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Pirates Likely To Exercise 2020 Option On Chris Archer

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington discussed Chris Archer’s future with the team both during his Sunday morning radio show and in conversations with reporters today (including Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and MLB.com’s Adam Berry), and strongly implied that the Bucs were going to pick up their $9MM club option on the righty for the 2020 season.  Though Archer is currently on the IL with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, Huntington said that Archer’s current health status didn’t impact the Pirates’ decision on his option, and spoke as though he expects Archer to be part of Pittsburgh’s rotation mix next season.

“There’s a lot to like with Chris Archer. We want to make sure that we do the right thing by him,” Huntington said.  “We don’t want him to feel like he has to come back out to earn his spot. We see some really positive signs. We recognize the issues and challenges, but we see some really positive signs and expect Chris is going to be a really good major league pitcher again next year.”

Archer has posted subpar numbers since coming to the Bucs at the 2018 trade deadline, posting a 4.92 ERA, 2.78 K/BB rate, 1.7 HR/9, and 10.6 K/9 over 172 innings in the black-and-gold.  It’s a far cry from the controllable, front-of-the-rotation arm the club felt it was getting from the Rays, especially given that the Pirates gave up a collection of young talent that now looks like an absolute steal.  Austin Meadows has developed into a very good everyday player for Tampa, Tyler Glasnow was pitching like an ace before being sidelined with injuries, and even Shane Baz (the somewhat overlooked third member of the prospect package) is rated by MLB.com as the sixth-best prospect in the Rays’ farm system.

In part because letting Archer go for nothing would make this trade seem even more lopsided, there was little question the Pirates would be picking up that $9MM option, regardless of his struggles.  It was Archer’s controllable years that made him such an attractive trade commodity in the first place.  The original six-year, $25.5MM extension Archer signed with Tampa Bay in March 2014 also contained the $9MM option for 2020 (with a $1.75MM buyout) and an $11MM club option for 2021 ($250K buyout).

The Pirates’ rotation will already miss Jameson Taillon next season since Taillon will be recovering from Tommy John surgery, so beyond hoping that at least a couple of their younger arms emerge, Pittsburgh will likely be on the lookout to add at least one more veteran arm to the pitching mix this offseason.  $9MM for one season is a decent price for a league-average starter, so if Archer’s salary isn’t exorbitant if he can pitch to even an adequate level next year.

As to whether Archer will pitch again in 2019, Huntington said the right-hander will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days after receiving a second opinion about his shoulder.  While Archer is out, Dario Agrazal will continue to fill his spot in the rotation, with Huntington noting that the rookie right-hander is one of many young players who have an opportunity to show their wares as the Pirates play out the stretch.  “Dario is going to do everything in his power to earn a rotation spot going forward,” the GM said, adding that he sees Agrazal as a starting pitcher rather than a reliever.

Tigers Sign Matt Wotherspoon To Minors Deal

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The Tigers signed right-hander Matt Wotherspoon to a minor league contract, MLB Daily Dish’s Andersen Pickard tweets.  Wotherspoon will join the roster at Triple-A Toledo.  Detroit originally drafted Wotherspoon as a 20th-round pick back in 2013, though he chose to remain in college for another year, not turning pro until the Yankees took him in the 34th round of the 2014 draft.

The 27-year-old Wotherspoon made his Major League debut earlier this season, tossing 4 2/3 innings over two games with the Orioles without much success, as he posted a 15.43 ERA over his brief taste of the Show.  He was also twice outrighted off Baltimore’s 40-man roster before being released by the O’s last week.  Over 455 1/3 career innings in the farm systems of the Orioles and Yankees, Wotherspoon has a 3.62 ERA, 9.5 K/9, and 2.93 K/BB rate, though he has struggled to 5.54 ERA over 65 frames at Triple-A Norfolk this season.

Didi Gregorius Day-To-Day With Bone Bruise In Right Shoulder

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Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius suffered what the team described as a right shoulder contusion after Gregorius was hit by a Clayton Kershaw pitch during a first-inning plate appearance.  The shortstop was removed from the game in the third inning.  Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that Gregorius is day-to-day with a bone bruise after x-rays were negative.

