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Quick Hits: Epstein, Cubs, Hunter, Straily, Japan

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After a 1-6 start to the Cubs’ season, Chicago fans are already pointing fingers in many directions, including criticism of ownership for not greenlighting more offseason spending, or of the team’s desultory pitching performance.  President of baseball operations Theo Epstein, however, told ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers and other reporters that the blame falls with him.  “There is always a search for scapegoats when you get off to a tough start.  [Pitching coach] Tommy Hottovy is not the problem. He’s a big part of the solution,” Epstein said.  “[Owner] Tom Ricketts is not the problem. It’s not a resource issue. I know he’s another one that’s been taking a lot of heat. It’s not a resource problem. If people have a problem with the allocation of resources, then that’s on me. And it has been ever since I got here, with a lot of good and some bad.”

While it’s obviously still early in the season, the Cubs are already facing a big deficit in the NL Central due to the Brewers’ 7-1 start, as Rogers notes.  The Cubs can make up some of that ground in their ongoing series with Milwaukee, plus there’s also really nowhere to go but up after this opening week.  “It’s been real close to, if not, a worst-case scenario for us, defensively and in terms of our pitching….We’re sorry we’re putting our fans through this,” Epstein said.

Some more from around the National League…

  • Phillies reliever Tommy Hunter has been shut down from throwing after receiving a PRP injection in his right arm.  (MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki was among those to report the news.)  Hunter won’t resume throwing for three weeks, so factoring in those days plus the time Hunter would require to get into game readiness after missing much of Spring Training, the veteran righty might not be back in the Philadelphia bullpen until late May or perhaps early June.  A flexor strain sidelined Hunter during the spring, and while the injury wasn’t thought to be overly serious at the time, it will result in a lengthy absence for the 32-year-old.  Hunter was a solid contributor for the Phils last season, posting a 3.80 ERA, 3.40 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 64 relief innings in the first year of a two-year, $18MM contract.
  • The Rangers and Blue Jays were two of the teams that had interest in Dan Straily before the right-hander signed with the Orioles last week, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Both Texas and Toronto are dealing with rotation injuries, though the Rangers had a more immediate need for starting help now that Edinson Volquez has been sidelined with a UCL injury.
  • Japan used to be seen as something of a last resort for players that couldn’t crack the Major Leagues, though as The Athletic’s Peter Gammons writes (subscription required), more and more players are returning from stints in Nippon Professional Baseball capable of thriving at the MLB level.  Colby Lewis, Ryan Vogelsong, Miles Mikolas, and Ryan Brasier are some of the pitchers who revived or kickstarted their careers while playing in Japan, which some players and executives feel is a more conducive environment than Triple-A.  NPB not only offers a higher level of competition, but just competition in general — players are playing to win in pressurized games in front of large crowds, rather than the more developmental nature of the minor leagues.  Plus, players can earn much more in guaranteed NPB deals than in playing for meager minor league salaries or even minimum-level Major League contracts, and the extra security allows more focus on performance.  “I’m not looking over my shoulder after every outing,” said Frank Herrmann, who is in his third season as a star reliever for Rakuten Golden Eagles after tossing 135 1/3 innings for the Indians and Phillies between 2010-16.  “When you are that ’4A guy,’ a bad outing or even an extra-inning game in which you did your job could potentially be a demotion to the minors. That’s a grind mentality.”

AL West Notes: Laureano, Guzman, Heaney

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Every team has regrets about giving up on a player who breaks out elsewhere, though in the Astros’ case, it’s a bit tougher to watch since Ramon Laureano is blossoming for a division rival, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle writes.  Laureano (a 16th-round pick for the Astros in 2014) showed some flashes of potential over his first four pro seasons, though it wasn’t enough to make him part of Houston’s long-term plans, especially considering the organization’s outfield depth.  “We loved him, it wasn’t a lack of affection for him, it was just that we ran out of a lot of opportunity for him,” manager A.J. Hinch said.  Rather than protect Laureano in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, the Astros instead dealt the outfielder to the Athletics in November 2017 for minor league righty Brandon Bailey.

