MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Miguel Rojas Has Fractured Finger; Marlins Pause Sixto Sanchez’s Throwing Program Again
The Marlins provided a series of injury updates Tuesday (Twitter link via the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson), most notably revealing a pair of unfortunate announcements for fans. Imaging showed a fractured finger in shortstop Miguel Rojas‘ hand, while touted young right-hander Sixto Sanchez has once again had his throwing program shut down — this time after feeling discomfort between bullpen sessions.
Rojas landed on the 10-day injured list over the weekend, and while the hope was that he could return in relatively short order from what was then termed a dislocated left index finger, it now seems likely that he’ll miss more time than that after the fracture was revealed. It’s a tough blow for the Marlins, given Rojas’ outstanding glovework and the step forward he’s taken at the plate since Opening Day 2020. Rojas is hitting .275/.354/.433 through 192 plate appearances in 2021 and .287/.370/.459 dating back to last season.
With Rojas sidelined for a to-be-determined period, the Marlins can turn to the youthful combination of Jazz Chisholm and Isan Diaz in the middle infield. Jose Devers presents another young option. The 23-yea-old Chisholm, thus far, has looked like the foundational piece the Fish hoped they were acquiring when trading starter Zac Gallen to the D-backs in a rare prospect-for-prospect swap of significance. Neither Diaz nor Devers has provided much at the plate yet, however.
Chisholm has missed some time recently but avoided the IL stint to this point, and he suggested this morning on Instagram that he’d be returning to the lineup. Manager Don Mattingly effectively confirmed as much, telling McPherson and others that Chisholm is “expected” to play tonight, so long as he gets through his pregame running drills without issue.
The injury to Rojas is of particular note given his contractual status. He’d trigger a $5.5MM vesting option for the 2021 season in the event that he reaches 500 plate appearances this season and finishes the year healthy. With just 308 plate appearances to go, there’s still time for him to hit that mark even if he misses a few weeks, but a lengthier absence will obviously call that clause’s viability into question.
Turning to Sanchez, the latest setback is yet another disheartening development in the promising young righty’s season. The Marlins hoped to have Sanchez early in the year, but he was optioned to their alternate site after missing more than half of Spring Training in Covid protocols.
While building up toward what was expected to be a mid-April debut, Sanchez experienced shoulder discomfort that led the club to shut him down indefinitely. Recent reports that he’d progressed to mound work gave optimism for an early-summer debut, but a second setback has muddied his outlook. Recurring shoulder troubles of any sort are worrisome for a pitcher, particularly for one as talented as Sanchez. The consensus top prospect made his MLB debut last summer and gave Miami 39 innings of 3.46 ERA ball over the life of seven starts at just 22 years of age.
Red Sox Expected To Finalize PTBNLs From Benintendi Trade In Near Future
The Red Sox will soon decide on the three players they’re still owed as players to be named later from February’s three-team Andrew Benintendi swap, per a pair of reports from Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link) and Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Worthy suggests that the Royals, who owe the Red Sox two players, could have some resolution within the next week or two. Meanwhile, Cotillo indicates that the player the Mets will send to Boston is expected to be the best of the three PTBNLs and must be settled upon by this coming Friday.
Technically, the teams involved all have until August to settle the deal, as PTBNLs come with six-month windows. It seems as though the matter will be resolved well before to that point, however.
It’s fairly common for teams to take some of that six-month allotment to evaluate the farm system of a trade partner. Oftentimes, the team receiving the PTBNLs agrees to a list of players from which they select, and those players can be tracked and evaluated over the coming months. That aspect was likely of particular importance for the Red Sox this time around, given last year’s lack of a minor league season.
The original trade sent Benintendi to Kansas City and outfield prospect Khalil Lee to New York, while the Red Sox received outfielder Franchy Cordero (from the Royals) and minor league righty Josh Winckowski (from the Mets). Cordero’s early struggles prompted the Red Sox to option him to Triple-A Worcester last week, which resulted in a fair bit of criticism of the trade from the Red Sox’ vantage point. Of course, Cordero is but one of five pieces who’ll join the Sox organization as a result of the deal, and judging any trade before the identities of all involved players are even known is rather short-sighted.
Benintendi, 26, got out to a miserable start in Kansas City, batting just .180/.254/.230 through the season’s first three weeks. He’s been on a tear in the five weeks since that time, however, raking at a .345/.395/.466 in 129 plate appearances. Cordero, meanwhile, mustered only a .179/.228/.274 slash in 102 plate appearances. He’s 5-for-12 with a couple homers since being optioned. The 22-year-old Lee went 1-for-18 with the Mets in his first taste of MLB action after being recalled out of necessity due to the team’s rash of injuries. He was recently optioned back to Triple-A Syracuse, where he’ll be in line for everyday at-bats.
