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Athletics Notes: Pinder, Rosenthal, Shortstop

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The A’s placed versatile Chad Pinder on the 10-day injured list with a knee sprain last week, but manager Bob Melvin indicated this week that Pinder should expected to miss a fair bit longer. Speaking with Mike Ferrin on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link, with audio), Melvin called Pinder’s injury “worse than we originally anticipated” and added that he does “not expect him back anytime soon.” There’s no specific timeline on the injury or an indication as to the severity of the sprain (or any additional damage). Pinder was out to a 3-for-10 start to the season, including a homer, and has posted a .245/.304/.435 batting line in 1083 plate appearances since establishing himself as a utility option with the A’s back in 2017.

More notes out of Oakland…

  • In a recent appearance on the A’s Cast podcast, general manager David Forst indicated that Trevor Rosenthal was throwing well and feeling good early in camp before the symptoms that prompted his thoracic outlet surgery caught everyone off guard. “He threw the ball well at the beginning of camp, and it seemed like these symptoms popped up out of nowhere,” said Forst. “There’s certainly hope for [a return] sometime in August. Everyone’s protocol is a little different, and timeline’s different based on how the surgery goes.” Oakland inked Rosenthal to a surprising $11MM guarantee late in the offseason, so they’ll obviously be hoping to salvage some kind of return on that investment. For the time being, the A’s aren’t going to define their bullpen roles, it seems. Righty Lou Trivino has notched the club’s first and only save of the season thus far.
  • The A’s aren’t exactly flush with depth options at shortstop should Elvis Andrus sustain any sort of injury, as Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle notes in his latest mailbag column. Jed Lowrie or Matt Chapman could slide over to short in a pinch, should something happen mid-game, and Kawahara points out that both Vimael Machin and veteran Pete Kozma are on the A’s early taxi squad. Machin is more of a second baseman/third baseman, but he played 44 innings at short last year and has 600-plus innings there in the minors. Kozma, meanwhile, is traveling with the club on the taxi squad despite not being on the 40-man roster. The 33-year-old obviously doesn’t have a strong track record at the plate, but he’s a steady defender who enjoyed a nice showing with Oakland in Spring Training. The lack of immediate depth at shortstop is another manner in which the A’s are feeling Pinder’s absence; he’s logged 224 innings there over the past few seasons and would make a logical replacement option if Andrus were to sustain an in-game injury.

Several Former Big Leaguers Sign With Mexican League’s Guadalajara Mariachis

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6:50pm: Bonifacio’s representatives at CAA tell MLBTR that despite the announcement from Guadalajara, Bonifacio has not signed with the club and remains a free agent.

9:14am: Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio, infielder Dawel Lugo and right-hander Justin Grimm are among the former Major Leaguers on the spring roster for the Mexican League’s Guadalajara Mariachis, the team announced this week (Twitter link). Infielders Luis Sardinas and Deven Marrero are on the roster as well, as are pitchers Jason Gurka and Daniel Corcino. All have big league experience, though only Bonifacio, Grimm and Lugo were in the big leagues last season. Five-time MLB All-Star Adrian Gonzalez is also on the roster for the Mariachis, an expansion club in 2021, as was initially reported late last month.

Bonifacio, now 27, looked like a potential option for the Royals in right field back in 2017 when he slugged 17 homers in 113 games as a 24-year-old rookie. He batted .255/.320/.432 that season and was in line for a lengthier audition in 2018 before being hit with an 80-game PED suspension during Spring Training that year. Bonifacio struggled through 270 plate appearances upon returning and was out of the Royals organization a year later. He played in 30 games with the Tigers last season but managed just a .221/.277/.326 slash in 94 trips to the plate.

Grimm was an oft-used and generally successful member of the Cubs’ bullpen from 2014-16, working to a collective 3.36 ERA with a hearty 28 percent strikeout rate against a 10.5 percent walk rate through 171 1/3 innings in that time. He struggled considerably in 2017, however (5.53 ERA in 55 1/3 frames), and has yet to regain his form at the game’s top level. Now 32 years old, Grimm is certainly young enough to make another big league run if he can right the ship pitching with Guadalajara.

Lugo, meanwhile, was the headliner of the prospect package the D-backs sent to the Tigers in exchange for J.D. Martinez back in 2017. The now-26-year-old infielder appeared in the big leagues each season from 2018-20 but didn’t provide much reason for optimism, slashing just .236/.270/.358 in 400 plate appearances.

