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Cubs Recall José Martínez, Option Josh Osich

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The Chicago Cubs made a set a roster moves today, recalling José Martínez from their alternate site and sending southpaw Josh Osich down to South Bend in his place, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (via Twitter). Martinez will be in uniform for tonight’s game against the Twins.

The Cubs made moves to get both players at the deadline, but they came amidst a flurry of activity from a Chicago front office intent on adding depth. Cubs fans were definitely aware of Martinez after his many seasons in St. Louis, but any memories of his abilities as a towering right-handed slugger dissipated quickly as he went hitless in his first six games as a Cub. Martinez saw 3 starts at designated hitter while appearing in the other 3 as a pinch-hitter, roles he’s likely to assume once again as long as the Cubbies keep him on the active roster.

Known as a lefty masher due to a career 149 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, the Cubs long-term evaluation of Martinez likely hasn’t changed after just 15 plate appearances. He’ll get some opportunities against southpaws in the designated hitter spot as the number of games before the postseason winnow away. Manager David Ross will likely try to decide whether he can trust Martinez’s bat enough to give him a roster spot in the postseason.

Osich had a rough go of it after joining the Cubs from the Boston Red Sox. Over four outings, the 32-year-old coughed up 6 runs (3 earned) covering just 2 2/3 innings. With Andrew Chafin – another deadline acquisition – finally getting healthy, Osich may have lost his opportunity to make an impact on this Cubs squad. The Cubs are rostering Kyle Ryan and Rex Brothers along with Chafin as lefty options out of the pen, and when Jose Quintana returns from injury, he’ll be another southpaw that Ross can call on in relief.

Rays Activate Mike Zunino, Option Sean Gilmartin

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The Tampa Bay Rays activated Mike Zunino from the injured list, while optioning Sean Gilmartin to the alternate training site, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com (via Twitter).

The 29-year-old Zunino competes for the starting catcher job when healthy, but he’s been out for almost a month now with a left oblique strain. Over the first 23 games, Zunino slashed .133/.235/.383, a more extreme but not uncharacteristic iteration of his career line: .200/.270/.394. He’s long been considered a boom-or-bust option at the plate, but it’s now his third consecutive season with a wRC+ south of 100 (69 wRC+ in 2020). What’s worse, he hasn’t posted particularly strong defensive numbers of late. He finished last season ranked 35th in Statcast’s catcher framing metrics and tied for 14th in poptime. The Rays hold a $4.5MM option on Zunino for 2021.

Zunino will compete with Michael Perez and Kevan Smith for time behind the plate. Perez has received the most time behind the plate this season, but like Zunino, he has struggled at the plate. The 28-year-old has a 39 wRC+ and a triple slash of .177/.241/.252. Smith has been the best offensive option of the bunch, slashing .273/.429/.500 while generating 0.3 fWAR. Still, the Rays seem to prefer Zunino or Perez behind the plate.

Gilmartin has bounced around the league since an exceptional 50-game stretch to start his career with the Mets in 2015. He posted a 2.67 ERA/2.75 FIP that season with 3.00 K/BB, but in the five seasons since, he’s put up a 6.09 ERA/6.71 FIP across 54 2/3 innings for the Mets, Orioles, and Rays. After spending the past two seasons in Baltimore, Gilmartin, 30, joined the Rays this year but has made just 2 appearances on the season.

Pirates Announce Three Trades

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The Pittsburgh Pirates announced a trio of trades today. The first deal completes their August deal for Austin Davis, which the Phillies announced earlier today. The Pirates sent right-hander Joel Cesar to Philadelphia to complete that transaction. Davis, 27, has 3 scoreless appearances since joining the Buccos.

The other two trades helped build the Pirates’ 2019-2020 international pool money. The Pirates sent left-hander Domingo Robles to the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Connor Loeprich to the Baltimore Orioles in separate trades for international pool money.

Robles, 22, signed with the Pirates on the first day of the international signing period in 2014. Across 5 seasons in the Pittsburgh system, Robles owns a 27-36 record with a 3.76 ERA and 6.4 K/9 to 2.1 BB/9. The Dominican southpaw made it as high as Double-A as a 21-year-old in 2019, going 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA across 103 innings. He was not among the Pirates top 42 prospects listed by Fangraphs at the start of 2020, nor the top 30 listed by Baseball America.