The Royals control Benintendi through the 2022 season. The Red Sox control Cordero through at least 2023. Lee had yet to make his MLB debut when the Mets acquired him and has multiple minor league options remaining, so he could be a piece of their outfield puzzle for upwards of a decade, depending on his development and the frequency with which he’s optioned.
Mike Montgomery To Sign With KBO’s Samsung Lions
Veteran left-hander Mike Montgomery will finalize a contract with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization today, MLBTR has confirmed. Naver Sports in South Korea first reported that a deal between the Lions and the Ballengee Group client was “likely.”
Montgomery, 31, was in Spring Training with the Mets but didn’t land a roster spot. He quickly signed with the Yankees back on April 5, but his minor league deal contained an opt-out clause that he’s now exercised. Montgomery was hit hard in a tiny sample of 16 2/3 innings with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he of course has a rather successful track record in parts of six Major League seasons.
The No. 36 overall pick by the Royals back in 2008, Montgomery was traded to the Rays 2012’s Wil Myers/James Shields/Jake Odorizzi deal before being flipped to the Mariners in exchange for Erasmo Ramirez in 2015. A third trade in 2016 then sent him to the Cubs in exchange for Daniel Vogelbach, and the Cubs completed the circle when they traded him back to Kansas City in a 2019 swap that sent Martin Maldonado to Chicago.
Montgomery has spent the bulk of his career in Chicago but also appeared with Seattle and Kansas City. On the whole, he’s put together a 3.84 ERA in 541 Major League frames, striking out 18 percent of his opponents against an 8.8 percent walk rate. He’s also generated grounders at a healthy 53.6 percent clip during his big league tenure. He opened the 2020 season on the Royals’ staff but was ultimately limited to just 5 1/3 innings after suffering a lat strain that sent him to the 60-day injured list. That marked the second straight season in which a lat strain had sidelined Montgomery.
According to the Naver report, the Lions are on the lookout for a replacement for right-hander Ben Lively, who was recently diagnosed with a shoulder injury. Montgomery would step onto the Lions’ roster as their second foreign pitcher, the maximum allowed under KBO rules, joining former Phillies righty David Buchanan, who has been excellent for the Lions since joining them for the 2020 season.
Montgomery will have the opportunity to finish out the 2021 season with the Lions. If he enjoys success in his new environs, that could lead to either an offer to return in 2022 or perhaps interest elsewhere overseas or back in North America.
Reds Release Nicky Delmonico, Cheslor Cuthbert
The Reds have released former big leaguers Nicky Delmonico and Cheslor Cuthbert, as announced this morning by their Triple-A affiliate (on Twitter). Both are now free agents.
Delmonico, 28, spent parts of the 2017-20 seasons in the Majors with the White Sox, serving as a left fielder, first baseman and designated hitter. He turned in an impressive rookie effort back in ’17, hitting at a .262/.373/.482 clip through 166 plate appearances.
It’s been a steady decline for the former Orioles and Brewers farmhand since that time, however. In 408 big league plate appearances from 2018-20, Delmonico hit just .210/.287/.346. Things haven’t gone too much better in Triple-A so far in 2021, as Delmonico has managed a rather tepid .221/.312/.382 output — albeit in a small sample of just 77 plate appearances. In parts of five Triple-A campaigns, Delmonico is a .259/.342/.421 hitter.
The 28-year-old Cuthbert, meanwhile, was once one of the Royals’ premier prospects but has never produced much in the big leagues. He did connect on a career-high 12 home runs back in 2016, his lone season as a regular in the Majors (510 plate appearances), but he carries an overall line of .250/.300/.378 in 1161 trips to the plate. Like Delmonico, he’s struggled with the Reds’ Triple-A club, hitting just .203/.330/.338 in 88 plate appearances.
He’s played primarily third base in his pro career, but Cuthbert does have some experience at first base and second base as well. This year’s struggles notwithstanding, Cuthbert is a career .281/.350/.463 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A seasons.
Marcell Ozuna Expected To Miss At Least Six Weeks
MAY 28: The Braves have placed Ozuna on the IL. Utilityman Johan Camargo is up from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his place on the active roster.
MAY 26: Braves left fielder Marcell Ozuna revealed in his Instagram story today that he’ll likely be sidelined for at least six weeks after dislocating two fingers on his left hand during yesterday’s win over the Red Sox (hat tip: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, on Twitter). The Braves have yet to formally provide their own timeline, though manager Brian Snitker will surely have more details when he meets with the media today.
