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Pirates To Promote Roansy Contreras

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The Pirates will call up right-handed pitching prospect Roansy Contreras tomorrow, Z101 Digital’s Hector Gomez reports (via Twitter).  The 21-year-old Contreras will make his big league debut in a start against the Cubs.

Acquired from the Yankees as part of the Jameson Taillon trade package last winter, Contreras has pitched only 58 innings in his first season in the Pirates organization due to a forearm strain.  He missed all of July and August recuperating, and has since pitched in four games.  Just one of those games was at the Triple-A level, so Contreras is heading to the majors with only 3 2/3 innings under his belt at the highest rung of the minor league ladder.

That said, Baseball America’s Mark Chiarelli writes that “Contreras arguably raised his stock as much as any pitcher through the first half of the minor league season.”  The right-hander had a 2.64 ERA and a big 35% strikeout rate over 58 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A, and added some very solid control with a 5.55% walk rate.  The big spike in strikeout rate over Contreras’ three previous minor league years with the Yankees was due to increased fastball velocity (up to 95-97mph), plus a slider that serves as a fourth pitch behind an already-intriguing changeup and curveball.

This breakthrough year has increased the optimism that Contreras can remain as a starter at the Major League level. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline rank Contreras as the sixth-best prospect in a strong Pittsburgh’s farm system, which speaks to Contreras’ development.  The rebuilding Bucs don’t have much to lose in taking a look at Contreras in late September, as the youngster could now be on the radar to join the rotation by early 2022.

Blue Jays Reinstate Cavan Biggio From 10-Day Injured List

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The Blue Jays announced that Cavan Biggio has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.  Left-hander Ryan Borucki has been optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Biggio’s 2021 struggles will be quickly forgotten if he can contribute to Toronto’s playoff push, though it has thus far been a season to forget for the 26-year-old.  Biggio was a very solid contributor in his first two big league seasons, but he has hit only .215/.316/.350 in 290 plate appearances while battling multiple injuries.  He first missed three weeks due to a cervical spine ligament sprain, and hasn’t played since August 2 after returning to the IL for a back strain.  That IL stint was elongated by an elbow injury Biggio suffered while playing in a minor league rehab game, setting back his progress once again.

Biggio has already played multiple positions during his young career, but the Jays had him penciled in as their regular third baseman heading into the season.  That still seems like Biggio’s likeliest role upon his return, as the hot corner has been a bit of a revolving door when Biggio has been out of action.  Santiago Espinal and Breyvic Valera have played respectably well at the position, and the recently-designated Jake Lamb was also briefly brought in while Espinal was also recovering from an injury.  With Lourdes Gurriel Jr. still day-to-day and George Springer only just returned to center field duty, Biggio might also get some time in the Blue Jays’ outfield picture.

Mets Reinstate Noah Syndergaard From 60-Day Injured List

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Noah Syndergaard is finally back in the majors, as the Mets have reinstated the right-hander from the 60-day injured list.  Syndergaard will start the second game of New York’s doubleheader with the Marlins today, and officially act as the 29th man for the twin bill.  Catcher Chance Sisco was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

It was almost exactly two years ago that Syndergaard last pitched in a big league game, tossing seven innings in a 7-6 Mets win over the Braves on September 29, 2019.  The former All-Star then underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and was initially projected to return around midseason, but a bout of elbow inflammation delayed Syndergaard’s return even further.

Now, the man they call “Thor” will only make a cameo appearance or two in the Mets’ final few games, though Syndergaard will surely feel comforted by getting some proper game action under his belt before another long offseason.  Syndergaard isn’t expected to work as a true starting pitcher, as he will serve as an opener today and could see work out of the bullpen for any other appearances.

Syndergaard’s extended absence was far from the only thing that went wrong for the 2021 Mets, and given how some pitchers don’t look quite themselves in their first outings back from TJ surgery, it isn’t any guarantee that a healthy Syndergaard would’ve provided a midseason boost even if he had met his projected recovery time.

Between a 2017 season that was limited to 30 1/3 innings due to injuries, and now the 2020-21 campaigns, Syndergaard has already endured three lost seasons in his brief MLB career.  When he has been able to pitch, Syndergaard has looked like a top-of-the-rotation arm, posting a 3.31 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate, and 20.7 K-BB% over 716 innings from 2015-19.

