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Angels Option C.J. Cron To Triple-A

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The Angels announced on Monday that they’ve optioned first baseman/designated hitter C.J. Cron to Triple-A Salt Lake and recalled infielder Nolan Fontana in his place.

Entering the season, Cron was a popular trade candidate once the Angels signed Luis Valbuena, as it was reported that Valbuena would spend quite a bit of time at first base. The 27-year-old Cron, though, injured his left foot late in Spring Training and has hit poorly in 90 plate appearances since being activated: .232/.281/.305 with just one homer (a grand slam in yesterday’s game).

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Angels depth chart]

Slow start notwithstanding, Cron’s demotion comes as a mild surprise. He spent the entire 2016 season on the Angels’ Major League roster and hasn’t been optioned to the minors since early June of the 2015 campaign. And from the time of his recall from that most recent Triple-A stint through the end of the 2016 season, Cron slashed an impressive .281/.325/.481 with 31 long balls over the life of 735 Major League plate appearances. While that’s not quite elite production, it’s considerably better than the league average (121 wRC+).

From a service time vantage point, however, the move isn’t likely to impact Cron one way or another. He entered the year with two years, 110 days of Major League service time, meaning he needed just 62 days in the Majors to reach his third full year of service, thereby keeping him on track to reach free agency following the 2020 season. While he hasn’t quite reached the requisite 62 days, he needs just 12 more days of service time in order to do so. Even if Cron were to spend the bulk of the season in Triple-A, he’d still accrue those final 12 days as a September call-up, so the only real way this would delay his free agency would be if he were to incur a season-ending injury in the minors and finish out the year on the disabled list.

With Cron in the minors and Yunel Escobar on the disabled list, it seems likely that Valbuena will spend a considerable amount of time at third base, with Jefry Marte handling duties at first base. Albert Pujols could see a bit of action at first as well, though he’s played in the field just twice in 40 games this season, so the team doesn’t appear to view him as a regular option there.

Angels Place C.J. Cron On DL

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The Angels have placed first baseman C.J. Cron on the disabled list with a foot injury, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Lefty starter Tyler Skaggs also appears likely to head to the DL with oblique trouble. Both players left yesterday’s game against the Rangers — Cron fouled a ball off his foot, while Skaggs told the team he felt a “pinch” in his right side (as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register explains). The Angels have promoted righties Jose Valdez and Daniel Wright, evidently to take the place of Cron and Skaggs on their active roster.

Cron was off to a poor start to his season, batting just .233/.277/.267 while showing little of the power he demonstrated while hitting 16 home runs in each of the last two years. Luis Valbuena is currently several games into a rehab assignment after beginning his season on the DL with a hamstring strain, and he appears likely to take most of the playing time at first should Cron be out for a significant duration.

Skaggs, of course, has had his fair share of injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014 and dealing with biceps tendinitis last season. Yesterday, though, he told reporters he was not worried about his current oblique issue. “I am not very concerned,” he said, via Fletcher. “We haven’t talked about an MRI or anything. We’ll take it day to day. … This is a small bump in the road.” Of course, the existence of the 10-day DL would allow the Angels to remove Skaggs from their active roster for only a brief period of time, meaning that it would not necessarily indicate a serious problem if the Angels were to place him there. Skaggs has posted a 3.99 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings so far this season.

Rays Rumors: Ramirez, First Base, Bullpen

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The Rays’ one-year deal with Colby Rasmus is expected to be announced either today or tomorrow, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times in his latest column. As he notes, the Rays will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. While there are some straightforward avenues to doing so — righties Ryan Garton and Eddie Gamboa are possible casualties, as is recently claimed outfielder Jason Coats — Topkin adds that trading right-hander Erasmo Ramirez also represents a potential means of clearing a 40-man spot for Rasmus.

The 26-year-old Ramirez has a 3.76 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 254 innings with Tampa Bay over the past two seasons and agreed to a $3.125MM salary to avoid arbitration earlier this winter. He’s controlled through 2019 via arbitration. Ramirez may not be a premium trade chip, but three years of control over someone that could either serve as a multi-inning reliever or a back-end option in the rotation certainly carries some value in a thin market for arms. The pitching-rich Rays have the depth to part with Ramirez, should an offer to their liking materialize.

