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Health Notes: Pollock, Smith, E-Rod, Villar, Hughes, Zobrist, AGon, Semien, Werth, Flaherty

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Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock has suffered a new injury while on a rehab assignment, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Pollock, who is working back from a groin strain, is now said to be day-to-day with tightness in his right quad. The severity isn’t yet known, though the presence of another lower-body muscle issue will surely cause the organization to proceed with caution. With the Snakes locked in a surprising and increasingly fascinating battle in the NL West, they will be anxious to get Pollock back, though clearly the long view is required for such an important player with such a checkered injury history.

Let’s check in on a few more injury situations from around the game:

  • The Blue Jays placed righty Joe Smith on the 10-day DL before today’s game, per a club announcement. He is dealing with shoulder inflammation. That’s a big loss for a Toronto club that has made huge strides after a woeful start to the year. Smith has been quite effective while maintaining a heavy workload; through 34 appearances, he carries a 3.41 ERA. More impressively, Smith has nearly doubled last year’s strikeout rate (13.4 K/9) while maintaining a 13.0% swinging-strike rate that dwarfs any of his prior single-season marks.
  • While the Red Sox wait to learn more about the status of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who took a pitch to the ribcage on Sunday, the club has continued to receive good news on lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets, skipper John Farrell says that Rodriguez will face live hitters this week and possibly head out for a rehab assignment thereafter.
  • Things are clearing up for Brewers infielder Jonathan Villar as well, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Villar, who has struggled in the wake of a breakout 2016 season, says that his lower back is feeling so much better that he might be ready for a rehab stint soon. Milwaukee may well need a healthy and more effective Villar if it hopes to continue to outpace the rest of the NL Central.
  • In other forthcoming rehab stints, Twins righty Phil Hughes is scheduled for a start at Triple-A on Wednesday, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. It seems that he has avoided the worst-case scenario after experiencing some symptoms akin to those that led to thoracic outlet surgery. Minnesota is also giving a rehab start to lefty Hector Santiago, who seems likely to avoid a lengthy DL stint for his shoulder issue.
  • Veteran Cubs infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist got some good news, as Jeff Arnold of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. An MRI came back clean, leaving the club hopeful that the veteran will be able to return as soon as Friday. That said, Zobrist acknowledged that he still needs to test out the wrist at full speed, noting that “we’re not going to push it.”
  • Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts provided an update on first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. The veteran has received an epidural to treat his lower back issues, says Roberts, with the organization hopeful that Gonzalez will be able to return sometime around the All-Star break next month.
  • The Athletics will send shortstop Marcus Semien out on a rehab assignment later this week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He has been participating in baseball activities to test his surgically repaired wrist, and it seems the progress is sufficient to allow him to take the next step.
  • Meanwhile, the going is somewhat slow for Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth. As Dan Kolko of MASNsport.com tweets, manager Dusty Baker says that the veteran is still not ready for baseball activities. Instead, he’s still focused on taking care of his bruised left foot.
  • The Orioles don’t appear likely to welcome back infielder Ryan Flaherty any time soon, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. His balky shoulder didn’t respond well to an attempt to ramp up a throwing program, so the team will slow things down. Were it not for the injury, Flaherty would likely have represented part of the plan for dealing with the more recent DL placement of J.J. Hardy.

Injury Notes: Shields, Walker, Harvey, Johnson, Zobrist, Skaggs, Hamels, Cosart, Urias

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The White Sox will activate righty James Shields to make a start on Sunday, as JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago reports (Twitter links). That’ll leave plenty of time for the veteran to show not only that he’s back from a lat strain, but also that he still has some gas left in the tank. Shields, 35, turned in three solid starts to open the year after a terrible 2016 season. Possible trade suitors will be looking to see whether he can manage extended productivity between now and the deadline.

Here’s more on the injury front:

