Royals Release Seth Maness
The Royals have released righty Seth Maness from his minor-league deal, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Maness requested the release, per the report, in hopes of finding a chance to work as a starter with another organization.
From 2013 through 2016, Maness was mostly a steady and productive reliever for the Cardinals. But he underwent a primary repair procedure to address UCL damage back in 2016 and has not been able to regain his former standing since.
Though he received some MLB time last year with the Royals, Maness has been knocked around a fair bit since his return. In 58 2/3 Triple-A frames since the start of the 2017 season, he has allowed eighty hits (nine of which left the yard) and 38 earned runs. Maness has recorded a 43:9 K/BB ratio in that span while drawing grounders on about half of the balls put in play against him, echoing his low-BB/high-GB history, but evidently he has not shown enough to warrant an extended stint in the majors.
It seems that Maness would now like to revisit his roots as a starter. He did have success working from the rotation in his only full season of the minors, way back in 2012, when he pitched to a 2.97 ERA with 112 strikeouts and just ten walks over 169 2/3 innings split between High-A and Double-A. That was quite some time ago, but it would not be surprising to see an organization give him a shot at returning to a starting role in the minors.
Giants To Place Johnny Cueto On 60-Day DL, Select Contract Of Jose Valdez
The Giants have announced some pitching-related roster moves, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to report (Twitter links). Starter Johnny Cueto will move from the 10-day to the 60-day DL to open a 40-man spot for fellow righty Jose Valdez.
Meanwhile, relievers Derek Law and Josh Osich have each been optioned to Triple-A. The latter had been on the DL with a hip strain after struggling in the majors to open the year.
With the move, the Giants are making a somewhat early call on the length of Cueto’s absence. It had been suggested he would miss six to eight weeks with a forearm strain. With today’s placement, though, Cueto won’t be able to return until June 29, by the calculation of Pavlovic (Twitter link).
By making the move now, the San Francisco organization will have another 40-man spot to work with. That should help the team keep the bullpen fresh, which in turn will help weather the absence of Cueto — particularly while Madison Bumgarner is also working back from the DL.
The 28-year-old Valdez has thrown 50 1/3 innings in the majors over the past three years. This will be his first stint with the Giants after brief runs in the bigs with three other team. Thus far in 2018, Valdez has worked to a 3.71 ERA with 13.8 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 through 17 innings over a dozen appearances at Triple-A.
D-Backs Notes: Stadium, Hazen, Corbin
The Diamondbacks can now officially seek a new home for another new ballpark, as Rebekah Sanders of the Arizona Republic reports. A previously reported agreement is now formally in effect, leaving the D-Backs responsible for maintaining Chase Field (rather than Maricopa County) while allowing the team to jet for another facility — so long as it is in the county — as soon as the 2022 season. Generally, this set of moves promises to boost the team’s long-term financial outlook, though it remains somewhat hard to fathom that Chase Field is truly in need of replacement after opening in 1998.
Here are a few more notes from Arizona:
- As they continue to lead the pack in the NL West, the Diamondbacks are surely beginning to look forward to what could be a complicated trade deadline. As GM Mike Hazen tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the club will continue to balance competing needs. On the one hand, says Hazen, the current roster “deserves our focus and attention”; on the other, he adds, “we don’t want to do anything that’s going to severely harm the long-term” interest. It’s an interesting article that looks back on some recent Arizona swaps while pondering what situation the team may face this summer.
- The monster start to the season from Patrick Corbin opened quite a few eyes. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes took note, listing him sixth on the first power ranking of 2018-19 free agents based upon the combination of his first few outings with his youth and prior track record. The results have continued, as Corbin now carries a 2.12 ERA through 51 innings. But as Zach Buchanan of The Athletic examines (subscription link), Corbin’s most recent outings have given some cause for concern. The 28-year-old southpaw has shown a decrease in fastball velocity and reduced ability to command his slider of late, writes Buchanan. Of course, it’s a long season, and some blips are to be expected. Corbin says he still feels in good physical form, but his performance will be scrutinized closely all season long as organizations weigh him as an offseason target.
One-Year MLB Deals Paying Dividends: Position Players
We already looked at some minor-league contracts that have been winners for teams in the early stages of the 2018 season. (Starters; Relievers; Position Players.) Now, we’ll check in on some of the best low-cost, one-year MLB contracts that were handed out over the winter. We’ll start with the position players.
As with the minors deals, single-season MLB contracts leave teams free from worry about long-term entanglements. But the payout is measured in terms of months (at least, except in cases of players who are still eligible for arbitration). Now that we’re over a month into the season, a substantial portion of these contracts is already in the books.