Loeprich turned 23-years-old this month, and he’ll now report to a new team in the Baltimore. Loeprich made it to High-A in 2019, though he spent the greater part of the year with Single-A Greensboro. In two seasons since being drafted out of St. Mary’s College of California, the 6’3″ right-hander sports a 3.68 ERA over 124 2/3 innings with 9.1 K/9 to 2.8 BB/9. Loeprich has largely worked out of the bullpen with only 8 starts out of 55 total minor-league appearances.

Blue Jays Pitching Updates: Shoemaker, Pearson, Romano

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After a rough three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays have lost six in a row and fallen into the final qualifying wild card spot in the American League. Now trailing the Yankees by 5 games for second place, the Toronto/Buffalo Blue Jays are pretty well locked into their current spot in the standings, with Fangraphs giving them a 0.9% chance to re-take 2nd place from the Yankees, but a 91.5% chance to hold off the Mariners, Angels, and Tigers for the final playoff spot in the American League postseason bracket. Though they share a record with the Astros, Houston should secure 2nd place in the AL West. The Indians are currently the other wild card team, and they hold a 2 game lead over the Blue Jays with 8 games remaining.

That sets up Toronto for a first-round, 3-game series with the Rays, White Sox, or A’s, with Tampa holding the top spot if the season ended this minute. Hyun Jin Ryu would figure to start the first game of any playoff series, but the rest of the rotation is open to interpretation. With improving health, however, the Jays are on the cusp of adding a few more options to the stable.

Matt Shoemaker has thrown upwards of 60 pitches while preparing to return to the team, which he could do any day now, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Shoemaker has 5 starts under his belt in 2020 with an average of just over 5 innings per start and a 4.91 ERA/6.11 FIP. 8.8 K/9 is a strong mark for Shoemaker, but he’s been doomed by the long ball with 2.8 HR/9. In terms of the playoffs, Shoemaker’s role is up in the air, but he’ll return to the rotation to make a start against the Yankees on Monday, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.

The Blue Jays remain hopeful that hard-throwing right-hander Nate Pearson will return before the end of the season as well. Should he return, the Jays will use him for 1 to 2 innings at a time, presumably because there’s not enough time to work him back to full-strength before the playoffs. Pitching Coach Pete Walker reports a return to normal velocity levels for Pearson, per Nicholson-Smith, who suggests Pearson could work in relief to Tom Hatch or Julian Merryweather.

Regardless, the Blue Jays look as though they’ll be piecing together the rotation game-by-game following Ryu. Given their heavy reliance on the pen, a return from Jordan Romano will certainly help. Romano should throw off a mound shortly, and the Blue Jays are hopeful to see him back in their bullpen for the playoffs, per Nicholson-Smith. Romano, 27, enjoyed a breakout 15 appearances before hitting the injured list with a right middle finger strain. He’s been worth 1.1 rWAR with a 1.23 ERA/3.12 FIP and 12.9 K/9 to 3.1 BB/9 while picking up 2 saves and 5 holds.

Padres Option Luis Patiño, Activate Austin Adams

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The San Diego Padres announced a pair of roster moves today. Luis Patiño has been optioned to the team’s alternate site, with Austin Adams being reinstated from the injured list to join the active roster. This will be Adams’ first appearance with the team since being acquired from the Seattle Mariners at the trade deadline.

Patiño is one of the Padres many highly-regarded pitching prospects. He’s now completed a couple of stints at the major-league level during the 2020 season, making 9 appearances out of the bullpen and starting one game. Long-term, the Padres hope Patiño will prove himself worthy of a rotation spot, but they have the luxury of patience with the 20-year-old right-hander.

It’s been a mixed bag over Patiño’s first 16 1/3 innings in the Show. His 5.51 ERA/5.82 FIP can largely be attributed to his 7.2 BB/9, a number that certainly has been colored by the small sample size of 2020. He’s also managed to notch 10.5 K/9, roughly in line with his minor league averages in that regard. Having finished 2019 in Double-A, it’s unlikely he was ready to make the jump directly to the majors under normal circumstances, though the talented youngster was certainly pegged to be a fast-rise in the Padres system.

