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White Sox, Cardinals Favorites For Luis Robert; Reds Likely Out

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TODAY: The Reds likely won’t end up with Robert, president of baseball operations Dick Williams suggested in comments to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Per Williams, the price is “moving beyond something that we are able to do.” While the club does indeed have interest, says its top baseball decisionmaker, “there’s a certain amount beyond which a franchise in our market just can’t afford.”

YESTERDAY: The White Sox and Cardinals are seen as the two likeliest organizations to land standout Cuban youngster Luis Robert, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Sources say the same to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

That’s not to say that other teams aren’t still involved in pursuit of the 19-year-old phenom, who will officially be eligible to sign this weekend. He will need to ink a deal by June 15th if he wishes to avoid the hard spending caps that will be instituted for the next July 2nd signing period — which seems a certainty at this point. Passan, in fact, suggests that Robert has already selected a team and will sign soon after he is eligible. Furthermore, he cites three sources in stating that the “suggested floor” when teams began submitting bids for Robert was $20MM — a sum that would be accompanied a 100 percent luxury tax.

Among the others that have been tied to Robert are the Reds, Astros, Athletics, and Padres. Neither the Nationals nor the Braves appear to be in pursuit, per Badler, despite going well over their own allocations.  Those organizations have taken close looks at the intriguing prospect and have already accepted the maximum penalties for overshooting their pool allocations.

As Badler explains, the Cards are in a somewhat unique situation because of their lack of draft picks this year. (The club’s top three selections are gone due to the signing of Dexter Fowler and the Astros database access scandal.) That leaves the club with a large war chest with which to work internationally.

The White Sox, meanwhile, have not yet exceeded their 2016-17 pool, meaning they could avoid a two-year ban on $300K+ signings if they don’t get Robert. But Chicago is obviously focused on accumulating high-upside young talent that’s nearing readiness, and Robert is closer to the majors than the typical sixteen-year-old international signee. Notably, per Badler, the club hasn’t lined up deals with high-bonus talent for the ensuing signing period — perhaps suggesting that the organization is eyeing a move on Robert.

Whichever way Robert goes, Passan writes, it’ll be the end of an interesting era of major Cuban signings. For one thing, the pipeline of talent will likely hew to an earlier age, particularly if there’s a continued move to improve relations between the United States and the neighboring island nation. Combined with the new rules prohibiting teams from going past their spending limits on players under 25 years of age — even if they’d be willing to pay a 100% tax on overages — there’s little prospect for another major payday unless and until the system undergoes an unexpected change.

Pirates Claim Jhan Marinez

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The Pirates have claimed righty Jhan Marinez off waivers from the Brewers, per a club announcement (h/t MLB.com’s Adam Berry, on Twitter). He had been designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Marinez, an out-of-options reliever, has scuffled early in 2017, leading to his loss of a roster spot in Milwaukee. Over 16 2/3 frames, he owns a 5.40 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 11 walks.

That said, there are obviously some things to like about the 28-year-old. He was much better last year, with a 3.18 ERA over his 62 1/3 innings. And Marinez is also currently trending northward in both average fastball velocity (sitting over 95.4 with the four-seamer and 94.5 with the two-seamer) and groundball induction (57.4%).

Anthony DeSclafani Cleared To Resume Throwing

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Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani has been cleared to resume throwing, according to John Fay of WCPO.com (via Twitter). DeSclafani has been out all year while resting a sprained ulnar collateral ligament.

While the initial hope was that DeSclafani could begin working back within about a month of the diagnosis, that obviously wasn’t to be. Last we checked in, late in April, doctors had not observed sufficient healing to clear the 27-year-old.

Now, per the report, the medical experts have observed significant improvement in DeSclafani’s UCL. While a precise throwing program is still being worked out, it seems that he’ll begin the march back with hopes of returning to the majors this summer. At this point, clearly, he’ll still need a substantial amount of time to build up arm strength and undertake a rehab assignment.

Cincinnati has struggled to find good innings from its rotation, which desperately misses DeSclafani, among others. Homer Bailey and Brandon Finnegan are also unavailable. (Bailey is a bit further ahead in his own recovery; as Fay adds on Twitter, he’s ready to begin facing live hitters.)