Here are the one-year contracts signed by position players that have delivered the best value thus far, ordered from cheapest to most expensive:
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Mets ($545K): Despite only a .254 BABIP, Gonzalez is producing at a useful .247/.324/.438 clip with five home runs over 102 plate appearances. That’s not eye-popping output by any means, but the Mets can’t have reasonably hoped for much more given the league-minimum commitment that they made. Statcast, too, suggests there’s likely more in the tank, as A-Gon is credited with a .397 xwOBA and only carries a .318 wOBA.
- Leonys Martin, OF, Tigers ($1.75MM): He’s now out with injury, but Martin has been one of the more interesting budget signings of the winter. The talented defender and baserunner doesn’t need to do much at the plate to justify a roster spot, so his .294/.355/.508 output has more than justified the expenditure. He’s also showing a promising x/wOBA deficit (.057) that suggests he’s more than earning the slash with good contact. If he can get back to health and show that he’s still in good form with the bat, Martin could draw the attention of some contenders at the trade deadline.
- Nick Hundley, C, Giants ($2.5MM): It’s not that surprising to see a Giants catcher with a 156 wRC+ at this stage of the season, but nobody expected it to be Hundley rather than the man he backs up, superstar Buster Posey. There’s no real reason to believe that Hundley will sustain anything like his current output, which has come over just 57 plate appearances. But he is absolutely stinging the ball at present. Indeed, Statcast feels he has been rather unfortunate, valuing his batted-ball output at a .443 xwOBA that far exceeds his actual .388 wOBA. The Giants are surely pleased with their decision to allocate some precious luxury tax space to bring him back.
- Rene Rivera, C, Angels ($2.8MM): Known as a glove-first backstop, Rivera has similarly raced out of the gates. He’s slashing a robust .283/.340/.478 through fifty trips to the plate. In this case, the good fortune is apparent on the face of the stat sheet, as Rivera carries a .407 BABIP and .308 xwOBA. He won’t keep it up, but the added offense has been a nice bonus thus far for the Halos.
- Matt Adams, 1B/OF, Nationals ($4MM): If there’s one player on this list whose performance to date has arguably changed his outlook, it may be Adams — though, to be fair, we already held this debate about him last year. The big difference? The 29-year-old is not only mashing taters at a Ruthian rate (ten in 95 plate appearances) with the batted-ball output to match (.464 xwOBA), but is drawing walks in 14.7% of his plate appearances — more than double his career rate. He has been one of the most productive hitters in the game to this point of the season.
- Curtis Granderson, OF, Blue Jays ($5MM): The veteran outfielder seemed to fade late in 2017, but he’s back strong to begin the current campaign. There’s likely some batted-ball fortune (.419 BABIP) at play, but Granderson is walking at a career-high 19.1% rate and still delivering plenty of pop (.216 ISO). That makes his soaring strikeout rate (29.8%) easier to stomach.
- Jonathan Lucroy, C, Athletics ($6.5MM): His framing numbers still lag his once-outstanding levels, and the power may never fully return, but Lucroy is providing good value to the A’s after signing late. Thus far he owns a .289/.355/.392 batting line, which is above league average despite the fact that Lucroy has not yet hit a home run. His days as a star may be over, but it seems that Lucroy has figured out a way to get on base enough to remain a regular presence behind the dish, where he remains respected even if he no longer steals strikes with the best of them.
- Mike Moustakas, 3B, Royals ($6.5MM): This deal includes a mutual option, but there’s little reason to believe it’ll function as more than a means of pushing back some of the salary. Moose has picked up right where he left off last year, with ten long balls and a .292/.325/.569 slash over 154 plate appearances. It seems reasonable to anticipate that K.C. will get a shot at cashing him in for some young talent at the deadline.
Blue Jays Acquire Gio Urshela
The Blue Jays have acquired third baseman Gio Urshela from the Indians, per a club announcement. Cash considerations or a player to be named later will go to Cleveland in return.
Urshela, 26, had recently been designated for assignment after opening the year on the DL. The out-of-options infielder did take 42 plate appearances at Triple-A on a rehab assignment, slashing .324/.405/.432.
Though he’s considered a quality defender, Urshela has struggled at the plate in his opportunities in the majors. Over 453 total plate appearances, he carries only a .225/.273/.405 batting line with seven home runs.
Trade Candidate: J.T. Realmuto
As the Marlins offloaded their fleet of talented outfielders over the winter, it began to feel inevitable that catcher J.T. Realmuto would be the next out the door. While there weren’t really any financial pressures at play — he’s earning just $2.9MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility — it stood to reason that the Miami organization might prefer to finish off a painful but necessary offseason and further build out its newly robust store of young talent.
