Cubs Rumors

Cubs Notes: Smyly, Bullpen, Deadline

By Steve Adams | June 12, 2018 at 9:57pm CDT

Left-hander Drew Smyly threw a 25-pitch live batting practice session over the weekend and feels that he’s getting close to the end of his rehab from Tommy John surgery, writes Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription link). General manager Jed Hoyer and president of baseball ops Theo Epstein watched the session, and Hoyer tells Mooney that Smyly looked “free and easy” in his first throwing session against live hitters. “He is going to be in the back of our mind as we think through the rest of our season and how we approach both deadlines in July and August,” says Hoyer of Smyly, who is coming up on the one-year anniversary of his TJ surgery later this month. Mooney speaks with both Hoyer and manager Joe Maddon about the struggles of Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood thus far. Both expressed optimism that the righties can turn things around, though Hoyer acknowledged the importance of eventually getting into “sustained turn-after-turn consistency” in the starting rotation in order to best position the team to win the division and embark on a deep playoff run.

Here’s more out of the North Side of Chicago…

Offseason pickups Brandon Morrow and Steve Cishek have been outstanding for the Cubs, writes Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score, but the team will need to eventually receive more innings out of its rotation if it is to sustain its current pace. Cishek is on pace for 80 appearances, while the trio of Brian Duensing, Pedro Strop and Justin Wilson are all on pace for 72 to 75 games pitched. Levine speculates that both Kelvin Herrera and Brad Hand will be deadline targets for the Cubs, writing that Chicago tried to pry Hand away from the Padres last summer but balked when San Diego asked for Javier Baez in return. Levine chatted with an NL East scout to get an opinion on both Herrera and Hand, each of whom is off to a brilliant start in 2018.
Epstein spoke with Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times about his team’s approach to the 2018 trade deadline, noting that it’s still too early to assess just what type of players the Cubs will pursue. Epstein noted that in some seasons, it’s clear what areas of need a team will need to address for months in advance, but he doesn’t feel that to be the case with his 2018 club. “[A]s talented and as deep as we are in most areas, it’s more about observation and maintenance and trying to stay ahead of the depth areas,” said the Cubs president. Epstein noted that maintaining starting pitching depth is especially important but characterized that as more of a “contingency” than a need, adding that the team isn’t looking to supplant any of its starters. Wittenmyer writes that the Cubs plan to check in with the Orioles on Manny Machado once he’s more aggressively being shopped. However, the left side of the infield isn’t a need for the Cubs like it is for other teams, and Wittenmyer feels it’s “doubtful” that Chicago will be among the most aggressive suitors.

Cubs Select Anthony Bass

By Steve Adams | June 11, 2018 at 3:56pm CDT

The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Anthony Bass from Triple-A Iowa, clearing space on the 25-man and 40-man rosters by optioning Cory Mazzoni and transferring Eddie Butler from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL (Twitter link via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune).

Bass, who turned 30 this offseason, has only pitched 5 2/3 innings in the Majors over the past two seasons, all coming with the Rangers last season. He spent the 2016 campaign with Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters, working to a 3.65 ERA in 103 2/3 innings.

That said, Bass still brings a fair bit of Major League experience to the table. The right-hander has logged 284 career innings, working to a 4.60 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate in the big leagues. He’s spent the season to date in Triple-A, pitching to a pristine 2.28 ERA with 20 strikeouts against six walks in 23 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.

Butler, meanwhile, has been out since April 20 due to a groin strain and has yet to be sent out on a minor league rehab assignment. He’s already nearing the 60-day mark on the disabled list, and being transferred over won’t reset the date on which he’s eligible to be activated. He’ll technically be eligible to activated later this month, though there’s no indication from the Cubs as to when he’ll be healthy enough to return.

NL Notes: Darvish, Pirates, Marlins

By Connor Byrne | June 10, 2018 at 2:38pm CDT

The Cubs are unsure if injured right-hander Yu Darvish will return before next month’s All-Star break, manager Joe Maddon told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic and other reporters Sunday. Darvish has been on the shelf for two weeks with right tricep tendinitis, and even though he doesn’t have any structural damage, he’ll end up sitting out nearly two months (if not even more time) if he doesn’t come back prior to the July 17 All-Star Game. Of course, in an ideal world for Darvish and the Cubs, he’d be representing the team in the Midsummer Classic after landing a six-year, $126MM guarantee in free agency over the winter. Instead, not only has Darvish endured multiple DL stints (one for the flu), but the 31-year-old has posted a career-worst 4.95 ERA/4.80 FIP over 40 innings when he has taken the mound.

