Mariners Notes: Adams, Bradford, Altavilla, King Felix, Long
The Mariners are no longer pacing the playoff race, but they’re just one behind the Yankees for the league lead in players on the injured list with 12, per MLB.com’s Sarah Wexler, who provides updates on a number of injured Mariners. The bullpen trio of Austin Adams, Chasen Bradford, and Dan Altavilla are all in a similar boat in that they shouldn’t require surgery, but none are throwing yet so their return dates remain nebulous. Adams, in particular, was having a fine season out of the Mariners pen after he was inexplicably traded to Seattle by the pen-starved Nationals. Adams has appeared in 21 games for Seattle with a 3.47 ERA and even better 2.21 FIP. His strikeout rates dazzled throughout his minor league career, and he’s kept it up in Seattle with an eye-catching 41 strikeouts in 23 ⅓ innings (15.8 K/9). Let’s check in on a couple other injured Mariners…
- Felix Hernandez may return sooner than most, as he’s schedule to throw a bullpen on Monday, per Wexler. King Felix has been out since May 12. Health will be a necessary precursor for a King Felix return, as he struggled at the outset of the season with a 6.52 ERA across eight starts. He’ll have a role on the Mariners when he returns, but it’s been a steep decline for the Mariners legend, who’s pulling down just under $28MM this season and likely headed towards free agency at season’s end.
- Just as Shed Long was given an opportunity to get his season back on track, the music stopped again for the well-traveled prospect. Long came off the injured list for Thursday’s game in Tacoma only to injure his hand while playing second base, tweets the Rainiers’ broadcaster Mike Curto. Long will return to the injured list. When he’s been healthy, Long has fared better with Tacoma than with the big league club, though he showed promise at the ML level as well. As a Rainier, he’s slashing .279/.343/.466, versus .232/.329/.377 in 19 games as a Mariner. It’s been a tumultuous calendar year for long, who no doubt would appreciate a stretch of stability if he can get healthy. The Seattle roster should be able to accommodate giving him another crack at it if/when he sustains a measure of good health.
Carlos Carrasco Diagnosed With Leukemia
SUNDAY: The Indians issued an update on Carrasco on Sunday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets. “Last month, Carlos Carrasco was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, a treatable form. He has been cleared to resume strength and conditioning workouts and throwing activity. No timetable for a return.”
SATURDAY: Carlos Carrasco has been diagnosed with leukemia, he told Dominican news channel CDN 37. Carrasco has been treated, and he has it under control to the point where he hopes to return to pitch again this season, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter).
The Indians certainly will take their time with Carrasco, though this newest diagnoses sheds some light on what has been a difficult season for Carrasco. Previous indications were that Carrasco was suffering from a blood condition that, at the very least, prompted lethargy and the pursuit of treatment.
The Indians placed him on the injured list on June 5 after seeing their longtime co-ace pitch to a 4-6 record with an uncharacteristic 4.98 ERA (4.13 FIP). Carrasco has long been underrated while pitching in the shadow of star righty Corey Kluber and the outspoken Trevor Bauer, but even in an off-year with significantly mitigating factors, Carrasco put together 65 innings of palatable baseball.
The team has shown up in full support of Carrasco as he recovers. Per Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal, Carrasco was present on June 4 for a team meeting wherein they discussed the situation. This team meeting was not about baseball, but about supporting Carrasco as he undergoes recovery.
Latest On Edwin Diaz
6:04pm: Diaz remains the Mets’ closer for now, Callaway announced Saturday (via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com).
9:48am: The Mets are considering removing Edwin Diaz from the closer role after another rough outing on Friday night, per Wallace Matthews of Yahoo Sports.
In the span of five batters in the top of the ninth inning last night against the Phillies, Mets closer Edwin Diaz unraveled once again. The half inning provided a microcosm of the season thus far for the moribund Mets. Diaz walked a batter and surrendered three hits, Wilson Ramos gave away an extra base with a throwing error, and the Mets past mistakes came back to haunt them once again – this time in the form of Jay Bruce, who singled in the go-ahead run before being lifted for a pinch-runner.
