Rangers Outright R.J. Alvarez
The Rangers announced this afternoon that right-hander R.J. Alvarez has been assigned outright to the minor leagues. Texas just claimed Alvarez off waivers from the Cubs over the weekend, though it now looks as though Alvarez was claimed with the intent of the Rangers trying to sneak him through outright waivers themselves. Texas succeeded and will therefore be able to retain Alvarez for the time being without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.
The 25-year-old Alvarez was once a well-regarded prospect within the Angels’ farm system and has been included in a pair of high-profile trades — going from the Halos to the Padres in the Huston Street deal and going from San Diego to Oakland in the Derek Norris swap. The Cubs picked him up off waivers earlier this season, but he struggled considerably with Chicago’s Double-A affiliate in Tennessee.
In 27 innings split between Triple-A, Double-A and Class-A Advanced this season, Alvarez has a 7.00 ERA, and while the 35 strikeouts he’s racked up in that time are impressive, they also come with a dozen walks, a pair of hit batters and six wild pitches. Those troubles are reflective of the control issues that have plagued Alvarez throughout his minor league career, as he’s averaged 5.8 walks per nine innings pitched since being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft (by the Angels). Alvarez’s brief time in the Majors hasn’t gone any better, as he’s posted a 7.39 ERA in 28 big league innings, again showing a penchant for missing bats (32 strikeouts) but a susceptibility to bases on balls (18 walks).
Rangers Activate Colby Lewis, Designate Michael Roth
The Rangers have activated right-hander Colby Lewis from the 60-day disabled list and designated left-hander Michael Roth in a corresponding move, according to the team’s executive vice president of communications, John Blake.
Lewis, out since late June with a lat strain, was highly effective for the Rangers during the season’s first two-plus months. The 37-year-old registered a 3.21 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 1.74 BB/9 in 98 innings for a club that had been without ace Yu Darvish for a significant portion of time. Lewis, who will start Sunday against the Angels, will now join Darvish and Cole Hamels atop the Rangers’ rotation as the team moves toward clinching the American League West. At 85-58, Texas holds a 9 1/2-game lead in its division and owns the best record in the AL.
Roth, 26, has spent the vast majority of this year as a member of the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, Round Rock, with which he logged an impressive 2.97 ERA over 145 1/3 innings. He has thrown 3 2/3 frames with Texas this year, giving him a career 38 major league innings with the Rangers, Angels and Indians. The 2012 ninth-round pick has recorded an 8.50 ERA, 7.25 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over that limited sample size.
Rosenthal On Astros, Rangers, Nova, CBA
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports.
- Some members of the Astros are frustrated that the team didn’t deal for a top starter at the August 1 trade deadline, but GM Jeff Luhnow says the team ultimately didn’t make a big acquisition because teams were requesting big hauls in return, including players already contributing at the big-league level. Rosenthal notes that the Astros had previously had a surplus of starters, leading them to deal Dan Straily and then, months later, Scott Feldman for minimal returns (or perhaps seemingly minimal returns, since it’s way too early to get a clear read on Lupe Chavez, the very young pitcher the Astros got from the Blue Jays for Feldman). With Lance McCullers and Dallas Keuchel now hurt, though, the Astros might not have enough top starting pitching.
- The Rangers attempted to acquire Ivan Nova from the Yankees last month, with the talks occurring very close to the deadline. The Yankees, of course, sent Nova to the Pirates, where he has had tremendous success in their rotation. Nova has posted a 2.53 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and a remarkable 0.4 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh. It’s impossible to say, of course, whether Nova would have had similar success in Texas, which is a completely different context in which to pitch, perhaps especially for someone like Nova, who struggled with allowing home runs in New York. But he might well have been able to help a team that has seen A.J. Griffin and Lucas Harrell struggle at the back of its rotation over the past month.
- MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is due to expire at the beginning of December, but the two sides would prefer to have a new agreement in place by the beginning of November. The free agent market could unfold slowly without a new labor deal, with teams reluctant to commit to free agents without a clear idea of the rules going forward.