Adams, 29, came to the Padres with Austin Nola and Dan Altavilla at the trade deadline. Thought it’s easy to consider Adams a throw-in because he was injured at the time of the deal, Adams nonetheless comes with four seasons of control beyond 2020, including one final pre-arb year in 2021. A waiver claim last season from the Nationals, Adams hasn’t stayed healthy long enough to sustain a breakout that began when he joined Seattle last season, but the possibility remains that Adams could become a vital piece of the San Diego bullpen this season or beyond.

His first appearance with the Padres will be his first overall in 2020, but he posted a 3.77 ERA/2.96 FIP in 2019 across 29 appearances totaling 31 innings with the Mariners. While command can be an issue, Adams managed 14.8 K/9 last year, a number that suggests he has the stuff to develop into a late-game stopper. It’ll be interesting to see how exactly the Padres plan to work him into the bullpen rotation in the limited games remaining before the playoffs.

Pirates Place Kevin Newman On Injured List, Recall Jason Martin

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed infielder Kevin Newman on the 10-day injured list after being hit by a pitch in last night’s ballgame. Jason Martin has been recalled to take his roster spot, the team announced.

Unfortunately, any injury at this point of the season is likely to be a season-ender. Newman suffered a contusion to the peroneal nerve of his left knee, per the team. The 27-year-old has split his time between both middle infield spots while struggling to make much progress at the dish. The righty owns a .224/.281/.276 triple slash across 172 plate appearances. Registering just a 54 wRC+ certainly classifies as a disappointment after hitting the 110 wRC+ mark last season while slashing .308/.353/.446 with 12 home runs. Newman is making hard contact a little more often than last season, though barrelling just one ball on the year. A year-over-year drop in batting average on balls in play from .333 to .250 certainly makes a difference, as does a diminished power output (ISO down from .138 to .051).

Martin won’t take over directly for Newman, but he could see time in left field as Adam Frazier moves into the infield. Jose Osuna and JT Riddle could also come off the bench to take more regular at-bats.

The 25-year-old Martin is 0 for 9 with a pair of walks over a few starts in centerfield this season. Martin came to the Pirates as part of the return for Gerrit Cole back in 2018, but he has yet to carve out a regular spot in the Pirates’ outfield rotation. He spent all of 2019 in Triple-A, but a .259/.312/.419 line wasn’t enough to secure regular playing time in a shortened 2020 season.

Latest On Zack Wheeler

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9:41PM: Wheeler will indeed miss his Monday start, Girardi told Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic and other reporters, though the righty may not be out of action for long.  Girardi feels Wheeler will be able to start during the Phillies’ upcoming series with the Mets, which runs from Tuesday, Sept. 15 to Thursday, Sept. 17.

12:11PM: Zack Wheeler may miss his scheduled start on Monday after he “ripped the nail bed from his middle finger,” writes The Athletic’s Matt Gelb (via Twitter). Interestingly, Wheeler has dealt with a version of this issue his whole career. The Phillies’ right-hander puts undue pressure on his middle finger when he throws, often cracking the nail, per Gelb. In this particular instance, however, Wheeler caught the nail on his jeans and ripped it free. While Gelb says, “It’s not good,” he also gives Wheeler a chance to make his scheduled start on Monday.

In his first season with the Phillies, Wheeler has maintained the success he enjoyed in his final two seasons as a Met, perhaps even taking his dominance a step further. Wheeler boasts a 4-0 record through 8 starts with a 2.47 ERA/3.11 FIP. He’s been everything the Phillies could have hoped for after inking him to a five-year, $118MM deal this offseason.

Slotting Wheeler into the top of the rotation has transformed the Philly starting five into a top-10 unit. Their 3.87 ERA ranks 9th in the majors, 3.83 FIP is tied for 4th in the game, and their 4.9 fWAR is tied for 3rd overall. Last season’s rotation finished 15th, 17th, and 13th by the same metrics.

Matt Chapman To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

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5:41PM: Chapman has suffered a torn hip labrum, agent Scott Boras tells Susan Slusser.  Boras estimates Chapman will need 12-16 weeks of recovery time.

1:09PM: The Oakland A’s have placed Matt Chapman on the 10-day injured list, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Chapman has been seeking a second opinion on his right hip tendinitis, per Slusser. Chapman will now undergo surgery on the hip on Monday, which will sideline the star third baseman for the rest of the season, tweets Martín Gallegos of MLB.com.

