Rockies Place Jon Gray On Injured List, Select Julian Fernandez
The Rockies announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Jon Gray on the 10-day injured list due to tightness in his right forearm. Colorado also selected the contract of right-hander Julian Fernandez and recalled righties Antonio Santos and Justin Lawrence from Triple-A Albuquerque as rosters expand to 28 players.
Forearm tightness is ominous for any pitcher and is particularly alarming given the manner in which Gray’s performance has dropped in recent weeks. A bright spot in the Rockies’ rotation for much of the season, Gray has compiled just 22 innings in his past five appearances and been rocked for a 6.55 earned run average in that time. There’s been no drop in his velocity, but the results alone are enough for concern when combined with an injury.
Gray is a free agent at season’s end, which prompted broad-reaching expectations that the Rockies would move him at the trade deadline. That didn’t happen, however, and the Rockies have voiced hope that they can keep Gray beyond the current season. The interest is mutual, as Gray has said he enjoys playing in Denver and would welcome a contract extension. The Rockies are currently expected to issue Gray a qualifying offer, which would be for one year in the $18-19MM range, but any arm injury of note could impact both the potential for a QO and the potential for a long-term deal.
Fernandez, 25, will be making his Major League debut when he first pitches in a game. The righty was originally signed by the Rockies out of the Dominican Republic and has had a rather unusual journey to the big leagues. The Rockies lost Fernandez to the division-rival Giants in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, but he suffered a ligament injury in his pitching elbow that spring and required Tommy John surgery. The Giants carried him all through that 2018 season but removed him from the roster in November 2018 — at which point the Marlins claimed Fernandez. He spent much of the 2019 season continuing his rehab before suffering a setback that shut him down. Miami returned him to the Rockies in October 2019, nearly two years after he’d been selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
Because of those injuries and the lack of a minor league season in 2020, the 2021 campaign marks the first time since 2017 that Fernandez has pitched in an actual game. Finally healthy, the right-hander had a nice showing in Double-A before an even more impressive run in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting. He’s pitched to a combined 2.53 ERA in 42 2/3 innings this season, including a sterling 0.64 mark in Triple-A, where he’s fanned a third of his opponents against just a 7.4 percent walk rate.
White Sox Designate Jake Lamb For Assignment, Place Tim Anderson On Injured List
The White Sox announced a series of roster moves Wednesday in conjunction with September roster expansion (from 26 to 28 players). Infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb has been designated for assignment, with shortstop Tim Anderson landing on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Aug. 29) with a strained left hamstring. The White Sox have also reinstated Billy Hamilton from the injured list, recalled infielder/outfielder Gavin Sheets and righty Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte, and (as previously covered here) selected the contract of utilityman Romy Gonzalez from Charlotte.
Lamb, 30, was an All-Star with the Diamondbacks in 2017 and slugged 59 round-trippers as their everyday third baseman from 2016-17. Shoulder injuries, which culminated in surgery to repair his rotator cuff, derailed his 2018-20 seasons, however. He had a nice showing with the A’s late in 2020 but hasn’t been the same player since those shoulder troubles arose.
That’s largely been the case so far in 2021, too. Lamb missed a bit more than a month with strained quadriceps earlier this summer, but even when healthy he’s been a somewhat seldom-used bench option, appearing in 43 games and tallying 131 trips to the plate. Lamb’s current .212/.321/.389 line in that time is an improvement over recent seasons but nowhere near the .248/.345/.498 pace at which he hit during that brief peak in Arizona. He’ll be placed on outright waivers or released in the coming days.
Anderson, 28, has missed the White Sox’ last three games with what the team described as general soreness in his legs, but it now appears there’s a more accurate diagnosis of what has been hobbling him. The Sox didn’t provide a timeline for his return, but they’ve had the American League Central locked down for months now, so they can afford to be cautious with his recovery. The 2019 AL batting champ is in the midst of another strong season, hitting .302/.331/.458 with 14 home runs and 17 stolen bases.