Rangers Claim R.J. Alvarez From Cubs
The Rangers have announced that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever R.J. Alvarez off waivers from the Cubs. They’ve optioned him to the Class A+ High Desert Mavericks. To clear space on their 40-man roster, they’ve moved righty Lucas Harrell (groin strain) from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL. The Cubs designated Alvarez for assignment earlier this week.
The 25-year-old Alvarez has spent the entire season in the minors, posting a 7.00 ERA, but with 11.7 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9, in 27 innings split between three levels in the Cubs and Athletics organizations. He spent the early part of the season recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery.
Alvarez has also struggled in parts of two seasons in the Majors, posting a 7.39 ERA, 10.3 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 28 total innings. It’s easy to see why he keeps generating interest after previously going from the Angels to the Padres in the Huston Street deal and from the Padres to the Athletics in the Derek Norris trade, however. Alvarez possesses mid-90s velocity, and he has an outstanding 12.6 K/9 in five career minor league seasons. He also has minimal service time, so the Rangers can keep him in their organization for the next several years if they choose.
AL West Notes: Correa, Gamel, Rangers
The Astros will be without shortstop Carlos Correa for at least two games as he travels back to Houston to get his ailing shoulder examined, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, including Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Correa is believed to be troubled by some inflammation in his shoulder, and despite his leaving the team, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious in nature just yet, as Hinch said the team’s expectation is that Correa will play at some point this weekend. If that’s the case, it’s a minor hiccup for the Astros, but a more prolonged absence is something the Astros can ill afford as they sit two games back in the American League Wild Card hunt. With Correa absent, Alex Bregman saw his first Major League action at shortstop last night.
More from the American League West…
- August trade acquisition Ben Gamel will get a long look from the Mariners down the stretch, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. “We’re really going to look at those corner outfield spots against right-handed pitching,” manager Scott Servais said prior to tonight’s contest. “…I do think we owe an opportunity to find out what Ben Gamel can do. So he’s going to play.” Gamel has just one hit in 16 at-bats with Seattle so far, though he’s already delivered some highlight-reel defense. With Nori Aoki and Franklin Gutierrez set to hit free agency, there could potentially be some corner outfield at-bats for Gamel to win next season with a strong showing in September and in Spring Training.
- The Rangers are set to get Colby Lewis back on Sunday, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. With Lewis joining Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Martin Perez and A.J. Griffin, Texas will have six options in the rotation, but skipper Jeff Banister says the team won’t deploy a straight six-man rotation. However, each of the six will get some starts down the stretch. Wilson writes that Perez, Griffin and Holland will each have some extra rest built into their schedules over the season’s final few weeks. Lewis, 37, has a 3.21 ERA with 5.6 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 through his first 98 innings of the 2016 campaign.
- Wilson also writes that Shin-Soo Choo has begun throwing as he continues his rehab from a forearm fracture. He’ll throw every other day and take some swings with a fungo bat today as he aims to return to the Rangers‘ roster for a potential playoff run. Choo’s chances of returning during the regular season aren’t great, but he said last month he hopes to play in October.
NL Notes: Jay, Campos, Gutierrez, Feliz
Padres outfielder Jon Jay officially returned to action last night, making his first plate appearance since the 19th of June. As Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune explains, the 31-year-old stayed busy during his rehab from a fractured forearm. While he says his focus remains on “going out and proving to everyone that I’m healthy and I can still play at a high level,” Jay also spent time focusing on other aspects of the game. “I love this game of baseball, and in the future you never know what’s going to happen,” said Jay. “I would maybe want to coach or be involved in the game still with player development or whatever it might be. I’m kind of working on those things now so that if an opportunity does come in the future, I’m ready for it.” First things first, though: Jay will be playing to help set up his next contract, as he’ll reach the open market this fall. Mutual interest in a return to San Diego won’t be explored further until that time, both he and manager Andy Green noted.
More from the National League:
- The Diamondbacks received unfortunate news about righty Vicente Campos, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Not long after making his MLB debut, the 24-year-old has been diagnosed with an ulnar fracture that will require surgery and an eight-month recovery timeline. That seems to suggest that a mid-season return in 2017 may be possible, at least, but the fracture obviously represents a highly disappointing development. Campos was acquired in July in the Tyler Clippard swap.
