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Health Notes: Kershaw, Perez, Johnson

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Dodgers southpaw Clayton Kershaw may not be all that far from returning to the MLB mound, but he has a few more steps to take. As Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports on Twitter, the star hurler could soon be cleared for a minor-league rehab assignment — if he’s able to complete a live BP session tomorrow without incident. Supposing things go well and Kershaw is ready to resume competitive action next week, he’ll still need to build up his pitch count before returning to the Dodgers roster. It’s not yet clear how many rehab starts he’d need before being activated.

More health notes from around the game …

  • The Tigers announced Friday that pitching prospect Franklin Perez will miss the first four to six weeks of the season due to tendinitis in his right shoulder. He’ll rehab at the team’s spring facility in Lakeland, Fla. for the time being. The shoulder tendinitis is the latest health-related setback for 21-year-old, who also missed most of the 2018 campaign with lat and shoulder issues. Perez, who threw just 19 1/3 innings last seasons, was one of the key pieces Detroit received from the Astros in the 2017 blockbuster that sent Justin Verlander to Houston. Considered at the time of that deal to be one of baseball’s premier minor league arms, Perez has seen his prospect star dim as injuries have prevented him from taking the hill. Fortunately for the Tigers, he’s still quite young and has ample time to develop, but the ongoing arm issues are a troubling trend.
  • There’s an even tougher diagnosis for Marlins prospect Osiris Johnson, as Wells Dusenbery of the Sun Sentinel reports on Twitter. The youngster appears to be sidelined for all of the 2019 season after undergoing surgery for a right tibial stress fracture. Taken in the second round of last year’s draft, the shortstop is considered a high-risk, high-upside talent. He turned in good results at the Rookie level but stumbled in a late promotion to the Class A level. This was to be an important year of development for Johnson, who only turned 18 last October.

Orioles Sign Mason Williams To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles announced that they’ve signed outfielder Mason Williams to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk.

Williams, once regarded as one of the game’s top outfield prospects, spent the 2018 campaign with the Reds organization and tallied a career-high 132 plate appearances at the Major League level. Now 27 years old, Williams hit .293/.331/.398 with Cincinnati last season and has experience playing all three outfield positions. He’s yet to tap into the potential that made him such a vaunted farmhand in his days with the Yankees but does have a .278/.327/.371 slash in just over 1000 Triple-A plate appearances. He’ll give the O’s some depth in the upper minors.

The Orioles also announced that they’ve acquired minor league infielder Yeltsin Gudino from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash. The 22-year-old Gudino hit .276/.347/.306 in 344 plate appearances across two Class-A levels last season and has experience playing all four infield positions (but primarily the two up-the-middle slots). Gudino has never shown any semblance of power, but he’s punched out in just 14 percent of his career plate appearances in the minors while drawing walks at an 8.9 percent clip.

At one point, Gudino was actually a rather high-profile signing for the Blue Jays, as evidenced by the $1.2MM signing bonus they gave him back in 2013. Baseball America ranked him eighth among international prospects at the time, though certainly Toronto’s expenditure has failed to pay dividends as Gudino has never developed at the plate. The Orioles have assigned him to Class-A Advanced Frederick for the time being.

Mariners Acquire Tom Murphy

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1:06pm: The Mariners have announced the trade. To make room for Murphy on the 25-man roster, Freitas has indeed been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

12:55pm: The Mariners will send minor league righty Jesus Ozoria to the Giants in return for Murphy, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. The 20-year-old Ozoria has yet to pitch above Rookie ball but logged 49 1/3 innings of 2.19 ERA ball there last season. Ozoria turned in a brilliant 59-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time and paired it with a 39.3 percent grounder rate. He’s a long way from MLB readiness but seemingly adds a live arm to the lower levels of the organization. The long-term question will be one of whether Ozoria carries more value than righty Merandy Gonzalez, whom the Giants designated for assignment when claiming Murphy; the move, in essence, swaps those two pitchers out while also clearing a spot on the Giants’ 40-man roster.

7:20am: The Mariners have reached a deal to acquire catcher Tom Murphy from the Giants, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). San Francisco claimed the out-of-options Murphy from the Rockies earlier this week but did not carry him on the Opening Day roster, ultimately designating him for assignment just days after initially claiming him. Seattle has an open 40-man roster spot, so a corresponding move isn’t a necessity.