  • Mets second baseman Neil Walker appeared to suffer a left hamstring injury while trying to leg out a bunt single in tonight’s game. The club did not reveal any details in an official announcement, though the team did state that Walker is already slated to undergo an MRI tomorrow. Not coincidentally, perhaps, infielder Gavin Cecchini was removed from the Triple-A Las Vegas lineup, as Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal tweets.
  • There were also some fresh concerns on the pitching side of the equation for the Mets. Matt Harvey was hooked after four innings and 58 pitches, as David Lennon of Newsday reports (Twitter links). He’ll head in for a medical check tomorrow after what he called a “fatigued” outing in which his fastball velocity dropped as low as 87 mph — a level that, per Harvey, he hadn’t visited since he was a freshman in high school. Also, before the game, the Mets placed lefty Josh Smoker on the DL with a left shoulder strain. New York was forced to lean on the reliever for four innings and 81 pitches last night. Righty Rafael Montero will return to the majors in his stead.
  • The Red Sox saw another starter leave with an injury tonight, as southpaw Brian Johnson exited with what the team is calling left shoulder discomfort, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. While all involved expressed hope that the issue wouldn’t turn out to be anything significant, Johnson will be given a full checkup in Boston tomorrow to be sure.
  • The Cubs are weighing a DL move for Ben Zobrist, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. His left wrist isn’t healing up as hoped, so Zobrist will be looked at more closely tomorrow. If he’s not able to suit up, then a DL placement seems likely.
  • There’s some positive news on Angels southpaw Tyler Skaggs. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, the 25-year-old is heading to the team’s spring complex with an eye on making back to the majors by early July. Hell be hoping to finally put an end to the string of injuries that have slowed his promising career. Skaggs is currently working back from an oblique strain.
  • Also now looking toward a return is Rangers lefty Cole Hamels. As Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, Hamels could take a rehab start on Friday — the same day that Tyson Ross is set to make his Rangers debut. That could potentially line Hamels up to return to the majors before month’s end. That’s promising news for a Texas team that is off to a middling start to the season. The Rangers are also likely to welcome back first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Carlos Gomez in the coming days.
  • Things aren’t looking as promising for Padres righty Jarred Cosart. According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, on Twitter, Cosart has been diagnosed with a flexor strain. He’s not yet ready to begin throwing and will partake in some rehab efforts at the club’s spring facility.
  • Finally, the Dodgers are holding their breath as prized young lefty Julio Urias reports to Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a look at his shoulder. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links), soreness in the joint has forced the 20-year-old to the DL at Triple-A. Things haven’t gone as hoped this year for Urias, who showed immense promise in 2016. He largely struggled in five MLB starts and was carrying higher-than-usual walk totals at Triple-A.

NL Notes: Cubs, Mets, Nationals

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Ben Zobrist started the majority of the Cubs’ regular-season games at second base in 2016, but Javier Baez is now in the process of becoming the team’s everyday option at the keystone, writes Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. Baez started all 17 of the Cubs’ playoff games at second last fall and has opened 2017 by lining up there in four of five contests, which has pushed Zobrist into a super-utility role. Manager Joe Maddon isn’t ready to declare Baez the Cubs’ starter at second, largely because of “all the versatility” the team’s position players possess. However, he admitted that “pretty much what you’ve seen to this point, I think, is like a good indicator of what we’re going to be able to do with everybody being healthy.”

More on two other potential National League contenders:

  • Although Travis d’Arnaud is not among the 10 Mets who are scheduled to hit free agency after this season, this is nonetheless a crucial year for the catcher, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Mets will need to allocate a large portion of their offseason spending to positions other than catcher next winter, meaning they’d like to avoid having to upgrade behind the plate. The club eschewed free agent catchers this past winter in order to give d’Arnaud another chance to establish himself as a legitimate starter. That came in spite of the fact that the former top prospect has consistently dealt with injury problems, and he only hit .247/.307/.323 in 276 plate appearances last season. The 28-year-old was quite useful in 2015, though (albeit over only 268 PAs), and still regards himself a long-term piece for the Mets. “Big time,” said d’Arnaud, who’s controllable via arbitration through 2019.
  • Shortstop Trea Turner departed the Nationals’ loss to the Phillies on Saturday with a hamstring issue, but it seems he dodged a major injury. Manager Dusty Baker only expects Turner to miss a couple days, Dan Kolko of MASN was among those to report (Twitter link). That’s the lone good news of the night for the Nationals, who were on the wrong end of a football-like score (17-3) in Philadelphia.
  • Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie got the start for the Nationals on Saturday, his first major league action since 2015, but probably won’t be long for their rotation. Baker stated before the game, via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, that the demoted Joe Ross “will be back.” The skipper also insisted Ross and Guthrie aren’t competing for the fifth spot in the Nats’ rotation. Regardless, Guthrie didn’t exactly make his case for the role. In a nightmarish showing, the 38-year-old yielded 10 earned runs on six hits and four walks over just two-thirds of an inning. Ross will be eligible to return to the majors next week.

