Injury Notes: Cano, Heredia, Britton, Castro, Desmond
The Mariners picked up a win last night, but they incurred a pair of potential injuries in the process, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The Mariners announced last night that Robinson Cano exited the game with tightness in his hamstring, while Guillermo Heredia exited the game after being hit on the wrist by a 92 mph Jason Motte fastball. Cano said he felt something in his hamstring “right away” as he was coming out of the batter’s box on a double to left field, and he’s slated for an MRI this morning. Heredia remained in the game to run the bases after being plunked but came out of the game after that half inning. He’ll undergo x-rays today. The Mariners are shorthanded at the moment after designating Leonys Martin for assignment and losing Shawn O’Malley to a concussion in Triple-A, Divish notes, though the pair of open 40-man spots allows some flexibility should Cano and/or Heredia require DL stints.
A few other injury notes from around the league…
- Orioles closer Zach Britton saw his incredible saves streak come to an end yesterday, and he’s now headed for an MRI on his left knee, writes MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. The O’s called the MRI a precautionary measure and noted that Britton, who has dealt with on-and-off knee issues for years, would have had one before season’s end even without the blown save. “Gosh, I probably had [the injury] since like 2014,” said Britton. “I got my cleats stuck one time in Toronto on their turf, and it’s something that was kind of bothering me.” Britton said he’s pitched through the issue for three years and plans to travel with the team after today’s off-day.
- Jason Castro was forced to exit last night’s game with concussion symptoms after taking a pair of foul balls off his mask, writes Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Twins skipper Paul Molitor described the first as more of a “glancing blow” but said the second was a “direct shot.” Castro began experiencing dizziness as the game went on and demonstrated “some of the symptoms that concern you,” said Molitor, without delving too far into specifics. The Twins already have three catchers on the roster, having recently called up prospect Mitch Garver for his first big league look. Garver, who can also play first base and left field, as yet to start a game behind the dish, but he’d share catching duties with veteran Chris Gimenez should Castro fail to pass concussion protocol and land on the 7-day DL.
- Rockies infielder Ian Desmond will begin a minor league rehab assignment today, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. He’ll likely play four games before being activated from the disabled list on Monday (assuming all goes well), but more interesting than that is the fact that Saunders adds that Desmond could play shortstop upon his return from the DL. Desmond had a “high-intensity” workout on Wednesday that included taking grounders and performing fielding drills at his natural position. Manager Bud Black didn’t commit to the notion that Desmond would oust the struggling Trevor Story at short, but Saunders notes that Desmond could see time at first base, shortstop and in left field upon returning.
Outrighted: Vidal Nuno, Javy Guerra
Two relievers have cleared outright waivers, today, according to announcements from their respective organizations:
- Orioles lefty Vidal Nuno has been assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers. The 30-year-old struggled badly in a dozen appearances earlier this year with the O’s, but hadn’t been in the majors since a mid-June stint. Nuno, who was acquired as camp opened this spring, has had more success this year at the highest level of the minors. Over 22 1/3 innings at Norfolk, he owns a 2.82 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
- The Marlins have sent righty Javy Guerra back to Triple-A New Orleans. He was designated for assignment yesterday and cleared waivers since. Guerra, 31, has posted three MLB seasons with at least forty innings of sub-3.00 ERA ball. But the last of those came in 2014 and he has largely struggled in the upper minors ever since. Thus far in 2017, Guerra has scuffled through four MLB appearances and carries a 4.99 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in his 48 2/3 innings at Triple-A.
Paul Janish To Retire, Join Rice University Coaching Staff
Veteran utility infielder Paul Janish has been granted his release from the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate and “has left the club with plans to retire,” reports David Hall of the Virginian Pilot (on Twitter). Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that O’s skipper Buck Showalter confirmed the release, and Kubatko adds that Janish will join the coaching staff at his alma mater, Rice University.
The 34-year-old Janish was a fifth-round selection out of Rice by the Reds back in the 2004 draft. He debuted with the Reds just under four years later, appearing in 38 games as a rookie. While he never fully cemented himself as a regular with the Reds, Janish spent parts of the next four seasons in Cincinnati before joining the Braves for the 2012-13 seasons. He’s appeared in 14 games with the Orioles in each of the past three seasons, including the current campaign.
