Rangers Notes: Mazara, Darvish, Catcher
The latest on the Rangers, who lost to the Angels on Sunday but got the first major league glimpse of a player who could be a long-term linchpin:
- Newly promoted right fielder Nomar Mazara, the aforementioned potential building block, began his career in red-hot fashion Sunday. Mazara – the youngest player in the league (20 years, 350 days) – went 3 for 4 with a home run in a 3-1 defeat, and Jim Callis of MLB.com believes he’s capable of rivaling the injured Shin-Soo Choo‘s offensive production while providing superior defense. On Mazara’s offensive skills, manager Jeff Banister said (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News), “He controls the strike zone. He can be patient, but he can jump on a fastball early if he needs to. Offspeed stuff did not seem to bother him that much this spring. He can hit when he’s down in the count.” That assessment proved true Sunday, as Grant writes.
- In the next step in his recovery from March 2015 Tommy John surgery, Rangers ace Yu Darvish will throw live batting practice Wednesday, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “Now it’s time to turn him loose,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said. “He’ll throw some live batting practice and then get in games.” The Rangers plan for Darvish to throw three BP sessions and then have him begin a minor league rehab assignment toward the end of April. Darvish would then make six starts in the minors before rejoining the Rangers in late May, according to Sullivan. The Rangers will monitor Darvish’s pitch counts when he returns to the big leagues and want him to pound the strike zone with more fastballs. “I’m not asking [Darvish] to throw 25 percent more fastballs,” Brocail stated. “I’m asking him to trust it more to get more quick outs. Just more strikes so he doesn’t have to go deep in counts.”
- In the wake of catcher Robinson Chirinos‘ forearm fracture, general manager Jon Daniels said that he considered outside options Sunday morning, but it was merely “due diligence” (link via Sullivan). The Rangers ultimately called up Brett Nicholas to serve as the backup to Bryan Holaday, who will be their regular catcher for at least a little while. “We’ve got a good start with Holaday here,” Banister said after Chirinos got hurt on a hit by pitch Saturday. “We are working through all of our other options right now. We’ve got limited, but multiple options.” The Rangers have two other potentially useful catchers under control in Chris Gimenez and Michael McKenry, but the former is recovering from a bacterial infection and the latter is on the mend from an abdominal strain.
Rangers Outright Justin Ruggiano
SUNDAY: The Rangers have announced that they’ve outrighted Ruggiano to Triple-A Round Rock.
FRIDAY: The Rangers have designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to fifth starter A.J. Griffin, a minor-league free agent whose contract has been purchased.
Ruggiano, who’ll soon turn 34, signed a $1.65MM deal to join the Texas organization over the winter. But Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter that the contract includes a minor league split, meaning he would earn at a lower rate at Triple-A — if he isn’t traded and clears waivers. Ruggiano could refuse an assignment, but he’d be sacrificing his rights under that contract since he hasn’t yet reached five years of MLB service time.
The move obviously isn’t a reflection of Ruggiano’s performance to date so much as it is a product of the winter’s moves and early-season pitching needs. The veteran outfielder was signed to provide a part-time option, along with Ryan Rua, to complement the left-handed-hitting Josh Hamilton in left. But an injury to Hamilton and a lagging market for Ian Desmond let to a surprise late signing, reducing the need for Ruggiano. Meanwhile, the club not only now has a need for a fifth starter, but felt the need to keep an eighth reliever on hand after taxing the pen early.
Rangers Promote Nomar Mazara To Replace Injured Shin-Soo Choo
The Rangers have promoted top prospect Nomar Mazara, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Mazara will take the 25-man roster spot of Shin-Soo Choo, who will be out four to six weeks with a calf strain. Mazara will presumably replace Choo, at least for the time being, as the Rangers’ everyday right fielder.
Mazara will be extremely young for a big-league promotion — he won’t turn 21 until later this month. He will, in fact, be the youngest player in the Majors, coming in below 21-year-old Roberto Osuna of the Blue Jays. Mazara was, however, off to a hot start at Triple-A Round Rock, going 6-for-12 with a homer so far, and he hit a combined .296/.366/.443 for Round Rock and Double-A Frisco last season. He’s currently ranked the No. 9 prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Keith Law, No. 17 by MLB.com, and No. 21 by Baseball America. Law writes that Mazara could easily end up with 25-homer-type power once he matures, and MLB.com praises Mazara’s plus power and strong arm in right field.
The Rangers signed Mazara out of the Dominican to a hefty $4.95MM bonus in 2011, and he’s moved quickly through their system, making it to full-season ball in 2013 as an 18-year-old and skipping Class A+ on his way to Double-A. Along the way, he’s shown not only good power (with 56 minor-league home runs), but a strong understanding of the strike zone that has improved as he’s matured — in 2014 and 2015 he took a total of 118 walks despite facing much older pitchers.
If Mazara were to stick in the Majors, he could become eligible for arbitration following the 2018 season and eligible for free agency after 2021, since we’re less than two weeks into the season. Of course, the Rangers could delay Mazara’s free agency by a year by sending him down to the minors for a short time at some point.
