Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Cardinals Acquire Matt Adams Via Waiver Claim
1:50pm: The Cardinals have announced the waiver claim. Fowler has been moved to the 60-day DL to open space on the 40-man roster, while corner infielder Patrick Wisdom has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
1:36pm: Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (on Twitter) that Adams is headed to St. Louis via waiver claim, meaning there’s no trade at play here. Rather, the Nationals will simply offload the remainder of his salary on the Cardinals in the deal. Adams is still owed about $877K of his $4MM salary through season’s end.
1:24pm: The Cardinals have agreed to a deal with the Nationals that will bring first baseman/outfielder Matt Adams back to St. Louis, reports Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (on Twitter). Between this move from the Cards and the reported impending deal sending Daniel Murphy to the division-rival Cubs, it appears that the Nationals have embarked on a late-August sale. General manager Mike Rizzo has called a press conference for 3pm ET in which he will presumably address these and any other deals that have been made with the media.
With this trade, the 29-year-old Adams returns to the organization with which he cut his teeth as a pro player. The Cards selected Adams in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft and watched him eventually blossom into a solid Major League hitter across parts of six seasons in the organization. However, St. Louis flipped Adams to the Braves early in the 2017 season in order to loosen an infield logjam. Though Adams produced at a solid clip in Atlanta, he was non-tendered in the offseason and eventually signed a one-year, $4MM deal in Washington.
Thus far in the 2018 season, Adams has produced numbers that are roughly in line with his career marks. Through 277 trips to the plate — nearly all of which have come against right-handed pitching, given Adams’ deficiencies against left-handers — he’s logged a quality .257/.332/.510 slash with 18 home runs and nine doubles.
It’s not clear just yet how the Cardinals will utilize Adams. He’s limited to first base or the occasional dalliance into left field, and the Cards already have options at both of those positions in the form of Matt Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna, respectively. But Carpenter is capable of bouncing all over the infield and could see time at second base or third base in the event that the Nationals wish to get Adams some time at first base against right-handed opponents.
That’s perhaps the key element of the Cardinals’ acquisition of Adams. Prior to this deal, the only lefty bats on the roster were Carpenter, light-hitting second baseman Kolten Wong and backup infielder Greg Garcia. Switch-hitting Dexter Fowler gives the Cards another lefty bat when healthy, but he’s currently on the DL and is mired in the worst season of his professional career. Adding Adams will give the Cards a notable lefty bat both off the bench and against righty starters, helping to balance out the lineup and further fueling their recent surge under interim skipper Mike Shildt.
While Adams will surely receive a warm welcome in his return to St. Louis, the reunion could prove to be short-lived. He was non-tendered last winter in his final offseason of arbitration eligibility and will finish out the 2018 campaign with more than six years of big league service time. As such, he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and free to sign with any team he chooses. It’s possible that the Cards will have interest in retaining a slugger they know well and clearly like as a player, but Adams will be able to field interest from 29 other teams as well.
International Signings: Orioles, Dodgers
Here are a few recent international signings of note:
- The Orioles announced today that they’ve signed outfielder Isaac Bellony. He’ll receive a $220K bonus, per Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Bellony, originally born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, was signed out of the Dominican Republic. Baltimore GM Dan Duquette describes him as “a young, switch-hitting center fielder with power, speed, and a strong arm, who was recruited by several clubs.” Bellony didn’t rank among the top 50 international prospects from Baseball America, though the very fact that the Orioles are signing him at all is of note. Baltimore has refrained from participating in international free agency for years, reportedly as a directive under owner Peter Angelos, but Duquette plainly stated last month that the organization plans to change that philosophy as it embarks upon a lengthy rebuild.
- Indeed, the Orioles have even added additional spending capacity via trades. That has allowed them to make a volume of signings while also perhaps lining up bigger targets. (Rumors have focused on Cuban prospect Victor Victor Mesa.) Per Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the Baltimore organization has also recently inked infielder Moises Ramirez ($225K) and outfielders Damien Valdez ($200K) and J’Rudjeanon Isenia ($125K) to notable contracts.
