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White Sox Place Avisail Garcia On 10-Day DL

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The White Sox announced today that outfielder Avisail Garcia is headed back to the 10-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. That’s the same essential injury that forced him out of action for much of the first half of the season.

To take the open spot on the active roster, the Chicago organization has promoted Ryan LaMarre. The outfielder was acquired recently in a waiver claim from the division-rival Twins, who had designated him for assignment.

The news is rather disappointing for Garcia, who had been on fire at the plate since being activated. In 17 games since his return to the roster in late June, he carried a .333/.347/.783 slash with eight home runs. Though that stretch also included just two walks to go with 17 strikeouts, Garcia showed last year that he can be quite productive even when carrying a marginal walk rate.

It now seems reasonable to presume that Garcia won’t really factor in this summer’s trade deadline build-up. Questions about the sustainability of his hitting, poorly graded glovework, and nagging hamstring problems already posed questions. Now, though the team hasn’t ruled out a return before the end of the month, it’s especially hard to imagine a trade coming together.

Garcia is earning $6.7MM this year and remains eligible for one more season of arbitration, which obviously reduces any urgency to work out a trade this summer. Certainly, the rebuilding South Siders could try to deal him next winter or instead decide to pursue an extension. Garcia, after all, is just 27 years old. Of course, his age, earnings to date, and proximity to free agency also leave him with a fair bit of leverage. There has been no clear indication to date whether a long-term deal is a serious consideration for the club.

White Sox Claim Ryan LaMarre

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The White Sox announced that they’ve claimed outfielder Ryan LaMarre off waivers from the Twins. LaMarre was designated for assignment by Minnesota last week when Jorge Polanco was reinstated from his suspension. The ChiSox already had two open spots on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t required. The White Sox didn’t announce that LaMarre is going to Triple-A (though he does have minor league options remaining), so it seems he’ll join their active roster.

LaMarre, 30, batted .263/.321/.313 through 109 plate appearances as a Twin before his DFA, logging plenty of time in center field with Byron Buxton struggling to stay healthy in 2018. Though his average and OBP were respectable, LaMarre also struck out in 30.3 percent clip of his big league plate appearances. He’s capable of playing any of the three outfield positions for the Sox and can be optioned back and forth between Charlotte and Chicago as a depth piece for the remainder of the season if the Sox hang onto him.

Cafardo’s Latest: Abreu, Astros, Ramos, Nats, A’s, Treinen, Orioles

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The Astros have shown interest in White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Abreu carries a stronger track record than Houston first baseman Yuli Gurriel and designated hitter Evan Gattis, either of whom could lose playing time to Abreu if the reigning world champs acquire him. However, in 2018, both Gurriel and Gattis have offered superior production to Abreu, a fellow right-handed hitter who has batted a disappointing .260/.316/.451 through 373 plate appearances. The 31-year-old Abreu also carries a high price tag, as he’s on a $13MM salary this season and should land a raise over that figure next winter during his final trip through arbitration. But despite the veteran’s cost and the fact that the White Sox are rebuilding, they have thus far been unwilling to move Abreu, an important mentor to their array of young players.

Here’s more from Cafardo:

  • The Nationals recently sent special assistant Dan Jennings to watch Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, Cafardo reports. The Nationals are already familiar with Ramos, who played with the team from 2010-16, and the pending free agent figures to end up with either them or another club by the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. After a mediocre 2017, the 30-year-old Ramos has rebuilt his stock with a .287/.338/.460 line in 293 PAs. Those numbers are far better than the production Nationals catchers have offered. Washington’s backstops have combined to hit a league-worst .185/.278/.265 in 338 trips to the plate, thus contributing to the team’s five-game deficit in the NL East.
  • The Athletics are suggesting to teams that closer Blake Treinen isn’t available for trade, though clubs are wondering if that’s just a ploy to drive up his price, per Cafardo. If the A’s expect to push for a playoff spot this year and next, they may well keep Treinen, who’s under control through 2019 for affordable prices. Treinen has been an integral part of this year’s Oakland team, which is a solid 48-40 and sits 7 1/2 games back of a wild-card spot. Across 42 2/3 innings, Treinen has logged a near-spotless ERA (.84) with 10.97 K/9, 2.53 BB/9 and 22 saves in 24 opportunities.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Orioles “would love” to land Indians catcher Francisco Mejia in a potential Manny Machado trade, Cafardo writes. Cleveland has reportedly shown strong interest in Machado, though it’s unknown if the Tribe would be willing to give up Mejia at all – let alone for a rental. The 22-year-old Mejia ranks as the Indians’ top farmhand in the estimation of MLB.com and Baseball America, both of which regard him as one of the game’s 25 best prospects.
  • More on Machado, who could wind up in a package with teammate and fellow free agent-to-be Zach Britton, Cafardo hears. As an accomplished reliever, Britton may be a fit for Cleveland, whose bullpen has been among the majors’ weakest this year. It’s unclear how much trade value Britton has, though, given that he fell off somewhat last year after an incredible 2016 and hasn’t been good this season in his first action since suffering a ruptured Achilles over the winter.

