Orioles Outright Nate Karns
Right-hander Nate Karns cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Orioles and was sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk, per the International League’s transaction log. Karns does have enough service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would mean surrendering the remainder of this season’s $800K salary, so he’ll likely remain with the organization.
Karns, 31, was the Orioles’ only Major League signing of the 2018-19 offseason, but he hasn’t been healthy enough to factor into the team’s plans in the Majors. A forearm strain landed Karns on the injured list in early April and has proved difficult to move past. He’s tallied just 5 1/3 innings in the Majors this season, with another 10 1/3 innings pitched on a minor league rehab assignment. Karns didn’t allow a run in his tiny stretch of MLB work, but he’s yielded 10 runs on 10 hit and 10 walks with five strikeouts during his rehab efforts.
Back in 2015, Karns tossed 147 innings of 3.67 ERA ball for the Rays and looked to be an interesting, controllable piece of their staff. He was traded to the Mariners in the Logan Morrison deal, however, and then flipped to the Royals for Jarrod Dyson after struggling in his lone Seattle season. Karns pitched 45 1/3 innings with Kansas City before undergoing thoracic outlet surgery and missing the entire 2018 season. At this point, he’s spent time on the 60-day IL in each of the past four big league seasons.
Injury Notes: Heaney, Means, Elias, A’s
While there was an unfortunate spate of injuries covered at MLBTR yesterday, a few more have emerged in recent hours:
- Angels’ left-hander Andrew Heaney will throw a 60-pitch simulated game Monday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Assuming that goes according to plan, Heaney could take the mound for the Halos next weekend in Boston, as the organization isn’t planning on sending him on a minor-league rehab assignment. Heaney, who was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with shoulder inflammation, hasn’t had a banner season, pitching to a 5.09 ERA over nine starts despite a strong 27.3% strikeout rate, as he’s been particularly susceptible to the home run ball (1.76 HR/9).
- The Orioles are also set to welcome back a left-handed starter in the coming days. Manager Brandon Hyde tells Joe Trezza of MLB.com that All-Star John Means will be activated from the injured list to take the mound Wednesday. Means will miss just more than the 10-day minimum, having hit the shelf with rotator cuff inflammation in his throwing arm July 26. The previously-unheralded 26 year-old has emerged as the club’s best starter in 2019, working to a 3.12 ERA. While it’s tough to imagine him continuing that level of run prevention with a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate and 34.9% ground ball rate, Means is a volume strike-thrower who looks like a solid back-end starter, a welcome find for the pitching-starved club.
- Nationals left-handed reliever Roenis Elías has “tweaked his hamstring,” tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. There’s no indication yet the injury is serious, but any Elías absence would be a blow to his new employer, who acquired him from the Mariners for two relief pitching prospects at the trade deadline. A fly ball pitcher, Elías has given up his share of home runs this season and is fortunate to be carrying a 3.59 ERA, but he’s still one of the better pieces in a Washington bullpen that has been the worst in baseball at preventing runs.
- Melissa Lockard of the Athletic provides updates on a pair of A’s prospects (via Twitter). Triple-A catcher Sean Murphy, a gifted defender with some raw power, recently re-aggravated a preexisting meniscus tear. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any new damage- just some pain and swelling- and Murphy could return to action by the end of August. More encouragingly, top left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw a simulated game this week as he looks to work his way back from a lat strain. Like Murphy, Luzardo has played his way to Triple-A and looked like he may be able to help the big league club this season before his injury.
Orioles Claim Ty Blach, Designate Jose Rondon
The Orioles have claimed left-hander Ty Blach, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports. Blach was designated for assignment by San Francisco a week ago. INF Jose Rondon was designated for assignment to make room.
Blach, 28, was a reasonably productive swingman for the 2016-18 versions of the club, with numbers slightly inflated (per fWAR and other metrics that rely heavily on park factors) by the enormous dimensions of SF’s Oracle Park. The lefty, who’s posted the league’s lowest strikeout total since his debut in late 2016, threw up a solid 3.84 FIP in 47 appearances (13 starts) for the Giants last season, a performance that ostensibly wasn’t enough to curry favor with the new regime. He’s spent much of the this season trying to survive in the PCL, where his 5.93 ERA/5.26 FIP are actually respectable totals in the harrowing offensive climate that dots the league’s landscape.