Choo’s injury is, of course, significant news in itself — Choo was off to a slow start this season, but he batted .276/.375/.463 last year, and the Rangers would be very lucky to get production like that from a 21-year-old rookie, even one as gifted as Mazara. Choo is making $20MM this season, the third year of his seven-year deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Robinson Chirinos’ Fractured Forearm Could Lead Rangers To Trade Market
12:03pm: Chirinos will be out ten to 12 weeks, Grant tweets. Also, Shin-Soo Choo will miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 calf strain. Choo’s injury has led to speculation about the possible promotion of top prospect Nomar Mazara, but the Rangers have yet to make an announcement about possible roster moves.
9:18am: Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos got hit by a pitch Saturday night and has fractured his forearm, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Chirinos will be out for at least a month. The Rangers have already had problems with their catching depth this year, leading to a spring trade for Bryan Holaday of the Tigers, and Chirinos’ latest injury could have them heading to the trade market yet again.
“We’ve got a good start with Holaday here,” says manager Jeff Banister. “We are working through all of our other options right now. We’ve got limited, but multiple options.”
Chirinos hit a solid .232/.325/.438 for the Rangers last season and was off to a good start in 2016, so his loss is a relatively significant one. Chris Gimenez and Michael McKenry would normally be possibilities to replace him in the short term, as Grant notes, but Gimenez is recovering from a bacterial infection and McKenry has an abdominal strain. Brett Nicholas, who has never played in the big leagues but who split time between catcher and first base at Triple-A Round Rock last year, is healthy, but would require a 40-man roster move.
Grant thinks the Rangers could look to the trade market, possibly re-acquiring Bobby Wilson (who they shipped to Detroit in the Holaday deal and who’s currently playing for Triple-A Toledo). There’s also the possibility that Chirinos’ injury could spur the Rangers to make a bigger trade for a higher-profile talent like Jonathan Lucroy or Derek Norris, in whom they’ve had interest in the past.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltre, Schwarber, Rickard, Sizemore
A Beltre extension with the Rangers is challenging because there just aren’t many comparables, reports Ken Rosenthal in his latest video for FOX Sports. The Rangers consider Red Sox designated hitter to be similar, but Ortiz obviously doesn’t have Beltre’s elite third base defense. Ortiz has made around $13MM to $16MM in each of the last five seasons. His contracts have typically included complicated club options with a variety of vesting scenarios and amounts. If both sides agree to use Ortiz as a yard stick, they’ll still have to figure out how to balance offensive and defensive considerations along with what portions of the deal should be guaranteed.
Here’s more from Rosenthal:
- Kyle Schwarber‘s future at catcher is in question. The Cubs will react to how his rehab progresses, but he already had a short window to establish himself behind the plate. Catching prospect Willson Contreras will probably be major league ready sometime during this season, and he’s always rated as the better defender. Schwarber’s already a questionable outfielder. With Anthony Rizzo locked in at first base, Rosenthal wonders if Schwarber might not be destined to join an AL club.
- The Rays had to make difficult choices when they exposed Tyler Goeddel and Joey Rickard to the Rule 5 draft. The team had a number of right-handed outfielders and pitchers to protect. They weren’t confident Rickard had a high enough ceiling to warrant an eventual everyday role. Outfielders are also hard to stash for a full season than pitchers, making it more likely the club could reacquire Rickard later in the year.
- Former Indians star Grady Sizemore remains a free agent despite posting over an .800 OPS in the second half last year. Sizemore has received minor league offers, but he’s waiting for an opportunity to be a regular contributor. Sizemore doesn’t want to sign with a team just to provide depth. In my opinion, Sizemore may have to pick the best offer soon – perhaps with an opt-out if another club offers a major league contract. James Loney was the most recent player to sign a contract of that type.
Beltre: Still No Extension Offer From Rangers
- Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre told reporters, including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, that he is still waiting on a contract proposal from the Rangers following yesterday’s loss to the Angels. Grant writes that the Rangers’ hesitation, unsurprisingly, is likely due to Beltre’s age. The three-year deal he seeks would cost Texas something in the vicinity of $60MM, and the Rangers must weigh whether that type of investment in Beltre’s age-38 through age-40 seasons is a better course of action than trusting a high-upside but unproven prospect, Joey Gallo, to man the position while making scarcely more than $1.5MM (total) in his pre-arbitration seasons over that same time frame.
Daniels Discusses Beltre Extension Talks
The Astros have made veteran left-hander and former rotation mainstay Wandy Rodriguez a an offer to pitch for their Triple-A club, reports MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter link). The 37-year-old Rodriguez signed with Houston on a minor league deal this winter but didn’t crack the big league roster in Spring Training and is now mulling over the prospect of pitching for the club’s top minor league affiliate, per McTaggart. Rodriguez opened the 2015 campaign with Texas’ other club, the Rangers, and pitched quite well out of the Rangers rotation for a couple of months (3.20 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 across his first 11 starts) before a midsummer meltdown led to his release. Rodriguez spent the first seven and a half seasons of his career with Houston, though the Astros have multiple options ahead of him on the rotation depth chart and a number of lefty relief options at the Triple-A level as well.