All told, the light-hitting Janish will wrap up his career as a .212/.280/.284 batter over the life of 473 Major League games and 1305 Major League plate appearances. Despite that lack of offensive production, though, Janish’s superlative glovework allowed him to spend parts of nine seasons in the Majors. Primarily a shortstop, Janish graded out at 21 runs above average, per Defensive Runs Saved, and 17.3 runs above average, per Ultimate Zone Rating. He also logged 140 innings at second base and 262 innings at third base.
Yankees Notes: Chapman, Estrada, Tanaka
Not even a full season into signing a five-year, $86MM contract – a record deal for a reliever – Aroldis Chapman is out as the Yankees’ closer, manager Joe Girardi announced Saturday, per Erik Boland of Newsday (Twitter link). The move isn’t necessarily permanent, however, but a measure to “try and get him right,” said Girardi, who revealed that Chapman reacted well to the news. One of the most dominant relievers of all-time, the 29-year-old flamethower hasn’t been himself this season, as his pedestrian ERA (4.29), plummeting strikeout percentage and falling swinging-strike rate indicate. Chapman’s also amid arguably the worst stretch of his illustrious career, one in which he has yielded two earned runs in three straight appearances for the first time, and made a couple mental errors in the Yankees’ loss to the Red Sox on Friday. Chapman was responsible for a double steal when he neglected to keep tabs on the Red Sox’s runners on first and second base, and he then failed to back up home plate on a two-run single by Jackie Bradley Jr. Those slip-ups led to an animated mound visit from Girardi, who figures to turn to David Robertson and Dellin Betances as his ninth-inning choices while Chapman attempts to overcome his struggles in a different role. (Follow @CloserNews, MLBTR’s sister Twitter site, for more on the Yankees’ late-game configuration and news about all ninth-inning situations around the majors.)
A bit more on the Yankees, who will try to avoid falling six games behind Chris Sale-led Boston for the AL East lead on Saturday:
- It was either the Yankees or the Orioles who claimed right-hander Marco Estrada off waivers from the division-rival Blue Jays earlier this week, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Regardless, Estrada isn’t going anywhere because the Jays were unable to agree to a trade with the claiming team within the 48-hour window.
- Estrada would’ve been a quality reinforcement for the Yankees’ rotation (or Baltimore’s), but the Bombers will get some in-house help on that front. Masahiro Tanaka, on the disabled list since last Saturday with shoulder inflammation, is set to make his return Tuesday against Detroit, Girardi informed reporters (Twitter link via Boland). Rotation mate C.C. Sabathia will come off the 10-day DL and start in Boston tonight. Friday’s starter, rookie Jordan Montgomery, is headed back to Triple-A to make room for Sabathia, the team announced.
Orioles Outright Ruben Tejada
The Orioles announced that infielder Ruben Tejada has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk. Tejada’s removal from the roster clears way for Ryan Flaherty, who has been reinstated from the disabled list, according to the team.
Injuries to Flaherty and J.J. Hardy created an opening for Tejada on Baltimore’s big league roster, but the longtime Mets infielder struggled at the plate through 41 games in an Orioles uniform. In 124 trips to the plate, Tejada batted just .230/.293/.283 with six doubles prior to being outrighted back to Triple-A. Those struggles are similar to the ones Tejada experienced in limited action with the Cardinals and Giants in 2016. His last reasonably productive season came with the 2015 Mets, when he hit .261/.338/.350 in 116 games (407 plate appearances).
The 31-year-old Flaherty has been on the disabled list since late May due to a shoulder strain. He carries a mere .216/.285/.356 batting line in 1261 career plate appearances, though he gives manager Buck Showalter plenty of versatility off the bench. Flaherty has more than 390 innings at each of shortstop, second base and third base under his belt in his career, and he’s also capable of handling corner outfield duties on occasion.
