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NL Central Notes: Moustakas, Pirates, Senzel, Reds

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Brewers infielder Mike Moustakas will try to play through a fracture in the tip of his right ring finger, and is hopeful of avoiding an injured list stint.  (Todd Rosiak of Milwaukee Journal Sentinal was among those to report the news.)  Moustakas suffered the injury yesterday while fielding a ground ball and left the game after the sixth inning.  X-rays were negative, though Moustakas isn’t in the Brewers’ lineup today.  The third baseman-turned-second baseman has received mixed reviews at his new position depending on which defensive metric you prefer — the Moose has a +3.9 UZR/150 but minus-2 Defensive Runs Saved over 137 1/3 innings as a second baseman this season.  No matter the position, Moustakas has continued to hit, with six homers and a .239/.349/.549 slash line through 83 plate appearances.

Some more from around the NL Central…

  • Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and GM Neal Huntington updated the media (including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) on the status of several injured Bucs players.  A collision between Starling Marte and Erik Gonzalez during Friday’s sent both men to the injured list, with Gonzalez on the 60-day IL with a broken collarbone and Marte to the 10-day IL with abdominal wall and quadriceps bruises.  While Marte has the shorter timeline on paper, Huntington wasn’t certain when Marte could be back in action.  Corey Dickerson isn’t yet ready for a minor league rehab assignment as he recovers from a shoulder strain, while Gregory Polanco (labrum surgery) could potentially make his season debut sometime this week.
  • In other Pirates injury news, the team placed catcher Jacob Stallings on the 10-day IL with a cervical neck strain.  Stallings’ roster spot will be filled by Einar Diaz, who was activated off the IL after recovering from a virus that sidelined him for two weeks’ worth of Spring Training action.
  • Top Reds prospect Nick Senzel is scheduled to play in his first Triple-A game of the season on Tuesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes.  Senzel was sidelined late in Spring Training with an ankle injury, so it will end up being roughly a month-long absence for the infielder-turned-center fielder.  Senzel has already been playing some extended Spring Training games, and will now return to Triple-A Louisville after posting an .887 OPS in 193 PA at the top minor league level in 2018.  The Reds are expected to promote Senzel at some point this season, though they’ll first want to see the 23-year-old get an extended stretch of good health, as Senzel has been plagued by a variety of injuries over the last year.
  • The Reds’ starting pitching has looked much better this season than in the last several years, and catcher Tucker Barnhart feels part of the reason for the improvement is an increased focus on analytics.  Under new manager David Bell and new pitching coach Derek Johnson, discussions with Reds coaches are “more numbers-driven now,” Barnhart tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila.  “They’re more percentage-driven, and more based on exit velocities and probable outcomes. Things like that. I still trust my eyes, but in the back of my mind there are always the percentages of what’s supposed to work. You’d be naive not to fall back on that, especially if you’re stuck calling a pitch.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/21/19

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The latest minor moves from around baseball….

  • The Red Sox have outrighted Erasmo Ramirez to Triple-A, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link).  Ramirez was designated for assignment on Friday and had the option of rejecting an outright assignment to become a free agent, so it appears as though the right-hander has decided to remain in the Sox organization after clearing waivers.  The 28-year-old signed a minors contract with Boston in the offseason and appeared in one Major League game, though that lone appearance was enough to guarantee Ramirez’s big league salary.  As Masslive.com’s Christopher Smith notes, Ramirez’s salary will still count against Boston’s luxury tax calculations for the season.  Terms of Ramirez’s guarantee aren’t known, and while it surely isn’t an exorbitant amount, every dollar counts for a Red Sox team that is trying to stay under the $246MM maximum tax penalty threshold.

Blue Jays Place Matt Shoemaker On 10-Day IL

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The Blue Jays have placed righty Matt Shoemaker on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee sprain, as per a club announcement (via Twitter).  Infielder Richard Urena has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Shoemaker suffered the injury on Saturday, while participating in a rundown to record the last out of the third inning of Toronto’s 10-1 win over the A’s.  The right-hander was replaced by Sam Gaviglio to begin the next inning.  Shoemaker is scheduled to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his injury, and the potential timeframe for his return.  A lengthy IL stint could scuttle Shoemaker’s value as a potential deadline trade chip for the rebuilding Blue Jays, given his strong early-season results.

