Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Diamondbacks’ Junior Guerra, Silvino Bracho Test Positive For COVID-19

By | at

Diamondbacks right-handers Junior Guerra and Silvino Bracho have tested positive for the coronavirus, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan and The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro) today.  Guerra and Bracho “are asymptomatic and feel great,” Lovullo said.  “They’re in the protocol, they’re doing what they can, taking care of what they can at home and healing up.”

While Buchanan noted that these aren’t new tests, it isn’t clear if Guerra or Bracho was one of the unknown players within the organization who tested positive last month.  Since a positive test comes with a mandatory quarantine period of at least two weeks, the timing of the tests will factor into when the two hurlers will be able to return to the field.  If they remain asymptomatic, Guerra and Bracho will each have to deliver two negative COVID-19 tests before being cleared for Summer Camp.

Less than a week after being non-tendered by the Brewers last December, Guerra signed a one-year deal with the D’Backs worth $2.65MM in guaranteed money, and the club holds an option on his services for the 2021 season.  The 35-year-old posted a 3.55 ERA, 2.14 K/BB rate, and 8.3 K/9 over 83 2/3 innings in 2019, working exclusively as a reliever for the first time in his career.  Assuming a full recovery from COVID-19, Guerra is expected to provide the D’Backs with a durable bullpen arm, and his ability to chew innings will be particularly useful in a shortened season as starting pitchers get back up to speed.

Bracho’s participation in the 2020 season was already up in the air, as it was revealed last week that he had suffered a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and had been placed on Arizona’s 60-day injured list.  Bracho underwent his surgery in March 2019, so it is particularly unfortunate that this setback cropped up just as the right-hander would have been aiming to be ready for Opening Day.  Bracho posted a 4.67 ERA, 2.82 K/BB rate, and 9.4 K/9 over 88 2/3 relief innings for the Diamondbacks from 2015-18, with the 2018 campaign showing promising career bests for Bracho in both ERA (3.19) and HR/9 (0.6) over 31 innings pitched.

Pirates’ Socrates Brito, Blake Cederlind Test Positive For COVID-19

By | at

Outfielder Socrates Brito and right-hander Blake Cederlind have both tested positive for the coronavirus, Pirates manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  The two players consented to be identified as having positive tests, though Shelton didn’t provide further details on their condition, saying only “there are some other things that they have to do medically before they can get back on the field.”

League rules dictate that Brito and Cederlind will be in quarantine for two weeks, and must then be symptom-free and test negative on two separate tests before rejoining their teammates.  While health is obviously the first and foremost concern in this situation, the two-week hiatus will make it harder for either Brito or Cederlind to make the Bucs’ Opening Day roster, though Mackey notes that “neither Cederlind nor Brito was expected to begin the 2020 season with the big club.”

Brito signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh over the winter, culminating a 2019 that saw him belong to four different organizations (Diamondbacks, Padres, Blue Jays, and finally the Pirates) within the calendar year.  Brito did suit up for 17 games last season, all with Toronto, managing just a .291 OPS and 17 strikeouts over 43 plate appearances.  The 27-year-old has only a .179/.216/.309 slash line over 218 career PA at the Major League level, though he has put up some good numbers in the minors and can play all three outfield positions.

Cederlind was a fifth-round pick for the Pirates in the 2016 draft, and ranks 28th on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 Pittsburgh minor leaguer.  He didn’t produce much over his first three pro seasons, though Mackey notes that Cederlind’s fortunes changed after turning his 100mph fastball into a sinker — the right-hander had a combined 2.28 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 2.29 K/BB rate over 59 1/3 combined innings at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels in 2019.  This performance put him on the radar as a potential callup at some point in the 2020 season, as the rebuilding Pirates can afford to give looks to any promising youngster.

Masahiro Tanaka Suffers Mild Concussion After Being Hit In Head By Line Drive

By | at

TODAY: Tanaka has been diagnosed with a mild concussion, Boone told the New York Daily News’ Kristie Ackert and other media.  The manager is hopeful that Tanaka will be recovered for the start of the season.

