MLB Considering Expansion Of Player Pool
As Major League Baseball continues to adapt to the unprecedented circumstances of the 2020 season, it is considering a notable change to the present 60-man player pool system. Per Josh Norris of Baseball America, a proposal under consideration would add something like 15 more slots to each team’s alternate training site.
It doesn’t sound as if this evolution is a done deal, or even a firmly hammered out system under consideration. But developments have come far more rapidly than usual during this ad hoc, covid-addled campaign. If the league is to implement it, we’d presumably see things come together in rather short order.
As with the alternate site information sharing plan that is set to go into effect, this latest development reflects observations from the early functioning of a modified season and an effort to anticipate issues to come. First and foremost, as Norris explains, the current approach has left too few players around to participate in alternate site games. And teams would surely rather have more flexibility to get players in action, both to enhance development of younger players and to build out veteran depth.
There’s also an interesting potential trade deadline tie-in here, as with the enhanced scouting that would come from video and statistical sharing. Bigger player pools would give much greater flexibility to teams looking to structure mid-season deals. (Remember, only players in the 60-man pool may be traded.) Teams would have more room for prospects in their pools, thus making it easier to put trade candidates into play without unduly sacrificing the ability to supplement the active roster as needed.
With just over two weeks to go until an undeniably bizarre trade deadline, this could be quite the wild card. It’ll be especially interesting to see how quickly the changes are agreed upon and implemented. If teams are to wheel and deal at anything approaching their typical levels, they’ll want to have some advance notice to hash out potential agreements.
There’s a tie-in to a broader matter within the baseball operations landscape. In the past decade or so, roughly the span of MLBTR’s existence, we’ve seen analytics (in the broadest sense) grow from a niche element of the roster-building meta game to a more-or-less universal, rather uniform philosophical framework. Thinking about the game critically and shrewdly applying analytical resources is the base state for the contemporary front office. Doing more and better remains the goal, but the returns are necessarily diminishing. What we’re seeing now is something else entirely: an entire new set of challenges with human dimensions; ever-changing rules regimes and economic circumstances; information gaps that technology can’t really solve.
Navigating this world to construct a winning MLB team presents a new — or at least heavily altered — challenge. Particularly for those of us who’ve observed the evolution to this point, it’ll be fun to sit back and see which executives thrive in this new era of the hot stove.
Nationals To Promote Luis Garcia
The Nationals will promote infield prospect Luis Garcia, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). He’s expected to join the team for its game this evening.
Garcia, who just turned 20 in May, will step right into the starting lineup. He had been on the club’s taxi squad but an immediate opening arose when Starling Castro suffered a wrist injury earlier today. Castro’s outlook remains to be seen.
The Nats have not hesitated to call upon their best young talent, with generally excellent results. Garcia will now have an opportunity to take a place in a still-developing new core of position players on the D.C. roster.
Though he’s still quite young, Garcia did play a full season at the Double-A level last year. He ran into some challenges there, ultimately slashing just .257/.280/.337 over 553 plate appearances, but was markedly better in the second half.
Talent evaluators see Garcia as a potential everyday player. For now, he’ll line up at second base alongside regular shortstop Trea Turner. It remains to be seen how lengthy an opportunity Garcia will receive. No doubt that’ll depend both upon the health status of Castro and Garcia’s ability to adapt to MLB pitching.
Yankees Place Aaron Judge On IL
The Yankees have decided to place outfielder Aaron Judge on the injured list, manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters including Erik Boland of Newsday (via Twitter). He’s dealing with a mild calf strain.
Boone made clear that this is only a precautionary move. While the injury is said to be merely a grade 1 strain, if that, the team is exercising ample caution with its star slugger.
Yankees fans will be forgiven for fostering greater concern than the skipper himself let on. Judge hasn’t topped five hundred plate appearances in a season since his mammoth 2017 rookie year, owing to a series of health issues.
It’s much the same situation with fellow middle-of-the-order centerpiece Giancarlo Stanton. He’s also sidelined with what’s hoped to be a mild leg muscle issue, but comes with the same sort of worrisome background. In their absence, former top prospect Clint Frazier could get a window to prove himself.
Rangers Select Juan Nicasio; Greg Bird Elects Free Agency
The Rangers have announced a few roster moves. Righty Juan Nicasio is headed back to the majors after his contract was selected. The club will bid adieu to first baseman Greg Bird, who elected free agency after clearing outright waivers.
In other news, the team has placed backstop Robinson Chirinos on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained right ankle. Fellow catcher Jose Trevino was called up to fill in behind the dish.
This makes a decade’s worth of MLB seasons for Nicasio, who’ll soon turn 34. He struggled to a 4.75 ERA in 47 1/3 frames last year with the Phillies.
Bird will head back to the drawing board after only a single game in a Rangers uniform. He never even saw a chance to swing a bat with the Texas club, having landed on the injured list shortly after his promotion.
Indians Option Mike Clevinger, Zach Plesac
The Indians have reinstated starters Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac from the restricted list. In a surprising twist, both rotation members have been optioned to the alternate training site.
This news comes in the aftermath of a forehead-smacking decision by this talented pair of right-handed hurlers. They each violated collectively bargained MLB coronavirus protocols and then — as rotation mate Adam Plutko explained — lied to the team about their poor decisions.
