Orioles Select Mason Williams, Designate Jace Peterson
The Orioles announced today that they have selected the contract of outfielder Mason Williams. To create roster space, infielder Jace Peterson was designated for assignment.
Williams was expected to come onto the active roster for the month of September, but needed to be added to the 40-man. A host of other players that already held 40-man spots are also heading for the big-league dugout: lefty Ty Blach, catcher Austin Wynns, and righties David Hess, Evan Phillips, and Chandler Shepherd.
Once a well-regarded Yankees prospect, the 28-year-old Williams got his first extended chance at the majors last year with the Reds. He produced at close to the league-average rate offensively but was outrighted at season’s end. Williams has spent the entire season to this point with the Orioles’ top affiliate, slashing .308/.371/.477 with 18 home runs in 494 plate appearances.
As for Peterson, he has struggled since the O’s summoned him to help fill out the position-player mix. The six-year MLB veteran carries a .220/.269/.330 batting line in 108 trips to the plate on the season.
Orioles Unlikely To Call Up Top Prospect Ryan Mountcastle
The Orioles are likely to select the contract of outfielder Mason Williams to join the club as a September call-up, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (link). However, it doesn’t seem as though top prospect Ryan Mountcastle will get the opportunity to make his MLB debut this month (Twitter link).
Mountcastle, a 2015 supplemental rounder (36th overall) ranks among the organization’s top five prospects and has had a productive season in Triple-A, hitting .310/.343/.527 with 25 homers, 35 doubles and one triple through 548 plate appearances. He also comes with significant concerns about his defense and is regarded by some as a prospect without a true position on the field. Scouting reports from Fangraphs, MLB.com and Baseball America all agree that Mountcastle’s bat alone should make him a big league regular, but each notes that his throwing issues continue to push him down the defensive spectrum. Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs liken his profile as a bat-first regular with huge defensive questions to that of Nicholas Castellanos.
It’s not clear whether a desire for further defensive refinement or a preference not to begin Mountcastle’s service clock is the driving factor behind the decision not to bring him to Camden Yards; most likely, both are factors. Regardless of his ultimate defensive home, Mountcastle seems likely to emerge in the big leagues next season, but his omission from the team’s expanded September roster is no doubt a bitter pill for fans who were hoping for a glimpse of the future in 2019. It’s been a trying season for Orioles fans, who’ve seen their club win the second-fewest games in Major League Baseball.
In Williams, 28, the Orioles will take a look at a top-prospect-turned-journeyman who has enjoyed a nice season in Triple-A Norfolk, where he’s batted .309/.372/.481 with 18 home runs, 15 doubles, three triples, and four stolen bases. The grandson of former big leaguer Walt Williams, the lefty-swinging outfielder was originally a fourth-round pick of the Yankees organization back in the 2010 Rule IV draft. Once ranked as the game’s 74th-best prospect by MLB.com prior to the 2012 season, Williams has shown some glimpses in limited big league action, with a .289/.325/.396 (93 wRC+) output across 200 at-bats split between the Yankees and Reds rosters since his MLB debut in 2016. Williams signed a minor league deal with Baltimore this past March.
Orioles Activate Mark Trumbo, Designate Tom Eshelman For Assignment
The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve activated designated hitter Mark Trumbo from the 60-day injured list. In order to clear space on the 40-man roster, right-hander Tom Eshelman has been designated for assignment.
Trumbo, 33, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since last August due to a knee injury that ultimately required surgical repair. He’s endured a lengthy and grueling rehab in an effort to get back to the field before his three-year, $37.5MM contract expires at season’s end. Trumbo recently acknowledged that his future in the game very much depends on how his knee responds to his return; while the veteran slugger expressed interest in continuing his playing career if he can get back to feeling the way he did a few years ago, the pain in his knee has at least made him contemplate whether he’ll be able to continue beyond the current campaign.
Trumbo was quite good in his first season with the O’s back in 2016, hitting .256/.316/.533 (122 OPS+) with a league-leading 47 home runs in an All-Star showing. That prompted the former Baltimore front-office regime to re-sign Trumbo to the aforementioned three-year pact. The first year of that deal was largely disappointing, though he was in the midst of a solid rebound in 2018 (.261/.313/.452, 109 OPS+) when his knee troubles reached their breaking point.