- The Dodgers have signed Korean right-hander Hyun-Il Choi to a $300K bonus, according to a report from Ilgan Sports (Korean language link; h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). Choi, 18, will reportedly receive a $300K bonus to join the Los Angeles organization. It seems the young hurler was viewed as a top amateur draft target for KBO organizations before the Dodgers wooed him across the Pacific. This isn’t the first time that an MLB club has snatched a top Korean talent before he entered the professional ranks in his home country. The Braves recently inked infielder Ji-Hwan Bae in similar circumstances. (Of course, that signing also included some off-the-books funds and was part of the Braves’ international scandal. Bae ended up being made a free agent and signing with the Pirates.)
Injury Notes: Jansen, Nimmo, Trumbo, Twins, Giants
It seems the Dodgers will activate closer Kenley Jansen for tonight’s game, the relief ace tells reporters including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (Twitter links). That’s certainly good news for a club that has struggled to wrap up games in the late innings without him. More importantly, it seems as if there’s ongoing cause for optimism that Jansen will not be limited by the irregular heartbeat that forced him to the hospital earlier this month.
More injury news from around the league…
- The Mets announced this afternoon that they’ve placed outfielder Brandon Nimmo on the 10-day disabled list due to a bruised left index finger. With Nimmo out for at least the next week-plus, the Mets will keep Dominic Smith on the 25-man roster for the time being. Smith had been with the club on Sunday as the 26th man in New York’s doubleheader, and while he’d been slated to return to Triple-A Las Vegas, he’ll now remain in the bigs. It seems likely that he’ll stay up long enough for rosters to expand on Sept. 1.
- Likewise, the Orioles say that they’ve placed Mark Trumbo on the disabled list due to inflammation in his right knee. In a pair of corresponding moves, Baltimore reinstated Adam Jones from the bereavement list and also recalled outfielder John Andreoli from Triple-A Norfolk after claiming him off outright waivers from the Mariners organization over the weekend. The rebuilding O’s owe Trumbo another $13.5MM next year and they’d no doubt like to find a way to trim back that commitment. This injury could take him out of any consideration for a late-August swap — not that a deal ever seemed particularly likely in the first place. While the 32-year-old is posting a solid .261/.313/.452 slash with 17 homers in 358 plate appearances, his defensive limitations will severely limit interest from contenders (whether now or in the offseason to come).
- While Logan Morrison was originally diagnosed with a hip impingement that necessitated season-ending surgery, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that the Twins first baseman/designated hitter actually had a torn labrum repaired and a bone spur removed from the ailing hip. Meanwhile, right-hander Ervin Santana is seeing a hand specialist to examine the surgically repaired middle finger on his right hand (also via Berardino, on Twitter). Initially projected to require a 12-month recovery that would’ve had Santana back in early May, the issue has proven to be considerably more problematic. Santana didn’t pitch until late July and has made just five starts with an 8.03 ERA in 2018.
- Giants righty Jeff Samardzija is still hoping to make it back from shoulder issues this season. As Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group tweets, Samardzija is set for his first of two rehab starts this Wednesday. That would put the veteran hurler on track to start on the first day of September, when active rosters expand. Whether or not he’ll do so remains to be seen. For the Giants, any contribution will likely be too little, too late. But there is still time for the 33-year-old to put a more positive spin on his 2018 season. When he has been available to pitch this year, Samardzija has produced an ugly 6.25 ERA with an even more concerning 30:26 K/BB ratio in 44 2/3 innings over ten starts.
- Meanwhile, the Giants will welcome back emerging hurler Dereck Rodriguez, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, to take the ball on Friday. Clearly, Rodriguez’s hamstring issues weren’t serious at all, as he only just hit the DL. That’s certainly good news for an organization that has been in need of future bright spots. Rodriguez came out of nowhere to throw 80 innings of 2.25 ERA pitching.
