Blue Jays Claim Neil Ramirez
The Blue Jays have claimed righty Neil Ramirez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. San Francisco had recently designated him for assignment.
Ramirez, who’ll soon turn 28, was knocked around in his 10 1/3 innings on the year with the Giants, coughing up 15 earned runs. But he retired 18 batters via strikeout while only issuing four free passes. Optimists can also point to Ramirez’s current .500 BABIP and 33.0% strand rate — both of which are unlikely to continue at such extremes.
Toronto will plug Ramirez onto the active roster, as he’s out of options. The club will hope the luck can turn for the righty, who has struggled with injury in recent years but has at times been quite impressive. Thus far in 2017, he has shown an increase in average fastball velocity (to 92.8 mph) and swinging-strike rate (12.6%) as against his 2016 numbers.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Zack Cozart
Reds shortstop Zack Cozart has long been an interesting player, with outstanding glovework making him a regular at short despite an often-lagging bat. But he began to show signs of life at the plate in 2015, suggesting the possibility of more. Now, at 31 years of age — with free agency beckoning at season’s end — Cozart is playing like an All-Star.
Perhaps this surge would now be less surprising had it not been for a devastating knee injury that disrupted Cozart’s ’15 campaign after just 53 games. At that point, he was slashing .258/.310/.459 and had swatted nine home runs. Upon returning last year, Cozart fell back a bit in overall productivity, but still managed 16 long balls and produced a 91 wRC+ — good enough to make him a 2.5 fWAR player.
Cozart has opened the 2017 season on a hot streak. It’s still early — he has only taken 97 plate appearances — so it’s best to temper expectations. But perhaps there’s more to it than just noting the surge and cautioning on the sample size. He’s hitting a BABIP-aided .329 and delivering an excellent isolated slugging mark (.220) despite just one home run. That’s all promising enough. But Cozart is also walking at heretofore-unseen levels. He entered the year with just a 5.6% career walk rate, but has nearly tripled that (to 14.4%) in the early going, leaving him with a robust .423 on-base percentage .
As ever, it’s fair to wonder whether that apparent improvement can be sustained. Cozart is approaching, but hasn’t quite reached, the stabilization point for walk rate, and even then you’d have to maintain a healthy degree of skepticism and bear in mind his longer track record. But this is the third straight year that Cozart has shown growth in his ability to take free passes. And there are other signs of a real change that shouldn’t be ignored. Cozart’s swing percentage sits at just under forty percent, well shy of his 46.5% career mark. And he’s not just watching more strikes go by: Cozart has offered at pitches out of the zone just 22.7% of the time, a significant reduction from his 29.4% career average. When he does swing, Cozart is missing just 5.6% of the time; again, that’s a significant change (7.3% career SwStr%).
While his strikeout rate is also up a bit, that’s an easy sacrifice to make when these are the results. It would be silly to expect Cozart to continue walking with quite this frequency, but even a bump up to league average (8.8%) would represent a major change in his profile. That might support a league-average on-base percentage. Combine that with the fact that Cozart has posted above-average isolated slugging marks over the past three seasons, and you’re suddenly looking at a real offensive threat.
Let’s not forget: the real calling card here is defense. Cozart doesn’t get talked about as one of the game’s best fielders, but metrics suggest he is. We’re not looking at a small sample here, either. Since he began receiving regular playing time in 2012, Cozart has been an elite defender. While he has traditionally rated as merely an average baserunner, the glove is good enough that Cozart doesn’t have to hit all that much to be an asset.
So, the arrow is pointing up right now, though there’s obviously a long season ahead. Cozart did miss time last year with ongoing issues relating to his 2015 knee surgery; while it seems he’s healthy now, he’ll need to stay that way. And teams will be watching closely to see just what portion of Cozart’s improvements at the plate can be maintained throughout the course of a long season.