The column is stuffed with rumors and informed speculation regarding the Rays’ roster and is well worth a full look, but here are a couple of other highlights…

  • With Brad Miller likely to move to second base, the Rays are poised to pounce on an over-saturated market for first basemen. A right-handed hitter is most likely, and Topkin again connects the Rays to slugger Chris Carter. Mike Napoli will still probably receive a more lucrative contract than the Rays care to offer, he notes. Topkin also lists one intriguing trade option: Angels slugger C.J. Cron. The 27-year-old Cron looks like he’ll lose some playing time with the Halos to the newly signed Luis Valbuena, and Cron would give the Rays an affordable option that’s controlled through 2020. Notably, Topkin adds that the Rays have likely checked in on virtually every available option, and he doesn’t portray a Cron trade as a strong possibility but rather as one of many options.
  • The Rays are “likely” to add a veteran reliever as well, per Topkin. He goes on to note that out-bidding others on a top remaining option seems unlikely but second-tier names like Fernando Salas, Joe Smith, Tom Wilhelmsen and former Ray J.P. Howell make sense in St. Petersburg.
  • As it stands, the Rays currently project to have Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger, Danny Farquhar, Shawn Tolleson and Ramirez in their ’pen as right-handers alongside lefties Xavier Cedeno and Enny Romero. Rule 5 pick Kevin Gadea, too, is in the mix for a spot in the relief corps depending on his spring performance. From my vantage point, the Rays seem fairly well-stocked in terms of right-handed relief (barring a trade of Ramirez), but an upgrade over Romero as the team’s second lefty would be beneficial. Romero struggled to a 5.91 ERA while displaying significant control issues and a susceptibility to home runs last season. The only lefty reliever on the 40-man roster outside of Cedeno and Romero is 21-year-old Jose Alvarado, who hasn’t pitched above Class-A Advanced. Dana Eveland and Justin Marks will both be in camp as non-roster invitees.

Valbuena Likely To Get Significant Playing Time At First Base With Angels

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Newly signed infielder Luis Valbuena, whose two-year deal with the Angels was officially announced yesterday, is likely to spend a good chunk of time playing first base in 2017, general manager Billy Eppler told reporters on a conference call yesterday (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times). As Fletcher points out, that indicates that C.J. Cron, previously the presumptive starter at first base, will have to fight for playing time in the upcoming season.

“I like the power and the selectivity…” Eppler said of Valbuena, who has posted a .199 isolated power mark (slugging percentage minus batting average) and an 11.5 percent walk rate over the past three seasons. “…He knows he’ll be in the lineup very regularly and the entire time against a right-handed pitcher.”

Eppler’s comments do suggest that there’s the possibility of a platoon between Valbuena and Cron. Valbuena is just a .206/.299/.335 hitter against left-handers in that previously mentioned 2014-16 stretch, but he’s posted a much more robust .253/.344/.473 batting line against right-handers in that same time. Cron, however, isn’t the most natural fit as a platoon partner. While his .252/.289/.409 career batting line against left-handed pitching is better than Valbuena’s output against southpaws, Cron has typically fared better against right-handers since debuting in 2014. (He did carry more traditional platoon splits in the minors, so perhaps there’s some yet-untapped potential against lefties in Cron’s bat.)

Naturally, though, Eppler’s comments will lead to speculation about the possibility of Cron eventually becoming a trade candidate. Eppler said playing time will sort itself out “organically,” (via Fletcher) and Shaikin notes that the GM said he’ll wait until getting through Spring Training before determining whether to trade from his potential first base surplus. The Halos, after all, don’t know exactly what to expect from Albert Pujols, who underwent foot surgery in early December in an effort to alleviate plantar fasciitis.

Recovery time for Pujols was listed at four months in the press release announcing that operation, suggesting that there’s a chance Pujols won’t be ready to begin the season. Eppler cautioned that there’s been no change in Pujols’ recovery that led to the Valbuena addition; rather, Shaikin writes that Eppler said he’s been in contact with Valbuena’s camp since November. However, if Pujols does incur any type of notable setback, the Angels could comfortably rely upon Valbuena, Cron and Jefry Marte to cover the at-bats between first base and designated hitter.

