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NL West Notes: D-Backs, Dahl, Upton, Padres, Dodgers

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After suffering a concussion during a simulated game and missing three weeks, 2015 first overall draft pick Dansby Swanson is ready for his first professional game.  MLB.com’s Chad Thornburg reports that Swanson will play tonight for the Diamondbacks’ Class-A affiliate in Hillsboro.  Here’s some more from around the NL West…

  • The Diamondbacks’ trades of Oliver Perez and Cliff Pennington both came together rather quickly, GM Dave Stewart told Zach Buchanan of AZCentral.com.  Stewart hadn’t had any talks with the Astros or Blue Jays, respectively, about either player prior to the July 31 trade deadline.  Stewart doesn’t expect to make any more deals in August, though “I didn’t think I was going to make those…. You never know.”
  • Baseball America’s Jack Etkin spoke with Rockies director of player development Zach Wilson about the frightening early-season injury to top outfield prospect David Dahl and the decision Dahl made to have his spleen removed following an outfield collision (subscription required). “The best thing for David’s life was to get that spleen out of there,” said Wilson, who went on to add that the splenectomy has allowed Dahl to play without fear. Dahl, who lacerated his spleen and suffered a concussion in the collision, would have had to play the rest of his career with a protective covering and would have been at risk of rupturing the spleen in the event of another collision. As Etkin notes, that’s a frightening proposition for a “hellbent” player like Dahl, who does not shy away from the outfield wall when roaming the outfield. Dahl is hitting .284/.301/.432 in 86 plate appearances since rejoining the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate.
  • The Padres will take a shot at re-signing Justin Upton this winter, GM A.J. Preller told MLB.com’s Barry Bloom. “He’s made a very positive impression here,” said Preller. “We’re going to sit down in the offseason and see what we can do with him.” As Bloom notes, though the Padres haven’t panned out as they’d hoped, the team still has a core in place which can be built upon in future seasons, and improved ticket sales could help boost the team’s payroll heading into a season in which the Padres are set to host the All-Star Game.
  • The Dodgers’ July pitching acquisitions haven’t worked out whatsoever to this point, writes ESPN Los Angeles’ Mark Saxon. Though Luis Avilan has tossed four reasonably effective relief innings, Mat Latos and Alex Wood have both struggled, while Jim Johnson has reverted to his disastrous 2014 form. As Saxon points out, Johnson did have very strong numbers in Atlanta, so it’s tough to fault the team for targeting him. He also points out that Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi must be a fan of Johnson, as he’s now been part of two front offices that have traded for Johnson in two years.

Blue Jays To Sign Chris Heisey

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The Blue Jays and outfielder Chris Heisey have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The 30-year-old Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon client was recently released by the Dodgers. He’ll report to Triple-A Buffalo for the Blue Jays, where he’ll be assessed as a potential bench option for the Jays.

Heisey received just 34 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2015 after coming over from the Reds in exchange for right-hander Matt Magill. Heisey spent the bulk of the season at the Triple-A level, where he batted .236/.355/.481 with 14 homers. Prior to his brief time with the Dodgers, Heisey spent parts of five seasons in Cincinnati, serving as a high quality part-time player for much of his tenure. He had a poor year in 2014, but from 2010-13, Heisey slashed .254/.308/.433. He was particularly impressive at the plate in an 18-homer 2011 campaign.

Though Heisey hits right-handed, he’s showed a reverse platoon split throughout his career. His power and K/BB numbers are virtually identical versus lefties and righties, though, so the reason for his poor production against left-handed pitching may simply be BABIP-related. Heisey has a .309 BABIP against right-handers in his career but just a .251 mark versus left-handers.

Anthopoulos: Stroman Could Return In September

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The Blue Jays’ deadline pickups of David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Revere, LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe have provided a jolt to an already-strong roster, but there could be one more major addition on the way, as GM Alex Anthopoulos said on TSN 1040 radio in Vancouver today that there’s a possibility that Marcus Stroman could return to the rotation in September (audio link, with Stroman comments beginning near 11:50 mark).

“Right now, he’ll be stretched out to start,” said Anthpoulos. “We’ll see how many innings we can get out of him assuming no setbacks. Minor league season’s over on the seventh of September, and we’ll see how much he’s built up by then, and hopefully no setbacks at all. I know there’s been talk about reliever/starter. If he’s totally healthy, our plan is to bring him back as a starter.”

Clearly, that’s a very quick recovery from a serious injury — Stroman tore his ACL in Spring Training — but Stroman tweeted yesterday that Dr. James Andrews was “stunned” by the progress in his recovery, adding that he’s “shattering” his projected timetable to return. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweeted earlier today that Stroman told him that he felt “unbelievable” during a mound session today.

