Central Notes: Reyes, R. Rodriguez, Taillon, Senzel
The presence of Rule 5 Draft pick Victor Reyes is somewhat of a strain on the Tigers‘ roster. Evan Woodberry of mlive.com takes an extensive look at the topic, and notes that the speedy outfielder’s most definable job so far this season has been as a pinch runner for the aging Victor Martinez. While injuries mount for Detroit, other players have been forced to shoulder a heavier workload, including Mikie Mahtook, who had to start Wednesday’s game against the Rangers despite being jet-lagged and sleep-deprived. While Reyes certainly has a bright future, Woodberry points out that he’s clearly overmatched by big-league pitching in the present; he’s only managed to collect three soft singles so far this season and has an average exit velocity below 80 MPH. In accordance with the Rule 5 boundaries, Reyes must remain on the Tigers’ 25-man roster for the entirety of the season or be returned to his former club (the Diamondbacks). Few around baseball have any doubt that his future is bright, but rostering him for the entire season could prove a significant burden for a club that’s already going to have a hard time winning baseball games.
Onto some items from the NL Central…
- Travis Sawchik of Fangraphs writes that the Pirates found a winning lottery ticket in the form of recent minor-league free agent Richard Rodriguez. The 28-year-old right-hander has been just about as dominant as a pitcher can be, evidenced by his 15.53 K/9 and microscopic 0.16 FIP on the young season. He’s already been worth half a win above replacement, as Sawchik points out, which is remarkable considering we’re not even halfway through May. Sawchik has plenty of other interesting facts throughout a deep look into RichRod’s dominance, including the whiff rate on his fastball, his first-pitch strike percentage and the way he’s attacking hitters.
- In other Pirates news, right-hander Jameson Taillon exited last night’s start with a finger laceration. According to Adam Berry of MLB.com, Taillon is frustrated at the freak accident and hopes it won’t cost him a start. “It just got worse and worse. It’s tough in the short term to come out of a game, but hopefully by coming out when I did, we’ve kind of mitigated it,” Taillon said. “Hopefully I won’t miss starts down the road.” The budding Pirates ace has had something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde season so far, allowing 15 earned runs in his three losses but permitting just three across his other five starts.
- Nick Senzel‘s vertigo is back, and the Reds prospect has landed on the 7-day DL as a result. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com notes that Senzel hasn’t played since being removed from a May 3rd game after just one plate appearance. Vertigo is a condition that brings on dizziness spells and causes the victim to lose balance. Reds president Dick Williams told reporters recently that the club is “being very cautious” with their top-ranked prospect, and at the moment there isn’t a clear timetable for when he’ll be able to resume playing. The club has been playing Senzel at both second and third base this season in hopes of increasing his versatility and finding him a spot at the big league level.
Rangers Activate Rougned Odor, Designate Renato Nunez
The Rangers have activated second baseman Rougned Odor from the 10-day DL, the club announced. To create an opening, the club has designated infielder/outfielder Renato Nunez for assignment.
Odor has missed much of the still-young season with a hamstring injury. The 24-year-old is still looking to get back on track after a miserable 2017 campaign. It’s promising, at least, that he showed much-improved plate discipline (seven strikeouts and four walks) in his 41 plate appearances, though he wasn’t delivering much of his trademark power.
Clearly, it’s too soon to read much into that brief showing. Odor’s struggles in the on-base department are not new. Even when he swatted 33 home runs with an above-average overall batting output in 2016, he sported a sub-.300 OBP. But he reached base at a piddling .252 rate last year, which left him as one of the league’s least-useful regular hitters despite the fact that he put the ball over the fence thirty times.
Texas has plenty riding on the outcome. He’s owed $43.5MM from 2019 through 2022 (including the buyout on a 2023 option) under the extension he signed before the 2017 seas. Odor only recently turned 24 and the club is not contending at the moment, so there’s ample reason to exercise patience and allow him to continue getting reps.
As for Nunez, also 24, he was claimed last month off waivers from the Athletics. He has received brief MLB time in each of the past three seasons. In total, Nunez carries only a .167/.222/.273 slash in 72 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, though he was productive (.249/.319/.518 with 32 home runs) last year at Triple-A.
Rangers Activate Adrian Beltre
The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve activated Adrian Beltre from the disabled list. Beltre is in the lineup tonight, hitting cleanup and playing his customary third base. Infielder Eliezer Alvarez was optioned to Double-A Frisco to open a roster spot for Beltre’s return from a hamstring strain that sidelined him for roughly two weeks. The injury initially served as cause for greater concern within the organization, as Beltre was reportedly visibly frustrated and was not optimistic after initially sustaining the injury. Beltre was hitting .310/.366/.437 through 101 plate appearances when he laced a would-be double to the gap in right-center field but came up lame and hobbled into first base before exiting a late-April game.