Here’s more from the NL…

The Pirates activated righty Ivan Nova from the disabled list and optioned fellow righty Nick Kingham to Triple-A prior to Sunday’s game. Nova returned after a finger injury shelved him for two weeks. His presence is unfortunate for Kingham, who continued his strong rookie season Saturday with 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a loss to the Cubs. Overall, the 26-year-old Kingham has pitched to a 3.82 ERA with 35 strikeouts against seven walks in 35 1/3 innings (six starts).
Additionally, the Pirates optioned utility player Adam Frazier to make room for the addition of catcher Jacob Stallings from Triple-A. It’s a somewhat surprising demotion for Frazier, who offered league-average offensive production (.283/.347/.402) over 614 plate appearances from 2016-17 while seeing action at several positions. Frazier’s defensive versatility has continued this year, as he has lined up at second base and all three outfield spots, but his batting line has fallen to .237/.318/.356 in 152 PAs.
More on the Pirates, who promoted veteran infielder Jung Ho Kang from Single-A to Triple-A on Sunday, Liz Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. It’s an important development for Kang, who was a quality regular with the Bucs from 2015-16 but hasn’t played in the majors since then because of off-field problems. Kang racked up his his third DUI in his homeland of South Korea during the 2016-17 offseason, and he’s still on the restricted list as a result. Unsurprisingly, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in April that Kang is likely down to “his last chance with us.”
The Marlins have removed Stan Meek as their vice president of scouting, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Meek was a confidant of previous owner Jeffrey Loria, having worked under him in Montreal before following him to Florida in 2002. The Marlins’ Meek-led drafts were “disastrous” in recent years, Passan observes, though Jon Heyman of FanRag points out that he did have some hits during his tenure in Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto. Given that Meek is signed through next season, he could stay in the organization in a different role, Heyman writes.

Yu Darvish Cleared Of Structural Damage To Right Arm

By Jeff Todd | May 30, 2018 at 12:38pm CDT

Cubs righty Yu Darvish is not dealing with a structural injury to his right arm, the club announced today. As MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat explains, an MRI showed only that Darvish is dealing with inflammation in his triceps.

The hope at this point is that the veteran starter will be able to resume throwing in relatively short order — as soon as the coming weekend, in fact. If he progresses well, then, it seems he may not end up missing much action at all. Darvish is already on the DL, with a placement dated to May 23rd.

While there was never any particular reason to fear that Darvish had suffered a major injury, it’s always at least a bit concerning when a pitcher goes in for an arm examination. That’s all the more true here, as he has struggled to open the year after signing on with the Cubs for six years and $126MM.

Of course, most indicators on the stat sheet suggest that Darvish hasn’t been too terribly different from his typical self. The results obviously haven’t been great — he owns a 4.95 ERA and has handled only forty innings in eight starts — but the 31-year-old is throwing with his typical fastball velocity (94.8 mph) and generating swings and misses in range of his career rate (11.1% this year; 12.1% career).

There will surely be some things to work on for Darvish once his arm feels at full strength. He has issued too many walks (4.7 per nine) and permitted too many long balls (1.58 per nine, 17.5% HR/FB rate), but the hope will remain that he can sort through those concerns and get back to being the high-quality rotation piece he was viewed as when he was signed.

In the meantime, Mike Montgomery will fill in for Darvish. He represents a solid backup plan for a Cubs team that is nevertheless dealing with some general consternation in the starting staff even beyond the Darvish situation. Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks have been excellent, but Jose Quintana owns a 4.78 ERA and Tyler Chatwood has allowed more walks (45) than strikeouts (44) to this point of the season.

Injury Notes: Vazquez, Darvish, Cordero, Renfroe, Flores

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2018 at 7:53pm CDT

Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez felt soreness in his left forearm during the last two pitches of his appearance today against the Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Elizabeth Bloom reported. The southpaw didn’t speak to the media himself after the game, though Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk confirmed that Vazquez was receiving treatment. It’s too early to gauge the seriousness of the problem, though obviously any sort of forearm issue is of great concern, particularly for a pitcher who throws as hard as Vazquez. His fastball has dropped in velocity this season (96.8 mph as opposed to 98.5 mph in 2017), though this year’s total is closer to his career average, so it could be that 2017 proves to be something of an outlier, or perhaps it’s still too early in the 2018 campaign to make conclusions. Vazquez has a 3.54 ERA and 9.74 K/9 through 20 1/3 frames for the Bucs this year, with an increased walk rate and a decreased swinging-strike and grounder rate from his outstanding 2017 season. On the flip side, Vazquez has also yet to allow a home run this year, and he has had some bad luck the form of a .333 BABIP and only a 65.5% strand rate.

Vazquez’s breakout 2017 earned him a four-year, $22MM extension from the Pirates in the offseason, locking him up as a building block on the Pittsburgh roster. Losing Vazquez for any amount of time would be a significant blow to a Pirates team that has surpassed expectations by staying competitive in the NL Central and in the wild card race. Michael Feliz and Edgar Santana are likely the top candidates to take over as closer if Vazquez did have to hit the DL; it’s possible that the Bucs could target ninth-inning help at the deadline if they stayed in the race, though payroll would certainly play an issue in any acquisition.