After tossing only 108 2/3 total innings in 2017-18 for the Angels due to multiple forearm problems, Shoemaker had a 1.57 ERA, 7.53 K/9, 51.4% grounder rate, and 2.67 K/BB rate over his first 28 2/3 innings in a Blue Jays uniform.  There is certainly some good fortune baked into those results, as Shoemaker’s .335 xwOBA far outweighs his .243 wOBA and he has also received some good batted-ball (.183 BABIP) and strand rate (87.2%) luck.  That said, Shoemaker also has a career-best 13.4% swinging strike rate.

Padres Option Luis Urias To Triple-A

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The Padres have sent second baseman Luis Urias to Triple-A, as per a team announcement.  Manuel Margot will return from the paternity list to take Urias’ spot on San Diego’s 25-man roster.

One of many highly-touted youngsters in the Padres’ organization, Urias was a consensus top-30 prospect in baseball when he made his big league debut last August.  He appeared in just 12 games before a hamstring injury shut him down in September, however, and Urias hit another setback in his Major League career with an extremely slow start at the plate this season.  Urias has just two hits in 24 at-bats this season, and has slashed only .083/.241/.125 through 29 plate appearances.

It isn’t a big sample size, to be fair, and that lack of playing time is likely a factor in Urias being optioned to Triple-A.  Ian Kinsler has seen the bulk of action at second base this season, leaving Urias as something of a glorified utility infielder, backing up Kinsler, Manny Machado at third base, and Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop.  Though Kinsler has also struggled in the early going, his track record gives him a leg up on the inexperienced Urias, who can now get some more minor league seasoning.  Urias has already proven his worth against minor league pitching (.300/.405/.457 in 568 PA at Triple-A), so this demotion could be a temporary one, if Urias quickly gets his groove back at the plate.

Mets “Keeping A Close Eye On” Gio Gonzalez

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The Mets again appear to have interest in left-hander Gio Gonzalez, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post writes.  The Mets are “keeping a close eye on” Gonzalez’s situation, as the southpaw opted out of his minor league contract with the Yankees yesterday, creating a 48-hour window for the Yankees to either add Gonzalez to their 25-man roster or release him.

This isn’t the first time that Gonzalez has been on the Mets’ radar screen, as the Amazins considered signing the veteran hurler in the offseason.  Though the Mets and a few other teams were linked to Gonzalez in rumors, the Yankees were “pretty much” the only team to come through with an actual offer, as Gonzalez said last month.  That offer was a non-guaranteed deal that would have paid the left-hander $3MM if he had reached the Yankees’ 25-man roster.  Despite Luis Severino’s injury, the Yankees seemingly haven’t seen the need to utilize Gonzalez in their pitching staff, and thus it seems as though Gonzalez will hit the open market once more.

As much as the free agent market has been increasingly hostile to veteran players, it was still surprising that Gonzalez wasn’t able to land a Major League contract over the winter.  While his peripheral numbers indicated some decline in 2018, the 33-year-old has still been a durable and effective mid-rotation starter for the last nine seasons.  Since the start of the 2010 campaign, Gonzalez has posted a 3.49 ERA, 2.37 K/BB rate, and 8.6 K/9 over 1681 1/3 innings for the A’s, Nationals, and Brewers.

Now that the season has begun, however, Gonzalez may have a better shot at a guaranteed deal since teams suffering from early-season pitching woes may be more amenable to such a contract.  In the Mets’ case, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday (Twitter link) that New York is more likely to sign Gonzalez than either Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimbrel because Gonzalez’s price tag would still be considerably lower than those other two available hurlers.  Plus, signing Gonzalez wouldn’t cost the Mets a draft pick, unlike the qualifying offer-rejecting Keuchel and Kimbrel.

Mets starting pitchers have combined for a 5.56 ERA this season, sixth-highest of any team in baseball.  Jason Vargas and his 9.58 ERA is the most glaring weak link, though Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard have also struggled, and Steven Matz’s promising early results were stained by a nightmarish outing on Tuesday (six earned runs without a batter retired).

AL East Notes: Snell, Pedroia, Jays, Vlad Jr.