Certainly, that seems to have been Realmuto’s hope. He asked for a trade even before Christian Yelich was moved and reiterated that stance thereafter. Given that stance, it seems unlikely that an extension will come together. The Marlins, likewise, are surely aware that the roster is unlikely to be competitive while they control Realmuto, who’s eligible for arbitration for two more seasons in the future.
Under the circumstances, it still feels more a question of when than whether the Fish will part with Realmuto. The coming trade deadline surely isn’t a hard stopping point, but it would be foolish for the organization not to market him vigorously. Dealing Yelich proved that the Marlins were ready to embrace a rebuild. Holding Realmuto over the winter does not indicate otherwise; rather, it showed that the club was also willing to exercise patience in achieving value for its best remaining assets.
While the decision not to move starter Dan Straily has not looked promising to this point — he’s struggling to keep the ball in the zone after a DL stint to open the year — the Marlins may yet be paid out for waiting on Realmuto, who has looked much better since his own return from the DL. Through 77 plate appearances, the 27-year-old has shown career-best form in walk rate (7.8%), strikeout rate (13.0%), and power (.206 ISO) while producing at an excellent .309/.382/.515 rate with the bat.
To be sure, Realmuto has not yet proven he can sustain that kind of productivity over the course of a full season. But it has not been BABIP-driven, as he’s carrying a reasonable .315 mark thus far in 2018. If anything, the Statcast results suggest he has been a bit unlucky, as Realmuto is credited with a lofty .410 xwOBA based upon the quality of his contact, handily outpacing his already-impressive .383 wOBA.
Regardless, Realmuto is immensely valuable even if he goes back to being a slightly above-average hitter, as he was over the prior two seasons. He’s youthful. He steals bases. He’s the most athletic catcher in baseball. He has long been lauded for his handling of an ever-changing Miami pitching staff.
If there’s a question — beyond whether he’s a useful or a very good hitter — it’s probably in the framing department. StatCorner has rated Realmuto as one of the worst catchers in the game at winning strikes for his pitchers. Baseball Prospectus, meanwhile, has identified significant improvement over the years and graded Realmuto quite well in this area last year. Without a clear consensus in the metrics, it’s tough to say anything conclusively, though perhaps potential acquiring teams would at a minimum expect to be able to draw more out of Realmuto in the framing department given his underlying physical tools.
Just how much value Realmuto can return will likely depend upon how he hits over the next two-plus months. Barring a serious injury or total collapse at the plate, though, he has already established himself as one of only a few young, everyday backstops in the game.
In this case, then, the Marlins will be marketing Realmuto not only as a mid-season upgrade but also as a solution for clubs that have future needs behind the dish. A high-quality, mid-prime catcher often costs quite a lot more than he’s set to receive. The Pirates seemingly got an appealing price when they promised Francisco Cervelli $31MM over three years in an extension. Russell Martin took down $82MM over a five-year term on the open market.
Starting catchers may not necessarily represent a traditional deadline asset class, but they’ve been moved before. Most recently, one-and-a-half affordable seasons of Jonathan Lucroy — then one of the game’s best and most-established backstops — were swapped (along with quality reliever Jeremy Jeffress) for two high-end prospects.
Teams interested in immediate catching help may have a few other options. Wilson Ramos has been playing well and could be made available, though he’s more expensive now and will be a free agent after the season. Ditto, Lucroy. Perhaps the White Sox will dangle recent signee Welington Castillo, though he was evidently not strongly pursued by contenders over the offseason. The few poor-performing teams that possess established, controllable young catchers seem less likely to move them for a variety of reasons. With the Pirates and Braves contending to this point, some of the more appealing hypothetical rental targets (Cervelli, Kurt Suzuki, Tyler Flowers) may not be available.
In this setting, Realmuto could be in quite some demand. On paper, the Red Sox, Brewers, and Angels have the immediate and long-term need for improvement. The Nationals are getting useful work from behind the dish for the time being, but may well end up needing an upgrade this summer and still lack a long-term solution behind the dish. Though the Astros have been well-served by Brian McCann, they’d be a good fit for the present and future. While the Mets just added Devin Mesoraco, he doesn’t seem particularly likely to be the answer there. A few other teams — the Twins come to mind — could also conceivably emerge as suitors as well.
That’s just a preliminary glance, of course. Injuries and other developments can and surely will change the picture over the coming months. Generally, though, it seems reasonable to anticipate that the Marlins will have a good chance to secure a significant return for Realmuto this summer. While clubs that tried to structure a deal for him over the winter proved unwilling to meet the lofty asking price, the pressures of the trade deadline could help enhance the leverage available to the Miami front office.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cubs Select Contract Of Justin Hancock
The Cubs have selected the contract of righty Justin Hancock, per a club announcement. He’ll be making his way onto an MLB roster for the first time.
