Joe Nathan Out For Year With Torn UCL & Tendon
10:38am: Nathan doesn’t appear to be considering retirement at this time, telling reporters (including Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press) that “I am preparing myself to be a major league player again. That is my goal.”
9:02am: Tigers righty Joe Nathan has torn the ulnar collateral ligament as well as a tendon in his right elbow, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. He will undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season, the team announced.
Nathan, 40, opened the year as Detroit’s closer despite a challenging 2014 season in which he posted a 4.81 ERA. He struck out just 8.4 batters per nine while walking 4.5 per nine, both of which were the worst marks of his career since he moved to the pen.
That was obviously not the output that the Tigers hoped for when they promised Nathan $20MM over two years through free agency. The club does hold a $10MM option for next season, but seems highly likely to instead pay a $1MM buyout at this juncture.
Nathan will undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, this time with the added complication of the tendon damage to account for. While it may be an uphill road at his age, that news seemingly indicates that there is at least some possibility that Nathan will attempt to resume his career.
Detroit probably did not expect Nathan to resume his once-dominant form in the closer’s role this year, but surely hoped he would at least be a valuable contributor and presence in the pen. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained in his review of the club’s offseason, the relief corps was a major question mark entering the year for the Tigers, and the team is certainly shaping up as a future acquirer of bullpen arms in the season’s early going.
West Notes: Wandy, Rosario, Rockies
Here’s the latest from the game’s western divisions on a quiet morning:
- The Rangers will purchase the contract of lefty Wandy Rodriguez in time for him to make a start tomorrow, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Rodriguez will only earn a league minimum salary, but will begin marching towards up to $1.8MM in available incentives with his first appearance. He spent all of camp with the Braves, who released him rather than taking on what would have been a $2MM base salary.
- The Rockies have optioned former starting catcher Wilin Rosario to Triple-A in spite of his hot start in limited action, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. Rosario seemed a plausible trade candidate over the offseason, though he was coming off of a tough 2014 and probably would not have drawn a palatable return. He has been productive at the plate since transitioning out of the regular backstop mix, but was not able to earn much playing time. Rosario was clearly disappointed by the move, though he said he expects it will be short-lived. It is worth noting that Rosario entered the season with 3.023 years on his service clock, meaning that a lengthy minor league stint could deliver an additional year of club control.
- While the Rockies enjoyed a hot start, questionable pitching has dropped the team back to earth. Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post argues that the club has continued to exhibit a “defeatist attitude” in the way that it approaches outside acquisitions. That explains why the team settled for Kyle Kendrick instead of going hard for James Shields, says Kiszla, who disputes the Catch-22 conventional wisdom holding that the Rockies must overpay to get starting pitching but that the team will never again be baited into doing so.
AL Central Relief Notes: Frasor, Nathan, Indians
Righty Jason Frasor was offered a one-year deal by the Twins this winter but decided to go back to the Royals when Kansas City got involved, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. The 37-year-old also added an interesting take on the process of free agency: “When you become a free agent and you’re a 37-year-old middle reliever, there’s not as many teams that come calling as you would think or hope. But that’s all right. I just needed one team.”
- Veteran Tigers reliever Joe Nathan suffered a setback in a Triple-A rehab appearance today, as James Schmehl of MLive.com reports. Nathan came out after experiencing severe pain after the tenth pitch of his outing. Both Nathan and the club have stayed quiet this evening as to whether any more has been learned, but at a minimum it seems unlikely that he will join the team as quickly as had been expected.
- Cody Allen has struggled thus far, but the Indians are not contemplating a closer change, per Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. “Cody is about as trustworthy and dependable as anyone we have,” said manager Terry Francona. The Cleveland pen has been poor by any standard thus far, and is not exactly teeming with alternatives. MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted that the team passed on an opportunity to upgrade there over the offseason, and it will be interesting to see whether that becomes an area to target if the Indians stay in contention over the summer.
NL Notes: Olivera, Dodgers, Brewers, Marlins
The Dodgers made a big splash last month with two successive signings of Cuban free agents: infielder Hector Olivera ($62.5MM) and righty Pablo Fernandez ($8MM). But as J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group reports, both players still have yet to receive their visas — and, as a result, have not undergone physicals. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman explained that the club could have elected to perform physicals in the Dominican Republic, where Olivera and Fernandez are both residing. But the Dodgers prefer to wait to allow team doctors a personal inspection. All said, it does not appear that there is any reason to doubt that the agreed-upon terms will ultimately be formalized. In the case of Olivera, however, questions about elbow health were an issue that was reportedly addressed in the contract itself, and his past medical difficulties (along with the significant guarantee) raise the stakes of the physical.
- Meanwhile, the Dodgers have managed to pull together quite a productive bullpen this year at rather a low cost, as Dave Cameron explains in a piece for FOX Sports. The club has continued to tinker with that unit, claiming and designating a pair of arms and then dealing for Xavier Cedeno earlier today. Friedman explains that the club is building depth and expects to add Cedeno to the active roster (via Hoornstra’s Tout feed).
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio says that he is “not looking at the manager or the general manager right now” as the club looks to turn around an awful start, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. Attanasio placed the blame on the fact that many of the club’s players are not matching their career standards. He also defended the organization’s decision to keep its core together and try to compete in 2015, saying that it performed “a huge amount of analysis” in making that call.
