Cubs Prospect Oscar De La Cruz Receives 80-Game Suspension
Cubs prospect Oscar De La Cruz has been hit with an eighty-game suspension, per a league announcement. He tested positive for the same banned masking agent/diuretic, furosemide, that led to the recent suspension of Robinson Cano.
Entering the season, De La Cruz was seen as a prospect to watch, with an intriguing combination of size, stuff, and command. MLB.com rated him third among Cubs farmhands, in fact, after seeing him turn in a dozen solid starts at the High-A level in 2017. Though he didn’t carry forward the gaudy strikeout numbers he showed in the prior season, and missed a lot of time with arm issues, De La Cruz had worked to a strong 3.46 ERA in 54 2/3 innings with 7.7 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9.
Now 23, De La Cruz opened the 2018 campaign at the Double-A level after being added to the 40-man roster in the fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He hasn’t really generated the results that might have been hoped for over his first 16 starts in the upper minors, though. Over 77 1/3 innings, he carries a 5.24 ERA while recording 73 strikeouts and giving out 31 walks.
It certainly seemed promising that De La Cruz was able to take the ball for the first half of the current campaign, even if he wasn’t exactly thriving. Now, though, he’ll face yet more questions about his future. In the near-term, De La Cruz will miss out on developmental opportunities for the rest of the 2018 season, though perhaps he’ll be a candidate to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. He’ll also again end up with a limited innings tally.
For a Cubs team that is no doubt considering possible mid-season acquisitions, the temporary loss of De La Cruz weakens the upper-level prospect base from which it may need to deal. That’s all the more worrying given that the organization already lost fellow hurler Adbert Alzolay for the season due to injury.
Pirates Fail To Reach Agreement With 36th Overall Pick Gunnar Hoglund
The Pirates failed to line up with competitive balance Round A selection Gunnar Hoglund, Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs reported on Twitter. This afternoon (5pm CST) represented the deadline to complete deals with drafted players.
Hoglund, a right-handed pitcher from Florida, didn’t crack the top fifty of any draft prospect rankings, topping out at #55 on the Fangraphs board. While he’s not credited with an electric arsenal of pitches, Hogulund is valued for his pinpoint control and increasingly impressive radar gun readings.
The Pittsburgh organization clearly liked Hoglund quite a bit, as it took him with the 36th overall pick. But the Bucs were not able to convince him to join the organization, meaning they’ll instead receive the 37th selection in next year’s draft. Hoglund, meanwhile, is headed to the University of Mississippi.
Diamondbacks Activate Randall Delgado, Designate Fernando Salas
The Diamondbacks announced today that they have reinstated righty Randall Delgado from the 60-day DL. To clear a roster spot, the team designated right-handed reliever Fernando Salas for assignment.
Delgado, 28, has been shelved all year by an oblique injury. But he is now ready to go after throwing 16 rehab frames — over which he allowed six earned runs on ten hits with 16 strikeouts and eight walks.
The Snakes will hope that Delgado can get back to being a useful swingman. In 2017, he provided the club with 62 2/3 innings of 3.59 ERA ball with 8.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. He’s earning $2.25MM this season before hitting the open market this fall.
The 33-year-old Salas signed a minors deal over the offseason that included a $1.5MM salary in the majors. He has thrown forty frames for the D-Backs this year, allowing twenty earned runs while recording 6.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. He’ll now hope to follow the pattern of the prior two seasons, when he bounced back from slow starts by turning in strong finishes after mid-season organization changes. (Salas went from the Angels to the Mets in 2016, then did the reverse in 2017.)
MLB Reinstates Jenrry Mejia For 2019 Season
Major League Baseball announced today that Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia will be reinstated for the 2019 season. He had previously been banned following a third positive PED test.
Mejia, who is now 28 years of age, last pitched in the majors in 2015. He has been on the restricted list since that time.
While the ban will not be lifted until next season, Mejia will be able to begin working out at Mets facilities after the All-Star break, per the announcement. He’ll also be eligible to take a rehab assignment this August and participate in Spring Training in 2019.
