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Braves Activate Grant Dayton, Place A.J. Minter On 60-Day IL

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The Braves have exchanged one left-handed reliever for another off the 60-day injured list.  The club announced that Grant Dayton has been activated, while A.J. Minter’s season was placed on the IL due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder, which will end his season.

After missing all of 2018 due to Tommy John surgery, Dayton returned to a big league mound for 8 1/3 innings over 10 games for Atlanta this season, posting a 2.16 ERA and 11.9 K/9 over his brief stint.  A fractured big toe sent him to the injured list on July 12, however, so Dayton will return after exactly a two-month absence.  Over 58 1/3 career innings with the Braves and Dodgers, Dayton has dominated left-handed batters (holding them to a .574 OPS) and also performed quite well against righty batters (.711 OPS) en route to a 3.24 ERA, 3.33 K/BB rate, and 10.8 K/9.

As a whole, Atlanta’s bullpen has middle-of-the-pack type of numbers against left-handed hitters this season, so Dayton could provide more of an overall boost than Minter, who has struggled through a very rough campaign.  After breaking out and even stepping into a part-time closer role for the Braves in 2018, Minter has a 7.06 ERA over 29 1/3 innings this year, due in large part to major control issues.  He has issued 23 walks (18 international) over those 29 1/3 IP, making for a 7.1 BB/9 that more than doubles his previous highs in that category at either the MLB or minor league levels.

Edwin Encarnacion Leaves Game With Left Oblique Strain

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4:34PM: The initial feeling is that Encarnacion’s injury isn’t overly serious, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Newsday’s Erik Boland).

3:29PM: Yankees designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion left today’s game with the Tigers in the seventh inning due to what the team called a left oblique strain.  The slugger will return to New York to receive tests.

More will be known once Encarnacion is examined by doctors, but on the surface, it’s yet another in a seemingly endless series of injuries to Yankee players this season, and one that could have major ramifications on the postseason roster.  Most oblique injuries generally carry a recovery timeline of 3-4 weeks, though depending on the severity of the strain, Encarnacion may well have taken his last at-bat in 2019.

It already doesn’t look like Aaron Hicks will be back for the postseason, while Mike Tauchman has been more definitively been ruled out for the next 6-to-8 weeks.  One plus is the impending return of Giancarlo Stanton, and if Encarnacion is out, putting Stanton into the DH spot would be a natural move to help keep Stanton fresh and healthy after missing almost all of the 2019 campaign with a variety of injuries.  If the Yankees are okay with using Stanton in the outfield, Clint Frazier or Mike Ford could also see DH duty, or the Yankees could split first base and DH between DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit.

Encarnacion has been no stranger to the injured list since coming to New York from the Mariners in a June trade.  He only just returned from the IL on Sept. 3 after missing a month of action with a right wrist fracture.  When he has been in the lineup, Encarnacion has delivered his typically impressive performance at the plate, hitting .244/.344/.531 with 34 homers over 486 combined plate appearances for New York and Seattle this season.

Royals Claim Randy Rosario

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The Royals have claimed southpaw Randy Rosario off waivers from the Cubs, as per a team announcement.  Rosario was designated for assignment by Chicago earlier this week.  To create a 40-man roster spot, Kansas City recalled infielder Kelvin Gutierrez and placed him on the 60-day injured list.

Rosario posted a 5.91 ERA over 10 2/3 innings for the Cubs this season, a decided step back from the 3.66 ERA he delivered over 46 2/3 relief frames in his 2018 rookie season.  Per ERA predictors, however, Rosario was fortunate (4.68 FIP, 4.60 xFIP, 4.74 SIERA) to escape at least an extra run’s worth of damage in 2018, as the grounder specialist only notched a 5.79 K/9.

This season saw Rosario miss more bats to the tune of an 8.4 K/9 in his brief time in Chicago, though his Triple-A numbers (3.11 ERA, 2.21 K/BB rate, 7.4 K/9) were almost an exact match for his career numbers over 413 minor league innings in the Cubs’ and Twins’ organizations.  Rosario has shown some very good splits against left-handed batters, giving him a possible path to regular work as a specialist in Kansas City’s bullpen.