It makes for one of the winter’s more intriguing free agent cases, as Syndergaard will hit the open market at the end of the year.  An argument can certainly be made that the Mets should issue a qualifying offer to Syndergaard, as a one-year contract in the $20MM range is a worthy investment for a frontline pitcher and Thor might be apt to take such a deal as a pillow contract to set himself up for a longer-term deal in the 2022-23 offseason.  Retaining Syndergaard would also provide some rotation depth in the event that Marcus Stroman leaves in free agency.

On the other hand, the Mets might have some natural reservation about committing $20MM to a pitcher who has missed essentially two full years.  With Robinson Cano’s contract returning to the books, the Mets will have less payroll space to either re-sign such noteworthy free agents as Stroman, Syndergaard, Javier Baez or Michael Conforto, or to acquire suitable replacements for the roster.  Then again, owner Steve Cohen might not consider the luxury tax threshold to be an impediment for the Mets’ to-be-determined next president of baseball operations, and Cohen might be more motivated to spend big after his club’s disappointing season.

From Syndergaard’s perspective, he’ll at least get a bit of a showcase to prove that he is healthy, even if a handful of innings won’t necessarily assuage the concerns of any interested teams looking to sign him this winter.  His free agent market could be hampered by the specter of draft pick compensation if he did reject the QO, but Syndergaard’s ceiling is high enough that an enterprising team could still be willing to take the plunge on more than one guaranteed year.

New York claimed Sisco off waivers from the Orioles in June, and the catcher appeared in only five games with the Mets at the big league level.  Sisco had some respectable numbers in part-time duty with the O’s over the last two seasons, but his defensive struggles and a big lack of production at the start of 2021 led the Orioles to part ways with the former top prospect.  For the season as a whole, Sisco is hitting only .149/.241/.189 over 83 combined plate appearances with New York and Baltimore.

Braves, Brewers Made Pirates “Big-Time Offers” For Bryan Reynolds

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You can add the Braves and Brewers to the list of teams who asked the Pirates about Bryan Reynolds prior to the trade deadline, as The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel hears from a source that Pittsburgh received “big-time offers” from the two clubs.  Atlanta and Milwaukee join the Marlins, Indians, and Astros as teams known to have at least checked in on Reynolds’ availability, though it sounds as if the Braves and Brewers went a step further with their overtures.

Of course, Reynolds wasn’t dealt anywhere, as the Pirates value the outfielder as a cornerstone of their future plans.  Biertempfel’s report comes within the context of a larger piece about which current Pittsburgh players are most likely to be on the roster come Opening Day, and Reynolds is seen as someone who is “not going anywhere.”  Reynolds’ price tag will start rising this offseason in his first of four (as a Super Two player) arbitration-eligible years, the Bucs have him controlled through the 2025 season, and the team is surely hoping to be back in contention while Reynolds is still producing at a high level.

After a big 2019 rookie season and a sophomore slump in 2020, Reynolds has enjoyed a strong season as the Pirates’ everyday center fielder.  The 26-year-old has hit .293/.382/.505 with 24 home runs over 628 plate appearances, resulting in a 136 wRC+ and 139 OPS+.  While Reynolds’ hard-hit numbers are nothing special, his speed has allowed him to turn even moderate contact into base hits.  As a center fielder, Reynolds’ glovework is either elite (+10 Outs Above Average, one of the higher totals of any player at any position) or slightly below average (-3.2 UZR/150, -2 Defensive Runs Saved) depending on your metric of choice, though the eye test would certainly seem to lean closer to OAA’s analysis.

There’s plenty to like about Reynolds as a contributor both now and in future seasons, which is why it was no surprise that so many teams were inquiring about trades.  The Braves and Brewers stand out as particularly intriguing, considering that Milwaukee has already won the NL Central and Atlanta has a 2.5-game lead in the NL East with six games remaining, so the specter of a Reynolds trade will loom as an interesting “what-if” should either team fall short in October.

