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NL West Notes: Sabean, Padres, Dodgers, Gonzalez

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Earlier today, we learned that the Dodgers are interested in adding a reliever, as well as a bench bat.  The club has already added two right-handed starters this month, acquiring Roberto Hernandez and Kevin Correia. Now, comes word Zack Greinke has skipped his between-starts side session with what manager Don Mattingly called “some soreness and things like that,” reports ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Mark Saxon. The Dodgers, who have lost starters Josh Beckett and Hyun-Jin Ryu to the disabled list, are hopeful Greinke will make his next start Thursday.  Here’s more out of the NL West..

  • Giants GM Brian Sabean said he is skeptical making of any roster additions in August, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.  Heading into tonight’s slate of games, the Giants trail the Dodgers by 3.5 games in the NL West and hold a thin lead on the second Wild Card spot.
  • New Padres GM A.J. Preller has successfully pried veteran executive Don Welke away from the Rangers, two sources tell Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.  The Padres have confirmed the hiring announcing Welke will serve as their vice president of scouting operations.  The Rangers had the right to refuse but chose not to get in Welke’s way of taking a job with San Diego.  Welke, a long-time scout under Pat Gillick in Toronto, was in his eighth season with the Rangers after coming over from the Dodgers.
  • Earlier today, the Padres optioned right-hander Jesse Hahn to Double-A San Antonio as a way to taper his workload, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The 25-year-old has tossed 110 1/3 innings this season between San Diego and San Antonio and is expected to rejoin the parent club when rosters expand in September.
  • The Dodgers are having bullpen problems, but acquiring a quality reliever at this point of the season is downright impossible, writes MLB.com’s Sarah D. Morris.  The Dodgers’ bullpen has been performing below expectations all season long, but losing both Paul Maholm and Chris Perez weakened it even further.
  • Carlos Gonzalez underwent left knee surgery today (his third different operation this year) and says “everything went perfect,” reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post. The rehab, however, is expected to extend into Spring Training as the Rockies outfielder will be in a walking brace for three months and a determination on his status won’t be made for another two months after that.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Gammons’ Latest: Manfred, Stanton, Rockies, Castillo

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Rob Manfred will make a fine commissioner, notes Peter Gammons of Gammonsdaily.com. Among the many reasons are his familiarity with the issues of the game. Those include upcoming PED news, growing dissent between small and large market clubs, and the upcoming legal battle between the Orioles and Nationals over MASN revenues. Gammons concludes that the game would benefit most if the owners put some effort into helping Manfred settle into the job.

  • The Marlins have a seriously bad reputation when it comes to dealing away their stars in fire sales. According to Gammons, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria knows that a big brand can go a long way to improving attendance. With Lebron James back in Cleveland, Giancarlo Stanton is the top name in Miami sports. This is the reason why the Marlins have rebuffed all offers for Stanton.
  • The Rockies are on the hook for a combined $167MM between Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. This trade deadline included rumors that the club would consider dealing one or both of their stars, but their season ending injuries will probably prevent any offseason deals. Gammons notes that the rarefied air in Colorado can make recovery difficult.
  • One talent evaluator compares Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to a center field capable Ron Gant. The Yankees are among the biggest players for Castillo, but they have to contend with a hefty luxury tax penalty. Because Alex Rodriguez will be back on the books, the Yankees will pay a tax in the range of 40% to 50% if they add Castillo. As Gammons notes, a $50MM contract would come with a $20MM to $25MM tax.
  • The league is concerned about two things related to Cuban imports. The defection process is morally troubling, as it supports human trafficking. The other issue is the diet of Cuban players. The stress fractures that have sidelined Jorge Soler and Jose Iglesias could be related to calcium deficiency. According to one insider, his team will be monitoring the “bone structure and diet” of their Cuban acquisitions.

NL Notes: Thornburg, Henderson, Medlen, Phils, Tulo

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The Brewers will go the rest of the way without righties Tyler Thornburg and Jim Henderson, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Thornburg will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection in a bid to avoid surgery on his elbow, while Henderson may need shoulder surgery. Thornburg, 25, tossed 29 2/3 innings before being shut down, while the 31-year-old Henderson (who saved 28 games last season) scuffled through just 11 1/3 frames.