The decision to option both pitchers came on the heels of a team meeting involving them both, as Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal covers (Twitter links). It’s clear the organization decided it had to send a message.
It’s unlikely but not impossible that the optional assignment will have a significant impact on either player’s contractual situation. Clevinger entered the year with 3.041 years of MLB service while Plesac had 125 days. Unless the Indians leave them down for an extended stretch, they’ll still be able to move into the next service class. But the move could ruin Plesac’s hopes for potential early arbitration qualification as a Super Two.
Mets Scratch Jacob deGrom, Reinstate Robinson Cano
2:57pm: The Mets have also activated Robinson Cano, who’ll step into the lineup at second base. He had been on the injured list with a left adductor strain.
2:15pm: The Mets have scratched ace righty Jacob deGrom from his scheduled start this evening, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Michael Mayer of Metsmerizedonline.com first tweeted about the possibility.
Full details of the situation have not yet been fully reported. But it seems a stiff neck is to blame for the absence, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
Thankfully, it doesn’t sound as if this is expected to be a particularly serious problem. deGrom says an examination revealed no structural concerns; he was able to throw off the mound yesterday and is hoping for a fairly quick turnaround. (Via Sherman; Twitter links).
Willie McGee Opts Out Of Season
Cardinals coach Willie McGee will not return to the bench when the team resumes play, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He has opted out of the remainder of the campaign.
McGee, an MLB veteran who spent 13 of his 18 playing seasons in St. Louis, has tutored the club’s outfielders since 2018. The 61-year-old will attempt to fulfill some of his duties remotely.
The decision comes as the Cardinals try to make it through a COVID-19 outbreak that has spread to many of the team’s players and coaches. McGee has not tested positive, per the report. He says he’s particularly concerned with contracting the disease since he has high blood pressure.
Cardinals To Promote Dylan Carlson
7:19pm: The Cardinals will promote Carlson this weekend, Goold tweets.
8:42am: The Cardinals are in quite the pickle at the moment as they wait and hope to resume play this weekend. When the light turns green, the club will have to scramble to make up for missing roster members who’ll be sidelined indefinitely due to COVID-19 infections.
One significant potential move under consideration is the promotion of top prospect Dylan Carlson, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Indeed, Goold indicates that the club is setting the stage for a near-term call-up.
It’s something of an odd time to consider major organizational decisions, but the Cards are also still trying to compete and now have a clear opening. With a few outfielders among those to come down with the coronavirus, there’s an opportunity for regular playing time and a need for some upside.
Carlson is already in the 60-man player pool, but would require a 40-man roster spot. The Cardinals don’t need to worry about service time consideration much at this point, unless they’re inclined to wait until early 2021 to bring Carlson up. He won’t be able to accrue a full year of service, so can’t qualify for free agency before 2027 regardless of whether he’s promoted now or later in the 2020 season. Potential early arbitration qualification as a Super Two is possible, but that’s not nearly as compelling a concern.
Carlson, the 33rd overall pick of the 2016 draft, entered the present season ranked as one of the twenty best prospects in all of baseball. The switch-hitter raked in the upper minors last year, turning in a cumulative .292/.372/.542 slash with 26 home runs in 562 plate appearances.
Jeff McNeil Removed On Cart After Collision
3:54pm: McNeil has been diagnosed a bone contusion, manager Luis Rojas told reporters after the game (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Tim Britton). He’s not expected to require a trip to the injured list. He’ll be evaluated again tomorrow before any final decisions are made, though.
2:45pm: Initial X-rays on McNeil’s knee have come back negative, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. However, McNeil will still undergo an MRI for further evaluation.
12:27pm: Mets utilityman extraordinaire Jeff McNeil was carted off of the field after suffering an apparent leg injury in today’s game. He crashed into the outfield wall after making a sensational running catch.
Needless to say, there’s no indication at this point of the seriousness of the injury. McNeil attempted to leave on his own power but ultimately required additional medical attention. Any lasting absence for McNeil, of course, would be a brutal blow to an already reeling Mets club. He hasn’t shown the pop that he displayed in 2019 or even in 2018, but McNeil entered play hitting .293/.358/.362 through his first 67 trips to the plate in 2020.
The Mets have already lost Noah Syndergaard for the season due to Tommy John surgery, while Marcus Stroman has opted out of the 2020 campaign citing health and safety concerns. Also on the injured list for the Mets are Robinson Cano, Jed Lowrie, Jake Marisnick, Eduardo Nunez, Rene Rivera and Michael Wacha.
MLB To Facilitate Alternate Training Site Data Sharing
Major League Baseball is developing a plan to allow interested teams to share information about players participating in alternate training sites. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reported the news (Twitter links), noting that it has not yet been initiated.
At this point, it appears that about twenty of MLB’s thirty teams will participate in the initiative. They’ll have the chance to share both data recordings and video. It’s intended to help teams assess players in the absence of games or any in-person scouting.
It stands to reason that this effort will help increase the potential for summer trades. Teams typically gather information right up until the mid-season trade deadline, but there’s a near-dearth of that activity at the moment except for players actually playing in the majors.
There’s no doubt that this plan is imperfect, but it seems at least to be a worthwhile workaround effort. The fact that every team won’t participate is notable. It’ll be interesting to see how that shapes the run-up to the trade deadline.