Here’s some more on some injury situations around baseball…

Yu Darvish will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports (Twitter link), and the Cubs righty has said that the soreness in his right triceps is in a different place than it was in 2015, when Darvish underwent Tommy John surgery. This could be a further sign that Darvish’s current injury isn’t very serious, so he could be back in Chicago’s rotation sooner rather than later.
Franchy Cordero will likely be placed on the 10-day DL tomorrow due to forearm soreness, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets. The Padres believe the issue has recently been impacting Cordero’s swing, which could explain his .515 OPS over his last 47 plate appearances. This recent slide cooled off what had been a strong start for Cordero on the season, and the outfielder still owns an overall .237/307/.439 slash line and seven homers over 154 PA.
Hunter Renfroe is expected to be activated from the disabled list tomorrow to take Cordero’s spot on the Padres roster, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Renfroe hasn’t played since April 17 due to elbow inflammation, and he has nine Triple-A rehab games under his belt as he prepared for his return to the majors. Acee notes that the rehab assignment may have essentially doubled as an opportunity for Renfroe to get his bat on track, as the former top prospect got off to a slow start this season and has yet to really break out in the big leagues, though Renfroe has crushed left-handed pitching.
A DL stint could be in the offing for Wilmer Flores, as the Mets infielder left today’s game in the fourth inning due to back soreness. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports that Flores has flown back to New York for examination, and the Mets will have Phillip Evans on hand in Atlanta tomorrow if a roster move needs to be made. Flores is hitting .248/.320/.398 through 128 PA this season and has continued to be a versatile infield depth piece for the Mets, most recently seeing a lot of third base time filling in for the injured Todd Frazier.

Quick Hits: Machado, Cards, Herrera, Bumgarner, Yu

By Connor Byrne | May 27, 2018 at 9:15am CDT

Although the Orioles didn’t find a Manny Machado trade to their liking over the winter, the club did believe it was progressing toward a deal with the Cardinals in December, Buster Olney of ESPN reports. St. Louis backed out of negotiations on a swap that would have sent pitching prospects and third baseman Jedd Gyorko to Baltimore, per Olney. The identities of the prospects aren’t known, though Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported in mid-December that the Orioles had interest in young Cardinals hurlers Luke Weaver, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks. It’s hard to imagine the Cardinals parting with any of those three now, but Olney notes it’s possible they’ll circle back on Machado as the season progresses. Regardless, the Machado trade sweepstakes is likely to kick off in earnest after the June 4-6 draft, according to Olney.

Trade Notes: Machado, Phils, Cubs, Yanks, Rays, Padres, M’s, Tribe

By Connor Byrne | May 26, 2018 at 11:51pm CDT

Orioles shortstop Manny Machado seems like a good bet to end up on the move this year, though it’s not “anywhere close” to happening, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The Orioles aren’t “actively shopping” Machado right now, and they’re content to keep the soon-to-be free agent until closer to the July 31 non-waiver deadline, Kubatko writes. Kubatko goes on to list some potential Machado suitors, including the Phillies, who “left open the possibility of engaging in talks” with the Orioles when they were in Baltimore a couple weeks ago. Meanwhile, according to Kubatko, the Cubs reached out to Orioles general manager Dan Duquette to express interest in Machado, but Chicago – like Baltimore – isn’t prepared to make a major deal yet. Of course, Cubs president Theo Epstein addressed the Machado-Chicago speculation earlier this week, saying it’s “in fantasy land at this point.”

Here are more trade-related items:

The Yankees, owners of arguably the majors’ premier offense and its second-best record (32-16), “need pitching more than anything else,” general manager Brian Cashman said Saturday (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Cashman made that observation before right-hander Sonny Gray’s latest subpar start – a 3 2/3-frame, five-run performance in a loss to the Angels. Gray has now posted a 5.98 ERA/4.78 FIP with 7.97 K/9 and 5.07 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings this year, which wasn’t the type of production the Yankees had in mind then they acquired him from the Athletics last July. His 2018 woes – not to mention a general lack of front-end starters behind ace Luis Severino – could force the World Series hopefuls to revisit the trade market for rotation help in the next couple months.
Tampa Bay pulled off a surprise trade Friday when it sent reliever Alex Colome and outfielder Denard Span to Seattle, and that won’t be be the end of the Rays’ moves, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggests. With Colome and Span gone, Topkin names Chris Archer, Wilson Ramos, C.J. Cron, Carlos Gomez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Brad Miller, Sergio Romo, Matt Duffy, Chaz Roe, Nathan Eovaldi and Jonny Venters as candidates to wind up in other uniforms.
Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski has drawn trade interest, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported before the Mariners-Rays swap. It seems the Mariners tried for Jankowski prior to landing Span, but according to Divish, the Padres didn’t show much interest in the M’s low-ranked farm system. Known mostly for his speed and defense, the 26-year-old Jankowski has gotten off to a .313/.382/.400 start at the plate in 89 attempts this season. He’s controllable through the 2021 season.
Thanks to their bullpen’s dreadful start to the season, the Indians have been inquiring about outside help, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. It doesn’t seem as if any trades are close to happening, however, as Hoynes points out that the deadline’s still more than two months away. Cleveland’s bullpen entered Saturday last in the majors in both ERA (6.23) and fWAR (minus-0.8), and it then lost integral lefty Andrew Miller to the disabled list for the second time this season.