After hitting well for Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate, Laureano got the call to the big leagues last August and hasn’t looked back.  He has become the Athletics’ everyday center fielder thanks to both a potent bat (.284/.344/.469 over 215 career PA) and some excellent defense, including earning the nickname of “Laser Ramon” thanks to his powerful throwing arm.  “I don’t think we quite had the defense rated as well as its played in the big leagues,” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said. “That was an underassessment on our part….We had a feeling (Laureano) was going to be a pretty good big league player, but he’s gotten off to a faster start in his career than we thought.  So, yeah, he’s one that I’d love to have back.”

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • Rangers first baseman Ronald Guzman left today’s game due to hamstring tightness, and MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets that Guzman will receive an MRI to determine the severity of the problem.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News looks at the ripple effect that a potential Guzman IL stint would have on the Texas roster, including whether or not it would lead to top prospect Willie Calhoun receiving a promotion.  Calling up Calhoun, however, would require Joey Gallo to be moved to first base, a move that Rangers manager Chris Woodward said he was hesitant to make, back in Spring Training.  If not Calhoun, the Rangers could promote Patrick Wisdom or Matt Davidson, though Texas would have to clear a 40-man roster spot for Davidson.
  • Elbow problems have delayed Andrew Heaney’s start to the season, and the Angels southpaw was open with his frustration about his continued injury woes in a conversation with Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters.  “I would love to be standing here telling you guys about my first start of the season and not (expletive) talking about injuries.  Trust me. I don’t want to talk to you guys about this (expletive),” Heaney said.  “But I’m trying to be honest, as honest as I can be with what I’m willing to put forth….I would love to scream from the mountaintops everything that’s going on, but it’s not going to help anybody.”  Tommy John surgery kept Heaney out of action for much of the 2016-17 seasons, and he also experienced elbow soreness last spring before receiving a cortisone shot that seemed to solve the problem.  Heaney went on to post a 4.15 ERA over 180 innings for the Angels, apparently putting his injury issues behind him before more soreness resurfaced during this year’s Spring Training.  Once Heaney begins to feel better, it will still be some time before he is able to ramp up in order to rejoin the Halos’ rotation.

Edinson Volquez Facing Retirement Decision

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Rangers right-hander Edinson Volquez will consider retirement if the injury that recently landed him on the IL turns out to be another UCL tear, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).

Volquez underwent Tommy John to repair the UCL in his throwing elbow in August of 2017, returning to big league action for the first time since the injury this season. He started two games before being placed on the IL with an elbow sprain. If the injury turns out to be a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, as feared, Volquez plans to hang up his spikes. Neal reports Volquez saying (on the possibility of a tear): “If it is, I will go home and watch my daughter grow up. No complaints about what I’ve done in baseball.”

Volquez, 35, began his career in Texas before being sent to Cincinnati (with Danny Herrera) for Josh Hamilton. He threw 12 innings over 2 starts for the Royals in the 2015 World Series, including starting the series-clinching game five win over the Mets. He strongest season came as a 24-year-old in Cincinnati when he went 17-9 with a 3.21 ERA over 196 innings. Though that 2008 season may have been the high water mark for Volquez, he nonetheless put together a solid career as well as somewhat of a bounceback in 2014 and 2015, when he put together back-to-back 13-win campaigns for the Pirates and Royals, respectively.

Rangers Place Edinson Volquez On 10-Day IL With Elbow Sprain

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The Rangers announced today that righty Edinson Volquez has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an elbow sprain. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by southpaw Kyle Bird, who had recently been optioned down.

It’s not yet clear how severe the injury is, but it’s an obvious red flag for a pitcher that is only just returning from his second Tommy John surgery. The 35-year-old missed half of 2017 and all of 2018 after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament. He signed a two-year deal with the Rangers last spring in anticipation of providing some solid innings in 2019.

