Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Athletics Notes: Chapman, Murray, Ballpark, Olson

By | at

The Athletics announced an extension yesterday with slugger Khris Davis — the club’s first in five years. That’s the big news, but there’s more to cover out of Oakland …

  • If the A’s had their way, they’d probably already have made at least one additional long-term investment. The club has tried to lock down third baseman Matt Chapman in the past to no avail; he has only continued to boost his value in the meantime. But he says he’s interested in remaining with the A’s “for a long time,” as Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Interestingly, Chapman cites the Davis contract as “a step in the right direction” for his own situation. Whether a deal comes together, he says, “is out of [his] control.”
  • In a recent profile of superstar quarterback Kyler Murray, who just so happens to have previously signed a contract to join the A’s, SI’s Robert Klemko covers plenty of topics of general interest. From a hot stove perspective, though, there’s one nugget of particular interest: per Klemko, the Oakland ballclub dangled an additional $14MM contract to keep Murray from heading to the NFL. That offer evidently was made in January as Murray was pondering whether to declare for the draft (which he ultimately did). The A’s would have added that sum on top of the $4.66MM they had already promised him. While there’s no evident path to a deal at this point, now that Murray has positioned himself as the likely top overall pick in the NFL draft, it’s a fascinating number to contemplate — with multi-faceted connections to the valuation of amateur talent, the evaluation of recent extensions signed by current MLB players, and the willingness of MLB teams to sacrifice draft picks (when you consider the huge risk that the A’s took — and were willing to double down on — for a talented but still undeveloped player).
  • That cash is small potatoes compared to the still-uncertain stadium situation in Oakland. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted yesterday, there has been a notable recent development. Alameda County has lined up a deal with the team to sell the municipality’s ownership interest in the O.co Coliseum site to the A’s, with a vote scheduled for tomorrow to approve. That’s part of the club’s recently announced plan to build a new park on another site while redeveloping its current home. (That idea arose after prior plans were scuttled.)
  • Focusing on the immediate roster needs, the A’s are surely anxious to get Matt Olson’s bat back in the lineup. The first bagger’s injured hand seems to be on the mend; as manager Bob Melvin told reporters including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle, via Twitter, Olson was able to take cuts off a tee for the first time today. That’s a promising development, though there’ll be further hurdles to clear before Olson is ready to make it back to the MLB roster.

Jacob deGrom Headed For Elbow MRI, Injured List

By | at

6:01pm: Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen announced to reporters that deGrom is going on the injured list, retroactive to April 16th. (Via Joel Sherman of the New York Post; links to Twitter.) Van Wagenen says that deGrom has been disrupted by an illness, seemingly implying that is as much a factor here as the arm issue. The hurler is said to be dealing only with mild soreness that has already improved, with the imaging being classed a precautionary measure. The expectation at this point, per Van Wagenen, is that deGrom will be activated to start on April 26th.

4:20pm: Mets ace Jacob deGrom is headed to New York to undergo an MRI on his right elbow, manager Mickey Callaway told reporters including Tim Healey of Newsday (Twitter link). That’s less than welcome news for a team that is already dealing with some struggles in its vaunted rotation.

Given that deGrom has yet to undergo a full medical examination, there’s no reason to jump to any conclusions here. It’s plenty possible that there’s no real issue whatsoever. All we know at present is that the club felt it worthwhile to send him in for a checkup after his elbow was “barking” today after he played catch in advance of his scheduled start tomorrow.

deGrom last pitched on the 14th, throwing 114 pitches but lasting just five innings. He didn’t exhibit any velocity issues; to the contrary, he has dialed up the heat over the course of the season. Though his last two outings have not been his best, there hasn’t been any indication of a problem before today’s news.

The hope, clearly, is that the reigning National League Cy Young winner is just experiencing a minor issue. He’ll surely be handled with care regardless, as the Mets can ill afford to allow a small problem to become a larger one. deGrom, who inked a four-year extension just before the start of the season, has previously undergone Tommy John surgery but has been quite durable since.

Diamondbacks Acquire Blake Swihart

By | at

The Diamondbacks have acquired catcher Blake Swihart from the Red Sox, per a club announcement. International pool money is also going to Arizona in the deal — $500K in spending capacity, GM Mike Hazen tells reporters including Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter links) — with outfield prospect Marcus Wilson going to Boston in return.

Swihart had been designated for assignment recently. He’s now heading to an interesting situation with the Snakes. Hazen is among several top D-Backs executives that came over from the Red Sox; needless to say, the team is amply familiar with Swihart.

