Rangers Promote Willie Calhoun, Place Nomar Mazara On DL
The Rangers announced today that top prospect Willie Calhoun is headed up to the active MLB roster. He’ll take the spot of outfielder Nomar Mazara, who’ll hit the DL with a thumb sprain.
Calhoun, who came to the Texas organization in last summer’s Yu Darvish swap, earned a brief taste of the big leagues late last year. While he was widely considered ready to hit at the game’s highest level, though, the Rangers kept him down to begin the present campaign — due in no small part to a need to refine his glovework.
While he had played quite a bit of second base in the past, Calhoun has focused on left field this year at Triple-A. The results will be on display when he suits up at the MLB level, though it’s not yet clear whether he’ll receive an extended opportunity this time around. It’ll certainly also be interesting to see Calhoun try to improve upon a tepid first effort (in a very small sample) against major-league pitching. Through 408 plate appearances this year for Round Rock, he carries a .306/.360/.444 slash with eight home runs and 27 walks to go with forty strikeouts — not nearly the output he managed in 2017, but still promising.
Calhoun’s play will obviously help dictate how much of a run he gets down the stretch. But the Rangers’ trade deadline outcomes and the health of Mazara will surely also be considered. There’s no reason at present to believe that Mazara will miss significant time, though the injury may well foreclose any possibility (however meager) that he could be traded in the next ten days.
Rays Designate Johnny Field
The Rays have designated outfielder Johnny Field for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). That opens 40-man space for the team to select the contract of catcher Adam Moore.
Field, 26, debuted this year and posted a .213/.253/.373 slash line with six home runs in 179 MLB plate appearances. Clearly, that’s not going to get it done, though it was only a first attempt at the game’s highest level. Field, who is capable of playing in the corners or up the middle defensively, has a .270/.320/.436 batting line in his 805 career plate appearances at Triple-A.
As for the 34-year-old Moore, this represents a return to the majors after a one-season absence. He had appeared in every one of the prior eight MLB campaigns, yet saw action in less than one hundred total games. Outside of a lengthy run in 2010, in fact, Moore has taken just 74 total plate appearances. H carries a .215/.259/.309 slash in 158 plate appearances this year at Triple-A.
Cubs Acquire Jesse Chavez
The Cubs have acquired right-hander Jesse Chavez from the Rangers, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter). Lefty Tyler Thomas is heading to the Rangers in return.
Chavez, 34, is owed $1.5MM on the season under his one-year deal. (That includes an additional $500K over the base $1MM guarantee that was tacked on when he made the active roster to open the season.) While he has flown under the radar on a Rangers club that’s mired in last place, Chavez earned a reasonably lofty placement (#38) on MLBTR’s recent ranking of the 75 top summer trade candidates.
Much of the appeal in Chavez lies in his ability to function as a swingman. He has alternated between relief and rotation work over the past several seasons, generally providing useful innings in either capacity. While he’ll surely be asked to join the relief corps in Chicago, Chavez will also help pad the club’s rotation depth.
On the heels of a tough 2017 campaign in which he worked mostly as a starter, Chavez has settled into a role as a multi-inning reliever in Texas. He carries a 3.51 ERA through 56 1/3 innings over thirty appearances, with 8.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.
Notably, Chavez’s velocity has trended up by over a full tick (to 93.1 mph with his average fastball) after fading somewhat last year. He’s also generating an 11.0% swinging-strike rate that’s near his personal best. Chavez has, however, allowed a few too many home runs for three years running.
For their minimal investment in Chavez, the Rangers seem to have done reasonably well to pick up Thomas. The 22-year-old was a 2017 seventh-round pick out of Fresno State. He has thrown well this year at the Class A level, turning in 75 innings of 2.88 ERA ball with 9.7 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees Activate Gary Sanchez
The Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez heading out of the All-Star break, per a club announcement. Backstop Kyle Higashioka was optioned to clear a roster spot.
Sanchez ended up missing just under a month with a groin strain. Higashioka produced good power numbers (.500 SLG) while joining with Austin Romine to fill in for Sanchez, but managed only a .242 OBP. Clearly, the Yanks will be pleased to welcome back one of their most talented players.
In addition to getting up to full speed after the injury, Sanchez will be looking to get his offensive numbers back to where they were in prior seasons. He’s slashing just .190/.291/.433 on the year, well off his 2016-17 output, with 14 home runs in his 265 plate appearances.
Of course, that’s still within range of league-average overall production despite the fact that Sanchez owns only a .194 batting average on balls in play. Notably, he is credited by Statcast with a .369 xwOBA that dwarfs his .311 wOBA. Clearly, it’s reasonable to expect some positive regression in the second half.
Shelby Miller Cleared Of UCL Damage
Diamondbacks righty Shelby Miller has been cleared of any new damage to his surgically replaced ulnar collateral ligament, Jack Magruder of The Sports Xchange reports on Twitter. That’s the news the club was hoping for when it sent Miller’s MRI results to surgeon Neal ElAttrache.