The 30-year-old Marrero was a first-round pick by the Red Sox in 2012, and while he’s a strong defender he’s never hit much in 163 big league games. Sardinas, 27, was a top prospect back in 2013-14 but hit .224/.274/.292 in 500 big league plate appearances from 2014-18. Gurka and Corcino both briefly reached the Majors between 2014-18, though they have only 40 2/3 total innings combined between them. Corcino does have a 3.97 ERA in his limited time, but he walked nearly as many hitters (13) as he struck out (16) in 22 2/3 innings.

D-backs Activate Zac Gallen

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The Diamondbacks announced Tuesday that they’ve activated right-hander Zac Gallen from the 10-day injured list. Righty Matt Peacock was optioned to their alternate site in order to open a spot on the active roster. Gallen was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right forearm last month — an injury he sustained while taking batting practice late in camp. Assuming there are no setbacks, it seems Gallen’s injury will only cost him a couple weeks of regular-season action.

Gallen, 25, will return to a D-backs rotation that has struggled thus far in 2021, thanks largely to uncharacteristically rough showings from Madison Bumgarner and Merrill Kelly. Bumgarner has been hammered for 17 runs in just 13 2/3 innings — walking eight of the 73 batters he’s faced (10.9 percent) and plunking another three. Kelly, who is trying to work his way back from thoracic outlet surgery that ended an excellent 2020 campaign prematurely, has surrendered nine earned runs in 10 frames.

Gallen will take the place of Riley Smith in the team’s rotation, manager Torey Lovullo tells reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert). If he’s back to full strength, he should step in as the team’s top starter. Already traded twice in his young career, Gallen landed with the D-backs in the 2019 deadline swap that sent Jazz Chisholm to Miami. The move was a surprise at the time, given Gallen’s six years of remaining club control and his hot start to his rookie campaign that year. He’s been every bit as good in 115 2/3 innings with the Snakes as he was in 36 1/3 frames with the Fish, pitching to a combined 2.80 ERA with a 28.5 percent strikeout rate and a 9.1 percent walk rate following the trade.

Marlins Rumors: Yermin, Greene, Dickerson

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The Marlins’ offseason trade interest in Willson Contreras was fairly well documented, but it appears he wasn’t the only Chicago catcher pursued by the Fish. Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald report that the Marlins also made an “aggressive” attempt to acquire Yermin Mercedes from the White Sox but couldn’t convince the South Siders to part with him. “Aggressive” is a relative term, but in the case of Mercedes, nearly any focused effort to pry him away could’ve been seen as such prior to Opening Day. He’d logged only a single MLB plate appearance prior to the 2021 season and entered the year as a 28-year-old with 53 Triple-A games under his belt. Scouting reports on Mercedes have universally tabbed him as a DH-only prospect who lacks a true defensive position.

There’s been no ignoring Mercedes’ remarkable breakout at the plate to begin the season, however. The bat-first characterization of his skill set looks to be well deserved, as he opened the year with an incredible eight consecutive hits and is now 16-for-32 with a pair of homers, three doubles and four walks to match his four strikeouts. Mercedes obviously won’t sustain a .538 average on balls in play, but at least early on, he looks the part of a strong DH option. Even with some regression to be expected, the torrid start has surely quelled any temptation for the White Sox to trade the “Yerminator.” The Marlins, meanwhile, figure to continue looking for catching help this summer and into next offseason, per Mish and Jackson.

A few more notes out of South Florida…

  • While the Marlins may be seeking catching help now, they had one of the game’s top all-around backstops not long ago. Miami traded J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies prior to the 2018 season, but The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal sheds some light on talks that took place with another interested party: the Reds. Talks between Cincinnati and Miami weren’t a secret at the time, and it’s been previously reported that current second baseman Jonathan India and catcher Tucker Barnhart were among the players who could’ve potentially been sent to the Marlins in a Realmuto deal with the Reds. The breaking point in talks, according to Rosenthal, was that the Reds staunchly refused to part with flamethrowing righty Hunter Greene in the deal. Greene was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 Draft, and while he’s since had Tommy John surgery, he remains a highly regarded pitching prospect. Then again, righty Sixto Sanchez, whom the Marlins actually did pick up in their eventual trade of Realmuto, is widely considered among the game’s top overall young talents.
  • Corey Dickerson doesn’t appear to be in the Marlins’ plans beyond 2021, Jackson and Mish add in the previously linked Herald column, making a trade at this year’s deadline appear possible. Dickerson stood out as a rather logical on-paper trade candidate in the first place, as a veteran on an expiring contract with an up-and-coming team that most do not expect to contend for a playoff berth. Dickerson, who’ll turn 32 in May, has batted just .259/.314/.402 through his first 243 plate appearances as a Marlin dating back to 2020. He inked a two-year, $17.5MM deal to serve as Miami’s primary left fielder, and while his power and exit velocity have dropped off, his strikeout and walk rates have actually improved a bit with the Fish. As of this year’s July 30 trade deadline, Dickerson will still have $2.97MM remaining on this year’s $8.5MM salary, plus an additional $1MM owed to him in the form of a deferred signing bonus. The Marlins could need to absorb a portion of that sum in order to bring about a trade.