SATURDAY, 6:58PM: Tanaka has been released from hospital, the Yankees announced.

6:14PM: Tanaka will indeed go into concussion protocol, manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters, though Tanaka had a negative CT scan.  Boone believes Tanaka will be released from hospital tonight.

5:30PM: In a very scary moment during a Yankees simulated game today, Masahiro Tanaka was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton.  Tanaka was on the ground for several minutes before walking off the field accompanied by two club trainers.

As per a statement from the Yankees, Tanaka has been “sent to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and testing,” and the right-hander “is currently alert, responsive and walking under his own power.”  It’s obviously great news that Tanaka may have escaped serious injury, though the Yankees are likely to be as cautious as possible in monitoring the hurler for any concussion symptoms before he returns to Summer Camp.

Tanaka is projected to line up behind newly-acquired ace Gerrit Cole in a rotation that is also expected to feature James Paxton, J.A. Happ, and Jordan Montgomery, though it’s possible the Yankees could work a sixth starter into the mix or use openers or piggyback starters until the rotation is fully ramped up.  The 31-year-old Tanaka is entering his seventh and what could be his final season in the pinstripes, as he is slated to enter free agency this winter.  A concussion (or any sort of injury) would be of particular concern to Tanaka in this shortened season, as he would have even less time to get back to full health and pitch effectively enough to position himself for another contract in the offseason.

Cardinals’ Genesis Cabrera, Ricardo Sanchez Test Positive For COVID-19

By | at

July 5: The Cardinals revealed today that minor leaguer Elehuris Montero has also tested positive for the coronavirus. Montero is the team’s third positive test, following Cabrera and Sanchez yesterday. The Cardinals are still awaiting the results of more tests. Montero, 21, was added to St. Louis’s 60-man player pool at the start of the month. One of the most promising prospects in the organization, he would surely benefit from reps in a big-league environment, especially after a disappointing season at Double-A last year.

July 4: Left-handers Genesis Cabrera and Ricardo Sanchez have both tested positive for COVID-19, the Cardinals announced this afternoon.  As detailed by MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters, Cabrera and Sanchez are each currently in quarantine, and both pitchers are asymptomatic.

Cabrera and Sanchez both tested positive during the club’s initial round of intake testing as players arrived in St. Louis for training camp.  They will now remain isolated for a two-week period, and will then have to be symptom-free and deliver negatives on two separate COVID-19 tests before returning to training.

Cabrera was looking to win a job in the Cards’ bullpen in the wake of his 2019 rookie season.  The southpaw’s first taste of the big leagues resulted in a 4.87 ERA, 1.73 K/BB rate, and 8.4 K/9 in 20 1/3 innings, with Cabrera starting his first two games and then working in relief during his 11 other appearances.  Acquired from the Rays in July 2018 as part of the return for Tommy Pham, Cabrera has mostly worked as a starter in the minor leagues, though he has yet to look effective even at the Triple-A level.  Cabrera’s live arm (96.3mph fastball in 2019) could make him a reliever over the long term, and while St. Louis has a number of other starters ahead of him on the depth chart, Cabrera could get the odd spot start or opener assignment depending on how the Cardinals manage their rotation in the short season.

Sanchez just joined the Cards in February after being claimed off waivers from the Mariners.  The 23-year-old has yet to reach Triple-A ball, topping out with a 4.33 ERA over 203 2/3 innings at Double-A (with the Seattle and Atlanta affiliates) in 2018-19.

Royals Notes: Matheny, COVID-19, Kuntz

By | at

With positive coronavirus tests dominating the news from training camps around baseball, Mike Matheny told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan) Saturday that he also contracted COVID-19 “about a month ago.”  The Royals manager said he has recovered fully, though not without first experiencing some symptoms.

“We had a family member test positive, so we knew even before the test because we had exposure, so my wife and I took off and we quarantined just the two of us,” Matheny said.  “And it was just the way they said it might happen, about three days [after exposure], I started feeling it.  But we laid low and quarantined and stayed away from people and it ran its course.  Fortunately I’ve been tested with the right antibody and looking forward now to donating some plasma to help out however we can.”

