MLB Cracking Down On Pitchers’ Use Of Foreign Substances On Baseballs
Major League Baseball has issued a memo informing all 30 clubs that it will seek to crack down on pitchers doctoring the baseball through the use of foreign substances, as first reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. One of the league’s tactics, per Sherman, will be to use Statcast data to gauge spin-rate increases for pitchers suspected of doctoring the ball.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter thread) and ESPN’s Jesse Rogers provide further detail, reporting that the league will have compliance officers monitor dugouts, clubhouses, tunnels, bullpens and batting cages in an effort to reduce the use of foreign substances. Those officers will also pull random samples of baseballs to be analyzed in a third-party lab. Balls suspected of being doctored by a pitcher will be tested against that pitcher’s spin-rate data from Statcast.
MLB’s memo indicates that pitchers are subject to discipline from the Commissioner’s Office whether evidence is discovered during the course of a game or after the completion of a game. It’s unclear at this time just what type of penalties will be levied against pitchers who are found to be utilizing foreign substances. It’s also not clear if there will be any warnings issued or if the league will jump straight into discipline for first-time offenders. The league’s memo also indicates that team personnel can be the subject of discipline if they are determined to be helping pitchers doctor the ball.
Rampant use of foreign substances, be it pine tar or otherwise, isn’t exactly a well-kept secret throughout the league. There are rare occasions of managers calling out an opposing pitcher when the presence of a substance is particularly egregious, but as Sherman notes, many are reluctant to do so, knowing the accusation could quickly be turned back on one of their own pitchers.
The league’s attempt to crack down on the use of foreign substances aligns with other efforts to increase the amount of action in the game and move away from an increasingly three-true-outcome-oriented (i.e. home runs, walks, strikeouts) style of play. Reducing the use of foreign substances could cut back on strikeouts and perhaps on walks — at least in theory.
At the same time, it’s not at all clear how the league plans to differentiate 2021 spin-rate data from “normal” spin-rate data. The very presence of these new policies indicates that the league considers use of foreign substance to be a widespread problem, after all.
However, the widespread nature of the issue likely also means that prior offenders are already benefiting from inflated spin rates on their pitches. If a pitcher who used pine tar, sunscreen or any other number of substances continues to do so in 2021, a notable change in his spin rate would be unlikely. That could still result in discipline if a ball taken out of play after being thrown by a pitcher is found to have significant traces of a foreign substance, but the spin-rate analysis may not be as telling as MLB hopes. At the very least, that practice could prevent new pitchers from adopting the use of foreign substances, but depending on how prevalent one believes the issue to be, that could represent a rather small number of players.
Depending on the extent and frequency of disciplinary measures enacted by MLB, it’d be a surprise if we didn’t see some appeals from pitchers around the league. It’ll surely be a talking point in the final week of Spring Training and early in the season, but only time will tell whether the new measures have any actual efficacy.
Reds Do Not Have Fourth Option On Aristides Aquino
An arbiter ruled this week that Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino is out of minor league options, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. The team was granted a fourth option on lefty Cionel Perez and righty Jose De Leon.
The ruling on the trio of Reds players is the latest in an increasingly wide-reaching swath of players who were in limbo with regard to their option status in 2021. Players typically have three minor league options, but a fourth option year can be granted to teams in the case of players who use all of their options before completing five “full” seasons. A “full” season, per the league, requires a player to spend 90 days on an active roster (not the injured list) at either the big league or minor league level. Because last year’s season was shortened to 60 games in a 67-day span, there was some uncertainty regarding a number of players.
Aquino’s option status looked to be straightforward at first glance. He was optioned in 2017, 2018 and 2020, spending more than 20 days in the minor leagues in each season. However, as Doug Gray covered at RedlegNation.com earlier this spring, the Reds did not list him as out of options on their spring media guides and believed there to be a case, based on missed playing time throughout his career, that he could be the recipient of a fourth option. MLB’s arbiter, it seems, did not agree.
The result now is that the Reds will either have to carry Aquino on the Opening Day roster or else trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers, at which point any of the 29 other clubs could place a claim. It’s something of a tricky situation for the Reds, as there’s no path to a starting role with Jesse Winker, Nick Senzel and Nick Castellanos lined up from left to right. Aquino isn’t a center fielder, so he’s not an ideal fourth outfielder. Even if Aquino could handle center, Shogo Akiyama is expected back before too long, which would push Aquino further down the depth chart.