Braves Select Bryse Wilson, Designate Ryan Flaherty, Outright Chad Bell
The Braves have selected the contract of right-hander Bryse Wilson from Triple-A Gwinnett, tweets David O’Brien of The Athletic. The Braves have since announced that he’ll start tonight’s game in place of Kevin Gausman, who, along with the rest of the Atlanta rotation, has had his start pushed back a day (Twitter link via O’Brien).
While the Braves only needed to make a 25-man roster move to accommodate Wilson’s promotion, they announced pair of corresponding 40-man moves: infielder Ryan Flaherty has been designated for assignment, while left-hander Chad Bell has been outrighted off the 40-man roster.
Wilson, 20, opened the 2018 season at Class-A Advanced but has skyrocketed through Atlanta’s system, topping out in Triple-A recently. The hard-throwing righty was the organization’s fourth-round pick in 2016 and currently ranks 13th in a deep Braves farm system, per the midseason prospect update from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
Wilson’s meteoric rise to the Majors began with 26 2/3 innings of 0.34 ERA ball in High-A to open the season. Those five starts earned him a promotion to Double-A Mississippi, where he posted a 3.97 ERA through 77 innings but turned in a much more impressive 2.77 FIP / 3.33 xFIP on the strength of 10.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9 and a 44 percent ground-ball rate. He’s only made three starts in Triple-A so far, and while he had mixed results in his first two outings, his dominance against the Reds’ top affiliate last week landed him second on Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet this week. BA’s J.J. Cooper noted that Wilson threw eight innings of one-hit ball without issuing a walk, facing the minimum number of hitters and racking up 13 strikeouts.
Remarkably, Wilson will join Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard and Ronald Acuna as prospects to debut in Atlanta before their 20th birthday this season. He draws praise for a fastball that sits 93-95 mph and can touch 97 mph with plenty of sink, as well as a slider and changeup that each have average or better potential.
Flaherty, 32, opened the season on a blistering hot streak for the Braves, but that was clearly unlikely to be sustained. The longtime Orioles utilityman managed a .315/.411/.435 slash through his first 107 plate appearance, but that production was buoyed by a .397 BABIP that was inevitably bound to regress. That has indeed been the case, as Flaherty has stumbled to catastrophic levels, going just 5-for-61 since mid-May while seeing his playing time evaporate.
Bell, meanwhile, has a 5.44 ERA In 41 1/3 innings for the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate after being claimed off waivers back in mid-May. Bell hasn’t had any issues missing bats (9.4 K/9), nor has he been especially generous in terms of yielding walks (2.6 BB/9) or home runs (0.65 HR/9). He has, however, been plagued by a .385 BABIP and a 64.7 percent strand rate. While fielding-independent pitching metrics are generally bullish on his work in Gwinnett, he went unclaimed on waivers and will remain with the Braves without occupying a 40-man spot.
Quick Hits: Contender Schedules, Pazos, Weaver, Mets, Giants
With several divisions throughout Major League Baseball still up for grabs and numerous contenders still in the hunt for the Wild Card, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports runs through the strength of the rest-of-season schedule for each of the 14 teams with realistic hopes of securing a postseason bid. The Diamondbacks draw the unwelcome distinction of facing the toughest schedule of any team in baseball between now and season’s end, Passan notes, pointing out that from Sept. 6-26 they’ll play 20 games in 20 days against a grouping of teams with a combined .560 winning percentage. The Indians, meanwhile, land on the other end of the spectrum. Despite the fact that they have seven games against the Red Sox remaining, the rest of their schedule is more or less a romp through the hapless AL Central, with 10 games against the Royals and six against the White Sox highlighting what should be an easy path to the AL Central crown.
Some other miscellaneous items for your afternoon perusal…
- Lefty James Pazos has been among the Mariners’ best relievers over the past two seasons, but Seattle optioned him to Triple-A on Sunday. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times examines the move, citing manager Scott Servais in writing that the organization feels that Pazos is in need of some mechanical corrections to get back into top form. Specifically, Servais indicated that Pazos “hasn’t been as consistent with his fastball” over the past six weeks or so, which has gotten him into trouble at times. The Mariners don’t expect Pazos to spend much more, if any, than the 10-day minimum in the minors as he works out the kinks, but Servais notes that he’s been falling behind hitters of late due to that fastball inconsistency. The organization, per Divish, has a “very detailed” plan for Pazos to follow in what sounds to be a brief trip to Tacoma.