Here’s more out of the National League …

  • Braves hurler Kris Medlen is just two and a half weeks away from beginning to throw again after his second Tommy John surgery, and feels confident that he’ll be back on the hill  “at some point next season,” David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. But it remains to be seen whether he’ll work his way back with Atlanta, as his current $5.8MM salary and status as a two-time TJ patient makes him a non-tender possibility. “I’m a little nervous about it, just because it’s not in my hands,” said Medlen. “… It’s exciting to be able to pick up a ball in a couple of weeks, but I’m not going to lie, the contract stuff and wanting to come back — I mean, that’s somewhat up in the air this time, so it’s a little nerve-racking, but all I can do is get healthy.” In spite of his uncertain future, the 28-year-old righty should draw plenty of interest around the league if the Braves allow him to hit the open market.
  • Were it not for Jonathan Papelbon’s continued presence at the back of the Phillies’ bullpen, young righty Ken Giles would likely have moved into the closer’s role, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. Commenting on the story, Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link) argues that the club should move Papelbon back into a setup role to give Giles an audition as a 9th-inning option and to prevent Papelbon from finishing enough games for his 2016 option to vest at $13MM. While this approach has some facial appeal, I would note that allowing Giles to begin racking up saves now will ultimately raise his price significantly when he ultimately reaches arbitration. (And, of course, there is the question of how to handle Papelbon’s insistence that he continues to close.)
  • Yesterday, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. again discussed his organization’s future, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. Declining to give many specifics, Amaro said that the “biggest plan is to make sure we improve offensively and with our pitching overall,” saying he will look to address those (rather broadly-framed) needs “in a variety of ways.” Sitting 14 games back in the division and 11 out of the wild card, the Phillies are nonetheless not entirely ready to give up hope this year. “Right now, we’re trying to win as many games as possible,” said Amaro. “At the same time, at some point, we’re going to have to start looking to the future. … And at some point, we may be looking more at what we have to do for 2015 as far as what’s going on, on the field. … We’re not quite there yet.”
  • Though Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies continues to play shortstop at a very high level, it is time he considered moving to first base, argues Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post. Tulowitzki’s bat is obviously good enough to make the move — he led the league in all three triple-slash categories (.340/.432/.603) when he suffered his season-ending hip injury — but switching to first would obviously sap a good portion of his immense bottom-line value. On the other hand, of course, it is fair to wonder whether playing the least-demanding spot on the diamond might not only help keep Tulowitzki on the field but might also enable him to hit at a top-end level even further into the six years (and $118MM) left on his contract.

NL West Notes: Preller, Fried, Tulo, Petit

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The latest from MLB.com’s Corey Brock is an outstanding background on A.J. Preller’s rise from a college intern with the Phillies and an unpaid Arizona Fall League worker to the general manager of the Padres. Brock spoke not only with Preller, but with some of his biggest influences, including Rangers GM Jon Daniels, former big league manager Jim Tracy, Rangers senior special assistant Jim Welke and Rangers director of pro scouting Josh Boyd. The article goes in depth on Preller’s love of international scouting and the great lengths to which he went to build the Rangers’ scouting presence in Latin America. Padres fans looking to learn more about their new GM should consider the piece a must-read, but it’s well worth the time of any baseball fan. Tracy, who worked with Preller back in 2001, tells Brock: “The Padres have hired themselves an absolute jewel. No one will outwork him. It’s impossible to do. I find it hard to believe that he will be outsmarted.”

Here’s more from the NL West…

  • On a more somber note for Padres fans, the team announced today that top prospect Max Fried will require Tommy John surgery that will sideline him for most, if not all of the 2015 campaign. Fried, who was drafted seventh overall in 2012, has had a lost season, as he opened the year on the shelf with a flexor strain and only returned to the mound in January. The 20-year-old totaled just 10 2/3 innings of work this season before being shut down. Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus all ranked him inside of the game’s Top 55 prospects heading into the season.
  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News looks at the poor timing of Troy Tulowitzki’s season-ending hip surgery. Martino recalls that just a few weeks ago, one source told him that if the Rockies were ever going to trade their star shortstop, “this is the winter.” Major League sources told Martino that they saw the Mets, Yankees, Cardinals and Red Sox as possible fits for Tulowitzki, but health concerns — which already existed due to his lengthy injury history — will now be magnified and might make it tough to get a strong enough return. Tulo is guaranteed $118MM from 2015-20.
  • With Tim Lincecum again struggling on the mound — he has an 8.39 ERA since the All-Star break — Grant Brisbee of SB Nation’s McCovey Chronicles asks if Lincecum is still a better rotation option than teammate Yusmeiro Petit. Brisbee notes that from a peripheral standpoint, Petit is similar to Lincecum but with markedly better command, making him a potentially safer bet through season’s end. While he notes that the Giants would never bounce Lincecum from the rotation in favor of Petit, doing so might give them a better chance at making a push for the playoffs.

