Giants To Place Derek Law On DL
In what could be a major blow to their bullpen, the Giants will place right-hander Derek Law on the disabled list with a strained right elbow, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link). The club will recall outfielder Jarrett Parker from Triple-A Sacramento to take Law’s roster spot, tweets Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area.
[RELATED: Updated Giants Depth Chart]
Law, 25, has enjoyed a tremendous rookie season until now, having recorded a 1.94 ERA, 8.29 K/9, 1.59 BB/9 and 50 percent ground-ball rate in 51 innings. Not only is his loss troubling from a baseball standpoint, then, but the injury itself is also reason for worry because Law underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014. He has also experienced a dip in velocity, which the Giants’ staff is concerned about, per Baggarly (Twitter link).
Regardless of whether Law’s out for two weeks or far longer, his absence should negatively affect the free-falling Giants, who have gone 13-26 since the All-Star break and hold a 1 1/2-game lead in the National League wild-card race. Despite Law’s stellar production, San Francisco’s bullpen only ranks toward the middle of the pack in both ERA and K/BB ratio. Now, without their best reliever, the Giants will have to get by with a group led by Santiago Casilla, Hunter Strickland, Sergio Romo and trade deadline acquisition Will Smith.
Quick Hits: Hill, BoSox, Bucs, Braves, Giants, Dodgers
Before he joined Oakland on a one-year, $6MM deal last November, the Red Sox tried to re-sign left-hander Rich Hill as a reliever, while the Pirates made a similar offer to the A’s and wanted him to start, reports Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com. Hill, who revived his career with four great starts as a member of the Red Sox last September, has carried his success into this year. Despite dealing with multiple injuries, the 36-year-old has put up a sterling 2.09 ERA, 10.21 K/9, 3.07 BB/9, 49.5 percent ground-ball rate and 15.7 percent infield fly rate in 82 innings. The A’s dealt him and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Dodgers on Aug. 1, thereby turning a cheap investment into three well-regarded prospects.
More from around the majors:
- The Braves are unsure if they’ll promote high-end infield prospect Ozzie Albies when rosters expand next month, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Atlanta already called up shortstop Dansby Swanson, who figures to be half of a long-term double-play tandem with Albies, but he’s three years older than Albies, notes Bowman. The 19-year-old Albies, whom Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN’s Keith Law all regard as a top 20 prospect, hit an excellent .322/.394/.446 in 325 Double-A plate appearances this year, but he hasn’t been as effective at the Triple-A level (.248/.307/.351 in 247 PAs). Albies has combined for 27 stolen bases, though, and has posted similar strikeout and walk rates at each level.
- Right-hander Jake Peavy was supposed to return to the Giants’ rotation Saturday to fill in for the injured Matt Cain, but he instead ended up on the 15-day disabled list because of a lower back strain (via Justin Wise of MLB.com). “He can’t pitch with the way his back is. Jake was excited to get back into starting, so it’s a bad break for him,” said manager Bruce Bochy, who turned to Albert Suarez to start in place of his two hurt veterans. Suarez threw 4 1/3 innings of three-run ball in a 3-1 loss to the Braves. Peavy, whom hitters have teed off on in eight relief innings (.351/.368/.568), has recorded a 5.47 ERA, 7.47 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 108 2/3 frames as a starter this year.
- Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke will undergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist next Thursday, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Van Slyke’s wrist has bothered him since last summer, notes Gurnick, and the 30-year-old batted a meek .225/.292/.314 with one home run in 113 plate appearances this season. From 2013-15, he slashed an impressive .261/.349/.455 with 24 homers in 651 PAs.
Giants Notes: Bochy, Pence, Nathan
It’s been more than a year since Giants skipper Bruce Bochy inked a three-year contract extension with the team, but Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports now reports that the contract earned Bochy a record-setting $6MM annual value. The contract runs from 2017-19 — Bochy was already under contract through 2016 when he signed the deal — and pays Bochy an even $6MM in each of those season. Angels manager Mike Scioscia has the record for the largest contract ever by a manager (10 years, $50MM), and Cubs skipper Joe Maddon’s overall deal is larger than Bochy’s as well (five years, $25MM). Both fall shy of Bochy in terms of AAV, however. The three-time World Series winner and future Hall of Famer has a career record of 820-765 with the Giants and an overall record of 1771-1740 as a Major League manager.