It isn’t yet known if the problem could require an injured list placement, as some bone bruises have been known to cause lingering discomfort.  The Yankees are all too familiar with injuries both great and small this season, as virtually every player on their roster has spent at least some time on the IL in 2019.  This includes Gregorius himself, as his recovery from a Tommy John surgery last October delayed his season debut until June 7.

Since taking the field, Gregorius has been essentially a league-average player, with a 97 wRC+ from a .263/.293/.479 slash line over 249 plate appearances.  The shortstop has 13 homers and is still showing a lot of the power he displayed over much of his Yankees tenure, though his on-base numbers are a concern and his .296 xwOBA is well below his .322 wOBA (both of which are below the league average).  It isn’t the platform year Gregorius was hoping for as he enters free agency this winter, though assuming this injury doesn’t sideline him, there’s still time for him to recoup some value in September and throughout what could be a lengthy Yankees postseason run.

A’s To Place Stephen Piscotty On Injured List

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The Athletics will place outfielder Stephen Piscotty on the 10-day injured list due to a high ankle sprain, manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle).  Piscotty was seen in the clubhouse prior to Sunday’s game wearing a walking boot on his right foot, MLB.com’s Chris Haft writes.

Piscotty originally suffered the injury back on August 17, after making a slide into second base.  He missed one game but then returned to the lineup, as it seemed like the A’s hoped a light schedule (off-days on both Monday and Friday) this week would help Piscotty heal up without an IL stint.  However, he’ll now head back to the injured list for the second time this season.

The outfielder has hit .252/.312/.416 with 13 home runs over 389 plate appearances this season.  Despite a 41% hard-hit ball rate that ranks as the best of his career, Piscotty hasn’t been able to translate that better contact into more production at the plate, with only a .323 xwOBA (.313 wOBA), 93 wRC+ and 95 OPS+ this season, a marked dropoff from an impressive 124 OPS+/125 wRC+ performance in 2018.

Piscotty also missed all of July recovering from a right knee sprain, which allowed Mark Canha to take the bulk of playing time in Piscotty’s customary right field spot.  Canha has taken that ball and run with it, posting a .275/.390/.546 slash line and 22 homers (including the two dingers he hit today in Oakland’s 5-4 loss to the Giants).

It isn’t known how long Piscotty will be out of action, though the A’s are expecting to get another everyday outfielder back within the week as Ramon Laureano is continuing his recovery from a shin fracture.  Laureano’s return would move Canha from center field to right field until Piscotty is back, with Robbie Grossman and Chad Pinder holding the fort in left field.  Once September 1 hits, of course, the A’s will also have the benefit of some extra depth thanks to the expanded rosters.

Rangers Sign Bayron Lora

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One of the biggest names of the 2019-20 international signing class has officially put pen to paper, as 16-year-old Bayron Lora has signed with the Rangers.  (Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report the news.)  The contract will be finalized when Lora, an outfielder from the Dominican Republic, passes a physical.

This isn’t a new signing, as word broke back on July 2 that Lora agreed to a deal with Texas.  At the time, however, Lora was reportedly going to receive a $4.2MM bonus, and his final number ended up being a bit less, as Lora will now receive $3.9MM.  The Rangers entered the July 2 signing period with a total bonus pool of $5,398,300 to spend, and immediately blew by that number on just three prospects.  Besides Lara, Texas also signed young shortstops Maximo Acosta ($1.6MM) and Zion Banister ($835K) to hefty bonuses.

Some more cash was needed to finalize these signings, which was the inspiration for the Rangers’ acquisition of Nate Jones from the White Sox at the trade deadline.  Texas sent two minor leaguers to Chicago in exchange for Jones, some cash considerations to help address Jones’ contract, and $1MM in international pool money, making it one of the largest trades involving int’l pool funds since the new July 2 rules were established in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Even that extra $1MM didn’t quite cover the initial three outlays, which is likely why Lora’s bonus ended up being $300K less than expected.  The $3.9MM figure is still one of the largest bonuses of this year’s international class, befitting Lora’s prospect status.  Lora was ranked third amongst all July 2 prospects by MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez and fifth by Fangraphs, with both sites touting the youngster’s power potential.  At age 16, Lora is already 6’4″ and over 200 pounds, with what Sanchez described as “excellent bat speed.”

Jon Gray Suffers Season-Ending Foot Fracture

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THURSDAY: Gray will undergo surgery Friday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets.