The Diamondbacks are the one organization in baseball that has been most dedicated to carrying three catcher-capable players on its active roster. That’s particularly relevant for Swihart, given that his questionable abilities behind the plate have thus far limited his chances in the majors. But the plan doesn’t appear to be for the out-of-options Swihart to displace a current D-Backs receiver (Carson Kelly, John Ryan Murphy, Caleb Joseph). Rather, Hazen indicates that the club intends to utilize him in some kind of utility capacity.

It’ll be interesting to see whether the Arizona organization is better able to draw value out of Swihart than were the Sox. Prior attempts at moving him around the field didn’t work out. And his well-regarded bat hasn’t yet done much damage in the majors, though to be fair opportunities have come in fits and starts to this point. In 626 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level, Swihart carries a .255/.314/.365 slash with nine home runs, ten steals, and a combination of a 25.7% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

The Red Sox won’t come away with what they hoped for out of Swihart, who was once considered quite a high-end prospect. But they were able to add an interesting player in Wilson, who was taken 69th overall in the 2014 draft. He has some swing and miss in his game but also has drawn his share of walks and has produced solid numbers at times in the low minors. An intriguing athlete, Wilson is off to a nice start this year at Double-A and is seen as possessing a relatively lofty ceiling.

Brewers Option Corbin Burnes

By | at

The Brewers have optioned struggling right-hander Corbin Burnes to Triple-A, as Toby Harrmann of Brewerfan.net first reported on Twitter. Also heading down is reliever Jake Petricka, with Alex Wilson and Donnie Hart added to the active roster to take the openings.

Burnes, 24, impressed in a relief role last year after earning a mid-season call-up. But the hope was (and remains) that he’d be a quality starter in the long run. The Brewers decided to entrust a rotation spot to him to open the current campaign. After 17 2/3 innings of 10.70 ERA pitching, though, it was clear a change was in order.

In some ways, Burnes’s first four starts in the majors showed promise. He maintained mid-nineties velocity and a 14.1% swinging-strike rate while racking up 12.2 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9. Trouble is, opponents did quite a lot of damage when they did make contact. Burnes was tagged for eleven home runs (that’s an eye-watering 5.6 per nine) and a 51.7% hard contact rate.

The Brewers will hope that Burnes can sort things out at Triple-A. In the meantime, there are rotation questions to be answered. Freddy Peralta has had his own struggles and also hit the injured list, leaving two spots unspoken for.

Chase Anderson and Aaron Wilkerson are already up in the bullpen and could step into the rotation, though both have plenty left to prove. Perhaps Adrian Houser could be tapped for his first MLB start after a few prior relief appearances; he has thrown well in three Triple-A starts to begin the year. It’s also conceivable the team could pursue a reunion with Gio Gonzalez, who’s said to be triggering an opt-out clause in his deal with the Yankees, though there’ll be other organizations in on Gonzalez and that would mean freeing a 40-man spot.

Looking at the longer-term implications, Burnes will now need to earn his way back to the majors in order to push forward his service clock. Perhaps he’ll have a chance to do so, with paths available both in the rotation and relief corps. He’s sitting on 108 days of service at this point. That means he can spend only 100 days on optional assignment before he’d miss a chance at topping a full year of service by the end of the current campaign.

Rays Select Contract Of Casey Sadler

By | at

The Rays announced today that they have selected the contract of righty Casey Sadler. To create a roster opening, the team shifted rehabbing hurler Jose De Leon to the 60-day injured list.

The AL East-leading Tampa Bay organization created active roster space by optioning out righty Emilio Pagan. And with backstop Mike Zunino hitting the paternity list, the team also brought up catcher Nick Ciuffo.

Sadler, 28, has seen scattered action in parts of three seasons with the Pirates. He’ll be looking to build off of an interesting early showing at Triple-A this year with his new organization, which added him on a minors deal over the offseason. Sadler has racked up 13 strikeouts in his seven innings with the Rays’ top affiliate.

Whether there’s some new trick up his sleeve remains to be seen; Sadler has averaged just 6.3 K/9 in his 700+ minor-league frames. He has been a solid performer at Triple-A, turning in a 3.64 ERA over 314 innings in parts of six seasons, making him a potentially useful multi-inning piece for the Rays even if he isn’t able to find another gear in the majors.

Minor-League Signees Seeing Significant MLB Action: Position Players

By | at

It’s really too soon to say which minor-league signees are going to turn out to be exceptional values. But we can assess which have earned significant roles out of the gates. Whether they’ll be called upon with such frequency the rest of the way will depend in no small part upon what they do with the initial opportunity.