Owing to the unpredictable nature of the virus, Matheny said his wife Kristin “never had any symptoms and never tested positive,” even though the couple stayed together during the quarantine period.  Now, Matheny is at the Royals’ training camp in preparation (after several months of delay) for his first season as Kansas City’s skipper.

While it’s certainly good news that the Mathenys have a clean bill of health, the specter of COVID-19 continues to linger over every team in the league, the Royals included.  News broke yesterday that Salvador Perez was quarantining after a positive coronavirus test, and the club announced Friday that longtime coach Rusty Kuntz wouldn’t be coaching first base in the coming season.

The 65-year-old Kuntz is at a greater risk for COVID-19 due to his age, and GM Dayton Moore noted the large amount of travel associated with being part of a baseball team also presented an additional danger.  Instead, Kuntz will remain based out of Kansas City, still able to offer coaching and advisory tips to Matheny from the safer distance of a Kauffman Stadium suite.

Damon Hollins will move from his minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator role to take over as first base coach for Kuntz, who returned to the position just this past offseason.  Kuntz previously worked as the Royals’ first base coach from 2008-10 and 2012-17, spending the last two seasons as a special assistant to Moore.

Braves Coach Eric Young Sr. Opts Out Of 2020 Season

By | at

Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr. has decided to step away from his role for the 2020 season, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).  Young is reportedly a higher-risk candidate for COVID-19, though as Burns notes, the team didn’t disclose the specifics of the 53-year-old Young’s health situation.

Young has been Atlanta’s first base coach for the last two seasons, and has six prior years of first base coaching experience with the Diamondbacks and Rockies before joining the Braves organization.  Of course, Young is probably best remembered for his 15-season playing career, which saw him rack up 465 steals (tied for 48th in baseball history) playing with seven different teams from 1992-2006.  Young’s son, Eric Jr., is also a ten-year MLB veteran.

“It was a tough decision for [Young].  He’s a gamer,” Snitker said.  “We’ll miss him dearly because of what he brings inside this clubhouse, the energy.  He’s chosen to opt out, we respect that.  I respect him even more for doing that and (being with) his family.”

DeMarlo Hale will step into Young’s role as the first base and outfielders coach.  Hale joined the Braves as a special assistant and minor league coach last season, and he has a long relationship with GM Alex Anthopoulos from their time together in Toronto (when Hale was the Blue Jays’ bench coach and Anthopoulos was the general manager).  Young will continue to work with the team in a consulting role, with Snitker saying that Young “will be available for the club (virtually).  He’ll be in constant communication with DeMarlo and the outfielders.”

Felix Hernandez Opts Out Of 2020 Season

By | at

Felix Hernandez is the latest player who has opted against participating in the 2020 season, as his agent Wilfredo Polidor tweeted this evening.  The longtime Mariners ace and former AL Cy Young Award winner signed a minor league deal with the Braves in January, and was named on Atlanta’s initial 60-man player pool.

Concerns over the COVID-19 crisis prompted Hernandez’s decision, as has been the common theme among other players (David Price, Ian Desmond, Joe Ross, Tyson Ross, Mike Leake, Ryan Zimmerman, and Welington Castillo) who have also declined to play in the abbreviated 2020 season.  That list will surely grow in the coming days and weeks as more players consider their personal situations and health situations around the United States.

In Hernandez’s case, he will be foregoing what was shaping up as an interesting semi-comeback attempt back in Spring Training.  The right-hander has struggled with both injuries and ineffectiveness over the last three seasons, including a 6.40 ERA over 71 2/3 innings in 2019.  Departing Seattle after 15 years, Hernandez caught on with the Braves and posted a 1.98 ERA over 13 2/3 frames of Spring Training work, creating some excitement that “King Felix” had a bounce-back performance left in the tank.

Hernandez was one of the favorites for the rotation spot left open by Cole Hamels’ injury, though the delayed start to the 2020 season has meant that Hamels will likely be available by the new Opening Day (projected for July 23).  This left only the fifth starter job open, with Kyle Wright and Sean Newcomb in competition with Hernandez.  It’s possible the Braves could join other teams in deploying a six-man rotation or more creative methods like openers or piggybacked starters in order to keep everyone fresh, though they will have one less option on hand with Hernandez now unavailable.