Currently, Omar Narvaez and David Freitas are the only catchers on Seattle’s 40-man roster, so Murphy figures to supplant Freitas as the primary backup/platoon partner for Narvaez. Freitas has options remaining and can freely be sent to Triple-A without first being placed on waivers.

Murphy, 28 next week, was once considered to be among the game’s top catching prospects but hasn’t produced at the plate in limited Major League opportunities across the past couple of seasons (.188/.221/.325 in 122 plate appearances). The Rockies, who owe veteran Chris Iannetta nearly $5MM through contract’s end, opted for a more defensive-minded second catcher in Tony Wolters when they cut Murphy loose.

Murphy, however, isn’t a poor defender by most measures. He sports average caught-stealing rates in both the Majors and minors throughout his career, and while he’s not a standout in terms of pitch framing, he’s been a bit above average in that regard over the past three seasons combined. At the plate, Murphy raked at a .266/.341/.608 clip through his first 88 plate appearances from 2015-16. He has a career .286/.335/.567 batting line across 875 Triple-A plate appearances, including a .258/.333/.568 slash in 264 PAs a year ago.

Oldest, Youngest Players On MLB Rosters

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Two of Major League Baseball’s most popular elder statesmen, Ichiro Suzuki and Bartolo Colon, may have played their last big league game. Suzuki certainly has, having announced his retirement following an emotional sendoff with the Mariners in the season-opening series against the Athletics in Tokyo. Colon has said he hopes to continue his career but has seemingly not received an offer, as he remains unsigned.

Baseball’s youth movement will continue to push down the average age of a big leaguer, but there are still several graybeards throughout the game, led by baseball’s all-time leader in imaginary arrows fired: Fernando Rodney. Rodney was the only player in all of baseball who opened the season on a big league roster at 40 or older. Here’s a look at the game’s oldest players as the league-wide Opening Day (* = on the Major League injured or restricted list):

Fernando Rodney | Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

  1. Fernando Rodney, RHP, Athletics (born 3/18/77)
  2. Albert Pujols, DH/1B, Angels (1/16/80)
  3. Rich Hill, LHP, Dodgers (3/11/80)*
  4. Erik Kratz, C, Giants (6/15/80)
  5. Nelson Cruz, DH/OF, Twins (7/1/80)
  6. CC Sabathia, LHP, Yankees (7/21/80)*
  7. Pat Neshek, RHP, Phillies (9/4/80)
  8. Curtis Granderson, OF, Marlins (3/16/81)
  9. Ben Zobrist, 2B/OF, Cubs (5/26/81)
  10. Oliver Perez, LHP, Indians (8/15/81)

Rodney is leading the charge and still brings a mid-90s heater to the table. The A’s were comfortable exercising an option that guarantees him $5.25MM this season, so if he can turn in another season of solid, albeit characteristically anxiety-inducing relief work, this may not be his final Opening Day. Sabathia is the only lock on this list to retire after the 2019 season. Several of the entrants, in fact, are controlled beyond the 2019 season. Pujols remains under contract through 2021. Cruz, Neshek and Perez each have options for the 2020 season. Kratz will be 39 on June 15 but will still be arbitration-eligible next offseason.

Hill is still a quality starter on the heels of his late-career breakout, and if he can turn in a reasonably healthy year, he should have interest in free agency (assuming he wants to continue pitching). The Grandy Man is among the game’s most revered clubhouse presences and was a solid bat against righties in 2018. Zobrist had a strong showing in his age-37 campaign last year.

On the flip-side of the coin is Toronto’s Rule 5 pick, righty Elvis Luciano. The 19-year-old hadn’t yet seen his second birthday when Pujols and Sabathia began their MLB careers. He’s a bit of an odd man out on a list that is otherwise comprised of elite prospects (or formerly elite prospects who’ve already become stars), but he holds the distinction of starting the season as the game’s most babyfaced talent. Here are baseball’s youngest players as of yesterday…

