Mets GM Sandy Alderson Takes Leave Of Absence Following Cancer Recurrence
6:20pm: Asked whether he’d return should be again be declared cancer-free, Alderson offered a candid assessment of his recent work (link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). “[I]f I were to look at it on the merits, I’m not sure coming back is warranted,” Alderson said, in a nod to his team’s 31-45 record. Joel Sherman of the New York Post, meanwhile, writes that while Alderson and COO Jeff Wilpon neglected to go further into the prospect of the future, Tuesday’s press conference “sound[ed] like a goodbye to the job.”
The Post’s Mike Puma tweets that in the interim, there’s an expectation that Ricco will serve as the de facto point man, with Minaya and Ricciardi serving as experienced advisers and sounding boards. It’s been reported on multiple occasions in the past that the organization views Ricco as something of an heir apparent to Alderson anyhow, and the coming months could serve as an audition of sorts for the longtime AGM.
3:12pm: Mets GM Sandy Alderson will take a leave of absence to address a recurrence of cancer, the organization announced. Tim Britton of The Athletic (Twitter links) was among those to cover the news.
Alderson, 70, previously took a leave of absence in December of 2015 owing to a cancer diagnosis. He was later able to resume his duties as the top baseball decisionmaker, a role he has held since the end of the 2010 season.
In Alderson’s absence, top lieutenants John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi, and Omar Minaya will run the baseball operations department. That group brings decades of baseball operations experience to the table. Ricco has been an assistant GM with the Mets since 2006, while Minaya is a former Mets GM himself. Ricciardi, meanwhile, was once the general manager of the Blue Jays.
It is not known at this time how long Alderson will be away, but he says that he will likely undergo surgery later this summer. Fortunately, the veteran executive says that the prognosis is good. MLBTR joins those around the game in sending its best wishes for a rapid and full recovery.
Amateur Notes: July 2 Class, Draft, Indians, Pirates, Royals
The international market is ready to get cranking again, with a new July 2nd class just around the corner. As usual, Ben Badler of Baseball America and Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com are providing plenty of insight. Badler just released his ranking of the 50 best international prospects, with lengthy scouting reports as well as anticipated signing teams and bonuses where available (a BA subscription is required). Sanchez, meanwhile, has his own top 30 rankings and scouting reports posted. On the top of Badler’s rankings is Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa, who has yet to be declared a free agent by Major League Baseball. The other key distinction in his case is that he’s much older and more advanced than the bulk of the available talent. Indeed, Badler believes that Mesa is ready for an upper-minors placement, meaning he may not actually be far from the majors if he can translate his skills into professional production. Sanchez pegs Venezuelan catcher Diego Carataya as the top talent in the class, though perhaps only by way of technicality; because Mesa is not yet formally a free agent, he’s absent from the MLB.com list entirely.
Of course, when it comes to bringing in new talent, the immediate action remains centered around the 2018 amateur draft class:
- With a deadline of July 6 to work out bonuses, there’s still plenty of time left for unsigned players to come to terms. At present, there are a fair number of first-rounders who’ve yet to lock up agreements. That includes four first-round players: No. 4 pick Nick Madrigal (White Sox), No. 5 pick Jonathan India (Reds), No. 7 pick Ryan Weathers (Padres), and No. 8 pick Carter Stewart (Braves). There’s no indication to this point that the respective teams will have trouble finalizing things. As always, you can catch up on the latest signings with our 2018 Amateur Draft tag.
- Over the coming weeks, of course, we could begin to see some situations develop that warrant closer attention. It seems there’s at least a bit of uncertainty between the Brewers and their top pick, Brice Turang. The same can be said with regard to a few other talented young players. Ethan Hankins, the No. 35 overall selection, is still in talks with the Indians, as GM Mike Chernoff says and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. But he also has an arrangement in place with Chipola College’s JuCo baseball program that would enable him to play a year and then re-enter next year’s draft, Doug Freeman of Prep Baseball Report tweets. Similarly, Pirates draftee Gunnar Hoglund — who went one pick after Hankins — has begun attending summer school orientation at Ole Miss, per Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs (via Twitter).