In DeSclafani’s case, the return effort will come at an interesting time. His absence to date has already dented his upcoming trip through arbitration — which will be his first. It has also taken out of consideration as a trade chip, at least temporarily. If DeSclafani can regain the excellent form he showed last year — 3.28 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 over twenty starts — and stay healthy, he’ll have a case for a solid payday and could be a heavily pursued deadline asset.

Heyman’s Latest: Nats, Cutch, Marlins, Cole, Cobb

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Jon Heyman of Fan Rag takes a look around the league in his latest notes columns. In addition to providing updates on every National League and American League team, he takes a particularly close look at the Nationals in separate posts. Let’s take a look at some of the items of particular relevance to the transactional landscape:

  • The Nationals are beginning to put in phone calls to rivals as they start the search for a new closer in earnest, Heyman writes. Among the players under consideration by the team, at present, are a variety of names with differing contract situations. David Robertson of the White Sox, Kelvin Herrera of the Royals, and A.J. Ramos of the Marlins all have two years remaining at less-than-bargain rates (the latter two via arbitration). Alex Colome of the Rays and Roberto Osuna of the Blue Jays, meanwhile, bring more years of cheap control — and, in all likelihood, astronomical asking prices. Then there’s old friend Mark Melancon, who is in the first year of the four-year pact he signed with the Giants — who evidently beat the Nats’ offer over the winter. Needless to say, there’s quite a lot that could change that picture over the coming months.
  • Looking back a bit, the Nationals came closer than any other team to landing Andrew McCutchen from the Pirates over the winter, Heyman adds.Per the report, the sides held talks that “revolved around three players, including Lucas Giolito and veteran Gio Gonzalez.” It’s not immediately clear what else might have been involved, and where things went south, but it’s interesting to hear those parameters. The Nats ultimately pivoted to Adam Eaton, of course, but he’s now out for the year. Perhaps it’s conceivable that the team could take another look at McCutchen, though no doubt the teams would need to start discussions anew with Giolito in Chicago, Gonzalez a key member of the Nats staff and McCutchen struggling.
  • The Marlins sale talks had seemingly been building, but Heyman writes that there’s no deal ready to be made at present. For one thing, there are whispers that the purchase price will continue to drop as the organization’s financial health comes under greater scrutiny. For another, there are still questions about where the money will come from on the buyer’s side. “[A]t least the Bush-Jeter group and maybe the Romney-Glavine group, too, [are] still seeking investors,” per Heyman.
  • Two significant recent investments made by the Marlins aren’t delivering value at present. Per Heyman, lefty Wei-Yin Chen is headed for a second opinion with his elbow issue still failing to progress. It seems the team could be bracing for a relatively lengthy absence. And Heyman notes that some in the baseball operations department weren’t thrilled at the idea of extending Martin Prado last year at $40MM over three years. He has been playing well enough, but is back on the DL with a recurring hamstring injury.
  • Pirates righty Gerrit Cole has looked strong in the early going, but Heyman says the team may not be interested in dealing him even if they continue to lag in the standings. “We’re not in any rush,” a club source tells him. “I don’t think we’re there yet.” The 26-year-old owns a 2.84 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9; while the peripherals are largely in line with his 2016 work, the improved results are supported by jumps in swinging-strike rate (9.9%) and average fastball velocity (a career-high 96.1 mph). With two more years of arb eligibility to go, Cole would likely command a big price at the deadline.
  • While the Rays entered play today just one game under .500, that doesn’t mean they aren’t readying for the possibility of selling. Of course, given the team’s pitching depth, it’s imaginable that the team could send out a veteran while still maintaining hopes of cracking the postseason. Per Heyman, Tampa Bay has “already begun calling to get a gauge on the value of Alex Cobb.” Rivals also think the club will be amenable to discussing both Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer, he adds. Cobb, though, is the most obvious possible trade chip. The 29-year-old was homer-prone in his return from Tommy John surgery last year, but has looked solid through 56 1/3 innings this year — his last before reaching free agency. He carries a 3.67 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 to go with a 47.5% groundball rate. Cobb still isn’t getting swings and misses like he used to, but his velocity is better than ever and he has tamped down on the long balls thus far.

