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Miguel Montero Out Up To 6 Weeks; Schwarber Recalled

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Cubs catcher Miguel Montero will hit the DL with a thumb injury that he suffered on Saturday, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports. Highly-regarded youngster Kyle Schwarber will return to the big leagues to take his place.

The injury could keep Montero out for up to six weeks, according to the report. Presumably, more will be known after a visit to a hand specialist tomorrow, as Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald notes on Twitter.

It is not expected that Schwarber will see regular duty behind the dish, according to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat (via Twitter). Muskat adds that David Ross and Taylor Teagarden will also remain on the active roster (at least once Ross returns from injury).

Presumably, though, Schwarber will have plenty of opportunity to find at bats, especially after slashing .364/.391/.591 in a brief-but-exciting 23-plate appearance debut earlier in the year. He might conceivably see time in the outfield and as a bench bat in addition to spending some innings behind the dish. All said, it is somewhat difficult to imagine that Schwarber will only function as one of the team’s last bench pieces, as it’s widely believed that he needs significant seasoning defensively.

As Mayo explains, the length of Montero’s potential absence could mean that the much-hyped young slugger ends up staying with the big league club for the rest of the season, given that rosters will expand in September. Remaining on the roster the rest of the way would allow Schwarber to rack up as much as 86 days of service on the year (including the six days he’s already been in the big leagues). That could well complicate any effort to hold him back at the start of next year (or otherwise play with his service accumulation) to stave off Super Two status or extend team control.

Cubs Notes: Hammel, Pitching, Baez

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Here’s a glance at the latest out of Wrigley..

  • Good news for the Cubs and Jason Hammel as his MRI results were promising, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets.  The hurler is expected to make his next start after the All-Star break.   Hammel, 32, owns a 2.86 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 through 17 starts this season.  If Hammel was sidelined for a significant amount of time, the Cubs likely would have had to ramp up their pitching search even more.
  • The Cubs survived a scare when it came to Hammel’s injury but that situation only underlined the team’s need for starting pitching help, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun Times writes.  “Scare’s probably a good word,” GM Jed Hoyer said. “It makes you realize every team, every pitcher can go down at any time, and you have to have the depth to handle it. … We know we still have to continue to push that.”
  • Javier Baez has been cleared to swing a bat but there’s no timetable for his return just yet, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com tweets.  The Cubs have been on the lookout for pitching and it was reported last last month that one possible deal was disrupted when Baez suffered a broken finger.

Rosenthal On Padres, Rockies, Rollins, Rangers

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports:

  • The Cubs and Astros would make sense as teams who could pursue the Padres’ starting pitching, Rosenthal suggests. The Padres would likely have interest in the Cubs’ collection of young middle infielders, and Astros manager A.J. Hinch used to work for the Padres.
  • The Rockies are open to trading Troy Tulowitzki but haven’t been aggressive in trying to do so, Rosenthal says. Nonetheless, the Rockies could have a huge impact as sellers if they chose, given that they have Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, John Axford and LaTroy Hawkins.
  • The Dodgers plan to give Jimmy Rollins “a long leash.” Rollins hasn’t hit well this year, but he’s been better this month (.286/.333/.464). Top prospect Corey Seager isn’t exceptional defensively, and if they went with him as a full-time starter, they’d likely feel they had to deal or release Rollins out of respect. That would leave them in a tough spot if Seager didn’t play well.
  • The Rangers could both sell and buy at the deadline, perhaps dealing Yovani Gallardo but acquiring fellow veteran starting pitcher Cole Hamels, who could then join Texas’ rotation for the next several years. They could also pursue less of a headline-grabbing route by simply pursuing relievers, as well as a hitter they could use against left-handed pitching.

Cubs Designate Donn Roach

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The Cubs have designated righty Donn Roach for assignment, the club announced (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter). His 40-man spot was needed for the activation of Mike Olt from the DL. Olt was optioned to Triple-A.

Roach, 25, gave up four earned runs in a 3 1/3 inning appearance at the major league level. He has thrown 89 innings with a healthy 2.33 ERA at the Triple-A level on the year, striking out 3.3 and walking 1.6 batters per nine in the process.

