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Lovullo: “Strong Chance” Weaver Returns In 2019

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Luke Weaver hasn’t thrown a pitch for the D-backs since late May, when he was diagnosed with a forearm strain and a UCL injury, but the righty’s 2019 season isn’t necessarily over. Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes that Weaver is slated to throw a bullpen session later today, after which he could either toss a simulated game or pitch in a postseason game for a minor league affiliate. Most encouraging of all for D-backs fans is that Diamondbacks skipper Torey Lovullo tells Ladson he thinks there’s a “strong chance” Weaver will return to a big league mound in 2019.

It’s a welcome development for D-backs fans not only because some have feared that Weaver’s injury would culminate in surgery but also because the Diamondbacks have pulled themselves within two and a half games of the National League’s second Wild Card spot. With 18 games yet to play, they’re still a postseason underdog, but there’s a legitimate chance that they could find their way into a play-in game despite shipping Zack Greinke to the Astros in the final minutes of this year’s trading period. There’s also, apparently, a legitimate chance that Weaver will be able to impact that race and any subsequent postseason endeavors.

It seems unlikely that the Diamondbacks would be able to get Weaver stretched out sufficiently enough to resume his role as a conventional starter, but he could presumably work in shorter stints if he’s cleared to return. Given Robbie Ray’s recent blister issues, some added bullpen depth would be of benefit to Lovullo in the final weeks. Arizona is currently carrying a whopping 12 relievers, so it’s not as if Lovullo is lacking options, but a healthy Weaver would be superior to the majority of said options — many of whom are unproven at the MLB level.

Weaver, 26, went to the Diamondbacks along with Carson Kelly, minor league utilityman Andy Young and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft pick in the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis. While some fans were frustrated by the lack of a marquee prospect headlining the deal, both Weaver and Kelly were top-tier farmhands in St. Louis before debuting and were ready to step directly onto the roster. A strong 2019 showing for Kelly and terrific early results for Weaver have helped to justify that deal for the D-backs. In 62 1/3 innings prior to going on the injured list, Weaver pitched to a 3.03 ERA (3.10 FIP, 3.83 SIERA) with 9.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9 and a 40.7 percent ground-ball rate. He’s controlled through the 2023 season and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2020-21 offseason.

Mike Tauchman Out Six To Eight Weeks With Grade 2 Calf Strain

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The Yankees have lost outfielder Mike Tauchman for the remainder of the regular season and quite likely for the entirety of the postseason. The team announced to reporters that Tauchman has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 calf strain (Twitter link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com).

Initial indications are that Tauchman will be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks. That spells big trouble for his hopes of being a part of the Yankees’ postseason roster. It’s theoretically possible that Tauchman could be ready if the club makes it into the World Series, but it seems likelier that he won’t suit up again this season.

If this is the last we’ve seen of Tauchman in 2019, his last impression was a good one. Tauchman was two-for-two before departing last night, bringing his season-long batting line to a hefty .277/.361/.504 slash with 13 home runs over 296 plate appearances. That’s stunning production from a player who was acquired late in Spring Training when he became a Rockies roster casualty.

It’s fair to ask whether Tauchman’s output is sustainable. We did just that in early August, and he responded by ripping off another strong month at the plate. While there’s still cause for some wariness, there’s also little doubt that Tauchman deserves to enter camp in 2020 with a presumption of an active roster spot. (It’s worth noting that he’ll be out of options.) Whether or not that’ll be with the Yanks remains to be seen; the Bronx Bombers could take any number of different directions in compiling their outfield unit over the offseason to come.

Mariners Expected To Promote Justin Dunn

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One longtime Mariners top prospect (Kyle Lewis) is already on his way to the big leagues, but Greg Johns of MLB.com writes that the Seattle organization is also expected to call up righty Justin Dunn now that his Double-A season has wrapped up. Dunn came to the Mariners alongside outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic and hard-throwing right-hander Gerson Bautista in the trade that sent Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano to the Mets.