Now is hardly the best time to be marketing Cron (or any player that is limited to first base/DH) anyhow, as the free-agent market still offers plenty of options in that regard. Cron, though, could conceivably present an intriguing option for a team like the Rays (who are rumored to be looking at first basemen such as Chris Carter and Mike Napoli), as he has not yet reached arbitration and be controlled for another four seasons before reaching free agency.

Though he’s not an elite slugger, Cron did take a step forward in 2016, hitting .278/.325/.467 (all career-highs) with 16 home runs in 445 plate appearances. Adjusting for his pitcher-friendly home park, stats like wRC+ (115) and OPS+ (117) pegged him at 15 to 17 percent better than a league-average hitter.

With enough playing time, Cron seemingly has the ability to hit 20 to 25 home runs in a season while providing strong all-around value at the plate. The Angels, though, were set to enter the season with an extremely right-handed lineup, with Kole Calhoun as the only pure lefty penciled into the lineup. Second baseman Danny Espinosa is a switch-hitter but is far better from the right side of the plate, and fourth outfielder Ben Revere would bring a left-handed option to the table as well. Valbuena balances out the lineup and could replace Yunel Escobar at third base in 2018 when he’s a free agent if Cron is retained all season. (Alternatively, the Halos could look to move Escobar at some point and install Valbuena at the hot corner, where he’s spent most of his MLB career, though that’s speculation on my behalf.)

AL Notes: Angels, Indians, Bautista, Astros

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Angels first baseman C.J. Cron has come up as a possible trade candidate in the wake of the team’s agreement with free agent Luis Valbuena on Thursday, but the Halos’ decision to add another corner infielder has more to do with Albert Pujols’ uncertain status, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Pujols could miss the beginning of next season as a result of December foot surgery. In the meantime, the Angels will play the lefty-swinging Valbuena against right-handed pitching and deploy him at Pujols’ positions – designated hitter and first base – as well as third base, writes Rosenthal. When Pujols returns, the club could take advantage of the fact that Cron and Jefrey Marte have minor league options remaining and send either to Triple-A Salt Lake City, Rosenthal notes. Looking ahead a year, third baseman Yunel Escobar could depart in free agency next winter. That would enable Valbuena to take over at the hot corner on a full-time basis in 2018.

More from the American League:

  • Right fielder Jose Bautista, who brought an end to a drawn-out saga when he re-signed with the Blue Jays earlier this week, didn’t seriously consider joining the Indians, reports Terry Pluto of cleveland.com. The Indians inquired about Bautista, but it doesn’t seem as if either side was gung-ho about a union. After all, manager Terry Francona declared that the Tribe’s pursuit of Bautista in free agency – which may have included a bid – was overstated.
  • While the Astros committed a guaranteed $14MM to Charlie Morton earlier this offseason, the right-hander isn’t a lock to win a spot in their rotation, general manager Jeff Luhnow suggested to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Luhnow does expect Morton to end up in the Astros’ starting five, but he’s only “softly” part of the rotation for now. The Astros have been pushing to add a front-line starter all winter, and picking one up could relegate Morton to a bullpen role. As of now, in addition to established starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Morton, the team has intriguing young options – including Joe Musgrove and Francis Martes  – knocking on the door.
  • Once regarded as key building blocks for the Astros, first baseman A.J. Reed and third baseman Colin Moran are long shots to crack the big league roster this year after rough seasons, writes Jake Kaplan of Baseball America (subscription required/recommended). Reed, whom BA ranked as baseball’s 11th-best prospect a year ago, got his first taste of major league action in 2016 and batted a weak .164/.270/.262 with a 34 percent strikeout rate in 141 plate appearances. The soon-to-be 24-year-old did rake at Triple-A Fresno (.291/.368/.556 in 296 PAs), though he’s now behind $47.5MM man Yulieski Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez on the Astros’ first base depth chart. With Carlos Beltran and Evan Gattis also on hand, Reed  stands even less of a chance to garner at-bats as a DH. Moran, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, didn’t help his cause in Fresno – .259/.329/.368 in 511 trips to the plate – and the emergence of Alex Bregman in Houston only added to his problems. Bregman looks like the Astros’ long-term solution at third, putting the 24-year-old Moran’s future in question.