WEDNESDAY, 1:56PM: Speaking to MLB.com’s Jake Rill and other reporters, Gray said his injury is another stress fracture, similar to his 2017 injury.  Gray indicated that he is considering having surgery to correct the problem, and such a procedure wouldn’t interfere with his readiness for the start of the 2020 season.

12:07PM: Rockies right-hander Jon Gray will miss the rest of the season after suffering a left foot fracture, the team announced.  Gray has been placed on the 60-day injured list.  Colorado purchased the contract of right-hander Tim Melville from Triple-A, and Melville will take Gray’s spot as the starter for today’s game against the Diamondbacks.

The news brings a premature end to what was looking like the best of Gray’s four full MLB seasons, as the 27-year-old had a 3.84 ERA, 2.68 K/BB rate, and an even 9.0 K/9 over 150 innings for the Rox.  It was a nice bounce-back from the 5.12 ERA Gray posted in 172 1/3 frames in 2018, though advanced metrics indicated that he was a little unlucky to post such an inflated ERA, while some of his 2019 ERA indicators (4.06 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, 4.35 SIERA) hint at a bit of good fortune this year.  Statcast also paints rather a dour picture of Gray’s 2019 work, as he is in the bottom 10 percent of all pitchers in hard-hit ball rate and fastball spin rate, not to mention a below-average xwOBA.

On the plus side, Gray posted a career-best 50.4% grounder rate and he is still one of the game’s hardest throwers, with an average fastball velocity of 96.1 mph.  He was also the rare pitcher who actually performed better at Coors Field (3.46 ERA in 75 1/3 IP) than on the road (4.22 ERA in 74 2/3 IP).  With 12.6 fWAR accumulated since the start of the 2016 season, Gray has become a generally reliable, if still a touch inconsistent, rotation stalwart, which is no small feat for a homegrown Rockies pitcher.

While he has been pretty durable over his short career, this is the second time Gray has suffered a major left foot injury, as he spent two and a half months on the injured list in 2017 due to a stress fracture.  Still, Gray and German Marquez project as the top two members of the Rockies rotation going forward to 2020, as Kyle Freeland and Tyler Anderson have been respectively bedeviled by inconsistency and injuries this season.

Today’s outing will see Melville make his first Major League appearance since September 26, 2017.  The 29-year-old tossed 14 2/3 innings for the Reds, Twins, and Padres in 2016-17, and then went onto pitch in the Orioles’ farm system and in independent baseball until inking a minor league contract with the Rockies back in May.  Pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Melville has a 5.42 ERA and 2.2 HR/9 over 96 1/3 innings at Triple-A this season, though with an 8.8 K/9 and 2.35 K/BB rate.

D’Backs Notes: Ray, Lamb, Ahmed

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The latest from Arizona…

  • Robbie Ray threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and is on track to be activated off the injured list when first eligible on Sunday.  (Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was among those to report the news.)  A lower back spasm sent Ray to the IL on August 15, and while the southpaw’s back has been something of a recurring issue lately, Ray feels the 10-day minimum absence was a long enough break to correct the problem.  Ray is scheduled to start the Diamondbacks’ game against the Brewers on Sunday, and he’ll be a welcome addition to an Arizona team that is battling to stay in the wild card race.
  • It has been a trying couple of years for Jake Lamb, who played only 56 games in 2018 due to shoulder surgery, and has been limited to just 50 games this season after a quad strain kept him on the IL for almost the entire first half.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lamb has yet to get into a rhythm, hitting .211/.346/.391 with five homers over 156 PA.  Despite these struggles, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen told the Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (subscription required) that he expects Lamb to get on track, and reacted with surprise when asked if Lamb could potentially be a non-tender candidate.  “Wow, I wouldn’t anticipate that being a consideration for him,” Hazen said.  Lamb is making $4.825MM this season, so a projected raise won’t be too large for Lamb’s final year of arbitration eligibility.  There’s not much financial risk for the D’Backs in retaining Lamb to see if he can regain the form that saw him hit 59 homers in 2016-17, and make the NL’s All-Star roster in 2017.
  • Nick Ahmed is slated to hit free agency after the 2020 season, though Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic suggests that the shortstop is the team’s best extension candidate, and that the D’Backs should look to keep Ahmed in the fold.  Long regarded as one of baseball’s best defenders, Ahmed has taken a significant step forward at the plate this season, hitting .271/.333/.465 with 17 homers over 497 plate appearances.  While this only grades out as roughly league-average production (101 wRC+, 103 OPS+), Ahmed had only a .229/.279/.368 slash line in 1584 PA prior to 2019, with a 67 wRC+ and 69 OPS+.  Given that Ahmed’s offensive numbers are still modest, it could pave the way for an extension at a reasonable price for the team, and Ahmed might prefer some contractual security rather than test the market heading into his age-31 season.  Ahmed is earning $3,662,500 this season and is set for a healthy raise on that figure in his final trip through the arbitration process this offseason.