Carlos Gonzalez To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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11:22pm: The Rockies have announced (on Twitter) that Gonzalez will indeed undergo season-ending surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. The operation will be performed by Dr. Tom Hackett next Monday.

8:08pm: Just one day after the news that superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will miss the remainder of the season to undergo hip surgery, the Rockies are now facing the likely loss of their other best player for the remainder of the year. Carlos Gonzalez seems resigned to the fact that his season will end prematurely due to left knee surgery, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post.

Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger tells Groke that Gonzalez has been battling tendinitis in his knee since last season, and an MRI performed yesterday revealed that the injury had worsened in the past few weeks. Manager Walt Weiss, in particular, spoke definitively in regards to his stars’ injuries: “Everyone felt like that might be the case, that we might not have [Tulowitzki and Gonzalez] for the rest of the season, and unfortunately, that’s what it’s gonna be.”

Gonzalez himself didn’t offer a much more optimistic take, telling Groke: “I show up the first game and go 3-for-5 with a home run and I extend a single into a double. And then the next day I feel like I got hit by a bus. … It’s hard to play that way, when you go out there and feel like, ’I can’t move today. I just hope nobody hits the ball where I’m playing right now.'”

Both Tulowitzki and Gonzalez have seen their names pop up in trade rumors over the past month, but the injuries to both serve as a cautionary tale and a reminder to potentially interested parties. Neither player has been able to consistently stay on the field over the past few years. If this is the end of Gonzalez’s 2014 campaign, he will have averaged just 110 games over the past four seasons. Gonzalez has never played in more than 145 games — a total he reached back in 2010 when he finished third in the National League MVP voting.

The soon-to-be 29-year-old signed a seven-year, $80MM contract to be a building block for the Rockies, but the aforementioned 110-game average has come over the first four years of that contract, and he now has just three years remaining on that deal. The heavily backloaded contract still calls for Gonzalez to earn $53MM over the next three seasons — $16MM in 2015, $17MM in 2016 and $20MM in 2017. Those annual salaries are below market value for a full season of a healthy and effective Gonzalez, but they would present a risky investment for a team looking to acquire him via trade.

Overall, Gonzalez has batted .238/.292/.431 with 15 homers as he has battled knee injuries, a tumor in his index finger (which was surgically removed midseason) and a sprained ankle this season.

Tulowitzki To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

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The Rockies received more bad news on the injury front today, as Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets that MVP candidate Troy Tulowitzki will miss the remainder of the season to undergo surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip.

Tulowitzki, 29, has appeared in just 91 games this season but is hitting a hefty .340/.432/.603 with 21 homers in 375 plate appearances and elite shortstop defense. Both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference.com peg him for more than five wins above replacement despite the shortened season. This will mark the third consecutive season with a significant DL stint for Tulowitzki, who has not topped 126 games since the 2011 season and hasn’t topped 150 games since 2009.

Tulowitzki’s name has been at the center of quite a bit of trade buzz as of late, due in large part to repeated comments about his impatience with losing and a desire to see change in the Rockies organization. Rockies owner Dick Monfort has said multiple times that he has no plans entertain the thought of trading his superstar, although there’s been speculation that Tulowitzki could ask for a trade this winter. He has clarified, however, that he doesn’t want to be traded and prefers to win as a member of the Rockies organization.

The Rockies control Tulowitzki through at least the 2020 season, as he is guaranteed $20MM annually from 2015-19 and is guaranteed $14MM in the 2020 season. His contract contains a $15MM club option for 2021 with a $4MM buyout, making for a total of $118MM guaranteed following the completion of this season.