Aquino caught all of baseball’s attention in 2019 when he turned in one of the best debut months in recent memory. Called up on Aug. 1, Aquino turned in a preposterous .320/.391/.767 slash with 14 home runs through his first 115 plate appearances. Having emerged from relative obscurity, he suddenly looked like a potential everyday outfield option for the Reds. But the month of September was nearly as bad as August was good; in 110 plate appearances Aquino batted .196/.236/.382 with a 30.9 percent strikeout rate. The Reds added both Castellanos and Akiyama the following winter, and Aquino’s path to playing time was suddenly blocked.
The Reds still managed to get Aquino 56 plate appearances last year, but he hit just .170/.304/.319 in that time. All told, dating back to September 2019, Aquino has slashed just .188/.259/.362 with a 31.3 percent strikeout rate. There’s obvious power in his bat, but it’s also hard to overlook the fact that Aquino’s massive power spike came in a 2019 season marred by controversy surrounding what most believe was a juiced baseball in both Triple-A and the Majors. Aquino hit 47 long balls in 134 games between Louisville and Cincinnati that year, but he’d never previously topped 23 dingers in a single season of games.
Now, absent a fourth option year, the Reds are left with a week’s time to determine whether Aquino will make the roster or be made available to other clubs via trade or waivers. Even if he does make the roster, Akiyama’s looming return will cloud his future with the club. Aquino is hitting .241/.353/.448 with four doubles, a triple and no homers in 34 plate appearances this spring. He’s punched out eight times.
As for De Leon and Perez, they’ll be able to be optioned between Louisville and Cincinnati this year, giving the Reds some additional depth in the ‘pen and perhaps the rotation. De Leon was once one of baseball’s premier pitching prospects, but he’s bounced between three teams now and undergone Tommy John surgery along the way. He’s pitched just 66 innings in a pro game over the past three years. Perez was acquired from the Astros over the winter and worked as a starter in the minors with Houston, but all 20 of his MLB appearances have come out of the bullpen.
Angels Granted Fourth Option On Jaime Barria, Dillon Peters
The Angels have been granted a fourth minor league option over both right-hander Jaime Barria and lefty Dillon Peters, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Both were among a group of players waiting for an arbiter to rule on how the truncated length of the 2020 season determined their eligibility for a fourth option.
Teams can be granted a fourth option over players who have fewer than five “full” seasons but have exhausted all three of their original minor league options. The league’s rules stipulate that 90 or more days on an active big league or minor league roster — but not time on the injured list — constitutes a “full” season. In the wake of last year’s shortened schedule and 67-day season, there was some uncertainty as to whether several players were out of options or whether their teams would be granted a fourth.
In the case of the Angels, the additional options are welcome news — particularly with regard to Barria. The Halos certainly would’ve carried the 24-year-old righty on the Opening Day roster rather than expose him to waivers, but they’ll now have the flexibility to option him back and forth in 2021 without exposing him to waivers.
At present, they’ll open the season with Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, Griffin Canning, Alex Cobb and Shohei Ohtani in a six-man rotation. There was no immediate starting job for Barria, and had he been out of options, he’d have likely been put into a long relief role in the ‘pen to begin the year. The team can now keep him stretched out as a starter at their alternate site and (when the season begins) in Triple-A, upgrading their depth. For an Angels club that has been routinely decimated by injury in recent seasons, that extra flexibility and depth could prove vital.
Peters’ situation differs a bit, given that he was outrighted from the 40-man roster after clearing waivers over the winter. His option will only come into play if the Angels select him back to the 40-man roster, although the fact that he now has an extra option probably makes it likelier for him to be considered for such a move.
Barria sandwiched a rough 2019 season between strong showings in 2018 and 2020. On the whole, he’s pitched 244 1/3 innings of 4.46 ERA ball in the Majors, striking out a below-average 19.3 percent of opponents but also delivering a low 8.0 percent walk rate. He’s likely a back-of-the-rotation type starter, making him a nice depth option for the 2021 season and perhaps setting him up for a larger role in 2022 and beyond. Bundy, Heaney, Quintana and Cobb are all free agents at season’s end.
Astros To Release Steven Souza Jr.
The Astros plan to release outfielder Steven Souza Jr., who has been in camp with them on a minor league deal, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. Souza has been vying for the fourth outfielder’s role alongside Jose Siri, Ronnie Dawson and Chas McCormick, but it seems his spring struggles have pushed the team in another direction.
Souza, 31, is 2-for-21 with a homer thus far in Spring Training. He’s drawn five walks and been hit by a pitch in 27 trips to the plate but has also punched out an alarming 13 times in that tiny sample of plate appearances.