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is no stranger to big deadline moves, and while a Reynolds trade would’ve counted as a blockbuster, Atlanta was hardly lacking in activity.  With Ronald Acuna Jr. gone for the season, Anthopoulos reinvented his outfield by adding Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, and Adam Duvall.  That quartet has all hit well, helping carry the Braves from a 52-55 mark on August 1 to the brink of a division title.  It is worth wondering if Atlanta’s inquiries about Reynolds led to the notable trade that the Braves did make with the Pirates, landing Richard Rodriguez for Bryse Wilson and Ricky DeVito.

The Brewers had a relatively quieter July than the Braves in terms of sheer volume of moves, though the Brew Crew had the benefit of a much wider division lead, and the team certainly picked up some solid offensive contributors in Eduardo Escobar and Rowdy Tellez.  Installing Reynolds in center field ahead of the Lorenzo Cain/Jackie Bradley Jr./Tyrone Taylor combination would’ve certainly been a huge upgrade for Milwaukee’s lineup, and perhaps solidified the Brewers as World Series favorites.

If the Pirates had been moved to deal Reynolds, it would’ve surely taken an enormous trade package from any team, and it is quite possible Pittsburgh might’ve demanded a premium to send Reynolds within the NL Central.  While the Pirates and Brewers combined on a pair of minor trades earlier this season, swapping minor league depth pieces is a far different matter than sending a star player to a division rival.

J.D. Martinez “Right In The Middle” About Opt-Out Decision

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J.D. Martinez’s top priority is on getting the Red Sox into the playoffs, though once this season’s business is complete, Martinez will have to decide whether or not to return to the Sox for 2022.  The slugger tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he is “right in the middle” about whether he will opt out of the final season (and $19.375MM) on his contract, or if he’ll come back for a fifth year in Boston.

Martinez’s original five-year/$110MM pact from the 2017-18 offseason was somewhat unusually structured, giving both Martinez and the team multiple opportunities to opt out of the deal, with Boston’s concern being Martinez’s history of foot injuries.  As it turned out, Martinez stayed relatively healthy, and delivered huge numbers in 2018-19 before tailing off badly in 2020.  However, Martinez spoke at length about how the COVID-altered circumstances of the 2020 season impacted his ability to prepare and adjust for games, and his bat has largely bounced back in the somewhat more normalized environment of the 2021 campaign.

It’s a sign of how well Martinez has performed during his career that his .285/.349/.516 slash line and 29 homers over 612 plate appearances this season actually represents a step down from his 2014-19 prime, though Martinez is certainly still a dangerous bat.  A below-average walk rate is the only real sign of decline for the 34-year-old, who is still making plenty of hard contact and hitting for plenty of power.

Martinez has already passed on opting out of his contract following each of the last two seasons.  While last year’s decision was hardly a surprise given his subpar numbers, Martinez also expressed concern over how the free agent market would look for himself and for players as a whole in the wake of the pandemic season.  Given how vocal Martinez was about his displeasure with his own past free agent experience, he might be more inclined to take the security of his 2022 salary and avoid the possibility of another unusual offseason, considering the rumblings of labor struggles between owners and players.

That said, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could also represent an argument for Martinez to opt out.  It has been widely assumed that the next CBA will extend the designated hitter to the National League, thus opening Martinez’s market up to 15 other teams.  While Martinez isn’t a DH-only player, an NL team would surely prefer to have the DH available if signing Martinez to a multi-year contract.  Of course, Martinez will have to make his opt-out call within five days of the end of the World Series — well before we’ll know if the universal DH will be a reality.

Looking at just the American League, teams like the Mariners, Tigers (Martinez’s former team), Indians, and perhaps even the White Sox, Blue Jays, or Royals could all make room for the veteran slugger in their 2022 lineups.  A return to Boston also couldn’t be ruled out beyond just declining the opt-out clause, as Martinez and the Red Sox could potentially work out an extension or another year or two to keep Martinez from opting out.

Brandon Belt To Undergo Additional Tests On Thumb Injury

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Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was hit on the left thumb by a Lucas Gilbreath pitch during the seventh inning of San Francisco’s 6-2 win over the Rockies today.  Belt took his base, but was replaced at first base for the bottom half of the inning.