West Notes: Doolittle, Tulo, CarGo, Preller, Rios

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In a guest piece on the blog of ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Insider link), Athletics closer Sean Doolittle offers a look inside some of the less conventional advanced metrics employed by Oakland’s front office. In particular, a unique twist on BABIP (batting average relative to Bip Roberts) seems to have played an important role in the organization’s oft-noted ability to outperform its payroll. (Obviously, the piece is in jest, but it’s a fun read from a player who has had quite an interesting career path.)

Here’s more from the game’s western divisions:

  • The Rockies will soon learn more about the injury situations of their two stars, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, as Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports, as both men are set to visit specialists today. Tulowitzki, battling a strained left hip flexor, may have a hip labrum his issue. If that is the case, there are non-surgical options that might allow him to return to action this year. Meanwhile, Gonzalez is struggling with chronic tendinitis in his left knee. He, too, could conceivably play again in 2014, though some treatments would keep him out until the spring. Needless to say, the lingering (and, potentially, expanding) injury concerns with both players not only create yet more questions about Colorado’s ability to put together a contending roster next year, but could further dampen the possibility of either player being dealt over the offseason.
  • When the Padres hired A.J. Preller to take over as GM, they agreed with the Rangers not to hire away any Texas front office staffers over the next two year, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. Presumably, the Rangers were able to extract this promise in exchange for allowing San Diego to interview and hire away Preller himself before his own contract was up.
  • More on Preller: Miller applauds the Friars for taking a chance on a bold candidate. And on his blog, Jamey Newberg provides some interesting thoughts on Preller, who he calls a “scout’s scout who prefers doing his work behind the scenes.”
  • Though Alex Rios of the Rangers appears to have avoided a significant injury, his continued absence from the lineup means that he is increasingly unlikely to be dealt, writes ESPNDallas.com’s Calvin Watkins. Not only do the Royals now appear to be an unlikely suitor, says Watkins, but other possible landing spots could disappear as the month goes on and playoff races clarify.

Rockies To Sign Josh Roenicke

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The Rockies have signed right-hander Josh Roenicke to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Colorado Springs, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Roenicke is a client of the Legacy Agency.

The 32-year-old Roenicke has spent the 2014 campaign with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate and struggled to a 5.45 ERA with just 4.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. However, prior to this season, he’d pitched at least 16 big league games per season over a span of five years. Most recently, Roenicke (the nephew of Brewers manager Ron Roenicke) pitched 63 innings of 4.35 ERA ball for the Twins in 2013. He fanned 45 batters in that time but also walked a troubling 36 hitters as well.

Command has always been an issue for Roenicke, who actually spent the 2012 season with the Rockies, pitching a career-high 88 innings. He turned in a 3.25 ERA that season and has posted a 3.33 ERA in 105 1/3 career innings with Colorado. Roenicke was once a fairly well-regarded relief prospect with the Reds, who flipped him to the Blue Jays along with Edwin Encarnacion in the Scott Rolen trade.

Injury Notes: Verlander, Machado, Rios, Anderson

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Let’s take a look at a few injury situations from around the game that could have hot stove implications:

  • Tigers starter Justin Verlander lasted only one rough inning today, leaving with right shoulder soreness. The veteran will undergo an MRI tomorrow, reports Chris Iott of MLive.com (Twitter links). “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit nervous,” said Verlander. “I’ve never been through this before.” Indeed, the 31-year-old righty has never been on the disabled list in his excellent career. But there have been signs of trouble this season, as Verlander has worked to an uncharacteristic 4.57 ERA and seen his strikeout numbers plummet (6.6 K/9). Eno Sarris of Fangraphs wrote recently that some indicators suggested Verlander may have been playing hurt, and the hurler confirmed today that the issue “has been lingering for a while,” as John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press reports on Twitter. In the immediate term, Verlander’s situation — combined with a DL stint for Anibal Sanchez — creates significant rotation difficulties for the club, which just dropped out of first in the AL Central. Detroit will call up youngsters Robbie Ray and Buck Farmer (who has just two Double-A appearances to his name) to take upcoming starts, but another addition cannot be ruled out at this point. In the long run, of course, questions continue to pile up regarding the outlook for the Tigers’ remaining $140MM commitment to a player who was once considered by many to be the game’s best pitcher.
  • Orioles third baseman Manny Machado also left early today after twisting his right knee awkwardly at the plate. A severe injury seemed possible based on replays, but the team has expressed hope that it dodged a bullet after initial X-rays did not reveal any ligament damage, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli tweets. But an MRI will be needed for a full assessment, and Machado will have a scan tomorrow morning, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. Machado missed the early portion of the season due to surgery on his left knee. With Baltimore still fending off competitors from atop the AL East, any significant absence for Machado would be a big blow. Though the team could scan the trade market (with all the usual August complications) for a replacement, if it became necessary, the O’s would perhaps be more likely to turn to in-house options such as Ryan Flaherty and Jimmy Paredes.
  • Outfielder Alex Rios of the Rangers received positive news from an MRI on his left ankle, which revealed only a sprain, as Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reports on Twitter. Rios, who has cleared waivers, may be ready to return to action as soon as tomorrow. He could still hold appeal for clubs looking to add a right-handed-hitting, corner outfield bat to the mix, though one possible suitor likely dissipated today when the Royals acquired Josh Willingham.
  • Rockies starter Brett Anderson will undergo surgery to repair a disc in his lower back, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The procedure is expected to come with a five-month recovery period, which would set Anderson on track for Spring Training but will certainly make it difficult for Colorado to justify exercising its $12MM club option over the lefty. While Anderson was strong in limited action this year, and is still just 26 years old, he has not stayed healthy enough to throw over 100 innings since 2010.

Minor Moves: Falu, Mills, Abreu, Kalish, Herrmann

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Brewers have outrighted infielder Irving Falu, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. They claimed him last month from the Padres, who had previously claimed him from Milwaukee, so that the Brewers finally got him through to the minors must represent a small victory. The 31-year-old has hit .289/.342/.333 in 230 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville this season.
  • The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Brad Mills and optioned infielder Ryan Goins to Triple-A Buffalo. The Jays outrighted Mills in late July. He’s posted a 1.81 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 at Triple-A this season.
  • The Mets have released outfielder Bobby Abreu, according to MiLB.com. The 40-year-old was designated for assignment last week after hitting .238/.331/.336 in 142 plate appearances in his first big-league action since 2012.
  • The Cubs have outrighted outfielder Ryan Kalish to Triple-A Iowa, per the team’s transactions page. The 26-year-old was designated for assignment Friday after posting a slash of .242/.303/.330 in 100 plate appearances.
  • The Indians have released right-hander Frank Herrmann from their Triple-A affiliate, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. The 30-year-old, the longest-tenured player in the Cleveland organization, has struggled in 28 relief outings for Columbus to the tune of a 6.37 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 5.8 BB/9 in 29 2/3 innings. Herrmann hasn’t pitched in a MLB contest since 2012 when he recorded a 2.33 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 over 19 1/3 innings (15 games) for the Indians.
  • The White Sox have released right-hander Shawn Hill from Triple-A Charlotte, according to the International League transactions page. The veteran 33-year-old pitched to a 4.81 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 58 innings for the Knights after being acquired in a minor trade with the Blue Jays back in June. Hill last saw the bigs in 2012 with Toronto, and he has a lifetime 4.69 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 242 Major League innings.
  • Jason Pridie has accepted his outright assignment by the Rockies to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. The 30-year-old outfielder, who was designated for assignment Wednesday, had the option to become a free agent since he had been outrighted previously, but chose to remain at Colorado Springs where he has hit .275/.341/.426 in 378 plate appearances.
  • Cotillo also tweets Andy Marte has accepted his outright assignment with the Diamondbacks rather than electing free agency. Marte, who batted .332/.385/.513 at Triple-A this season, will return to Reno in pursuit of the Pacific Coast League batting title, Cotillo adds. Marte was DFA’ed last week and sent outright to Reno last night, but, like Pridie, had been outrighted in the past and had the option to elect free agency.
  • With the Dodgers and Phillies designating Colt Hynes and Sean O’Sullivan, respectively, for assignment today, a total of six players are now in DFA limbo. As can be seen in MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, in addition to Hynes and O’Sullivan, the following players have yet to have their DFA situation resolved: Chris Young (Mets), Ernesto Frieri (Pirates), Nate Schierholtz (Cubs) and Chone Figgins (Dodgers).

Edward Creech and Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

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