- Just-signed righty Vladimir Gutierrez was also pursued by several other clubs before agreeing with the Reds, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter links). The Rangers and Astros were the two primary pursuers who were willing to strike a deal right now, but three other organizations tried to convince the Cuban youngster to wait until the following July 2 signing period to put pen to paper. Meanwhile, Cinci GM Dick Williams says that the club likely won’t be making any other big-dollar signings in the near term.
- Pirates righty Neftali Feliz left action on Saturday, leading to some concern about his health, but it appears to be a minor issue. As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday, there is no elbow or shoulder concern. Feliz still hasn’t returned to the bump, but is expected to be ready in short order, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a solid campaign in Pittsburgh, posting a 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 53 2/3 innings, though some good batted ball fortune (.240 BABIP despite allowing 37.0% hard contact) may be helping. He’ll return to the open market this fall.
Brewers Acquire Ryan Cordell To Complete Jonathan Lucroy Trade
The Brewers announced on Monday that they have acquired minor league third baseman/outfielder Ryan Cordell from the Rangers as the player to be named later in the Jonathan Lucroy/Jeremy Jeffress deadline blockbuster. In total, then, the Brewers will acquire outfielder Lewis Brinson, right-hander Luis Ortiz and Cordell for the pair of Lucroy and Jeffress.
The 24-year-old Cordell is rated as the Rangers’ No. 6 prospect, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo. Baseball America rated him as the team’s No. 9 prospect in their own midseason update (Brinson and Ortiz were ranked second and third, respectively, on that same list). Cordell has played exclusively in the outfield this season (seeing time at all three positions) but also has 300+ innings of experience at third base and saw some time at shortstop last season as well. He’s spent the entire year with Texas’ Double-A affiliate and batted .264/.319/.484 with 19 homers, 22 doubles, five triples and 12 stolen bases.
Baseball America noted in their write-up on him that he’s made strides in his plate discipline, chasing fewer out-of-zone pitches in his second trip through Double-A, and that bears out in his strikeout rate; Cordell walked in just 4.9 percent of his plate appearances in Double-A last season, compared to a woeful 30.2 percent strikeout rate. This year, however, he’s walked at a 7.1 percent clip and cut his strikeout rate to 21.8 percent. In MLB.com’s scouting report, Callis and Mayo write that Cordell has “some of the best all-around tools” in the Rangers minor league system and could eventually have average-or-better tools across the board. His best tool right now is his speed, but he also has the bat speed to hit for power as well.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy points out (via Twitter) that Cordell’s season ended this year due to an Aug. 2 knee injury, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the injury was sustained when Cordell crashed into the outfield wall. However, the Brewers clearly aren’t overly concerned about the long-term implications of that collision and will count on a full season from Cordell in 2017. Given his production and experience at the Double-A level, it’s not far-fetched to think that Cordell could either open the season with Triple-A Colorado Springs or, at the very least, be promoted to that level early in the 2017 campaign.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News first reported that Cordell was the player to be named later (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pitcher Notes: Dodgers, Jeffress, T. Ross
Superstar Clayton Kershaw, out since late June with a herniated disc in his back, could return to the Dodgers’ rotation as early as Friday, writes Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register. The left-hander struck out five batters in three innings of 34-pitch, one-hit ball in a rehab start at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, saying afterward, “I felt good. I was able to warm up and sit in between innings and everything, stuff that’s bothered me in the past.” Prior to suffering the injury, Kershaw recorded a 1.79 ERA in 121 innings and looked like a shoo-in for the National League Cy Young Award. With a 16.11 K/BB ratio, he was also on track to shatter the record of 11.63 the Twins’ Phil Hughes set in 2014. It’s possible not pitching for two-plus months has killed Kershaw’s Cy Young changes, but he’s still among the majors’ leaders in fWAR and RA9-WAR despite having amassed far fewer innings than his closest competitors. The 28-year-old could give voters plenty to think about at season’s end, then. In the meantime, he’s primed to come back and try to help the NL West-leading Dodgers make a run at a World Series.
More news on a few other pitchers:
- Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress‘ stay in rehab will likely last weeks, not months, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). If true, Jeffress – who was arrested and charged with DWI last month – will have an opportunity to return this season. Jeffress could even throw with a staff member at his rehab clinic, which contains a workout facility, says Rosenthal. With that in mind, it shouldn’t take him long to get back into game shape before rejoining the Rangers as they chase a championship.