The 25-year-old Eshelman, meanwhile, was acquired from the Phillies back on June 10 in a deal that sent international bonus allotments to Philadelphia. Eshelman, who was drafted by the Astros when current Orioles GM Mike Elias was Houston’s scouting director, made 10 big league appearances with Baltimore and another seven in Triple-A, though the cumulative results weren’t especially impressive. The 2015 second-rounder logged a 4.70 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 in 38 1/3 innings with Triple-A Norfolk but was lit up for a 6.50 ERA with a 22-to-11 K/BB ratio and a dozen homers allowed in 36 MLB frames. Fielding-independent metrics weren’t much more optimistic on his results — 7.33 FIP, 5.93 xFIP, 5.54 SIERA — and because post-July trades have been eliminated, Eshelman will now become available to all 29 other clubs on outright waivers.
Orioles Mulling September Promotions
With nothing on the line in terms of results, the Orioles are looking firmly to the future. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy for the club to simply bring up a wave of prospects in September.
GM Mike Elias explains to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun that the team is indeed planning to start bringing in fresh faces. “We will start to see a lot of players from our quote-unquote ‘prospect list’ on the big league team here in the next month, and early next season,” he says.
But that doesn’t mean the roster situation is straightforward. Even for “the guys that are on the roster already,” says Elias, “it would be inaccurate to say that doesn’t matter, because when you add somebody to the roster, you typically have to take somebody off. That’s a big decision.” While September’s expanded active roster will help, there’ll still be tough 40-man calls to be made.
Beyond the question of maintaining control rights, the club simply needs to fill innings. While some of the players currently holding down active roster spots may well end up being cut loose in the offseason, they’re needed now to avoid over-taxing or otherwise harming the development of young hurlers.
Plus, there are developmental and health considerations to account for. Take Austin Hays, whose own late-2017 promotion serves as something of a cautionary tale. As Meoli further explores, the club has seen some signs of a rebound from the 24-year-old, though it’s still not clear that he’d benefit from an extension of his season after working through health problems.
Elias opened the door in particular to calling up players who are due to occupy 40-man spots in the offseason to come, noting that the organization has “several guys who are amongst our top prospects who will need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this year.” Such players can be added now in order to get a taste of the majors, though that means giving them service time and perhaps forcing some early decisions on other players.
One such player is intriguing first base/outfield prospect Ryan Mountcastle. As Meoli notes, Mountcastle has shown well this year but also still has some areas to work on at Triple-A. The 22-year-old’s .308/.340/.528 slash line is outwardly impressive, but it’s just 16% above league average (116 wRC+) in the hitter-friendly International League. With a meager 4.2% walk rate, Mountcastle has been dependent upon an unsustainable .363 batting average on balls in play for his productivity. He’s also still working to land on a defensive home.
That’s certainly not to say that there isn’t any promise. The former first-rounder has long been viewed as a talented player and there’s every reason for the O’s to give him a full shot at the big leagues in the near future. Much the same holds for Hays. Trouble is, the club is already giving showcases to Anthony Santander and DJ Stewart. And it could stand to give further opportunities to Cedric Mullins and Dwight Smith Jr. Ultimately, there are only so many plate appearances to go around.
The bottom line is that the roster finagling is more complicated for the rebuilding Baltimore organization than might be anticipated at first glance. The club can and will continue to provide chances to interesting players, but it’ll already be forced to make some committing choices in the coming weeks.
AL Notes: Rays, O’s, Alberto, Tigers, Hardy
Let’s kick off the week with updates on a trio of American League clubs…
- The wild card-contending Rays haven’t set specific timetables for the returns of injured starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yonny Chirinos, but the three figure to come back in that order, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Glasnow, who has been out since early May with a forearm injury and will finish 2019 as a reliever, could rejoin the team in the second week of September, per Topkin. Meanwhile, Snell is “probably 10 days behind [Glasnow] at least,” according to manager Kevin Cash. Snell, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow a month ago. Chirinos has been down for three weeks with an inflamed right middle finger – an injury that has thrown a wrench into a solid season for the 25-year-old.