- Rangers general manager Jon Daniels joined 105.3 The Fan yesterday and talked about Adrian Beltre‘s contract status (h/t: the SportsDay DFW, which has transcribed a portion of the interview). Daniels said that retaining Beltre beyond 2016 is still high on his list of priorities. “I love the guy,” said Daniels of Beltre. “I could not appreciate him more on or off the field, and what he’s done for a lot of people – including myself, this franchise, our young players – I love the guy. So, we would still like to be able to find a way to keep him as a Ranger beyond this year. … Whether that gets done now or whether that gets done another time…I think he wants to be here, and we want him here.”
Rangers, Burke Badenhop Agree To Minors Deal
5:24pm: James Wagner of the Washington Post adds some clarity from the Nats’ perspective, noting that although Badenhop did re-sign in late March, he was again released on April 1 (Twitter link).
5:19pm: The Rangers and right-hander Burke Badenhop have agreed to a minor league contract, Rangers radio play-by-play man Jared Sandler first tweeted. The 33-year-old ACES client will pitch at Triple-A to open the season.
Badenhop spent the 2015 season with the Reds, posting a 3.93 ERA with 4.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate in 66 1/3 innings. That marked sixth straight season in which he avoided the disabled list. The highly durable Badenhop has averaged 58 appearances and 66 innings per season dating back to the 2009 campaign, logging a 3.50 ERA in that time. Badenhop doesn’t throw particularly hard, having never averaged even 90 mph on his fastball in a season (88.6 mph in 2015), but he’s managed to carve out a history of success based on his strong control and penchant for inducing ground-balls.
This offseason, Badenhop inked a minor league pact with the Nationals, but he ultimately did not make the club out of Spring Training. The Nats announced (via Twitter) that they had released and re-signed Badenhop in late March (to avoid paying him a $100K retention bonus as an Article XX (B) free agent), and he curiously was never reported to have been released from that new minor league pact. However, multiple reporters have noted the transaction, so perhaps Badenhop and the Nats had an understanding that he could pursue a better opportunity if he felt one presented itself. The Rangers have a fairly crowded bullpen picture at the big league level, although they’ve been an oft-mentioned candidate to deal from their bullpen surplus, even as recently as March 31. That, of course, doesn’t mean that any sort of move is nearing fruition, but Badenhop should provide the Rangers with additional depth in the event of a transaction or injury, should either (or both) arise.
Yu Darvish Throws 50-Pitch Pen
- Rangers ace Yu Darvish has worked his way up to throwing fifty pitches in his most recent bullpen workout, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Though a return to the Texas staff is still a ways off, it’s certainly encouraging that Darvish continues to tick past various milestones as he works back from Tommy John surgery.
Brewers Acquire Sam Freeman, Designate Ariel Pena
The Brewers announced on Tuesday that they have acquired left-hander Sam Freeman from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Freeman, the Brewers have designated right-hander Ariel Pena for assignment.
Freeman, 28, had been designated for assignment himself by the Rangers last week when Texas acquired backup catcher Bryan Holaday from the Tigers. Texas originally acquired Freeman from the Cardinals (also, in exchange for cash) one year and one day prior to his DFA. The former 32nd-round draft pick spent a good portion of the 2015 season in the Rangers’ bullpen, tallying 38 1/3 innings with a 3.05 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 5.4 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent ground-ball rate. Freeman throws fairly hard for a left-hander, averaging 93.8 mph on his heater throughout his career.
Control has been a problem for Freeman throughout his big league career, though, as he’s averaged 4.9 walks per nine innings pitched. Beyond that, he has a bizarre platoon split, having held right-handed batters to a .181/.280/.233 batting line in 232 plate appearances while surrendering a .279/.397/.419 line to opposing lefties. That said, he’ll give the Brewers another left-handed option in the bullpen after injuries have placed both Will Smith and Sean Nolin on the disabled list.
As for Pena, the 26-year-old stood as the last remaining piece from the Brewers’ trade of Zack Greinke to the Angels back in 2012. Milwaukee acquired Pena, right-hander Johnny Hellweg and shortstop Jean Segura in exchange for Greinke, but all three are now out of the organization (though Segura, of course, brought right-hander Chase Anderson and prospect Isan Diaz to the club this winter, so the trade, like most, has had a trickle-down effect of sorts). Pena rated among Baseball America’s Top 30 Brewers prospects from 2012-14, but he never experienced much success in the upper minors and struggled in 2015 (his MLB debut season) and in his lone appearance of the 2016 campaign. All told, Pena has a 5.59 ERA in 29 big league innings, and while he’s managed to whiff 27 batters in that time, he’s also issued 16 walks and hit two batters.