NL Central Notes: Maddon, Nathan, Bruce, Nova
Some items from around the NL Central…
- Joe Maddon is hardly the first manager to embrace his players’ versatility, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that though few have done it to the sheer extent of the Cubs‘ skipper. Chicago’s dominant lead in the standings has given Maddon some leeway to experiment, though it could also be argued that the Cubs are enjoying such a great season because Maddon has been so canny about pursuing every possible advantage to help his team win. Sherman feels that other teams could use the Cubs as a blueprint for future roster construction, as having multi-positional players around can solve many issues.
- Joe Nathan was understandably let down about being released by the Cubs last month, the veteran reliever tells ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. Nathan signed with Chicago in May and eventually pitched in three games for the Cubs after completing his rehab from Tommy John surgery. “In their defense I don’t think they foresaw picking up [Aroldis] Chapman, picking up Joe Smith, and their bullpen shaping up the way it was,” Nathan said. “On that side of it I completely understand. Still, it was a disappointing turn of events. Things went from ‘this is the plan’ to ‘now what?’ ” Nathan said that Cubs president Theo Epstein personally informed him about the release, and the veteran reliever didn’t have any hard feelings towards his former club. Of course, Nathan’s disappointment has been mitigated by the fact that he signed on with another contender in the Giants.
- When Jay Bruce learned he was going to be dealt, the outfielder asked the Reds to trade him “anywhere but New York,” Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News writes. No specific reason was given for Bruce’s reported misgivings about joining the Mets. Bruce has, in fact, badly struggled since joining the Mets in a deadline deal, entering today with only a .198/.270/.327 slash line and three homers over 111 plate appearances.
- With Ivan Nova pitching well since joining the Pirates in July, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review thinks the Bucs could “consider being aggressive in approaching Nova with an extension” before the righty hits free agency in the offseason. As MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently noted in a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, a strong finish from Nova could line him up for as much as a three-year deal this winter; he’ll stand out in a very thin pitching market and teams could see him as a new J.A. Happ, who blossomed after going to Pittsburgh last season and has continued to pitch well in Toronto. Extending Nova now would save the Bucs some money, since it’s possible his market could grow to the point that he is priced out of the Pirates’ comfort zone. That said, my guess would be that Nova will forego an extension to at least test the open market, given that he’s so close to free agency.
Injury Updates: Strasburg, Shoemaker, Pirates, Hamilton
Here’s the latest health updates on some key names from around baseball…
- Stephen Strasburg could “possibly” start for the Nationals on Wednesday, manager Dusty Baker told reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Strasburg was placed on the DL with a sore right elbow on August 21, so he would have only missed slightly beyond the 15-day minimum should he indeed return on Wednesday. Baker said Strasburg threw well in a bullpen session today but the club will see how the star righty is feeling tomorrow before any decisions are made.
- Angels righty Matt Shoemaker was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of Kyle Seager today. Shoemaker didn’t lose consciousness during the scary incident, and the Halos announced that he had suffered a laceration but was alert and responsive. A CT scan revealed that Shoemaker suffered a small skull fracture and a hematoma, and he’ll stay in hospital overnight and visit a neurologist (as per Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times).
- The struggling Pirates could get some reinforcements in the form of Jung Ho Kang and Gerrit Cole, skipper Clint Hurdle told reporters (including Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Kang, who went on the DL with a left shoulder injury on August 20, could return to the active roster as early as Monday. Cole’s DL placement due to right elbow inflammation was retroactive to August 25, and the Pirates have him tentatively scheduled to start on September 12 against Philadelphia. Cole threw a 30-pitch bullpen session yesterday and has to get through two more side sessions scheduled for next week before the Bucs give him the green light to return.
- Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton exited today’s game with the Cardinals after suffering a left oblique strain during the third inning. The severity of the injury isn’t known, as while Reds manager Bryan Price told reporters (including Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Hamilton will likely be out of action for a few games, oblique injuries generally take much longer to heal. Jose Peraza is the Reds’ top center field option while Hamilton recovers. It’s not out of the question that Hamilton will miss the rest of the season, which would bring a disappointing end to a campaign that saw Hamilton (.260/.321/.343) post career highs in batting average and OBP over 460 plate appearances, while stealing a league-leading 58 bases.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/4/16
Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:
- Red Sox right-hander William Cuevas has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal was among those to tweet. Cuevas, whom the Red Sox designated for assignment Friday, has thrown just five of his 136 innings this year in the majors. The 25-year-old has compiled a 4.19 ERA, 5.84 K/9 and 3.09 BB/9 in 131 frames with Pawtucket.
- Reds outfielder Kyle Waldrop has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Louisville, according to a club announcement. Cincinnati designated Waldrop for assignment Friday. Since the Reds picked him in the 12th round of the 2010 draft, Waldrop has collected only 26 major plate appearances. Nearly all of his time, including the majority of 2016, has been spent in the minors. The 24-year-old, who shares a name with a former Twins pitcher, has hit a less-than-stellar .254/.302/.365 in 351 plate appearances with Louisville this season.
Angels Claim Daniel Wright From Reds
The Angels have claimed right-hander Daniel Wright off waivers from the Reds, per a Cincinnati announcement. The Reds designated Wright for assignment earlier Sunday.
The 25-year-old Wright, whom the Reds chose in the 10th round of the 2013 draft, will now join his second organization. He made his major league debut this season with four appearances, two of which were starts, and pitched to a bloated 7.62 ERA in 13 innings, also posting 4.15 K/9 against 1.38 BB/9. Wright also had difficulty preventing runs this year with Triple-A Louisville, where he put up a 6.13 ERA across 83 2/3 frames. In 453 2/3 career minor league innings, Wright has logged a 4.44 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.
Reds Designate Daniel Wright For Assignment
The Reds have designated right-hander Daniel Wright for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to infielder/outfielder Hernan Iribarren, whose contract the Reds have selected from Triple-A Louisville.
Wright, 25, was the Reds’ 10th-round pick in 2013. He made his major league debut this season with four appearances, two of which were starts, and pitched to an unpalatable 7.62 ERA in 13 innings, also logging 4.15 K/9 against 1.38 BB/9. Wright wasn’t much better at preventing runs this year in Louisville, where he posted a 6.13 ERA across 83 2/3 frames. In 453 2/3 career minor league innings, Wright has recorded a 4.44 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.
Injury Notes: Wright, Cole, Bailey, Floyd
Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright continues to deal with right shoulder issues, leading the club to scratch him from his scheduled Tuesday start in San Diego, manager John Farrell said Saturday (Twitter link via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe). Clay Buchholz is likely to replace Wright, who hurt his shoulder while pinch running in early August and will next go for a second opinion on it. Wright has endured a stint on the disabled list and two poor starts since suffering the injury, though his numbers began going downhill toward the end of June. The pristine 2.01 ERA he had through June 20 is now up to 3.33 (still a terrific number) through 156 2/3 frames.
More injury updates:
- Pirates ace Gerrit Cole threw off a mound Saturday for the first time since Aug. 24, his most recent start, and tossed 30 pitches – all of which were fastballs. “It went really well. I felt pretty good,” Cole said afterward (via Andrew Erickson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Cole has been on the DL since Tuesday, retroactive to Aug. 25, with right elbow inflammation – which is the latest in a series of ailments that have troubled him this year. He was previously on the DL for a month earlier this summer with a right triceps muscle strain. The earliest Cole can return from his current injury is Friday. Despite an ugly four-start stretch prior to his DL placement, Cole has still notched a 3.55 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.53 BB/9 in 114 innings this season.