Souza’s last full season at the MLB level was quite productive, but it also came back in 2017. He slashed .239/.351/.459 with 30 home runs for the Rays that year, prompting the D-backs to swing a trade for him in the offseason. But a pectoral injury limited his time on the field and productivity in 2018, and his 2019 season was wiped out by one of the most catastrophic knee injuries we’ve seen recent memory; Souza suffered tears of his ACL and LCL in play at the plate that also left him with a partial PCL tear and a posterolateral capsule tear. He returned to the big leagues with the Cubs last year but struggled through 31 plate appearances before being cut loose.
The Astros entered the winter with an entire outfield’s worth of free agents, as George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick all hit the market. Springer went to Toronto, Brantley re-signed in Houston, and Reddick remains unsigned. With Brantley back in the fold, the ‘Stros are looking at him in left field, Kyle Tucker in right field and speedster Myles Straw as the primary center fielder. McCormick is the likeliest option to break camp as the team’s fourth outfielder, given his ability to play center field and given that he’s the only player in that competition who is already on the team’s 40-man roster.
Blake Cederlind Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
March 24: Cederlind underwent Tommy John surgery last night, the Pirates announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). He’ll miss all of the 2021 season and a portion of the 2022 campaign as well.
March 12: The Pirates announced Friday that they’ve placed right-hander Blake Cederlind on the 60-day injured list due to a strained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Cederlind sustained the injury in Wednesday night’s game, per the team. At this time, he and the Pirates “are discussing what the best recommended intervention is to treat the injury.” Cederlind’s spot on the 40-man roster will be filled by righty Trevor Cahill, whose previously reported one-year deal is now official.
Cederlind, 25, was in the mix for a bullpen spot with the Pirates after making his big league debut with four innings last year. The 2016 fifth-rounder has spent the past few seasons ranked among the organization’s more promising pitching prospects, but today’s announcement means he’ll miss at least the first two months of the season — quite possibly even more than that. The Pirates didn’t reference the possibility of Tommy John surgery, but that’s of course the concern anytime a player experiences a UCL injury.
While Cederlind tossed only four innings last year, he showed plenty of reason for excitement, including a sinker that averaged 98.7 mph out of the bullpen. His last full season of work came in 2019, when he pitched to a combined 2.28 across three levels: Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A. Control has been an issue through his pro career, as he’s walked 11.3 percent of the opponents he’s faced, but he’s also posted above-average ground-ball rates.
If Cederlind can avoid surgery, it’s possible he’ll emerge as a bullpen option for the Pirates this summer, but it seems the Bucs will take their time in determining the best course of action for the promising young righty.
Twins Granted Fourth Option On Lewis Thorpe
The Twins have been granted a fourth minor league option on southpaw Lewis Thorpe, tweets Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The 25-year-old was one of several players in limbo waiting for an arbiter to rule whether he could be optioned for a fourth year or had exhausted his minor league options. The Cubs were also granted a fourth option over righty Adbert Alzolay yesterday, while Nats righty Erick Fedde was determined to be out of minor league options.
The discrepancy stems from the rules surrounding eligibility for a fourth minor league option. Teams can be granted a fourth option over players who have fewer than five “full” seasons but have exhausted all three of their original minor league options. A “full” season, under the collective bargaining agreement, stipulates that a player spends 90 or more days on an active roster — be it at the big league or minor league level. Time on the injured list does not count. Given last year’s shortened, 67-day schedule and the lack of a conventional “active roster” at teams’ alternate training sites, there was an obvious lack of clarity regarding some players on the cusp of that fourth-option distinction.
The ruling on Thorpe benefits the Twins, as they can now shuttle Thorpe to and from their new Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul without needing to expose him to waivers. The Aussie lefty has pitched quite well this spring, holding opponents to a pair of runs on four hits and two walks with eight punchouts in 7 2/3 innings. However, the Twins have a full rotation at the moment, and Thorpe has some competition for the remaining bullpen spots. Had he been out of minor league options, he would’ve been all but assured a roster spot given that the Twins wouldn’t have risked losing him to waivers.
With a fourth option in place, Thorpe will likely split his time between Target Field in Minneapolis and CHS Field in St. Paul. He could be a depth option in the rotation behind Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker, joining righty Randy Dobnak and lefty Devin Smeltzer in that regard. Thorpe could also eventually be seen as a multi-inning bullpen piece or a more conventional one-inning lefty, depending on performances and health among the Twins’ more established relievers.