It’s possible the soft-tosser steps right into an embattled Baltimore rotation, which treats cast-offs, fringe prospects, and former stalwarts all the same. Blach’s career 50% grounder rate should play well in the miniaturized dimensions of Camden Yards, though he won’t be afforded the same heavy-air cushion he was at Oracle. Still, it’s as good of opportunity as could be hoped for 28-year-old, who’d likely have returned to Triple-A in most organizations around the league.
Rondon, 25, was a promising utility prospect in the Padres system from 2014-17, but hit the skids in the high minors and couldn’t steady himself after transitioning to the AL with the White Sox. Rondon did post a solid 102 wRC+ in limited action for the Pale Hose last season, but his .197/.265/.282 ’19 line wasn’t enough to keep him in the organization. He appeared in just a single game for the Orioles; the club’ll obviously hope he clears waivers and can be outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.
John Means Hires Wasserman Agency
Breakout Orioles left-hander John Means has hired the Wasserman Agency to represent him, as MLBTR’s own Tim Dierkes reports on Twitter. Agent Sam Samardzija will take the lead in handling Means’s business.
[RELATED: MLBTR Agency Database]
The 26-year-old Means came into the pro ranks as an 11th-round pick. He took a steady path to the majors, never really standing out as a particularly notable organizational prospect. But he cracked the bigs in 2018 and earned a longer look with the rebuilding O’s this spring.
Giving Means a full audition proved wise for the new Baltimore front office. He has rewarded the organization with 98 frames of 3.12 ERA pitching, with 7.2 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9, while picking up a rare rookie All-Star nod. Means still has quite a bit to prove — ERA estimators are far less bullish than his results — but he has been able to induce a good bit of mediocre contact to this point. Statcast credits him with a .299 xwOBA-against that’s nearly identical to the .298 wOBA produced by opposing hitters.
Having cracked the Orioles roster to open the present season, Means will end the year with a full season of service (plus a few days from last year). That puts him on course to potentially reach arbitration in advance of the 2022 season.
Of more immediate concern, it seems Means has bounced back well from a minor recent arm issue. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter, the Baltimore southpaw is expected to throw a full bullpen session in the coming days. He hopes to come off of the IL to take a start next Tuesday or Wednesday.
AL East Notes: Lowe, Mancini, Fisher
The Rays‘ decision to option Nate Lowe back to Triple-A Durham following the trade deadline was a “very tough call,” manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. With the acquisition of Jesus Aguilar, however, the Rays had three first basemen on the roster and Ji-Man Choi‘s lack of minor league options once again came into play. Tampa Bay seems loath to risk losing Choi on waivers, but Lowe has handily outperformed him at the plate so far, hitting .294/.362/.510 to Choi’s .265/.361/.423. Choi has shown better knowledge of the strike zone, but Lowe nevertheless appears to be the better offensive option between the two (even if he’s had some good fortune in terms of a .362 average on balls in play). Cash expects that Lowe will be back up with the club “soon,” but that redundancy will eventually be an issue the Rays need to address.
More out of the AL East…
- Trey Mancini remains in Baltimore after the trade deadline, but the decision not to move him doesn’t mean an extension is the next step for the slugger. “Looking at contract extensions is just not at the forefront of my plate right now,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, “but certainly he’s an attractive guy to have here for a while.” It’s not the first time that Elias, hired to spearhead the Orioles’ rebuild this offseason, has suggested that he views Mancini as a potential long-term piece. But Mancini is already controlled through 2022 — his age-30 season. Given that he won’t even reach arbitration until this winter, there’s simply not much urgency to extend Mancini, even if he’s in the midst of the best season of his young career. Through 443 plate appearances, Mancini has posted a robust .282/.343/.539 slash (130 OPS+) with a career-high 25 home runs. Elias also praised the recent play of outfielder Anthony Santander the manner in which he has begun to establish himself as a viable big league hitter.