- Elsewhere, the status of Oregon State lefty Luke Heimlich remains uncertain as he participates in the finals of the College World Series. But Royals GM Dayton Moore had some noteworthy comments on the situation recently, leaving many to wonder if the Kansas City organization will make a move to add a player whose abilities aren’t questioned, but carries a highly controversial status as a convicted sexual offender. Indeed, Moore has already spoken on Heimlich quite a bit, as Rustin Dodd of The Athletic explains (subscription link). It’ll ultimately come down to an ownership call that has yet to be made, according to Dodd, who writes: “The Royals are not close to signing Heimlich, nor do they have any framework for a deal in place, according to a source familiar with the situation.” It’s hard to know just why the organization (or, perhaps, Moore personally) decided to air its feelings on this subject before reaching a decision. Now that he has, though, perhaps the public reaction will help inform the ultimate course of action.
Red Sox Place Steven Wright On DL With Knee Inflammation
The Red Sox announced today that righty Steven Wright is going on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his left knee. Boston has recalled Justin Haley to take the open roster spot.
It’s not clear what the prognosis is just yet for Wright, but the fact of the DL placement is somewhat worrisome in and of itself. Wright missed much of the 2017 season after undergoing a cartilage restoration procedure on the same joint. He missed the first six weeks or so of the current campaign, too.
Wright, a 33-year-old knuckler, has been a key piece for the Sox since getting back to the hill. In forty innings over ten appearances, including four starts, he has worked to a 3.38 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
If the knee responds well to rest, perhaps this won’t turn out to be a significant issue at all. If it’s more, then depth could begin to be a concern. Drew Pomeranz is still working back from the DL at the moment, but would be the top rotation option once he’s ready. Otherwise, Haley has thrown well at Triple-A but has not yet started in the bigs. (He has recorded twenty innings of relief.) The team’s other options with MLB experience, Hector Velazquez and Brian Johnson, are currently working out of the major-league bullpen.
Tigers Agree To Over-Slot Bonus With Second-Rounder Parker Meadows
The Tigers have agreed to a $2.5MM bonus with second-round selection Parker Meadows, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). His agreement had been signaled by his former high-school team as well as his older brother — Pirates outfielder Austin Meadows.
That payday goes well above the $1,625,500 slot allocation that came with the 44th overall selection. It’ll keep Meadows from attending Clemson University and instead add to the Detroit draft haul. Top overall pick Casey Mize officially joined the organization yesterday. Some savings from his signing (still a record under the new draft system) will help cover today’s deal.
Meadows is not seen as being quite as talented as his brother, but is certainly no slouch as a prospect. It seems the big knock on him is a hitch in his swing mechanics. But perhaps there’s some upside to unlock if that can be sorted. Otherwise, Meadows possesses good speed, arm strength, and defensive chops in center.
Clearly, the Tigers think they can develop Meadows into enough of a hitter to make good on his other tools. The Detroit farm system’s best assets are pitchers, so Meadows could take up an important spot in the organization’s future thinking if he progresses.
With this agreement, the Tigers have locked up all of their selections from the first ten rounds of the draft.
2018 Amateur Draft Signings: 6/26/18
We’ll use this post to track the day’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft. Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only) …
- Marlins second-round pick Osiris Johnson has agreed to take the exact value assigned to the 53rd overall choice, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. Johnson, a shortstop from California, will forego his commitment to Cal State Fullerton for a $1,318,500 bonus. A consensus top-100 talent, he received his highest ranking from Law, who placed the youngster 58th on his board. A cousin of both Jimmy Rollins and Tony Tarasco, Johnson is viewed as a future infielder but isn’t seen as being particularly likely to remain at short for the long haul. Still, he is said to possess great hands with excellent bat speed and projectable power at the plate. The Fish have also agreed to a just-over-slot ($645K) deal with third-rounder Tristan Pompey, per Callis (on Twitter), which would give the team agreements with all of its selections from the first ten rounds.