Elvis Luciano | Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

  1. Elvis Luciano, RHP, Blue Jays (born 2/15/00)
  2. Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres (1/2/99)
  3. Juan Soto, OF, Nationals (10/25/98)
  4. Bryse Wilson, RHP, Braves (12/20/97)
  5. Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Braves (12/18/97)
  6. Victor Robles, OF, Nationals (5/19/97)
  7. Ozzie Albies, 2B, Braves (1/7/97)
  8. Gleyber Torres, 2B/SS, Yankees (12/13/96)
  9. Eloy Jimenez, OF, White Sox (11/27/96)
  10. Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox (10/24/96)

Despite their youth, more than half of those 10 players have already completed a full big league season. As one would expect with a group this young but with some notable MLB experience, three of the 10 played significant roles in 2018 Rookie of the Year voting; Acuna took home NL honors in that category ahead of runner-up Soto. Torres finished third in American League voting.

The Braves’ three entrants on this list are a testament to the waves of young talent emerging in Atlanta that should help the organization stay competitive for years to come. The Nationals, likewise, will hope that Soto and Robles comprise two-thirds of their outfield for more than half a decade. San Diego made the bold decision to call Tatis Jr. up to the Majors from Opening Day at a time when teams are famously making a habit of holding potential stars in the Majors for a few weeks to buy an extra year of service (as Atlanta did with Acuna a year ago). The White Sox looked primed to take that approach with Jimenez before ultimately signing him to a record-setting extension and bringing him to the Majors for Opening Day.

Indians Sign Cameron Maybin To Minor League Deal

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The Indians announced that they’ve signed free-agent outfielder Cameron Maybin to a minor league contract. He’ll head to the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus for the time being. Maybin, a client of Excel Sports, was in Spring Training with the Giants but was released at the end of camp.

Maybin, who’ll turn 32 in early April, struggled to a .163/.250/.233 performance with the Giants during Cactus League play. A DUI arrest midway through Spring Training assuredly didn’t help his chances of making the roster in San Francisco. The Giants ultimately broke camp with Steven Duggar, Gerardo Parra, Connor Joe and Michael Reed comprising a shaky collection of outfielders.

The Indians’ outfield mix is hardly well-defined, though it’s less shaky than the Giants’ piecemeal compilation. Cleveland opened the season with Jake Bauers, Leonys Martin and Tyler Naquin in left field, center field and right field, respectively. Fleet-footed Greg Allen as a reserve option, and Jordan Luplow broke camp as a likely platoon partner for Naquin.

Maybin will join fellow veterans Carlos Gonzalez and Brandon Barnes as well as prospect Oscar Mercado in the mix for playing time with Triple-A Columbus early in the year. That collection of names could change quickly, as Gonzalez is reported to have an opt-out provision in early April if he’s not added to the big league roster by that point.

Maybin still has well above-average speed but isn’t quite the burner that he once was. Back in 2015, Statcast pegged Maybin’s 29.1 ft/sec average sprint speed 26th in the Majors, but he’s lost a tenth of a second or two each year since that time and checked in at 28.5 ft/sec last season (tied for 101st of 549 players). He’s spent time with the Angels, Astros, Marlins and Mariners across the past two seasons and posted a collective .237/.322/.351 batting line with 14 homers, 34 doubles, four triples and 43 stolen bases in 834 plate appearances along the way.

Dan Straily Reportedly Weighing Multiple Offers

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Recently released Marlins right-hander Dan Straily has received big league offers from three American League teams, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Some clubs have been willing to promise a rotation spot to the 30-year-old Straily, who’ll take the next week or so to mull those and any other offers that arise with his family and his representatives.

Miami’s decision to release Straily registered as somewhat of a surprise. Miami had reportedly sought to trade Straily for much of the offseason but found no takers at his $5MM price point, it seems. Rather than opening the season with the 30-year-old holding down a starting job and then looking for early opportunities to move him, the Fish instead simply opted to cut Straily loose, eating about $1.21MM of his non-guaranteed arbitration salary in the process. Straily will take home that salary no matter what, and he’ll earn whatever sum a new organization is willing to pay him on top of that figure.

Straily struggled through a rough spring but has generally been a solid back-of-the-rotation arm for the Reds and Marlins across the past three seasons, pitching to a combined 4.03 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 1.5 HR/9 in 495 1/3 innings. He’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher, which has led to frequent issues with the long ball, but Straily typically misses bats at an average or better rate and also generates a large number of infield flies.