Hamilton, Sheets and Foster have all been with the Sox at various points in the 2021 season. Hamilton has had a pair of IL stints and hasn’t produced at the plate, but his speed and glovework in the outfield remain elite. Sheets hit just .225 with a .293 OBP when he was promoted for his big league debut earlier this summer, but he also ripped six homers and five doubles in 99 plate appearances — good for a .483 slugging percentage. Foster has been hit hard this season, evidenced by a 5.67 ERA in 33 1/3 innings, but he posted a 2.20 ERA with outstanding K-BB numbers through 28 2/3 frames in 2020.
Mariners Extend Jerry Dipoto, Scott Servais
The Mariners announced Wednesday that they’ve promoted general manager Jerry Dipoto to president of baseball operations and signed him to a multi-year contract extension. The club has also announced a multi-year extension for manager Scott Servais. The length of the contracts were not specified.
“Jerry is a creative, passionate leader with a clear vision for our franchise,” managing partner John Stanton said in today’s press release. “Following the 2018 season, Jerry came to us with a plan for how to compete for and win championships. He was transparent on the difficulty, but also clear on the goals and milestones. In the two-and-a-half years since, he has led the baseball operations group through challenges on and off the field, while executing on the timeline he laid out.”
Stanton points out that the Mariners’ 91-76 record since the midpoint of last season ranks sixth in baseball, praises the “first-class operations and analytics team” built by Dipoto, and expresses pride in a farm system that recently topped Baseball America’s midseason rankings. The Mariners are also just three and a half games back in the American League Wild Card race, outperforming broad expectations in what most expected to be another rebuilding season.
The 2021 campaign is Dipoto’s sixth full season with the Mariners, who hired him as general manager on Sept. 28, 2015. He’d previously served as interim general manager of the Diamondbacks and spent nearly five seasons as general manager of the Angels before leaving the organization after a public rift with manager Mike Scioscia. Dipoto then served as a special assistant in the Red Sox’ front office before being tabbed as Seattle’s new head of baseball operations.
Mariners ownership brought Dipoto aboard in the midst of a win-now push. At the time, Dipoto was stepping into an organization that had a bloated long-term payroll and one of the game’s worst-ranked farm systems. Seattle posted winning records in two of Dipoto’s first three seasons (2016 and 2018) but did not reach the playoffs. With several aging veterans and little help on the immediate horizon, Dipoto set out to “reimagine” the Mariners’ roster and farm system following an 89-win 2018 season.
Over the next two seasons, he traded away the likes of Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, James Paxton, Jean Segura, Austin Nola and many others as he sought to replenish the minor league system and bring about a youth movement. His efforts continued all the way through the current deadline, when Dipoto somewhat controversially traded closer Kendall Graveman to his chief division rival for five years of control over young infielder Abraham Toro. (Toro hit a grand slam off Graveman last night.)
That youth movement has begun to arrive in Seattle, led by names such as Toro, Ty France, J.P. Crawford, Luis Torrens and others. Some of Dipoto’s early acquisitions, such as Mitch Haniger and Marco Gonzales, have become mainstays on the roster and played key roles in the team’s emergence. Free-agent additions such as Chris Flexen and Yusei Kikuchi have been vital to the team’s 2021 rotation.
A new multi-year extension gives Dipoto the opportunity to see a rebuild he initially pushed for all the way through to its culmination. While the Mariners have begun to see some of the fruits of those rebuilding efforts, the club hopes there’s more on the horizon not just via the young big leaguers who’ve struggled (e.g. Jarred Kelenic) but also the numerous top prospects still on the farm. Outfielder Julio Rodriguez, right-handers Emerson Hancock and George Kirby and infielder Noelvi Marte, among others, could all reach the Majors by 2023 — many of them as soon as next season.
The rebuilding effort has also left Seattle with a squeaky-clean payroll outlook. The Mariners have just $19MM committed to next year’s payroll (before arbitration raises and decisions on options for Kyle Seager and Kikuchi). They’ll take that minimal level of financial commitment to a free-agent market that is deeper in talent than any we’ve seen in recent memory and look to augment the young core with some veterans to take the team to a new level in 2022 and beyond.
The sheer volume of trades made by Dipoto, who has more than earned his “Trader Jerry” nickname since taking the reins in Seattle, opens him up to some criticism and has created his share of detractors. However, it’s tough to argue that the team’s farm system, payroll outlook and current big league roster paint anything other than a bright future that is largely because of its current baseball operations leader’s doing.
