MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Braves Designate Sean Newcomb For Assignment, Option Huascar Ynoa
The Braves have designated left-hander Sean Newcomb for assignment, per a club announcement. They’ve also optioned righty Huascar Ynoa to Triple-A Gwinnett and recalled right-hander Touki Toussaint and lefty Dylan Lee in place of Newcomb and Ynoa. Additionally, the Braves announced that Ronald Acuna Jr. is headed out on a minor league rehab assignment.
Newcomb’s DFA comes on the heels of a three-year downturn that have seen the starter-turned-setup-man’s effectiveness dwindle considerably. The No. 15 overall pick by the Angels back in 2014, Newcomb headlined the Braves’ return in the trade that sent Andrelton Simmons to Anaheim. After a solid rookie showing in 2017, he looked to have broken out in 2018 when he made 30 starts and pitched to a 3.90 ERA over the life of 164 innings. Newcomb’s 23% strikeout rate was solid, but his 11.6% walk rate marked a continuation of ongoing command troubles that had plagued him dating back to his minor league days.
Despite a decent start to the 2019 season, Newcomb was optioned to Gwinnett in mid-April and returned as a reliever in early May. The new role seemed to suit him just fine, as he pitched to a 2.89 ERA with improved strikeout and walk rates (25.5% and 8.9%, respectively) in 56 innings the rest of the way. Averaging just shy of 95 mph on his heater and putting the ball on the ground on more than half of the batted balls against him, Newcomb looked the part of a quality late-inning option.
That hasn’t proven to be the case, however. Dating back to 2020, Newcomb has a 6.71 ERA in 51 big league innings and has spent some time shuttling between Gwinnett and the big leagues. He’s walked more than 15% of his opponents since Opening Day 2020, plunked another five batters and thrown seven wild pitches. Newcomb is out of minor league options, and with him yielding four runs on seven hits and four walks through just five innings (26 batters faced) to begin the season, the Braves made the choice to cut bait.
Newcomb is earning $900K this season after avoiding arbitration this past offseason. He’s still owed about $842K of that sum for the remainder of the season, and any team that claims him or acquires him via trade would be on the hook for the remainder of that sum. If a new team is able to help Newcomb right the ship, however, he’d be controllable through the 2024 season via arbitration. Given that his salary is only $200K north of the new league minimum, it’s certainly possible that another club will look to help get the once-successful southpaw back on track. The Braves will have a week to trade Newcomb, attempt to pass him through waivers or release him. If he’s released, the new signing team would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster.
As for Ynoa, he’ll remain on the 40-man roster and hope to work toward another big league shot after an awful start to the season. The former Twins prospect, acquired in the deal that briefly sent Jaime Garcia to Minnesota, had a short breakout last year when he pitched to a 3.09 ERA over an eight-start stretch that spanned 43 2/3 frames. Ynoa, however, suffered a broken hand when he punched the bench following a poor start and spent two months on the injured list. When he returned, he posted a 5.05 ERA in 46 1/3 frames, and those struggles have not only continued but escalated in 2022. So far this year, he’s made two starts, both shorter than four innings, and yielded five earned runs in each.
The news on Acuna is a welcome sight for Braves fans, as it signifies that — barring any setbacks in his rehab from last year’s ACL tear — he’ll be back with the big league club within a month’s time. Minor league rehab windows are capped at 30 days, so Acuna will be back by mid-May, health-permitting.
Jacob deGrom Slated For Followup MRI Next Week
Mets ace Jacob deGrom is slated to undergo a followup MRI on his ailing right shoulder next Monday, the team told reporters Tuesday (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). If that round of imaging goes well, it’s possible he’ll be cleared to begin throwing shortly thereafter.
The Mets haven’t received an inning from deGrom so far in 2022, as he’s been shelved after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right scapula back on April 1. The original recommendation was for a four-week shutdown. A two-time Cy Young winner, deGrom pitched to a superhuman 1.08 ERA with a 45.1% strikeout rate and 3.4% walk rate in 92 frames last year before being shut down in early July with a forearm issue that eventually proved to be a season-ender.
