Martin Perez Placed On 10-Day DL
8:57pm: For the time being, Perez has been diagnosed only with inflation, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to tweet.
2:26pm: The Rangers announced Monday that left-hander Martin Perez has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to “continued discomfort in his right elbow” and has left the team to travel back to Texas for a more in-depth exam with Dr. Keith Meister. Righty Jose Leclerc was recalled in his place.
While the loss of Perez for the time being thins out the rotation, the silver lining for the organization is likely that the issue is confined to Perez’s non-pitching elbow. That certainly doesn’t preclude an extended absence, particularly given that Perez underwent offseason surgery to repair a fracture in that right elbow and opened the year on the disabled list as a result.
It’s been a nightmarish start to the 2018 campaign for Perez; the 27-year-old lefty has been tattooed for a 9.67 ERA in 22 2/3 innings through five starts while posting a career-worst 4.8 BB/9 rate and watching his fastball velocity drop from 93.1 mph in 2017 to 91.8 mph in 2018. While the injury obviously isn’t in his throwing elbow — Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that Rangers officials say Perez’s left elbow is not a concern — it’s still possible that the discomfort in his right elbow is impacting his mechanics and effectiveness. (Whether it’s related or not, Perez’s release point in 2018 is notably out of line with his career norms, per Brooks Baseball.)
Perez becomes the latest in a long line of Rangers regulars to land on the disabled list, where he’ll join Adrian Beltre, Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus. (Right-hander Doug Fister also missed some time on the DL but was recently activated.) With Perez on the shelf, Texas will utilize Cole Hamels, Mike Minor, Matt Moore, Bartolo Colon and Fister in the starting rotation.
Poll: What Last-Place AL Team Is Likeliest To Turn Its Season Around?
With one day left in April, we’ve already seen a wide gulf emerge within the American League standings. Three clubs (the Red Sox, Yankees, and Astros) are on pace to surpass 105 wins, while six teams are also currently on pace to win fewer than 70 games. By comparison, only six teams in all of baseball failed to surpass the 70-win plateau in 2017.
Obviously, it’s still very early, and there’s plenty of baseball still to be played for these struggling teams. Three teams, however, will head into May in the basement of their respective divisions, and in those cases, a slower start could be much harder to overcome. The Rangers, Royals, and Orioles all faced rather tricky paths to contention even in the best of circumstances, and their poor April records may force them to make some hard decisions about how long they’re willing to go before considering selling pieces at the trade deadline.
Let’s check in on the three last-place teams to see which has the most potential to make April simply a “slow start” en route to a respectable or even a contending season…
Rangers (11-18): With Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, and Rougned Odor all on the disabled list, Texas fans are beginning to have some unpleasant flashbacks to the team’s disastrously injury-plagued 2014 campaign. Still, while the injury bug explains the lack of offensive production, the Rangers’ pitching situation has looked as shaky as it appeared to be heading into the season. Other than the surprise continuation of Bartolo Colon‘s late-career renaissance, it’s been mostly bad news for both the rotation and the bullpen, with Martin Perez, Matt Moore, Matt Bush, Alex Claudio, and Kevin Jepsen all getting off to particularly tough starts.
The team’s big infield trio may not all be back until June, so can the Rangers at least tread water until then? It doesn’t help that the rest of the AL West teams are all at the .500 mark or better, though the Angels (+5), Mariners (-2), and A’s (+3) are all nothing special in terms of run differential. (Of course, Texas is a miserable -39 in that department.) The Rangers will need more arms to step up if they are to turn their season around, plus some internal reinforcements have already come in the form of Delino DeShields and Tony Barnette, who are both back after lengthy DL stints of their own. Top prospect Willie Calhoun could also provide more help for the lineup, though Calhoun is off to a quiet start at Triple-A this year.
Orioles (8-20): The Orioles and Rangers share pretty similar tales of woe. Baltimore has also been hurt by a tough division, a lack of quality starting or relief pitching, plus several key injuries — Zach Britton and Mark Trumbo have yet to play a game, while Jonathan Schoop, Tim Beckham, and Colby Rasmus are all on the DL. Manny Machado‘s individual brilliance has been tempered by a lack of hitting from almost everyone else on roster, with Chris Davis standing out as the single worst position player by fWAR (-0.6) in baseball so far this season.
Dan Duquette unofficially cited Memorial Day as the date when teams begin to evaluate where they really stand in a season, so the O’s therefore have just under a month to get on track. That might be enough time to get at least some of the injured parties back, plus it’ll give time for Alex Cobb to hopefully start rounding into form given that the late-to-sign righty has a 13.11 ERA over his first three starts. On paper, Baltimore has too much hitting talent to be as bad as they are at the plate, so you figure that at least some type of positive correction is in store.