Servais, like Dipoto, is in his sixth season with the Mariners. He’d worked as an assistant general manager in the Angels front office during Dipoto’s time as GM there, setting up a strong foundation for the two to build upon in Seattle.
“Scott has done a terrific job in defining our team’s culture as one that is driven by process, hard work and heart,” Dipoto said in a press release announcing Servais’ new contract. “That has allowed us to bring young, talented players to the Majors over the past three years and see them adjust and succeed as we build towards a team that competes for championships on an annual basis. The resiliency our club has shown in overcoming challenges on, and off, the field over the past two years have been a direct result of Scott’s leadership of the team and coaching staff.”
The Mariners are the only club Servais has ever managed, and through his six seasons he holds a 419-422 record. That’s skewed largely by a 68-94 record in 2019 — the first season of the club’s rebuild. Servais has a pair of winning seasons on his record and ought to add a third to the ledger in 2021, barring a seismic September collapse.
The larger question isn’t whether the Mariners will finish the current season with a winning record but rather whether they’ll be able to close a 3.5-game Wild Card deficit, thereby snapping a two-decade playoff drought. Even if a return to the postseason doesn’t happen in 2021, it would surely be viewed as a disappointment among fans, the players, the front office and ownership if a return to the playoffs doesn’t come to fruition over the life of these new contracts for Dipoto and Servais. Their ability to push this club from a young, up-and-coming club on the rise to bona fide postseason contenders will determine whether future extensions are in order.
Reds Select Delino DeShields Jr.
The Reds have selected the contract of outfielder Delino DeShields Jr., per a club announcement. They’ve also recalled infielder Alejo Lopez to fill the second of their two new roster spots under September expansion. Right-hander R.J. Alaniz is up from Triple-A Louisville as well, and he’ll serve as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.
Cincinnati just acquired DeShields Jr. from the Red Sox yesterday in exchange for cash. He’s now in line to make his first big league appearance of the 2021 season — and to do so on a team where his father is the current first base coach.
The younger DeShields turned 29 last month and has split the 2021 campaign between the Triple-A affiliates for the Rangers and the Red Sox, where he’s batted a combined .252/.385/.366 in 381 plate appearances. DeShields has just 21 extra-base hits in that time — six homers, 13 doubles, two triples — but his speed has once again been on display; he’s swiped 21 bags in 24 attempts.
DeShields’ wheels have long been his calling card. The former No. 8 overall draft pick was the Rangers’ primary center fielder from 2015-19 and never hit more than six home runs in a big league season during that time, but he did swipe a combined 106 bases and leg out 17 triples in 539 games. DeShields’ average sprint speed, as measured by Statcast, ranked in the 97th percentile or better among MLB players each season from 2015-19. He “dropped” to the 90th percentile during his stint in Cleveland last year.
That blistering speed has also served DeShields well on the defensive side of the game. He’s tallied 13 Defensive Runs Saved over the past three seasons and, dating back to 2016, ranks 39th in all of baseball at 27 Outs Above Average, per Statcast (despite not logging a single inning of defense in the Majors this year). DeShields will give Cincinnati a late-game option to pinch-run or upgrade the defense in close games as they look to hang onto the second Wild Card spot in the National League. The Padres and Reds are currently in a tie for the second spot, with matching 71-62 records. The Cardinals and Phillies are both two and a half games back, while the Mets are five and a half games out.
White Sox To Select Romy Gonzalez
The White Sox will select the contract of infielder/outfielder Romy Gonzalez today, filling one of their two extra roster spots under September expansion rules, per FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link).
It’ll be the first call to the Majors for Gonzalez, an 18th-round pick in 2018 who has turned in an outstanding year this far between Double-A and Triple-A. Gonzalez wasn’t ranked among White Sox farmhands in the offseason, but Baseball America tabbed him as the system’s No. 17 prospect on its midseason re-rankings after a huge start to the year.
