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Blue Jays Designate Jimmy Paredes For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated Jimmy Paredes for assignment, the Toronto Star’s Brendan Kennedy reports (Twitter link).  In a corresponding move, righty reliever Ryan Tepera was called up from Triple-A.

Toronto claimed Paredes off waivers from the Orioles two weeks ago.  He hit quite well (.267/.353/.533) over 17 plate appearances and also filled in around the diamond for the Jays, making one start each at second, third and DH while also appearing in right field for a game.  As MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweets, however, the Jays needed an extra reliever for their struggling bullpen and other infield bench candidates like Ryan Goins or Darwin Barney are needed with Troy Tulowitzki on the DL.

Paredes has never exhibited much defensive value despite his versatility over his six years in the majors, and he owns a .257/.294/.373 slash line over 862 PA with Toronto, Baltimore, Kansas City and Houston.  The 27-year-old was originally signed by the Yankees in 2006, and notably dealt along with Mark Melancon to the Astros in the July 2010 trade deadline deal that brought Lance Berkman to New York.

AL Central Links: Hughes, Tribe, Tigers, Dombrowski, Miller

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The White Sox have lost 14 of their last 18 games, including a nightmarish weekend sweep to the Royals that saw Chicago blow late-inning leads in all three games.  Saturday’s result was the most crushing of all, as the White Sox held a 7-1 lead with one out in the ninth before allowing seven runs to lose 8-7.  The sweep also pushed the Royals into first place in the AL Central.  Here’s more from around the division…

  • Phil Hughes is being moved to the Twins bullpen, manager Paul Molitor told reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger).  Kyle Gibson will replace Hughes in Minnesota’s rotation.  Hughes allowed a league-high 29 homers in 2015 and has struggled to a 4.74 ERA over 208 2/3 innings since the start of last season.  Unless he can regain his form while relieving and eventually get back to the rotation, the Twins will face further scrutiny over signing Hughes to an extension following his excellent 2014 season, the first year of a three-year/$24MM contract.  The Twins overwrote the final two years of that deal for a new extension that guaranteed Hughes $58MM from 2015-19.
  • While the Indians could well be deadline buyers as they make a push for the division title, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer figures top prospects Clint Frazier, Bradley Zimmer and Bobby Bradley are untouchable in trade talks.
  • Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that since the start of the 2013 season, Justin Upton and Marlon Byrd have posted more similar counting stats than one might think.  Upton is the better player overall (as seen through an fWAR comparison) and is a decade younger, though Pluto’s point is that the Indians are getting a bargain after signing Byrd to a minor league deal worth a $1MM guarantee plus incentives.  The veteran is outperforming Upton, who has been a sub-replacement player in his first two months with the Tigers.
  • Shane Greene could return to the Tigers as either a starter or reliever when he comes off the DL, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes.  Michael Fulmer seems to have locked up a rotation spot, so Greene could find himself back in the pen barring further notice (such as if Jordan Zimmermann’s groin injury worsens).  Greene has been sidelined with a finger blister.
  • Dave Dombrowski is happy to have “a championship type of guy” like Eduardo Rodriguez on the Red Sox roster, but the southpaw was a trade roadblock back when Dombrowski was the Tigers’ general manager.  As Dombrowski tells Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, Detroit was eager to acquire Andrew Miller from the Red Sox at the 2014 trade deadline and Dombrowski felt a deal was imminent after the Tigers agreed to give then-Sox GM Ben Cherington the two players he was seeking.  Cherington had to make one more call, however, which led to Miller being dealt to the Orioles for Rodriguez.  “They didn’t say we had a deal but you thought you had a deal,” Dombrowski said.  “There is a difference between the two….It’s ironic how it worked out because I’m the benefactor of it.  Really when they got Eduardo Rodriguez, he was better than the guys we were offering.  So I understood it.”

NL Central Links: Pirates, Locke, Cozart, Zobrist

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Some items from around the division…