- Cardinals manager Mike Shildt tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the decision to move right-hander Luke Weaver from the rotation to the bullpen was “not an easy one.” Weaver looked to be among the game’s more promising young starters in 2017, and he’s shown flashes of brilliance in 2018, too, but has generally been inconsistent. Weaver cites his own lack of fastball control as the root of his struggles in a harsh self-evaluation but sounds to be taking the move in stride. “This move is not a slap in the face,” says the soon-to-be 25-year-old. “It’s about … finding a way where I can help the team, wherever it is. … It’s not going to shake me.”
- The upcoming Mets/Giants series will provide fans with a contrast between a club that has excelled in terms of building minor league depth (the Giants) and one that has failed at doing so in recent seasons (the Mets), writes Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription required). Britton notes that in Ryan Vogelsong, Santiago Casilla, Andres Torres and several others, San Francisco has consistently found value in minor league free agency. This season alone, he observes, the Giants have three minor league signees — Derek Holland, Dereck Rodriguez, Alen Hanson — who’ve provided the team with more than a win above replacement (per Fangraphs); conversely, the Mets have had only two players over the past four seasons combined that have reached even half a win by that same measure: Rene Rivera and Jose Reyes. Britton explores the Giants’ method of aggressively approaching minor league free agency, headed by assistant GM Jeremy Shelley, in an interesting look at the stark difference between the two clubs.
2017-18 Rule 5 Draft Update
At this point of the season, it’s reasonable to expect the remaining Rule 5 players who are on big league rosters to hold those spots for the remainder of the season. That doesn’t mean that each has necessarily impressed to the point where he’s viewed as a viable long-term option, but with rosters set to expand in a couple of weeks and this much time already invested in each player, the remaining prospects who are clinging to eligibility have likely secured themselves a look in 2019 — even if it means opening the season in the minors.
When I last checked in on this year’s Rule 5-ers back in June, there were nine players either on active MLB rosters or on the big league disabled list, with the rest of this year’s class having been returned to their original organizations. That number hasn’t changed, though the complexion of the list is a bit different, and there have been some encouraging strides among the bunch. Here’s how the class looks at present:
Active Big Leaguers
- Victor Reyes, OF, Tigers (from D-backs): Reyes still isn’t hitting much, but the Tigers have given him much more time in the outfield as the season wears on. The 23-year-old played just nine complete games through the end of June, but since July 1, he’s logged 22 full games of action in addition to numerous partial appearances where he’s either been pinch-hit for or entered the game as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement. Reyes is hitting just .244/.279/.256 through 86 PAs in July and August, so he’s not impressing at the plate in spite of the recent uptick in playing time. He is 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts and has registered solid defensive marks in the outfield. It still seems likely that he’ll be ticketed for regular work in Triple-A next season once he can be optioned.
- Brad Keller, RHP, Royals (from D-backs): As the Kansas City Star’s Maria Torres noted over the weekend, Keller has been a rare bright spot in a largely abysmal season for the Royals. Keller posted underwhelming numbers in Double-A last season and skipped Triple-A entirely, but the Royals deserve some credit for nabbing him anyway last December. In 100 1/3 innings this year, Keller has posted a terrific 3.32 ERA. And while his 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 marks are underwhelming, he’s notched a strong 54.8 percent ground-ball rate. It remains to be seen if Keller can sustain his minuscule 0.45 HR/9 rate, though he’s never averaged even a homer per nine frames in the minors. Fielding-independent pitching metrics are fairly spread out on him, due in no small part to that low homer rate, but if he can settle in even as a pitcher capable of delivering an ERA in the low 4.00s over a season’s worth of starts, that’d make him a very successful pick.