- If the Marlins do make a change at manager, Mets Triple-A skipper Wally Backman is not a candidate, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Miami owner Jeffrey Loria is “actively reviewing” the situation of Mike Redmond as the team tries to shake off a rusty start. Over at Fangraphs, Jeff Sullivan argues that, though the club’s awful opening is obviously disappointing, the expectations never should have been very high at the start of 2015.
Mets Acquire Dan Rohlfing From Twins
The Mets have acquired minor league catcher Dan Rohlfing from the Twins, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. Cash considerations are headed to Minnesota in return.
Rohlfing, 26, represents depth for a New York club that is dealing with an injury to Opening Day backstop Travis d’Arnaud as well as backup Anthony Recker. He has never hit much, but does offer some defensive versatility, having spent time both behind the dish and in the corner outfield. In parts of two seasons at the Triple-A level, Rohlfing has slashed .236/.334/.344 over 357 plate appearances.
Mariners To Sign Carlos Quentin
7:12pm: Quentin can opt out on May 12 if he has not been called up, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
6:43pm: The Mariners have agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder Carlos Quentin, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. Quentin was released by the Braves recently, shortly after he was acquired as part of the Craig Kimbrel deal — with his large salary functioning to offset salary.
Seattle added Quentin in order to bolster its right-handed power, says Dutton. The veteran big leaguer will head to Triple-A, but may have a chance to move onto the big league roster in short order. He may see time at first base in a platoon alongside Logan Morrison.
The Mariners run no risk in taking on Quentin, whose substantial payroll hit will be charged to the Padres. And there is reason to think that he is worth a flier, given the long run of success that led San Diego to give him a three-year, $27MM deal in the first place.
Between the time that he established himself as a regular in 2008 and the end of 2013, Quentin slashed .260/.356/.503 (good for a 129 OPS+) and swatted 136 home runs. Of course, he only managed half seasons in the last two years of that stretch and was again bothered by injuries last year, when he saw just 155 plate appearances and put up a meager .177/.284/.315 line.
Dodgers Designate Daniel Corcino
The Dodgers have designated southpaw Daniel Corcino, the club announced. His roster spot will go to the just-acquired Xavier Cedeno.
This move caps an eyebrow-raising series of moves out of Los Angeles. The club has claimed and designated both Corcino and his former Reds teammate Ryan Dennick in short order. It could be that the club is looking for an opportunity to add some depth to the upper minors by trying to outright the arms it has claimed.
Corcino, 24, will of course first have a chance to be acquired by another organization. He saw his first MLB action last year, working to a 4.34 ERA in just 18 2/3 innings. In 134 career frames at the minor league level, Corcino owns a 5.91 ERA with 6.4 K/9 against 5.2 BB/9.
Dodgers Acquire Xavier Cedeno From Nationals
The Dodgers have acquired left-hander Xavier Cedeno from the Nationals in exchange for cash, Washington announced. Cedeno, 28, broke camp with the Nationals but did not last long after giving up two earned runs in three innings of work.
His most extensive work came in 2012 with the Astros, when he tossed 31 innings of 3.77 ERA ball while striking out 10.5 and walking 4.1 batters per nine. Since then, Cedeno has logged 22 1/3 frames with a 5.64 ERA, and has seen his strikeout rate drop to 7.3 K/9.
Cedeno is the latest in a series of DFA’ed arms that the Dodgers have added. The others were in turn designated before seeing action. If Cedeno makes it into the bullpen mix, he will join fellow southpaws J.P. Howell and Paco Rodriguez.
Dodgers Release Freddy Garcia
The Dodgers have released righty Freddy Garcia, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Garcia joined Los Angeles at the end of spring to bolster the organization’s depth.
The 38-year-old had thrown just 7 1/3 frames at Triple-A prior to his release. Garcia allowed six earned runs on eight hits and four walks, while striking out seven, in that brief stint with Albuquerque.
Garcia threw to a 3.19 ERA in 161 innings last year for Taiwan’s EDA Rhinos (h/t to Han Lee of GSI). Of course, he is better known for his work at the major league level, where he has thrown over 2,000 innings across 15 seasons.
Jeff Beliveau To Undergo Surgery For Torn Labrum
Rays reliever Jeff Beliveau will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn left shoulder labrum, the club announced. Beliveau has already been transferred to the 60-day DL, and will obviously miss significant time.
As Jay Jaffe wrote for Baseball Prospectus back in 2012, surgical repairs of torn labrums have had their share of success stories. But recovery is far from a sure thing, and the details — for example, whether there is also rotator cuff damage — matter quite a bit.
Beliveau, 28, had seemed poised to play an important role in the Tampa bullpen this season after a surprising 2014 campaign in which he posted a 2.63 ERA over 24 frames, backed by 10.5 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 and a 2.47 FIP. He was off to a rough start this year, however, having allowed seven baserunners and four earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings. Though he has never been a hard thrower, Beliveau was down two ticks on his fastball.
The loss of Beliveau leaves the club somewhat lacking in terms of experienced left-handed relievers. C.J. Riefenhauser is the only southpaw on the active roster at present, though players like Everett Teaford, Jordan Norberto, Enny Romero, and Grayson Garvin all represent depth options in the upper minors.