Outfielder Mark Zagunis is also coming up to the active roster after briefly debuting in 2017. In corresponding moves, the Cubs have optioned righty Jen-Ho Tseng and southpaw Rob Zastryzny.
It’s obviously a big day for Hancock, who was originally selected by the Padres in the ninth round of the 2011 draft out of Lincoln Trail College in southern Illinois. At that time, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer was at the helm in San Diego.
Hancock has worked exclusively out of the bullpen since landing in the Cubs organization in the deal that sent Matt Szczur to the Friars. He continued to struggle with command last year but seems to have righted the ship thus far in 2018, with 14 1/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball over which he has recorded 19 strikeouts against just four walks.
Athletics Promote Dustin Fowler, Place Trevor Cahill On 10-Day DL
1:15pm: Cahill is expected only to be out for the required ten days, skipper Bob Melvin tells reporters including MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter). It is obviously not seen as a significant injury.
10:41am: The Athletics have announced the promotion of outfielder Dustin Fowler. He’ll take the open roster spot created by the placement of righty Trevor Cahill on the 10-day DL.
Fowler, acquired in last summer’s Sonny Gray trade, will be back in the majors after his first stint ended in calamity with a ruptured patella tendon in his very first game. The 23-year-old has been at full strength this year at Triple-A, where he has recorded a .313/.333/.484 batting line in 132 plate appearances.
It is not fully clear at the moment whether Fowler will get an extended look, as the A’s will ultimately need to add another arm to account for Cahill’s absence. It’s possible, though, that he’ll be given a chance to stake a claim to the job in center. The club has received middling production from Matt Joyce and Stephen Piscotty thus far and does not have a true center fielder on the roster. While Mark Canha has hit well since stepping in up the middle, and the A’s have a bevy of outfield-capable options, there’s a path to playing time for Fowler if the club so chooses.
As for Cahill, he has been diagnosed with an elbow impingement. It’s not clear at the moment how long he will be expected to miss. He had been off to an excellent start after signing with Oakland for $1.5MM late in camp. Cahill has worked to a 2.25 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 over 24 frames in four outings.
Filling the void could mean bringing back Kendall Graveman, but his struggles have persisted since his demotion. Otherwise, Frankie Montas and Daniel Gossett appear to be the top options on the 40-man roster.
Rafael Palmeiro To Join Cleburne Railroaders
Veteran first baseman Rafael Palmeiro will launch his unlikely comeback bid with the indy ball Cleburne Railroaders, he tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He’ll play there with his son, former minor-leaguer Patrick Palmeiro.
Needless to say, it had always seemed a longshot that the former star would earn a chance with an affiliated organization. He announced late last year that he was hoping to make it back to the majors for the first time since 2005 — when he was already forty years of age.
Palmeiro could still hit when last he suited up. In ’05, he turned in a .266/.339/.447 slash with 18 home runs and as many walks as strikeouts (43 apiece) in 422 plate appearances. Of course, that was 13 years ago and he was already fading from his prior levels of productivity. Other than a first, brief taste of the majors way back in 1986, Palmeiro never ended a season with an overall batting line that fell below league average. He stands as one of only five players to accumulate 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.
Those stats don’t mean as much as they might have, of course, given that Palmeiro ultimately tested positive for steroids. He has since steadfastly denied that he knowingly used steroids, though the matter has perhaps kept him from reaching the Hall of Fame.
White Sox Prospect Jake Burger Re-Tears Achilles
White Sox prospect Jake Burger has re-torn his Achilles tendon, GM Rick Hahn tells reporters including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter links). The recent first-round pick was rehabbing a prior tear that occurred in late February.
Burger was already down for the year, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a significant new development in its own right. He will now have to start over in his rehab after undergoing a second surgical replacement. With a full-year absence required, that means there’s little hope that Burger will be ready for the start of the 2019 season.
Clearly, the 22-year-old was not going to be a part of the immediate plans for the Chicago organization even before the initial injury. But the successive procedures don’t exactly help his long-term outlook, though at this point there’s no reason to believe he can’t get back to full health.
The White Sox will ultimately have to wait quite a bit longer than originally anticipated to see a contribution from Burger, the 11th overall pick last summer out of Missouri State. He hit at a .263/.336/.412 rate in his 217 innings in the low minors last year, so clearly was still in need of significant seasoning. Now, he’ll need to work through quite a lengthy rehab process before re-starting his march toward the majors.