- Burch Smith, RHP, Royals (from Rays, via trade w/ Mets): Kansas City hasn’t been as successful with Smith, whose ERA sits at an ugly 6.54 through 64 2/3 innings — mostly out of the bullpen. He’s averaged 8.6 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9, and in addition to issuing too many walks, he’s been far too homer-prone (1.95 HR/9). More than 18 percent of the fly-balls against Smith have left the yard — a troubling trend for a pitcher with just a 39.4 percent ground-ball rate. Smith barely pitched from 2014-17 due to injuries, including Tommy John surgery, so the Royals may not want to give up on him in spite of the poor results. At this point, they’ve come far enough along that it could make sense to keep him around and see how he fares in the upper minors next season. He’ll be 29 in April, but he has minor league options remaining.
- Carlos Tocci, OF, Rangers (from Phillies, via trade w/ White Sox): Tocci has been the most seldom-used player in the Majors, functioning almost exclusively as a defensive replacement for much of the season. He’s appeared in 51 games and totaled just 103 plate appearances, but the Rangers have given him a slight increase in playing time in August. This month, he’s started nine games and shown a bit of promise in that tiny sample, hitting .300/.323/.367 in 33 plate appearances — albeit with nine punchouts and just one walk. Tocci is hitting .207/.255/.250 overall, though, and appears ticketed for minor league work in 2019 even if his glove has been solid in limited work to date.
- Elieser Hernandez, RHP, Marlins (from Astros): Hernandez, who turned 23 back in May, made the jump from High-A to the Majors and, unsurprisingly, has posted less-than-stellar results. He’s tossed 56 2/3 innings for Miami, including five starts, while working to a 5.08 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.27 HR/9 and an extremely low 26.3 percent ground-ball rate. Some struggles were to be expected given the considerable jump he faced, however, and it’d be fair to say he’s at least held his own, given that he skipped both Double-A and Triple-A. He should survive the season with the rebuilding Marlins, and he’ll likely be ticketed for upper-minors work in 2019.
- Brett Graves, RHP, Marlins (from Athletics): Graves was on the DL back in June, having missed the first two-plus months of the season with an oblique injury. Since making his big league debut, he’s posted a 6.23 ERA with 10 strikeouts against seven walks (two intentional) and three hit batters in 17 1/3 innings. The 25-year-old has primarily been a starter in the minors but has been used out of the bullpen in Miami to this point. He’s displayed good ground-ball tendencies thus far (53.6 percent) and has yet to allow a homer. Though he missed notable time this year, Graves was activated early enough that he’ll accrue the requisite 90 days on the active roster to shed his Rule 5 status this season — provided he doesn’t incur an injury before rosters expand.
On the Major League Disabled List
- Julian Fernandez, RHP, Giants (from Rockies): Fernandez underwent Tommy John surgery back in April. He’ll accrue MLB service time while spending the season on the 60-day disabled list and will retain his Rule 5 status heading into 2019, if the Giants wish to hang onto him all offseason.
- Pedro Araujo, RHP, Orioles (from Cubs): Araujo is the last of three Orioles picks from the 2017 Rule 5 Draft remaining on the big league roster, but he’s been on the DL since June 11 due to an elbow sprain. When he was active, he showed plenty of ability to miss bats (13.9 percent swinging-strike rate, 9.3 K/9) but also averaged 5.8 walks and a staggering 2.89 homers per nine innings pitched. It’s not clear if he’ll return this season, but if he doesn’t, he’ll retain his Rule 5 eligibility into 2019. The Orioles won’t be able to option him until he spends 90 days on the active MLB roster, and he’s a bit more than two weeks shy of that right now.
- Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (from Twins via trade w/ Phillies): The flame-throwing Burdi missed nearly all of 2016 due to injury and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, but he’s finally on the comeback trail in a new organization. Pittsburgh sent the former Louisville standout on a rehab assignment earlier this month, and he’s pitched seven innings with an 11-to-4 K/BB ratio across three levels so far. He’s yielded five earned runs in that time, though the Bucs likely aren’t focusing heavily on bottom-line results at this point of his recovery. Burdi will have to carry over his Rule 5 eligibility into the 2019 season if the Pirates wish to retain him, but he’s a highly intriguing bullpen piece who could be worth the investment. Burdi’s heater received 80 grades on the 20-80 scale prior to surgery, and he’s been touted as a potential big league closer since his college days.