- Utilityman Hanser Alberto was waiver fodder last offseason, switching teams on multiple occasions before finally settling in with the Orioles for good in March. Since then, the 26-year-old has enjoyed what has easily been a career season. He’s slashing .314/.337/.440 with 10 home runs in 432 plate appearances, and the right-hander been downright dominant against lefties – whom he has victimized for a .402/.422/.540 line over 180 PA. A .446 batting average on balls in play has buoyed Alberto’s numbers versus southpaws, though, and Statcast isn’t really buying into his above-average production. Nevertheless, he’ll garner trade interest in the offseason, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com hears. It’s up in the air whether the O’s will strongly consider moving Alberto, who has played second and third with regularity this year and will enter arbitration for the first time in the offseason.
- Tigers lefty Blaine Hardy‘s season came to an end two weeks ago when he underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow. Looking ahead to the offseason, Hardy realizes his Tigers tenure could conclude next. “You know and I know I might not be in Lakeland next year,” the 32-year-old told Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, referring to the team’s spring training home in Florida. Hardy has been a fairly successful reliever in Detroit since he debuted in 2014, but after elbow issues helped limit him to a 4.47 ERA/5.72 FIP with 5.89 K/9 and 2.64 BB/9 in 44 1/3 innings this year, it’s possible the Tigers will non-tender the soon-to-be out-of-options hurler as he readies for his second trip to arbitration. Regardless, Hardy’s glad he decided to call it a year instead of trying to gut out his elbow problems through the season. The Tigers were on the verge of demoting Hardy to Triple-A Toledo before his PRP injection, leading him to tell McCosky: “I had so many people in my corner say it would’ve been career suicide if I decided to go down to Triple-A and keep pitching through this. If something happened, and they found the tear at Triple-A, it would have been hard to retro it back to a big-league deal.”
AL Notes: Rangers, Montero, Kiermaier, Alberto, White Sox
Amidst a pitching staff that has continually shuffled through under-the-radar options, the Rangers have been impressed by Rafael Montero, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. A reclamation project who didn’t pitch in 2018 thanks to Tommy John srugery, Montero made a name for himself as a promising prospect in the Mets’ farm system. However, the New York organization relinquished the righty when he opted for free agency in lieu of an outright assignment. After cutting his teeth as a starting pitcher for years, the 28-year-old has transitioned to a bullpen role in Texas, where he has excelled for a team that has constructed a bullpen out of dozens of cast-offs and scrap parts. Appearing in 10 games since coming up in late July, Montero has compiled a 1.08 ERA while striking out 19 batters in 16 2/3 innings of work. He, along with the likes of Emmanuel Clase and Jonathan Hernandez, has been a second-half revelation for a team that employs an increasingly youthful bullpen after dealing Chris Martin and losing Jesse Chavez to injury. Factor in Jose Leclerc, and the Rangers may indeed have discovered some foundational bullpen pieces.
Here are all the latest updates from around the American League…
- Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier exited Sunday’s game prematurely after crashing into the outfield wall while attempting to catch a DJ Stewart fly ball. After the game, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times offered an encouraging update on the defensive virtuoso, Tweeting that X-rays indicated no broken bones, and that Kiermaier sustained a left ribcage contusion in the collision. It seems to be a minor injury for the Rays and their center fielder, who expects to be back in the lineup after an off day tomorrow. For the time being, it appears that Kiermaier has avoided a stint on the injured list, which would have been his second this season after a thumb sprain in July.
- In the same game, the Orioles‘ Hanser Alberto sustained a knee to the head while attempting to take second base on a ball in the dirt. Manager Brandon Hyde did deliver some promising news, telling reporters (including Joe Trezza of MLB.com) that there was no evidence that the Orioles’ leading hitter suffered a concussion. Rather, it looks to be a head contusion and a cervical neck strain for Alberto. While it looks that the worst-case scenario has been avoided, it’s yet unclear what the diagnosis means for Alberto, with a recovery timeline unknown.