  • The Pirates have said they intend to use Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow and Chad Kuhl as starters when the three young arms are promoted to the majors, though Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that if all three are called up this season, the Bucs may not have enough rotation space.  The Pirates have one starter likely to be shifted out (Juan Nicasio) and Sawchik figures Jon Niese’s recent good form has solidified his starting spot.
  • This could leave Jeff Locke fighting for his job, though Sawchik hears from scouts that Locke has some trade value if the Pirates wanted to address their rotation surplus by making a deal.  The six-year veteran has been a decent back-of-the-rotation arm for the Bucs over the last three seasons, capable of eating innings (a career-high 168 1/3 frames in 2015) and keeping the ball in the park (a career 50.7% grounder rate) while not recording many strikeouts.  This season, however, Locke has not pitched very well, posting a 5.08 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and an even 50.0% grounder rate over 51 1/3 innings.
  • Also from Sawchik’s piece, he opines that Rich Hill would make sense as a trade deadline target for the Pirates.  Of course, given Hill’s strong performance and low cost (roughly $4MM still owed this season), the A’s lefty could be one of the deadline’s most sought-after trade chips.  In Pittsburgh’s case, acquiring Hill could allow them to keep Glasnow or Kuhl in the minors until next season.
  • If the Reds intend to trade Zack Cozart, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer suggests that the club should move the shortstop before the deadline rather than wait until the offseason.  Anything can happen to lower a player’s value if you wait too long to make a trade, Buchanan argues, as the Reds discovered with Aroldis Chapman last year.  Cozart’s value may be at an all-time high since, in addition to his usual excellent defense, he’s been an above-average (104 wRC+) shortstop bat for the last two seasons.
  • At age 35, Ben Zobrist is on pace for the best season of his 11-year career and he has been one of the major reasons for the Cubs’ league-best record, Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times writes.  While it’s only two months into Zobrist’s four-year/$56MM contract, the big investment in a mid-30’s player has thus far worked out spectacularly well for the Cubs.  Zobrist enters today’s play hitting .351/.451/.542 with seven homers and 36 runs scored; his OBP leads all qualified Major League hitters.
  • In NL Central news from earlier today, the Cardinals’ punishment for the Astros computer breach scandal isn’t likely to be issued before June’s amateur draft.

NL East Notes: Howard, Joseph, Francoeur, Castillo

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Here’s the latest from around the NL East…

  • Phillies manager Pete Mackanin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Cody Stavenhagen) that he will give first baseman Tommy Joseph more starts against right-handed pitching.  “We brought Joseph up here for a reason, to get a look at him, and I can’t let him stagnate on the bench…so he’s going to face some right-handed pitchers to keep his timing,” Mackanin said.  Of course, this would cut into the playing time for veteran Ryan Howard, who said he hadn’t been consulted about sitting against righties.  Joseph has hit well in his first taste of the majors while Howard has struggled mightily (a .564 OPS in 151 PA).  The first base situation has been the subject of much debate in Philadelphia, as while logic would dictate that the younger and better-performing Joseph would get more starts, Howard is a franchise legend likely in his final year as a Phillie.
  • Jeff Francoeur was considering retirement if he didn’t land a Major League contract last winter, though after signing a minors deal to rejoin the Braves, the outfielder tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’s looking forward to playing several more years in a reserve role.  Francoeur admits it took some time for him to fully accept being a part-timer, though he sees the benefits in extending his career as a platooner and mentor to younger players.  With an .866 OPS in 61 PA against southpaws this season, “Frenchy” is helping the rebuilding Braves both on the field and in the clubhouse, and he hopes to continue playing in Atlanta.
  • Marlins pitching prospect Luis Castillo is turning some heads in high-A ball, Baseball America’s Walter Villa writes.  The 23-year-old righty was acquired by the Fish as part of the December 2014 trade that sent Casey McGehee to the Giants, and Castillo has since transitioned from reliever to starter with strong results.  Castillo has a 2.13 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and a 6.00 K/BB rate over 50 2/3 innings this season, with a fastball that has topped the 100-mph mark and averages in the 96-97mph range.
  • In NL East news from earlier today, the Braves inked veteran righty Dale Thayer to a minor league deal.

Braves Sign Dale Thayer

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The Braves signed righty Dale Thayer to a minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  The 35-year-old was outrighted off the Padres’ roster last summer and chose free agency, signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers during the offseason but then opting out of that deal earlier this month.  Thayer is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

Thayer is coming off a bit of a down year in 2015, though he posted a 3.19 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 3.05 K/BB over 225 2/3 relief innings with the Padres over the last four seasons.  He has been effective against hitters on both sides of the plate over his career, limiting right-handed batters to a .666 OPS and left-handed bats to a .720 OPS.  Thayer should have an opportunity to pitch his way into the Braves’ bullpen, given that Atlanta relievers have a combined 4.51 ERA this season, the fifth-worst such mark in the majors.

Cardinals “Unlikely” To Receive Hacking Punishment Before June Draft

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Major League Baseball is “unlikely” to issue any penalty to the Cardinals for the organization’s role in the Astros computer breach controversy prior to the upcoming amateur draft on June 9, Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears from sources familiar with Commissioner Rob Manfred’s thoughts on the matter.