C.J. Cron To Undergo Thumb Surgery

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Angels first baseman/designated hitter C.J. Cron will undergo an arthroscopic debridement to address an impingement in his left thumb, the team announced today. Cron has been experiencing pain in the base of his thumb recently according to the team, and as Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times points out (Twitter link), the 26-year-old slugger did suffer a broken left hand back in July. The recovery time on the operation was announced as six to eight weeks, so Cron should be fully ready to go once Spring Training arrives.

Cron landed on the disabled list on July 9 and was sidelined through Aug. 20 with the hand fracture referenced by Moura. His offense upon his return was largely similar to his pre-injury production — though he did experience a mild dip in power — and he finished out the year with a strong .278/.325/.467 slash in a career-high 445 plate appearances. Perhaps more importantly, he continued to make strides in his plate discipline; while his walk rate was still a below-average 5.4 percent, that mark was up from 4.1 percent over his first two big league seasons. And, by cutting back on the number of out-of-zone pitches he chased, Cron was able to drop his strikeout rate from 20.3 percent to 16.9 percent.

While Cron isn’t an elite bat, it seems clear that he posses 20- to 25-homer pop in his bat if he can stay healthy over the life of a full season. To date, the 116 games he tallied in 2016 are a career-high, though, so he’ll hope for a healthier campaign in 2017, which will be the platform year for his first season of arbitration eligibility. Cron can be controlled through the 2020 season via that arbitration process.

Angels Make Handful Of Roster Moves

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The Angels have placed concussed third baseman Yunel Escobar on the seven-day disabled list, recalled third bagger Kaleb Cowart from Triple-A Salt Lake, activated first baseman C.J. Cron from the DL, and designated second baseman Johnny Giavotella for assignment, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

[RELATED: Updated Angels Depth Chart]

Escobar suffered his injury on a fourth-inning bunt attempt against the Yankees on Friday. The ball went off Escobar’s bat and hit him in the face, causing him to leave early.

“We’re going to take it one step at a time, but (the DL) is a possibility,” manager Mike Scioscia said afterward (via Steve Dilbeck of the Associated Press).

Escobar has enjoyed his second straight quality offensive season, having posted a .320/.368/.402 batting line through 479 plate appearances. He’s playing on a $7MM salary this year and has a $7MM club option for 2017, which either makes him an affordable option for the Angels or a potential trade candidate. With the end of August drawing nearer, a concussion issue won’t help the Angels’ cause if they’re willing to deal Escobar, though there’s no word on whether that’s the case. FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported Thursday that Escobar, 33, drew interest prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.

Taking Escobar’s place on the roster will be Cowart, whom MLBTR’s Jason Martinez highlighted in his “Knocking Down the Door” series earlier this week. As Martinez noted, Cowart had been swinging a red-hot bat in the minors prior to his call-up and has the ability to play a handful of positions. The 24-year-old has collected just 58 major league plate appearances since the Angels selected him 18th overall in the 2010 draft. He peaked as Baseball America’s 60th-ranked prospect after the 2012 season.

Cron, meanwhile, is returning after landing on the DL on July 8 with a fractured left hand that occurred on a hit by pitch. Cron has been one of the few bright spots for the club, slashing .280/.331/.479 with 11 home runs over 283 plate appearances. That represents nice progress for the 26-year-old, who had only been a slightly above-average hitter in his two previous seasons. Cron also recorded career-best rates in walks (6 percent) and strikeouts (14.5 percent) prior to the injury.

Although he has logged 869 plate appearances with the Angels since last season, Giavotella’s playing time had been dwindling lately in favor of Cliff Pennington and Gregorio Petit, Fletcher wrote Thursday.

“Johnny is a good player,” Scioscia told Fletcher. “But those guys have jumped up and won more playing time.”

The 29-year-old Giavotella is making just over the league minimum and is scheduled for his first trip through arbitration during the upcoming offseason. He has hit .260/.287/.376 with six homers in 367 plate appearances this season and owns a similar .256/.295/.361 line in 1,334 major league PAs.