A couple more notes on the Giants…
- Hunter Pence was lifted from last night’s game after experiencing tightness in his surgically repaired right hamstring, per multiple reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. Per Pavlovic, Pence first felt the tightness on Wednesday and it worsened into Thursday’s contest — a near-no-hitter for newly acquired Matt Moore. The Giants have him listed day-to-day at this point, but certainly that’s an ominous ailment for a player that missed more than six weeks due to hamstring surgery earlier this summer.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that it’s going to be tough for the recently signed Joe Nathan to earn a September call-up with the Giants (Twitter link). San Francisco already has a full 40-man roster, he points out, and they’ll need to add a third catcher to the mix as well. The Giants aren’t keen on designating any of their prospects for assignment, he notes, even those that are on the fringes of the 40-man. Nathan has tossed three shutout innings for San Francisco’s Double-A affiliate since signing a minor league deal and tossed a pair of scoreless innings for the Cubs earlier this summer before being designated for assignment and subsequently released.
NL West Notes: Kershaw, Blanco, Rockies
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw tossed a 40-pitch bullpen session today and is slated to throw a 60-pitch simulated game against live hitters later this week, writes J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. News Group. There was talk of Kershaw making a pair of rehab starts, manager Dave Roberts tells Hoornstra, but that number has been dropped to one. Kershaw could head out on a minor league rehab assignment in the next week or two, Hoornstra writes. Kershaw himself said that he felt comfortable between simulated innings — a positive step from where he was prior to his placement on the DL. Hoornstra’s piece includes a series of video clips of Kershaw discussing his health and rehab, for those who wish to hear a first-hand account of his progress.
More from the NL West…
- The Giants announced today that outfielder Gregor Blanco has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to an impingement in his right shoulder. Blanco tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he initially injured his shoulder all the way back in May, but it’s become so painful that it’s even impacting his ability to run (links to Twitter). The second half of the season has been a tremendous struggle for Blanco, who is hitting just .130/.203/.148 in 59 plate appearances since the All-Star break.
- In his latest Rockies mailbag, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post addresses the reasons behind the Rockies’ decision to hang onto trade candidates Boone Logan and Jorge De La Rosa. There was plenty of interest in Logan, per Saunders, but GM Jeff Bridich elected to hold onto the southpaw because the Rockies were still within arm’s reach of the playoffs and were playing quite well. Saunders adds that he heard very little in the way of interest in De La Rosa, who has performed admirably since returning to the rotation earlier this summer. The 35-year-old De La Rosa has a 3.56 ERA over his past 13 starts (78 1/3 innings) and, like Logan, is a free agent at season’s end. Both left-handers are logical trade candidates over the final eight days of the month, now that the Rockies are out of the playoff picture.
Brian Sabean: Giants Have Discussed Adding Carlos Gomez
The Giants have had internal discussions about pursuing newly-minted free agent outfielder Carlos Gomez, president of baseball operations Brian Sabean tells Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News. Sabean ultimately says he’s not sure whether San Francisco will put in an offer, but made clear that Gomez is “in play” as a target. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted earlier that the Giants were a possible landing spot, though Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News notes on Twitter that the club is still “unconvinced” that Gomez would make for a useful acquisition.
Adding an outfielder doesn’t seem like a necessity for the Giants, who have numerous options on their depth chart. On the other hand, some cracks are showing as the club fades in the standings. Though Angel Pagan has found the fountain of youth, Hunter Pence has struggled since returning from the DL, Denard Span hasn’t hit as much as hoped, and Gregor Blanco is well off of his recent productivity. Kelby Tomlinson provides another option, and youngsters Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson have both shown promise, but the overall unit has lacked punch of late and Williamson is shelved with a shoulder issue.
That’s a fairly crowded mix, and Gomez wouldn’t offer a clear upgrade given the recent struggles that led to his release by the Astros. It’s certainly possible to imagine him sharing time in center with Span, though, as Gomez remains a useful up-the-middle defender despite his offensive fall-off. Plus, he won’t cost anything beyond the league minimum and the impending roster expansion would largely alleviate any pressures in that regard (apart from clearing a 40-man spot).
Whether or not Gomez is a viable option seemingly depends upon his own motivations as much as those of the Giants. Sabean noted that the team needs to know whether the veteran would be willing to possibly accept a part-time role. Presumably, San Francisco isn’t interested in promising regular playing time to a player who carries a sub-.600 OPS in his age-30 season. Still though, Gomez’s lofty established ceiling remains a tantalizing prospect for teams that may think they can help him find his groove.