Anthopoulos stressed that Stroman’s career comes first, and if there are any setbacks, the team will shut him down for the season. However, given the nature of expanded rosters in September, the team could continue to stretch out Stroman to get to the point where he could make a start and be backed by a larger-than-usual bullpen. “Is he up to four innings at that time? Five innings? Three innings?” Anthopoulos asked rhetorically when explaining that the specific plan is dependent on Stoman’s progress. “If he looks like the Marcus from a year ago, and his stuff’s good, his command is good, everything looks good … If he’s close, if he’s a 70-pitch outing or 80, he could make a start at the big league level.”

Anthopoulos does not specify whether or not Stroman would be an option for the Blue Jays in a theoretical playoff run, though one would imagine that if he’s healthy and looks to be one of the team’s best options, that could be in the cards.

The Blue Jays’ rotation has improved since the beginning of the season due not only to the addition of Price, but also to the brilliant work of Marco Estrada since transitioning from the bullpen and the dramatically improved performances of R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle in the summer months. Adding Stroman to the mix would not only deepen the unit down the stretch, but would introduce an interesting new element to the club’s hypothetical postseason staff.

East Notes: Marlins, Matz, Blue Jays

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The Marlins are looking hard at the upcoming pitching market, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Miami has already penciled in three names to its 2016 staff — Jose Fernandez, Tom Koehler, and Jarred Cosart — but feels like it needs two additional arms. While the club is said to have some interest in Johnny Cueto, it’s far from clear as yet whether he’ll actually be a reasonable target. As Jackson notes, though, it’s shaping up to be a deep market.

  • Jackson also addresses the Marlins’ managerial situation, noting that the team will likely look to add an experienced skipper if Dan Jennings moves back to the front office as now seems to be expected. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro also hears that experience will be a key desire, with a “no-nonsense” personality such as Jim Riggleman possibly making sense.
  • The Mets are hopeful that lefty Steven Matz can work back to the major league rotation by the start of September, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. Matz impressed in his first two starts before going down with a partial lat tear, but could begin a rehab assignment this weekend. His return is particularly important for the streaking Mets, as they’ll need to manage innings for several starters down the stretch.
  • While they’ve done plenty of roster maneuvering in recent weeks, the Blue Jays are still looking at outfield and starting pitching additions in the August market, GM Alex Anthopoulos told Sportsnet 590 The FAN (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca). The Toronto GM said that he sees an outfield acquisition as the far likelier outcome of his search. “We have had some discussions, taking a look at fourth outfielder candidates,” Anthopoulos said. “That’s something that we’re currently working on right now and if we can upgrade in the rotation, we’d like to do that as well. But this time of year … very few guys clear [trade waivers] and the ones that do probably have massive contracts which pose their own problems.”

AL East Notes: Castillo, Yankees, Hunter, Pennington

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The trade of Shane Victorino to the Angels has opened playing time for Rusney Castillo and allowed the Red Sox’ $72.5MM man to impress his team, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Castillo is hitting .333/.375/.444 in his latest recall from Triple-A, and Boston is impressed with his ability to quickly make adjustments based on advice from the coaching staff. Assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez has already made slight changes to Castillo’s stance in an effort to shorten his swing, and both player and team feel the results have been positive. There are still greater adjustments to be made, MacPherson continues — Castillo, for instance, was taught in Cuba to swing each time he sees a baserunner in motion regardless of the pitch — but the 28-year-old says his confidence and comfort level are on the rise.

A few more AL East items on a quiet morning…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman took a big picture approach at the deadline by holding onto his best prospects, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News, but he may end up regretting that decision. The contrast between that approach and the aggressive one taken by Toronto counterpart Alex Anthopoulos is already apparent, as the Blue Jays are 11-1 since acquiring Troy Tulowitzki, Harper continues.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun opines that the Orioles are missing Tommy Hunter following what he calls a “curious” trade. Manager Buck Showalter has already been forced to lean on Chaz Roe in a high-leverage spot for which Hunter would have been better suited. Connolly feels that the reasoning behind the trade made some sense — the team wanted some maneuverability with its bullpen and none of their relievers have minor league options — but they’ve already contradicted that plan by activating Rule 5 right-hander Jason Garcia from the DL and devoting a spot to him. He concludes that the team has effectively weakened its bullpen in order to add a right-handed outfielder (Junior Lake) whose skill set is somewhat redundant with Nolan Reimold already on the roster.
  • Cliff Pennington spoke to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi about his excitement to join a Blue Jays team that is in pursuit of a division title and a postseason berth. Pennington notes that he heard plenty of trade rumors with his name involved prior to the non-waiver deadline but was caught somewhat off guard by his August trade. As Davidi notes, Pennington is plenty familiar with Josh Donaldson from the pair’s days in the minors and Majors with the Athletics, and the pair reached the postseason together with the A’s in 2012.