There’s still no timetable on deGrom’s return and won’t be until that MRI next week is complete, although the Mets have not yet placed him on the 60-day injured list. That leaves open the possibility that he could return before the early-June point that such a move would necessitate.
Even without deGrom and right-hander Taijuan Walker, who’s currently out with a case of bursitis in his right shoulder, the Mets’ rotation hasn’t missed much of a beat so far in 2021. Righty Tylor Megill has gotten out to a magnificent start, hurling 11 shutout innings while brandishing an improved heater that has enjoyed a velocity spike of nearly two miles per hour. Former Cleveland star Carlos Carrasco, who struggled mightily in his first year with the Mets last season, has looked like his old self for his first two trips to the mound. Trade acquisition Chris Bassitt, meanwhile, has allowed just one run through a dozen frames. Max Scherzer has had a pair of sharp outings to begin his Mets career, and lefty David Peterson has yet to allow a run through 8 1/3 frames.
The 33-year-old deGrom is being paid $33.5MM in the penultimate guaranteed season of a five-year, $137.5MM contract. He can opt out of that deal at season’s end — a right he’s said he still plans to exercise even after missing the early portion of the season on the injured list. The right-hander’s current contract would pay him $30.5MM in 2023 and gives the Mets a $32.5MM option on the 2024 season.
Brewers Trade Dustin Peterson To Phillies
The Phillies announced this morning that they’ve acquired outfielder Dustin Peterson from the Brewers in exchange for cash and assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Peterson, 27, was the No. 50 overall draft pick by the Padres back in 2013 and was well-regarded enough a year later to be one of four players San Diego traded to Atlanta in exchange for then-star outfielder Justin Upton. Peterson, however, never put together a particularly lengthy run of success in the upper minors. He made a brief big league appearance with the Braves in 2018, going hitless in two plate appearances, before the rebuilding Tigers plucked him off waivers that September.
Detroit gave Peterson a bit more of a run in 2019, but he still received what could charitably be described as a cup of coffee in the Majors. Peterson logged 17 games and 47 plate appearances as a Tiger in 2019, hitting .227/.277/.318 with four doubles, a stolen base and a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio.
The 2021 season was perhaps Peterson’s most productive in Triple-A, as he spent the year with the Brewers’ top affiliate and posted a solid .271/.347/.416 batting line with nine home runs and 15 doubles in 329 trips to the plate. Encouragingly, the righty-swinging Peterson walked at a 9.1% clip that ranked as the best mark of his minor league career and struck out in just 13.4% of his plate appearances — far and away the lowest rate of his career. He’s only had 11 plate appearances in Triple-A so far this season but has continued those trends in that microscopic sample, walking four times against just one strikeout. In parts of five Triple-A campaigns, Peterson is a .268/.327/.394 hitter.
Originally drafted as a third baseman, Peterson moved to the outfield after just two minor league seasons and has been primarily a left fielder to this point in his professional career. His 3826 innings there are more than he has at every other position combined, though it’s worth pointing out that in addition to his third base experience back in 2013-14, Peterson has logged more than 1000 innings at first base and more than 400 in right field.
The addition of Peterson is likely more about minor league depth than it is near-term help for the MLB roster. The Phils lost both Odubel Herrera and Mickey Moniak to early injuries, and they also traded Adam Haseley to the White Sox late in Spring Training. That’s prompted them to bring Simon Muzziotti up to the big leagues and lean on Matt Vierling in center field. Peterson will join Roman Quinn, Justin Williams, John Andreoli and Jorge Bonifacio in the outfield mix with Lehigh Valley for the time being, though it’s possible that with a big showing in Triple-A, he could work his way up to the Majors at some point.
This marks the second time in as many weeks that Milwaukee has traded away a fairly productive depth option in exchange for cash. The Brewers traded infielder/outfielder Jamie Westbrook to Detroit in exchange for cash on April 13.