Indians To Promote James Karinchak

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The Indians are calling up right-hander James Karinchak, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).  Cleveland has a full 40-man roster, so a move will have to be made to accommodate Karinchak prior to tomorrow’s game.

A ninth-round pick for the Tribe in the 2017 draft, Karinchak made his Triple-A debut in 2019 and posted a 4.67 ERA over 17 1/3 relief innings.  Beyond that fairly unimpressive mark, however, stands an eyebrow-raising strikeout total — Karinchak struck out 42 batters in his brief time at Triple-A Columbus, continuing an incredible season of missing bats for the 23-year-old.  Over 30 1/3 total minor league innings in a year shortened by hamstring injuries, Karinchak has 74 strikeouts.

MLB.com ranks Karinchak as the 21st-best prospect in Cleveland’s farm system, giving high grades on the 20-80 scouting scale to his 95-98mph fastball (a 70 grade) and a “12-to-6 curveball that he can get them to chase out of the bottom of the zone” (60 grade).  Between a high arm slot and a tendency to overthrow, however, Karinchak has also had problems limiting free passes.  He has a 5.5 BB/9 over his 102 1/3 career minor league innings, and a 6.8 BB/9 at Columbus this season.

The Tribe will hope that Karinchak’s live arm can help reinforce a bullpen that has fallen on hard times recently.  Closer Brad Hand’s recent struggles are the largest concern, though Cleveland relievers as a whole have a cumulative 5.20 ERA over the last 30 days, the fifth-highest mark of any team’s relief corps over that span.  While Indians relievers have been pretty good as a whole all season, they rank near the middle of the pack in K/9, so Karinchak promises a particular boost in that department.

Blue Jays Release Clayton Richard, Activate Elvis Luciano

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The Blue Jays have released left-hander Clayton Richard, Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae reports (Twitter link).  As expected, the team used the open 40-man roster spot to reinstate righty Elvis Luciano from the 60-day injured list.

The move ends a disappointing tenure for Richard in Toronto, as knee and lat injuries limited him to only 45 1/3 innings pitched (all as a starter) this season.  The Jays acquired Richard from the Padres last winter in the hopes that he could be a veteran innings-eater, though like similar acquisitions Clay Buchholz and Matt Shoemaker, injuries ultimately scuttled those plans.

Richard wasn’t very effective when he did pitch, posting a 5.96 ERA, 1.22 K/BB, and only a 4.37 K/9, low even by Richard’s standards as a groundball specialist (his grounder rate was a typically sturdy 55.8%).  Home runs have become an increasingly big problem for Richard over the last three seasons, culminating in an ugly 24.3% home run rate, as he allowed nine big flies over his 45 innings.

Richard just turned 36 years old today, making the release a particularly unwelcome birthday present.  Between his age and a lack of effectiveness over the last three years, he’ll likely have to take a minor league contract with his next team.

Luciano hasn’t pitched since June 12 due to an elbow sprain, though he’ll return to the roster in time to clock the 90 days of active duty necessary to keep him in the Blue Jays organization.  The Jays picked Luciano away from the Royals in the last Rule 5 Draft, meaning that the 19-year-old had to remain on Toronto’s 25-man roster for the entire season (or for at least 90 days in case of injury, as was the situation here) for the Blue Jays to permanently secure his rights.

As expected for a youngster who had never pitched above rookie ball, Luciano had a tough go of things in his first exposure to Major League hitting.  Luciano had a 6.51 ERA over 27 2/3 innings out of the Jays’ bullpen, with an equal number (22) of unintentional walks and strikeouts.  Once he’s officially in the organization, the Blue Jays will return Luciano to the minors for 2020.