AL East Notes: Dombrowski, Blue Jays, Red Sox

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Top Yankees prospect Luis Severino is elated to be a part of the club’s playoff push, Grace Raynor of MLB.com writes.  There has been a ton of hype surrounding the pitcher in New York, but skipper Joe Girardi says that Severino is taking it all in stride.

“Going into the game, I thought that he was a young man that really wasn’t fazed by his surroundings in Spring Training, was able to relax and go about his business,” Girardi said. “I think that that’s what I saw last week. It’s kinda what I expected to see. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more about him as time goes on — and you see him make starts and how he responds to certain situations and adversity. But, for the most part, that was kind of what I expected.”

Here’s more out of the AL East..

  • Indications are that former Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is more likely to wind up with the Blue Jays or the Mariners than the Red Sox, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal writes.  Still, MacPherson says that doesn’t mean that the Red Sox can’t learn from Dombrowski by looking at how he built a winner in Detroit.  Dombrowski’s Detroit teams had structural flaws, but he took them from a team void of stars to a powerhouse organization with aggressive trades.  Boston has worked to hang on to its young talent in recent years rather than moving it for established players, but many of those prospects have failed to live up to expectations.
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is open to change in the front office if that means improving the team, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes.   “I don’t think it’s threatening at all” to bring in a new voice in baseball operations, Cherington said late last week. “Whatever stake you have in the Red Sox, after what you’ve been through the last two years, you don’t even have a choice but to try to find solutions to this after awhile of doing it our own way. It’s going to mean different things to different people, but that’s what we’re trying to do around here.”   With Larry Lucchino on his way out, Cherington may have to answer to whoever his replacement will be.
  • Orioles GM Dan Duquette likes cheap reclamation projects and has caught some lightning in the past, but things just didn’t work out that way with Travis Snider, Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun writes.  Snider, who came over from the Pirates this winter to help replace the departed Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, was designated for assignment on Friday.

Cafardo On Pierzynski, Cespedes, Torre

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe gives his suggestions for fixing the Red Sox.  One idea is for Boston to take advantage of the Mets, who have offensive needs but might not have the willingness to address them in free agency.  The Mets may be forced to use their pitching depth in order to improve their offense, and one baseball person wondered aloud to Cafardo whether Matt Harvey could be had for Xander Bogaerts.  Cafardo also sees Pablo Sandoval for James Shields as a logical deal as the Red Sox and Padres would be swapping bad contracts.  Here’s more from today’s column..

  • “While it’s not assured yet,” the Braves would like to keep A.J. Pierzynski beyond 2015, Cafardo writes.  The catcher is making $2MM this season and he could be in line for a raise given his play in 2015.  Through 77 games, the catcher owns a .302/.340/.446 slash line with 7 homers.  Pierzynski, who turns 39 in December, has an OPS of .765, his best showing since 2012.
  • A five-year, $100MM deal for Yoenis Cespedes isn’t out of the question, according to one agent who spoke with Cafardo.  The outfielder figures to be one of the few quality bats available on the open market this winter and the agent cites Hanley Ramirez’s deal as reason to believe that Cespedes could hit $100MM.  Ramirez signed a four-year pact worth $88MM that can balloon to $110MM if his fifth-year option is exercised.  The Mets might not be willing to go that high for the slugger.  Tim Dierkes ranked Cespedes No. 6 on his most recent update to the MLBTR Free Agent Power Rankings.
  • Joe Torre, currently MLB’s vice president of baseball operations, told Cafardo that he wouldn’t rule out working for a team again, though it would have to be the right situation.  Cafardo wonders if Torre could be a candidate to join the Red Sox’s front office with Larry Lucchino stepping down.
  • Speaking of Lucchino, those who know the outgoing president and CEO well say that he wants another challenge.  The Blue Jays and Nationals (Lucchino has D.C. roots) are two teams to watch, Cafardo says.

Quick Hits: Napoli, Perez, Padres, Marlins

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The Rangers acquisition of Cole Hamels was sold as a move for the 2016 season. However, the acquisition of Mike Napoli is a declaration that the Rangers want to win this season, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Rangers have surged since the trade deadline. They’re now 4.5 games back in the AL West and 3.5 games behind the second Wild Card slot. Texas will use Napoli as a platoon bat against left-handed pitching. Despite poor overall numbers, Napoli still has a .229/.345/.500 slash against southpaws this season. The Rangers will cover about $1.5MM of his remaining salary with the Red Sox chipping in with the balance ($3.7MM). He’s a free agent after the season.