Red Sox Designate Chase d’Arnaud, Select Hector Velazquez

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The Red Sox have designated infielder Chase d’Arnaud for assignment, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He’ll make way for righty Hector Velazquez, whose contract was selected.

Boston also moved injured hurler Steven Wright to the 60-day DL. He was already expected to miss the entire season, so that was only a formality. The team now has one open 40-man slot.

Boston hardly utilized d’Arnaud after claiming him late last month from the Braves. He took just a single plate appearance, in fact. The versatile 30-year-old carries a .233/.289/.314 batting line over 448 plate appearances, with those spread over parts of six MLB seasons.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Velazquez has quite an interesting story. He signed with the Red Sox after a lengthy run in the Mexican League, culminating with a breakout 2016 season. Thus far, he has impressed at Triple-A. Over 29 frames, he owns a 1.55 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 while allowing only 18 base hits.

It’s worth noting that Velazquez is playing on a very unique contract arrangement. As Evan Drellich reported during camp, Velazquez received only a piece of the $30K bonus upon signing. But his deal includes an apparently newfangled provision that allows him to earn salary escalators based upon how many consecutive days he remains on the active roster.

Braves To Sign James Loney

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5:12pm: It’s a minors pact, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets.

3:46pm: The Braves have agreed to a deal with veteran free agent James Loney, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports on Twitter. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney had just reported via Twitter that a deal was close. It’s unclear at this time whether it’s a MLB deal, though that certainly seems plausible in this case.

It is hardly surprising to hear of this match. Atlanta was in sudden need of a first baseman after losing Freddie Freeman for an extended stretch. And Loney had only recently been cut loose by the Tigers organization, where he had been playing at Triple-A.

Atlanta did also just promote corner infielder Rio Ruiz, though it seems he’ll likely remain at his natural third base for the most part. Understandably, the Braves did not have a natural replacement for Freeman, a fully established hitter who had stepped up to new heights thus far in 2017. Of course, the club had inked elder statesman Ryan Howard earlier this year, but he was released after a brief and unsuccessful run at Gwinnett.

It goes without saying that Loney won’t match Freeman as a middle-of-the-order threat. Even at his best, Loney delivered value by getting on base at a solid clip and playing good defense, not by delivering significant power. The 33-year-old has bounced around in recent years, most recently slashing .265/.307/.397 over 366 plate appearances last season for the Mets — who added him under similar circumstances to those now impacting their division rivals. While he has been a regular player at times in his career, Loney was hitting just .200/.351/.222 in his 57 trips to the plate at Triple-A thus far in 2017.

Blue Jays Suspend Kevin Pillar For 2 Games

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The Blue Jays have issued a two-game suspension to center fielder Kevin Pillar, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (links to Twitter). The 28-year-old has acknowledged and apologized for his use of a homophobic slur during an argument in last night’s game.

Toronto handed down the decision after consulting with the league and player’s association, per GM Ross Atkins. The salary that Pillar will forego will be donated in some manner. Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. will take Pillar’s roster spot for the time being, the club announced.

The Jays had already released a statement condemning Pillar’s comments, explaining that they were not “a reflection of the type of inclusive organization we strive to be.” But the team did also say that it views Pillar as “a respectful, high-character individual” who would hopefully “learn from this situation and continue to positively contribute and live up to our values on and off the field.”

While it’s obviously unfortunate that Pillar uttered the derogatory remark, he did take full responsibility in his own statement. By using the “inappropriate language,” he said, he “helped extend the use of a word that has no place in baseball, in sports or anywhere in society today.” For that, Pillar said, he is “completely and utterly embarrassed.” The outfielder offered his apologies to Braves reliever Jason Motte (the target of the slur) as well as to “the Braves organization and their fans, and most importantly, to the LGBTQ community” for what he called “the lack of respect I displayed last night.”

Jameson Taillon Undergoes Surgery For Testicular Cancer

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MAY 18: Taillon’s pathology report did indeed come back positive for testicular cancer, reports MLB.com’s Adam Berry. While there’s no timetable for his return to the mound, Taillon has been cleared to resume light baseball activities, according to Berry, which is certainly good news. Taillon has been at PNC Park with his teammates this week and has played catch in addition to participating in some light cardiovascular work. Taillon is slated to be re-examined next week.