As we watch to see how things progress — gauging not only Cozart’s open-market value but also his trade value this summer — there are some markers to bear in mind. Come August, Cozart will reach 32 years of age — just as J.J. Hardy did back in 2014 before signing a three-year, $40MM extension with the Orioles that kept him from reaching the open market. Hardy was an even more extreme version of Cozart at the plate, and was a similarly excellent defender, so seems a highly relevant comp. Though Hardy had a clearer record of success to that point, though, he also hadn’t shown anything like Cozart’s current changes at the plate.
If you see Cozart as a slightly above-average hitter, whose power is sometimes offset by questionable on-base numbers and patches of streakiness, then you’re looking at something like the profile of Ian Desmond, who just landed $70MM over five years. True, Cozart is a middling baserunner, while Desmond is one of the game’s best. But the situation is flipped on defense, where Cozart’s high-level play at short outeighs Desmond’s versatility. But the best aspirational comp is perhaps Brandon Crawford, whose blend of solid plate discipline and pop with otherworldly defense has made him a star (and earned him a six-year, $75MM extension).
Of course, it’s far from clear that Cozart will be able to score anything approaching those kinds of years and dollars, particularly given his age and the still-unknown level of demand. But he’s beginning to make out an argument that he’s just as valuable a player as some of his better-known peers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
White Sox Place Nate Jones On 10-Day DL
The White Sox have placed reliever Nate Jones on the 10-day DL, per a team announcement. Jones has been diagnosed with neuritis in his pitching elbow. Moving up to the active roster is lefty David Holmberg. To clear a 40-man spot, southpaw Carlos Rodon was moved to the 60-day DL.
Elbow issues are always scary, especially for a pitcher who underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2014, but the initial prognosis seems good for Jones. The team is suggesting that it’s likely a minor issue, with Jones potentially ready to return within two weeks or so, as MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (via Twitter) and Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link) report. Jones was off to a bit of a slow start to the season, but had settled in nicely. He is currently on a run of seven consecutive scoreless outings over which he has racked up 13 strikeouts against just two walks.
Jones figures to represent an intriguing trade candidate this summer, so the Sox will hope he can bounce back quickly. It’s also possible that he could step into the closer’s role if the organization finds a trade partner for current ninth-inning man David Robertson.
The 25-year-old Holmberg hasn’t seen the majors since 2015, and owns only a 6.24 ERA over his 62 total big league frames. But the long-time has been pitching well as a multi-inning reliever at Triple-A thus far, with 15 13 innings of 1.76 ERA ball and a 13:5 K/BB ratio.
As for Rodon, who is still out with a biceps issue, the move to the 60-day DL is more or less just a formality. Given that he is not yet even on a rehab assignment, there was no chance he’d return within the first two months of the season, so the move won’t impact his still-uncertain timeline for returning to the majors.
Athletics Place Sean Doolittle On 10-Day DL, Designate Cesar Valdez
7:45pm: A’s manager Bob Melvin suggested to reporters that Doolittle could be facing an extended absence (link via MLB.com’s Jane Lee).
“We’ve seen this over the course of the last couple of years, that when this pops up, we need to be careful with him,” said Melvin. “I don’t know this is going to be a quick thing. This is a tough loss for us. … Obviously we have our fingers crossed, but my guess is we’re going to be conservative with him.”
2:38pm: The Athletics have announced a series of roster moves involving their bullpen. Lefty Sean Doolittle has been placed on the 10-day DL with what the team is describing as a shoulder strain, while righty Cesar Valdez was designated for assignment.
Oakland will promote two righties to take the open roster spots. Bobby Wahl and Josh Smith are each headed to the majors for the first time this year — and the first time ever in Wahl’s case. The 25-year-old Wahl (Oakland’s No. 18 prospect, per MLB.com) will bring an upper-90s heater that occasionally reaches triple digits to the Oakland ‘pen. Wahl has a history of missing bats at a lofty rate but has struggled to limit walks. Smith, meanwhile, has a career 5.46 ERA in 92 1/3 innings with the Reds but was sporting an outrageous 21-to-3 K/BB ratio through 13 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season.
