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Quick Hits: Liriano, Mesa, Chisenhall

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Some items as we head into the new week…

  • Even prior to Francisco Liriano’s gem of a start against the Mariners today, the Tigers have been getting trade inquiries about the veteran lefty, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  After signing a one-year, $4MM deal with Detroit last winter, Liriano earned a job in the rotation and now has a 3.42 ERA, 6.32 K/9, and 45.1% grounder rate through 52 2/3 innings.  It’s a nice improvement on paper from the struggles Liriano endured as a starter in 2017 and much of 2016, though there are some red flags — the lack of strikeouts, a 9.7% swinging strike rate, a 4.44 BB/9, and a .214 BABIP.  Interested teams could be looking at acquiring Liriano to work out of the bullpen, as the Astros did when they acquired the southpaw in a deadline trade with the Blue Jays last year.  Regardless, it looks like the Tigers should be able to score a decent prospect for their investment in Liriano in the offseason.
  • Victor Victor Mesa is “the best young Cuban prospect to become available since Yoan Moncada,” Baseball America’s Ben Badler writes in a profile of the 21-year-old outfielder that is available to BA subscribers.  Badler assigns a 70 grade (on the 20-80 scouting scale) to Mesa’s speed and throwing arm (the latter meriting “at least a 70”), and compares Mesa to Nationals minor leaguer Victor Robles, a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball.  Since Mesa and his brother only just left Cuba, however, they could face a long wait in getting official league clearance, which will limit their earning power in the 2018-19 July 2 international signing market since most teams have already committed the bulk of their spending pools to other prospects.
  • Lonnie Chisenhall is slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus on Monday, Indians manager Terry Francona told media (including Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer).  Chisenhall will only play every other day initially, Francona said, as the outfielder slowly ramps up after missing over six weeks with a strained calf.  It isn’t clear how long it will be before Chisenhall is ready to return to the Tribe’s roster, though the club is in dire need of some help in right and center field.

2019 Vesting Options Update

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With more than a quarter of the season in the books, it’s time to check in on some players whose status for the 2019 season could be determined by how they perform the rest of the way.  To recap, a vesting option is an option within a player’s contract that can alter the structure of the deal itself should a player stay healthy and/or achieve certain playing-time thresholds.

Though not all vesting options are reported, six players are known to have such options on their current deals.  The list…