2021 Trade Deadline Will Be July 30

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This year’s trade deadline will be slightly earlier than usual, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reporting that it’ll fall on July 30 rather than the customary July 31. Major League Baseball preferred to have the 4pm ET deadline fall on a day where afternoon games aren’t scheduled to take place, so as to avoid scenarios where players head out to the field as the hours until the deadline dwindle. Doing so eliminates some injury risk and uncomfortable scenarios where a player could be injured during play as a trade surrounding him is completed.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen the deadline moved up or pushed back a day in order to avoid that situation, and it’s unlikely to be the last. For instance, the league pushed the deadline back to Aug. 1 in 2016, the last time it was slated to fall on a Sunday, when nearly every team in the league was scheduled for games in the early to mid-afternoon. With the 2022 deadline also set for a Sunday, that type of shift could happen next year. It’s also possible that the upcoming wave of collective bargaining negotiations could bring about a more substantial change.

Obviously it’s a minor shift for the 2021 campaign, but it’s nevertheless notable for the league’s 30 teams. Today, more than ever, we tend to see Major League teams wait until the last possible minute to determine whether it’s appropriate to acquire help, sell off some veteran pieces or take some form of hybrid approach. It’s also feasible that even a marginally earlier deadline could afford a team an extra start from a pitcher it plans to acquire, which could have a minor impact on the manner in which a trade candidate is valued.

Trevor Rosenthal Undergoes Thoracic Outlet Surgery

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APRIL 8: Rosenthal underwent thoracic outlet surgery Thursday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com tweets. He’ll be re-evaluated in eight weeks.

APRIL 7: After opening the season on the injured list due to a shoulder problem, Athletics closer Trevor Rosenthal could now require thoracic outlet surgery to address the injury, manager Bob Melvin announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News). It’s a sudden and troubling development for a struggling A’s club. The procedure would come with “at least” a 12-week recovery time, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The right-hander is weighing his options and is expected to make a decision in the near future.

Rosenthal, 30, spent much of the offseason seeking a lucrative multi-year deal after turning in an absolutely dominant performance between the Royals and the Padres last season. However, when he wasn’t able to find a long-term deal to his liking, the hard-throwing righty opted for a one-year deal at a strong $11MM rate to serve as the closer at the pitcher-friendly O.Co Coliseum.

It was a surprise investment for an A’s club that spent most of the winter idling on the sidelines as teams throughout the league sifted through the free-agent market. Only after the A’s were able to shed a notable portion of Khris Davis’ contract did they enter the free-agent waters, and even then, their initial expenditures were modest, one-year commitments to Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Romo and Mitch Moreland. Rosenthal was an entirely different type of spend, and it’s now an open question whether they’ll get any real return on what was a major splash by their standards.

Thoracic outlet syndrome is the latest in a series of setbacks for Rosenthal, who broke into the league as one of the game’s most dominant young relievers with the Cardinals but has since struggled to stay healthy. Tommy John surgery wiped out Rosenthal’s entire 2018 season, and when he returned with the Nationals in 2019, he developed a sudden case of the yips. Rosenthal walked 26 of the 85 batters he faced between Washington and Detroit that season. He also hit another four batters and snapped off nine wild pitches in just 15 1/3 innings. He tried to find himself with the Yankees’ Triple-A club but faced just five hitters with Scranton, issuing three walks, hitting a fourth batter and throwing another wild pitch.