Braves Option Kyle Wright, Jacob Webb
The Braves announced this morning that they’ve optioned right-handers Kyle Wright and Jacob Webb to Triple-A to begin the season. That decision strongly suggests that righty Bryse Wilson will open the season as the club’s fifth starter behind Max Fried, Ian Anderson, Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly while the club waits on Mike Soroka to finish rehabbing last year’s Achilles tear.
Wright, the No. 5 overall draft pick back in 2017, started eight games for the Braves last year as the rotation battled substantial injury issues. He limped to a 5.21 ERA and 5.83 SIERA with poor strikeout and walk rates, but the righty also found his stride near season’s end and got the nod for a pair of postseason starts. He utterly dominated the Marlins in the NLDS before being hammered for seven runs in just two-thirds of an inning at the hands of the eventual World Series Champion Dodgers in the NLCS.
Wilson, meanwhile, was strong in his lone postseason start (also against the Dodgers), allowing just a run in six innings of work. He’s outpitched Wright thus far in Spring Training, holding opponents to three runs on 15 hits and four walks with nine strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings of work. Long considered a well-regarded prospect himself, the 23-year-old Wilson has yet to find extended success in the big leagues but also hasn’t had a long opportunity to do so; he’s never pitched in more than six games during any of his three seasons of MLB experience to date.
Webb’s option also lends some clarity to the bullpen picture. The 27-year-old righty is the victim of the options game that impacts so many players this time of year, it seems. He’s pitched 42 1/3 innings at the MLB level and recorded a 1.06 ERA — albeit with less impressive secondary stats, including below-average strikeout (22.2) and walk (9.9) percentages and fielding-independent marks in the 4.00s. Still, he’s pitched well this spring (one run in six frames) and probably would’ve had a spot in the ‘pen if the Braves’ relief corps had more flexibility.
That’s simply not the case, however. Will Smith, Chris Martin and Josh Tomlin, all veterans on guaranteed free-agent deals, aren’t going anywhere. Tyler Matzek, Grant Dayton and Luke Jackson are all out of minor league options. A.J. Minter has minor league options remaining but was dominant in 2020 and has had a strong Spring Training.
That could leave a bullpen spot open — perhaps two, depending on the number of pitchers the club carries. However, David O’Brien of The Athletic recently noted that the Braves are intrigued by non-roster invitees Nate Jones and Carl Edwards Jr., both of whom have pitched well this spring. Jones, who has thrown 6 2/3 shutout innings in camp, has to be added to the roster by tomorrow or else be granted his release, per O’Brien, which surely factored into the decision to option Webb.
It’s still likely that Wright and Webb will both have the opportunity to factor prominently into the team’s pitching plans by season’s end, as injuries and struggles elsewhere on the roster will inevitably lead the Braves to tap into their depth.
Steven Brault Shut Down For A Month
The Pirates have shut lefty Steven Brault down for the next month or so due to a “moderate arm muscle strain,” director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk tells reporters (Twitter links via Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic and Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette). Because of the fairly lengthy shutdown, Brault will need to be built back up before returning to a game setting. His total absence could stretch anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks in length.
Brault exited his most recent Grapefruit League start with tightness, which the club eventually revealed to be a lat strain. The team’s update today did not specify the grade of the strain, but a fairly lengthy absence for Brault nevertheless alters the team’s rotation outlook substantially. After trading away Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon this winter, Brault was the team’s most experienced incumbent option on the starting staff.
Holdovers Chad Kuhl and Mitch Keller are virtual locks for the Pittsburgh rotation, as are offseason signees Trevor Cahill and Tyler Anderson, both of whom signed guaranteed Major League deals for the 2021 season. Other candidates to take the ball early in the year include righties Wil Crowe and JT Brubaker. Crowe, acquired from the Nats in the offseason trade of Josh Bell, has thrown quite well so far in Spring Training. Through 9 2/3 innings, he’s held opponents to one run on seven hits and three walks with seven punchouts.
Brault’s timeline for a return will be particularly worth monitoring given his status as an obvious summer trade candidate. The 28-year-old (29 in April) drew interest over the winter and, as a player who is controlled for just two years beyond the current campaign, is a logical trade chip for a rebuilding club like Pittsburgh. Because he’s controlled through 2023, there’s no real urgency to move him this summer — particularly if he doesn’t have much time demonstrate his health prior to the July 31 trade deadline.