International Notes: July 2 Pools, 2016-17 Market, Cuba

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In case you missed the recent action, be sure to catch up on the major July 2 signings. In the midst of teams agreeing to deals with young talent, they were also swapping quite a bit of bonus spending pools amongst themselves. Matt Eddy of Baseball America provides an exceedingly useful chart showing the aggregate results (as of this morning) of all those exchanges.

  • Now that the dust has largely settled, Baseball America’s Ben Badler breaks down at the clubs that have exceeded their total allotment. By Badler’s reckoning, fully one-third of the league will be restricted from spending more than $300K in next year’s July 2 market, with the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Royals, and Blue Jays joining the five teams that are set to serve the second year of their bans. (Toronto will only face one season of limitations, as their spending stands.) Badler also explains how all the bonus pool deals were put to use by the teams making them.
  • In the same piece, Badler takes a stab at predicting which clubs are planning to blow their budgets next year. He says that the Braves “seem determined” to make a big splash, while the industry chatter is that they could be joined by the Nationals, Rangers, Twins, and Padres.
  • MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez looks at the challenges to Cuban baseball posed by changing diplomatic tides. The stream of ballplayers heading for major league organizations has obviously hurt Cuba’s domestic league and national team, as Sanchez explains.
  • If you’re still confused by the way the international market works, check out this solid primer from Jonah Keri of Grantland. He uses a Q&A format to help simplify the often baffling series of rules, strategies, and factors weighing on this segment of the baseball transactional world.

Latest On Eddy Julio Martinez

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Top Cuban outfield prospect Eddy Julio Martinez remains unsigned a week after the beginning of the July 2 international signing period, but the Dodgers and Giants still lead the race to sign him, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes. Both teams have workouts scheduled for Martinez in the coming week.

The Cubs, White Sox, Rangers and Astros also have shown significant interest. Sanchez points out, though, that the Dodgers, Giants and maybe the Cubs have the edge, because Martinez’s bonus, likely to be eight figures, will incur maximum penalties for the team that signs him, including the inability to sign any player for more than $300K in either of the next two international signing periods. The Dodgers and Giants are already on pace to incur those penalties — the Dodgers’ expensive current class includes $16MM signee Yadier Alvarez, while the Giants’ includes $6MM signee Lucius Fox. The Cubs appear likely to incur maximum penalties as well. The White Sox, Rangers and Astros have not incurred such penalties, so they appear to have at least some incentive not to sign Martinez.

MLB.com ranks Martinez the No. 1 prospect available this signing period, comparing the 20-year-old to Andruw Jones and praising his power, baserunning and defense. Baseball America’s Ben Badler (subscription only) is less bullish, suggesting Martinez’s power leads more to doubles than home runs and noting that not all scouts believe he’ll stick as a starter in center field.

Injury Notes: Gordon, Kazmir, Hammel

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A trio of notable players left tonight’s action early. It’s too soon to speculate in any of the situations, but all are worthy of note with the All-Star break right around the corner.

  • Royals skipper Ned Yost indicated that he is fearful of a prolonged absence for Gordon, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter links). Though McCullough adds that the training staff does not believe Gordon’s groin muscle detached from the bone, the 31-year-old is said to have heard a pop from the muscle.

Earlier Updates

  • The Royals may have dodged a bullet, as the team announced that star left fielder Alex Gordon was carted off with a groin strain. It appeared that his left leg buckled as he chased a ball to the wall, and Gordon’s obvious pain contributed to the impression that he may have suffered a significant leg injury. Regardless, a groin strain can itself still be rather a serious problem, and it is too early to know the long-term implications. Needless to say, any lost time from the outstanding veteran would create a significant hole in the Kansas City lineup.
  • Athletics lefty Scott Kazmir left his start tonight after just three innings with triceps tightness. But after the game, he told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jane Lee, on Twitter) that the issue is “super minor” and should not cause him to miss any time. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reminds us, via Twitter, this is not the first time that the veteran has been forced out early from a start. And indeed, there may not be cause for concern. But the timing is obviously not great, with Kazmir shaping up to be one of the market’s more appealing rental arms.
  • The Cubs’ starter this evening, Jason Hammel, also left quite early with what the team called left hamstring tightness, as John Jackson writes for ESPN.com. Chicago turned to lefty Clayton Richard, who was just added in a trade. While it’s obviously less concerning to hear of an injury of this nature than the two noted above, the Cubs will surely still proceed with caution, and Hammel will undergo an MRI, per a tweet from Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Chicago’s rotation is not the deepest part of its roster, and Hammel makes up a key part of an effective top three, having put up 102 2/3 innings of 2.89 ERA pitching.