  • The Astros will use recently acquired left-handed reliever Oliver Perez in a lefty specialist role, writes Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Perez will serve as a weapon against the tough lefties in the division like Prince Fielder and Robinson Cano. He’ll also free Tony Sipp to return to a full inning role. Houston will have to clear a 25-man roster spot for Perez prior to tomorrow’s game. In my opinion, one of Chad Qualls, Josh Fields, or Will Harris will be the odd man out. All three have pitched well this season.
  • The Padres confused many by standing pat at the trade deadline, but they may be following the same path as the Blue Jays, suggests Grant Brisbee of SB Nation. Per Brisbee, GM A.J. Preller supposedly had a couple deals in place that were scuttled by non-baseball decision makers. Preller drew the most flak for failing to trade Justin Upton – a free agent after the season. Another popular trade candidate, Craig Kimbrel, will at least provide value to future Padres rosters. Returning to the lesson of the Blue Jays, they underwent a similar transformation prior to the 2013 season. When things fell apart that season, they didn’t conduct a Marlins-style fire sale. Instead, they tinkered their way to the current offensive juggernaut. Brisbee suggests that Preller has similar plans for San Diego.
  • The Marlins plan to focus on starting pitching over the offseason, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The club would like to add two starters, although they’ll have to overcome their usual financial constraints. As was reported earlier, manager Dan Jennings is expected to return to the front office over the offseason. A couple old Marlins staffers – Ozzie Guillen and Larry Beinfest – will finally come off the books after this season.

AL East Notes: Napoli, Pennington, Price

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Mike Napoli may have struggled this season, but he left his mark on the Red Sox organization, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The slugger hit .242/.350/.436 during his Red Sox tenure with 53 regular season home runs. He also popped two home runs in the 2013 ALCS. In addition to his on-field contributions, Napoli was known for his character. I’ll leave the story telling to Bradford.

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • The acquisition of Cliff Pennington by the Blue Jays is all about making final tweaks, writes Mike Wilner of Sportsnet.ca. The club could have survived with Munenori Kawasaki, but Pennington offers a modest upgrade. Not only is he a better defender with more utility, he also has solid splits against left-handed pitching. He’ll also provide insurance for second baseman Devon Travis. The rookie is currently on the disabled list with recurring a shoulder injury.
  • The Blue Jays are on a seven game winning streak and just 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the NL East. New acquisition David Price figures to pay “big dividends,” according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York. Price is 2-0  with a 0.60 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings since the trade including a victory against the Yankees today. The Bronx Bombers may regret passing on Price and other aces. Instead, New York remained committed to their youth movement, refusing to part with Luis Severino or Aaron Judge.

 

 

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/8/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • Blue Jays outfielder Ezequiel Carrera has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment after Toronto acquired Ben Revere at the trade deadline. Carrera has managed a solid .279/.327/.374 line with three home runs and two steals in 164 plate appearances.
  • Lefty Aaron Laffey has accepted the Rockies’ outright assignment and will head to Triple-A Albuquerque, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Colorado designated Laffey for assignment last week. He has pitched 7 1/3 innings for them this season.
  • The Phillies have released veteran righty Juan Gutierrez, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. Gutierrez’s camp is negotiating with at least two teams, including one with whom it’s deep in talks. The 32-year-old Gutierrez has posted a 3.66 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 51 2/3 innings this season at two Triple-A affiliates. He spent last season in the Giants bullpen.
  • The Orioles have outrighted OF/1B Chris Parmelee, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The O’s designated Parmelee for assignment when they acquired Gerardo Parra at the trade deadline. He hit .216/.255/.433 in 102 plate appearances with Baltimore.
  • The Mets have outrighted lefty Alex Torres to Triple-A Las Vegas, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets. The Mets designated him for assignment when they acquired Eric O’Flaherty last week. Torres has posted a 3.15 ERA and 9.2 K/9 in 34 1/3 innings with the Mets this year, but with 6.8 BB/9.
  • Catcher Eric Fryer has accepted the Twins’ outright assignment and will report to Triple-A Rochester, the Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino tweets. The Twins designated Fryer for assignment on Thursday. He’s played very sparingly in parts of five seasons with Pittsburgh and Minnesota, batting .235/.316/.324 in 152 plate appearances in his big-league career.
  • The Diamondbacks plan to select the contract of righty-hitting infielder/outfielder Jamie Romak, agent David Sloane tells MLBTR. The 29-year-old Romak hit .289/.373/.554 with 22 home runs in 458 plate appearances for Triple-A Reno after the D-backs signed him to a minor-league deal last offseason. He played briefly for the Dodgers in 2014 but has spent most of the past several years in the high minors. In parts of 13 seasons, Romak has also played in the Braves, Pirates, Royals and Cardinals organizations, and he has a career .255/.344/.463 line in the minors. He has played outfield, first base and third base throughout most of his career, but this year he has also appeared in 24 games at second base.
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