- The Rockies have agreed to a below-slot bonus with 76th overall selection Mitchell Kilkenny, Callis also tweets. That choice, a supplemental second-round pick that the Colorado organization received as compensation when Greg Holland departed via free agency, came with a $787,200 allocation. After his physical showed that he’d require Tommy John surgery, though, the Texas A&M righty will settle with the Rox for $550K. MLB.com had the highest grade (83rd) on Kilkenny among outlets, calling him a high-floor hurler with a good chance of making it into a MLB rotation. Having just undergone a TJ procedure, of course, Kilkenny will get a delayed start to his professional career and may not even be able to join a Rockies affiliate until the 2020 campaign. With this move, the Colorado organization has also completed its dealmaking with the eleven players it picked in the first ten rounds of the draft.
Trade Candidate: Marco Estrada
Though we noted Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada as a possible trade candidate in our first ranking of the 50 top trade deadline assets, he only rated mention on the outside of the list. To that point of the season, after all, Estrada had largely been ineffective. With a $13MM salary, there wasn’t a ton of appeal in a player who’ll turn 35 in early July.
That situation, however, is beginning to change. Estrada has been one of the better starters in baseball over the past month, accumulating an even 1.0 fWAR over the past thirty days — something only ten other hurlers in the game have accomplished. In his last four outings, in particular, he has worked to a 1.75 ERA with 26 strikeouts against five walks.
How has it happened? It’s a bit difficult to say for sure, as there haven’t been any truly dramatic swings in his approach or stuff. But his fastball sure has been more effective: it was valued at -1.53 runs per one hundred pitches through May, but has jumped to a +4.27 valuation on a rate basis in June. And Estrada has been pumping first-pitch strikes at a greater rate in the past month as well (going from 63.4% to 69.5%). Meanwhile, the shape of his changeup has altered somewhat, exhibiting less horizontal and slightly more vertical movement over his past four starts.
These changes are subtle enough that they may not really reflect much at all of substance. The primary drivers, perhaps, still need to be sussed out and assessed for sustainability. But it does not seem that Estrada has simply been the beneficiary of a correction in batted-ball fortune. Statcast suggests he deserved the poor outcomes that befell him through the end of May, and has simply been much better at limiting good contact since.
In the aggregate, it’s certainly far too soon to declare Estrada a newfound ace. In all likelihood, his true talent at this point pegs him as a solid hurler who could help a contender fill out a competitive rotation.
That general impression is buttressed by a review of Estrada’s past several seasons. Upon landing in Toronto, he had great results in 2015 and 2016 before a downturn last year. But his underlying statistics have been fairly consistent all along. In total, over 627 1/3 innings with the Jays, Estrada owns a 3.96 ERA with a 4.40 FIP, 4.91 xFIP, and 4.57 SIERA. To the extent it’s reasonable to anticipate that he will outperform the ERA estimators somewhat, it’s likely not wise to hope he’ll do so by any great margin.
Barring a sustained run over the next month, Estrada likely won’t generate a huge amount of excitement at the trade deadline. But he increasingly looks like a solid piece for the right team. He has been good for about thirty starts and 180 frames annually of late, and despite some ups and downs is perhaps reasonably viewed as a sturdy back-of-the-rotation arm overall.
As the above-linked list of top deadline candidates shows, the crop of rotation targets is rather thin at present. The Jays surely won’t be able to draw any significant offers of young talent for Estrada. But perhaps they’ll manage to offload a decent chunk of his remaining salary obligations next month. That’s not to say it’s any kind of sure thing that he’ll end up elsewhere. After all, we’ve wondered previously whether the veteran hurler would leave the Jays, only for him to agree to successive contracts just before reaching the open market (see here and here).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Doosan Bears Sign Scott Van Slyke
Korea’s Doosan Bears have agreed to sign former MLB outfielder Scott Van Slyke, per a team announcement (Korean link; h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). He’ll earn a $320K salary.