It comes as something of a surprise to see Mejia given a path back to playing, though of course he was never released by the organization precisely because it remained a possibility. Indeed, the Joint Drug Program allows banned players to seek reinstatement after two years away.
Mejia, though, seemingly burned some bridges by launching claims of a conspiracy that were vigorously contested by the league. In his comments today, released through the MLBPA, Mejia acknowledged “the false allegations [he] made about Major League Baseball’s investigation into my testing history.” He also offered apologies all around and specifically thanked Commissioner Rob Manfred for allowing him back into the game.
Ultimately, this represents great news for Mejia but also, potentially, a nice turn for the Mets. Though the righty has certainly caused some headaches in Queens over the years, he’s still youthful and has mostly been a quality MLB reliever — even serving as the organization’s closer at times in 2014.
That said, the upside for the New York organization is somewhat limited. The club said in a statement only that it will assess its options after seeing Mejia on the field. Though Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported in 2016 that Mejia would continue earning service time while technically banned, Tim Britton of The Athletic tweets today that Mejia will be deemed to have four years and 140 days entering the winter. If the Mets choose to tender him a contract, they’ll presumably revert to his most recent salary ($1.729MM) and would possess control rights through 2020.
Rays Designate Jeremy Hazelbaker, Select Adam Kolarek
The Rays have designated outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, per a club announcement. That move was needed to open a roster spot for lefty Adam Kolarek, whose contract was selected.
Hazelbaker, 30, had been acquired earlier in the season from the Diamondbacks, but had yet to see any action at the MLB level. In 230 plate appearances at Triple-A on the season, he carries a .190/.278/.366 batting line. Though he has produced at a 116 OPS+ rate in 285 total major-league plate appearances, Hazelbaker is still waiting for his next crack at the game’s highest level.
As for Kolarek, he will get another chance after struggling in a brief debut in 2017. The 29-year-old has certainly earned his return. In 42 1/3 Triple-A frames over 29 appearances, he owns a 1.70 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 along with a hefty 62.7% groundball rate.
Mariners Extend Jerry Dipoto
The Mariners announced today that they have agreed to a new, multi-year contract extension with general manager Jerry Dipoto. The former MLB reliever had been in the final season of the deal that he originally inked to run the baseball operations for the Seattle organization.
Terms of the new pact were not publicly released by the team. It’s not clear, then, just how long into the future Dipoto will remain under contract. But the announcement did make clear that it’s for multiple years, so presumably he has at least signed on through the 2020 campaign.
Dipoto, previously the GM of the Angels and interim GM of the Diamondbacks, took the helm in Seattle before the 2016 season. Jack Zduriencik held the post prior to Dipoto’s arrival. As the club notes in its announcement, the Mariners have MLB’s eighth-best record (220-192) since Dipoto came on board.
While the M’s have yet to reach the postseason — a dry spell that dates back to 2001 — they finally seem primed to do so this year. Indeed, the club is surprisingly keeping pace with the defending World Series champion Astros in the AL West, though it’d remain quite a surprise if Houston doesn’t find some separation by season’s end. Though the Mariners still have some work to do to capture a Wild Card, they entered play today with a 7.5-game lead over the Athletics.
Dipoto says the ultimate goal remains a World Series. Though that has yet to be achieved, the club obviously determined that Dipoto remains the best option to deliver the hoped-for result.
President/CEO Kevin Mather offered this assessment:
“Jerry arrived here two-and-a-half years ago with a specific plan for our franchise. He has successfully executed that plan, resulting in a younger, more athletic and, most importantly, far more successful Major League team.
At the same time, he has upgraded nearly every aspect of our overall baseball operation, improving systems, staff and communication in our Major League operations, our Player Development system, our Pro and Amateur scouting departments and our revamped High Performance Area.”