Cubs Place Yu Darvish On DL

By Connor Byrne | May 26, 2018 at 5:32pm CDT

Cubs starter Yu Darvish is headed to the disabled list (retroactive to May 23) with right tricep tendinitis, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic tweets. The club has recalled lefty Randy Rosario from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move, and righty Tyler Chatwood will start in Darvish’s place Sunday.

This is already the second DL placement of the year for Darvish, who missed time earlier this month on account of the flu. Darvish’s newest issue looks like a much more alarming one for him and the Cubs, given that it’s an arm injury and the team has so much invested in him.

Darvish parlayed stardom with the Rangers and Dodgers from 2012-17 into a six-year, $126MM guarantee from the Cubs over the winter, though the free-agent signing has gotten off to a slow start in the Windy City. The 31-year-old has pitched to a 4.95 ERA/4.81 FIP with 4.73 BB/9 across 40 innings (eight starts), thus offsetting a strong strikeout rate (11.03 K/9). Darvish has continued to throw hard, however, and his most recent outing (May 20) was among his best as a Cub. He earned his first win with the team after tossing six innings of two-hit, one-run ball – with seven strikeouts and three walks – against the Reds.

The severity of Darvish’s injury isn’t yet known, but it’s worth noting that arm issues aren’t anything new for him. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder previously underwent Tommy John surgery May 2015, causing him to miss that entire season and some of the ’16 campaign. Darvish bounced back nicely from that procedure, though, and the Cubs will hope he’s able to return in short order from his newest ailment. In the meantime, the 28-22 Cubs will continue trying to catch up to the NL-Central leading Brewers, who own a 32-20 record and a 3.5-game advantage over them in the division.

Cubs Designate Efren Navarro, Select Chris Gimenez

By Kyle Downing | May 26, 2018 at 2:54pm CDT

The Cubs have designated outfielder Efren Navarro for assignment, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. In his stead, the club has selected the contract of catcher Chris Gimenez. Fellow catcher Victor Caratini has been optioned to Triple-A Iowa in a related move.

The move probably isn’t related to the performance of Caratini (though he’s hardly lighting the world on fire with his .264/.304/.308 batting line) as much as it is to the contract situation of Gimenez. As Muskat notes in a separate tweet, the latter had an opt-out clause in his contract that he could have used if he wasn’t on the big league roster by June 1st. Navarro, then, may simply be a casualty created by the Cubs’ desire to preserve their catching depth.

Navarro’s actually played in parts of six seasons with the Angels, Tigers and Cubs, though he’s amassed just 355 plate appearances and posted a meager 77 wRC+ during that time. That’s obviously not particularly impressive, but even a 0.4 fWAR career to date is probably better than odds would suggest for a 50th round draft pick.

Gimenez, meanwhile, is an interesting add to the MLB roster if only for his relationship with struggling ace Yu Darvish. The two played together for the Rangers during parts of two seasons, and have a close relationship with each other. Perhaps working with Gimenez could go a little ways towards helping Darvish get back on track, though that’s obviously a largely intangible factor.

Rangers Acquire Michael Roth; Kevin Jepsen Elects Free Agency

By Jeff Todd | May 25, 2018 at 8:19pm CDT

The Rangers have acquired lefty Michael Roth from the Cubs, according to a club announcement. He had been pitching on a minor-league deal.

In other Ranger reliever news, the club announced that righty Kevin Jepsen has elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Roth, 28, last appeared in the majors — quite briefly — with the Rangers back in 2016. He has thrown 36 total innings at the game’s highest level. In 29 2/3 frames this season at Triple-A, Roth owns a 3.03 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9.

As for Jepsen, the 33-year-old will head onto the open market in search of another chance at returning to the majors. He had a less-than-promising showing this year in Texas, posting a 5.94 ERA with an 8:11 K/BB ratio in his 16 2/3 innings. Jepsen has had stretches of high-quality work in the majors, of course. In particular, he threw 215 1/3 innings of 2.93 ERA ball from 2012 through 2015.

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