- More injury news coming from Chicago, where White Sox utilityman Leury Garcia also underwent X-rays after leaving today’s game following a hit by pitch. He was struck in the lower left leg while trying to bunt against the Rangers’ Emmanuel Clase. After the game, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reported that X-rays came back negative and that Garcia’s injuries did not extend beyond a left shin contusion. He’ll be day-to-day for the South Siders, who will have an off day tomorrow before hosting the Twins for a three-game set.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Price, Orioles, Rays
Left-hander David Price had been a candidate to come off the injured list and start for the Red Sox on Sunday, but that won’t happen, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report was among those to report. Price, out since Aug. 8 with a left wrist problem, is instead another several days from returning. He’ll throw a 55-pitch simulated game Tuesday, after which the Red Sox will decide a next course of action, according to manager Alex Cora. That’s unfortunate news for Boston, which is a potentially insurmountable seven games back of the American League’s last wild-card spot and whose rotation has been an issue throughout the season. Price didn’t help the Red Sox’s cause in his most recent starts, as his ERA skyrocketed from 3.16 on July 14 to 4.36 after the last time he took the ball. But the 33-year-old has still been among the club’s most effective starters this season. His K/BB ratio (4.06) ranks 26th out of 103 pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings in 2019.
- The Orioles fired a combined 11 members of their front office and scouting departments Friday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com relays. Tripp Norton, who had been the Orioles’ director of baseball operations dating back to 2012 (and was with the O’s since 1998), was the most prominent member of the organization to lose his job. The club also parted with scout Nathan Showalter, son of ex-Baltimore manager Buck Showalter. First-year general manager Mike Elias, who’s attempting to remake the front office in his image, said the team will “be very busy bringing people into this organization” to replace those it let go.
- Red Sox infielder Michael Chavis started a rehab assignment Friday, according to the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket. Chavis went to the IL on Aug. 12 with an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder, continuing what has been a rough month for the 24-year-old. While Chavis was amid a slump when he landed on the shelf, he has enjoyed a respectable rookie year overall. Chavis has batted .254/.322/.444 with 18 home runs in 382 plate appearances and 95 games, during which he has split time between first and second base.
- The Rays activated lefty Anthony Banda from the 60-day injured list Friday and optioned him to Triple-A Durham, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. They placed infielder Brandon Lowe (out for the season) on the 60-day IL in a corresponding 40-man move. Banda hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2018, though perhaps he’ll serve as a late-season reinforcement for the Rays. The 26-year-old has struggled at the Triple-A level this season, though, evidenced by a 5.57 ERA/6.14 FIP across 21 innings.
Nationals Secure Key Ruling In MASN Dispute
The Nationals secured a key legal victory in their long-running TV rights fees battle with the jointly owned and Orioles-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), as Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun was among those to report. The decision upholds an arbitration award in the Nationals’ favor, which was issued earlier this year.
This does not represent a final victory for the Nationals, as the Orioles (through MASN) will still be able to appeal on various issues. But there may now be an end in sight for the D.C. club, which lost at the trial-court stage when the O’s challenged the original arbitration decision in late 2015. That decision kicked off the complicated, multi-round process that is still unfolding.
The Nationals have cured the conflict-of-interest issue — relating to legal representation — that led to the initial ruling. This time, the O’s presented a theory that MLB could not serve as the arbitration forum because it had an interest in the outcome due to loans it made to the Nationals.
If the Baltimore legal team isn’t able to pull off another upset win at the appellate level, the team will ultimately owe a hefty bill to its southern neighbors. As discussed at the time of the arbitration panel’s decision, the expectation is that the Nationals will be due something in range of $60MM to $70MM once all the accounting is sorted out. The new ruling also requires the Orioles to pony up interest on the obligations — one of the matters that will surely be addressed on appeal.
There are still plenty of loose ends. As noted, there will be a direct appeal on several issues. The Orioles have also initiated a separate arbitration proceeding regarding the team’s decision not to distribute certain funds to the Nationals during the pendency of the initial dispute. And since the rights fees re-set occurs every five years, this particular litigation/arbitration covers the rights fees for only the 2012-16 seasons … meaning there’s an ongoing need to work out the numbers for the ensuing five-year periods.