Van Slyke, 31, had a six-year run in the majors with the Dodgers. But his opportunities and productivity trailed off over the course of that span. All told, he carries a .242/.326/.417 slash line with 29 home runs in 869 MLB plate appearances.
Heading into the present season, Van Slyke joined the Marlins on a minors pact. It seemed he’d have a solid shot at breaking back into the majors at some point, but that hasn’t yet come to pass. He has, however, hit well at Triple-A, producing a .248/.354/.467 batting line and swatting eight long balls in 162 trips to the plate.
In that most recent work, Van Slyke has produced well against right-handed pitching at the highest level of the minors. During his time in the bigs, though, he carried yawning platoon splits, with a .146 point spread between his career OPS marks against lefties and righties.
Cubs Place Shae Simmons On Waivers
The Cubs have placed righty Shae Simmons on waivers, according to an announcement from Triple-A Iowa. If and when he clears, the organization will have an an open 40-man spot to work with.
Though the club did not specify the nature of the waivers sought, Simmons’s MLB.com player page indicates that he has already been outrighted after clearing waivers. If that’s the case, then it seems that other organizations have already passed on a chance to add a player who signed a split contract over the winter and has yet to ascend to the big leagues this year.
It’s not surprising to see the Cubs make this move with Simmons, who has yet to establish himself in the majors despite showing intriguing swing-and-miss ability at times in the minors. He has not been at his best this year, working to a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings at Triple-A while logging as many walks as strikeouts (21 apiece).
2018 Amateur Draft Signings: 6/25/18
Here are today’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft. Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only)…
- The Mets have agreed to a $1,038,000 bonus with third-rounder Carlos Cortes, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). That handily tops the $705,300 allocation for the 83rd overall pick. The Fangraphs prospect team was far and away the highest on Cortes, rating him as the 82nd-best prospect on their list. Cortes is best known for being a switch-thrower. While that talent is of limited utility for an outfielder, he is considered a talented hitter. Despite some ups and downs over the years, Cortes has generally been productive at the plate for the University of South Carolina, though he’ll have to hit quite a bit as a pro since he’s expected to be limited to playing left field. According to the MLB.com draft tracker, the Mets have now secured contracts with all of their top ten picks.
Diamondbacks To Activate Robbie Ray; Latest On Pollock, Souza
The Diamondbacks have seen some positive developments in a variety of health situations. After activating Shelby Miller earlier today, the club decided it’ll also activate fellow starter Robbie Ray on Wednesday, as Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports (Twitter links).
Ray, who is coming off of an outstanding 2017 season, hit the shelf with an oblique strain after six outings this year. He was due to make at least one more rehab start before returning, but evidently feels good enough to jump into the MLB rotation. As Buchanan notes, Ray’s pitch count will likely be limited a bit for at least his first start back.
There’s good news in the outfield, too. Steven Souza Jr. is set to begin a rehab assignment, though he’ll initially work only as a designated hitter as he is still building up his throwing ability. Souza’s pectoral injury has limited him to just 14 games this season, his first with Arizona.
Even more importantly, perhaps, center fielder A.J. Pollock has finally resumed baseball activities. Pollock has been sidelined since mid-May with a broken thumb, which has healed a bit more slowly than the team surely preferred. If he can avoid any setbacks, though, perhaps it won’t be too long before Pollock is able to provide a major boost to the Snakes’ lineup.
Despite these significant injuries, the Snakes have managed to keep winning games. After a lull, the club has bounced back and kept its edge in the NL West. The D-Backs will surely need all hands on deck to hold off the Dodgers and other division contenders over the second half of the season.