MAY 8: Pirates righty Jameson Taillon has undergone surgery for what is suspected to be testicular cancer, according to a team announcement. MLBTR sends Taillon its very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

At present, the ensuing treatment plan has yet to be decided. “Further testing” will be required before a course is charted, according to the team, with updates to be announced “as appropriate.”

Needless to say, Taillon’s overall health and well-being are much more important than his playing status, but it seems reasonable to anticipate that he’ll be sidelined for at least some time. Pittsburgh had already called up Josh Lindblom to take the roster spot of Taillon, who has been placed on the 10-day DL.

The news immediately calls to mind the situation of Rockies righty Chad Bettis, another promising young starting pitcher who has battled testicular cancer. In his case, the hope was that an offseason procedure would clear the way for a full return to health both on and off the mound. Unfortunately, Bettis ultimately required chemotherapy when it was discovered that the cancer has spread. He is expected to miss most or all of the current season.

The hope remains both that Bettis will get back to full health and that Taillon’s own course will be more straightforward. In the meantime, it’s a good reminder for everyone to monitor for these and other ailments. As Bettis said upon his initial diagnosis: “This only reinforces my belief that each of us needs to be totally in tune with our own physical health, and that taking action sooner than later when we feel like something is off can sometimes literally be the difference between life and death.”

Taillon’s own statement is also well worth a full read (via his Twitter account). This challenge, like others he has faced, has “just added fuel to my burning fire,” he writes, continuing: “Today I lost a piece of my ’manhood.’ But, today I’m feeling like more o a man than I ever have.” 

AL West Notes: Astros, Diaz, Weber, Angels

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The Astros are lining up to pursue pitching at the trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Houston has its sights set on a quality starter and left-handed reliever, per the report. That hasn’t really changed since the winter, of course, though the team has posted the best record in baseball to this point even without having made the desired upgrades. Rosenthal discusses some possible targets, but it seems that the ’Stros haven’t yet fixed on any particular paths to adding these pieces. General manager Jeff Luhnow did recently tell MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart that the team doesn’t feel any urgency to rush into early trades thanks to its excellent start to the season, so the Astros may well wait to see how the full landscape of the trade market develops before pursuing upgrades.

Here’s more from the American League West:

  • As the Mariners continue searching for solutions in the pen, the team has at least temporarily taken Edwin Diaz out of the closer’s role. As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes, though, Steve Cishek did not succeed last night after being pressed into duty just after being activated. Fellow righties Nick Vincent and Tony Zych could also be options going forward, though the latter is also still being handled with care after a long injury layoff. For the time being, it seems, the ninth inning is in flux for Seattle.
  • Meanwhile, Mariners righty Ryan Weber, who is among the organization’s many players on the 10-day DL, has been diagnosed with a “stretch of the musculocutaneous nerve,” per a club announcement. Details are sparse, but that nerve services the arm and plays a key role in elbow function. At present, it’s not known how long Weber could miss, but his absence removes yet another depth option from an injury-ravaged Seattle staff.
  • The Angels may be charting a whole new course with their pitching staff, Rick Souddress of SB Nation observes. Numerous Halso pitchers are utilizing their four-seam fastballs at career-low levels, Souddress points out. Matt Shoemaker, David Hernandez, J.C. Ramirez, Bud Norris, Yusmeiro Petit and Cam Bedrosian (prior to his injury) are among Angels hurlers that have moved away from their four-seamers, and each has experienced success since doing so. The change is not unique to 2017, either; the 2016 season saw Shoemaker drop his ERA from 9.00 to 3.88 upon making that type of switch, while Bedrosian had a breakout year and Ramirez found success late in the campaign. It’s not clear whether the move away from four-seamers is a strategy implemented by GM Billy Eppler, pitching coach Charles Nagy or others in the organization, though Souddress rightly notes that the decrease correlates with Eppler’s arrival as general manager. Last year’s collective fastball usage of 52.3 percent was the Halos’ lowest rate since 2002, and this year’s 47.9 percent usage rate is their lowest (and fourth-lowest in all of baseball, per Fangraphs).

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