[Related: Oakland Athletics Depth Chart]
It’s rough news for Doolittle, who has dealt with frequent arm issues in recent seasons but had been in fine form thus far. The 32-year-old has allowed three earned runs on five hits and a single walk through his 7 2/3 frames, while retiring 11 batters via strikeout. Doolittle had been in at least a partial share of the team’s closing duties in Oakland, but it seems likely now that fellow veteran Santiago Casilla will handle the vast majority of ninth-inning duties with Doolittle on the shelf.
Injuries are nothing new for Doolittle, who has generally been excellent when healthy but has had durability issues since inking a five-year, $10.5MM extension with Oakland that spans the 2014-18 seasons. The former infielder is earning a reasonable $2.6MM salary in 2017, and he’s guaranteed $4.35MM in 2018 as well (plus a $500K buyout of a $6MM option for 2019). Since signing that deal, Doolittle has had four separate DL stints for shoulder troubles (including this latest trip).
As for the 32-year-old Valdez, he returned to the Majors this season for the first time since the 2010 campaign — a fairly remarkable layoff from which to return. Valdez appeared in four games with the A’s, including one start, but was tagged for 10 runs on 14 hits and four walks with just five strikeouts in a total of 9 1/3 innings. It seems likely that he’ll be able to clear waivers and remain with the organization as a depth option for later in the season.
Mariners Outright Casey Fien
WEDNESDAY: The Mariners have announced that they’ve outrighted Fien to Triple-A Tacoma.
TUESDAY: The Mariners have designated righty Casey Fien for assignment, per a team announcement. Seattle has also placed infielder Shawn O’Malley on the 60-day DL to clear another 40-man spot.
These moves were designed to open the door to two new members of the big league bullpen. The M’s purchased the contracts of righties Jean Machi and Emilio Pagan. First baseman Dan Vogelbach was optioned to open another active roster spot.
Fien was already outrighted off of the 40-man roster earlier in the year, accepting an assignment at Triple-A (in part, perhaps, in order to keep his salary under the MLB deal he signed over the winter). Unfortunately, he had another poor outing upon returning to the majors and now carries a 15.00 ERA through six innings on the year.
The 35-year-old Machi has not pitched in the majors since 2015. But he has thrown eight spotless innings thus far at Tacoma. Pagan, 25, is set for his MLB debut. The former tenth rounder has worked to a 3.27 ERA over his 11 frames at Triple-A this year, allowing just five hits while racking up 18 strikeouts against seven walks.
Cole Hamels Expected To Miss About Eight Weeks With Oblique Strain
The Rangers have placed lefty Cole Hamels on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He was scratched from his most recent start with an oblique strain; the injury is expected to cost him around eight weeks, per the club.
Hamels, 33, was expected to anchor the rotation alongside Yu Darvish. But he has struggled to open the season, recording only 4.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over his 32 2/3 innings. Hamels has still managed a strong 3.03 ERA, so the bottom-line looks good, but his swinging-strike rate (7.5%) is lagging far behind his career average (12.3%) and he is benefiting from a .219 BABIP.
Righty Anthony Bass has been brought up to take the open roster spot. While his first (and so far, only) MLB outing of the year went poorly, he has been pitching well at Triple-A since returning from a 2016 stint in Japan. Over 9 1/3 innings, Bass has allowed just one earned run and only four hits while recording an outstanding 17:4 K/BB ratio.
Rangers starters currently rate third in the Majors with a 3.45 ERA, but their 4.68 FIP and 4.71 xFIP rank among the bottom third of the league, and their 4.89 SIERA is the second-worst mark in baseball. In other words, regression from this unit already looked likely, and subtracting Hamels from the mix doesn’t figure to do Texas any favors. As can be seen on their depth chart at Roster Resource, the top internal candidates to fill in for Hamels are A.J. Griffin, Clayton Blackburn, Eddie Gamboa and Dillon Gee.
Indians Place Corey Kluber On 10-Day DL
The Indians have placed righty Corey Kluber on the 10-day DL with lower back discomfort, per a team announcement. He’ll be replaced for the time being by righty Joe Colon.