Jeff Mathis Granted Release By Phillies
The Phillies announced Wednesday that veteran catcher Jeff Mathis, who was in camp on a minor league contract, has requested and been granted his release by the club. He’s once again a free agent.
Mathis, 38 next week, went 6-for-29 with a homer and a pair of doubles with the Phillies this spring. His chances of making the roster seemed to improve when J.T. Realmuto sustained a small fracture in his thumb early in camp, but Realmuto has returned to the lineup and is now looking likelier to be ready for the opener. Mathis’ release only seems to add to that likelihood.
Now back on the market, Mathis will likely seek another opportunity from a club looking to add a glove-first backup behind the plate. Offense has never been Mathis’ calling card, but his bat bottomed out from 2019-20 with Texas, when he produced just a .159/.212/.252 batting line through 312 plate appearances. His work this spring was a bit more encouraging, however, and Mathis has long been regarded as one of the game’s premier defensive players at any position. Even if last year’s defensive ratings took a dip, another club in need of a lightly used backup could show interest in bringing him aboard for his defensive aptitude and the extensive knowledge he can share with the organization’s younger catchers and/or pitchers.
Tigers Select Julio Teheran’s Contract
The Tigers have informed veteran righty Julio Teheran that he will make their Opening Day roster, manager A.J. Hinch announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter links via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press). Teheran had a March 22 opt-out date in his contract that he triggered two days ago, giving the club 48 hours to make the move. He’ll now be guaranteed a $3MM salary with up to $1MM available via additional incentives. In a corresponding roster move, the Tigers announced that righty Spencer Turnbull has been placed on the injured list. No reason was given, but he’s been away from the rest of the club since Saturday due to Covid-19 protocols.
Detroit also informed left-hander Tarik Skubal that he’s made the big league rotation. Meanwhile, veteran righty Erasmo Ramirez and lefty Ian Krol did not make the club but will stick with the team. Ramirez has more than six years of service time and finished out the 2020 season on a 40-man roster, making him an Article XX(B) free agent under the collective bargaining agreement and thus entitling him to a $100K retention bonus for remaining with the Tigers rather than taking the release opportunity afforded to him by that status.
Teheran, 30, has had an outstanding spring with the Tigers, holding opponents to three runs on just six hits and one walk with 15 strikeouts over the course of 11 innings. More encouragingly, he’s shown improved velocity this spring, with both Petzold and The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen indicating that he came out of the gates hitting 92.8 and 92.9 mph — just a year after Statcast pegged his average four-seamer at 89.2 mph and his average sinker at 88.7 mph.
Last year was a particularly dismal season for Teheran. In his first season away from his original organization, the Braves, Teheran missed the early portion of the year due to a positive Covid-19 diagnosis and attempted to build up his pitch count in a big league setting but never looked like himself. He was clobbered for a disastrous 10.05 ERA (5.99 SIERA) with a career-low 13.4 percent strikeout rate against an elevated 10.7 percent walk rate.
Prior to 2020, Teheran had been a durable workhorse in Atlanta. He may not have developed into the ace-caliber starter that many expected based on his former top prospect status — his 2014 season came close — but from 2013-19 Teheran combined for a 3.64 ERA over the life over 1334 innings. He averaged 32 starts per season along the way, landing on the injured list only twice: a two-week stretch due to a minor lat strain in 2016 and a 10-day stint for a thumb contusion in 2018.
Teheran now steps into the Tigers’ rotation alongside Matthew Boyd, Jose Urena and the up-and-coming Skubal, who ranked as one of the game’s top 50 prospects prior to making his MLB debut in 2020. The 24-year-old Skubal was tagged for a 5.63 ERA last season, but only in a small sample of 32 innings. He battled some control issues a bit in his most recent spring start but has held opponents to a pair of runs on eight hits and eight walks with 15 strikeouts in 12 Grapefruit League innings. Obviously, he’ll need to command the strike zone more effectively during the season, but Skubal has encouraged the club enough to further audition for a long-term rotation spot.
Turnbull was likely ticketed for a rotation spot himself, but there’s no timeline for his return to the club. In the meantime, the Tigers can look to former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize or former Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer. The latter worked out of the bullpen in his most recent outing and has generally struggled this spring, but he still hopes to return to form as a starter after undergoing Tommy John surgery late in 2018, missing 2019 and struggling in 2020. Mize has also struggled, however, so the Tigers could look elsewhere within the organization to piece things together until Turnbull is deemed eligible to return. Both Daniel Norris and Tyler Alexander have experience starting at the MLB level.