It’s an unwelcome development for a Braves club that has lost several key players to injury in the season’s first two months. Mike Soroka required exploratory surgery after experiencing a setback in his recovery from last year’s Achilles tear, while Travis d’Arnaud underwent surgery to repair a thumb ligament and breakout righty Huascar Ynoa is sidelined with a broken pitching hand.
The 30-year-old Ozuna was one of baseball’s best hitters in the shortened 2020 season, pacing the NL in home runs, RBIs, total bases and plate appearances while hitting .338/.431/.636. His decision to sign with Atlanta on a one-year, $18MM deal rather than take a lesser multi-year offer elsewhere last winter paid off, as the “Big Bear” wound up securing a four-year, $65MM deal to return to the Braves this past winter.
Unfortunately, the first year of that season couldn’t have gotten out to a much worse start. Ozuna was hitting just .213/.288/.356 through 208 plate appearances. He’s still connected on seven homers and six doubles, but Ozuna’s .144 isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) is less than half last season’s career-high .298. His walk rate, exit velocity and hard-hit rate have all tumbled thus far in 2021 as well.
With Ozuna now sidelined, the Braves can lean on a combination of Ronald Acuna Jr., Cristian Pache, Ender Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia and Ehire Adrianza in the outfield, though the Braves also have toop outfield prospect Drew Waters looming in the upper minors. The 22-year-old Wates is out to a .250/.342/.453 start through 73 plate appearances in Gwinnett.
Wade LeBlanc Opts Out Of Brewers Deal
Veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Brewers and is once again a free agent, the team announced Thursday.
The 36-year-old LeBlanc opened the year with the Orioles but was designated for assignment and elected free agency in April. He joined Milwaukee on a minor league pact a few days later and made four starts for their Triple-A club, with solid results. In 16 2/3 frames, LeBlanc allowed seven runs on 12 hits and seven walks with 14 strikeouts — good for a 3.78 ERA.
LeBlanc also spent the 2020 season with the Orioles, and none of his time in Baltimore proved particularly productive. He tossed 29 frames as an Oriole and surrendered 27 runs on 38 hits and nine walks with 19 strikeouts.
LeBlanc’s last quality season at the big league level came with the 2018 Mariners, when he tossed 162 innings of 3.72 ERA ball at the back of their rotation. He was a steady performer from 2014-18 in 321 1/3 innings split between the Pirates, Yankees, Angels and Mariners, logging a combined 3.92 ERA in that time. Overall, LeBlanc carries a 4.59 ERA in 889 innings as a Major Leaguer. A club in need of some veteran depth due to injuries in its rotation (e.g. Rangers, D-backs, Mets) could take a low-risk look at the lefty now that he’s once again on the market.
Yankees Promote Estevan Florial; Aaron Hicks Expected To Miss Rest Of Season
Just under a week after the announcement that center fielder Aaron Hicks will undergo wrist surgery, Yankees skipper Aaron Boone today confirmed to reporters that the operation is now expected to put an end to Hicks’ 2021 season (Twitter link via the YES Network’s Jack Curry). That’s seemed possible, if not likely, since the time the surgery was announced, but the only prior indication on a timeline had been a “months-long” recovery period.
The news on Hicks comes less than an hour after the Yankees announced a series of roster moves. Corey Kluber and Luke Voit were placed on the injured list, as was expected following yesterday’s announcements on their own injuries. Coming up to the big league roster in their place are righty Albert Abreu and outfield prospect Estevan Florial.
With Hicks down for the season and Brett Gardner struggling mightily, there would appear to be a door open for Florial to claim some playing time. The 23-year-old has played 312 games in center field over his professional career and was at one point touted as the organization’s center fielder of the future. Florial was near-universally ranked among the game’s 50 best prospects prior to the 2018 season, though his stock has dipped since that time.
It’s also worth pointing out that while there’s an ostensible opportunity for Florial to seize a starting job now, he’s been struggling tremendously himself down in Triple-A. Florial hit .229/.308/.603 in nine Double-A games to begin his season, but he’s gone 6-for-34 with 11 punchouts in 40 plate appearances since moving up to Triple-A. The 17 games he’s played between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021 represent his only experience above A-ball, save for the single game he played for the Yankees at the MLB level last summer. Put more simply: there’s a very good chance he needs more development. Nevertheless, Boone indicated Florial will get the start in center for the second game of today’s twin bill.
Florial wasn’t recalled as the 27th man for that doubleheader — righty Nick Nelson has that designation — but it could still be a very brief stay for him in the Majors. Boone said that activating Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list tomorrow is “in play” as an option (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch), and the Yankees will need to make a corresponding move to get him on the roster. That doesn’t necessarily mean Florial’s stint will be a one-and-done showing, but it’s at least possible that’s the direction they go.
