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AL West Notes: Davis, Rangers, Haniger

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Khris Davis has only been with the Athletics since a trade in the 2015-16 offseason, but the outfielder has fully embraced the organization and tells Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports that he’d love to stay there long term. “It’s been something I could make my own, and I saw it as an opportunity to build something,” says Davis. “There’s a lot to do there, and I feel like I can be a piece of this organization for a long time. … The Coliseum isn’t pretty. But I love going there. I love playing there. I love Oakland.” Passan’s profile of Davis kicks off his latest 10 Degrees column an provides an intriguing look inside a player that describes himself as “a little weird” and “a little quirky.” A’s fans will definitely want to check it out, and the full column, which examines the increasing power numbers throughout the league, holds more widespread appeal and is well worth a look.

  • The Rangers have no choice but to remove Sam Dyson from the closer’s role after yet another blown save on Sunday, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. However, while that decision seems like an easy one — Dyson has a ghastly 27.00 ERA with five walks against two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings — replacing him isn’t as easy as one would think. Matt Bush is the favorite to step into the ninth inning but received an injection to address pain in his right shoulder (the AC joint, specifically) last week. Jeremy Jeffress represents another option, but he’s already pitched in eight of the first 12 games and will need to see that workload lightened as the season wears on. Demoting Dyson for either Bush or Jeffress also opens a hole in the setup roles they’re currently occupying, and Grant notes that promoting Keone Kela to claim that spot just two weeks after his demotion that appears to have been for disciplinary purposes may send a conflicting message. Carrying a Rule 5 long reliever, Mike Hauschild, only further complicates the matter
  • In a second column on the matter, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that there’s no chance the Rangers will part ways with Dyson after his rocky start to the season. Wilson also adds that it “doesn’t sound like” Kela will be joining the Rangers as part of a solution to the team’s bullpen woes, as there’s no room for him without running the risk of losing Hauschild, who would have to be placed on waivers and offered back to the Astros even if he clears.
  • Mariners manager Scott Servais heaped praise onto offseason trade acquisition Mitch Haniger following yesterday’s huge performance (both in the field and at the plate), as MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes. “We’ve liked everything we’ve seen from Mitch since the first day we got him to Spring Training,” said Servais of Haniger, who hit his fourth home run, robbed a homer from Joey Gallo and drew a bases-loaded walk to score the game-tying run in the ninth in yesterday’s game. “How he’s gone about his business, and obviously he’s been very productive for us. He does his homework, he’s as prepared as anybody we have, and he’s got a lot of confidence.” While Jean Segura grabbed the most attention as the headliner going to Seattle in the trade that sent Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte to Arizona, Haniger’s early play has solidified him as the everyday right fielder in Seattle. He’s currently hitting .294/.410/.588 through his first 61 plate appearances.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/14/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Righty Casey Fien has accepted a Triple-A assignment with the Mariners after clearing outright waivers, as Bob Dutton and TJ Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune report (Twitter links). Fien, who said it was an easy call to remain in the organization, was designated after a few rough outings. But the 33-year-old still has plenty of life to his fastball and was registering swings and misses, and he figures to be one of the first players up if a need rises.
  • The Angels have selected the contract of righty Deolis Guerra, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Clearing a 40-man spot wasn’t difficult, as the club was able to shift rehabbing lefty Andrew Heaney to the 60-day DL. Soon to turn 28, Guerra pitched to a 3.21 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 last year, but nevertheless lost his 40-man spot over the winter. He is out of options, so he’ll have to stick on the active roster or face a DFA.
  • The Rays have selected the contract of outfielder Shane Peterson, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Peterson will take the place of Mallex Smith, who is headed to the 10-day DL with a hamstring injury. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Brad Boxberger has been transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. The 29-year-old Peterson saw MLB time with Oakland in 2013 and with Milwaukee in 2015, hitting a combined .225/.322/.346 over the life of 234 plate appearances. Peterson has plenty of action at all three outfield slots and has a very strong .298/.383/.470 batting line in 418 Triple-A games (1808 plate appearances). His stay with the Rays could be a brief one, though, as Colby Rasmus will soon resume his minor league rehab assignment. As for Boxberger, he’s dealing with a flexor strain, Topkin reported last week, and now won’t be eligible to return to the big league roster until June.