Returned to Original Organization
- Anyelo Gomez, RHP: Returned to Yankees by the Braves
- Nestor Cortes Jr., LHP: Returned to Yankees by the Orioles
- Jordan Milbrath, RHP: Returned to Indians by the Pirates
- Mike Ford, 1B: Returned to Yankees by the Mariners
- Anthony Gose, LHP: Returned to Rangers by the Astros
- Jose Mesa Jr., RHP: Returned to Yankees by the Orioles
- Tyler Kinley, RHP: Returned to Marlins by the Twins
- Luke Bard, RHP: Returned to Twins by the Angels
AL Central Notes: Kopech, Eloy, Twins, Tigers
White Sox fans will get a long-awaited first look at top pitching prospect Michael Kopech on Tuesday, and GM Rick Hahn spoke to the media today about the decision to bring the prized righty to the Majors (links to Twitter via James Fegan of The Athletic, Daryl Van-Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times and Scott Merkin of MLB.com). Hahn said that the team feels Kopech has turned a corner recently and that the organizational hope all along has been to get a look at how he fares against big league hitters at some point during the 2018 season. Chicago made Kopech earn the promotion, but with a 59-to-4 K/BB ratio across his pat 44 innings, the control troubles he’s battled throughout the minors look to be much improved. The Sox aren’t announcing who’ll be bumped from the rotation, but Hahn said that Kopech will start every fifth day, though the team will be “flexible” and conscientious of his innings, as he’s already just eight shy of his career-high 134 frames.
As for slugging outfielder Eloy Jimenez, White Sox fans will have to wait a bit longer. Hahn said that Jimenez will “remain in [Triple-A] Charlotte at this time” and will be further evaluated in the coming weeks (Twitter link via Van Schouwen).
Here’s more from the division…
- Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey spoke with Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about the team’s summer sale of veteran assets, acknowledging that it’s a change of course from how the organization has typically operated in the past. Falvey, GM Thad Levine and the rest of the Twins front office traded six players — Eduardo Escobar, Ryan Pressly, Zach Duke, Lance Lynn, Brian Dozier and Fernando Rodney — in under two weeks when it became apparent that their postseason hopes had all but evaporated. Falvey indicated that, having previously worked under then-GM Mark Shapiro in Cleveland, dealing away short-term assets to stockpile controllable talent was “common practice” even if it’s a “departure from the norm” for Twins fans. As Zack Meisel of The Athletic recently explored, though (subscription required), such trades helped pave the way for Cleveland’s current success; the Indians acquired each of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger in exchange for a short-term veteran upgrade.
- Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press spoke with Tigers GM Al Avila about the team’s rebuilding process over the weekend. Though Avila has fully committed to a multi-year rebuild of the organization, he was not shy about expressing the difficulty he has in watching his club struggle — even if the results were largely expected. “This is why people try to avoid rebuilds,” said the GM. “Because the rebuilds are very, very tough on everybody’s mentality and psyche and they drive you crazy. I know it’s driven me crazy.” Still, Avila discussed the importance of finding reasons for optimism in the farm system and of the positive strides some prospects have made in 2018 as the team looks to the future. Fenech notes that a number of farmhands, Daz Cameron perhaps chief among them, have made encouraging strides in ’18. The interview is rife with quotes from Avila, who explained that the Tigers had little choice but to commit to a rebuild and vowed to fans that the ultimate payoff “will be worth it.”
Latest On Aaron Judge’s Wrist Injury
Aug. 20: Judge said Sunday that the fracture in his hand has not yet fully healed (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). “That’s what we’re just trying to get past,” said the slugger. “I think it usually takes four to six weeks for stuff like that to heal. So we’re waiting for those six weeks.”