- The Padres aren’t optimistic right-hander Tyson Ross will play much of a role the rest of the season, but they’re not ready to shut him down, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The front-line starter has been on the shelf since Opening Day on account of shoulder inflammation. With the minor league regular season ending Monday, Ross won’t have a chance to embark on a rehab assignment. That means the 29-year-old is unlikely to serve as anything more than a short reliever if he does take the mound again for the Padres this season. Going forward, Ross won’t command much of a raise on his $9.625MM salary in his final year of arbitration eligibility, but a disastrous 2016 has likely caused significant damage to his once-high trade value.
- While Kershaw’s rehab outing went swimmingly Saturday, the same wasn’t true for teammate Brett Anderson. The oft-injured southpaw, who’s on the DL with a blister in his left index finger, followed Kershaw at Rancho Cucamonga and lasted just two frames in what was supposed to be a five-inning appearance, according to Alexander. Anderson yielded six runs and nine hits to continue what has been a season to forget. Thanks to multiple injuries, Anderson has thrown a mere four innings for the Dodgers this season. In his limited work, he has surrendered 11 earned runs on 14 hits and three walks.
Rangers Promote Yohander Mendez
The Rangers are promoting top left-handed pitching prospect Yohander Mendez as part of their first wave of September call-ups, reports MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The 21-year-old is already on the 40-man roster and thus won’t require a corresponding move to accommodate his addition to the Major League roster.
Mendez received a $1.5MM signing bonus during the same international signing class that brought the Rangers Nomar Mazara and will be making his Major League debut the first time he gets into a game for Texas. While he began the season at Class-A Advanced, he’s sliced through minor league competition with relative ease, dominating his way to a big league audition. Mendez has a 2.19 ERA on the season as a whole, having worked to a 2.57 mark at High-A, 3.09 in Double-A and a lustrous 0.57 mark in 31 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. In 111 minor league frames, Mendez has allowed just 72 hits, walked 41 and struck out 113 with a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate. Mendez has dominated right-handed hitters (.558 OPS) and left-handed hitters (.484 OPS) alike and could factor into the Texas rotation as soon as next season, even if he’s more of a bullpen/spot start consideration in 2016.
The Venezuelan southpaw saw his name land on a number of midseason top prospect lists, ranking 47th, 49th and 59th, respectively, on the lists of Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com and ESPN.com. All three of the linked reports praise Mendez’s three-pitch mix, with his changeup regarded as the best of his offerings. He sits 90-94 mph with a fastball and has at least an average breaking pitch as well. Keith Law calls him a “potential mid-rotation starter, if not better,” with the primary question at this point being how well Mendez can shoulder the workload of a full season’s worth of innings. Mendez tossed 78 1/3 innings between the minors and the Arizona Fall League last season, but that modest sum represented his career-high in innings pitched prior to this season’s count of 111. Listed at 6’5″ and 200 pounds he’s still fairly lanky in build, and considering his youth, there’s room for him to continue growing and fill out that frame, as noted in MLB.com’s report on him.
As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/1/16
Catching up on a couple of minor moves from yesterday and tracking additional minor transactions from today…
- The Rangers acquired veteran minor league catcher Nevin Ashley from the Mets last night in exchange for cash, the team announced. Ashley, 32, played in a dozen games for the Brewers last season, which represents his lone season with MLB experience. He’s logged parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level since being drafted in the sixth round by the (Devil) Rays back in 2006 and has compiled a .256/.341/.391 batting line at that level while also halting 35 percent of stolen base attempts made against him.
- The Reds announced yesterday that right-hander A.J. Morris has been activated from the 60-day disabled list and outrighted to Triple-A Louisville. The 29-year-old made his Major League debut for Cincinnati this season and threw 10 innings at the big league level before a shoulder strain landed him on the disabled list. Morris, a former fourth-round pick by the Nationals (2009), has a career 3.36 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 158 innings at the Triple-A level and a lifetime 3.33 ERA in parts of seven minor league seasons between the Nats, Cubs, Pirates and Reds.