Several teams throughout the American League could speculatively make sense for Straily. The Athletics are piecing things together at the back of their rotation, while the Angels have been perennially clobbered by injuries and are currently uncertain about the status of Andrew Heaney’s elbow. A rebuilding club like the Orioles could easily accommodate Straily, though he may prefer to head to a club with at least some semblance of postseason aspirations now that he’s choosing his destination. There are, of course, numerous clubs in the National League who could benefit from swapping out Straily for their current fifth option as well.

When Straily does sign, he’ll be an option not only for the remainder of the 2019 season but also the 2020 campaign. Because he has four years, 126 days of big league service time under his belt, Straily won’t qualify as a free agent at season’s end and would be controllable for another season via the arbitration process.

AL West Notes: Manaea, Ohtani, Sadzeck

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Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea, already reported to be “well ahead of schedule” in his rehab from shoulder surgery, has taken another step forward, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Manaea has begun throwing from 90 feet and has already had multiple throwing sessions from that distance. While the Athletics initially feared that their top starter would miss the entire 2019 season after undergoing surgery late in the 2018 campaign, Manaea is now optimistically targeting a return around the All-Star break. There’s obviously quite a bit that can go wrong between now and then, but the accelerated timeline is a welcome revelation for the A’s and their fans, especially considering the patchwork status of their rotation. Currently, Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson and Marco Estrada are the only established starters on the roster, with right-handers Frankie Montas and Aaron Brooks slated to round out the bunch. Oakland’s starting pitching outlook became a bit more bleak last week when uber-prospect Jesus Luzardo was shut down for four to six weeks due to shoulder concerns.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Shohei Ohtani took on-field batting practice for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, writes Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times. Angels general manager Billy Eppler indicated that Ohtani felt good after his BP session, and there’s no indication that the May timeline the Angels placed on his return as a designated hitter has changed. Ohtani will still need to face live pitching and surely will complete a minor league rehab assignment before jumping back into the fray, but his progress in a return to the batter’s box continues to be encouraging.
  • Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels spoke about the decision to designate flamethrowing right-hander Connor Sadzeck for assignment earlier today (link via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan), acknowledging that it was a difficult decision. Daniels feels there’s a “decent” chance that Sadzeck would be claimed if he’s run through waivers, given that he can reach triple digits with his fastball, but there’s also a chance the Rangers can find a trade partner for the out-of-options righty, per Daniels. “It wasn’t a slight on him,” said Daniels of the DFA. “We felt if we had more time, we probably would have taken it. It’s unfortunate because I really like the kid. He did everything we asked. … He has high-end ability, but where it was, it was inconsistent.” Given the Rangers’ rebuilding status, it’s a bit curious that they wouldn’t find a way to keep a pitcher whose arm seems to genuinely intrigue the organization, but Daniels sounds resigned to the fact that the righty may very well land elsewhere within the next week.

Outrighted: Duensing, Wilkerson, Okert

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With the recent slew of players being designated for assignment, several have cleared waivers. We’ll keep track of today’s outrighted players here…

  • The Cubs announced that lefty Brian Duensing has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Iowa. He has enough service time to reject the assignment and still retain the entirety of this year’s $3.5MM salary, but there’s no indication yet whether he’ll choose to do so. The 36-year-old Duensing had a strong year with the 2017 Cubs but was clobbered for a 7.65 ERA in 37 2/3 innings last season after signing a two-year, $7MM contract to remain in Chicago. His second season with the Cubs saw him walk more batters (29) than he struck out (24), and his struggles continued into Spring Training, where he yielded eight runs in seven innings of work.
  • Infielder Stevie Wilkerson was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing waivers, per an announcement from the Orioles. The 27-year-old made his big league debut a year ago and hit .174/.224/.239 in 49 trips to the plate with the O’s. The versatile Wilkerson has experience at every position other than catcher and center field. He’s a career .266/.342/.368 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons.
  • The Giants announced Thursday that left-handed reliever Steven Okert has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento after clearing waivers. Okert, 27, has spent time in the Giants’ bullpen in each of the past three seasons and compiled a career 4.28 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 48 1/3 innings as a Major League reliever. He’ll remain with the organization as a depth option should the club need to call upon some additional left-handed bullpen help at some point in the 2019 season.