Phillies Prospect Elniery Garcia Receives 80-Game PED Suspension

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Major League Baseball announced on Friday that Phillies minor league left-hander Elniery Garcia has been suspended 80 games after testing positive for the banned substance Boldenone. Garcia’s suspension is of particular note given the fact that he is on the Phillies’ 40-man roster. He’ll now be moved to the restricted list for the next three months or so, thus reducing Philadelphia’s 40-man roster count to 38 players.

Garcia, 22, spent the 2016 season with the Phillies’ Class-A Advanced affiliate in Clearwater and is widely considered to be one of the organization’s most promising arms. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him seventh among all Phillies prospects, while ESPN’s Keith Law pegged him ninth (subscription required/highly recommended) and Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com placed him 18th. Longehagen notes that Garcia made significant strides from Opening Day 2016 to season’s end, improving not only his velocity but his command of his secondary offerings. Law called him the system’s “most pleasant surprise,” and all three scouting reports linked above make mention of his confidence and competitive demeanor on the mound.

Today’s suspension will undoubtedly lead to some questions surrounding the velocity gains he made over the life of the 2016 season, though he obviously made it through the entire ’16 campaign without testing positive for a banned substance.

Garcia presumably wouldn’t have been considered for a promotion to the Majors in the near-term, as he’s yet to throw a pitch above the aforementioned High-A level, so the move doesn’t thin out the team’s immediate pitching depth all that much. But, it’s feasible that a club that is currently light on left-handed pitching could’ve given him a look at some point this summer. Beyond that, the loss of roughly three months of development is a clear negative in the long run for both Garcia and the Phillies. At the very least, it seemed reasonable to expect that Garcia had a chance to reach Triple-A by season’s end, but the 80-game absence significantly slows his path to the Majors.

Reds Promote Jesse Winker

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The Reds announced on Friday that they have promoted top outfield prospect Jesse Winker from Triple-A Louisville and optioned right-hander Barrett Astin to Louisville to clear a 25-man roster spot.

The 23-year-old Winker, the No. 49 overall pick in the 2012 draft, has long been rated among the game’s Top 100 prospects. While a wrist injury led to some diminished power output in 2016, which may have caused his stock to slip a bit, he still entered the season rated as the game’s No. 49 overall prospect on the Top 100 list of ESPN’s Keith Law. (More recently Law rated him 40th among prospects that opened the season in the minors.) Over at MLB.com, Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis ranked Winker as baseball’s No. 63 prospect.

Even with his power dip in 2016, Winker still posted a strong .303/.397/.384 batting line last year in Louisville. Winker’s plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills in Triple-A proved to be exceptional, as last season’s 59 walks matched his 59 strikeouts (both a 13.2 percent clip). In parts of six minor league seasons, Winker is a .296/.399/.454 hitter.

Law notes in his scouting report that Winker would likely have reached the Majors in 2016 were it not for the wrist injury. He further adds that Winker may not have the power to hit 20+ homers on an annual basis but could hit 10 to 15 per year with 30 to 35 doubles and an excellent on-base percentage. Callis and Mayo laud Winker’s bat and approach at the plate, noting that a below-average arm makes him best suited for left field, where he’ll be an otherwise acceptable defender.

The timing of the Reds’ promotion of Winker comes 12 days into the MLB season, meaning if he remains in the Majors from this point forth, he’d finish one day shy of a full year of service time. Of course, it’s far from clear that the Reds plan to keep Winker in the Majors through season’s end; to the contrary, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that this call-up for Winker may be a brief means of adding another bat while waiting until Sunday when they’ll need to add another starter.

While Winker may not be immediately thrust into a starter’s role, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he eventually does take on a larger role with the club at some point in 2017. He’s considered by most prospect analysts to be more or less big league ready, and while left field is currently locked up by Adam Duvall, the right field picture is less certain. Scott Schebler opened the season there, but he’s yet to solidify himself as an everyday Major Leaguer.