Miller, 27, has only made four starts since working back from Tommy John surgery. The alarm bells went off recently when he was forced out of his most recent outing with elbow tightness, though it emerged thereafter that there was cause for optimism.
It’s anyone’s guess how much time Miller will miss, but Magruder notes that the veteran right-hander will remain on ice for at least another seven days. At this point, he has only been down for a week, but his ultimate rehab timeline will surely depend upon how his elbow responds to the rest and how quickly he’s able to resume throwing.
While Miller was tagged for 19 earned runs in his first 15 innings on the year, he also ran up 19 strikeouts and was pumping mid-nineties heaters. Despite the struggles, then, the organization would surely like for him to be working out the kinks in major-league games. After all, the D-Backs will need to maximize all their resources for the stretch run in a tough NL West.
It seems Miller will be replaced by Clay Buchholz, reversing the DL/rotation swap those two hurlers made in late June. While the Snakes would surely prefer to have both at full health, the tag-team approach is at least keeping the rotation filled out so far.
Shohei Ohtani Cleared To Begin Throwing Progression
Angels starter/DH Shohei Ohtani has been cleared medically to resume throwing, per a club announcement. The news came on the heels of his examination after six weeks of rest following stem cell and platelet-rich plasma treatment.
Ohtani, who took MLB by storm in his first season after coming over from Japan, hit the shelf in early June after being diagnosed with a grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament. The two-way star has since returned to the active roster to continue working as a hitter, but has not yet begun moving back toward the mound.
It obviously seems to be promising news that Ohtani will be able to attempt to return to the hill as soon as the present season. The announcement states that Ohtani’s UCL “continues to show improved healing.” He’ll doubtlessly be watched closely as he ramps back up and will certainly need some time to get back to full speed. It’ll also be interesting to see how the Halos balance the need to get Ohtani rehab outings with the fact that he’s already an active part of the MLB roster.
Of course, skeptics will note that this club has pursued this route before, with at most a mixed record. While Garrett Richards was able to stave off Tommy John surgery for a while after electing not to undergo the procedure in May of 2016, he experienced some intervening setbacks and only made it back for 22 total starts before ultimately requiring a UCL replacement. Teammate Andrew Heaney initially charted a similar course at nearly the exact same time, but ultimately did not return to competitive action before needing a TJ procedure. Interestingly, though, to this point Heaney has 22 MLB outings of his own since both he and Richards faced the same choice.
It’s worth noting that Ohtani has been cleared to begin ramping up after just six weeks of rest. That’s the same hope that was expressed at the time that Richards underwent his initial treatment, but he ultimately did not begin his own throwing program until mid-August of 2016 — about three months later. Whether that suggests greater cause for optimism in Ohtani’s case isn’t really clear.
Of course, even if Ohtani is able to make it back later this year, it’s far from clear that he’ll have any impact on the team’s 2018 prospects for reaching the postseason. Since he left the rotation, the club has plummeted in the standings and now sits nine games out of a Wild Card spot.
That’s not to say that there isn’t anything to be gained by avoiding the surgery. At this stage of the year, TJ would likely prevent Ohtani from pitching for most or all of the 2019 season. That essential outlook would remain the same if, say, Ohtani ends up undergoing a procedure this fall. The Richards example shows that there are risks in the rehab approach, too, but it’s also far from guaranteed that a pitcher who undertakes such a serious surgery will end up back at full strength.
Fortunately, Ohtani has impressed nearly as much with his bat as with his arm, though it’s the combination of the two areas that makes him utterly unique at the game’s highest level. Through 157 plate appearances, he carries a .283/.365/.522 slash line with seven home runs. In nine starts, he posted a 3.10 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. The Angels are clearly much better, and the overall game of baseball much richer, with Ohtani functioning in both a hitting and a pitching capacity
Cubs Place Brandon Morrow On 10-Day DL
The Cubs have placed closer Brandon Morrow on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his right biceps. The placement has been backdated to July 16th.
There’s no indication at present that a lengthy absence is anticipated. Indeed, skipper Joe Maddon suggests the opposite is true, as ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers tweets. Morrow hit the DL earlier this year owing to lower back tightness, but that was only a brief stint.
That said, the organization surely isn’t thrilled to see a key reliever dealing with any problems in that particular part of the body, particularly a hurler with the history of Morrow. Soon to turn 34, he has excelled in his second act as a reliever after injuries and inconsistency ended his time as a starter.
To this point, Morrow has delivered excellent value on the two-year, $21MM deal he signed with the Chicago organization over the winter. He owns a 1.47 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 30 2/3 frames, with 22 saves already in the bag. Though the Cubs have been careful not to push Morrow too hard — he has recorded more than three outs in only one appearance and just once has been asked to take the ball on three straight days — he’s giving them everything the club hoped when it did the deal.