Royals (7-20): The Royals held off on a full-fledged rebuild over the winter, though their decision about whether to try for another playoff run may have been made for them by their lousy April. The Royals entered Sunday’s play with the fewest runs in the majors, as only Mike Moustakas and Jorge Soler were putting up good numbers at the plate, and some quality returns by the starting rotation have been undermined by arguably baseball’s worst bullpen. Even with closer Kelvin Herrera still boasting a perfect 0.00 ERA through 9 2/3 innings, the road to Herrera has been plagued by potholes, as the relief corps is collectively at or near the bottom of the list in just about every major statistic.
One bright side for the Royals? Their competition. The AL Central has been baseball’s worst division through the first month, with the first-place Indians holding just a 14-12 record. As bad as Kansas City has been, the Royals are still just 4.5 games back of the second-place Tigers. Since the White Sox and Tigers are rebuilding and the Twins are struggling to recapture their 2017 form, there is some opportunity for the Royals to regain some ground if they can beat up on their division foes.
Which of the AL’s last-place squads do you think has the best chance of recovering from its shaky April? (Link for app users)
Which Team Has The Best Chance Of Turning Its Season Around?
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Rangers 54% (5,720)
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Orioles 28% (3,000)
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Royals 18% (1,885)
Total votes: 10,605
Rangers Activate Tony Barnette
- A number of other players are already coming off of the DL. The Reds have activated righty David Hernandez and the Mariners have brought back first baseman Ryon Healy. Both were relatively significant offseason acquisitions for their organizations. Meanwhile, the Rays activated infielder Matt Duffy and the Rangers did the same with righty Tony Barnette.
Adrian Beltre Placed On 10-Day DL With Hamstring Strain
TODAY: Beltre is indeed going to the DL, per a club announcement. The team activated righty Doug Fister and called up Ryan Rua.
Those moves required an additional roster spot , which was created by optioning reliever Matt Bush. That’s obviously a disappointing turn of events for Bush, who needs to iron things out after allowing nine walks in his 11 1/3 innings thus far in 2018.
YESTERDAY: The injury-plagued Rangers took yet another hit on Tuesday, as third baseman Adrian Beltre exited the team’s game against the A’s with a strained left hamstring (Twitter link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). A trip to the disabled list seems likely but is not official yet, Grant notes.
Beltre incurred the injury after lacing a would-be double the gap in right-center field, but he pulled up a few steps out of the batter’s box and hobbled into first base (video link via MLB.com). He walked off the field and headed to the clubhouse immediately.
As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details, Beltre seemed dejected after the game and said he’s set for an MRI tomorrow morning. “It’s not feeling great,” he told Rangers reporters. The 39-year-old was partially spiked by former teammate Jonathan Lucroy earlier in the game but made certain to not only tell the media that his injury had nothing to do with that incident but to also take the blame for being poorly positioned: “I was standing right in the middle. It was my fault.”
A trip to the DL for Beltre would put 75 percent of the Rangers’ starting infield on the shelf. Elvis Andrus is likely to miss around eight weeks with a fracture in his right elbow after being hit by a pitch last week, and Rougned Odor is still on the disabled list with a hamstring strain of his own.
[Related: Texas Rangers depth chart]
Texas isn’t without options, of course. First baseman/left fielder Joey Gallo is a natural third baseman and could slide across the diamond, thus opening the door for regular at-bats for well-regarded prospect Ronald Guzman at first base. Renato Nunez was recently claimed off waivers from the A’s and brings a few thousand innings of minor league experience at third base to the table. Wilson speculates that perhaps a DL trip for Beltre could push Gallo to the hot corner and create an opening in left field for top prospect Willie Calhoun; in that scenario, the Rangers would be getting full-time looks at a number of important young options in Gallo, Calhoun, Guzman and Jurickson Profar.
Rangers Activate Delino DeShields
The Rangers activated center fielder Delino DeShields from the DL prior to their game Sunday and sent fellow center fielder Carlos Tocci to the DL with a bruised left hip. This represents a quick return for DeShields, who suffered a broken left hamate bone March 31 and was expected to miss four to six weeks. Neither Tocci, a Rule 5 pick, nor Drew Robinson effectively grabbed the reins in center during DeShields’ absence. Rangers center fielders have hit a league-worst .148/.242/.193 in 100 trips to the plate, 92 of which have come from Robinson and Tocci.
Rangers Release Steve Delabar
The Rangers have released right-hander Steve Delabar from his minor-league contract, per a club announcement. In a corresponding move, the team’s top affiliate has added recently signed righty Yovani Gallardo to its active roster.
Delabar, 34, has not pitched much in recent seasons. He didn’t last long with the Reds in 2016 and only turned in a short stint later that season with Japan’s Hiroshima Carp. Then, he sat out all of 2017 following a PED suspension.
The Rangers gave Delabar another shot in hopes that he might boost the bullpen depth, but obviously were not that optimistic. He had issued five walks in his 5 2/3 innings thus far at Round Rock after handing out ten free passes in nine spring frames.