Mickey Callaway has little choice but to consider removing Diaz from the closer role. Diaz now carries a 5.67 ERA, a far cry from the 1.96 ERA he put together last year en route to 57 saves for the Mariners. The situation is further pressurized by the prospects whom the Mets surrendered for Diaz, who continue to climb up prospects boards as they near their new futures in Seattle. Robinson Cano, either the tax in the deal or Diaz’s sidekick, depending on your perspective, hasn’t helped matters either. Hampered by injuries, Cano has produced just a .244/.292/.368 batting line while drawing boos from the New York crowd.
The devolution of Cano isn’t all that stunning – though Brodie Van Wagenen clearly did not see this coming – but few expected Diaz to stumble into the All-Star break such as he has. How bad Diaz has been is a matter of debate, as he’s been worth -0.4 wins above replacement by measure of rWAR, whereas Fangraphs takes a brighter view, putting his worth on the year at a positive 0.4 fWAR. Neither are what the Mets hoped for, but by Fangraphs measure there is some hope that Diaz hasn’t lost what made him so special last season.
Looking at fielding independent metric, Diaz looks downright functional with 3.72 FIP and 2.87 xFIP. His 14.85 K/9 is only down a little from last year’s mark, while a .425 BABIP and 21.9% HR/FB% speak to a certain degree of poor luck. If Diaz can get the balls to stop leaving the yard, his overall numbers should rebound. Of course, it’s a zero sum game for closers, and no matter how the peripheral numbers look, the blown saves have piled up and forced Callaway to consider his options, such as they are.
Were there a deputy on hand to depose Diaz, his removal might be hastened, but it’s slim pickings these days in the Mets bullpen. Jeurys Familia has been an equal disaster, and Seth Lugo blew three saves from June 23-29. Robert Gsellman saved 13 games for the Mets last season, but his surface numbers (4.96 ERA) aren’t much better than Diaz. The lack of alternatives might buy Diaz some time to turn it around, but the watch is on.
Nationals Send Austin Voth To Double-A, Activate Max Scherzer From Paternity List
The Nationals activated Max Scherzer today from the paternity list after his wife gave birth to their second child yesterday. Scherzer is expected to make his last start of the first half today wearing the Expos’ powder blue road jersey against the Royals.
Current fifth starter Austin Voth, meanwhile, has been sent to Double-A Harrisburg. The Nationals have a bizarre minor league setup in that the closeness of Harrisburg has been utilized all season to keep major-league-ready players nearby for quick activation, rather than sending them cross-country to their Triple-A affiliate in Fresno.
Voth took three turns through the rotation, holding his own while also struggling to clamp down and finish a third time through the order. He did not take a decision, lasting less than five innings apiece in his final two starts after a strong season debut against Atlanta. He heads to Harrisburg with a 5.52 ERA after showing strong stuff with 9.8 K/9 and a fastball that routinely hit 95mph, but five walks tanked his final two outings and the Nats ultimately went on to lose all three games that he started.
The Nationals will not need a fifth starter until July 17th, MASN’s Mark Zuckerman tweets, so the Nats have some time before they need to decide whether Voth will reclaim the role. Erick Fedde had occupied the spot before Voth, while Jeremy Hellickson remains out for the foreseeable future after being moved to the 60-day IL with right shoulder stiffness. Both Fedde and Voth pitched well enough at times to earn consideration for further evaluation, though Voth’s peripherals and fairly substantive year-over-year jump in velocity (from 91.3 mph to 93 mph) may signal a more compelling arsenal.
Still, neither outright staked their claim to the job, and with the Nationals back in the heat of a playoff race, they could look elsewhere to find a more established fifth option for their already-stacked rotation.
Rays Option Brendan McKay, Recall Ian Gibaut
The Tampa Bay Rays have recalled Ian Gibaut to make his major league debut, the team announced (via Twitter). Much-lauded two-way player Brendan McKay has been optioned to Triple-A to make room.
McKay’s first taste of the majors did little to quell the excitement about his eventual arrival as a regular two-way player. He took two turns through the rotation, accumulating 0.3 rWAR in the process and earning his first major league win. After going six scoreless against the Rangers in his sterling debut, he got a no-decision in giving up three earned runs across five innings against the vaunted Yankees. He returns to Triple-A after 11 innings, three earned runs, seven hits, six strikeouts and a walk.