Athletics Promote Jesus Luzardo

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Sept. 9: The Athletics have formally announced Luzardo’s promotion, adding that they’ve also recalled right-hander Daniel Mengden from Las Vegas. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Luzardo, outfielder Luis Barrera was recalled to the Majors and immediately placed on the 60-day injured list. The 23-year-old Barrera has been out since late June due to a right shoulder issue. He’s yet to play in the Majors but will receive MLB service time for the time he spends on the injured list between now and season’s end.

Sept. 8: The A’s are calling up top prospect Jesus Luzardo, MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reports (Twitter link).  The star left-hander is expected to join the team on Monday when they begin a series against the Astros.  Another transaction will have to be made before Monday’s game to create space for Luzardo on the 40-man roster.

"<strongIt had been widely expected that Oakland would call on the prized 21-year-old southpaw at some point during the playoff stretch, though had it not been for injuries, Luzardo would almost certainly have made his MLB debut months ago.  Luzardo was sidelined by both a shoulder strain and then a lat strain in the early part of the season, and has only 43 total innings pitched in the minors in 2019.  After a clean bill of health over the last few weeks of Triple-A action, however, Luzardo is finally ready for the Show.

His solid numbers in those four Triple-A outings (3.19 ERA, 4.25 K/BB rate, 9.9 K/9) have done little to quell expectations that Luzardo can provide an immediate help to the Athletics’ pitching mix.  All of Luzardo’s Triple-A appearances came as a starting pitcher, though since the A’s are already using a six-man rotation, it’s more likely that the club will deploy the lefty as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen.

Oakland has taking something of a patchwork approach to its pitching situation all season, yet the results have spoken for themselves — both the Athletics’ starters and relievers rank within the top ten in several major statistical categories among all teams.  As the A’s continue to fight for a wild card spot, however, the club wants as many arms as possible on hand given the lack of proven and reliable talent on hand.  For much of the year, the A’s have been playing the waiting game until Sean Manaea, A.J. Puk, and Luzardo have been healthy and ready to contribute.

Though Luzardo hasn’t clocked many innings this season, it has done little to dim his status as one of the sport’s top minor leaguers, as midseason prospect rankings from Baseball America (9th), MLB.com (18th), and Fangraphs (24th) still placed Luzardo very highly on their boards.  Originally a third-round pick for the Nationals in the 2016 draft, Luzardo came to the A’s — along with Blake Treinen and Sheldon Neuse — in the trade that sent Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to Washington July 2017.  Over 195 2/3 frames in the minors, Luzardo has a 2.53 ERA, 5.44 K/BB rate, and 10.8 K/9, while also showing an ability to keep the ball in the park with only an 0.6 HR/9.

It seems likely that Luzardo would have been more than a third-rounder had he not undergone Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school.  Despite that early surgery, however, Luzardo still generate a lot of heat on his fastball, hitting the 97mph mark during Spring Training and routinely reaching the mid-90’s.  Despite that plus fastball, Baseball America ranks it as only his second-best pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale, as BA’s 60-grade for Luzardo’s heater was topped by a 70-grade changeup.  MLB.com’s scouting report also praises Luzardo’s curveball, which “has improved and is at least above-average, a pitch he adds to and subtracts from at will.”

Assuming good health and a good showing in September (and, the A’s hope, in the playoffs), Luzardo projects to join Oakland’s rotation in 2020.  Veterans Tanner Roark, Homer Bailey, and Brett Anderson are all free agents, paving the way for Manaea, Puk, Mike Fiers, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt, and Luzardo to all factor into the starting picture for next season.  It’s a relatively inexperienced group with a lot of injury history, though starting pitching certainly looks like it could be a strength for the Athletics going forward, notwithstanding how the team has succeeded despite an uncertain rotation mix over the last two years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

MRI On Max Kepler Comes Back Clean

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Sept. 9: Kepler’s MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North 1500. He’s dealing with inflammation in his left shoulder but has seemingly avoided a major injury, which is obviously a sigh relief for the Twins and their fans. There’s still no clear timeline on Kepler’s return to the lineup.