Retirement was rather definitively not on Hernandez’s mind last September, and while sitting out the season doesn’t mean Hernandez is any closer to calling it a career, he’ll face a tougher path in finding another minors deal this coming winter.  Despite his past track record, the righty will be hampered by his lack of recent results, his age (35 next April), and the fact that Hernandez will have gone over 18 months without a big league appearance.  The 2020-21 free agent market is also likely to be the most unusual and competitive in history, as team financial restraints could result in a lot of veterans having to settle for lower-than-expected deals, squeezing the market even further for reclamation projects like Hernandez.  That said, there’s no risk to a team in taking a flier on Hernandez on a minor league contract and seeing what he has next spring.

4 Marlins Players Test Positive For Coronavirus

By | at

Four Marlins players have tested positive for COVID-19, president of baseball operations Michael Hill told reporters (including the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson) today.  The players’ identities aren’t known since they didn’t consent to having their names publicly released, as per league COVID-19 protocols, though all four are members of the Marlins’ 60-man player pool.

Three of the players are already “nearing the end of their quarantine,” Hill said, as the trio tested positive within the last two weeks and prior to their arrival in Miami for the start of the Marlins’ training camp.  The fourth player produced a positive test on Wednesday during the intake screening that all players must pass before taking part in Summer Camp, and that player is now in quarantine himself.  Any positive test requires a mandatory two-week isolation period, and if a player is then symptom-free, he must deliver negative results on two different COVID-19 tests before being allowed back into team activities.

“We’ve very pleased that a majority of our players made it through intake without it, but this is a daily battle, the disease is still out there,” Hill said.  “The pandemic is still out there.  Florida’s recording record highs and daily reports of the virus.  We have to continue to be mindful.  We have to continue to be smart.”

Ryan Braun: “It’s More Likely That I Play” In 2021

By | at

2020 is the final guaranteed year of Ryan Braun’s contract, and the longtime Brewers slugger hinted last January that he could potentially retire at season’s end.  However, in comments today to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters Braun said “I feel like it’s more likely that I play another year than I anticipated a few months back.”

Both the shorter 60-game schedule and the ability to serve as a designated hitter are contributing to Braun’s mindset.  “For me personally, playing a smaller number of games is something that’s beneficial,” Braun said, and “where I’m at in my career, it’s very appealing to me to have the option to DH for a decent percentage of my at-bats.”  Though no decision has been made about whether or not the DH will remain in the National League beyond the 2020 season, it has been widely speculated that MLB could adopt the DH across both leagues in 2021 pending another single-year deal between the owners and players, and then from 2022 and beyond depending on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

A universal DH would obviously be a boon to older players like Braun, who turns 37 in November.  An outfielder for much of his career, Braun has missed his share of time to the injured list due to back and leg injuries, and was originally slated for part-time first base duty (as well as some time in the outfield) for the Brew Crew back when the 2020 season was expected to proceed as scheduled.

Now, Braun projects to get the bulk of Milwaukee’s DH at-bats, which could perhaps lead to a late-career surge.  While Braun’s injuries have somewhat limited his production over the last three seasons, he has still been an above-average bat (111 wRC+, 112 OPS+) over 1380 PA from 2017-19, hitting .270/.331/.488 with 59 home runs.

If Braun does want to play next year, of course, the next hurdle could be in finding a team.  Braun and the Brewers share a $15MM mutual option on his services for 2021 and, like most mutual options, it is a near-certainty to be declined.  While the Brewers wouldn’t want Braun at a $15MM price tag, however, Rosiak notes that the two sides could work out a less expensive one-year contract for Braun to return for his 15th Major League season.  The x-factor is the complete unknown that is the 2020-21 free agent class, as it remains to be seen how teams will operate in the wake of a season that saw such a massive decline in revenues, and whether non-superstar free agents will see a real squeeze on contracts.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top