Injury Notes: Buxton, Walker, Tatis
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton exited Friday’s game with what initially looked like it could be a notable knee injury, but an MRI over the weekend ruled out any structural damage. Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters Monday morning that Buxton is feeling optimistic and that within the next day or two, the Twins would be “talking about a specific plan for getting him back out there” (Twitter link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). President of baseball operations Derek Falvey joined the booth as a guest during the broadcast of today’s game and added that the hope is for Buxton, who has not been placed on the injured list, to rejoin the lineup at some point during the Twins’ upcoming series against the Royals. The Twins will travel to Kansas City for a three-game set running from Tuesday through Thursday.
The latest on some more health situations around the game:
- Righty Taijuan Walker is headed out on a minor league rehab assignment this week and is expected to start for the Mets‘ Class-A Advanced affiliate on Wednesday, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Walker, who landed on the injured list last week due to a case of bursitis in his pitching shoulder, may only need the one rehab appearance before being cleared to return. DiComo suggests the 29-year-old right-hander will likely line up to start one of next week’s games against the Cardinals. Walker’s first outing of the season lasted just two innings, but it seems he’ll be able to make a swift return to the rotation, barring any setbacks of note during his rehab outing. Walker posted a 4.47 ERA in 30 appearances for the Mets in 2021.
- Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. has progressed to participating in light on-field baseball activities, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The two-time Silver Slugger award winner simulated taking ground-balls during infield practice before tonight’s game against the Reds, throwing the ball across the diamond to first base. Tatís is still wearing a brace and has yet to progress to fielding or swinging a bat as he rehabs from the mid-March surgery he underwent to repair a fractured scaphoid bone in his left wrist. The Padres initially placed a three-month timetable on his return to the field, though Cassavell writes Tatís recently opined he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery. The organization won’t make any firmer timetable until he begins to swing a bat, which manager Bob Melvin says will be the final baseball activity the team allows him to take. Tatís is on the 60-day injured list and ineligible to return until the first week of June. In all likelihood, he’ll be out for a bit beyond when he’s first eligible to return, but it’s welcome news that he’s progressed to getting some pre-game work in on the field.
Tony Watson Announces Retirement
Veteran left-handed reliever Tony Watson is retiring after 11 seasons at the Major League level, he tells Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. Watson issued a statement thanking his teammates, peers, coaches and support staff members, as well as the four teams for which he pitched — Pirates, Dodgers, Giants, Angels — and his family and friends for their support throughout his career. Nesbitt further tweets that Watson originally hoped to continue on for at least a 12th season, but shoulder issues led him to call it a career.
As Nesbitt points out, Watson will step away from baseball as the all-time leader in holds (a statistic which has been recorded since 1999), having racked up 246 of them throughout his big league tenure. That’s a testament to the southpaw’s consistency and effectiveness. Not only did his reliability convince managers to give Watson the ball with small leads year-after-year, he frequently passed them along into the later innings by keeping runs off the board.
Watson exceeded 40 innings in ten of the the past eleven seasons, with only the shortened 2020 schedule keeping him from hitting that mark every year of his career. Only once did he post an ERA north of 4.00, and he allowed fewer than three earned runs per nine innings on four separate occasions. That included three straight excellent campaigns with the Pirates in 2013-15, during which time the University of Nebraska product tossed 224 1/3 innings of 1.97 ERA ball, stifling opposing hitters to a .212/.265/.297 slash line.
Amidst that run, Watson earned a deserved selection to the 2014 All-Star game. He struck out 26.6% of opposing hitters that year — the second-highest rate of his career — while posting a 1.63 ERA and leading the National League with 78 appearances. Watson remained eminently productive throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, which concluded at the 2017 trade deadline when the non-contending Bucs shipped the impending free agent to the Dodgers. (That deal looks as if it’ll be a meaningful one for years to come in Pittsburgh, as now-top prospect Oneil Cruz went from L.A. in return).
As he was throughout his career, Watson proved an effective late-season addition for the Dodgers. He then signed a three-year deal with the division-rival Giants, where he remained a solid bullpen option. Between 2018-20, Watson posted a 3.20 ERA in 138 frames. He signed with the Angels in free agency last winter, but San Francisco brought him back via a deadline trade. Watson had run into some uncharacteristic struggles in Orange County, but he righted the ship for what’ll prove to be his final run in the Bay Area.