Sept. 8: Max Kepler left the Twins’ 5-2 loss to the Indians today after just one inning, as the outfielder was feeling discomfort in his left shoulder and scapula after an at-bat in the bottom of the first.  As MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park described it, “Kepler appeared to swing awkwardly” during the plate appearance, which resulted in a pop-up to Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger.  Kepler didn’t return to right field for the top of the second.

This marks the second time in less than a week that the issue has forced Kepler to make an early exit from a game, and these shoulder/scapula problems have been bothering the outfielder for months, as he told Park and other reporters after the game.  The injury has become worse in recent days, which Kepler felt could have been due to aggravating his shoulder while making throws.  Kepler said the soreness is “concerning,” and will undergo an MRI to investigate the problem on Monday.

Kepler has just four hits over his last 32 plate appearances, so it isn’t surprising to learn that this nagging problem has become a greater issue.  For now, he is just listed as day-to-day, joining a number of notable Twins players battling the injury bug.  As Park notes, the club is already trying to get by without Nelson Cruz (wrist), Miguel Sano (back), Marwin Gonzalez (oblique), Byron Buxton (shoulder) and Sam Dyson (biceps), not to mention the permanent loss of Michael Pineda for the remainder of the season due to a PED suspension.

If Kepler has to miss time, Minnesota’s outfield depth will consist of regular Eddie Rosario and then a host of second-choice options, such as utilitymen Luis Arraez and Ehire Adrianza, Jake Cave, the newly-acquired Ryan LaMarre, and rookies LaMonte Wade Jr. and Ian Miller.  On the plus side, the Twins still have a 5.5 game lead over the Indians in the AL Central, though they face the Tribe in Cleveland in a big three-game set next weekend.

Kepler has been in the midst of a breakout season, hitting .252/.337/.522 with 36 homers over 587 PA.  The 26-year-old has reached new personal bests in just about every major offensive category, making the five-year, $35MM extension the Twins reached with Kepler in February look like an even cannier investment for the club.

Red Sox Part Ways With Dave Dombrowski

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Sept. 9: The Red Sox have issued a press release on the shakeup, announcing that a search for a new baseball operations leader will commence “immediately.”

“Four years ago, we were faced with a critical decision about the direction of the franchise,” principal owner John Henry stated within the release. “We were extraordinarily fortunate to be able to bring Dave in to lead baseball operations. With a World Series Championship and three consecutive American League East titles, he has cemented what was already a Hall of Fame career.”

Sept. 8: In a shocking development, the Red Sox announced that they have parted ways with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.  Assistant GMs Eddie Romero, Zack Scott, and Brian O’Halloran, and senior VP of Major League and minor league operations Raquel Ferreira will take over as the heads of the baseball ops department for the remainder of the season (MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to report the news of the assistant GMs in the interim roles, while Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported Ferreira’s involvement.)

It was just last fall that the Red Sox captured a World Series championship with one of the best teams in recent baseball history, winning 108 regular-season games and then rolling through the playoffs with an 11-3 record.  It marked the club’s first title since Dombrowski took over the job in August 2015, and his second World Series in over three decades as one of the game’s most respected front office bosses.  Dombrowski also put together the Marlins team that won the 1997 Series, and his resume also includes two American League pennants with the Tigers in 2006 and 2012.

With such a track record of both past and recent success, it’s hard to believe that Dombrowski is so suddenly out of a job, though there had been some whispers that ownership took a dim view of Boston’s underachievement in 2019.  Tonight’s loss to the Yankees dropped the Sox 17.5 games out of first place in the AL East, and eight games behind the Athletics for the last AL wild card slot, making a postseason return all but impossible.

Multiple issues surrounded the 2019 Red Sox, which were seemingly enough for upper management to decide that a change was needed.  For one, the team exceeded the upper level of the luxury tax ($237MM) in 2018, and are again in position to exceed the new upper threshold of $246MM this season.  As per Roster Resource, the Red Sox have a projected luxury tax number of over $257.7MM, putting them in line to face another maximum penalty — a 75 percent tax on the overage, as well as a drop of ten spots for their highest pick of the 2020 draft.  (MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explored some of the financial ramifications for the Red Sox and the Competitive Balance Tax back in February.)