The news obviously comes as a blow to the division-leading Athletics. Chapman’s defense at the hot corner is a rare commodity of itself – he’s a two-time Platinum Glove winner – but paired with the thump of a .503 career slugging percentage and that’s a special player. More specifically, that’s an MVP candidate: Chapman finished in the top-7 for MVP voting in each of his two full seasons.

This year, Chapman’s triple slash of .232/.276/.535 is down a little from his career standards, primarily in the on-base department. A 10.3 BB% for his career has dwindled to 5.3 BB% this season, paired some additional swing-and-miss as well (35.5 K%). In 37 games, he’s produced 1.1 rWAR, which extrapolated would be a 4.8 rWAR year over 162 games.

Taking a glass-half-full approach, Chapman should be able to return to form after the surgery, which will be performed on Monday by Dr. Marc Philippon, per Slusser. Teammate Mark Canha can give Chapman the rundown of expectations, as Canha underwent the same surgery, Slusser notes. Chad Pinder and Vimael Machín figure to get the majority of playing time at the hot corner the rest of the way.

Seth Brown has been recalled to take his roster spot, the team announced. Brown put up a surprising 26-game stint in 2019 in which he slashed .293/.361/.453 across 83 plate appearances. He’s without a hit in 4 at-bats so far this season.

Red Sox Activate Nathan Eovaldi, Option Matt Hall

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The Red Sox have reinstated Nathan Eovaldi in time to make the start tonight, per a team release. In the corresponding move, lefty Matt Hall was optioned to the team’s alternate training site.

Eovaldi hit the injured list at the very tail end of August. He made 6 starts on the year after earning the Opening Day start for the first time in his career. He went 2-2 with a 4.98 ERA/4.62 FIP across 34 1/3 innings with a strong 5.5 K/BB. Manager Ron Roenicke plans for Eovaldi to go just a couple of innings in tonight’s start as he works his way back from a calf strain, per Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).

Hall’s season went back bad to worse last night as he absorbed the loss to the Rays after surrendering 4 runs in 2 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old southpaw has a 18.69 ERA on the season after yielding 18 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings across four appearances (1 start). The Red Sox acquired Hall this past January from the Tigers for 25-year-old minor-league catcher Jhon Nunez. Hall has provided valuable innings for the depleted Red Sox at the expense of his personal numbers. The Missouri native’s career ERA has risen to 11.48 while he’s fallen 0.9 rWAR further in the hole (-1.9 rWAR for his career).

Quick Hits: Dodgers, May, A’s, Piscotty, Nationals, Doolittle, Rainey

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Dustin May left his start on Thursday after just one inning, but the Dodgers received good news today. There’s no fracture in May’s foot, as was feared, but a contusion still garners a day-to-day status and an eventual IL stint is not out of the question, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). There may be some smoke and mirrors behind May’s 2.81 ERA, as a 4.51 FIP suggests the underlying work hasn’t been as strong as the ERA. At a surface level, May’s strikeouts have been down to 6.0 K/9 while a 2.2 BB/9 mark represents a slight year-over-year increase. Let’s get another couple injury updates from around the game…

  • The Oakland A’s face a reality without star third baseman Matt Chapman in the lineup for the rest of the season. The good news for Oakland is they’ve built a 7-game lead over the Astros for the division, and with less than a third of the season remaining, they have 99.6% likelihood of winning the West, per Fangraph’s playoff odds. They’ll get a little more help with Stephen Piscotty expected to return to the lineup today, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The 29-year-old outfielder carries a .264/.308/.438 line through 131 plate appearances, 4% better than average so far this season with the stick. Piscotty was given the last two days off, but he will be in the lineup for the second game of today’s doubleheader.
  • Sean Doolittle hasn’t been his dominant self the last year or so, though he’s largely remained a productive arm for the Nats. Luckily for Washington, Doolittle’s up-and-down spells were on the upswing during last year’s playoffs, where he and Daniel Hudson did most of the heavy lifting for the bullpen. He’s on a downswing now, however, stuck with a 5.87 ERA while he hopes to recover from an oblique strain. Doolittle is likely done for the year, though if the Nats can rehash some 2019 magic and erase their five game deficit to make the playoffs, it’s possible Doolittle could return to participate, per Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).
  • Tanner Rainey has largely stepped into the high-leverage role vacated by Doolittle, but he’ll be taking a couple of days off due to forearm soreness, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. An MRI came back negative, so the Nats will give Rainey a couple days off and hope his discomfort dissipates.

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