Manager Gabe Kapler told The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser and other reporters that Belt will be examined tomorrow when the Giants return home, as an initial round of x-rays were inconclusive.  Belt didn’t speak to the media himself following the game, but teammate Brandon Crawford noted that “talking to him, he seems like he should be all right and hopefully not miss too much time.”

The Giants have already clinched at least a wild card berth, and they hold a two-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West with six games remaining in the regular season.  Since San Francisco doesn’t play on Monday, Belt will get an extra day to recuperate, though even if he has escaped the worst and his thumb is only sore or bruised, it seems like Belt might be a limited factor at best in this critical final week.

Belt’s revival at the plate began in 2020, and he carried that big performance in the shortened season through to 2021. With two more hits in today’s win over Colorado, Belt is now hitting .274/.378/.597 with 29 home runs over 381 plate appearances.  This is despite missing close to eight weeks on the injured list due to an oblique strain and then a knee injury — much of Belt’s best work has come since returning from that second IL trip, as he has a whopping 1.071 OPS over 176 PA from August 5 to September 25.

Depth has been a key part of the Giants’ success this year, and since Belt has missed so much time, such players as LaMonte Wade Jr., Wilmer Flores, and Darin Ruf have all gotten considerable action at first base.  Wade and Flores figure to work a first base platoon until Belt is healthy, and Ruf figures to join the mix when he returns from the IL.  Ruf told Slusser that he expects to be ready to be activated on Thursday, which represents the minimum 10 days after he was sidelined due to an oblique strain.

No Extension Talks Ongoing Between Angels, Shohei Ohtani

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Shohei Ohtani played his final home game of the 2021 season today, limiting the Mariners to five hits and one run over seven innings, while striking out 10 Seattle batters.  Ohtani also added a single as part of a 1-for-3 day, underlining another outstanding two-way performance for the AL MVP favorite.

However, Ohtani’s single was one of only three hits for the Angels, and Ohtani ended up with a no-decision as Los Angeles dropped a 5-1 result to the M’s.  Following the game, Ohtani told reporters (including Bill Shakin of The Los Angeles Times) that it had been a “very frustrating, very disappointing” season for the 74-82 Angels, and hinted that he is losing patience with Anaheim’s lack of success.

“I really like the team.  I love the fans.  I love the atmosphere of the team,” Ohtani said.  “But, more than that, I want to win.  That’s the biggest thing for me.  I’ll leave it at that.”

Such Angels stalwarts as Mike Trout and Joe Maddon have made similar statements in recent days, which isn’t surprising considering that the Halos haven’t had a winning season since 2015.  Trout and Maddon each indicated that upgrades need to be made to the L.A. roster, and Ohtani echoed those sentiments, saying “if nothing changes on the team, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to be in playoff contention.”

Ohtani also noted the interesting detail that he and his representatives have yet to begin talks with the Angels about a contract extension.  Ohtani is under team control through the 2023 season, so there isn’t yet any immediate rush for the Halos to pursue a new deal, nor is unusual that a team wouldn’t want to open negotiations during a season (especially given all the extra preparations already on Ohtani’s plate).  That said, figuring out Ohtani’s future would seem like a top priority for the Angels.

Ohtani is scheduled to hit the open market at age 29, so Anaheim will have to figure out how much they are willing to pay such a unique talent into his 30’s.  The other factor could be that the Angels themselves aren’t yet sure about how Ohtani will continue to perform as both a pitcher and a hitter, so they could conceivably hold off on extension talks until perhaps after the 2022 campaign to gather more information on how Ohtani has (or hasn’t) held up after another year of two-way action.  Plus, if the Angels do spend big to acquire more talent this winter, that creates another major long-term salary on a payroll that already ha Trout and Rendon locked up on huge contracts for the better part of the decade.

The Angels have already reached one low-level contract extension with Ohtani; a two-year/$8.5MM pact that covered his first two years of arbitration eligibility.  That does set up a very intriguing arbitration case for the 2022-23 offseason heading into Ohtani’s final arb year, as his contributions as both a star batter and a star pitcher could certainly make the argument for a precedent-setting arbitration payday.  Of course, an extension to avoid arbitration would make the whole situation moot.