White Sox Grant Donn Roach His Release To Pursue Opportunity In Japan

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Right-hander Donn Roach has been granted his release by the White Sox in order to pursue an opportunity in Japan, the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte announced. The move comes after Roach was named the club’s minor league pitcher of the month for June and after he’d been selected to the International League All-Star team.

There’s no official word as to which club will be signing Roach, though multiple reports out of Japan have suggested that the Orix Buffaloes have been showing interest in the 28-year-old right-hander. Roach becomes the second player to be released from a Triple-A club in order to pursue a job in Japan, joining now-former Mariners lefty Ariel Miranda.

Roach hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2016 with Seattle and has just a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 18 walks in 39 innings as a big leaguer. But he’s notched a much better 3.68 ERA in 453 innings at the Triple-A level, albeit with a pedestrian 4.8 K/9 mark against 2.2 BB/9. Roach also spent the 2017 season pitching for the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization, posting a 4.69 ERA through 165 innings of work.

That led Roach to the White Sox organization, where he’s turned in a terrific season to date. Through 95 innings, he’s logged a 2.65 ERA with 5.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.28 HR/9 and a 56 percent ground-ball rate, with all but one of his 16 appearances coming out of the rotation. While the ChiSox aren’t exactly enjoying quality results from their rotation in the Majors, it also seems unlikely that Roach would’ve been a long-term answer for them at the big league level — especially given his lack of missed bats. This arrangement will allow Roach to earn more than he’d been earning in the States (and possibly set him up for a raise in a second season in Japan) while providing the Sox with some financial compensation for granting Roach his release.

Central Notes: Twins, Shaw, Cervelli, Kuhl, ChiSox

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The Twins are open to trading their pending free agents, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports, as the team begins to look ahead to the 2019 season.  Minnesota’s loss to the Brewers today drops them to 35-48 on the season, 11.5 games out of first place in the AL Central and 18 games out of a wild card slot.  One NL executive believes the Twins would be willing to hold trade talks for just about every player on the roster, not just the free agents, though Morosi doubts the team’s younger players under long term control would be seriously discussed.

Looking only at the players signed through 2018, the list includes Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Lance Lynn, Zach Duke, and Joe Mauer, plus Fernando Rodney, Logan Morrison, and Ervin Santana could also be free agents depending on club options.  There are several big names in that group, though only a few (Escobar, Duke, Rodney) are playing well enough to be considered prime trade chips.  Dozier’s disappointing year, in particular, has both hurt the Twins’ hopes of contending and drastically lowered his value at the deadline.  It isn’t known if Mauer would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go elsewhere, as Mauer’s agent declined to provide any details about how the longtime face of the franchise would respond if a trade offer materialized.

Here’s the latest from around both the AL and NL Central divisions….

  • A recent report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) stated that the Brewers had been working Travis Shaw out at second base, which created speculation about Milwaukee potentially targeting third basemen at the deadline.  Brewers GM David Stearns, however, said in an e-mail to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that Shaw’s pregame alignment is fairly routine procedure.  “We have guys taking ground balls all over the field during early work and BP….Travis plays on that side of the bag a fair amount in our shift alignments so it makes sense for him to take ground balls over there. Adding to positional versatility is always helpful,” Stearns wrote.  For his part, Shaw said that the team asked him both recently and earlier in the season “if I would be open to playing second if that situation presents itself,” and he said he’d be willing to do so.  Shaw has never played second base during his eight-year professional career, so it would be a bold move if Milwaukee actually shifted him to the keystone midway through the season to accommodate a new acquisition at third base.
  • Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomcyzk updated some of the team’s injury situations in a chat with reporters (including The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel and MLB.com’s Adam Berry) today.  Francisco Cervelli could begin a rehab assignment this weekend, as the catcher has resumed full baseball activities after being cleared of concussion symptoms.  Cervelli has been on the disabled list since June 22.
  • The outlook is more ominous for right-hander Chad Kuhl, who was diagnosed with a strained right forearm after undergoing an MRI.  “Doctors have recommended a conservative treatment at this time,” Tomcyzk said, so Kuhl won’t be facing a surgical procedure in the near future.  Kuhl has a 4.37 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.21 K/BB rate over 313 career innings and 61 starts for the Pirates.
  • Since the White Sox heavily bolstered their prospect ranks in the Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and Adam Eaton trades, the team now faces the potentially lengthy and sometimes-frustrating wait to see this young talent develop at the Major League level.  The Sox haven’t shown much this season, and as executive VP Ken Williams tells Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, “We’re probably ahead of where we have a right to believe we’re supposed to be, but we’re right where we want to be, but not quite where we need to be yet.”  Both Williams and Carlos Rodon stressed the importance of the young team learning how to win and not getting used to losing, though obviously the organization is in for more growing pains during the rebuild process.