As a batter, McKay remains largely uninitiated, as he went 0-4 in his only start as a designated hitter. McKay is generally regarded as less advanced as a hitter than a pitcher. The Rays do not likely view him as a contributor on that side of the ball until next season at the earliest. On the hill, however, there’s a good chance he will see another opportunity at some point in 2019.
As for Gibaut, the 25-year-old Texan was an 11th round pick by the Rays in 2015. He missed two months of this season with injury, but since returning to Triple-A Durham, Gibaut has been on his game: 9 appearances, 1.93 ERA, 3.9 H/9, 15.4 K/9, 6.8 BB/9. Outside of some location issues, Gibaut has all the makings of a late-game reliever. He has recorded 35 saves in the minors, though the Rays will no doubt look to leverage his opportunities early on given the depth of their relief corps.
Rangers Select Pedro Payano, Option Locke St. John
The Rangers have selected the contract of right-hander Pedro Payano. Lefty Locke St. John has been optioned to Triple-A. Patrick Wisdom was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Payano.
New York native Payano will make his major league debut for the Rangers. He has primarily been a starter in the minors, 121 starts versus 27 appearances out of the pen, relying on deception and pitch diversity to make his living. In 15 appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Payano, 24, went 5-3 with a 3.91 ERA, especially turning it on with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds (2-2 3.08 ERA). Payano isn’t a major innings eater, though he certainly could fill the role of a long man, if not taking a turn or two in the rotation.
St. John appeared in five games for the Rangers since June 25, largely holding his own until the Twins blew him up last night for three runs on four hits in an inning of work. In four appearances previous, St. John, 26, had surrendered just one run on two hits across 4 1/3 innings.
As for Wisdom, he’ll hit the waiver market after a disappointing tenure in Texas. The former first round pick of the Cardinals started the season playing more-or-less everyday between the infield corners in Texas, but a .154/.185/.192 line across those 9 games in April was all the Rangers needed to see. Back in Triple-A, Wisdom fared better, but not by much, hitting .199/.310/.399 across 259 plate appearances.
Twins Place C.J. Cron On Injured List
Twins first baseman C.J. Cron has been placed on the injured list with right thumb inflammation, per a team announcement. Outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. has been recalled to take the vacated roster spot.
Cron has made good on the $4.8MM deal he signed prior to this season after being DFA’ed by the Rays. His .266/.326/.495 slash line almost exactly duplicates the line he put up last season in Tampa Bay. With 17 home runs thus far, Cron has a chance to hit the 30 long balls mark for the second straight season. He’s not alone, of course, on the power-packed Minnesota Twins, who currently roster 9 players with double-digit home runs. The Twins lead the majors in isolated power (.227 ISO) and slugging (.500 SLG), and they’re tied with the Astros with 117 wRC+ as a team.
As useful as Cron has been, he’s far from the least replaceable piece on this Minnesota contender. Miguel Sano has spent some time at first base, and Marwin Gonzalez has played the position with regularity throughout his career. Jason Castro, Mitch Garver, and Kepler could also be options for covering first while Cron is out. With the All-Star break approaching, Cron may not miss much time at all, however.
Wade Jr. had a very short stint with the big league club before being optioned back to Triple-A last Saturday. He appeared in only game in during that time. With Rochester this season, the 25-year-old Wade has hit .246/.392/.356 across 77 games.
Cubs DFA Carlos Gonzalez, Place Cole Hamels On IL, Recall Dillon Maples, Rowan Wick
The scene in the Cubs clubhouse Friday suggested a DFA was coming for Carlos Gonzalez, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter), who noted Gonzalez receiving handshakes and hugs from teammates. CarGo indeed was put on waivers earlier today, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The team has officially announced the move, along with a trio of corresponding roster moves: Cole Hamels goes on the 10-day injured list, while relievers Rowan Wick and Dillon Maples have been recalled from Triple-A.
The Cubs would like to send Gonzalez to the minors, per Heyman, though he would first have to go unclaimed, and second accept the assignment. If he does go unclaimed, the writing would be on the wall for Gonzalez, who then might be willing to accept a minor league assignment to stay in the Cubs organization.
The Gonzalez DFA was precipitated by the Hamels injury, which overtaxed the bullpen and pushed the Cubs to add a pair of arms before today’s game. Hamels left yesterday’s game after one inning with an oblique injury. Mike Montgomery, Brad Brach, and Kyle Ryan each pitched for more than one inning apiece, while Steve Cishek pitched for the second straight game. Maples and Wick rejoin the club today to serve as reinforcements.