Kelenic, who has breezed through three minor league levels this season and reached Double-A as a 20-year-old, has garnered the most fanfare of the players Seattle picked up in that deal. But Dunn has elevated his own stock in 2019 and now sits 73rd and 98th on the respective midseason leaguewide prospect rankings from MLB.com and Fangraphs. The 23-year-old has spent the season with Double-A Arkansas, where he’s posted a 3.55 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.89 HR/9 and a 37.2 percent ground-ball rate in 131 2/3 innings (just shy of his career-high 135 1/3 from 2018).

Dunn draws praise for a heater that sits in the 93-95 mph range (but can reach a bit higher), and MLB.com’s report on him touts both a slider and curveball that can be average or better offerings for him in the big leagues. Fangraphs notes that he also made some gains with his changeup late in 2018 and has improved his slider command, making him a “good bet” to be a fourth starter at the MLB level. MLB.com touts him as a potential midrotation arm.

Like the aforementioned Lewis, Dunn is a former first-round pick himself and, in fact, was selected just eight picks after Lewis in 2016. Both now figure to make their MLB debuts at the same time for the same team, and they’re not the only candidates who could be brought up to the Majors. Johns lists shortstop Donnie Walton and righty Art Warren as others who could make the jump. Seattle would need to open one spot on its 40-man roster in order to accommodate that final wave of promotions, but everyone from that group will be selected to the 40-man roster this winter anyhow, as they’d otherwise be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.

Assuming that group does indeed get the call, it figures to be an exciting glimpse of the future for Mariners fans who’ve endured some rough lows in 2019 — none worse than this past weekend’s 21-to-1 drubbing at the hands of the division-leading Astros. Dunn is the most highly regarded of the bunch, while Lewis is a ways ahead of Walton and Warren, both of whom rank near the back of the Mariners’ top 30 list at MLB.com. All four from that quartet should get opportunities to prove themselves capable as MLB contributors in the very near future.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/9/19

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We’ll track Monday’s minor moves from around the game here…

  • Cubs outfielder Mark Zagunis has been outrighted off the 40-man roster, per the league transactions log at MLB.com. Zagunis, 26, was designated for assignment last weekend and went unclaimed on outright waivers. Once considered to be among the organization’s better prospects, Zagunis has had an ugly season in 2019. While his .294/.361/.475 batting line through 285 plate appearances in Triple-A appears sound, that was actually barely above the league average in this year’s explosive offensive environment (102 wRC+). Beyond that, Zagunis punched out in a third of his plate appearances and saw his offensive production buoyed by a .439 average on balls in play, suggesting that he’s highly unlikely to maintain that level of offense. A third-round pick in 2014, Zagunis has now appeared in parts of four Triple-A seasons and has typically handled himself well, but he’s a .200/.313/.273 hitter in a tiny sample of 64 Major League plate appearances and has fallen considerably down the organizational depth chart in the outfield.

Mariners To Promote Kyle Lewis

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The Mariners are set to promote outfield prospect Kyle Lewis for his MLB debut, as was first made apparent in a congratulatory tweet from his his college team at Mercer. Seattle has multiple open spots on its 40-man roster, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary.

Lewis, 24, was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2016 draft but has seen his development slowed by a disastrous knee injury that occurred just months after he was drafted. While playing for Seattle’s short-season Class-A affiliate in July 2016, Lewis tore the ACL, medial meniscus and lateral meniscus in his right knee in a grisly home plate collision. He suited up for only a combined 79 games in his first two professional seasons, and he underwent a second knee surgery — an arthroscopic procedure — shortly before the 2018 season began.

At the time of the draft, Lewis was seen as one of the top college bats available, and it was something of a surprise to see him make it to the Mariners with the No. 11 pick. The organization surely hoped him capable of being a quick mover through the minor league ranks, but the knee injury and lingering complications threw a wrench into any plans to fast-track him to the big leagues. Even in spite of his injury, Lewis ranked among the game’s Top 100 prospects prior to both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, per Baseball America and MLB.com, but a lackluster showing in Double-A last season (.220/.309/.371) caused his stock to dip.