AL Central Notes: Naquin, Anderson, Soto, Tigers

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The Indians made the somewhat surprising decision to option outfielder Tyler Naquin to Triple-A Columbus yesterday in order to clear a spot on the roster for the return of outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall. While some may raise an eyebrow at demoting a player who finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .296/.372/.514, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes that the Indians didn’t want Naquin to be playing sparingly in a bench role for now. “It was something that, when I say we stressed over it, I mean it was a lot,” manager Terry Francona tells Bastian. “…I don’t think coming off the bench necessarily suits Naquin right now. Nobody’s giving up on him being an everyday player.” For the time being, Cleveland will go with Michael Brantley, Chisenhall, Brandon Guyer, Austin Jackson and Abraham Almonte in its outfield mix. Interestingly, Chisenhall started in center field for Cleveland yesterday, so it seems he’ll be viewed as at least a temporary option there.

More from the American League Central…

  • White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson appeared on the Baseball Tonight podcast with Buster Olney (audio link) and talked about his days as an amateur, his experience playing basketball in his youth and the decision to ink a six-year, $25MM contract extension before reaching one full year of Major League service time. “It was more so the security level had to meet where I wanted to feel secure with my family,” says Anderson. “It was an exciting moment. We went back and forth two or three weeks, and was able to get this thing — get it figured out and get it going. Just on my family’s side, my daughter and my wife, it was relieving just to be able to tell them and let them see that we’re going to be OK and be fine.” Sox fans will want to give the interview a listen, as it offers some good insight into the background of one of the team’s rising stars and core pieces.
  • Chicago announced yesterday that catcher Geovany Soto was headed to the 10-day DL with elbow inflammation, summoning Kevan Smith from Triple-A Charlotte to take his spot on the roster for the time being. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes that while Soto experienced some abnormal discomfort when making a throw, an MRI revealed everything in his elbow to be “fairly OK” (Soto’s own words). Soto says there’s no tear in his arm but there are “a couple floaters” (presumably referring to spurs or loose bodies). He’ll rest the elbow and use medication to treat the issue, though there’s not yet a clear indication of when he’s expected to return to the White Sox.
  • Though many Tigers fans were upset with the team’s decision to demote ballyhooed relief prospect Joe Jimenez after one appearance in the Majors, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press argues that the move represented a logical course of action for a club in need of temporarily lengthening its bullpen. Detroit would’ve been without a long reliever in the first game against the division-rival Indians and would have been exposed in the event of a short outing from starter Daniel Norris, Fenech writes. And the risk of further depleting the bullpen by having to turn to the likes of Francisco Rodriguez, Justin Wilson, Alex Wilson and Kyle Ryan in the first game of a series against their top competition in the AL Central wasn’t a scenario with which Detroit wanted to be faced. “If something happens tomorrow with Daniel Norris early in the game, we won’t make it nine innings unless Andrew Romine toes the rubber,” manager Brad Ausmus told reporters after the game. Jimenez figures to be back with the team in short order, according to Fenech, though he’ll need to spend at least 10 days in the minors. Fenech also adds that righty Anibal Sanchez “is not going anywhere” in the near future, as he’s the team’s most experienced piece of rotation depth and the club still believes he can get outs in the Majors, even if he won’t ever return to peak form.

NL Notes: Arroyo, Gray, Gilmartin, Cards

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Right-hander Bronson Arroyo is only two starts into his comeback attempt with the Reds, but the 40-year-old is seemingly giving himself a short leash to produce on the mound, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Following an outing in which he surrendered five runs in six innings yesterday, Arroyo told reporters, “The next two times out, if I don’t see something a little bit crisper and able to keep us in the ballgame a little bit better, maybe you’re at a dead end street. I’m not sure.” 