AL Notes: O’s, Davis, Yanks, Happ, Angels
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has lost his role as a regular, at least for now, Joe Trezza of MLB.com writes. Manager Brandon Hyde said he’ll “continue to pick my spots” when it comes to playing Davis, who’s nearing the conclusion of a second straight horrific campaign and the end of the fourth season of a seven-year, $161MM contract. The rebuilding Orioles are aiming to give more at-bats to young players and a possibly returning Mark Trumbo than Davis, owner of a .179/.270/.312 line in 300 plate appearances this season. Notably, the 33-year-old Davis got into a dugout altercation with Hyde on Aug. 7, and has started just five games since. But Hyde complimented Davis on Thursday, saying that “he’s been a pro the entire way — 100% pro. He understands. He’s been in the dugout supporting our guys. He’s been real great in the clubhouse and he’s handled this situation really well.”
More from the AL…
- After re-signing with the Yankees on a two-year, $34MM contract last winter, left-hander J.A. Happ has trudged through a rough season. The Athletics pummeled the 36-year-old on Wednesday over four innings, scoring five runs on four hits (including two homers) and a pair of walks. Factoring in that performance, Happ has pitched to a sky-high 5.58 ERA/5.69 FIP over 129 innings this season. “I haven’t struggled like this in a while,” Happ admitted after the Oakland loss, though he and manager Aaron Boone expressed hope the hurler will be able to right the ship this season (via Ken Davidoff of the New York Post). Even though Happ has been undependable, the World Series-contending Yankees have no choice but to run him out there, as they’re lacking better alternatives, Davidoff observes. Happ’s woes are among the reasons New York appears set to enter the playoffs with an iffy-looking rotation.
- Angels righty Keynan Middleton is nearing a return to their bullpen, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Middleton hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 2018, when he underwent Tommy John surgery, and has dealt with multiple setbacks during his recovery process. Just last month, mild ulnar neuritis forced Middleton to temporarily shut down his rehab. When healthy from 2017-18, Middleton looked like a potential building block for the Halos’ bullpen. The hard-throwing 24-year-old owns a 3.43 ERA/4.24 FIP with 9.36 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 76 major league innings.
- Meanwhile, injured Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons could rejoin the club for its weekend series in Houston, though he’s not a lock to be activated then, Torres reports. A left ankle sprain and a bone bruise have prevented Simmons from playing since Aug. 2. He also missed a little over a month earlier this season with a sprain in that ankle, but the nature of the injury isn’t the same this time. While Simmons was durable from 2017-18 – arguably the two best offensive seasons of the defensive master’s career – his production at the plate has gone backward during this injury-plagued year. Simmons will try to improve on the .274/.315/.382 line he has put up across 305 PA when he returns.
Mark Trumbo Reportedly Nearing Rehab Assignment
Longtime slugger Mark Trumbo has missed the entire season to this point, but even though the Orioles are in the running for last place, he’s not giving up on 2019. Trumbo plans to start a Triple-A rehab assignment “around Aug. 27,” play five games and then come off the injured list to rejoin the team, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets.
If Trumbo is able to return this season, it might be the last we see of the 33-year-old designated hitter/outfielder, whom Kubatko recently relayed could retire at the end of 2019. Trumbo has sat out the season because of right knee problems, which came after issues in the joint held him to 90 games a year ago. We’re almost at the one-year anniversary of the knee surgery Trumbo underwent last September.
Regardless of whether Trumbo plays again this season, his Orioles tenure is likely nearing an end. Trumbo has just a few weeks remaining on the three-year, $37.5MM contract the Orioles re-signed him to after 2016, when he was coming off a major league-leading 47-home run season. Trumbo notched a career-best 125 wRC+ over 667 plate appearances that year, but he hasn’t been nearly as threatening since then. Trumbo combined to hit .244/.298/.417 (90 wRC+) with 40 homers in 961 PA from 2017-18.