Unfortunately, Volquez has only made it through two rough starts before hitting the shelf. He has struggled to open the year, coughing up eight walks and six earned runs in his 7 2/3 innings. He’s earning $2MM this year.

Bird will boost the pen depth for the time being, but the organization will need to find a replacement starter. Adrian Sampson seems the likeliest option. The team is otherwise light on obvious options, with just two other 40-man hurlers — Ariel Jurado and Joe Palumbo — who have some MLB experience.

Rangers Select Adrian Sampson

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The Rangers have selected the contract of righty Adrian Sampson. Indeed, he was just called in to relieve in tonight’s game.

To create space on the roster, the club announced two additional moves. Southpaw Kyle Bird was optioned to make way on the active roster, while a 40-man spot was procured by shifting injured hurler Yohander Mendez to the 60-day injured list.

Sampson, a 27-year-old righty, has seen minimal MLB time and dealt with some serious arm issues over the past few seasons. He generated nice results last year at Triple-A, but ended up being non-tendered and re-signed to a minors deal by the Texas organization.

Mariners Acquire Connor Sadzeck

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7:30pm: This move has now been announced.

6:37pm: The Mariners have struck a deal with the Rangers to acquire righty Connor Sadzeck, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fellow right-hander Grant Anderson will go to Texas in return.

The intra-division swap arose after Sadzeck was designated for assignment recently. He’s out of options, so he’ll head onto the Seattle 40-man and active rosters.

While Sadzeck is young and controllable, and possesses a live arm, the Rangers elected instead to carry veteran reliever Jeanmar Gomez, untested lefty  Kyle Bird (who has since been optioned), and Rule 5 pick Kyle Dowdy. For all the potential that comes with his big frame and upper-nineties heater, Sadzeck has yet to show he’ll be able to deploy his arsenal effectively at the MLB level and ended up on the chopping block.

The M’s will surely be prepared to live through some more growing pains from the 27-year-old. He surrendered 11 walks while recording seven strikeouts in his first 9 1/3 MLB innings last year and then gave up eight free passes with eleven strikeouts over 8 1/3 frames in camp. But Sadzeck hasn’t been irredeemably wild in the minors. Last year, for instance, he worked to a 4.03 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 38 innings at Triple-A.

As for Anderson, the 21-year-old was plucked in the 21st round of last year’s draft out of McNeese State. He has only a dozen pro innings under his belt, but did impress enough to earn a quick (but brief) promotion to the Class A level. He allowed just four hits and two earned runs while posting a 13:7 K/BB ratio last year.

AL West Notes: Manaea, Ohtani, Sadzeck

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Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea, already reported to be “well ahead of schedule” in his rehab from shoulder surgery, has taken another step forward, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Manaea has begun throwing from 90 feet and has already had multiple throwing sessions from that distance. While the Athletics initially feared that their top starter would miss the entire 2019 season after undergoing surgery late in the 2018 campaign, Manaea is now optimistically targeting a return around the All-Star break. There’s obviously quite a bit that can go wrong between now and then, but the accelerated timeline is a welcome revelation for the A’s and their fans, especially considering the patchwork status of their rotation. Currently, Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson and Marco Estrada are the only established starters on the roster, with right-handers Frankie Montas and Aaron Brooks slated to round out the bunch. Oakland’s starting pitching outlook became a bit more bleak last week when uber-prospect Jesus Luzardo was shut down for four to six weeks due to shoulder concerns.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Shohei Ohtani took on-field batting practice for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, writes Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times. Angels general manager Billy Eppler indicated that Ohtani felt good after his BP session, and there’s no indication that the May timeline the Angels placed on his return as a designated hitter has changed. Ohtani will still need to face live pitching and surely will complete a minor league rehab assignment before jumping back into the fray, but his progress in a return to the batter’s box continues to be encouraging.
  • Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels spoke about the decision to designate flamethrowing right-hander Connor Sadzeck for assignment earlier today (link via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan), acknowledging that it was a difficult decision. Daniels feels there’s a “decent” chance that Sadzeck would be claimed if he’s run through waivers, given that he can reach triple digits with his fastball, but there’s also a chance the Rangers can find a trade partner for the out-of-options righty, per Daniels. “It wasn’t a slight on him,” said Daniels of the DFA. “We felt if we had more time, we probably would have taken it. It’s unfortunate because I really like the kid. He did everything we asked. … He has high-end ability, but where it was, it was inconsistent.” Given the Rangers’ rebuilding status, it’s a bit curious that they wouldn’t find a way to keep a pitcher whose arm seems to genuinely intrigue the organization, but Daniels sounds resigned to the fact that the righty may very well land elsewhere within the next week.