Injury Notes: McCullers, Cain, Gray, Ross, Soto
The Astros still don’t know whether they can expect top young righty Lance McCullers Jr. to return this season from his elbow woes, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports on Twitter. “We won’t know until he gets evaluated in a week,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “It’s all guess work at this point.” After climbing back from a rough start to the year, Houston now sits just one game over .500 and is in danger of falling out of contention. The 22-year-old McCullers owns a 3.22 ERA — matching his results from a season ago — and is sorely missed.
Here are some more notable pieces of information on the injury front:
- Giants righty Matt Cain is headed to the DL with a lower back strain, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. San Francisco activated righty Cory Gearrin from his own DL stint in a concurrent move, which does at least bolster the pen. It seems possible that veteran righty Jake Peavy could slide back into the rotation in place of Cain, who hasn’t completed six innings in a start since May 21st and was tagged for 11 earned runs over his last two outings.
- While it’s still far from a sure thing, the Athletics may yet welcome back righty Sonny Gray this year, manager Bob Melvin said yesterday. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, the 26-year-old staff ace is beginning plyometric workouts and is feeling better. He recently hit the disabled list with a forearm strain and has struggled all year long, compiling an uncharacteristic 5.74 ERA in 116 innings of work.
- Tyson Ross has made it through a 30-pitch live BP session with added pen work, giving some hope that he’ll return for the Padres late this year, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Still, the veteran righty will need to throw another such session before a rehab stint can be considered as he tries to return from shoulder troubles. With just one outing on his record for the season, Ross won’t command much if any raise on his $9.625MM arbitration salary in his final year of eligibility, but it will surely be difficult for the Pads to trade him over the winter if he can’t return to full health by the end of the year. Ross may yet feature as a spring or mid-season trade candidate next season, as he’ll qualify for free agency after the 2017 campaign.
- The Angels placed catcher Geovany Soto on the 15-day DL with knee inflammation, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Soto had appeared to be a plausible August trade candidate, but his knee surgery earlier this year seems to have lingered. The 33-year-old carries a useful .269/.321/.487 slash on the year, though he has compiled that in only 86 plate appearances. He is set to return to the open market at season’s end.
Giants, Joe Nathan Agree To Minor League Deal
Right-hander Joe Nathan last donned a Giants uniform in 2003, but it looks like he’ll have the chance to do so again in the near future, as Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that Nathan is set to sign a minor league pact with San Francisco (Twitter link). The deal is still pending a physical, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Originally selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 1995 draft, Nathan broke into the Majors with the Giants in 1999 and settled in as a strong late-inning relief option with a breakout season in 2003. That campaign preceded a trade that sent Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser to the Twins in exchange for A.J. Pierzynski, after which Nathan went on to establish himself as one of the most successful closers in recent history. At 41 years of age and with a recent Tommy John surgery under his belt, Nathan is no lock to perform like he did in his peak years with the Twins and Rangers, but he looked solid during a brief stint with the Cubs in 2016 and will give manager Bruce Bochy some much-needed depth in his bullpen, either later this month or perhaps when rosters expand in September. Schulman tweets that the Giants may not wait until Sept. 1 to bring Nathan up if he is throwing well.
Current closer Santiago Casilla has had some struggles since the All-Star break, most recently blowing a two-run lead against the Orioles by serving up a three-run homer to Jonathan Schoop over the weekend. Nathan could eventually join Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, Sergio Romo and George Kontos as another right-handed option for Bochy to deploy in the final weeks of a playoff push. The six-time All-Star allowed four runs on three hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings on a minor league rehab assignment earlier this summer and fired a pair of scoreless innings for the Cubs (two hits, two walks, four strikeouts) before being designated for assignment and subsequently released.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Veteran outfielder Chris Denorfia has been released from his minor league contract with the Giants, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Denorfia, 36, signed with San Francisco back in early June and batted .269/.329/.408 in 143 plate appearances across two levels (most of the time spent in Triple-A) before his release. He’s a veteran of 10 big league seasons and is a career .272/.330/.392 hitter at the Major League level.
- The Dodgers released infielder/outfielder Zach Walters following his DFA on Sunday, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group (Twitter link). Walters received just five big league plate appearances with the Dodgers this season but slashed a respectable .276/.326/.444 in 366 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Walters has plenty of pop, as evidenced by his 10 big league homers in just 181 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out in 36 percent of his trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer. Still, as a player with power and experience at shortstop, second base, third base and in the outfield, the 26-year-old switch-hitter figures to draw interest elsewhere.