NL Central Links: Pirates, Locke, Cozart, Zobrist

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Some items from around the division…

  • The Pirates have said they intend to use Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow and Chad Kuhl as starters when the three young arms are promoted to the majors, though Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that if all three are called up this season, the Bucs may not have enough rotation space.  The Pirates have one starter likely to be shifted out (Juan Nicasio) and Sawchik figures Jon Niese’s recent good form has solidified his starting spot.
  • This could leave Jeff Locke fighting for his job, though Sawchik hears from scouts that Locke has some trade value if the Pirates wanted to address their rotation surplus by making a deal.  The six-year veteran has been a decent back-of-the-rotation arm for the Bucs over the last three seasons, capable of eating innings (a career-high 168 1/3 frames in 2015) and keeping the ball in the park (a career 50.7% grounder rate) while not recording many strikeouts.  This season, however, Locke has not pitched very well, posting a 5.08 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and an even 50.0% grounder rate over 51 1/3 innings.
  • Also from Sawchik’s piece, he opines that Rich Hill would make sense as a trade deadline target for the Pirates.  Of course, given Hill’s strong performance and low cost (roughly $4MM still owed this season), the A’s lefty could be one of the deadline’s most sought-after trade chips.  In Pittsburgh’s case, acquiring Hill could allow them to keep Glasnow or Kuhl in the minors until next season.
  • If the Reds intend to trade Zack Cozart, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer suggests that the club should move the shortstop before the deadline rather than wait until the offseason.  Anything can happen to lower a player’s value if you wait too long to make a trade, Buchanan argues, as the Reds discovered with Aroldis Chapman last year.  Cozart’s value may be at an all-time high since, in addition to his usual excellent defense, he’s been an above-average (104 wRC+) shortstop bat for the last two seasons.
  • At age 35, Ben Zobrist is on pace for the best season of his 11-year career and he has been one of the major reasons for the Cubs’ league-best record, Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times writes.  While it’s only two months into Zobrist’s four-year/$56MM contract, the big investment in a mid-30’s player has thus far worked out spectacularly well for the Cubs.  Zobrist enters today’s play hitting .351/.451/.542 with seven homers and 36 runs scored; his OBP leads all qualified Major League hitters.
  • In NL Central news from earlier today, the Cardinals’ punishment for the Astros computer breach scandal isn’t likely to be issued before June’s amateur draft.

AL East Notes: Anthopoulos, Benintendi, Yankees

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The Dodgers are currently playing a series against the Blue Jays in Toronto, which means that former Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos (currently the Dodgers’ vice president of baseball operations) is back in town. Anthopoulos spoke to reporters, including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, about his time with the Jays organization. Anthopoulos notes that one trade he wonders about not making was for Ben Zobrist, who the Jays evidently were close to acquiring from Oakland last season before he ultimately went to Kansas City. He also looks back on one trade he did make, sending Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud to New York in his famous 2012 deal for R.A. Dickey. Syndergaard, of course, has emerged as a phenom, but Anthopoulos defends the deal from the Blue Jays’ perspective. The team had two sluggers in their primes, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and faced a tough decision about whether to build around them or consider trading them and resetting for the future. The Jays opted for the former. “The thought was three years in a row, and beyond, to be able to get the playoffs and win the World Series,” Anthopoulos says. “The thought was always that it could be what it is today in terms of attendance, TV ratings, fan interest. The belief was there. It was almost like a wick and you needed to light it.” Here’s more from the AL East.

  • The Red Sox could soon consider promoting top outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi from Class A+ Salem to a higher level, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. The seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft has continued his torrid hitting from last season — he’s currently batting a ridiculous .381/.442/.648 for Salem and currently has a .337/.425/.587 line for his minor-league career. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says he has no hard-and-fast criteria for the timings of minor-league promotions, instead treating them on a “case-by-case basis.” Of Benintendi, Dombowski says, “I don’t think it’s worth really speculating, but I could have to say it’s at least a situation that I’m sure will merit attention.”
  • Yankees manager Joe Girardi says Alex Rodriguez’s hamstring strain is a grade “one-plus,” MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. There had been optimism that Rodriguez could return from the DL on May 19, the first day he’s eligible, but that might be unlikely. Carlos Beltran has played DH in Rodriguez’s absence, with Aaron Hicks in right field.
  • Meanwhile, Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia is optimistic he can return from the DL in the minimum amount of time, tweets Hoch. Sabathia was placed on the DL yesterday with a groin strain, but he doesn’t believe it’s severe. Ivan Nova is replacing Sabathia in the Yankees’ rotation.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Cahill, Davis, Judge

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Yesterday, we heard about several Cubs free agent signees who took less money to play in Chicago. Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter) illuminates a few of the teams that missed out. We know the Orioles were in on Dexter Fowler as well as the Nationals and Cardinals interest in Jason Heyward. Ben Zobrist turned down better offers from the Nationals and Mets while Trevor Cahill declined to join the Pirates on a stronger offer. Of course, the details of those hypothetical deals are unknown. For example, the Nationals probably made heavy use of deferred money in their offers, reducing the present day value of their proposals. Heyman also has some contract details for reserve clause signees (on Twitter).