Lewis may not have completely resurrected his prospect status, but he’s certainly performed better in his second trip through Double-A in 2019. He’s been healthy enough to log a career-high 517 plate appearances, batting .263/.342/.398 along the way. The power numbers aren’t where the club would hope, but even that modest line was nine percent better than that of a league-average hitter in the Texas League, by measure of wRC+.

MLB.com lists Lewis tenth among Mariners farmhands at this point, writing that he has an “arm that fits in right field and enough range to stay there.” Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen ranked Lewis eighth in the Mariners’ considerably improved farm system, noting that he looked more “explosive” in Spring Training than he had in seasons past due to improved health in his knee. They tabbed him as a potential middle-of-the-order hitter with impressive raw power but also some strikeout concerns. This season’s 29.4 percent strikeout rate in Arkansas presumably didn’t do anything to curb those concerns.

Looking ahead, the Mariners have several more established outfield options immediately atop their depth chart, though both Mitch Haniger and Domingo Santana are currently injured. They’re controlled for next year, though, as is Mallex Smith. If that trio is healthy and all still on the Mariners’ roster — never a sure thing with perhaps the game’s most active general manager, Jerry Dipoto, at the helm — they’d likely be in line for the bulk of the outfield reps in 2020. Other options on the 40-man roster include Jake Fraley, Braden Bishop and Keon Broxton, although the latter of that group seems likely to come off the 40-man roster this winter given his struggles with three different organizations.

It’s possible that a role for Lewis could be opened up with some offseason maneuvering, but it’s equally or more likely that he’ll head to Triple-A Tacoma to begin the 2020 season.

Cubs To Promote Nico Hoerner

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The Cubs are set to call up top infield prospect Nico Hoerner, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune suggested earlier this morning that Hoerner could be in line to get the call with both Javier Baez and Addison Russell dealing with injuries. The Cubs will need to make a 40-man roster move in order to accommodate the promotion.

Hoerner, 22, was the No. 24 overall selection in the 2018 draft and is widely considered to be among the game’s 100 best prospects. The Stanford product hit .284/.344/.399 with three home runs, 16 doubles, three triples and eight steals through 294 plate appearances in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Southern League this season. Beyond the leaguewide hitting environment, Hoerner’s production in Double-A is all the more impressive when considering that he played in just 14 games below the Double-A level before being rather aggressively promoted there by the Chicago organization. He did turn in an outstanding .337/.362/.506 showing through 94 plate appearances in last year’s Arizona Fall League as well.

Currently, Hoerner ranks 40th on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list. He also checked in 47th on the midseason re-rank at MLB.com and 51st over at Fangraphs. He’s an extremely high-contact hitter, having fanned in fewer than 10 percent of his professional plate appearances, and he draws praise for his above-average speed as well. There’s some debate as to which middle-infield position Hoerner will ultimately play at the MLB level, but the Cubs have given him quite a bit more time at shortstop early in his minor league career.

Hoerner didn’t need to be added to the 40-man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter, so the Cubs are being more aggressive with his service clock than they have with previous prospects (most notably Kris Bryant). Chicago, though, saw Russell go down with a potential concussion yesterday and lost Baez to a hairline fracture in his thumb a day prior. The Cubs are 4.5 games back of the Cardinals for the NL Central lead and suddenly have a mere 1.5-game lead over the scorching Diamondbacks for the second Wild Card spot in the National League, giving them even greater reason for urgency.

It seems unlikely that Hoerner will simply be in the big leagues to stay from this point forth. He’s barely a year removed from being drafted and has yet to suit up for a single game of activity at the Triple-A level. An assignment to Iowa to begin next season would make sense, though now that he’s on the 40-man roster, Hoerner has at least put himself in a position to try to force the team’s hand and keep him in the Majors. Should he indeed play his way into a long-term spot on the roster, he’d be controllable through at least the 2025 season and become arbitration-eligible in the 2022-23 offseason. That said, it still seems likelier that he’ll get some Triple-A time next season, and he’d only need to spend about five weeks there for the Cubs to push his path to free agency back to the 2026-27 offseason.