Corey Knebel Weighing Tommy John Surgery

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March 28: Knebel has received opinions from three doctors and is weighing whether to undergo surgery or attempt a rest and rehab approach, per Todd Rosiak and Haudricourt. He’ll make a decision tomorrow.

March 21, 8:09pm: GM David Stearns says the team still isn’t sure how to label the damage to Knebel’s UCL, as Haudricourt tweets. But the organization “know[s] it’s damaged to some extent.”

6:52pm: Knebel has an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament, Counsell told reporters this evening. (Via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; links to Twitter.) That’s certainly worrying at first glance, though it’s said not to be a complete tear of the ligament. It’s also not a new injury, though it’s not clear whether additional damage may have been incurred.

At the moment, it’s not known whether the malady will require surgery and/or end Knebel’s season before it begins. He’s slated to receive a second opinion.

12:45pm: Brewers closer Corey Knebel will have his right elbow examined today, manager Craig Counsell revealed to reporters (Twitter link via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The Athletic’s Robert Murray had previously written that he was taking a step back from throwing due to elbow discomfort. Counsell acknowledged that there is some cause for concern.

The Knebel injury makes it all the more apparent why Milwaukee has recently been in contact with Craig Kimbrel to discuss a potential fit. It was already known that Jeremy Jeffress would open the season on the injured list — though president of baseball operations David Stearns said this week that Jeffress could be back by mid or late April. It now seems likely that Knebel will join him there to begin the year.

Knebel, Jeffress and Josh Hader combined for much of the regular season to form an overpowering bullpen trio. Each of the three posted K/9 marks of 10.5 or better, while Hader and Jeffress checked in with ERAs south of 2.50. Knebel’s ERA wasn’t quite as eye-popping, thanks largely to a late August slump, but he didn’t allow a run over his final 16 1/3 innings of the regular season and posted a ridiculous 33-to-3 K/BB ratio along the way. On the season, he averaged 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

There’s no indication that Jeffress’ shoulder issue is a long-term concern, but the situation surrounding Knebel, to this point, is more ominous (or at least more vague). If the Brewers do ultimately turn to Kimbrel in light of the bullpen issues that have cropped up this spring, they’d have to part with their fourth-round draft selection due to the fact that Kimbrel rejected a qualifying offer from the Red Sox. The Brewers already forfeited their third-round pick to sign Yasmani Grandal, and their current payroll projects at a franchise-record $127.5MM.

Sandy Leon Clears Waivers, Accepts Outright Assignment

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March 28: Leon has accepted his assignment to Triple-A, the team announced.

March 26: 1:14pm: Abraham now tweets that Leon has not actually not yet made a decision on whether he’ll accept the assignment. He has 48 hours to do so.

12:54pm: The Red Sox announced Tuesday that catcher Sandy Leon has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket. Evan Drellich first reported (via Twitter) that Leon had gone unclaimed, and the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham tweets that Leon has accepted an outright assignment.

Because Leon has more than three years of MLB service time (4.149 years), he could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency. However, only players with five-plus years of service can reject an outright assignment without forfeiting the salary on their contract, so electing free agency would’ve cost Leon $2.475MM. He’ll remain with the organization and, while he won’t count against the 40-man roster, he will count against the team’s luxury tax calculations (a technicality that was changed in the last CBA).

Leon, 30, struggled through an awful season at the plate in 2018, hitting just .177/.232/.279 through 288 PAs. His bat has continually declined since what now looks like a clear outlier campaign in 2016, but he’s regarded as a terrific defender in terms of limiting the running game, framing pitches, and managing a staff.

Despite that proficient glovework, however, Leon found himself squeezed off the Boston roster by a cluttered catching mix no longer deemed tenable by the organization. Boston spent the entire 2018 campaign juggling playing time for Leon, Christian Vazquez and seldom-used former top prospect Blake Swihart. With both Swihart and Leon out of minor league options and Vazquez locked in as the team’s No. 1 catcher, the Sox ultimately cut bait on Leon in favor of Swihart, who’ll now serve as the primary backup in 2019. If Leon does stick with the club, he could eventually resurface in the big leagues in the event of an injury or prolonged struggles for one either Vazquez or Swihart.

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