East Notes: Yankees, Mets, Nava, Orioles, De Leon
Both the Yankees and Mets acted rationally with their approaches in trades this summer, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees showed a willingness to deal from the middle range of their considerable prospect depth to avoid luxury taxation, as they did with the Jaime Garcia trade and reportedly tried to do in their pursuits of Jay Bruce and Neil Walker. Sherman writes that the Yankees asked the Mets to eat $2.7MM of the remaining $3.7MM on Bruce’s contract in exchange for two prospects. The Mets clearly didn’t deem the difference between that pair and Ryder Ryan (whom they acquired from the Indians for Bruce) to be sizable enough to eat that cash. While many Mets fans chastise the organization for not spending, Sherman points out that the Mets have taken on salary (Bruce, Addison Reed, Yoenis Cespedes) in recent years. They’ve also already begun spending for 2018, Sherman adds, pointing to the acquisition of AJ Ramos. In that sense, saving money in trades to better stock the team’s offseason war chest could have relatively immediate impact on the team’s fortunes. Of course, it remains to be seen how their offseason plays out.
A bit more from the game’s Eastern divisions…
- The Phillies announced tonight that outfielder Daniel Nava has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a lower back strain. The veteran Nava’s injury is especially noteworthy given the fact that he seemed a logical August trade candidate for the Phils. The 33-year-old switch-hitter hasn’t done much against left-handed pitching this year — he’s always been weaker as a right-handed bat — but he’s clubbed righty pitching at a .347/.427.492 clip through 143 PAs and could’ve been a solid bench addition for a contender. There’s still time for Nava to get back and demonstrate his health to interested parties, but his back injury clearly diminishes the chances of a trade.
- Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes that Orioles GM Dan Duquette has a long history of making August deals — six in the past five years — but opines that there’s not much worth pursuing for the O’s this summer. Baltimore’s greatest need is starting pitching, but the remaining available arms are mostly fringe fifth starters that don’t represent a clear upgrade over the Orioles’ current options. Nonetheless, Connolly states that he does find it likely that Duquette and his staff make some kind of move, noting that the Orioles have “always had a little interest in” Derek Holland and are quite familiar with Miguel Gonzalez — both currently pitching for the rebuilding White Sox. I’d agree with Connolly that neither seems to represent an upgrade, though the O’s could probably acquire either pitcher primarily in exchange for salary relief.
- Rays right-hander Jose De Leon is on the minor league disabled list for the third time this season, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. De Leon, who has previously dealt with forearm/flexor issues, now has tendinitis in his right elbow, per Topkin. It’s been a frustrating first season with the Rays organization for De Leon — a highly touted pitching prospect that was acquired in a straight-up swap that sent Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers. De Leon has appeared in just one big league game with the Rays and has only 38 1/3 minor league innings under his belt, though he’s logged a 3.05 ERA with 44-to-16 K/BB ratio in the minors when healthy.
2017 Opt-Out Clause Update
The last look we took at the handful of players with opt-out clauses following the 2017 season was more than a month ago, and a few of their situations may have changed since that early July check-in. Here’s an update on this group of potential free agents…
[Related: MLBTR Free Agent Power Rankings: August Edition]
Trending Up
- Justin Upton, Tigers ($88.5MM from 2018-21): There have been plenty of suggestions that there’s no way Upton will walk away from that contract, but we’re not really sold on that notion. Upton was terrible in his first three months with the Tigers but is hitting .274/.352/.542 (137 wRC+) with 45 homers dating back to July 1, 2016. Over the past calendar year, he’s hitting .281/.366/.571 (148 wRC+) with 40 homers in 631 PAs. He’s been seven to nine runs above average in left field, per UZR and DRS, as well. Upton will play next year at the age of 30 and needs only to feel he can top Hanley Ramirez‘s guarantee to opt out. Beyond that, he may simply like the idea of moving to a team that isn’t openly trying to pare back its payroll and retool for the future.
- Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees ($67MM from 2018-20): Tanaka’s home-run woes are an unequivocally troubling issue, but his numbers since the summer began are encouraging. Since May 26, Tanaka has a 3.99 ERA with 10.7 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate — good for a 3.12 xFIP and a 3.17 SIERA. The numbers are even better if you look at his past nine starts (3.00 ERA, 65 K, 12 BB, 57 innings). The health concerns are well known. Tanaka had a partial UCL tear in his rookie season but was able to avoid Tommy John, and he’s currently on the DL with what is reportedly some minor shoulder fatigue. The righty has averaged 2.2 HR/9 this year, but he’s also going to be just 29 years old next year. An opt-out looked highly unlikely two months ago but now looks entirely plausible, as long as this latest DL trip proves minor.