This cash crunch left the team unable to truly add new pieces to the roster, particularly a bullpen that seemed thin after Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly departed in free agency.  Still, Boston’s offseason focus largely centered around re-signing key members of their 2018 roster (Nathan Eovaldi and Steve Pearce), while also extending Chris Sale and Xander Bogaerts, both of whom would have been free agents after the 2019 campaign.

Unfortunately for the Sox, a large chunk of their 2019 expenditures went for naught.  Eovaldi (signed to a four-year, $68MM deal) and Pearce (one-year, $6.25MM) have both been ineffective or injured for much of the year, with Eovaldi shifted into bullpen work rather than his expected role in the starting rotation.  Sale has endured a career-worst season after signing a five-year, $145MM extension that runs through the 2024 season (unless Sale opts out after 2022, which seems unlikely at this point).

Past Dombrowski acquisitions have also started to show their age this year.  Eduardo Nunez and Mitch Moreland have combined for -0.4 fWAR at a combined cost of $11.5MM.  David Price has put up generally good numbers since signing his seven-year, $217MM contract in the 2015-16 offseason, but his production hasn’t matched the big expectations that came with what is still the biggest deal ever handed to a pitcher in terms of total dollars.

If this analysis of Dombrowski’s misfires seems too centered around the results of the 2019 season, there’s really no other way to explain his firing, since at this time last year the baseball world was praising Dombrowski’s creation of a super-team.  (Beyond the 2018 Series, Boston also won AL East titles in both 2016 and 2017.)  Known for bold trades of prospects for star talent, it was Dombrowski who brought Sale and Kimbrel to Boston in major deals with the White Sox and Padres, respectively.  The extensions for Bogaerts and Christian Vazquez both look like big pluses, and the J.D. Martinez signing was a major win.

It should also be noted that if the luxury tax overage was such a big strike against Dombrowski, that wasn’t entirely his doing.  The Red Sox could have made just a minimal CBT payment if it wasn’t for the roughly $46MM in salaries paid out to Pablo Sandoval, Rusney Castillo, and Dustin Pedroia, all on contracts inked during the regime of previous general manager Ben Cherington.  Pedroia’s career is in jeopardy due to chronic knee problems, Sandoval hasn’t played for Boston in over two years, and Castillo is stuck in minor league limbo until his deal is up.

In fairness to Cherington, he was also not far removed from a World Series title (less than two seasons) when he himself was replaced by Dombrowski midway through the 2015 season.  The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently explored the possibility of a Dombrowski firing, and pointed out the extraordinarily high standard that seemingly any Red Sox general manager will have to meet, given that not even recent championships were enough to spare Cherington or Dombrowski.  As Rosenthal rhetorically asked, if Sox ownership is “frustrated with Dombrowski’s spending and his use of prospects as trade fodder, well, what exactly did they think they were getting? Dombrowski hasn’t broken from character in Boston, has never disguised his M.O.”

Boston’s farm system has been thinned by both Dombrowski’s trades, but perhaps moreso by the graduation of several of the top young prospects to the big leagues, so it isn’t as if the Red Sox are drastically short on premium young talent.  Rafael Devers is still a pre-arbitration player, after all, while Andrew Benintendi is only arb-eligible this winter and Eduardo Rodriguez has two arb years remaining.

Even Mookie Betts has one final year of arbitration eligibility, and while his future in Boston was already a big question, it has become of even greater import in the wake of Dombrowski’s firing.  Betts told reporters (including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald) tonight that the front office change “is proof that it’s still a business.”  While reiterating that “I love it here [in Boston],” Betts also said “it’s going to be the same answer” in regards to his plan to test the free agent market following the 2020 season.