  • Cole Hamels: The Rangers have a $20MM club option on the southpaw for 2019 (with a $6MM buyout).  The option vests into a $24MM guarantee if Hamels isn’t on the DL with a shoulder or elbow injury at the end of this season, if he tosses 200 IP this season, and has 400 total innings pitched in 2017-18.  The latter clause is the important one, as since Hamels only threw 148 innings in 2017, that essentially ended his chances at hitting the 400-inning plateau and locking in $18MM more in guaranteed money.
  • Brian McCann: The Astros have a $15MM club option on him for 2019 that vests into a player option if he doesn’t end 2018 on DL, starts at least 90 games at catcher in 2018, and has at least 1000 plate appearances in 2017-18.  With just 399 PA last season, McCann would need a career-best 601 PA this year to gain control over his 2019 status.  He does have 118 PA through 33 games, and he made his 30th start behind the plate tonight, so it’s not completely out of the question that McCann could hit both thresholds, if unlikely.  There’s also the possibility that McCann plays less down the stretch as the Astros rest him for the postseason.
  • Logan Morrison: If the first baseman gets 600 plate appearances this season, the Twins’ $8MM club option ($1MM buyout) for 2019 vests into a guaranteed year worth $9.5MM.  So far, Morrison has 154 PA through Minnesota’s first 42 games, putting him on pace to fall just short (596 PA) of the guarantee.  Morrison’s attempt could be hampered by his poor splits against left-handed pitching, though he held his own against southpaws in 2016-17 and should see more time at first base in the short term as Joe Mauer is on the DL dealing with concussion symptoms.  Morrison has also been hitting much better after an ice-cold three-week slump to open the year (.281/.385/.517 since April 20), so this one might go right down to the wire.
  • Seunghwan Oh: The Blue Jays have a $2.5MM club option ($250K buyout) for 2019 that vests into a guaranteed deal if Oh pitches in 70 games.  Oh is one of several workhorses to emerge in the heavily-used Toronto bullpen, as the former Cardinals closer has already made 21 appearances and is on pace for 72 games this season.  With the Jays struggling, however, one has to factor in the possibility that Oh could be a trade candidate at the deadline, so his role could change if he switches teams.
  • Hanley Ramirez: The priciest and most intriguing case on this list, Ramirez has a $22MM vesting option for 2019 that is guaranteed at 1050 plate appearances in 2017-18, and if he passes a physical at the end of the season.  After amassing 553 PA in 2017, HanRam only needs 314 more plate appearances this season (and good health) for his option to vest.  Ramirez has a .271/.328/.422 slash line, six homers, and a perfectly league-average 100 wRC+ this season, as an .876 OPS in March and April gave way to a slump (.567 OPS) in May.  Ramirez turns 35 in December and has been only a slightly above-average hitter during his three-plus years with the Red Sox, so Boston would likely prefer to not have him on the books for $22MM in 2019, especially with other available first base/DH options like J.D. Martinez, Mitch Moreland, Rafael Devers, or Sam Travis.  The Sox could justify benching Ramirez more often in the wake of his May struggles, though if he heats up again, the team will need his bat for the AL East pennant race.  This is definitely the vesting situation to watch as the season progresses, particularly since the Red Sox will face some further roster-juggling when Dustin Pedroia returns.
  • Ervin Santana: The Twins have a $14MM club option on Santana for 2019 that would have become guaranteed if he had passed a physical after this season, amassed 400 IP in 2017-18, and 200 IP this season.  The finger surgery that has sidelined him for all of the current season will prevent Santana from hitting the 200-inning requirement for 2018, so this vesting option can be written off already.

AL East Notes: Duquette, Orioles, Martin, Venters

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Some items from around the AL East…

  • Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette said his team is “still taking a look at” whether or not to start trading veterans, as he discussed the Orioles’ status in a recent radio appearance on 670 The Score’s “Inside The Clubhouse” show (partial transcript provided by 670TheScore.com’s Bruce Levine, plus the audio link is included).  While Duquette didn’t firmly indicate that a sell-off was coming, he did admit that “I am not sure we will be in that position” to consider adding pieces come Memorial Day, which is when the O’s and other teams usually take stock in their rosters.
  • Since the trade market has yet to really kick into gear, Duquette said that the Orioles “haven’t had that many calls, frankly” about their impending free agents.  Brad Brach and Zach Britton could end up getting the most attention, as Duquette predicted “a robust market for relief pitchers.”  The market for position players is harder to predict, with Duquette not knowing how things will fare in regards to a Manny Machado trade.  “The issue for the Orioles would be, ’Will the Orioles ultimately trade a player who’s on his way to a Triple Crown or possibly MVP season?’” Duquette said. “That’s an issue for the club. And in the offseason, there were some teams interested in Manny, but there wasn’t a lot of talent coming back. Because teams know it’s going to take a lot of money to re-sign Manny.”
  • Russell Martin tells Sportsnet.ca’s Jeff Blair that he is willing to spend more time as an infielder in the latter stages of his career.  “Whatever management thinks makes the team better, gives us a better chance to win.  You know, the goal for me on any team I’ve played on is what’s best for the squad.  And I’ve always been a fan of the infield,” Martin said.  The Blue Jays catcher has 33 career appearances as a third baseman, four at second base, and one game each at shortstop and right field during his 13-year career, so he certainly provides more versatility than most backstops.  Due to several Toronto infielders landing on the DL and backup catcher Luke Maile’s surprisingly hot bat, Martin has already made four appearances at third base this season.  This positional flexibility could make Martin into a unique backup option in 2019 (the final year of his contract) or beyond, as well as providing Toronto with the means to give catching prospects Danny Jansen or Reese McGuire some quality playing time as early as this season.
  • Though Jonny Venters has the service time to decline a minor league demotion, the southpaw agreed to a consent form that allows the Rays to send Venters to the minors during a 45-day window that began when he made the 25-man roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  Since Venters’ contract was purchased on April 25, that 45-day period is up on June 8.  With a 1.13 ERA over his first eight innings, it doesn’t seem Venters is a candidate for demotion, though the Rays’ unique deployment of their pitchers requires a lot of roster shuffling.  Venters is in the midst of a remarkable comeback, returning to a big league mound for the first time since 2012 after his career was thought to be over following three Tommy John surgeries and another UCL procedure.