- The Blue Jays have a crowded outfield mix, but newly acquired Derek Fisher is going to get regular playing time and an opportunity to establish himself as a fixture in the Toronto outfield, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. Most of Fisher’s reps will come in center or right field, as Toronto doesn’t want to disrupt Lourdes Gurriel Jr.‘s transition to left field (or his offensive breakout). That leaves Fisher, Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk and Billy McKinney vying for playing time between center, right and occasional reps at DH. Hernandez has been on an otherworldly tear, clubbing seven homers and three doubles in his past 15 games, which should help to keep him in the lineup. If there’s to be an odd man out, McKinney seems the likeliest candidate, given that he has minor league options remaining. But the semi logjam also serves as a reminder that Randal Grichuk hasn’t performed anywhere near as well as hoped in the first season of the head-scratching extension to which the Jays signed him back in April. He’s played solid defense, but Grichuk hasn’t exactly seized an everyday role with his .232/.290/.418 batting line.
Mark Trumbo Could Retire After Season
It’s possible we’ve seen the last of longtime major league slugger Mark Trumbo. Out all season on account of right knee problems, Trumbo has halted his rehab assignment because of “discomfort” and is now aiming for a September return, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Regardless of whether he makes it back this year, Trumbo could elect to retire at season’s end, Kubatko writes.
Asked about his future, Trumbo said: “I don’t know. Probably going to have to see a little bit of improvement with the health. If the symptoms don’t subside, it will probably be pretty tough, but if I can get some relief and feel like I did a few years ago, I think it would be something worthwhile.”
We’re nearing the one-year anniversary of Trumbo’s September 2018 knee surgery. The joint troubled Trumbo throughout last season prior to the procedure, and it hasn’t responded as hoped since he went under the knife. Trumbo divided 2018 among three positions – designated hitter (his primary spot), right field and first base – and slashed .261/.313/.452 (107 wRC+) with 17 home runs in 358 plate appearances. That was a step up from the output Trumbo offered in 2017, the first season of a three-year, $37.5MM contract.
In 2016, Trumbo’s initial season as an Oriole, the former Angel, Diamondback and Mariner racked up a major league-best 47 homers. That convinced the Orioles to bring him back after a long standoff in free agency, but thanks to knee issues and unspectacular performance, the deal has been a failure for the O’s. Of course, the club has launched a full rebuild since re-upping Trumbo, so it wouldn’t make much difference in the standings if he were hitting at peak levels.
Should Trumbo attempt to continue his career past this season, it’s fair to wonder whether the soon-to-be 34-year-old will draw much of any interest on the open market. Even without his knee factored in, free agency hasn’t been kind of late to defensively limited 30-somethings. Trumbo was never an asset in the outfield even before injuries derailed his career, and it now seems probable he’ll be stuck at DH if he does stay in the game. With that in mind, it’ll likely be difficult for him to find work.
Phillies Acquire Dan Straily
Phillies GM Matt Klentak announced today that the club acquired righty Dan Straily from the Orioles, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki was among those to report on Twitter. The return isn’t known.
This won’t light up the news wire, but it’s a savvy depth move for the Phils. Without the possibility of adding players on MLB deals in the month of August, options are limited for picking up needed gap-fillers. Straily was one of several players that fit into a narrow niche of readily stashable players, as we covered last week.
Orioles Claim Jose Rondon
The Orioles have claimed infielder Jose Rondon off waivers from the White Sox, per a club announcement. The corresponding active roster move isn’t yet known, but someone will have to be moved off of the 25-man to make way for the out-of-options Rondon.
It seems possible that this move will connect to another, as-yet-unknown transaction. Rondon would be a possible roster replacement for several of the O’s trade candidates.
The 25-year-old Rondon has struggled quite a bit this year in Chicago, compiling an ugly .197/.265/.282 batting line in 156 trips to the plate. He fared better in a smaller sample last year, and did swat 18 long balls at Triple-A in 2018, but generally does not have an especially promising minor-league track record with the bat. Rondon comes with a reputation for quality glovework, though metrics haven’t been overly impressed to this point.
