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AL Notes: Lindor, Swihart, Astros

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Yesterday, we heard word of extension talks between Francisco Lindor and the Indians that was broken by a unique source — Cleveland GM Mike Chernoff’s six-year-old son, Brody. Brody said during a game broadcast that his dad was “trying to get Lindor to play for seven more years.” But the young Chernoff had his facts wrong, according to Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes. “Brody overheard my phone call about Jose Ramirez finalizing a deal that could keep him here for seven years,” says Mike Chernoff. “It was pretty funny. You gotta love kids.” This weekend, of course, the Indians reportedly neared a five-year extension with Ramirez that included two club options. It appears Brody’s first scoop was a bust, although he’s got plenty of time to work on his craft — recent history shows that baseball rumor reporters don’t peak until at least age 13. Here are more quick notes from the AL.

  • The Red Sox announced a number of roster moves this morning, including their decision to option Blake Swihart to Triple-A Pawtucket. The team also optioned infielder Deven Marrero to Pawtucket and reassigned catcher Dan Butler and first baseman Sam Travis to minor-league camp. Swihart had a strong spring, batting .325/.386/.400, but both Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez were out of options, and it’s not likely the Red Sox would want to lose either one.
  • The Astros’ last remaining roster spot comes down to righty relievers James Hoyt and Jandel Gustave, writes Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Collin McHugh is likely to begin the season on the DL due to a dead arm, which means both Mike Fiers and Joe Musgrove will make the Astros’ rotation and Brad Peacock (who is out of options) will be on the team in long relief. Peacock’s presence on the roster will keep the Astros from having to use Chris Devenski (who was quietly terrific as a rookie in 2016) in as many multi-inning outings, allowing him to pitch in higher-leverage spots. Hoyt or Gustave will pitch one-inning stints. Gustave has struck out ten batters in 8 2/3 Spring Training frames, but Kaplan notes that Hoyt profiles better against lefties, a potential factor since lefty Tony Sipp has struggled this spring (and he recently missed an outing due to back trouble, although that issue appears minor).

Pitching Notes: Rangers, Astros, Marlins, O’s, Red Sox, Jays

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While it’s possible the Rangers will bring back right-hander Colby Lewis to compete for a spot in their banged-up rotation, there hasn’t been any movement toward re-signing the free agent, general manager Jon Daniels told Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. The 37-year-old Lewis is unwilling to take a minors deal, reports Fraley, so the Rangers will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster if they hand him a major league contract. Nearly all of Lewis’ career has been spent in Texas, where he pitched his first three seasons (2002-04) and the past seven (2010-16). He threw 116 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball last season, though his FIP, xFIP and SIERA each hovered around the 5.00 mark.

The latest on a few other American League pitchers:

  • No full-time reliever eclipsed the 90-inning mark in either of the previous two seasons, but several could do it this year, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. There’s “a growing desire” among GMs and managers to utilize certain relievers for multiple innings, relays Sherman, who writes that the Astros’ Chris Devenski and the Marlins’ David Phelps are prime candidates to serve as bullpen workhorses in 2017. “Not every reliever is built for a versatile role. [Devenski] is,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. The right-hander was sensational across 108 1/3 frames as a rookie last year, when he threw 83 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and delivered a 1.61 ERA, 8.98 K/9 and 1.26 BB/9. Phelps was great at preventing runs in both roles (2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings as a starter, 2.31 ERA in 62 1/3 relief frames), but the righty only worked an inning at a time from the bullpen. Miami’s now stretching him out to throw 50 pitches in a given appearance, if necessary. “I look at Phelps like Andrew Miller,” manager Don Mattingly told Sherman. “I can use him in multiple ways. I can pitch him a few innings or I can have him close a game. You can’t do it on a daily basis. He still needs his rest. You know in bigger situations in the fifth and sixth innings you can see him.”
  • One of the Orioles’ top starters, righty Chris Tillman, will open the season on the 10-day disabled list, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Tillman has been dealing with shoulder issues for the past few months, and he underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection in December. The Orioles won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, notes Kubatko, who lists Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Gabriel Ynoa, Jayson Aquino and Chris Lee as possibilities to slot into their rotation during Tillman’s absence.
  • Red Sox left-hander David Price threw Saturday for the first time since suffering a flexor strain earlier this month, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Manager John Farrell came away encouraged, calling it “a good day for David,” but a return still doesn’t exactly seem imminent for the ace. “All of the early phase of throwing are going to be short, controlled effort and energy,” said Farrell. “We’re not even mapping out distances right now. We’re more interested in seeing how his arm responds to even the light throwing.”
  • Blue Jays southpaw T.J. House left the team’s game against the Tigers in an ambulance Friday after a line drive struck him in the head. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any skull fractures and is “doing well,” GM Ross Atkins told Jayson Stark of ESPN on Saturday. The club will be “extremely conservative” in deciding when to clear House to return to the mound, Atkins added.