Heyman’s Latest: Arrieta, Cain, Davis, Rays, Reds, Morales

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Some items from around baseball in the latest notes collection from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman…

  • The Nationals were linked to Jake Arrieta during the offseason, and Heyman reports that the team was interested in signing the righty to a contract similar to the three-year, $75MM deal Arrieta eventually got from the Phillies.  No offer was officially made, however, while GM Mike Rizzo had interest in adding Arrieta, ownership declined to make another big investment in a starting pitcher.  With Arrieta pitching well and the Phillies ahead of the Nats in the NL East standings, this non-signing could be an interesting what-if scenario for the future, though Washington’s rotation is already one of the best in baseball.
  • Speaking of winter what-ifs, Heyman adds the Mariners, Braves, and Dodgers to the list of teams that had interest in signing Lorenzo Cain before the center fielder inked a deal with the Brewers.  Seattle had a clear need for center field help prior to the Dee Gordon trade, though the other two wouldn’t seem to be obvious fits on paper for Cain’s services.  The Braves already have Ender Inciarte in center, plus they needed to trade Matt Kemp to make room for Ronald Acuna’s eventual promotion; potentially, Cain could’ve been a fit if Atlanta had managed to trade Nick Markakis (and then convince Cain to shift to right field).  For the Dodgers, signing Cain would have run counter to their plan of getting under the luxury tax threshold, plus L.A. would’ve had to give up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus pool funds as compensation for signing Cain.  It’s also possible, of course, that both the Braves and Dodgers merely had a due diligence-type of interest in Cain given that his free agent stint stretched into late January.
  • Khris Davis and the Athletics were in talks about a one-year extension to cover Davis’ final season of arbitration eligibility, though Heyman reports that Davis declined an offer from the team.  It isn’t known whether negotiations are ongoing or if the two sides will table the issue.  Davis has a .235/.307/.497 slash line and 13 homers through his first 205 PA, so he is on pace to earn another big raise from his current $10.5MM salary in his last arb year.
  • The Mets aren’t for sale, though “folks around the league believe” that Rays owner and New York native Stuart Sternberg would try to buy the the Mets if they were available.  Needless to say, the Mets would be a highly sought-after property if the Wilpon family did decide to sell — one would imagine the sale price of a team in the gigantic NYC media market would easily surpass the $2 billion mark.  Heyman writes that there is even some speculation Sternberg would try to move the Rays to New York or Montreal if the league allowed it, though obviously the Mets and Yankees would have something to say about the former option in terms of territorial-rights issues.  Sternberg’s relative lack of ties to his own team’s area (“he isn’t often in Tampa“) could also be an obstacle in the Rays’ longstanding desire for a new stadium.
  • The Reds have been playing better under Jim Riggleman, but if the team does still want to make a long-term change in the dugout, Heyman hears that the team isn’t going to be spending big on a managerial salary.  A new skipper will almost certainly make less than Dusty Baker’s $3.5MM annual salary when he was running the team.  This could rule out a star hire like Joe Girardi, who impressed Reds ownership when he interviewed for the job prior to Baker’s hiring.  Interestingly, Heyman believes that Girardi — an Illinois native — could be a candidate if the White Sox decided to make a managerial change, though there isn’t any indication that the Sox are considering moving on from Rick Renteria.  That scenario would have a strong echo of Renteria’s last managerial job, when he stewarded the Cubs through some rebuilding years before being replaced by another star manager in Joe Maddon.
  • The Royals had some interest “awhile back” in a reunion with Blue Jays DH Kendrys Morales, though that trade possibility has evaporated since both the Royals and Morales are badly struggling.  K.C. is looking like a deadline seller, while Morales is hitting so poorly (.163/.248/.279 through 117 PA) that the Jays may have to release him or eat all of the approximately $19.76MM left on his contract through the 2019 campaign.