Rangers Select Hunter Pence, Logan Forsythe, Jeanmar Gomez; Designate Connor Sadzeck

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The Rangers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Hunter Pence, infielder Logan Forsythe and right-hander Jeanmar Gomez. The trio of veterans will all be on the Opening Day roster. Right-hander Connor Sadzeck was designated for assignment to clear one spot on the 40-man roster, while fellow righty Luke Farrell was placed on the 60-day injured list to create another. Texas also optioned outfielder Zack Granite to Triple-A and placed lefty Yohander Mendez on the 10-day IL.

Sadzeck, 27, had been in competition for a bullpen job all spring, but the control issues that plagued him in the big leagues continued to manifest during exhibition play. While Sadzeck’s average fastball of 97 mph is undeniably tantalizing, he walked 11 batters in 9 1/3 MLB innings last season and issued another eight free passes through 8 1/3 innings of Cactus League action. In his place, the Rangers will entrust a bullpen spot to Kyle Bird — a 25-year-old lefty acquired as part of the Jurickson Profar trade.

Neither Pence nor Forsythe is expected to hold down an everyday role with the Rangers, though Pence is in the Opening Day lineup as the designated hitter with a lefty opponent on the mound. Pence should see occasional time in the corner outfield and at DH, particularly against lefties, while Forsythe can provide some platoon support for lefty-swinging Rougned Odor at second base. The veteran Forsythe has experience at all four infield positions, so he’ll give rookie manager Chris Woodward plenty of versatility off the bench.

Rangers Release Ben Revere

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The Rangers announced today that they have released veteran outfielder Ben Revere. He had been with the club on a minor-league contract but was not slated to make the MLB roster out of camp.

Revere, 30, topped three hundred plate appearances in the majors every year from 2011 to 2017. But the light-hitting center fielder failed even to appear at the game’s highest level in 2018, managing only a forty-game run at Triple-A in the Angels organization.

There was never a clear opening for Revere in Texas, though perhaps it was possible to imagine a way for him to crack the roster. He received only 22 plate appearances in camp, however, and never gained traction. Presumably, the speedy Revere — he has 211 career steals in the majors — will look for a better opportunity elsewhere.

Rangers Claim Kyle Dowdy From Mets

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The Rangers announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Kyle Dowdy off waivers from the Mets, bringing their 40-man roster count to a total of 38 players. Dowdy was New York’s selection in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, meaning he’ll need to stick on Texas’ big league roster or else be exposed to waivers for a second time. If he clears, he’d need to be offered back to the organization from which he was originally selected: the Indians.

Dowdy, 26, posted unsightly results in a combined 124 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year: a 5.15 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. However, as Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser examined in depth earlier this spring, Dowdy caught the attention of scouts last season after an enormous velocity jump. Once regarded as a “pitchability” right-hander, with a fastball in the upper 80s and low 90s, Dowdy began working out on a weighted-ball program and altered his arm angle during the 2017-18 offseason. A fastball that previously topped out at 94 mph began sitting in the 94-96 range and even scraped 99 mph on radar guns.

The results weren’t there last season in the minors, and it was a similar tale for Dowdy this spring (seven runs on 15 hits and seven walks with seven strikeouts through 11 1/3 innings), but the rebuilding Rangers will at least take a look at the sudden hard-thrower in hopes of refining his newfound velocity.

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