AL West Notes: Hamilton, Bailey, Mariners, Devenski

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Some news and notes from around the AL West…

  • Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Monday, the club told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).  Hamilton underwent two surgical procedures on that same knee last year and has been bothered by soreness in the same joint this spring.  According to assistant GM Mike Daly, the Rangers still “feel good that Josh is going to play,” and haven’t had any talks with the veteran about his future with the organization.  Texas re-signed Hamilton to a minor league deal over the winter as the former AL MVP is attempting to revive his career after several injury-plagued down years, plus a lost 2016 that saw him play in just one minor league game.
  • Andrew Bailey “never seriously considered leaving” the Angels in free agency this winter, the veteran reliever tells Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times.  “I feel like, with where I’m at in my career and what I’ve been through, signing early and getting something done and focusing on getting ready for this year was more important to me than chasing something else,” Bailey said.  Amusing, he didn’t actually realize he was headed for free agency until last September, as Bailey believed he was still arbitration-eligible; he just barely passed the required six years of service time to hit the open market.  The righty pitched well after signing a minor league deal with the Angels last August, and showed signs of recovery from several injury-plagued years by tossing 43 2/3 innings in 2016.
  • The Mariners were counting on their “big three” of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen to anchor their rotation for years to come, though as Larry Stone of the Seattle Times observes, only Paxton is still on the M’s roster.  Walker was dealt to the Diamondbacks in November as part of the multi-player deal that brought Jean Segura to the M’s while Hultzen is simply trying to resume his career in the wake of multiple arm injuries.
  • Chris Devenski’s surprising rise from unheralded prospect to a major weapon out of the Astros bullpen gives Houston some pitching flexibility, ESPN’s Mark Simon writes.  The ’Stros could utilize Devenski as one of their many setup options, a multi-inning fireman like Andrew Miller or potentially even as starting depth in the back end of the rotation.  Over 108 1/3 innings as a rookie last season, Devenski posted a very impressive 2.16 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 5.2 K/BB rate.

Jeff Luhnow On Trade Deadline, 2017 Needs & Payroll, Rasmus

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Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says that he recognizes in retrospect that the team would’ve been better served to be more active at the trade deadline, as Angel Verdejo of the Houston Chronicle reports. But that wasn’t entirely apparent at the time, he stressed.

In particular, the losses of starters Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. left a difficult void for Houston down the stretch. But Luhnow says that he “didn’t have that perspective at that point,” referring to the August 1st trade deadline and its run-up. He also noted that, “over the long term, [foregoing additions] does sometimes turn out to be the right decision;” obviously, striking significant deals typically requires the sacrifice of young talent.

The “jury’s out” on whether the ’Stros should have been more aggressive this summer, says Luhnow, who does note that there are lessons to be learned from the 2016 experience. “I can’t control what happened after the deadline,” he said. “But we’re certainly going to continue to look at every opportunity going forward to give ourselves maybe a little more breathing room so if we do lose a player or we have some underperformance, that we’ve got more of a margin to still have a successful campaign.”

The Houston GM also addressed a variety of other important topics for the organization as it moves forward after missing the postseason.

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Astros Designate Danny Reynolds For Assignment

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The Astros have designated right-hander Danny Reynolds for assignment, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Presumably, the move will clear spot on the 40-man roster for fellow right-hander Chris Devenski; earlier today, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweeted that Houston planned to select Devenski’s contract and option right-hander Michael Feliz to Triple-A after Feliz threw 107 pitches in relief of Collin McHugh’s disastrous start yesterday.

Reynolds, 24, went from the Angels to the Dodgers to the Astros by way of waiver claim this offseason, and now could very well be exposed to waivers once again in the wake of his most recent DFA. The former sixth-rounder made it to Triple-A in 2014 but took a step back down the ladder in 2015, spending the entire year with he Halos’ Double-A affiliate, where he worked to a 4.57 ERA with 10.4 K/9 vs. 5.8 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings of relief. Reynolds moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen in 2014 and has seen his strikeout rate spike significantly since that time; over the past two minor league campaigns, he’s whiffed 113 batters in 105 1/3 innings. He did seem to develop some control issues in 2015, however, as evidenced by an uncharacteristically lofty 5.8 BB/9 rate.

As for the 25-year-old Devenski, who will be making his big league debut if he gets into a game with the Astros, the former White Sox 25th-rounder rated 24th among Houston farmhands, per MLB.com, which noted in its free scouting report that he sits 88-91 mph with his fastball and could sneak his way into the back of a big league rotation if everything clicks. If not, an above-average changeup and solid control could land him a spot in the bullpen. Last season, Devenski logged a 3.01 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 119 2/3 innings with Houston’s Double-A affiliate.

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