Nationals Place Ryan Madson On 10-Day DL

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The Nationals announced that right-hander Ryan Madson has been placed on the 10-day DL with a pectoral muscle strain.  The placement is retroactive to May 17.  Nats manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post) that Madson was feeling “a little bit better” after missing Saturday and Sunday’s games and the placement was “just to be safe,” so it’s possible the reliever could miss only a minimal amount of time.

Madson has a 4.19 ERA over 19 1/3 innings this season, though ERA predictors (2.16 FIP, 3.67 xFIP, 3.42 SIERA) paint a more favorable view of his performance.  Madson has yet to allow a home run this season, and has owns a 9.3 K/9, 3.33 K/BB rate, and a 43.9% grounder rate.  Late-game situations have been a strength for the Nats this season, between Madson and Brandon Kintzler’s solid set-up work and Sean Doolittle’s spectacular early numbers.  As Janes notes, Tim Collins looks to be the likeliest candidate to be called up to fill Madson’s spot in the bullpen; while Madson isn’t truly replaceable, Collins at least provides the Nats with an extra left-hander.

Madson’s absence represents yet another DL setback for the Nats, who are already without Daniel Murphy, Adam Eaton, Howie Kendrick, Ryan Zimmerman, Joaquin Benoit, Matt Wieters, Koda Glover, Jhonatan Solano, Brian Goodwin, and Matt Grace.  (Anthony Rendon also missed significant time earlier this season.)  Despite this hard bite from the injury bug, the Nationals are still 24-21 and staying afloat in the crowded NL East and wild card races.

Padres Promote Franmil Reyes

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TODAY: The move is now official. Asuaje will be the player who’s sent out. The 26-year-old has struggled to a .198/.263/.292 slash in 118 plate appearances.

YESTERDAY: The Padres will promote outfielder Franmil Reyes prior to Monday’s game against the Rockies, James E. Clark of the East Village Times reports.  The corresponding move isn’t yet known, though San Diego has an open 40-man spot after Chase Headley was designated for assignment on Saturday.

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011, the 22-year-old Reyes was something of an unheralded prospect entering the season, as he wasn’t ranked by either Baseball America or MLB.com as one of the top 30 minor leaguers in the Padres’ system despite solid numbers at the high-A and Double-A levels in 2016-17.  (Granted, the Padres’ farm system is particularly deep in quality prospects.)  In his first exposure to Triple-A pitching, however, Reyes has taken the Pacific Coast League by storm, entering today’s action with an astounding .346/.440/.748 slash line and 14 home runs over 150 plate appearances.

Reyes hit 16 homers at high-A ball in 2016 and 25 homers at Double-A last season, though his latest power surge is as eye-popping as it gets, even with the caveat that the PCL is a very hitter-friendly league.  Given that the Padres are lacking both home run pop and hitting in general, it makes that the team would ride the hot hand and see what Reyes can provide at the big league level.

It remains to be seen who will leave the roster to make room for Reyes, though the obvious candidate seems to be Matt Szczur, who has only 47 PA this season and is also a right-handed hitting outfielder.  Szczur is out of options, however, so if the Padres don’t want to expose him to waivers, Carlos Asuaje or perhaps a reliever could be candidates.  San Diego’s outfield situation could be further crowded by the return of Hunter Renfroe, who is working his way back from an elbow injury, though Renfroe has yet to begin a rehab assignment and could receive some extended time the minors anyway to get his own hitting on track.