A bit more from around the Senior Circuit…

  • Rockies right-hander Jon Gray left last night’s contest after aggravating a toe injury that bothered him in Spring Training, and MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes that Gray will be reevaluated this morning. The problematic toe is on Gray’s plant foot on the mound, and the Rockies want to be careful with the injury so he doesn’t alter his mechanics to compensate for the pain. Gray could miss a start with the injury, though to this point there’s been no talk of him becoming the latest in a long list of Rockies to land on the disabled list.
  • The Mets are planning to promote southpaw Sean Gilmartin prior to tonight’s contest in order to add a fresh arm to their bullpen in the wake of last night’s 16-inning marathon game, per Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). The Mets went through eight pitchers last night, including four relievers who threw two or more innings. As Helfand points out, Gilmartin and right-hander Erik Goeddel are essentially the only two viable options on New York’s 40-man roster, and Goeddel has been slowed of late by a groin injury. The Mets have long been touted for their rotation depth, but multiple injuries and the trade of Gabriel Ynoa to the Orioles has thinned out their upper-level options on the 40-man roster.
  • ESPN’s Mark Saxon breaks down each element of the Cardinals’ struggles thus far in the 2017 campaign, noting that the team’s rotation and run production figure to be sound in the long run, but the bullpen and defense look far shakier. As Saxon observes, Alex Reyes’ injury now looks costlier than ever with the underperformance of the bullpen. Matt Adams continues to represent a clumsy fit for the Cardinals’ roster as well, with Saxon suggesting the team seek to trade him in exchange for a true fourth outfielder that can play all three positions. That may prove difficult, of course, as the team wasn’t able to drum up much of a market for Adams this offseason in a crowded market for players with similar skill sets.

AL East Notes: Donaldson, Betances, Orioles

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Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson exited Thursday’s contest with what appears to be an aggravation of the calf injury that has plagued him on and off since early in Spring Training, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes. Donaldson doubled into the right field corner but came up lame after rounding first base and ultimately hobbled into second base. There’s no word on the extent of the injury just yet, but Donaldson began to walk off the field almost immediately after play had halted, and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that a trip to the disabled list is a possibility. The 2015 American League MVP missed a significant portion of Spring Training and had a brief flare-up of the injury this past weekend.

Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • Prior to the arbitration hearing that led to a controversial string of comments from Yankees president Randy Levine, right-hander Dellin Betances was offered a two-year deal that would have guaranteed him between $8MM and $8.5MM, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in his latest AL Notes column. However, with Betances’ camp seeking as much as $5MM in arbitration, they elected to go on with the trial. Rejecting the deal seems reasonable, from my vantage point, as even after losing the trial Betances took home a $3MM figure for the 2017 season. Betances figures to earn more than $4MM next year in arbitration, so the downside in aiming high with the arbitration hearing was relatively minimal.
  • Baseball America’s Ben Badler penned a harsh critique of the Orioles’ paltry investments in international free agency, noting that the O’s spent just $260K on international talent this period and signed only five players. As Badler notes, it’s nothing new, as Baltimore has routinely eschewed significant investments on the international market — much to the detriment of the farm system. Badler points out that even the cash-strapped division-rival Rays spent more than $3MM on 36 international amateurs in 2016 despite being in the metaphorical penalty box for shattering their pool in a previous signing period (thus preventing them from spending more than $300K on a single player). “[O]wnership’s antiquated approach toward Latin America prevents the Orioles’ international scouts from having the resources they need to do their jobs,” Badler writes. Indeed, Baltimore’s total spending is a pittance relative to the rest of the league; on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Padres spent nearly $80MM on international amateurs during the current signing period alone. Notably, the O’s traded their top international bonus slot to the Brewers tonight to acquire recently designated reliever Damien Magnifico.
  • The Orioles will turn to Alec Asher to start versus Toronto on Saturday, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. His selection to face a heavily right-handed lineup suggests that Baltimore plans to utilize its upper-level pitching depth on a case-by-case basis to fill Chris Tillman’s spot in the rotation while Tillman is out, Encina adds. Manager Buck Showalter elaborated on that concept a bit, telling Encina: “We know that has potential to be a moving piece until Chris gets back. We can play a little matchup there until we know for sure when we’re going to get Chris back. … The good news is we have some guys to pick from, not only there, but potentially in Bowie, too.” The Orioles added Asher in a minor Spring Training trade and also picked up several other potential options, including Gabriel Ynoa (in a trade with the Mets) and Richard Bleier (in a trade with the Yankees). Lefty Jayson Aquino was also a consideration for this weekend’s start, Encina notes, but the glut of righties he’d have faced led the team to turn to Asher instead. Tillman figures to be out until early May, so there should be quite a few more spot starts up for grabs among this group.