White Sox To Sign Nick Madrigal

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TUESDAY: Madrigal receives the full slot of $6,411,400, Heyman tweets.

SUNDAY: The White Sox will sign the fourth pick in this year’s draft, Oregon State infielder Nick Madrigal, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The exact terms of his deal aren’t yet known, but the selection carries a slot value of just over $6.4MM.

Madrigal is coming off a championship-winning season at OSU, where he overcame a wrist injury to slash an eye-popping .367/.428/.511 in 180 at-bats this year. Thanks in part to his outstanding showing in 2018, Madrigal ranked among the top five prospects entering this year’s draft, according to FanGraphs (No. 2), Baseball America (No. 3) and MLB.com (No. 3), while ESPN’s Keith Law placed him at No. 11.

At 5-foot-7, 165 pounds, Madrigal is diminutive, but prospect experts have high hopes for his offense translating to the majors. BA, for example, contends that he “possesses arguably the best hit tool” in this year’s draft class, and adds that he could emerge as a legitimate stolen base threat in the majors. It’s not yet clear, however, whether Madrigal will line up at second base or shortstop in the pros. He has experience at both positions, but he manned the keystone in 2018 at OSU, which had fellow high draft pick Cayden Grenier (No. 37, Orioles) at short.

Injury Notes: Darvish, Nelson, Cordero, Chapman, Strasburg, Cespedes, Font, Dunning

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With ongoing uncertainty leading to some real worry, it came as something of a relief when the Cubs announced that Yu Darvish has been diagnosed with a right elbow impingement, as Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to cover on Twitter. Already on the DL, Darvish will receive a cortisone shot before being examined again next week. It’s not yet known what the course will be from that point, but the club is no doubt pleased that there’s not a more significant underlying issue plaguing the high-priced hurler.

Let’s run through some other health updates of note …

  • The Brewers are still unsure when they’ll welcome back righty Jimmy Nelson, GM David Stearns tells reporters including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). “We still think Jimmy is going to pitch for us this year,” Stearns stressed. But the shoulder surgery that knocked Nelson out has required a “slower process,” says Stearns, with Nelson still “yet to pitch off a mound.” It seems there’s no chance that the Brewers will welcome back their staff ace in advance of the trade deadline, meaning they’ll need to assess their rotation without full knowledge of his ability to contribute down the stretch.
  • Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero appears quite likely to elect season-ending surgery, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets. It’s still not a certainty, and the lack of urgency in making the final call — it has been under consideration for at least ten days — speaks to the general timeline. Though Cordero would miss the rest of the MLB campaign, he’d likely be ready to participate in winter ball and certainly be at full health for Spring Training next year.
  • Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman has progressed to taking swings, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He has already been out for about two weeks with a hand injury.
  • It seems there’s some cause for optimism for the Indians regarding reliever Tyler Olson. MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets that Olson has been able to throw a bullpen session, which certainly indicates he’s progressing rather well from a lat injury that perhaps could have been worse.
  • Likewise, Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg turned in a surprise bullpen session, as Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com was among those to tweet. That’s the first real indication that Strasburg is ready to begin working back toward a return from shoulder inflammation in earnest.
  • In other NL East news, the Mets increasingly have a confounding situation on their hands with regard to star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. Cespedes went on the DL in the middle of May with what seemed to be a minor injury, but still has not resumed running. Skipper Mickey Callaway says the veteran is “feeling a lot better,” but there’s no real sense of a timeline.
  • Righty Wilmer Font left today’s game with a lat injury, with Rays skipper Kevin Cash saying it’s probably a serious one, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The recently claimed righty “in all likelihood will miss significant time,” says Cash, which is quite a disappointment for all involved. Entering play today, the 28-year-old had found his groove with the Rays, turning in 22 innings of 1.64 ERA ball with 7.0 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9.
  • In news of longer-term consequence, the White Sox are still holding their breath with regard to well-regarded pitching prospect Dane Dunning. The team announced that he has been diagnosed with a “moderate elbow sprain that presently will not require surgery.” For the time being, he’ll rest for a while and resume throwing in about two months’ time if he’s deemed ready. That’s hardly good news, but is certainly better than the worst-case that may have been feared.