- The Reds don’t expect the tightness Homer Bailey is dealing with in his right biceps to end his season, writes Cody Pace of MLB.com. “At this point, we’re not discussing that,” manager Bryan Price said in regards to the possibility of shutting down Bailey. “But it would be something that we would discuss. We’re not going to force this to happen. That’s not the goal. The goal is to get him healthy and not have to look back and not have to be as conservative as we have on the front end of this rehab.” Bailey, who exited his start last Sunday after just one inning, returned July 31 on the heels of missing nearly all of last season and the first four months this year because of May 2015 Tommy John surgery. Bailey’s latest injury is unrelated to his elbow, fortunately, but his comeback hasn’t gone smoothly this year. In 23 innings, the 30-year-old has allowed 17 earned runs on 35 hits, though he has amassed a prolific 27 strikeouts against seven walks. The Reds owe him $68MM through 2020.
- The sprained right shoulder capsule that has kept Blue Jays reliever Gavin Floyd out since late June will likely end his season, per Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. The injury, which was initially diagnosed as a torn lat muscle, shouldn’t affect Floyd’s ability to pitch in 2017. The impending free agent turned in a respectable performance this year as part of Toronto’s bullpen, recording a 4.06 ERA, 8.31 K/9 and 2.32 BB/9 in 31 innings.
Reds Designate Kyle Waldrop For Assignment
The Reds announced today that they have designated outfielder Kyle Waldrop for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for left-hander Wandy Peralta, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Louisville. Cincinnati also recalled left-hander Cody Reed and righties Robert Stephenson and Keyvius Sampson from Louisville.
Waldrop, 24 (and not to be confused with the former Twins pitcher of the same name), rated as one of Cincinnati’s top 30 prospects from 2011-15, per Baseball America, but he’s struggled through a poor season at Louisville, hitting just .254/.302/.365. The corner outfielder has yet to display the power in Triple-A that he did at Class-A Advanced and Double-A. A former 12th-round pick, Waldrop has tallied 24 plate appearances at the big league level across the past two seasons, collecting five hits (one double), a walk and six strikeouts.
The 25-year-old Peralta, meanwhile, has not frequented Reds prospect rankings but enjoyed a solid season working primarily out of the bullpen. In 75 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A, the Dominican hurler has pitched to a 2.50 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a huge 58.8 percent ground-ball rate. Over the past two seasons, left-handers have actually handled Peralta considerably better than right-handed batters, though he carried a more traditional platoon split earlier in his minor league career.
As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.
Heyman’s Latest: Dodgers, McCann, Napoli, Ichiro, Colon, Price
The Dodgers intend to pursue reunions with at least four prominent free agents, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Excellent third baseman Justin Turner, relief ace Kenley Jansen, late-breaking lefty Rich Hill, and veteran second baseman Chase Utley would all hold interest to Los Angeles, per the report, though age considerations and the presence of internal alternatives could limit the club’s willingness to top the market for those players. The 28-year-old Jansen may be the highest priority among this group, Heyman suggests. While the Dodgers haven’t exactly broken the bank on relief arms under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, it seems Jansen could warrant an exception given his unbelievable performance level. All said, Heyman suggests it would be surprising if L.A. doesn’t bring back at least two of those four players.
Here are some more of Heyman’s latest notes, from his weekly column:
- The Braves and Yankees have tabled any talks pertaining to catcher Brian McCann until the offseason, which may not bode well for New York’s chances to trade him to Atlanta. Heyman writes that the Braves have interest in Matt Wieters, Jason Castro and top free agent catcher Wilson Ramos, whom they’d love to snatch away from the division-rival Nationals. Atlanta is willing to pay half of the remaining $34MM McCann is owed from 2017-18. They’re also looking to add a rotation piece for 2017 and beyond, if not two, as a number of their top-ranked minor league arms are still a ways off from the Majors (which, of course, could make them appealing trade chips in an offseason where the free agent market is devoid of talented starters).
- Mike Napoli, who is enjoying a rebound season at the plate with the Indians, has said he’d like to remain in Cleveland, though the two sides aren’t engaged in talks. Napoli’s defense and baserunning have torpedoed his WAR totals, but he’s batted a well-above-average .259/.345/.494 with 29 home runs in his first season with Cleveland. His bat should draw plenty of interest this winter despite the fact that he’ll turn 35 on Halloween.
- Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki hopes to play again in 2017 and would like to stay in Miami, per the report. With his club option valued at only $2MM, that may be a fairly easy pick-up for the organization. Playing in his age-42 season in 2016, Ichiro has compiled a useful .294/.365/.366 batting line over 296 plate appearances, continues to rate as an average or better fielder and overall baserunner, and has even cracked double-digit stolen bases for the 16th-straight season.
- Another aging veteran who intends to continue his career, says Heyman, is Mets righty Bartolo Colon. It’s not yet clear how his market will develop — we don’t know what level of interest New York will have, or whether the 43-year-old will be looking for multiple years — but there certainly ought to be ample interest given that Colon has provided 158 2/3 innings of 3.35 ERA pitching thus far in 2016. Even if the peripherals don’t quite line up with those bottom-line results, he’ll be among the more durable and effective pitchers available on a forthcoming seller’s market for starters.
- There’s no sense that the Reds are interested in making a change at manager, Heyman says. Skipper Bryan Price‘s contract does expire after the year, but with some positive signs in the second half — excluding a current four-game skid, at least — it seems he could be retained.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/1/16
Catching up on a couple of minor moves from yesterday and tracking additional minor transactions from today…
- The Rangers acquired veteran minor league catcher Nevin Ashley from the Mets last night in exchange for cash, the team announced. Ashley, 32, played in a dozen games for the Brewers last season, which represents his lone season with MLB experience. He’s logged parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level since being drafted in the sixth round by the (Devil) Rays back in 2006 and has compiled a .256/.341/.391 batting line at that level while also halting 35 percent of stolen base attempts made against him.
- The Reds announced yesterday that right-hander A.J. Morris has been activated from the 60-day disabled list and outrighted to Triple-A Louisville. The 29-year-old made his Major League debut for Cincinnati this season and threw 10 innings at the big league level before a shoulder strain landed him on the disabled list. Morris, a former fourth-round pick by the Nationals (2009), has a career 3.36 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 158 innings at the Triple-A level and a lifetime 3.33 ERA in parts of seven minor league seasons between the Nats, Cubs, Pirates and Reds.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/27/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Reds have selected the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from Triple-A Louisville, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. To clear space on their active roster, they’ve optioned infielder Tony Renda to Louisville. The Reds needed an extra catcher due to a minor hand injury to Tucker Barnhart. The 28-year-old Lopez appeared briefly in the big leagues with the Cubs in 2016, but has not done so since. He’s hit a modest .213/.262/.297 for Louisville this season.
- The Mariners today announced a bevy of roster moves — they selected the contract of righty Dan Altavilla from Double-A Jackson, recalled first baseman Dae-Ho Lee and switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from Triple-A Tacoma, and placed righty Tom Wilhelmsen on the 15-day disabled list with lower back spasms. (They also optioned outfielder Nori Aoki and infielder Michael Freeman to Tacoma, as had previously been reported.) The 23-year-old Altavilla, a fifth-round pick in 2014, has never pitched above the Double-A level, but he’s had success there this season, posting a 1.91 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings.
- The Twins have selected the contract of righty Alex Wimmers, as Ted Schwerzler of Off The Baggy was first to tweet. Wimmers made his big-league debut with a scoreless inning yesterday. The 27-year-old was the 21st overall pick in the 2010 draft, but his path to the big leagues was slowed by injury. He’s had a solid season in the bullpen at Triple-A Rochester, with a 3.62 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings.
- The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Julio Borbon and optioned righty Mike Wright to Triple-A Norfolk. The 30-year-old Borbon briefly played for the Orioles this season but has spent most of the year with Double-A Bowie, where he’s batted .275/.336/.362 with 28 stolen bases. He’s hit sparingly in parts of five seasons in the big leagues, but his speed might make him an effective tactical player if the O’s opt to stick with him until rosters expand.