Indians Activate Jefry Rodriguez, Transfer Danny Salazar To 60-Day IL

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The Indians announced Friday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Jefry Rodriguez from the 60-day injured list. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Cleveland has transferred fellow right-hander Danny Salazar from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

The move puts an end to Salazar’s 2019 regular season after just one appearance, although that already looked to be the case after Salazar asked the club for some time away from the organization after exiting his latest rehab appearance early (link via MLB.com’s Mandy Bell). Salazar, who has been sidelined since Aug. 2 due to a groin strain, missed the 2018 season and much of the 2019 campaign following shoulder surgery. His future with the organization is clearly up in the air following the latest sequence of events.

Salazar, 29, always looked to have front-of-the-rotation potential based on an electric arsenal and his typically gaudy strikeout rates, but he’s only been healthy enough to make 30 starts once in the past six seasons. The 2016 All-Star posted a 3.82 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 587 1/3 innings from 2013-17 but has been rendered an afterthought in the wake of his recent shoulder woes. The Indians paid Salazar a $5MM salary in 2018 and tendered him a contract at $4.5MM for the 2019 season due to the upside he possesses, but the organization will ultimately receive just four innings of work in return for that $9.5MM investment. Salazar is arbitration-eligible again this offseason, but he’s a surefire non-tender candidate at this point.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Rodriguez will return to the Indians after some shoulder troubles of his own. Acquired in the offseason swap that sent catcher Yan Gomes to Washington, Rodriguez started eight games for Cleveland earlier this season and worked to a 4.74 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.03 HR/9 and a 49.3 percent ground-ball rate.

Rodriguez topped out at 3 2/3 innings in his minor league rehab stint, so he’s not fully stretched back out just yet. He could function as a long reliever or perhaps make a start with the understanding that his workload would be limited, should the need arise. Cleveland has club control over the righty through the 2024 season.

NHL’s San Jose Sharks Hire Former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti

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In case last night’s report that Carlos Correa has hired Bobby Flay’s agent wasn’t strange enough for you — fear not, cravers of odd baseball news! The NHL’s San Jose Sharks announced today that they’ve hired former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti as a professional scout. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson offered the following statement on the matter:

Ned has an extensive background working in professional sports and talent evaluation and he will bring a fresh perspective to our organization’s evaluation process. This was a unique opportunity to add someone of Ned’s experience to our staff.

Colletti has never worked in hockey before but does join the Sharks with more than three decades of experience working in a Major League front office — including 18 seasons as an assistant general manager or general manager of a Major League team. Clearly, the Sharks are convinced enough of Colletti’s hockey acumen to make a decidedly outside-the-box hire.

[Related: Pro Hockey Rumors’ coverage of the Sharks hiring Ned Colletti]

Colletti isn’t the only notable executive to completely change sports in recent years, but it seems he’ll have a more direct say in player evaluation than Paul DePodesta took on when joining the NFL’s Cleveland Browns as their Chief Strategy Officer in early 2016. (DePodesta, per the Browns, is “tasked with implementing systems and processes to strengthen the Browns organization and decision making” in his role with the team.)

Since being replaced by the Dodgers following the 2014 season, Colletti has been rumored to be a part of the GM searches for both the Diamondbacks and the Orioles, but he’s never signed on as an executive with another MLB organization. Colletti served as an adviser to Dodgers president Stan Kasten after being removed as GM and has also served as a television analyst with Sportsnet Los Angeles.

Braves Activate Austin Riley

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The Braves announced this morning that they’ve reinstated outfielder/third baseman Austin Riley from the 10-day injured list. A knee sprain wound up sidelining the young slugger for nearly a month.

Atlanta has had a starting outfield’s worth of injuries, with Riley joined by Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis on the shelf. In the absence of that trio, the Braves have utilized Matt Joyce, Rafael Ortega, Charlie Culberson, Adam Duvall and Billy Hamilton in the outfield alongside young star Ronald Acuna Jr.