Let’s start by looking at the 16 position players that signed minor-league deals and have accrued thirty or more plate appearances. It’s a list chock full of notable names:

Gerardo Parra, OF, Giants: The veteran is receiving heavy playing time, leading all minor-league signees with 63 plate appearances, but hasn’t yet justified it with his play. Parra carries only a .218/.302/.327 slash on the year. The roster spot could be at risk if the Giants ultimately find a better use for it, but the club needs decent veteran play in the outfield at the moment.

Jesus Sucre, C, Orioles: Sucre has been the Orioles’ primary option behind the dish, bringing his usual blend of weak offense and solid defense to the table. He’s hitting just .213/.260/.255 through 50 PAs while catching four of eight would-be base thieves. Chance Sisco may eventually unseat him, but Sucre is locked into a prominent role for now.

Hanley Ramirez, DH, Indians: One of the most interesting minor-league signees to watch, Ramirez has generated a healthy 14.0% walk rate but has otherwise done little else of note. It’ll be interesting to see how much patience the Cleveland organization shows.

Curtis Granderson, OF, Marlins: Trusted with a big role, the respected veteran is struggling at the plate (.149/.268/.298). But the Marlins need a few players of this type and surely won’t be in any rush to push him off of the MLB roster.

Melky Cabrera, OF, Pirates: Thrust into an unexpectedly robust role, the Melk Man has delivered with his typically high-contact approach. He’s sporting a BABIP-driven .367/.392/.490 slash through 51 trips to the plate. The Bucs will reevaluate as time goes on and they welcome back some injured players, but Cabrera now has a path to a job all season long.

Logan Forsythe, INF, Rangers: After a few lost seasons, Forsythe settled for a minors pact and has settled in nicely in Texas. He has rediscovered his ability to play short from time to time and exhibited a revamped mastery of the strike zone thus far in 2019. The odds seem pretty solid that Forsythe will continue to hold down a roster spot with the Rangers.

Mark Reynolds, 1B, Rockies: Reynolds is walking more than ever and showing typically strong pop, but still isn’t anything close a league-average producer (83 wRC+) owing to his lagging batting average (.206) and adjustment for hitting at Coors. Odds are the Rox will continue to carry Reynolds as a bench bat and part-time first baseman, though it’s possible the calculus could change once the club’s at full health.

Yangervis Solarte, UTIL, Giants: The 31-year-old is being asked to move around the diamond, but he’ll soon be out of opportunities if he doesn’t get things going at the plate. He’s slashing a meager .200/.256/.300 through 44 plate appearances.

Jose Iglesias, INF, Reds: With Jose Peraza off to a dreadful start, Iglesias is receiving a bigger slice of the playing time pie. He’s not hitting a ton but remains one of the game’s most gifted infield defenders.

Derek Dietrich, INF, Reds: Another player that surprisingly failed to get a MLB deal and landed in Cincinnati, Dietrich is mashing thus far — albeit in a lopsided fashion. He’s carrying only a .200 batting average and .300 OBP but has launched four long balls and owns a hefty .629 slugging percentage.

Brad Miller, INF Indians: Though he was one of the team’s few solid offensive performers in the early going, Miller was jettisoned recently to make way for the return of Jason Kipnis. That sudden change of direction is a good indication of the uncertainty faced by players in this situation.

Lucas Duda, 1B, Royals: Though it’s still hard to understand why the Royals have set up their roster with so many defensively limited players, the veteran slugger is performing at the plate. Duda’s power is down some but he’s walking more than he’s striking out thus far. Barring a change in organizational philosophy, it seems he’ll continue in his role.

JB Shuck, OF, Pirates: As injuries mounted, the door opened wider in Pittsburgh. Shuck has responded with a .259/.429/.333 slash in 36 plate appearances to begin the season. That’s a nice development for him, but he’ll have to show quite a bit more to stave off an eventual roster cut.

Hunter Pence, OF, Rangers: Another veteran keeper in Texas, Pence has carried a middling .276/.323/.379 batting line to begin his comeback bid. He’s probably got some leash as a highly respected veteran but will ultimately need to show some life to stay on the MLB roster.

Nick Hundley, C, Athletics: He’s not hitting at all, but Hundley is a respected veteran receiver. The A’s could in theory make a change at just about any time but the club doesn’t have any other catchers in the organization with substantial MLB experience — at least until Chris Herrmann is back to health.

Peter Bourjos, OF, Angels: Already slated for a fourth outfielder job, Bourjos was thrust into a large role when Justin Upton went down. But he’s off to a wretched beginning of the year and is now firmly in danger of being dropped by the Halos.