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The latest from around the AL East…

  • Blake Snell continues to be on pace for a quick return from the 10-day IL, as the Cy Young Award winner told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that he felt good following a bullpen session on Saturday.  A fractured toe sent Snell to the injured list last week, though the southpaw could potentially be pitch on Wednesday, his first eligible day to be activated.  Since the Rays have an off-day on Thursday, however, the team could also wait until Friday to activate Snell, just to make sure the ace is entirely recovered and ready to go.  More details could be known on Monday, as manager Kevin Cash said Snell could throw another bullpen that day.
  • Dustin Pedroia is also hopeful of a minimum IL stint as he recovers from his latest knee problem, telling media (including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald) that his injury was “just a weird freak thing” rather than a more serious setback.  The Red Sox second baseman explained that his cleat caught in the dirt while he was swinging during Wednesday’s game, leading to an ominous-sounding popping feeling in his knee when it failed to turn along with the rest of his body.  Given that knee injuries have limited to Pedroia to just nine games since the start of the 2018 season, he admitted that the pop “more kind of scared me than anything….We’re going to let it calm down for a few days and it should be all right. It just twisted the wrong way.”  Given Pedroia’s recent injury history, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Sox wait beyond the 10-day minimum to activate him from the IL.  In the opinion of Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, the team should give Pedroia more minor league rehab time before his return, as Pedroia had only a four-day stay in the minors during his first rehab stint this season and looked shaky at the plate once he reached Boston’s MLB roster.
  • Speculation continues to swirl over when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be promoted to the Blue Jays’ roster, now that more than enough days have elapsed on the service-time calendar for the Jays to gain an extra year of control over the star prospect.  Guerrero was slowed by an oblique injury suffered during Spring Training, though he hasn’t looked any worse for wear in his return to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, posting a whopping 1.324 OPS over his first 20 plate appearances.  The Jays would like to see Guerrero play in three consecutive games as part of his recovery process, though as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm notes, this has yet to happen due to multiple rainouts on Buffalo’s schedule.  Assuming the Bisons get some good weather on their four-game series in Syracuse this week, Chisholm speculates that April 26 would seem to be the earliest potential date for Guerrero’s Toronto debut, when the Blue Jays begin a series against the Athletics at Rogers Centre.

Orioles Select Gabriel Ynoa’s Contract, Designate Mike Wright

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The Orioles have selected the contract of right-hander Gabriel Ynoa from Triple-A, as per a team announcement.  Right-hander Mike Wright has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Ynoa tossed 53 innings for the Mets and Orioles in 2016-17 before being limited to just seven Double-A innings in 2018 due to both rotator cuff inflammation and shin splits.  Ynoa has a 3.60 ERA, 3.59 K/BB rate, and 5.7 K/9 rate over 926 career minor league innings, relying on strong control and grounder rates rather than a lot of missed bats.  The 25-year-old could simply replace Wright in the bullpen, though Ynoa has started all three of his Triple-A appearances this season and could potentially step into Baltimore’s rotation on at least a temporary basis.  The Orioles don’t have a scheduled starter for their game against the White Sox on Wednesday.

A third-round pick for the Orioles in the 2011 draft, Wright was seen for years as a future rotation piece for the O’s, but he has simply not been able to get on track at the Major League level, either as a starter or as a reliever.  The right-hander has a 5.95 ERA, 2.04 K/BB rate, and 7.1 K/9 over 242 Major League innings, and has long had issues (career 1.6 HR/9) keeping the ball in the park.  At age 29, it remains to be seen if Wright has a post-hype breakout in him, though such an opportunity could come with another organization since he is out of options.

Indians Select Carlos Gonzalez’s Contract

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SUNDAY: The Indians have selected Gonzalez’s contract, per a team announcement. In corresponding moves, they optioned right-hander Jefry Rodriguez to the minors and transferred righty Mike Clevinger to the 60-day injured list.

SATURDAY, 11:37AM: Gonzalez is expected to join the roster before the Indians’ Sunday afternoon game against the Royals, as per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

9:29AM: The Indians will select the contract of outfielder Carlos Gonzalez from Triple-A, according to reporter Jorge Urribarri (Twitter link).  As per the terms of Gonzalez’s minor league deal, he’ll now earn a guaranteed $2MM for making the Major League roster, plus another $1MM is available in incentive bonuses.  Cleveland’s 40-man roster is full, so at least one more move will need to be made to accommodate Gonzalez on the MLB roster.