Kluber has reportedly been dealing with the back issue throughout the early portion of the season, so it seems the hope is that some rest will help him move past it. He has struggled somewhat thus far, perhaps due in part to the nagging discomfort.
Though Kluber is still carrying a strong 9.9 K/9 on the year, he has allowed more walks (3.1 BB/9) than usual and has coughed up seven long balls through 37 1/3 innings. His velocity has dropped a bit, with his four-seamer sitting at 91.5 mph and his sinker averaging 92.1 mph.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/3/17
We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves in this post …
- The Blue Jays announced that they have released catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He had been designated for assignment recently. Saltalamacchia opened the year as the team’s reserve catcher, but never got it going offensively. The high-power, high-K switch-hitter did more of the latter, going down on strikeouts 16 times while recording only a single base hit over 26 trips to the plate. Saltalamacchia also struggled last year, though he did hit a dozen long balls in just 292 plate appearances.
- Angels lefty Greg Mahle was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, per a club announcement. The 24-year-old was working at Salt Lake already, but gave up his 40-man spot when the team had a need for more pitching at the MLB level. Mahle reached the bigs last year, but struggled to a 5.40 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 in his 18 1/3 innings.
Pirates Outright John Bormann
The Pirates have outrighted catcher John Bormann, per a club announcement (h/t John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com). That leaves Pittsburgh with a pair of open 40-man spots.
Bormann, 24, received his first MLB call-up recently when the organization had a sudden need for a backstop. He did get a single plate appearance, though he struck out. Of course, Bormann wasn’t expected to see the majors anywhere near so soon as this. He has only just reached the High-A level and had struggled there in the early going.
Pittsburgh already moved earlier this week to install a more viable replacement, recalling Elias Diaz. The club is carrying three catchers while waiting for Francisco Cervelli to return to health.
N.L. Notes: Bellinger, Harvey, d’Arnaud, Bryant
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts acknowledged after last night’s game that there’s a chance top prospect Cody Bellinger won’t be optioned back to Triple-A when Joc Pederson is ready to return, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to report. The 21-year-old has only 32 plate appearances under his belt, but he is batting a robust .345/.406/.655 with three walks to go with five strikeouts. “I think I belong,” said Bellinger. His manager seemingly agreed, praising the youngster and noting that “things can change” when addressing the question whether Bellinger would be sent back as planned. The question remains one of playing time, as the organization no doubt prefers that Bellinger play more or less every day. Unless first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is sent to the DL to rest his forearm or the club decides to reduce the playing time of its existing group of outfielders, that might be difficult for the Dodgers to arrange.
Here’s more from the National League:
- While Mets players and coaches say Matt Harvey has been on the rebound in terms of his stuff, the results just haven’t been there, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo explores. Both Harvey and manager Terry Collins say they believe the issue is command, especially with his secondary offerings. Whatever the cause, it’s concerning. While Harvey’s average velocity isn’t too far from his typical range, he is managing only a 7.4% swinging-strike rate. That has left him with as many earned runs as strikeouts (5.14 per nine apiece) over his 35 innings this year.
- Meanwhile, Mets catch Travis d’Arnaud left yesterday’s game when his recent wrist injury “acted up,” in the words of Collins and as DiComo further reports. It’s not immediately clear whether he’ll miss any time; presumably, that’ll depend upon how the joint responds today. The 28-year-old has rebounded somewhat after a rough 2016 season at the plate. Over his 66 plate appearances, he owns a .203/.288/.475 batting line with four home runs and six walks against just 11 strikeouts — and a .182 BABIP that could suggest some misfortune.
- Though Cubs star Kris Bryant was forced out of last night’s game with a calf issue, it doesn’t sound as if it’s much cause for concern. Bryant told reporters, including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter), that he is very confident of returning to the lineup today. Unsurprisingly, the 25-year-old has continued to rake in his third MLB campaign. Over 122 plate appearances, he’s slashing .291/.393/.553 — a near-exact match for the 2016 batting line that helped him to the NL MVP award.