- Welington Castillo, Orioles ($7MM player option): Since last check, Castillo has absolutely raked. He’s batted .308/.345/.500 with four homers and three doubles in his past 84 PAs, and his overall batting line it up to .283/.319/.457 (103 wRC+). Castillo’s framing marks have improved from some of the worst in the league to roughly average (per Baseball Prospectus), and he’s halted an incredible 46 percent of stolen-base attempts against him in 2017. He should be able to top a one-year, $7MM deal with ease this winter.
Trending Down
- Greg Holland, Rockies ($15MM player option): Since our last check, Holland has reminded everyone that he is indeed mortal. In his past 11 2/3 frames, he’s coughed up eight runs on a dozen hits and six walks with 14 strikeouts. Six of those runs have come in his past two outings, but as long as that proves to be a blip on the radar, Holland still seems a safe bet to opt out. If he significantly fades in his first year back from Tommy John or lands on the disabled list, though, there’s at least a chance that he takes the option. Assuming he remains healthy, though, Holland will likely look to top Mark Melancon‘s four-year, $62MM deal this winter.
- Johnny Cueto, Giants ($84MM from 2018-21): It’s been almost a month since Cueto last set foot on a Major League mound, as he’s been sidelined with a forearm issue that has significantly clouded his chances of opting out. Reports earlier in the summer suggested that a slow start wasn’t going to deter Cueto from opting out, but a month-long injury scare and an ERA in the upper-4.00s certainly might. Cueto, 32 in February, has a 4.59 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and the second worst ground-ball rate of his career (39.2 percent). FIP, xFIP and SIERA all peg him at 4.41 or worse.
Unchanged Since Last Check
- Matt Wieters, Nationals ($10.5MM player option): Wieters wasn’t hitting in early July, and he’s hitting even less now. His defensive reputation limited him to a two-year, $21MM deal with a player option after year one on the 2016-17 open market, and that was coming off a much better offensive season. Wieters seems extremely likely to take the $10.5MM in 2018.
- Ian Kennedy, Royals ($49MM from 2018-20): Kennedy’s results have improved slightly since the last opt-out update, but it’s hardly enough to make it likely that he’ll opt out of that significant guarantee. Through 120 innings in 2017, Kennedy has averaged 1.65 HR/9, tying a career-worst mark, while both his strikeout and walk rates have gone the wrong direction. He’s also missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury, and he’ll turn 33 this December.
- Wei-Yin Chen, Marlins ($52MM from 2018-20): No change here. Chen has scarcely been able to pitch in 2017 due to a reported partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament. He’s reportedly still aiming for a late comeback, but that won’t be enough to give him the earning power to top his remaining guarantee.
AL Notes: Sale, Hardy, Orioles, Twins
It’s possible the Red Sox will open contract extension talks with superstar left-hander Chris Sale during the upcoming offseason, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Sale has two more option years remaining at a combined $26MM, which is an absolute bargain relative to his production, but Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox should give the 28-year-old a raise in an act of good faith. While Sale certainly belongs in the elite tier of pitchers in terms of salary, the Red Sox may be reluctant to hand out a second David Price-type blockbuster deal that takes a pitcher through his 30s, Cafardo suggests. Ultimately, the Sox may choose to wait another year and then override the 2019 option with an extension if Sale is his typical self next season, notes Cafardo.
More from the American League:
- Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy sees the writing on the wall in Baltimore after it acquired his likely replacement, Tim Beckham, at last month’s non-waiver trade deadline, details Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline. But Hardy, who has been on the disabled list with a broken wrist since June 18, has still served as a mentor to Beckham. Asked if having Beckham around has been awkward, Hardy replied: “To be honest, no. I’m really, really aware of what’s going on around me, maybe to a fault. I’ve seen it. I know what’s going on. There’s really nothing that I can do. You just have to remember the business part of it.” Hardy struggled mightily this season before the injury, and the O’s are sure to decline his $14MM club option for 2018 in favor of a $2MM buyout, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old isn’t ready to retire. “I’m not saying that I’m done playing. I just know what’s going on in this organization,” said Hardy, who has been an Oriole since 2011.