C.J. Cron To DL With Broken Hand

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JULY 11: Cron will undergo surgery Tuesday on his broken hand and will miss six to eight weeks, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

JULY 8: Angels first baseman/DH C.J. Cron is headed to the DL after being diagnosed with a fractured left hand, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Cron suffered the injury on a hit-by-pitch. Ji-Man Choi will be recalled to take Cron’s roster spot, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets.

[Related: Updated Angels Depth Chart]

That’s a tough blow for a Halos club that hasn’t had much go right this year. Cron had been one of the few bright spots for the organization, putting up a .280/.331/.479 batting line with 11 home runs over 283 plate appearances. That represented a nice step forward for the 26-year-old, who had been a slightly-above-average hitter in his two prior years but needed to do more with the bat given his positional limitations.

Notably, Cron has not only boosted his power numbers, but has also improved his plate discipline quite a bit. As things stand, he has career-best numbers in walks (6.0%) and strikeouts (14.5%).

The 25-year-old Choi struggled in his first taste of the big leagues earlier this year, though that was a brief stint. He has been hitting quite well at Triple-A on the year, running up a .329/.413/.488 slash over 197 plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Towers, Cron, Johnson, Tigers

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Kevin Towers of the Diamondbacks isn’t sure whether he’ll still have his job when his team turns its fortunes around, Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com writes. “When you spend $110 million and you’re 9-22 at the end of April, I wouldn’t be happy, either,” says Towers. “I’m also disappointed, but I still believe in the core group. I think they will get better. Will I be around to see it? I don’t know.” Towers also says the team’s poor start must have managing partner Ken Kendrick wondering if the Diamondbacks have the right GM and manager in place. Here’s more from around the big leagues.

  • The Angels have promoted first baseman C.J. Cron, who is in their lineup tonight as their DH, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook 2014 rated Cron the Angels’ second-best prospect. The 2011 first-round pick got off to a great start this season for Triple-A Salt Lake, hitting .319/.369/.602 in his first 122 plate appearances there.
  • The Braves feel like they’re getting a good deal in third baseman Chris Johnson’s recent three-year extension, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. “He was looking for stability and we were looking to have a solid player at a tough position to man,” says GM Frank Wren. “When this contract is over, he’s 32. We all feel like that is when they’re in their prime. So it was another example of tying up a player long term, but not extending beyond their prime.” Johnson will earn $4.75MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility this season, and the $23MM deal buys out Johnson’s last two years of arbitration eligibility, plus one year of free agency, with a reasonable option for a second.
  • The Tigers aren’t yet sure what they’ll do to address their shortstop position, reports MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “We really haven’t approached those specific topics yet,” says GM Dave Dombrowski. Beck suggests that reinforces the perception that it’s unlikely the Tigers will sign free agent Stephen Drew before the draft in early June.

Los Angeles Notes: Mattingly, Dodgers, Cron, Angels

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Here are some items from the City of Angels…

  • The Dodgers' decision not to fire Don Mattingly was "the best no-decision of the first half," CBS Sports' Scott Miller writes. After months of speculation about Mattingly's job security, the Dodgers finished their first half by winning 17 of their last 22 games, and although they're only 47-47, they're just 2 1/2 games back of the Diamondbacks in the NL West.
  • In first baseman C.J. Cron, the Angels have a "legitimate trade piece," ESPN.com's Jim Bowden tweets. He also describes Cron as a "future middle of the order impact bat," which may be a stretch at this stage — Cron is already 23 and is hitting .287/.332/.440 at Double-A Arkansas, which is decent but hardly revelatory. There's little doubt, however, that many organizations would love to take a chance on Cron, who was the No. 17 overall pick in the 2011 Draft.
  • Cron is currently blocked by Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo at first base and designated hitter. But Cron, who played catcher in college before suffering a shoulder injury, feels he could handle the position at the big-league level, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. A move to catcher might clear a path for him within the organization and keep his name out of trade rumors. GM Jerry DiPoto says, however, that the Angels have no plans to ask Cron to switch positions.

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