Even as he neared his 37th birthday, the Iowa native was one of the better left-handed relievers in this year’s free agent class. He reportedly drew some interest from the Mets last month, but his shoulder will prevent him from giving it another go. Nevertheless, Watson steps away from the game as one of the more quietly effective relievers of the past decade. He posted a 2.90 ERA in 648 1/3 innings across 11 major league campaigns. In addition to his aforementioned holds record, he saved 32 games and struck out 570 batters. MLBTR congratulates Watson on his long, successful run and wishes him all the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Yankees Sign Derek Dietrich To Minor League Deal
The Yankees have signed infielder Derek Dietrich to a minor league contract, per Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. It’ll be the second straight season with time spent in the Yankees organization for Dietrich, who’s represented by All Bases Covered Sports Management.
Dietrich, 32, didn’t play in the big leagues last year, instead splitting the season between the Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees and Nationals. In a combined 302 trips to the plate during that time, he slashed .163/.338/.293 — a continuation of the struggles he’s endured in his most recent big league stints. Dietrich swatted 19 home runs with the Reds in 2019, going on an epic May hot streak that saw him swat 12 home runs in a month’s time while slashing .304/.400/.841. It’s been downhill since, however, as evidenced by a .143/.311/.302 slash in his past 236 Major League plate appearances.
Dietrich has drawn plenty of walks in recent years, both in the big leagues and in Triple-A, as he’s morphed into a three-true-outcome player. Since 2019, in 682 plate appearances between the Majors and Triple-A, Dietrich has homered, walked or struck out in 44.1% of his plate appearances. Add in another somewhat incredible 53 instances of being hit by a pitch, and 51.8% of Dietrich’s plate appearances have ended without a ball in play for defenders to field.
The Yankees have plenty of options at first base and second base, Dietrich’s primary positions, already on the depth chart. Anthony Rizzo and Marwin Gonzalez, both in the Majors, will see the lion’s share of time at first base. Old friend Greg Bird and Ronald Guzman are both playing in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. At second base, the Yanks are set with DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Gonzalez on the big league roster, to say nothing of journeymen Jose Peraza and Phillip Evans and top prospect Oswaldo Cabrera down in Triple-A. (Cabrera is on the 40-man roster.) Dietrich, who also has experience in left field and at third base, will give the Yanks another lefty bat to add to that mix in Scranton.
Reds Sign Ross Detwiler To Minor League Deal
The Reds have signed lefty Ross Detwiler to a minor league contract, per Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. The CAA client hasn’t yet been assigned to an affiliate, but his deal with the team is also reflected on the Reds’ transactions log at MLB.com.
Detwiler, 36, split the 2021 season between the Marlins and Padres, working to a combined 4.64 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate, an 8.7% walk rate and a 39.9% ground-ball rate in 52 1/3 innings. Detwiler made five starts, albeit working primarily as an opener, though his work to kick off games did not go well. The well-traveled southpaw notched a 2.82 ERA as a reliever while holding opponents to an awful .186/.287/.311 batting line. As a starter, he tossed 7 2/3 innings and was clobbered for 13 runs on 14 hits (seven homers) and three walks, with opponents batting .378/.439/1.054.
The former No. 6 overall draft pick has had plenty of experience pitching both out of rotations and bullpens in the big leagues, but he’s been far more effective as a reliever late in his career. That goes beyond just the 2021 season; Detwiler had a nice year with the White Sox in 2020, tossing 19 2/3 innings with a 3.20 ERA out of the bullpen. Dating back to 2018, Detwiler has a 4.12 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate in 83 innings as a reliever. Working as a starter in that time, he’s been tagged for a 6.96 ERA with just a 15.9% strikeout rate.
While Detwiler could technically give the Reds some rotation depth at a time when both Luis Castillo and Mike Minor are on the injured list, that recent track record makes him seem far likelier to serve as left-handed bullpen depth. Justin Wilson is currently the only lefty reliever in manager David Bell‘s bullpen, and Cincinnati doesn’t have another lefty option on the 40-man roster. Former Rockies reliever Phillip Diehl is in Triple-A Louisville, and Detwiler seems likely to join him there as an upper-level option once he gets built up.