White Sox Release Alex Presley

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The White Sox have released outfielder Alex Presley, per an announcement from the team’s Triple-A affiliate. Presley had been playing at Charlotte since signing a minors deal in late May.

Presley, who’s within a month of his 33rd birthday, opened the season with the Orioles organization. He has had trouble getting things going at the plate at the highest level of the minors, turning in 232 plate appearances of .238/.306/.314 hitting in his two stops this year.

In the eight preceding seasons, the left-handed-hitting Presley accumulated just over fifteen-hundred plate appearances in the majors, slashing a composite .263/.306/.388. He carried a 106 wRC+ output in 71 games last year with the Tigers.

White Sox Outright Trayce Thompson

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Outfielder Trayce Thompson has cleared waivers and been sent outright to the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte, James Fegan of The Athletic reports (on Twitter). Thompson was designated for assignment last week when the team activated Avisail Garcia from the disabled list.

Thompson, 27, entered Spring Training with the Dodgers but has since gone to the Yankees, Athletics and now back to his original organization, the White Sox, in a series of waiver claims and minor trades. This is the first time Thompson has cleared waivers and been outrighted, and as such, he doesn’t have the option to reject the assignment.

It’s been a brutal year at the plate for Thompson, who has slashed just .117/.162/.211 and fanned 50 times in 137 plate appearances. His struggles at the dish date back to last season, and he’s never really enjoyed a prolonged run of success in the big leagues. That said, the former second-round pick did hit .249/.322/.463 with 18 homers through his first 62 MLB games with the ChiSox and Dodgers. He’s also an excellent athlete who can capably handle all three outfield spots. He’ll head to Charlotte and look for a reset of sorts in hopes of getting back on track and returning to the Majors later this season.

White Sox Activate Avisail Garcia, Designate Trayce Thompson

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The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve activated both Avisail Garcia and Leury Garcia from the disabled list. In order to clear roster space, infielder Jose Rondon has been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, while outfielder Trayce Thompson has been designated for assignment.

Chicago has been without Avisail Garcia since April 23 thanks to a hamstring strain that proved severe enough to sideline him for almost two months. The slightly younger of the two Garcias activated today (he turned 27 last week shortly before embarking on a minor league rehab assignment), Avisail was off to a slow start prior to his injury, hitting .233/.250/.315 with no walks and 17 strikeouts in 76 plate appearances.

Of course, he’s also fresh off a breakout 2017 season in which he raked at a .330/.380/.506 clip, hitting 18 homers, 27 doubles and five triples along the way. A .380 BABIP undoubtedly contributed to that breakout to an extent, but Garcia’s career-best hard-contact rates and a .359 xwOBA lent some legitimacy to the breakout, even if he’s likely to regress a bit from last year’s pace.

As for Leury Garcia, he’ll return nearly a month due to a sprained left knee. The South Side Swiss army knife has seen action at every position aside from catcher since debuting in 2013 (including two innings of relief pitching), though he’s settled in primarily as an outfielder over the past couple of seasons. He was hitting .262/.308/.369 with a pair of homers and nine steals at the time of his injury. The return of both Garcias should will cut into playing time for each of Daniel Palka, Charlie Tilson and Adam Engel. Matt Davidson, too, could see fewer at-bats for the time being now that there’s a more crowded mix at DH.

Thompson, meanwhile, is being designated for assignment for the fourth time since Spring Training. After being designated by the Dodgers, he made his way from the Yankees to the A’s to the White Sox — the club that originally selected him in the second round of the 2009 draft. Unfortunately for Thompson, his return to the ChiSox didn’t prove to be productive. In 130 trips to the plate back with his original team, Thompson limped to a .116/.153/.215 batting line. He did provide some heroics in his return tour, launching a walk-off homer against the Twins back in early May, but his overall lack of production proved too great to hang onto his roster spot.

The Sox will have a week to trade Thompson or run him throughout outright waivers. He’s yet to clear waivers at any point in his career, though this current lackluster showing could allow the Sox to pass him through unclaimed and outright him back to Charlotte.

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