Outrighted: Centeno, Ngoepe, Enns
Let’s run through a few recently-designated players who have cleared waivers and been outrighted:
- Rangers backstop Juan Centeno could have elected free agency but chose instead to take an assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, the club announced. The 28-year-old, a relatively rare left-handed-hitting catcher, has seen action in each of the past six MLB campaigns. He also has not shown much at the plate, with a cumulative .227/.278/.331 batting line.
- Also clearing waivers was Blue Jays infielder Gift Ngoepe. This is the first time he has been outrighted; without significant MLB service time on his record, he had no choice but to head to Buffalo. Not unlike Centeno, Ngoepe is a useful fielder who perhaps will never fully come around with the bat. He had a particularly rough run in limited action this year in Toronto, striking out a dozen times in just 19 plate appearances.
- Finally, the Twins will hang onto reliever Dietrich Enns after he, too, cleared waivers under the same essential circumstances as Ngoepe. Soon to turn 27, Enns is off to a poor start this year at Triple-A, where he has given out 11 free passes to go with 11 strikeouts in twenty innings. If he can get back on track, though, perhaps he’ll eventually present a depth option for the Minnesota organization. In his six prior professional seasons, Enns has never finished with an earned run average of over 2.94. In 136 Triple-A innings, he carries a sparkling 2.25 ERA with a more pedestrian combination of 7.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
Rangers Acquire Emmanuel Clase From Padres
The Rangers have acquired righty Emmanuel Clase from the Padres, per club announcements. He’ll represent the player to be named later from the recent deal that sent catcher Brett Nicholas to San Diego.
Clase, 20, has yet to appear in the present campaign. He has pitched in several different rookie leagues over the past three seasons. In 118 total innings, Clase carries a 3.74 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. (Oddly, he has allowed a whopping 34 unearned runs in addition to the 49 earned runs that have crossed the plate against him in his career.)
As for Nicholas, he has yet to see the majors with San Diego. But he’s certainly making a case for a promotion. In 117 plate appearances at Triple-A, Nicholas carries a .314/.393/.627 slash with eight long balls.
Latest On Matt Harvey
5:40pm: While the Rangers have discussed pursuit of Harvey, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter), the organization won’t trade for him. Indeed, GM Jon Daniels confirmed as much in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan (Twitter link). Of course, it still seems possible the organization could be involved if Harvey reaches the open market.
2:36pm: The Giants have also discussed taking a flyer on Harvey, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. San Francisco learned today that Johnny Cueto will miss the next six to eight weeks, and Madison Bumgarner remains on the disabled list until late May. They’ve been plugging in a struggling Derek Holland in the fifth spot in their rotation, though it’s not clear at all if Harvey would represent an upgrade.
12:51pm: Following one of the most high-profile DFAs in recent memory, the Mets appear to be generating some interest in former ace Matt Harvey. Andy Martino of SNY reports that that the Rangers and Mariners both have some degree of interest in acquiring the righty. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi wrote this morning that Texas’ interest is “mild,” while Martino indicates that Rangers assistant pitching coach Dan Warthen is pushing the organization to roll the dice on Harvey. Warthen was his pitching coach with the Mets prior to 2018.
While Morosi speculates about the possibility of the Orioles and Mets lining up on a deal, Martino hears that the O’s don’t have much in the way of interest. Baltimore did check in on Harvey over the winter, but Martino reports that the Mets circled back to the O’s prior to designating Harvey for assignment and found “little interest” despite the disastrous results of the Baltimore rotation thus far in 2018.
It’s not a huge surprise to see the Rangers connected to Harvey, given not only Warthen’s presence in the organization but also the team’s general approach to adding arms this offseason. The Rangers shopped for volume this winter, stockpiling veteran arms on low-cost deals (in many instances on minor league contracts) in an effort to bolster their organizational depth. Payroll was a factor in Texas’ approach, so it seems unlikely that they’d take on the full chunk of Harvey’s remaining contract — about $4.43MM — but the Mets will almost certainly be willing to include cash in any deal. The alternative, after all, is to release Harvey and simply pay him the money is owed anyway.
As for the Mariners, they’ve endured plenty of rotation struggles of their own. James Paxton‘s 4.19 ERA leads Seattle starters, and their rotation as a whole has pitched to a 5.30 earned run average. There’s likely been some poor fortune at play — both xFIP and SIERA peg Mariners starters at 4.05 as a group — but the bottom-line results have not been encouraging. Erasmo Ramirez just went back on the disabled list as well, prompting the Mariners to move veteran Wade LeBlanc from a long relief role into the fifth starter’s slot.
It seems decidedly unlikely that the Mets would receive much in the way of a significant return for Harvey, whose struggles date back to Opening Day 2017. He’s earning $5.6MM this season, is a free agent in November and has undergone both Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgery — both of which (especially the latter) have contributed to his rapid decline.