Manfred “has wide latitude” in issuing a punishment of some type to the Cards, and it has been heavily speculated that the penalty could include limitations on the team’s draft pool or perhaps simply taking away some picks altogether.  The league has been unable to complete its investigation into the matter, however, since the sentencing hearing for former St. Louis scouting director Chris Correa has been postponed multiple times.  The hearing for Correa (who pleaded guilty to charges) is currently scheduled to take place on July 5.

As Goold notes, the coming draft projects as a bountiful one for the Cardinals given the number of extra picks and spending at their disposal.  St. Louis owns four of the first 70 picks and has a draft pool of just under $9.1MM, totals boosted by the compensation picks the club received when Jason Heyward and John Lackey left in free agency after rejecting qualifying offers.  If a punishment isn’t issued in time for this draft, the Cards will have a chance to stock up on young talent now before possibly facing the loss of picks in the 2017 draft.

Quick Hits: Villar, Beane, Reyes, Draft

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With a quarter of the season in the books, Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at some players whose may simply headed for poor seasons rather than slow starts.  Sherman constructs a lineup for his “It Gets Late Early” team, a Bizarro All-Star lineup of notable names who haven’t lived up to expectations — Shelby Miller, Ken Giles, Prince Fielder, Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira, Dee Gordon, David Wright, Erick Aybar, Carlos Gomez and (somewhat surprisingly) two regulars from the league-leading Cubs, Jorge Soler and Jason Heyward.  Here’s more from around baseball as we head into the new week…

  • Jonathan Villar has been a nice surprise for the Brewers, and an NL scout tells John Perrotto of TodaysKnuckleball.com that Villar’s good start could be for real.  “I thought Villar was nothing more than a utility guy but he’s starting to prove me wrong,” the scout said.  “He’s really maturing as a player.  He may never be a star but he’s starting to look like an everyday guy to me.  I don’t think what he’s doing is a two-month fluke.”  It’s worth noting that Villar has a whopping .398 BABIP en route to his .286/.382/.390 slash line (and 14 steals) over 181 plate appearances, though his speed has also been a factor in allowing him to turn grounders into hits.  As Perrotto notes, Orlando Arcia is still slated to be Milwaukee’s shortstop of the future, though the Brewers may have found an unexpected deadline trade chip in Villar.
  • The Athletics don’t seem likely to make any notable acquisitions to help their injury-ravaged roster, CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich infers from Billy Beane’s comments.  The sheer number of injured players “would impact any team in baseball,” Beane said, “and it’s certainly going to have a greater impact on us, given we’re not going to have the depth or the resources” to find easy replacements.  The A’s fell to 19-26 after today’s loss to the Yankees and Oakland has already been cited as a possible trade deadline seller.
  • Cardinals pitching prospect Alex Reyes threw four scoreless innings in a Triple-A start today, his first action since returning from a 50-game suspension for marijuana use.  Suspension notwithstanding, Reyes could very possibly still reach the majors this season given his status as one of the game’s best prospects; the righty was rated very highly by Baseball America (7th), ESPN’s Keith Law (8th), Baseball Prospectus (10th) and MLB.com (11th) in preseason top-100 lists.  In an interview with MLB.com’s Nick Krueger, Reyes discusses his outing and how he hopes he can regain the trust of both the organization and the fans.
  • There’s still quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the June amateur draft, as Baseball America’s John Manuel writes.  Some of the uncertainty could stem from the fact that “there’s more comfort this year with the high school class than the college class,” one scouting director tells Manuel.  “It’s not a clear-cut Top 10 group . . . not as high-end a group as you would have hoped for this year.”

Injury Notes: Darvish, Zimmermann, Miggy, A-Rod, Brewers

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Here’s the latest on some notable names who are either preparing to return from the DL or could miss a bit of time…