Yankees Injury Notes: Severino, Andujar, Sanchez, Stanton, Tulo, Hicks

By | at

Injuries are the story thus far for the Yankees, whose sluggish start is explained in no small part by a dizzying barrage of maladies. One of those has proven particularly confounding, as young starter Luis Severino came down with a lat strain while rehabbing a shoulder injury. As James Wagner of the New York Times reports, the investigation into the origins of Severino’s health problems has become a tale of its own. At this point, the team isn’t sure how that problem popped up; GM Brian Cashman says it wasn’t detected in the imaging that identified the initial shoulder problem.

In any event, there’s still five weeks to go until Severino can potentially start to throw once again. While he and the team wait for that important development, they’ll hope to welcome back a few other players. The latest …

  • The Yanks are at least open to considering utilizing Miguel Andujar as something other than a third baseman, manager Aaron Boone indicated to reporters including Wagner (Twitter link). Andujar’s shoulder injury hasn’t limited him much with the bat, but has made throwing difficult. Even if he’s able to avoid a surgical procedure, then, a return to the hot corner may be difficult. In that event, it’s possible he’d be utilized in the DH slot or perhaps even at first. Those possibilities aren’t yet being discussed in earnest, with Boone saying the club will wait to see how Andujar’s throwing progresses, but it now seems there are some new approaches on the table.
  • Backstop Gary Sanchez is still on track for a quick return to the active roster, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes. In fact, with his calf injury evidently progressing well, he may be back when first eligible on Sunday. That’d be a nice boost for the lineup; the 26-year-old catcher had been back to his slugging ways before incurring the injury.
  • Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton also seems to be showing signs of nearing a return from his biceps injury, though he’s certainly still further off. Stanton has taken cuts off a pitching machine, as Hoch tweeted yesterday, though it’s still a bit uncertain when he’ll be fully ready for activation. It seems possible, but not certain, that Stanton could return before the club wraps up a lengthy West Coast road trip on May 9th.
  • Several other players are also progressing, but on less-certain timelines. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is also working back from a calf strain that is a bit more significant than Sanchez’s. (Via Hoch; Twitter link.) He’s participating in baseball activities and says he’s feeling good, but there’s still no indication when he’ll be ready. Outfielder Aaron Hicks is also engaged in a variety of baseball functions but hasn’t yet taken batting practice to test out his ailing back. He’s hoping to do so this week, Wagner tweets, which would perhaps clear the way for a rehab assignment.

Red Sox Place Dustin Pedroia On Injured List

By | at

7:34pm: The move is no official. Reliever Marcus Walden was brought up to take the roster spot for the time being.

6:52pm: Pedroia will indeed hit the IL, per WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (Twitter link).

6:33pm: Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has yet another injury to his troubled left knee, though it seems that he has avoided a significant new problem. Regardless of the outlook, it’s the latest indication that the lauded veteran will likely never get back to being a durable, everyday player.

Pedroia “felt a pop” in the joint, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in an appearance on the Dale & Keefe Show on WEEI (audio link). That characterization set off some initial alarm bells.

As it turns out, the initial medical review was fairly promising, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Testing indicated that the 35-year-old “did not sustain a serious injury,” though the precise diagnosis remains unclear.

It’s still not known whether Pedroia will require a return trip to the injured list, though Abraham says that appears likely. He had just been activated after missing virtually all of the 2018 season. Pedroia recorded two singles and a walk in his first 21 plate appearances.

No matter how this particular situation plays out, it’s not likely to be the final time the Red Sox have to deal with uncertainty regarding Pedroia this season. As Dombrowski put it, given “the number of things that he’s had going on with that knee, as we know, the knee is never going to be one hundred percent.”

If the club ends up having to dip into the farm system to find a replacement, it seems likely to call upon Tzu-Wei Lin. Skipper Alex Cora cast doubt upon the idea of calling up slugging prospect Michael Chavis, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets, though the third bagger is now being introduced to the second base position to open that possibility.

Dodgers To Sign Logan Bawcom

By | at

The Dodgers have agreed to a minors deal with righty Logan Bawcom, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). The 30-year-old is expected to provide some upper-minors depth once he’s ready to be activated.

Bawcom joined the professional ranks with the Dodgers after being selected in the 17th round of the 2010 draft. He was eventually shipped to the Mariners as part of the 2012 deal that brought reliever Brandon League to Los Angeles.

Though he has still yet to crack the majors, Bawcom has compiled a solid track record in the upper minors. He has seen time in six Triple-A seasons, pitching to a cumulative 3.70 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 384 2/3 innings.

While he has worked at times as a starter including last year with the Dodgers’ top two affiliates, Bawcom has primarily functioned as a reliever. It’d rate as a surprise for him to debut this year in Los Angeles, though it’s certainly possible he’ll pitch his way into consideration if a need arises.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top