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Pirates offer to Cahill was to pitch as a starter, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. However, rumors of a two-year offer may have been exaggerated. Cahill himself claims to be unaware of any two-year proposals. In my opinion, Cahill was smart to remain in Chicago as a reliever. His skill set plays particularly well out of the bullpen and could set up a strong multi-year offer in free agency next winter.
  • New Athletics outfielder Khris Davis is happy with his new ball club, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The former Brewer saw the writing on the wall when Milwaukee dealt away several veterans in the last calendar year. Davis, originally picked in the 2009 draft, was the second-to-last player from that draft class with the club. The Brewers still have Scooter Gennett penciled in to play second base.
  • When Yankees prospects Aaron Judge and Jorge Mateo homered earlier today, they offered a glimpse of the future, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPN. The pair rank first and second in the Yankees farm system. Judge, 23, has a shot to contribute to the club in 2016 while Mateo, 20,  is a little way off. Judge is a power hitting outfielder who hit 20 home runs in 540 plate appearances last season.  Mateo is a speedy shortstop with 82 stolen bases in 2015 (500 plate appearances).

Details On The Nationals’ Offer To Yoenis Cespedes

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Prior to the Mets’ re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes to a three-year, $75MM contract with an opt-out clause after the first season, the Nationals were viewed as the primary competitor for his services, offering a reported five-year deal with a value said to be around $100MM and an opt-out after two years. A pair of reports from Jon Heyman (Twitter link) and Peter Gammons of the MLB Network (at GammonsDaily.com) now shed some further light on the matter. According to Heyman, the base value of the contract was $110MM, but the deal contained “significant” deferrals. While that info alone makes it difficult to compare the two offers, Gammons adds further context, stating that the $110MM was to be paid out over a 15-year term, and after factoring in the deferred monies, the present-day value of the proposed contract was roughly $77MM.

If that number is indeed accurate, it’s not surprising to see that Cespedes chose a comparable amount over a shorter contract that contained an earlier opt-out date with a team/city with which he was already familiar. Of course, it should also be noted that the present-day value of any multi-year contract is somewhat less than the face value of the deal; the $47.5MM that Cespedes would earn from the Mets if he does not exercise the opt-out clause will be worth less in 2017-18 than it would be in the present day. Nevertheless, the extent of the deferrals in the contract proposed by the Nationals certainly appears to make the Mets’ offer a stronger option, barring further revelations about the pair of proposals.

As Gammons continues, the Nationals had to offer significant deferrals not only to Cespedes, but also to Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist in their respective pursuits, due largely to the structuring of the MASN television contract. Because of the deferred money in their offers to Heyward and Zobrist, neither proposed contract was even close to the overall value that the duo got when ultimately signing with the Cubs. In Heyward’s case, the Cardinals’ offer was also significantly stronger than the reported 10-year, $200MM contract proposed by the Nats, after factoring in deferrals, Gammons notes.

Per Gammons, the structuring of the MASN television rights required the Nats to offer significant deferrals in virtually all of their contract offers this winter. Back in November a New York Supreme Court Judge ruled in favor of the Orioles (the majority owners of MASN), thereby voiding a payment of tens of millions of dollars that had been awarded to the Nationals by an arbitration panel in an effort to settle an ongoing dispute over the allocation of the network’s rights fees. (MLBTR’s Jeff Todd examined the dispute at length at the time of the ruling.) As Gammons notes, the difficulties for the Nationals will continue to linger until the two teams can come to some type of resolution on the matter.

Mets Notes: Murphy, Payroll, Zobrist, O’Day

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Any chance that might’ve existed for a reunion between Daniel Murphy and the Mets evaporated with the news of Murphy’s three-year agreement with the Nationals.  Murphy going to an NL East rival probably stings the Mets, though the club had never expressed too much interest in re-signing the infielder and had already moved on by trading for Neil Walker and signing Asdrubal Cabrera to address middle infield needs.  Because Murphy rejected the Mets’ $15.8MM qualifying offer (an offer that was no certainty to be extended prior to Murphy’s huge postseason), New York now receives a compensatory draft pick between the first and second rounds of next June’s amateur draft.  Here’s some more from Queens…