- Right-hander Jeff Ferrell, who was designated for assignment by the Tigers last week, was released by Detroit yesterday, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. The 25-year-old entered the season as Detroit’s No. 21 prospect, per Baseball America, but he hasn’t pitched since May due to injury. Last season, Ferrell notched a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.
- Outfielder Darin Mastroianni has signed a minor league contract with the Rangers, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Mastroianni, 30, had a nice season as a fourth outfielder for the Twins back in 2012 but battled an ankle injury the following season and ultimately was designated for assignment in 2014. He’s bounced around the league on a number of waiver claims minor league deals since that time, making brief MLB appearances with the Blue Jays and with the Twins (in a second stint). The fleet-footed Mastroianni is a career .271/.341/.349 with 87 steals in 108 tries across 369 games.
- The Marlins released infielder Pedro Ciriaco, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Miami acquired Ciriaco from the Rangers back on July 8 in exchange for lefty Eric Jokisch (who had been designated for assignment), but he hit just .221/.239/.250 in 68 plate appearances with Triple-A New Orleans. The versatile 30-year-old has plenty of big league experience under his belt, having compiled a .268/.294/.368 slash in 649 plate appearances across 272 Major League games from 2010-15.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/14/16
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Diamondbacks have released 2014 third-round outfielder Matt Railey, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Railey batted just .136/.246/.136 without an extra-base hit in 169 A-ball plate appearances this year before his release. In his time with the D-backs organization, Railey hit .205/.324/.311 in 225 PAs. He also served a 50-game suspension last year after testing positive for an amphetamine.
- Twins left-hander Andrew Albers has cleared waivers after his Friday designation for assignment and been optioned to Triple-A Rochester, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Albers has already thrown 112 2/3 innings this year in Rochester, where he has compiled a 3.51 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. All six frames Albers has tossed for the Twins this season came in relief Thursday, when he yielded three earned runs on 11 hits in a blowout loss to Houston.
- The Dodgers have released catcher Spencer Navin, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Navin had been a member of the organization since it selected him in the 11th round of the 2013 draft. The 24-year-old hasn’t yet gotten past the High-A level and owns a .214/.324/.282 batting line in 524 plate appearances across all levels.
- The Giants have signed right-hander Connor Overton to a minor league contract. Overton previously spent time in the minors with the Marlins, who chose him in the 15th round of the 2014 draft, and the Nationals. Overton wasn’t particularly successful with either organization, though, as he posted a combined 6.19 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 across 52 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old opened 2016 with Sioux City of the American Association, an independent league, and threw 36 2/3 frames and recorded a 1.96 ERA, 11.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, leading to his deal with the Giants.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Girardi, Fox
The Yankees‘ aggressive approach to their rebuild contrasts with the path the Red Sox once took, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. This summer, the Yankees have traded veterans and acquired prospects in return, even a number of prospects who aren’t nearly ready for the big leagues. The Red Sox were in a similar position two years ago but took a different approach, dealing Jon Lester for Yoenis Cespedes (who they then sent to the Tigers for Rick Porcello) and John Lackey for veterans Allen Craig and Joe Kelly. (They did deal Andrew Miller for a prospect, Eduardo Rodriguez.) Of course, the Red Sox had a stronger core of young talent than the Yankees did at the time of each team’s series of trades — the Sox’ recent resurgence is due in large part to young talents like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley who were already in their system. Here’s more from the AL East.
- Joe Girardi’s experience with the 2006 Marlins will be helpful in dealing with the Yankees’ increasingly young roster, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Girardi won the NL Manager of the Year award in ’06 for his work with very young players like Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson, Dontrelle Willis, Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hermida. The Yankees recently jettisoned a series of veterans and now have youngsters like Tyler Austin, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino and Luis Cessa on their roster, and they’ll likely add more young talents, such as Clint Frazier, over the next year or so. (Austin and Judge, by the way, each homered in their first big-league plate appearances today.) Girardi says he doesn’t mind having so many young players on the roster together. “For young players, I think it is probably easier to do it in a group,” he says. “Many times they have been through struggles together before in the minors. More important, when one young player struggles in the majors, he can feel alone and singled out among veterans.”
- The Rays and Giants have resolved their issue concerning infield prospect Lucius Fox‘s injury status, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The Rays acquired Fox two weeks ago in the Matt Moore deal, but Fox ended up having a bone bruise in his foot that would cost him the rest of the minor league season. The Rays had initially hoped to receive additional compensation from the Giants as a result, but the two sides have now agreed that the Rays will not receive such compensation, since Fox’s foot issue had not yet been determined to be an injury.