Reds To Promote Reiver Sanmartin For Monday Start

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The Reds announced that left-handed pitching prospect Reiver Sanmartin’s contract will be selected tomorrow, so the 25-year-old can start Cincinnati’s game against the Pirates.  A corresponding move is forthcoming to open a 40-man roster spot.

Sanmartin will make his MLB debut following a minor league season that saw the lefty post a 3.32 ERA over 100 1/3 combined innings for the Reds’ top two farm affiliates (18 IP at Double-A, 82 1/3 IP at Triple-A).  Starting 17 of 25 appearances, Sanmartin had a strong 27.4% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate.

Sanmartin has consistently done a good job of limiting walks over his pro career, though his strikeouts have been on the rise over his two seasons in the Reds’ farm system (sandwiched around the lost 2020 minor league season).  The increase in missed bats hasn’t come at the expense of Sanmartin’s quality groundball rates, as he has continued to generate grounders well over half the time.

For all of the positives of Sanmartin’s 2021 season, he also had a rather ignominious distinction as the first player in either the minor or major leagues to be suspended for use of an illegal substance after MLB’s “sticky stuff” crackdown in June.  Sanmartin was suspended for 10 games after umpires found a foreign substance under the brim of his cap while conducting a post-inning check.

Neither MLB Pipeline or Baseball America rank Sanmartin among the Reds’ top 30 prospects, but he will nonetheless get his first taste of The Show as the replacement for the injured Wade Miley, who was originally slated to start Monday.  Sanmartin was originally signed by the Rangers as an international free agent in 2015, and he and Sonny Gray came to the Reds from the Yankees as part of a notable three-team swap (also involving the Mariners) in January 2019.

Mets Place J.D. Davis On 10-Day IL, Designate Albert Almora

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The Mets announced a trio of roster moves prior to today’s game, including the placement of third baseman J.D. Davis on the 10-day injured list due to a left hand sprain.  The placement is retroactive to September 23, but Davis’ 2021 season seems in all likelihood to be over.  In corresponding roster moves, New York activated righty Sean Reid-Foley from the 60-day injured list, and designated outfielder Albert Almora for assignment.

This marks the fourth time this season that Davis has had to spend time on the IL due to his bothersome left hand, and as a result, Davis made only 211 plate appearances over 73 games.  Davis has also been in a rough slump for over a month, which further reduced his playing time since Jonathan Villar (who ended up getting the bulk of third base playing time during Davis’ IL stints) became the top choice at the hot corner.

Despite his late slump, Davis will still finish with very strong numbers during his abbreviated season.  The 28-year-old has hit .285/.384/.436 with five homers over 211 PA, good for a 126 OPS+ and 130 wRC+.  This essentially matches Davis’ overall slash line in a Mets uniform, since he has done nothing but hit since being acquired from the Astros prior to the 2019 season.

While hitting production hasn’t been an issue, Davis’ glovework as a third baseman and left fielder has been subpar, at times making him something of an odd man out as New York has tried to figure out to best deploy its roster.  The Mets will face plenty of question marks in their infield this winter, and since they have already dangled Davis in trade talks, the club might be ready to move on.  With three years of arbitration control remaining and those strong numbers at the plate, Davis would certainly draw some attention as a very interesting trade chip as the Mets look to upgrade the roster.

Known as a defensive specialist during his time with the Cubs, Almora was signed to a one-year, $1.25MM deal to provide some depth for the Mets outfield.  As it turned out, Almora was pretty average with the glovework, he spent over five weeks on the injured list with shoulder problems, and his .321 OPS over 54 PA resulted in a minus-9 wRC+ and minus-11 OPS+.  Since the start of the 2019 season, Almora has hit only .216/.256/.342 in 451 plate appearances, and he’ll surely have to settle for a minor league deal if he catches on with another club in the offseason.

Reid-Foley hasn’t pitched since June 30 due to right elbow inflammation.  Between this long injury absence and several shuttles back and forth from Triple-A earlier in the season, Reid-Foley has tossed 20 2/3 innings (with a 5.23 ERA) in his first season with the Mets.

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