- Unlike Hardy, fellow Orioles shortstop Paul Janish is seemingly on the verge of ending his playing career. Janish is likely to join Rice University’s coaching staff next season, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 (on Twitter). The defensively gifted Janish played at Rice before the Reds chose him in the fifth round of the 2004 draft. The 34-year-old has been with the Baltimore organization since 2015 and has worked almost exclusively at the Triple-A level with the franchise. Janish has only amassed 99 plate appearances with the Orioles, including 28 this year.
- The Twins’ first-year front office heads, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine, continue their organizational shakeup, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (all Twitter links). After firing several scouts last week, Minnesota has now let go of pro scout Greg Orr, who had just joined the team in January, and major league scout Wayne Krivsky. Changes to the Twins’ international scouting department are next on the docket, according to Berardino.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/9/17
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The White Sox have added righty Steve Johnson from the Orioles, per an announcement from the latter organization. Cash considerations are heading back in return. Johnson, 29, becomes the latest pitcher added to the Triple-A roster by the South Siders, who are lining up options for the MLB roster down the stretch. He has 76 major league frames of 4.26 ERA pitching on his ledger, with 10.2 K/9 but also 5.6 BB/9 in that stretch. The free passes have never been quite as much of an issue for Johnson in the minors, though, where he has been excellent at times. Things haven’t gone quite as well this year, though, as Johnson owns a 5.30 ERA in his 37 1/3 frames — though he has still managed more than a strikeout per inning.
AL East Notes: Sabathia, Montgomery, Bridwell, Andriese
There is once again concern surrounding CC Sabathia‘s troublesome right knee, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Pain in that knee forced Sabathia out of last night’s start after three innings, and the 37-year-old said after the game that his knee hasn’t felt this bad in two years, Davidoff continues. Sabathia is headed back to New York to have the knee further evaluated today, and it’s an all-around worrisome scenario for the Yankees, who have quietly received strong production out of Sabathia over the past three months or so. Sabathia has a 2.98 ERA in his past dozen starts (albeit with somewhat lesser peripherals), but he’s now given up four runs in each of his past three trips to the hill. The Yankees have bolstered their rotation with the additions of Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia, but they’ve also lost Michael Pineda to Tommy John surgery and are trying to limit young Jordan Montgomery‘s innings.
More on the division…
- As part of that effort to limit Montgomery’s innings, the Yankees optioned him to Triple-A on Monday. Presumably, if Sabathia were to require a trip to the disabled list, Montgomery would be the first line of defense to step back into the team’s rotation. Via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, manager Joe Girardi recently said that the Yankees have “somewhat of a concern” about the notion of Montgomery exceeding 180 innings, as Montgomery worked a total of 152 innings last year (including the Triple-A playoffs). “We care about all our players, but this is not just a one-year deal for him,” said Girardi. “We envision him being a starter here a long time, and we want to make sure we don’t push him too hard.” Montgomery has thrown 120 2/3 innings this season between the Majors and his lone minor league start of 2017.
- Angels righty Parker Bridwell, who came up through the Orioles‘ system, spoke at length with Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun about the feeling of being designated for assignment earlier this season and his subsequent trade to the Halos. “It was the weirdest three days of my life,” Bridwell explained. “I felt like I was never going to have a job again when I got DFA’d. … I wanted to check my phone every five seconds, but I just put my phone away and let whatever was going to take place take place.” Bridwell’s interview with Encina is a fantastic read, especially for those who follow the trade and waiver circuit closely, as the right-hander provides a great deal of candid insight into the human element that we often take for granted when looking at seemingly minor transactions. Bridwell discusses the process of being traded, the feeling of facing friends in his former organization and the differences between the coaching staffs in Baltimore and Anaheim, and I strongly recommend reading it in full. As for the Angels, they’re undoubtedly thrilled with the decision to acquire Bridwell from Baltimore for cash. In 66 innings this season, he’s posted a 3.00 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 37.7 percent ground-ball rate.
- Rays right-hander Matt Andriese, who has been out since early June with a stress reaction in his right hip, threw an extensive live batting practice session yesterday and is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend, per Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. That’d put him back on track for a return late this month, Mooney notes, assuming no setbacks and a four-start rehab schedule in the minors. Mooney also notes that center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who had a setback earlier this month, will begin a running program Thursday and isn’t expected to be ready until the Rays’ Aug. 18-24 home-stand.