Rangers Could Be A Fit For Matt Harvey
- If Harvey does indeed depart New York, it’s possible he’ll find a home in Texas, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes. Rangers pitching coach Dan Warthen previously served in the same role with the Mets, and he formed a good relationship with Harvey during their time together from 2012-17. Warthen is of the belief that he can help fix the struggling Harvey, reports Sullivan, who adds that the Rangers will at least discuss adding the 29-year-old. If Harvey clears waivers and becomes a free agent, it could be worthwhile for Texas to take a low-cost flyer on him, given that its rotation ranks 24th in the majors in ERA (5.15) and 27th in fWAR (0.6).
Rangers Designate Juan Centeno
The Rangers have designated catcher Juan Centeno for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to just-claimed backstop Carlos Perez.
Texas had already cleared a 40-man spot when they claimed Perez, but needed a place on the active roster. The moves, taken together, create an additional opening on the 40-man.
Centeno, a 28-year-old who hits from the left side, has played at the MLB level with five different organizations over the past six years. In 353 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level, he’s a .227/.278/.331 hitter.
Rangers Claim Carlos Perez From Braves
The Rangers announced that they’ve claimed catcher Carlos Perez off waivers from the Braves. Texas has opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring injured shortstop Elvis Andrus from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. That move seemingly carries little impact on Andrus’ timetable for a return from an elbow fracture, as he was widely expected to miss around eight weeks with the injury anyhow. As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets, Andrus can be activated on June 11.
Texas didn’t immediately reveal a corresponding 25-man roster move, as executive VP of communications John Blake indicated that said move will be announced tomorrow. However, it seems unlikely that the Rangers would carry three catchers on the big league roster, and Perez is out of minor league options, so it’s fair to speculate that current backup catcher Juan Centeno‘s spot could be in jeopardy. It’s also possible, of course, that one of Centeno or Robinson Chirinos is dealing with a yet-undisclosed injury and could land on the disabled list, thus prompting the Texas organization to pick up some additional depth behind the dish.
Perez, 27, was traded from the Angels to the Braves on March 31 in the wake of an injury to Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers. He appeared in eight games with the Braves but went just 3-for-21 with a walk and six strikeouts in 22 trips to the plate. That lack of production mirrors Perez’s meager output from a near-identical sample of 21 plate appearances in 2017 with the Halos. Overall, he’s hit just .122/.163/.195 over the past two seasons and .221/.264/.325 in a total of 617 big league plate appearances.
Of course, Perez’s calling card is his glovework behind the dish. The Venezuelan-born backstop has successfully halted 38 percent of stolen-base attempts against him at the big league level and has drawn generally positive marks for both his pitch-framing and pitch-blocking skills, per Baseball Prospectus.
It’s been an ugly start to the season for the season for the 28-year-old Centeno, which only makes it easier to speculate on his potential dismissal. He’s posted a tepid .147/.171/.176 slash in 35 plate appearances as the backup to Chirinos, and while he’s yet to have an opponent attempt a steal against him, Centeno has just a 13 percent caught-stealing rate as a Major League catcher.
Rangers Notes: Calhoun, Daniels, Martin
The Rangers are not totally buried in the American League postseason hunt, but have already fallen eight games back of the division-leading Astros. Particularly with a variety of notable players on the DL, it’s increasingly difficult to see the Rangers contending in 2018. Here’s the latest from Texas:
- Some Rangers fans are displeased with the fact that top prospect Willie Calhoun is plying his trade at Round Rock rather than with the Rangers. GM Jon Daniels bristled at the notion that Calhoun was being held down due to service-time considerations, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Rather, says Daniels, Calhoun is still at Triple-A because “he’s still working on his defense.” It probably does not help that Calhoun isn’t off to the best start at the plate, though nobody doubts his bat is ready for the majors. Daniels says he’s “really encouraged” by what he has heard about Calhoun’s defensive work thus far, but indicated that it will need to get up to snuff before the call is made.
- More broadly, Daniels certainly sounds like a man who’s well aware of the uphill climb facing his team this year. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports, the team’s top baseball exec acknowledges that “injuries have certainly eroded what depth there was.” That’s obviously sub-optimal, but he does say there are still benefits to the situation. “The upside is that a lot of guys are getting valuable experience they wouldn’t otherwise get,” Daniels said. “That doesn’t do a whole lot for the fans who want to see immediate returns, but long-term we’re going to benefit from experiences [young players] are getting.”
- The Rangers have placed righty Chris Martin on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He’s dealing with irritation in his right forearm. Fellow right-hander Nick Gardewine will take his spot on the active roster. That represents another blow to the team’s MLB roster. Though Martin owns a 5.14 ERA on the year, that’s due mostly to the disastrous recent outing that came in advance of the DL placement. Otherwise, he has generally been effective, carrying a solid combination of 8.4 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 while showing a mid-nineties fastball.