Leading up to his injury, Riley had seen his playing time diminish thanks to a dismal slump, but the general play of the Atlanta outfield during his absence could again lead to increased opportunities for playing time. Since Riley’s last game, non-Acuna outfielders for the Braves have batted a collective .228/.321/.320. Riley’s own offensive output cratered after his blistering start to the season, but improving upon that collective level of production is a fairly low bar to clear.

Riley burst onto the Braves’ roster with a .293/.333/.629 batting line and an 11 homers in his first month of MLB action but has faceplanted with a .192/.258/.383 slash and a 38.6 strikeout rate in 132 plate appearances since that time. He batted .250/.286/.325 with three doubles and 10 strikeouts in 42 plate appearances during a 10-game minor league rehab assignment.

Barring a catastrophic collapse, the Braves have the National League East locked down for a second straight season, so Riley’s return to the roster has little bearing on whatever glimmer of a race for the division title remains. However, getting Riley on back on track in advance of the postseason would provide a significant boon to the team’s chances of advancing beyond the NLDS for the first time since 2001.

AL West Notes: A’s Rotation, Sanchez, Goodwin

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The Athletics will effectively deploy a six-man rotation for the time being, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Sean Manaea’s return puts him alongside Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, Chris Bassitt, Tanner Roark and Homer Bailey in the rotation, and it seems that there’s no immediate plans to push any of that bunch into a bullpen role. Skipper Bob Melvin called the situation “fluid” and left open the possibility for a change should the need arise. The flexibility could prove particularly important in the season’s final few games, as Melvin could potentially have the ability to optimize some matchups late in the year as the A’s look to secure a Wild Card playoff berth for the second straight season.

Of that bunch, the Athletics will lose Roark, Bailey and Anderson to free agency this winter, although the team isn’t exactly short on internal replacement options. Top prospect A.J. Puk is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, and while he’s in the bullpen for 2019, he’s expected vie for rotation gig in 2020. Righty Jharel Cotton is in a similar position, while uber-prospect Jesus Luzardo is also on the cusp of MLB readiness. Oakland, of course, also has righty Frankie Montas on the sidelines until late September due to an 80-game PED suspension, but he’ll be back in the starting mix next year.

Elsewhere in the AL West…

  • Aaron Sanchez’s season-ending shoulder surgery could give the Astros a difficult decision regarding the right-hander’s future in the organization, writes Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (subscription required). The organization has yet to divulge details on what type of procedure he’ll require, but Sanchez is owed a raise on this season’s $3.9MM salary in arbitration. His lackluster season won’t make the ultimate price point too steep, so it seems worthwhile to tender Sanchez a contract so long as he’s not expected to be sidelined well into next summer, but the sudden uncertainty surrounding his outlook is an unwelcome development as the club plans for the 2020 campaign. The extent of Sanchez’s expected recovery will play a role in how aggressively the ’Stros need to pursue rotation help in the offseason; Gerrit Cole, Wade Miley and Collin McHugh are free agents, while Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers Jr. (who’ll ideally be recovered from 2018 Tommy John surgery) are all signed or controlled through at least 2021.
  • The Angels’ March claim of Brian Goodwin off release waivers from the Royals may have initially been intended to find a capable stopgap for the injured Justin Upton, but the 28-year-old Goodwin looks to have played himself into the team’s plans in 2020, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “Truthfully, I thought he was going to be a filler until Upton came back,” manager Brad Ausmus admitted. “But then he just proved himself to be way too valuable. Much more than just a stop-gap player. He’s turned himself into, shoot, you could make the argument he should play more.” Goodwin, indeed, has been a boon to the Halos’ roster, hitting at a .286/.346/.507 clip with 15 home runs, 27 doubles, two triples and five steals through 380 plate appearances. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and should secure the first seven-figure salary of his career. The Angels hold a club option on Kole Calhoun and will have both Upton and Mike Trout back in 2020, but Goodwin at the very least should be a fourth outfield option next season.

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