Trey Mancini Drawing Interest
Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini hasn’t been a hot name in the run-up to the trade deadline, but MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that he’s coming up in late talks. The Astros, Rangers, and Rays are all said to have interest.
Mancini, 27, will be eligible for arbitration for the first time in the offseason to come. He’s off to an excellent start at the plate, putting a subpar 2018 season in the rearview mirror. Through 434 plate appearances, Mancini is slashing .280/.341/.532. He grabbed the 50th spot on our ranking of the top trade candidates based upon his evident talent and contractual upside.
For the O’s, nothing is bolted to the floor. But the Baltimore club surely isn’t in a rush to trade its best player, particularly since he’s a marketable figure at an organizational low point. Lovely as Camden Yards is standing alone, stars are needed to bring fans in and send merchandise out of the ballpark gates.
The slate of clubs with interest is itself both interesting and telling. It’s clear that Mancini isn’t a classic trade deadline piece, so much as a very good player with a great contract situation who is drawing teams that are interested in him from a talent standpoint. Roster fit and the situation in the standings are to some extent secondary considerations.
For the Astros, adding Mancini would mean putting another big bat into a lineup mix that’s already strewn with them. The priority in Houston is surely pitching. One wonders whether the connection is based upon some scenarios involving multiple other moving pieces.
The Rangers, meanwhile, are all but buried out of contention. But the team is looking to remain competitive and ramp right back up next year. Coming away with Mancini would mean adding a righty slugger to partner up with star Joey Gallo. The Texas org obviously wouldn’t be valuing Mancini for his late-2019 contributions, but for the three years of control thereafter.
It’s also a bit of an opportunistic possibility for the Rays, who have more immediate incentive than the Rangers but less than the Astros. The Tampa Bay club is always searching for value and has been connected to multiple righty outfield bats, so it isn’t surprising to see that they’ve propped open a door on Mancini. With loads of young talent, especially in the infield, it’s possible the Rays could come up with some creative packages in search of a match with their division rivals.
Cubs, Orioles Have Discussed Jonathan Villar
The Cubs have discussed a Jonathan Villar trade with the Orioles, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, though he adds that a match between the two teams appears unlikely at this time.
Chicago was tied to Eric Sogard before he was traded from Toronto to Tampa Bay, and Addison Russell‘s recent demotion to Triple-A Iowa further illustrates that the Cubs could be in the mix for a second baseman. The potential return of Ben Zobrist, who is slated to head out on a minor league rehab assignment, could lessen any urgency to make an outside addition, though.
Villar has split the 2019 season between shortstop and second base in Baltimore, drawing negative reviews at second base from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating a year after rating quite well in both categories. His familiarity with shortstop would also be a welcome addition for the Cubs, given that Russell’s demotion left the MLB roster without a true backup to Javier Baez there.
The 28-year-old Villar is hitting .262/.326/.421 with 13 home runs, 22 doubles, two triples and 22 stolen bases (in 28 attempts). Villar’s speed is an element the Cubs’ roster currently lacks. His 22 steals are only seven fewer than the Cubs have totaled as a team. Villar’s wheels likely hold some interest to the Cubs — they’ve also been connected to fleet-footed D-backs outfielder Jarrod Dyson — but Villar’s 24.1 percent strikeout rate (26.7 percent for his career) don’t align with Chicago’s reported interest in adding hitter with plus contact skills (e.g. Sogard, Dyson).
From a contractual standpoint, Villar is affordable. He’s being paid $4.825MM in 2019 (with about $1.66MM yet to be paid out) and is controllable via arbitration for the 2020 season as well. The Orioles were also willing to include some cash in the trade that sent Andrew Cashner to Boston, providing reason to believe they’d be willing to do so with their other trade assets as a means of sweetening the prospect return. Given his relative proximity to free agency and the Orioles’ aggressive tear-down, Villar is a logical trade candidate in the next three days. However, the demand for pitching help throughout the league is far greater than the demand for middle infielders, and the Orioles don’t necessarily need to move Villar if no appealing offer materializes.