Cardinals Notes: Wainwright, Reyes, Wong

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Here’s the latest out of St. Louis…

  • Adam Wainwright’s return from the disabled list was a brief one, as the righty felt elbow pain while warming up during his start today and lasted just 2 1/3 innings (allowing two runs on three hits and six walks).  Today’s outing was Wainwright’s first after missing over three weeks due to elbow inflammation, and he is likely headed back to the DL in the wake of this latest issue.  He will miss at least his next start, and return to St. Louis for examination.  “I need to pause and get it right. This team deserves more than that and the fans deserve more than that and the organization does, too.  If I’m going to be a force down the stretch, I need to get healthy first,” Wainwright told MLB.com’s Jay Paris and other media.  The veteran underwent arthroscopic surgery on that same right elbow last October after battling some elbow problems in 2017, and also missed all of the 2011 season due to Tommy John surgery.  With Carlos Martinez also on the DL, the Cards rotation is down to Miles Mikolas, Michael Wacha, and Luke Weaver, with Jack Flaherty tapped to start on Tuesday.
  • Alex Reyes could also eventually factor into the St. Louis rotation plans, as the star prospect will pitch on Monday in what will be the second of four scheduled minor league rehab starts as he makes his return from Tommy John surgery.  President of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the team won’t be moving to a six-man rotation once Reyes is ready, though it remains to be seen exactly how Reyes will be deployed.  “Rather than lay it [the team’s plan] out there for public consumption, I would rather wait and do it based on where we are, where he is, and how to best optimize that,” Mozeliak said.  As Frederickson notes, the Cards are trying to manage Reyes’ workload on several fronts — they want to ease him back into action, while also keeping him fresh to pitch in a postseason race (and into October) and on track to move into a starting role in 2019.  Using him as a multi-inning reliever or piggybacking his outings with another starter would be complicated from an innings-management standpoint, and Mozeliak said that the team could even keep Reyes in the minors if that is what is best for him at this point in his development and recovery.
  • Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Mark Saxon (subscription required) opined that Kolten Wong’s second base glove has become such a plus for the Cardinals that the team should consider giving him more regular playing time, even against left-handed pitching.  Since Saxon’s piece was written, Wong has started each of the Cards’ last two games against southpaw opposing starters, with Jedd Gyorko playing third base and the struggling Matt Carpenter getting a three-game break.  Wong has been one of baseball’s best defenders at any position this season, and his bat has started to show some signs of life after an ice-cold start to the season.  With Jose Martinez more or less locked in as the starting first baseman at this point, it leaves the Cards juggling Wong, Gyorko, and Carpenter between second and third base, with backup infielder Greg Garcia also in need of some playing time.

AL West Notes: Cano, Middleton, A’s, Maxwell, Astros

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The Mariners “indicated” that they wouldn’t be looking for an external candidate to replace Robinson Cano at second base, the Tacoma News Tribune’s TJ Cotterill writes.  This would leave Seattle with internal options like Andrew Romine, Taylor Motter, and Gordon Beckham at the keystone, since center fielder Dee Gordon doesn’t appear to be under consideration for a move back to his former position.  In my view, the Mariners could re-assess their plans once they have a clearer idea of how much time Cano will miss, as we’re still just hours removed from the star second baseman suffering a fracture in his hand after being hit by a pitch in today’s game.