CarGo managed a couple of nice moments during his short stint in Chicago, including a diving catch in the outfield in his first weekend, but a listless offensive performance ultimately made him expendable in Chicago, as he had been in Cleveland previous. In 15 games with the Cubs – half as much time as he spent with the Indians – Gonzalez hit only .175/306/.300 with three extra-base hits.
Gonzalez has maintained a good approach in his age-33 season with a 10.8 BB% that’s higher than his career average. Strikeouts have been more frequent (31.3 K%), but even more troubling has been his inability to get any lift. In 166 plate appearances for the Cubs and Indians, Gonzalez has mustered a mere .083 isolated power mark while hitting the ball on the ground 56.4 % of the time. Statcast puts Gonzalez’ launch angle for the year at just 1.7 – not a sustainable mark for a major league hitter.
Gonzalez has fit well in the Cubs clubhouse, and he was a fun attraction for a few weeks, but ultimately the Cubs cannot afford to be patient with the veteran slugger. While there are at-bats for the taking in the Cubs outfield, it’s not necessarily an area of need with Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora, Jason Heyward, and Kris Bryant on hand. They’d certainly prefer a degree of greater offense from Almora in particular, but CarGo is not to be the answer.
Though they will use Gonzalez’ roster spot on a pitcher for the moment, the fourth outfielder role could eventually be returned to Mark Zagunis, who held the role early in the season, or Ian Happ, who continues to refine his approach in Triple-A.
Tigers Sign Trevor Rosenthal
The Tigers agreed to terms with Trevor Rosenthal today on a Minor League deal, per the team’s PR department (via Twitter). Rosenthal has been assigned to Triple-A.
This move has been expected for a couple of days now, but Rosenthal is officially on his way to Toledo to join the Mud Hens. Adding Rosenthal is a nice no-risk move for the Tigers, who are going nowhere fast this season and therefore have a longer leash to give Rosenthal.
He still has electric stuff, but in his first game action since missing all of 2018, the former Cardinals closer has shown a complete inability to direct his high-90s heater. The inefficiency of his performance in Washington – to be kind – has been well-documented, but it’s still staggering to see: -1.0 rWAR in 6 1/3 innings, 22.74 ERA (10.13 FIP), 21.3 BB/9, 0.33 BB/K, and of course, he did not record an out until his 5th appearance of the season. Rosenthal carries a disproportionately large share of the Nationals bullpen struggles, as even their recent bullpen blowup against the Braves – pegged as a ‘here-we-go-again’ moment in DC – can be laid at Rosenthal’s feet (Joe Ross burdens a smidgen of the blame as well).
Despite this unimaginably bad start, he will have some time to get himself back on track out of the national spotlight. Given that the Nationals are on the hook for all but the minimum, the Tigers really have nothing to lose by giving Rosenthal more reps in the minors. Again, he’s still averaging 98 mph on his fastball, and if Rosenthal can to snap back to form, his live arm still plays as a late-in-games weapon.
MLB Draft Signings: 6/29/19
We’ll use this post to track some of the day’s draft signings…
- The Cubs signed their 3rd rounder to below-slot value today, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). Michael McAvene signs for $500K, just a little below his potential value as the 103rd overall pick in the draft – slot value of $565,600. He appeared in 23 games out of the Cardinals bullpen this season, going 2-0 with a 2.73 ERA across 33 innings. He struck out 50 versus only 11 walks, good marks for the righty, who chucked a mid-90s heater as a reliever. There’s at least a chance the Cubs will try to convert him to a starter moving forward.
- The Mariners signed their supplemental 2nd rounder Isaiah Campbell for $850K, tweets Callis. Slot value for the 76th pick in the draft is $818,200, but Seattle felt Campbell was worth splurging for. Campbell rocks a mid-90s heater that touches 98 mph, and he has a couple of interesting secondary pitches as well. Campbell helmed the staff for the Arkansas Razorbacks this season, goin 12-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 18 starts. He struck out 125 batters versus only 22 walks, promising numbers for Seattle’s new righty. Fun fact from Callis, Campbell would be the first major leaguer from Portugal since the illustrious Frank Thompson in 1875.