It will be fascinating to see what direction Red Sox ownership takes in their search for a new baseball operations head.  Since John Henry’s ownership group bought the franchise, they famously promoted young executives from within (Theo Epstein and Cherington) before going in the opposite direction with Dombrowski, a veteran baseball man from outside the organization.  As Rosenthal noted in his piece, rebuilding doesn’t appear to be an option in Boston, so a new front office boss will have to creatively replenish the minor league system while still keeping the Sox in contention for another championship.

The next GM will inherit, after all, a team that is still talented — the Red Sox have a 76-67 record, and their offensive core of Betts, Bogaerts, Devers, and Martinez is as good as any in the sport.  But with Martinez potentially opting out of his deal and some major work needed for the rotation and bullpen, offseason business could explore trades of players a year removed from free agency (such as Betts or Jackie Bradley Jr.) in order to refurbish the roster.  Quite a bit of salary will also be coming off the books, so there’s a possibility the Sox could duck under the $208MM luxury tax threshold altogether and reset their penalty status.

Dombrowski was under contract though the 2020 season, and turned 63 in July.  The exec hadn’t had many public ruminations on his future, though he wishes to continue working, one would imagine several front offices would be interested in bringing him on, at least in an advisory capacity.  Or, it’s also not hard to imagine a team perhaps deciding to make a front office change now that Dombrowski is available.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Notes: Tauchman, Moose, Laureano, Kelly

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Mike Tauchman departed during the fourth inning of Sunday night’s game with what the Yankees described as left calf tightness.  The outfielder suffered the injury while fielding a Brock Holt single, though he told reporters (including James Wagner of the New York Times) that he had recently been dealing with a sore calf and thought he was beyond the problem after a pair of pain-free games.  Tauchman will undergo an MRI on Monday in New York to determine the extent of the issue.

One of many unsung heroes who have stepped up in the wake of a cavalcade of Yankees injuries, Tauchman hit his 13th homer of the season Sunday, improving his slash line to .277/.361/.504 (128 wRC+) over 296 plate appearances.  After two seasons as a spare-parts outfielder with the Rockies, Tauchman has broken out in a major way, which would make it all the more unfortunate if a potential injured list stint were to cut into his availability for the postseason roster.  If Tauchman does have to miss time, the Yankees still have Clint Frazier and Cameron Maybin (himself just returned from a wrist injury) as left field options, and Giancarlo Stanton looms as a potential late-season reinforcement at some point in September.

More on other injury situations from around the game…

  • “I can’t take a swing without pain,” Mike Moustakas told reporters (including JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) about the deep wrist bruise that has limited him to a non-hitting role.  “I can hit flips, I can hit BP, and there’s still pain there, but that’s not what’s concerning. It’s when I swing and miss or I check swing and I have to hold my bat.”  The Brewers third baseman sat out seven games within a recent nine-game stretch while trying to recover, and has appeared in each of the club’s last two games but only as a defensive replacement.  While he is happy to help in any way possible while recovering, Moustakas is understandably eager to more fully contribute, and hopes he is getting close to feeling normal at the plate.  “When I’m in an at-bat facing a major league pitcher, you don’t want to be thinking about how bad your hand hurts when you’re trying to hit,” Moustakas said.  “You want to have a clear mind and go out there able to compete. I wasn’t able to do that the last week or so.“
  • As Ramon Laureano works his way back to full health after suffering a stress reaction in his right shin, Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Laureano will likely play in only two of every three games.  “This probably isn’t going to be an everyday proposition for him for a while,” Melvin said.  Laureano didn’t go through a rehab assignment before returning from his five-week stint on the IL, and left Saturday’s game after suffering a cramp in his right leg.
  • Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly has been battling a lower-body injury, manager Dave Roberts told J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group and other reporters.  The problem is “not a red flag for us,” Roberts said, though he noted that Kelly’s delivery is still being somewhat altered by the injury.  Kelly pitched on Saturday after sitting out the Dodgers’ previous five games.  After signing a three-year, $25MM free agent deal with Los Angeles over the winter, Kelly badly struggled over his first two-plus months but then stabilized things, posting a 2.00 ERA over his last 27 innings (28 outings).

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