NL East Notes: Mets, Papelbon, Pettibone, Span

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Mets GM Sandy Alderson indicated today that the trade landscape for bats is starting to take shape, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports on Twitter. “The target market is just beginning to reveal itself,” said Alderson. New York’s most obvious needs seem to be on the left side of the infield, where the shortstop position continues to be a source of consternation and third bagger David Wright remains an uncertainty.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Other teams believed the Phillies were nearing a deal involving closer Jonathan Papelbon at some point in June before putting talks on hold, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports (links to Twitter). Per Stark, there is a sense that the decision to pull back came from above GM Ruben Amaro Jr., with Philadelphia choosing to hold off when the Andy MacPhail hiring neared completion. Clubs that were in the conversation included the Blue Jays, Cubs, Rangers, and one of the Los Angeles franchises, according to the report. MLBTR recently posed the question on Instagram whether Papelbon or Francisco Rodriguez is the better closer target. Check it out to join the discussion.
  • Phillies righty Jonathan Pettibone is set for another shoulder surgery, the club announced. The 24-year-old once seemed primed to function as a quality rotation piece, but has not pitched competitively since early last season.
  • The Nationals are waiting to decide on a DL stint for center fielder Denard Span until he sees a back specialist tomorrow, Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com tweets. Span has been excellent when healthy, but continues to deal with a series of nagging injuries. The progress of this particular malady could play a significant role not only in his future free agent case, but also Washington’s motivation to land a player like Ben Zobrist to provide the team with options down the stretch. While Michael Taylor and Matt den Dekker are capable of playing center, the club is also dealing with the absence of Jayson Werth and several other injury and performance issues that could make an addition desirable.

Rockies Claim Gonzalez Germen From Cubs

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The Rockies have claimed righty Gonzalez Germen off waivers from the Cubs, Colorado announced. Germen, 27, has bounced around quite a bit in recent months.

It seemed that Germen had found a home with the Cubs, but he’ll instead head once more to a new organization. Germen will pitch at Triple-A Albuquerque, per the report.

Germen coughed up five earned runs in his six innings of work this year for Chicago, picking up eight strikeouts against five walks. Over 33 1/3 Triple-A frames, he’s put up a better-looking 3.78 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.

 

Cubs Front Office Has “Financial Resources” For Trades

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Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney indicates that the organization has the financial wherewithal to add to the big league roster at the trade deadline, David Kaplan of CSN Chicago reports on Twitter.

“There are financial resources if [president of baseball operations] Theo [Epstein] needs money to make a deal,” said Kenney. “No one I trust more to figure out what to do [than] Theo and [GM] Jed [Hoyer].”

While it is not exactly surprising to learn that the rising Cubs have the ability and willingness to spend, it is nevertheless notable for the organization’s top business executive to state that fact so clearly as the trade season heats up. It seems clear from his comments that the team’s purse is at least somewhat open for the front office to utilize in an effort to reach the postseason this year. And the comments also seem to indicate that ownership is handing plenty of leeway to its high-profile baseball decision-makers.

Chicago has, of course, already made at least one significant move in signing Rafael Soriano, who is working his way up to major league readiness and figures to factor in at the back of the pen. While the club reportedly prefers not to give up its very best talent in a deal, a prospective swap involving Javier Baez is said to have reached a reasonably advanced stage (before being scuttled in the wake of his injury).

The Cubs are focused primarily on starting pitching and left-handed outfield bats, per another recent report. Willingness to take on salary will obviously play a significant role in providing Epstein, Hoyer, and company with flexibility to structure an acquisition. With the club reportedly interested in adding an arm with come future control, the ability to absorb current and future salary commitments ought to reduce the amount of young talent required.

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