For the time being, Anthony Bass will take the open roster spot but obviously won’t step into Morrow’s role. The Cubs can choose between pitchers including Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop, and Carl Edwards Jr. to take the ball in the ninth inning. Unless further examination reveals added cause for concern, it seems unlikely that the injury will alter the team’s deadline plans.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Latest Swaps, Market Impact, Brewers, Giants, More
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
Medical Concerns In Machado Trade Talks Between Orioles, Dodgers Are “All But Addressed”
5:26pm: It “looks like the Machado trade to the Dodgers will go through,” tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Barring any last-minute hiccups (Kubatko notes that there are some “final points to review”), Orioles will indeed get five players back in the deal. He goes on to say that the medical concerns that appeared to be holding up the deal earlier have been “all but addressed”, noting that they were not a deal-breaker for the Orioles.
Likewise, Jim Bowden of ESPN tweets that the Machado deal should be officially completed this evening. A source close to the transaction tells Bowden that the medicals are “no longer an issue”, and confirms that Diaz is still the headliner in the package.
That said, it’s important to note that the trade is not yet official. As J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group points out on Twitter, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ lineup card for this evening shows Gavin Lux as the leadoff hitter, while fellow Machado-package prospect Dustin May is listed as the starting pitcher.
3:41pm: There’s a “possible snag” in the reported agreement between the Dodgers and Orioles that would send star infielder Manny Machado out west, according to Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (via Twitter). Precise details aren’t known, but it seems that some concerns arose in the physicals of the prospects that would go to Baltimore in the swap.
That said, the new wrinkle doesn’t by any means preclude the deal from ultimately being tweaked and coming together. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that the holdup doesn’t involve outfielder Yusniel Diaz, the centerpiece of the return going to Baltimore. Rather, it’s an issue with a more “complementary” piece, per Heyman, which creates more optimism that the trade will ultimately be agreed upon and pushed through as had been widely reported.
While all indications are that the two organizations came together for an All-Star Game deal involving Machado, there has, of course, yet to be any formal announcement. And many have cautioned not to assume anything until all the boxes are checked. The Orioles, after all, have blown up several deals — trades and free-agent agreements — over issues identified in physicals. Baltimore’s medical medical standards are notoriously stingy, and today’s reports only serve as the latest entry in a fairly lengthy history of such hiccups.
If the snag ultimately proves to be insurmountable, then it could be that the Machado situation will return to the forefront of the trade deadline market development. It has seemed for several days that Machado would head out of the All-Star break in a different uniform, leaving about two weeks for other movement to occur. That doesn’t appear quite as certain now, though, which means that clubs who’d believed themselves to be runners up will likely hold off on making other deals.
To that end, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted last night that the Brewers’ offer was considered by the Orioles to be the second-strongest proposal they received. The Phillies, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Indians are among the other teams that were prominently connected to Machado.
Rangers Notes: Trade Chips, Needs, Beltre, Perez
As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explores, a rough first half of the season for the Rangers was not without its implications for the future. Unfortunately, for every positive turn (the recent improvements of Rougned Odor, say), there has been a less-encouraging development (Joey Gallo‘s fall-off, for instance). Most disappointing of all, perhaps, is the fact that the club likely won’t be able to reap much of a return for its veteran assets at the deadline. As Grant notes, key potential chips like Cole Hamels and Adrian Beltre really aren’t performing as might have been hoped, while many of the team’s pending free agents haven’t really played their way into useful trade assets.
Here’s more out of Arlington …
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes that the Texas organization will be doing everything it can to acquire young, upper-level starting pitching at the deadline. Given the less-than-ideal crop of trade pieces, though, that seems like a tall order unless the team is willing to part with controllable talent. Closer Keone Kela is perhaps the team’s best reasonably available trade chip; he’s turning in quality work from the closer’s role and comes with three more seasons of control. Even if he’s made available, though, prying loose top-end young rotation pieces promises to be challenging.
- Meanwhile, GM Jon Daniels discussed his team’s situation heading out of the All-Star break with Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. There aren’t any truly untouchable players, Daniels said, though unsurprisingly he also noted that certain players “are a lot less likely to be talked about than others.” One name that figures to come up, of course, is Beltre. While Daniels indicated that he’s willing to listen to expressions of interest, he said the team will “have to be motivated to even have the conversation” due to the fact that Beltre’s “value to the organization is above how you typically view it.” This special situation — Daniels said the team views Beltre “as separate than most typical trade conversations,” and the vet has no-trade rights — will be interesting to watch. The future Hall-of-Famer certainly hasn’t been at his best in 2018, and isn’t cheap or youthful, but he will likely be in at least some demand given his lengthy track record and impeccable reputation.
- Daniels also addressed a few other matters, though of course you’ll need to read the entire piece to get the full scope. He cited a few younger players that have impressed in certain regards, including center fielder Delino DeShields, utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and first baseman Ronald Guzman. None of those players has really established himself as a future regular, though all seem to have places on the MLB roster moving forward. Daniels also suggested the team will be watching closely in the second half to decide whether to pick up its second-to-last option over southpaw Martin Perez, who’ll either be paid $7.5MM or cut loose with a $1MM parting gift. Perez turned in five middling starts before hitting the DL, but did show much better form in his first outing back just before the All-Star break.