Brewers Acquire Oliver Drake From Orioles

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The Brewers have acquired right-hander Oliver Drake from the Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, the teams announced. This is the second swap between the two teams tonight, as Milwaukee shipped recently designated right-hander Damien Magnifico to the O’s in exchange for an international bonus slot just minutes ago. The acquisition of Drake needn’t be accompanied by a 40-man roster move in Milwaukee, because the Brewers also designated right-hander David Goforth for assignment within the past hour.

Drake, 30, was designated for assignment by the Orioles earlier this afternoon — a seemingly innocuous move at the time that set off this moderately dizzying sequence of transactions for the two clubs. In 37 Major League innings, Drake has a 3.89 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and a 50.5 percent ground-ball rate. Drake doesn’t have minor league options remaining, so he’ll have to be inserted directly into the Milwaukee bullpen. The Brewers could quickly try to run Drake through waivers once again themselves, thus allowing him to be optioned to Triple-A, though in doing so, they’d risk losing him to another club.

Orioles Acquire Damien Magnifico, Designate Jason Garcia

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The Orioles have acquired right-hander Damien Magnifico from the Brewers in exchange for international bonus slot No. 15, the teams announced. The No. 15 international slot comes with an assigned value of $885,300, per Baseball America’s Ben Badler. To make room for Magnifico on the 40-man roster, the Orioles have designated fellow righty Jason Garcia for assignment. Magnifico, in turn, has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk by the Orioles.

In addition to possessing one of the best baseball names you’ll come across, the 25-year-old Magnifico is the owner of a career 3.98 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9 in 63 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level. He’s logged three innings in the Majors, all with the Brewers last season, and yielded a pair of runs on two hits and three walks without a strikeout. In that brief MLB sample, however, Magnifico averaged nearly 97 mph on his heater, and he induced grounders at a hefty 62.9 percent clip last year in Triple-A.

Garcia, 24, was a Rule 5 pick by the Orioles back in 2014 and spent a good chunk of the 2015 season on the disabled list. He still saw enough time on the active roster to remain property of the Orioles without being subject to further restriction, but he didn’t make the strides the O’s were hoping for in 2016. Garcia jumped straight from A-ball in 2014 to the Majors in 2015, where he appeared in just 21 games and logged 29 2/3 innings in the Majors with a 4.25 ERA and an unsightly 22-to-17 K/BB ratio.

He’s actually yet to appear at the Triple-A level after struggling through the 2016 campaign in Double-A and opening the 2017 season there as well. In 142 career innings of Double-A work, he’s struggled to a 4.82 ERA with just 5.6 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.

The decision for the Orioles to jettison even more of their international signing money rather than to invest the money into amateur talent acquisition is somewhat puzzling. Baseball America’s Ben Badler offered a harsh critique of the Orioles’ international efforts (or lack thereof) earlier today, noting that Baltimore spent a mere $260K on just five international prospects during the entire 2016-17 signing period, while most clubs sign 25 to 30 players.

Brewers Designate David Goforth For Assignment

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The Brewers announced that they’ve designated right-hander David Goforth for assignment. A corresponding move will be announced at a later time, according to the club.

The 28-year-old Goforth’s most recent stay on the 40-man roster was an abbreviated one, as his contract was only selected four days prior to this DFA. Goforth appeared in only one game for the Brewers this time around, tossing a scoreless inning of relief. He’s previously been outrighted off the 40-man roster, meaning if he’s once again exposed to waivers, he’d have the option to elect free agency should he clear.

Goforth was the Brewers’ seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft and has seen big league time in each season from 2015-17. However, he’s posted a sub-par 5.94 ERA in 36 2/3 innings as a Major Leaguer, albeit with a solid 33-to-13 K/BB ratio, a 49.6 percent ground-ball rate and a fastball that’s averaged nearly 94 mph. In parts of three seasons in Triple-A, Goforth has a 3.77 ERA with 72 punchouts against 62 free passes over the life of 100 1/3 innings.

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