Those immense struggles made Rosenthal’s comeback in 2020 all the more remarkable. Not only did he rediscover some big league success, he emerged as one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball. Through 23 2/3 innings between Kansas City and San Diego, Rosenthal notched a 1.90 ERA with an overpowering 41.8 percent strikeout rate, a strong 8.8 percent walk rate and a fastball that averaged 98.1 mph. It was vintage Rosenthal.

From here, the future is sadly muddied once again. The track record for pitchers coming back from thoracic outlet surgery is generally poor, and few pitchers have undergone both Tommy John surgery and a TOS procedure in such close proximity. Matt Harvey is the most prominent example of a pitcher to undergo both operations in a short time, missing the 2014 season due to Tommy John and then undergoing TOS midway through the 2016 campaign. Obviously, he’s been unable to rediscover the dominant form he displayed early in his career.

There are certainly success stories among pitchers who’ve had surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. Recently retired righty and current Rangers general manager Chris Young credited the procedure with saving his career, and Rosenthal’s former Cardinals teammate, Jaime Garcia, enjoyed a productive three-year stretch upon returning from his own TOS operation.

For the Athletics, the new development on Rosenthal means they’ll be extra reliant on veterans like Romo, Petit and Jake Diekman in the late innings. Right-handers Lou Trivino and J.B. Wendelken have had their share of success in the big leagues as well; Wendelken in particular has been quietly dominant dating back to 2018. The A’s also have a former top 10 overall pick, left-hander A.J. Puk, as an intriguing option in the ’pen this year as he looks to put his own injury woes in the rearview mirror.

Mariners Place James Paxton, Jake Fraley On Injured List

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12:35pm: The Mariners announced that Paxton and Fraley have both been placed on the 10-day injured list. Paxton has been diagnosed with a left forearm strain, while the MRI confirmed a hamstring strain for Fraley. The Mariners recalled outfielder Braden Bishop and righty Ljay Newsome from their alternate training site to take their spots on the roster.

8:22am: James Paxton returned to the Mariners’ rotation last night after two years in the Bronx, but his start was cut short by another forearm injury, as he exited after just 1 1/3 innings. Outfielder Jake Fraley, meanwhile, left the game with what the team later announced as a hamstring strain after making a diving catch in left field. Both players will undergo an MRI this morning, manager Scott Servais told reporters after the game (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times).

Paxton’s 2020 season with the Yankees was cut short by a forearm strain, so it’s obviously a concerning development for him to suffer this type of injury — particularly so early in the season. The lefty did tell Divish and others that the pain he’s feeling in his arm isn’t at the same level as it was when he sustained that injury last summer.

The Mariners brought Paxton back to the organization on a one-year, $8.5MM free agent deal over the winter. The 32-year-old had interest from several teams, as one would expect based on his track record of success, but he seemingly preferred to return to Seattle. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto noted at the time of the signing that Paxton had been sharp in workouts for MLB teams and gave the club something of a “hometown discount.”

The reunion looked to be going well in Spring Training, where Paxton struck out half of the 34 batters he faced and allowed just one run during Cactus League play. For the time being, he struck an optimistic tone that the current issue could be muscular in nature and something from which he can quickly return.

As for Fraley, the 25-year-old is out to an unusual start to his 2021 season. He’s just 1-for-10 through five games, but he’s drawn eight walks and been hit by a pitch, leading to a bizarre .100/.500/.200 batting line through his first 19 plate appearances. Acquired from the Rays as part of the Mike Zunino trade, Fraley hasn’t hit much in two prior stints with the Mariners in 2019-20, but he only tallied 70 plate appearances during that time. He’s a career .286/.362/.480 hitter in the minors — including a .276/.333/.553 showing in 38 Triple-A games.

For the moment, however, it seems that an IL stint could be on the horizon, which will have the baseball world watching intently. The most straightforward move for the M’s would simply be to recall Braden Bishop from their alternate site, as he’s on the 40-man roster already, but Seattle also has top prospect Jarred Kelenic on the cusp of his first big league promotion as well.

Kelenic’s service time status was thrust into the national spotlight when now-former CEO Kevin Mather blatantly indicated in a Q&A with the Bellevue Rotary Club that the 21-year-old Kelenic had turned down an extension offer and wouldn’t be called to the Majors until mid-April (the general point at which the Mariners would gain an extra year of control over Kelenic). Kelenic missed some time in Spring Training with a minor knee injury, but he returned to the lineup and immediately went 3-for-6 with a double and a homer in two games before being reassigned to minor league camp, so the injury looks to be behind him.