  • Yu Darvish threw six shutout innings in a rehab start today and is on track to return to the majors on Saturday against the Pirates.  The Rangers ace told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) that he felt good after the 87-pitch outing, which wrapped up a very impressive rehab stint that saw Darvish allow just two earned runs over 20 minor league innings.  Darvish missed the entire 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since August 2014.
  • Jordan Zimmermann left during the sixth inning of today’s game with what has been diagnosed as a right groin strain.  The Tigers ace underwent an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, manager Brad Ausmus told MLB.com’s Jason Beck and other media, and it isn’t yet known if Zimmermann will require a DL stint or even a missed start.  Needless to say, losing Zimmermann to the DL would be a major blow to a Detroit rotation that entered Sunday with a 4.76 staff ERA, seventh-worst in all of baseball.  Zimmermann has been the lone bright spot, and after today’s outing he has a 2.52 ERA over his first 60 2/3 innings as a Tiger.  Slugger Miguel Cabrera also suffered a bruised left knee after being hit by a pitch during the same game, though Ausmus doesn’t expect that injury to be too serious.
  • Alex Rodriguez will return from the 15-day DL on Tuesday, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi told reporters (including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News).  A-Rod was rumored to be set for activation this weekend but Girardi chose to wait until after the Yankees’ Monday off-day to give the veteran slugger extra time to fully recover a hamstring strain.
  • Brewers GM David Stearns updated Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on several injured Milwaukee players.  Sean Nolin recently received a PRP injection to see if he can avoid Tommy John surgery; the southpaw suffered a slightly torn UCL during Spring Training.  Rule 5 draft pick Zack Jones has spent the entire season on the DL with shoulder stiffness and Stearns hopes Jones can begin a rehab assignment in early June.  Former top outfield prospect Rymer Liriano is still recovering after being hit in the face with a pitch during Spring Training and there isn’t any timetable for a return.  Stearns said there is a chance Liriano could miss the entire season.  Also in the piece, as previously reported, reliever Will Smith will begin a rehab assignment this week with an eye towards returning to the Brewers’ roster in the first week of June.

Mets Links: Duda, Cabrera, Harvey

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The Mets polished off a three-game sweep of the Brewers today and now head into a big three-game series with the NL East-leading Nationals.  New York goes into the series 1.5 games behind Washington.  Here’s the latest from the Amazins…

  • Lucas Duda underwent tests on his bad back this morning and he’ll be re-evaluated by team doctors on Monday, manager Terry Collins told reporters (including Peter Botte of the New York Daily News).  Collins admitted that he’s “really concerned” about his first baseman’s status, with David Wright also seemingly implying that Duda could miss some time.   Duda is off to a slow start, hitting .231/.297/.431 with seven homers through his first 145 PA.
  • Asdrubal Cabrera wasn’t considered a marquee signing during the Mets’ offseason but the veteran infielder has thus far delivered a very solid performance, the New York Post’s Zach Braziller writes.  Cabrera is hitting .278/.333/.373 through 171 plate appearances and despite some subpar defensive metrics, he’s been a valuable fill-in at shortstop with Wilmer Flores injured.
  • Does Stephen Strasburg’s extension with the Nationals offer any lessons for the Mets and Matt Harvey?  Newsday’s David Lennon notes that at the moment, the Mets are simply trying to get Harvey on track after a very rough start to his season.  The two aces invite comparison in many ways (i.e. both Scott Boras clients, both early-career Tommy John patients), though perhaps the most interesting point of divergence is how the Nats famously shut down Strasburg in the season following his TJ surgery rather than use him down the stretch and into the postseason, whereas the Mets used Harvey throughout their run to the World Series last year.

AL East Notes: Gallardo, Erasmo, Hill, Miller

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Yovani Gallardo threw a bullpen session this morning, the first time he has thrown off a mound since hitting the DL a month ago with shoulder tendinitis.  Gallardo and Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including MLB.com’s Fabian Ardaya) that the righty could toss another bullpen and then a simulated game later this week, though much will depend on how Gallardo is feeling in the wake of today’s session.  Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • Erasmo Ramirez has been a boon to the Rays in an old-school “fireman” relief role, able to pitch multiple innings at any point late in a game.  R.J. Anderson of CBSSports.com explores why Ramirez has been an ideal fit for this role and how the Rays’ usage of the righty could inspire other teams to turn their own relievers into firemen.
  • It looks like the Red Sox made a mistake in letting Rich Hill get away in free agent last winter given how the veteran has pitched since joining the A’s, Peter Gammons writes in his latest GammonsDaily.com piece.  With the A’s struggling and Hill standing out as possible deadline trade bait, Gammons suggests the Sox could re-acquire Hill to bolster the back half of their rotation.
  • The Hill-to-Boston scenario is also explored by ESPN’s Buster Olney in his latest subscription-only column, and he also opines that Yankees setup man Andrew Miller would be a great fit for the Giants.  Miller is signed through 2018 so San Francisco would gain a long-term bullpen piece to guard against any of all of their top relievers (Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo) leaving in free agency this winter.  Miller’s availability could depend on whether or not the Yankees are still in a pennant race themselves, though Olney notes that New York has enough elite bullpen depth to shop Miller or Aroldis Chapman even if the club is in contention.
  • In other AL East news from earlier today, the Blue Jays have made Drew Storen available and the Red Sox are prepared to spend on midseason upgrades if necessary.

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