Mike Minor Shut Down Following Setback In Shoulder Rehab
After letting Wade Miley go via waivers and trading Sonny Gray to the Twins in the offseason (amid other cost-cutting moves), the Reds attempted to restock the rotation in a trade that sent reliever Amir Garrett to the Royals in exchange for veteran southpaw Mike Minor. Not long after the trade, the Reds revealed that Minor was battling some shoulder issues and expected to begin the season on the injured list, though skipper David Bell suggested at the time that the shoulder soreness was not overly concerning.
Minor went on a rehab assignment last week, but the lefty suffered a setback in his first appearance with Double-A Chattanooga. Per The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans, Minor has now been shut down for the time being and returned to Cincinnati. He’s back into a rest-and-rehab program and will need to build arm strength back up whenever he’s cleared to begin throwing. At present, there’s no timetable for Minor’s return.
It’s a depth blow to a Reds rotation that is also without top starter Luis Castillo, who’s also been sidelined thanks to shoulder issues. Castillo’s work early in camp was delayed by shoulder soreness, but he’s said to be healthy now and is throwing to hitters as he ramps up toward a rehab assignment of his own. The Reds have previously expressed optimism that Castillo could return late this month. With both Castillo and Minor shelved, Cincinnati has been deploying Tyler Mahle, Reiver Sanmartin, Vladimir Gutierrez and top prospects Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo as its starting five.
The setback to Minor figures to only further rile a fanbase that wasn’t happy with the Reds’ offseason direction. Cincinnati let Miley go on waivers to spare a $1MM buyout on a $10MM club option they weren’t going to exercise — the Cubs claimed him and happily picked that option up — but months later took on about $7.3MM in salary to acquire Minor on the heels of a less-productive season. Of course, Cincinnati couldn’t have known early in the offseason that they’d manage to successfully jettison the remaining three years and $35MM on Eugenio Suarez‘s contract. The money saved in the Jesse Winker/Suarez trade with the Mariners surely played a role in the Reds’ decisions to acquire Minor and sign free agents Tommy Pham, Donovan Solano (also currently on the injured list) and Hunter Strickland.
Minor, 34, is in the second guaranteed season of a two-year, $18MM contract originally signed with Kansas City. The Reds hold a $13MM club option on him with a $1MM buyout, though the Royals agreed to pay that buyout as part of the trade. Over the past two seasons, Minor has a 5.18 ERA in 215 1/3 innings, albeit with much more palatable strikeout and walk rates (23.2% and 6.7%, respectively).
Red Sox Place Kevin Plawecki On Covid IL
The Red Sox are placing catcher Kevin Plawecki on the Covid-19-related injured list after he tested positive this morning, tweets Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Plawecki and a pair of Red Sox staff members had positive tests this morning. The two staffers are not on the coaching staff, tweets Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe.
Catcher Connor Wong is already headed to Fenway Park from nearby Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. Plawecki’s placement on the Covid list will temporarily open a 40-man roster spot, though Wong is already on the 40-man, so for the time being Boston’s 40-man roster will be at 39 players.
Major League Baseball’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, which were jointly agreed upon by the league and the players association, stipulate a 10-day absence for players who test positive, but it’s not a strict 10-day requirement. Plawecki will be able to return to the team sooner if he has a pair of negative PCR tests, goes more than 24 hours without a fever and is approved both by a Red Sox medical official and a panel of one MLB-appointed and one MLBPA-appointed third-party medical expert (the “joint committee”). Plawecki is vaccinated, tweets ESPN’s Joon Lee.
The 31-year-old Plawecki has appeared in four games for the Sox thus far, collecting a hit, a walk and a sacrifice fly in 12 plate appearances. He’s in his third season with Boston and enjoyed a career-best run at the plate in 2020-21 with the Sox, hitting a combined .305/.364/.414 in 262 plate appearances. Wong, 25, went 4-for-13 with a double and a triple in last year’s MLB debut with the Red Sox. One of three players the Sox received in the trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers, Wong hit .256/.289/.442 in 208 Triple-A plate appearances last season and is out to a 4-for-16 start with the WooSox thus far in 2022.