The 24-year-old Gonzalez began the 2021 campaign in Double-A and hit .267/.355/.502 with 20 home runs, 11 doubles and 21 stolen bases through 344 plate appearances before a promotion to Triple-A. He’s only improved in Charlotte, hitting at a .344/.382/.750 clip with three homers and four doubles in 34 plate appearances. It’ll prove to be a brief stay with the team’s top minor league affiliate, however, as Gonzalez will now be called to the big leagues after just nine Triple-A contests.
Gonzalez would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason anyhow, so it’s not a huge surprise to see the South Siders give him a well-earned look in the Majors for the season’s final month. He’ll give the Sox a right-handed bat with some power, speed and a good bit of defensive versatility. Gonzalez had played primarily in the outfield in 2018-19, but he’s played exclusively in the infield in 2021 — with the bulk of his innings coming at shortstop. He’s now seen time at all four infield spots and in all three outfield slots since being drafted in ’18, giving the Sox plenty of options to rest their regulars down the stretch.
In the short term, Gonzalez’s promotion could give the ChiSox the opportunity to place Tim Anderson on the 10-day injured list or to at least continue resting him. Anderson has been bothered by leg soreness in recent weeks and hasn’t played in any of the team’s past three games.
Dodgers Acquire Andrew Vasquez
The Dodgers acquired left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez from the Twins last night in exchange for minor league catcher Stevie Berman, the Twins announced. The trade came in just narrowly in time for Vasquez to be an Aug. 31 addition, meaning he can technically be eligible for postseason play, should the Dodgers need to tap that far into their depth.
Vasquez, 28 later this month, was eligible to be traded by virtue of the fact that he hasn’t been on the Twins’ active or 40-man roster all season. He does have five innings of big league experience, all coming back in 2018-19 with Minnesota, during which time he’s yielded six earned runs on five hits, four walks and four hit batters with seven strikeouts.
It’s not a great sample of MLB work, obviously, but Vasquez has had a nice year with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul. He’s appeared in 33 games and tallied 42 1/3 innings of relief, working to a 3.61 ERA along the way. Command is still an issue for Vasquez, as evidenced by an elevated 12.1 percent walk rate and a whopping 13 hit batsmen. However, he’s also whiffed 37.4 percent of his opponents and posted an enormous 61.8 percent ground-ball rate. Lefties have posted a comically poor .074/.242/.130 batting line against him, while righties have slashed .207/.369/.427.
The 26-year-old Berman gives the Twins some more organizational depth behind the plate. He’s batted just .165/.309/.235 in 140 Double-A plate appearances this season and gone 1-for-9 following a recent promotion to Triple-A. Berman did post a combined .301/.372/.496 slash across multiple minor league levels back in 2019, although that came in a small sample of just 130 plate appearances spread across 40 games. He’s never ranked among the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects at Baseball America and carries a career .240/.334/.343 line in 744 professional plate appearances since being drafted in the 31st round back in 2016.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Giants Claim Jose Quintana
The Giants have claimed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana off waivers from the Angels, per a team announcement from the Halos. The Giants themselves yet to announce the claim or a corresponding move, although they have an open 40-man roster spot after designating Tyler Chatwood for assignment this weekend.
Quintana, 32, signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Angels over the winter in hopes of bouncing back from 2020’s injury-ruined season. However, the left-hander labored through just 10 starts before being ousted from the rotation and dropped to the bullpen. Fourteen of his past 15 games have come in relief, and the one spot start he made since that initial demotion went quite poorly. He’s still owed about $1.5MM between now and season’s end, and by claiming him on waivers, the Giants are assuming the remainder of that commitment.
In a total of 53 1/3 innings this season, Quintana has pitched to a 6.75 ERA with a career-worst 11.4 percent walk rate, but his secondary numbers paint a brighter picture. He’s sporting a 3.90 SIERA and career-best marks in strikeout percentage (28.7), swinging-strike rate (11.9 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (32.6 percent). His 45.6 percent ground-ball mark, meanwhile, is his best since back in 2015 with the White Sox.
Quintana has been rocked in the majority of his starts this season, but he holds a 3.93 ERA, a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 3.9 percent walk rate in 18 1/3 frames as a reliever. It’s obviously a very small sample, but the vastly improved control he’s shown when working in relief perhaps encouraged the Giants to take a flier on a veteran arm who was at one point one of the most consistently solid starters in Major League Baseball.