With the promotion, Gonzalez won’t have to face a decision about an April 20 opt-out date in his minors contract, though it seemed pretty likely that he would be back in the big leagues relatively soon given the unsettled state of the Tribe’s outfield.  The man they call “CarGo” also did his best to force the issue by posting a 1.004 OPS over 29 Triple-A plate appearances.

Gonzalez signed with Cleveland in mid-March, ending what had been a pretty quiet trip through free agency for the 33-year-old, as least in terms of known rumors.  The veteran was forced to settle for a non-guaranteed pact in the wake of a season that saw him hit .276/.329/.467 with 16 homers in 504 plate appearances for the Rockies — respectable numbers on paper, if still below-average offensive production (96 wRC+, 98 OPS+) considering the Coors Field factor.

On a more positive note, Gonzalez was worth 1.7 fWAR after a sub replacement-level (-0.1 fWAR) season in 2017, and he also had his best year on the basepaths in years, as per a +3.6 grade in Fangraphs’ Base Running metric.  Gonzalez also had something of a rebound defensively, with a +6.9 UZR/150 over 1004 1/3 innings as a right fielder in 2018 and a +2 Outs Above Average rating via StatCast, though the Defensive Runs Saved (-8) metric was much more negative about his glovework.

Cleveland entered the season with one of the shakier outfield situations in baseball, especially among contending teams.  While Leonys Martin has been a bright spot in center field and Tyler Naquin has performed well as the regular right fielder, Jake Bauers, Jordan Luplow, and Greg Allen are all off to dreadful starts.  Gonzalez figures to take the bulk of right field time from Naquin, though it leaves something of an imperfect fit since Gonzalez, Naquin, and Bauers (the top corner outfield options) are all left-handed hitters.  This situation figures to lead to fewer at-bats for Hanley Ramirez in the DH role, as Ramirez may only see action whenever the Tribe faces left-handed pitching.

Injury Notes: Miller, LeBlanc, Borucki, Blue Jays

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The Nationals have placed right-hander Justin Miller on the 10-day IL due to a lower back strain.  Righty Austen Williams has been called up to take Miller’s spot on the 25-man roster.  Miller has a 5.68 ERA over 6 1/3 frames out of Washington’s bullpen this season, with all of that damage coming from runs allowed in each of his last three appearances.  Miller’s absence is yet another problem for the beleaguered Nats bullpen, which has a league-worst 8.12 cumulative ERA this season.  The Nationals were seemingly close to a deal with Bud Norris before that rumored contract fell through, so the team is actively looking for ways to upgrade its relief core.  There’s certainly opportunity here for a new face like Williams to make an impact, as the 26-year-old had an outstanding Spring Training and has turned in good results out of the bullpen at the minor league level since becoming a full-time reliever last season.  Williams made his MLB debut in 2018, tossing 9 2/3 innings over 10 games with the Nats.

Here’s some more injury news from around the league…

  • Wade LeBlanc left during the fifth inning of last night’s game due to right oblique strain, and the Mariners southpaw is likely headed to the injured list.  (MLB.com’s Greg Johns was among those with the details.)  Tommy Milone or possibly Justus Sheffield seem like the top candidates to replace LeBlanc in Seattle’s rotation, though nothing will be confirmed until LeBlanc undergoes an MRI today to access the damage.  The 34-year-old LeBlanc has been a solid arm for the M’s since rejoining the team on a minor league deal in March 2018, posting a 3.79 ERA while starting 30 of 35 games.  This success resulted in an option-heavy extension between LeBlanc and the Mariners last July.
  • Blue Jays righty Ryan Borucki’s bothersome elbow will be re-evaluated in two weeks after the hurler received a cortisone shot, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes.  Borucki first experienced the problem in the final week of Spring Training, and hasn’t thrown since a bullpen session on April 3.
  • In other Blue Jays injury news from Davidi’s piece, Ryan Tepera has begun a rehab assignment and could potentially join the team as early as this weekend, as the reliever tries to bounce back from his own elbow problems.  David Phelps is set to begin bullpen sessions next week as the reliever continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery, with an eye towards a midseason return.  Devon Travis is scheduled for baseball activities next week, though a 60-day IL placement in the wake of meniscus surgery means that Travis isn’t eligible to return to the Jays’ big league roster until late May.

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