Whether he’s in the Majors or back in Scranton, Florial’s performance will bear monitoring in the weeks to come. With few other center field options on the roster, that’d be one obvious area for the Yankees to look to address via the trade market in the event that Florial’s struggles continue.
Red Sox Option Franchy Cordero
The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve optioned struggling outfielder Franchy Cordero to Triple-A Worcester. A corresponding move wasn’t announced. There will be speculation among Sox fans about the possibility of top prospect Jarren Duran being promoted this weekend in his place, though MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets that it’s likelier Boston will summon an extra bullpen arm for now.
Cordero, 26, was one of five players the Red Sox received in February’s three-team trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City. The Sox also picked up young right-hander Josh Winckowski from the Mets in that deal, and they’re still set to receive a trio of players to be named later (two from the Royals, one from the Mets).
The hope was that Cordero, whose raw tools have intrigued teams and fans alike for several years, would blossom into an everyday presence in the outfield at Fenway Park, but things haven’t played out that way at all just yet. Through his first 102 plate appearances, Cordero has slashed just .179/.228/.274 with a sky-high 36.3 percent strikeout rate. He’s homered just one time in that span.
With elite speed and raw power, a plus throwing arm and top-of-the-scale exit velocity readings throughout his career, Cordero has been a fun player to dream on. Injuries and an inability to curb his prolific strikeout rate have hampered him in the big leagues, however, as he’s batted just .222/.285/.393 in 417 plate appearances. A reset of sorts in Triple-A could do him some good; he’s slashed .305/.357/.567 in 517 career plate appearances at that level.
Benintendi has performed fairly well over in Kansas City, shaking off a miserable start of his own with a big month of May to boost his overall season line to .283/.347/.371 in 176 trips to the dish. The trade is obviously looking good for the Royals at present, but while the knee-jerk reaction will be to call the deal a “win” for Kansas City, we won’t really know the deal’s full impact until years down the road. That’s true of all trades, generally speaking, but especially true of three-team, multi-player deals such as this one; we still don’t even know the names of all the players involved in the trade, as the PTBNLs have yet to be announced.
It’s been a disappointing start to Cordero’s time with the Sox, but Boston controls him through at least the 2023 season and he can be optioned freely both this year and next. For the Royals, they’ll enjoy Benintendi’s bat for the remainder of the 2021 season and for the 2022 campaign, barring an extension or a trade. The Mets, meanwhile, acquired a full six seasons of control over young outfielder Khalil Lee, who made his big league debut for them earlier this month.
Mets Shut Noah Syndergaard Down For Six Weeks
Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard will be shut down from throwing for the next six weeks due to inflammation in his right elbow, manager Luis Rojas announced to reporters Thursday (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com).
Syndergaard, who is working his way back from 2020 Tommy John surgery, exited his most recent minor league rehab start due to elbow discomfort. Tests did not reveal any damage to Syndergaard’s ulnar collateral ligament, but today’s announcement still marks a substantial setback. He’ll need to build back up once he resumes throwing in mid-July, meaning the earliest he’d be able to return to the big league rotation is likely some point in August.
The Syndergaard setback is the latest in a rather remarkable deluge of injuries the organization is attempting to weather. While the pitching staff hasn’t been hit as hard as the lineup, the looming promise of a Syndergaard return nevertheless stood as a potential boon for the club as it tries to patch the roster together while a whopping 17 players are on the injured list.
The Mets’ rotation has been excellent, anchored by yet another dominant performance from two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. Mets starters have pitched to a collective 2.94 ERA on the season, ranking fifth in baseball. They also have the game’s fifth-best strikeout percentage (28.1 percent) and the seventh-lowest walk percentage (7.1 percent).
That said, it’s been a top-heavy group. Each of deGrom, Taijuan Walker and Marcus Stroman has turned in a sub-3.00 ERA (sub-1.00, in deGrom’s case), but young David Peterson has worked to a 4.91 mark in 44 innings while the fifth spot has been a revolving door. Carlos Carrasco, like Syndergaard, has yet to pitch this season and is said to still be “weeks” away from his potential Mets debut, and another rotation option, Jordan Yamamoto, was placed on the 60-day injured list yesterday.
The setback, of course, is worrisome for Syndergaard on a personal level as well. He’s in his final season of club control and was already facing a best-case scenario of just under four months to showcase his health in advance of free agency. He could now be looking at closer to a six-week audition window — perhaps longer if the Mets reach the postseason.