years, $30MM): The most surprising $30MM+ contract is also arguably the best value of them all. The 32-year-old Lynn has had plenty of effective seasons in the majors, but he has by some measures never been better than in 2019. He’s throwing harder than ever and carrying a career-best 21.8% K%-BB% on a personal-high 12.3% swinging-strike rate. Statcast is impressed, crediting Lynn with a .279 xwOBA-against that’s even better than the .294 wOBA actually produced by opposing batters. It’s fair to wonder whether Lynn can keep up quite this level of work for the final two years of the deal, but the pact has obviously turned into quite the asset for the Texas organization.

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I suppose we could’ve looked fully at Craig Kimbrel, who signed with the Cubs in mid-season after shedding draft compensation, but it seems premature to attempt an assessment just 14 appearances into his $43MM contract.

Steven Duggar Weighing Shoulder Surgery

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Giants outfielder Steven Duggar says that he has been diagnosed with a grade 3 sprain of his left AC joint, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report (Twitter links). While he’s heading for a second opinion, Duggar says he’s leaning towards surgery.

The San Francisco organization had only recently called Duggar back up to the bigs when he came up injured. He was shifted to the 60-day IL earlier today, meaning that the team has already scratched him for the rest of the season. Clearly, the focus will be on getting Duggar back to health. Worryingly, he also ended his 2018 season with a significant left shoulder injury.

The 25-year-old had been seen by some as a key potential part of the Giants outfield for some time to come, but he’ll be a question mark entering 2020. In addition to the health issues, Duggar simply has not produced in the majors when healthy. Through 281 plate appearances on the year, he carries a .234/.278/.341 batting line with four home runs.

There’s still promise for Duggar. He was much better this year at Triple-A, where he was walking nearly as often as he struck out while showing much more power. And he’s a gifted defender, so it’s not as if he needs to be a monster at the plate to be a useful big leaguer.

The move on Duggar created space for the activation of lefty Travis Bergen. The Rule 5 pick had been working back from a shoulder injury. It seems the club remains committed to carrying him for the rest of the season, though that could change as time goes on.

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