More rumblings from around the AL West…

  • Angels right-hander Keynan Middleton left today’s game after 12 pitches due to what the club termed as elbow discomfort.  Middleton will undergo an MRI tomorrow.  Today’s outing was Middleton’s third appearance since returning from a 10-day DL stint for inflammation in that same elbow.  The 24-year-old closer has posted good results when healthy (2.04 ERA and an 8.25 K/9 in 17 2/3 IP), and in his absence, Blake Parker and Jim Johnson figure to get the bulk of save opportunities for the Halos.  Be sure to follow @CloserNews (MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter site) for all the latest details on the ninth-inning situation for all 30 teams around baseball.
  • Because Bruce Maxwell hasn’t yet been sentenced following his plea agreement for a change of disorderly conduct, Canadian immigration laws will prevent Maxwell from joining the Athletics during their upcoming four-game series in Toronto, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Maxwell will have to be demoted at some point before Thursday’s series opener if the A’s are to have a backup behind Jonathan Lucroy.  Slusser suggests that prospect Beau Taylor (off to a hot start at Triple-A) could be considered even though he isn’t on the 40-man roster, though Josh Phegley could also be called up if Oakland didn’t want to make another transaction to clear room for Taylor.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow admitted that “Obviously, you have to think about potentially doing something” to address some struggling hitters on Houston’s roster, though Luhnow tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle that he still has faith in the “proven track records” of veterans like Evan Gattis or Jake Marisnick.  In regards to Marisnick, for instance, Luhnow mentioned that his excellent defense makes him an important figure for the team.  This gives Marisnick more value than another internal option like top prospect J.D. Davis, who is tearing up Triple-A pitching but is limited to just left field.

NL West Notes: Goldschmidt, Desmond, Rockies, Hill

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While still technically an above-average run creator (105 wRC+) this season, Paul Goldschmidt is suffering through an uncharacteristically long slump, hitting just .216/.347/.388 with four homers over his first 167 plate appearances.  As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes, Goldschmidt’s soft-contact rate is much higher than his career average, as is his percentage of swinging-and-missing fastballs in the strike zone.  The latter statistic has led to Goldschmidt’s 30.5% strikeout rate, which is far above his 22.4% career mark.  The Diamondbacks first baseman didn’t share any details about his slump to reporters, except to say that he feels physically fine, so an injury doesn’t appear to be the cause of the problem.  Remarkably, the D’Backs are still tied for the NL’s best record despite not having their star slugger hitting at his usual standard, though obviously the team hopes Goldschmidt gets on track soon.

Some more items from around the NL West…

  • Speaking of slumping first basemen, Ian Desmond’s struggles continued today with an 0-for-4 day, dropping his slash line to an ugly .170/.213/.355 over 150 PA.  The Rockies are lacking in viable alternatives at first base, The Athletic’s Nick Groke writes (subscription required), with Ryan McMahon recently demoted due to his own lack of production, Daniel Castro and Josh Fuentes both lacking experience at first base, and prospect Jordan Patterson hitting well but carrying a high strikeout rate at Triple-A.  It isn’t probable that Gerardo Parra returns to first base, as “his defense lacked and he disliked the idea” of the position change in limited action at first last season.  It stands to reason that first base could be a target area for the Rockies at the trade deadline should they remain the pennant race — like the D’Backs, the Rockies have also been competitive (22-19 after today’s loss to the Brewers) despite a lack of production at first base.  A new addition, however, wouldn’t help solve the bigger-picture problem of Desmond, who has been a sub-replacement level player since signing a five-year, $70MM free agent deal with Colorado in December 2016.
  • Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill was removed during the sixth inning of today’s start due to a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, manager Dave Roberts told Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link) and other reporters.  Roberts is still hopeful Hill can make his next start, though another blister is an ominous sign given Hill’s long history of similar issues.  Hill has already spent time on the DL this season due to a cracked fingernail and infection on that same finger.  Though Hill has just a 6.20 ERA over 24 2/3 IP this season, the Dodgers can ill-afford yet another notable injury, especially with the rotation already missing Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
  • For more from the division, Connor Byrne published another set of NL West Notes earlier today on MLBTR

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/13/18

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The latest minor league moves from around the game…

  • The Reds announced that outfielder Tyler Goeddel was released from Triple-A Louisville’s roster to create room for recently-demoted southpaw Brandon Finnegan.  Goeddel has been in Cincinnati’s organization since being claimed off waivers by the Phillies in April 2017, and he was off to a tough start this season, batting just .229/.326/.349 over 96 PA for Louisville.  Picked 41st overall by the Rays in the 2011 amateur draft, Goeddel hit .192/.258/.291 over 234 plate appearances after the Phillies selected him out of Tampa’s system in the 2015 Rule 5 draft.

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