From 2013-18, Quintana pitched at least 174 innings and made at least 32 starts per season. His ERA along the way was a rock-solid 3.58 — a number that was largely supported by metrics such as FIP (3.56) and SIERA (3.85). Quintana was a consummate source of reliable, above-average innings throughout that span and an often-overlooked name in All-Star and awards voting. Despite his consistency, he made just one All-Star appearance and only garnered Cy Young votes on one occasion: a 10th-place finish in 2016.
A return to his peak form probably shouldn’t be expected, but Quintana will give the Giants another lefty who is stretched out enough to at least throw a couple of innings per relief stint. And if he can maintain the output that he’s posted as a reliever to this point in the season — or perhaps improve upon it — he’ll be a fine addition to the team’s relief corps down the stretch. By claiming Quintana prior to Sept. 1, the Giants have ensured that he’ll be eligible for their postseason roster. He’s not a lock to be included, of course, but we’ve seen the Giants help turn around the careers of many pitchers to date and Quintana could surface as yet another data point on that growing list.
Rockies Designate Taylor Motter For Assignment
The Rockies have designated infielder/outfielder Taylor Motter for assignment and reinstated outfielder Raimel Tapia from the 10-day injured list, tweets Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Colorado’s 40-man roster now sits at 38.
Motter was originally selected to the MLB roster — his first big league call in three years — a little less than three weeks ago when Tapia landed on the shelf. The 31-year-old has picked up 22 plate appearances in thirteen games since then, tallying three hits (all singles). That’s not the most inspiring production, but Motter earned the promotion with an incredible season at Triple-A Albuquerque. Motter tallied 265 plate appearances with the Isotopes and hit a monstrous .335/.460/.759. The right-handed hitter popped 24 home runs and had an equal number of walks drawn and strikeouts (49 apiece).
The Rockies will now place Motter on waivers over the coming days. Another club impressed by his minor league performance could place a claim to add some multi-positional depth to their bench. Motter has starts at all four infield positions and both corner outfield spots in the majors, so he’s capable of suiting up almost anywhere he’s needed. If Motter clears waivers, he’d have the right to elect free agency as a player who has previously been outrighted in his career.
Mariners Designate Jimmy Yacabonis For Assignment
The Mariners announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis for assignment. His spot on the active roster goes to first baseman/outfielder Jose Marmolejos, who has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma.
Yacabonis, 29, hasn’t pitched in the Majors with Seattle this season and only tossed 2 1/3 innings with them last year after coming over in a cash deal with the Padres. He opted for free agency last winter after the Mariners removed him from the roster but ultimately returned to Seattle on a minor league pact. The Mariners selected him to the Major League roster just this weekend, but he didn’t appear in a game prior to being designated.
It’s been a strong season for Yacabonis down in Triple-A, where he’s logged 31 1/3 innings of 1.72 ERA ball with a 23 percent strikeout rate, a 7.1 percent walk rate and a 45.9 percent ground-ball rate. Opponents have batted just .205/.282/.286 against him through 124 plate appearances so far in 2021.
It’s a continuation of a strong Triple-A track record for Yacabonis, who carries a career 2.94 ERA in 192 2/3 innings at that level. He’s had a much tougher go in the Majors, with a 5.71 ERA through 104 frames — nearly all of which have come with the Orioles. Yacabonis hasn’t gotten much of a look with another club in the Majors to date, but it’s possible that with rosters set to expand, his strong work down in Tacoma will earn him a look with another organization once he’s placed on waivers. He’s out of minor league options, so if he does land elsewhere, his new club will have to carry him on the MLB roster or else again expose him to waivers before sending him down.
Marmolejos, 28, was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this season after batting .139/.266/.278 in 94 plate appearances. He’s had an absolutely mammoth season down in Tacoma, however, hitting .260/.452/.700 with 23 long balls, 13 doubles and three triples in 303 plate appearances. He’s played himself back onto the 40-man roster with that huge showing and will now have another opportunity to show whether he can carry some of that production over to the big leagues in the season’s final five weeks.