Aug. 15, 9:11pm: Carig reports that in spite of the discouraging news on Judge, the Yankees aren’t any likelier to acquire an outfielder in a waiver deal (subscription required). Judge’s absence, he notes, is expected to linger into the month of September, but the Yankees remain confident that he’ll return before season’s end.
6:10pm: Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in an appearance on WFAN today that Aaron Judge recently received a cortisone injection in his injured right wrist (Twitter links via The Athletic’s Marc Carig). Cashman, though, said that he doubts Judge will hit the ground running, and Carig notes that it sounds as if Judge will still be out awhile.
Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said at the time of the injury that it was “pretty realistic” to expect that Judge could return in three weeks’ time, but he sustained the fracture 20 days ago, so that estimate appears to have been considerably on the optimistic side. Newsday’s David Lennon tweets that Judge did run the bases and field balls in right field recently, but there’s still no timeframe for when he’ll even be cleared to swing a bat — let alone return to a game setting.
With Judge’s timeline murky and Giancarlo Stanton limited to DH duties by ongoing tightness in his left hamstring, it’s fair to wonder whether the team will pursue some additional help in the outfield before the Aug. 31 deadline for postseason eligibility. Carig noted that the Yankees “didn’t like the prices” when poking around the market for outfield help prior to the non-waiver deadline, though the circumstances surrounding Judge and Stanton could obviously create some additional urgency.
[Related: New York Yankees depth chart]
The Yankees are presently utilizing mainstays Brett Gardner in left field and Aaron Hicks in center field, but they’ve taken to deploying Neil Walker in right field. Clint Frazier remains sidelined by a concussion, while Jacoby Ellsbury’s season was brought to an end recently when he underwent hip surgery. New York currently has Shane Robinson holding down a bench spot, but certainly there looks to be room for improvement.
Notably, former Yankee Curtis Granderson recently cleared revocable trade waivers and is eligible to be moved to any team. Danny Valencia, though he hasn’t been a regular outfielder, does have nearly 750 innings of experience in right field and was released by Baltimore earlier today, making him another speculative option. Obviously, those are just two of the numerous options that Cashman and his staff can explore in the weeks leading up to that aforementioned Aug. 31 deadline.
Giants Activate Hunter Strickland
SATURDAY: The club has announced the move, and transferred Pablo Sandoval to the 60-day DL to accomodate.
FRIDAY: The Giants are set to activate Hunter Strickland from the disabled list tomorrow, the team told reporters (Twitter link via Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group). His activation will serve as the corresponding move for placing rookie right-hander Dereck Rodriguez on the 10-day disabled list yesterday. Curiously, the Giants won’t make an additional move today and will instead play a man short in Friday’s contest against the Reds.
[Related: San Francisco Giants depth chart]
Strickland has been out since undergoing surgery to repair a fractured right hand back in mid-June. It was an embarrassing injury for the right-hander, who sustained the fracture when he punched a door out of frustration following a blown save. He’s on the 60-day disabled list, so the Giants will have to make a corresponding 40-man move in order to activate him.
Left-hander Will Smith has been serving as San Francisco’s closer in Strickland’s absence, and it’s not yet clear how manager Bruce Bochy will elect to manage his bullpen roles once Strickland is activated. Smith has pitched exceptionally well this year, working to a superlative 2.01 ERA with 12.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9 and a 40.7 percent ground-ball rate. Smith is also running up a career-best 16 percent swinging-strike rate and a 40.4 percent chase rate that checks in as the third-best mark among qualified relievers in 2018.
Strickland was enjoying a strong season himself prior to the injury. In 31 2/3 frames this year, he’s posted a 2.84 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9 and a 39.6 percent ground-ball rate. Those numbers are obviously a fair sight shy of Smith’s dominance, but deploying Strickland in the ninth inning could allow Bochy to utilize Smith in higher-leverage spots earlier in the game — particularly against tough left-handed bats. While Smith has dominated righties and lefties alike, he’s been utterly overpowering against same-handed battters. Through 57 plate appearances, lefties are hitting a comically feeble .161/.175/.196 against him.