It still seems likelier that the Mariners will turn to Bishop for the time being, as calling up Kelenic now would still give him enough time to accrue a full year of Major League service in 2021. That would no longer be the case as soon as next weekend, however.

Turning back to the pitching staff, the Mariners were already using a six-man rotation, so it’s likely they’ll simply shorten up to five starters for the time being and carry an extra reliever. The bullpen had to cover 7 2/3 innings last night and took a beating at the hands of the White Sox in the process, so Seattle would probably prefer to get a fresh arm into the relief mix anyhow.

It’s at least worth noting that as with the Fraley/Kelenic situation, the Mariners have a highly regarded pitching prospect who is near MLB readiness: 2018 first-rounder Logan Gilbert. While this comment didn’t draw as much attention as the Kelenic revelation, Mather indicated in that same interview that he expected Gilbert to be pitching in the Majors by mid-April (obviously, an allusion to his service time). Gilbert, however, only tossed a pair of innings in Spring Training before being reassigned to minor league camp, so he may not yet be built up to the point where he’s an option even in the event that Paxton is shelved for a notable period of time. If the Mariners want to stick with a six-man rotation and Paxton does miss some time, they could give a few starts to Ljay Newsome and/or Nick Margevicius. Before too long, however, Gilbert seems likely to emerge as an option at the big league level.

White Sox Place Tim Anderson On Injured List

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The White Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve placed shortstop Tim Anderson on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 5, due to a strained left hamstring. Anderson exited Sunday’s game due to tightness in his hamstring, and it would seem that discomfort has not dissipated. Fellow infielder Danny Mendick was recalled from the Sox’ alternate site in Schaumburg to take Anderson’s spot on the roster.

With Anderson sidelined temporarily, the Sox are down two of their best hitters early in the season. Anderson’s absence obviously isn’t expected to be as lengthy as that of Eloy Jimenez, who is expected to miss the majority of the season due to a ruptured pectoral tendon, but his absence will be felt in the short-term.

Anderson, 27, was out to just a 3-for-15 start in 2021, though his work at the plate since Opening Day 2019 speaks for itself. He’s been not just one of Chicago’s best hitters over the past two seasons but one of the best hitters on the planet, raking at a .331/.357/.514 batting line with 28 homers, 43 doubles and a triple in 739 trips to the plate.

Mendick, a career .260/.292/.404 hitter in 154 big league plate appearances won’t replicate that offensive output, but he’ll give the South Siders a solid glove to install at the position while Anderson’s injury heals. He’s in the lineup at shortstop today, batting ninth for the series finale against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

Twins Select Brandon Waddell, Place Brent Rooker On Injured List

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The Twins will place outfielder/first baseman Brent Rooker on the 10-day injured list with a cervical strain in his neck and select the contract of left-hander Brandon Waddell from their alternate training site today, the club announced. Hard-throwing young righty Edwar Colina was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Waddell. Colina is dealing with inflammation in his right elbow.

Rooker, 26, was the No. 35 overall pick back in the 2017 draft and has had some rough luck early in his big league career. He burst onto the scene with a .316/.381/.579 slash through seven games last summer before sustaining a fractured forearm when he was hit by a pitch. That injury ended his season, and Rooker will now head back to the injured list after just appearing in just three games in 2021.

Rooker is a bat-first prospect who isn’t likely viewed as the team’s long-term answer in left field, but his power bat is still expected to get a legitimate audition when he’s healthy. He can shift between first, left field and DH, and given that his most recent minor league work in 2019 produced a .282/.399/.530 batting line in 67 games between Double-A and Triple-A, it’s not hard to see why the organization is bullish on him. The Twins did not give an immediate indication as to how long the new injury is expected to sideline Rooker.

As for the 26-year-old Waddell, an eventual big league audition with the Twins appeared likely after the former Pirates farmhand turned heads in Spring Training. Waddell yielded five runs in 9 1/3 innings, but he also struck out 15 of the 36 hitters he faced (41.7 percent) and showed what the Twins felt was a demonstrably improved arsenal. Minnesota claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh at the end of the 2020 season and managed to sneak Waddell through waivers in late February, but his absence from the 40-man roster proved brief.

Waddell has a pair of minor league options remaining, so the Twins will be able to send him down to their alternate site in St. Paul without exposing him to waivers for a second time. For now, he’ll join Taylor Rogers and Caleb Thielbar as a third lefty in manager Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen.

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