Rangers Sign Julio Pablo Martinez
APRIL 19: Texas has formally announced the signing.
MARCH 6: The Rangers have agreed to terms with Cuban outfielder Julio Pablo Martinez, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. The touted 21-year-old prospect, who became eligible to sign today, will receive a $2.8MM signing bonus, which will fully deplete the remainder of Texas’ 2017-18 international bonus pool.
Due to his age and lack of professional experience, Martinez was not eligible to sign as a professional. He’ll receive a minor league contract in addition to that $2.8MM bonus and join the Rangers as one of the game’s more touted prospects. Badler notes that Martinez will slot in at No. 60 overall on BA’s updated Top 100 prospect list. That places him two spots behind countryman Luis Robert, who in the final season of the 2012-16 collective bargaining agreement signed with the White Sox for a reported $26MM bonus that came with a 100 percent luxury tax under the previous international signing rules.
The discrepancy between the cost of acquisition for two somewhat comparable prospects is fairly staggering and also underscores the manner in which the latest CBA has restricted clubs from spending on amateur talent. Under the previous agreement, teams could make the tactical decision to exceed their league-allotted bonus pools by more than 15 percent in exchange for a two-year ban from signing international amateurs for anything more than $300K apiece. Many teams, including the Cubs, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Reds, Dodgers and Padres, among others, were willing to make that trade-off in exchange for signing splurges that completely shattered their pools but also provided an immediate talent infusion to their respective prospect pipelines.
Now, the league and union have agreed to a hard cap on international amateurs, and no club is allotted more than $5.75MM at the onset of a given international signing period. While teams can trade for up to an additional 75 percent of their initial pool allotment, the strategy of aggressive spending on the international front is not one that teams can employ anymore — at least not with the previously acceptable levels of vigor. The now-finite level of resources teams can utilize on the international market only makes those funds more coveted — particularly among rebuilding/retooling clubs.
Digression aside, the Rangers will add an athletic young center fielder to their ranks when the deal is finalized. Martinez will become the team’s third-ranked prospect, Badler notes, trailing only Willie Calhoun and Leody Taveras. The left-handed-hitting, left-handed-throwing Martinez hit .333/.469/.498 with six homers, 11 doubles, two triples and 24 steals (in 29 attempts) during his most recent professional effort in Cuba. More impressively, he drew 52 walks that season against just 30 strikeouts in 264 plate appearances. He also appeared in 57 games and tallied 255 plate appearances in the 2017 Can-Am Association — the same independent league that was previously home to big leaguers Chris Colabello, Andrew Albers, Craig Breslow, Steve Delabar and Tim Adleman, among others — where he hit .297/.345/.449 with seven homers and 20 steals.
Badler notes in today’s piece that Martinez’s present level of development should allow him to head to Class-A Advanced or Double-A. He’s also expanded on the talented young outfielder in a pair of prior columns — both of which those looking to learn more about Martinez will want to check out.
Rangers Place Tony Barnette On 10-Day DL
- Rangers reliever Tony Barnette has been placed on the 10-day DL with what the team is calling right shoulder inflammation. His open roster spot will go to outfielder Ryan Rua, who was just optioned down but can come back before the usual ten-day minimum stay since he’s replacing an injured player. Barnette has endured a few minor maladies early in the year and has only appeared in two games thus far.
Profar Enters Concussion Protocol Following Collision
- Jurickson Profar exited Monday night’s game after a rough landing upon being upended by a sliding Mallex Smith at second base and is currently in MLB’s concussion protocol, as Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News writes. Even a short-term absence for Profar would further devastate the Rangers‘ middle infield depth, as both Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus are currently on the shelf. As Fraley points out, Eliezer Alvarez is the only middle infielder in the minors that’s on Texas’ 40-man roster, but he’s primarily a second baseman. Hanser Alberto could see his contract selected if Profar needs to go on the disabled list, though that’d require a corresponding 40-man move. Andrus is the only player who presently stands out as a potential 60-day DL candidate to make that move, but the initial prognosis on him called for a recovery of six to eight weeks. If the Rangers are optimistic that he can return on the shorter end of that window, they won’t want to lock him into a 60-day absence, creating the possibility that they’ll need to designate someone for assignment.
Rangers Acquire Tony Sanchez
The Rangers have acquired backstop Tony Sanchez from the Reds, both teams announced. Cash or a player to be named later will head back in return.
Once a highly-regarded prospect with the Pirates, the 29-year-old Sanchez has settled in as an upper-level depth piece. He’ll head to the Rangers’ top affiliate to take the place of Brett Nicholas, who was recently dealt to the Padres.
Sanchez has just 156 total plate appearances at the MLB level in four seasons of action, over which he carries a .257/.301/.375 batting line. He spent the bulk of 2017 at the Triple-A level with the Angels organization, where he posted a .272/.355/.374 slash with four long balls in 284 trips to the plate.