The youth and athleticism to which Mather refers are certainly themes that Dipoto has emphasized. In that pursuit, Dipoto has earned a reputation as the game’s most active GM on the trade market. We’ve tried to keep up with his prolific swapping in our Transaction Tracker, which reflects a bevy of deals (some significant, some not) since he joined the organization.
While critics have argued that those deals, in the aggregate, have not greatly increased the talent base in Seattle, the M’s feel they’ve boosted their overall quality while increasing flexibility and control. Certainly, Dipoto has not shied away from unique swaps in search of value. Among his most interesting swaps are the acquisition of Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger; the two–step swap that netted the club Drew Smyly; the takeover of the contract of Mike Leake; the position-changing addition of Dee Gordon; and, most recently, the early-season strike for Denard Span and Alex Colome.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Indians Acquire James Hoyt
The Indians announced that they have acquired righty James Hoyt from the Astros. Houston will receive minor-leaguer Tommy DeJuneas in return.
Hoyt will head to Triple-A on optional assignment. He will occupy the 40-man roster spot that was created when George Kontos was designated for assignment.
The 31-year-old Hoyt had been a fairly significant part of the Houston pen mix over the past two seasons but has seen just one MLB appearance this year. He has been good at Triple-A this year, turning in 28 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with 10.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.
Indians Designate George Kontos, Activate Carlos Carrasco
The Indians have designated righty George Kontos for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to starter Carlos Carrasco, who has been activated from the 10-day DL.
Kontos opened the year with the Pirates, but landed with the Cleveland organization after the Bucs cut him loose. He ended up making six appearances for the Indians. In his 25 total frames on the season, Kontos carries a 4.68 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
That output is far shy of his prior work. Indeed, entering the season, Kontos had allowed 110 earned runs in 330 1/3 career MLB innings. He had seemingly found another gear in 2017, when he dwarfed his prior standard with 9.5 K/9 and a 16.4% swinging-strike rate. But those advances have not proven sustainable.
Twins Sign First-Rounder Trevor Larnach
July 5: Larnach’s deal with the Twins is now official, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). He’ll receive a $2.55MM bonus that comes in a ways south of his $3.12MM slot value. The significant delay between the agreement and the finalization of the deal was due to the fact that Larnach and Oregon State were still playing toward an eventual College World Series championship until late June. Minnesota formally announced the signing shortly after Heyman’s report.
June 5: The Twins have already agreed to a signing bonus with first-round draft pick Trevor Larnach, scouting director Sean Johnson said after last night’s selections were turned in. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger was among those to tweet the news.
The precise number still isn’t known, and may not be until the sides get around to putting pen to paper — which certainly could still take a while. The 20th overall slot comes with a $3.12MM allocation.
It’s not uncommon at all for teams and potential draftees to reach at least a fairly advanced understanding on bonus values on draft night. That doesn’t mean that signings are announced right away, though on occasion deals are processed rather quickly. In this case, the Twins’ acknowledgement of the agreement on a number suggests that there will be little trouble in formally striking a contract.
Larnach, an outfielder out of Oregon State, certainly seems prepared to take a modern approach to baseball, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes. Noted for his lofty exit velocity as a collegian, Larnach says he’s “well aware” of the latest means of measuring the game. He also suggested that he’ll be a grinder as a pro, saying that he has “been working my tail off ever since high school” and is “not done yet.”
Entering the draft, Larnach drew a range of grades. The Fangraphs duo of Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel put down the highest grade, rating him the 12th-best player available on the basis of his physical prowess and that above-noted exit velo. ESPN.com’s Keith Law (subscription link) placed Larnach 49th, acknowledging the ceiling but questioning whether he had established a strong enough hit tool for a first-round grade.
The bat, clearly, is the draw. All involved acknowledge that Larnach is limited at best in the field and on the bases. Given his status as an advanced college hitter with some power upside, the FG prospect team says that the Twins’ new outfielder “checks every box for the risk-averse, analytics-driven clubs.”
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Machado, Starters, Astros, More
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.