  • The Mets’ 2016 payroll stands at roughly $106.5MM, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin.  This total includes projected arbitration salaries, estimated $600K salaries for pre-arb players and another $600K for the right-handed hitting outfielder Rubin feels the team will add before Opening Day.  While $106.5MM is low by the standards of a big-market club (especially one in New York), it’s actually slated to be the Mets’ highest Opening Day payroll in five years, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
  • In a follow-up tweet, Rubin feels the payroll could be in the neighborhood of $112MM depending on the backup outfielder and if the Mets acquire a setup man.
  • While the Mets continue to be criticized for their modest spending, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the critics would’ve disappeared had the team been successful in landing Ben Zobrist, who the Mets made a huge push to sign before he opted to join the Cubs.  That said, Sherman wonders if the Mets front office has by this point simply “just learned not to even go to certain areas” in terms of player contracts since it knows that ownership doesn’t have the funds.  Sherman believes, for instance, that Darren O’Day would’ve been an ideal target and could’ve been a huge upgrade for the Mets’ bullpen, yet the club refused to spend at the top of the relief market.
  • In other Mets news from earlier today on MLBTR, the club has ruled out a pursuit of Yoenis Cespedes.  According to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the Mets made Cespedes an offer of two or three years, though no salary figures were discussed.

Mets Deep In Talks On Neil Walker With Pirates

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2:16pm: Then again, Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears a deal is indeed near. (Twitter link.)

2:05pm: Ackert’s source now tells her a deal is “definitely in the works” but is “not close to being done.” (Twitter link.)

2:02pm: The Mets are “closing in” on a deal for Walker, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter).

1:00pm: It appears that the Pirates are targeting starting pitching in any deal for Walker, according to a series of reports.

Jon Niese of the Mets is one name that has come up in talks as a “possible return” for Walker, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He’s owed $9MM for the coming season, which is close to Walker’s expected cost, and can also be controlled via successive $10MM and $11MM options.

As for the Angels, it’s not clear which of several possible players could make the most sense. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times suggests on Twitter that Hector Santiago would make for a “good fit” in Pittsburgh, but I’d have to think the Bucs would need to add to Walker to pry him free. Meanwhile, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes in a tweet that C.J. Wilson could be a part of a trade, though he notes that the Halos would have to add cash for that to line up.

Meanwhile, the Nationals do have interest but it is “nothing serious,” per MLB.com’s Bill Ladson (via Twitter).

11:35am: The Angels are also among the teams with strong interest, according to reports from Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) and Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). The Dodgers also have interest, he adds, though it’s not as significant.

11:22am: The Nationals have joined the Mets with interest in Pirates second baseman Neil Walker, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Both teams heavily pursued Ben Zobrist in free agency and are now apparently looking at backup options.

Notably, the Mets were spurned by Zobrist despite feeling confident that they would get a deal done. And the Nationals joined the Giants in topping the offer that he eventually took with the Cubs, according to a report from James Wagner of the Washington Post. It’s apparent, then, that both clubs had serious interest.

Given that the division rivals were said to be looking at Zobrist primarily as a second baseman, Walker represents a less-versatile, less-accomplished, but younger alternative. The 30-year-old is also a switch hitter, though he’s been far better against righties than lefties. He’s never put up the numbers that Zobrist has at the plate, but does own a strong .272/.338/.431 career batting line.

Walker is quite a different asset from Zobrist, though, as he’s only under team control for one more season. MLBTR projects that he could command $10.7MM through the arbitration process.

Pittsburgh also had talks with the Orioles, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets, but those discussions were ended when they failed to develop any traction.

Latest On Cubs’ Search For Outfielders

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The Cubs are among the teams with interest in free agent outfielder Denard Span, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Chicago is also continuing to pursue Jason Heyward, Heyman adds, as has been reported previously.

Span comes to the free agent market offering the upside of a high-quality regular at a reduced asking price. He’s nearing 32 years of age and, more importantly, has dealt with fairly significant core muscle and back issues.

But Span has been excellent when healthy, slashing a combined .301/.358/.421 over the past two seasons with 42 stolen bases in 943 plate appearances. He could provide a near-term replacement for fellow free agent Dexter Fowler in center.

It’s not immediately clear whether the team has any inclination to add multiple outfielders. Notably, the addition of Ben Zobrist provides another outfield-capable player to the mix.

If Chicago were to add multiple outfielders, that would certainly seem likely to be done in concert with a trade involving one or more of the team’s current players. Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter), Chicago was second in the bidding for Shelby Miller and was willing to send Jorge Soler to Atlanta. That doesn’t mean that Soler is being shopped around, of course, but does suggest that the club feels comfortable parting with him in the right scenario.

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