Ryan Pressly To Undergo Knee Surgery, Miss 4-6 Weeks

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The Astros have placed right-hander Ryan Pressly on the 10-day injured list, amidst a series of roster moves.  (MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to report the news.)  Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other media that Pressly will miss four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.

Infielder Jack Mayfield was optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Joe Biagini was recalled from the minors and third baseman Abraham Toro’s contract has been selected for his Major League debut, as reported earlier today.

This is the second time that Pressly’s right knee has sent him to the IL this season, as he missed about two weeks in late July and early August due to soreness in the joint.  The problem first arose when Pressly was hit in the knee by a ball off the bat of Andrelton Simmons back on July 18, and Luhnow said today that Pressly felt some more soreness after his latest outing.  A previously-undiscovered “small issue” was found after a span of Pressly’s knee, and a surgical procedure seems to have been the decided course of action to fix the problem once and for all.

Luhnow is hopeful that Pressly will be able to return to action before the postseason begins, though the four-to-six timeline will make it a close call if Pressly’s recovery time is anything more than minimal.  It also creates uncertainty as to whether Houston will have arguably its best bullpen arm fully healthy and ready to go come time for the playoffs.

Pressly’s dominant work earned him the first All-Star appearance of his seven-year career, as the righty has a 2.50 ERA, 11.6 K/9, 50.8% grounder rate, and 5.91 K/BB rate over 50 1/3 relief innings this season.  Statcast credits him with the best curveball spin rate of any pitcher in baseball in 2019, and he is also in the 98th percentile of all pitchers in terms of fastball spin.  It’s possible Pressly’s numbers could be even more dominant if it wasn’t for some bad luck with the long ball, as he has a 23.1% home run rate.

Losing Pressly is a big blow to any relief corps, even one as deep and talented as the Astros’ bullpen.  Brad Peacock recently returned from the IL himself to add some extra depth, and Biagini will make a quick return after being optioned to Triple-A just last week.  Aaron Sanchez is currently on the injured list recovering from a pec injury, though once he returns, he is also likely to lineup as a reliever in the postseason since Houston won’t need a fifth starter.

It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Astros scour the waiver wire for any late pickups, or perhaps try to swing a trade with another team for a pitcher on a minor league contract (players on MLB deals can’t be traded after the July 31 deadline, of course).  While Pressly’s loss isn’t likely to cost the Astros the AL West or anything, the team wants to have as many relief options as possible in preparation for what they hope is a long postseason run, especially if there’s any concern as to whether Pressly will make it back in time.

White Sox Activate Yoan Moncada

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The White Sox have activated Yoan Moncada from the 10-day injured list, as per a team announcement.  Outfielder Ryan Cordell was optioned to Triple-A yesterday to open up a spot for Moncada on the 25-man roster.

Moncada was in the midst of a breakout season when he was sidelined with a Grade 1 hamstring strain back on August 1.  The infielder has hit .301/.358/.535 with 20 homers over 409 plate appearances, with some outstanding hard-contact metrics (via Statcast).  Moncada ranks in the 98th percentile in exit velocity, and in the 93rd percentile in hard-hit percentage.  While the Sox are long out of any postseason contention, Moncada will get five more weeks to add to what has already been an excellent season.

After posting average numbers in his first two Major League campaigns, Moncada’s emergence in 2019 has shown why he was regarded as one of the sport’s best prospects.  The White Sox acquired Moncada and three other noteworthy prospects from the Red Sox in the Chris Sale trade back in December 2016, and Moncada now stands as one of the major faces of Chicago’s rebuilding project.

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