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Notable September Callups

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We’ll track the flurry of notable callups as roster expand on September 1.

Latest Moves

  • The Mets promoted left-hander Daniel Zamora and right-hander Tyler Bashlor from Triple-A, and also selected the contract of second baseman Sam Haggerty.  (The club posted a fun video on its Twitter account of the players receiving the news.)  A 24th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2015 draft, Haggerty came to the Mets last winter part of the trade that sent Kevin Plawecki to the Indians.  Haggerty began the year at low-A ball and worked his way up to the Show after posting a .907 OPS over 49 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Earlier Updates

  • The Diamondbacks announced a slew of callups today. Most notably, the club has selected the contract of outfielder Abraham Almonte and recalled right-hander Jon Duplantier. Almonte, 30, has logged time as a reserve each of the past six seasons, to the tune of a career .237/.294/.367 slash (79 wRC+). Duplantier, one of the club’s top pitching prospects, has battled injury issues in recent years but offers a high-upside bullpen piece for the stretch run.
  • The Rays’ September additions include a number of notable players, with Nate Lowe headlining a group of five call-ups. He’ll be joined by Peter Fairbanks and Daniel Robertson, among others.
  • The Braves announced they’ve recalled utilityman Johan Camargo. Camargo was optioned after the club signed Adeiny Hechavarría to replace the injured Dansby Swanson at shortstop. Swanson’s back now, and Hechavarría is still on hand, so it’ll be a tough climb for Camargo, who’s mired in a dreadful season. He’s only a year removed from a productive age-24 campaign, though.
  • The Padres will select the contract of right-handed reliever David Bednar, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The 24 year-old gets a little lost among the Padres’ loaded system, but he boasts a pair of plus offerings in his fastball and curveball, opine Kiley McDaniel and Eric Lognenhagen of Fangraphs. Despite a less-than-stellar reputation for his command, Bednar has dazzled in the Texas League this season, pitching to a 2.95 ERA with elite strikeout (35.8%) and walk (7.5%) numbers.
  • The Indians announced today they have selected the contracts of Ryan Flaherty and James Hoyt. They’ve also recalled Eric Haase. Flaherty’s solid Triple-A work this year has earned him his seventh consecutive big league season, where he’ll serve as infield depth for the club down José Ramírez. Hoyt logged 72.2 innings with the Astros from 2016-2018 and offers right-handed bullpen depth, while Haase, 26, is a power-hitting catcher with contact issues.
  • The Yankees announced they have selected left-hander Tyler Lyons. The veteran reliever just signed a minor-league contract with the organization a few weeks ago and adds depth to a loaded bullpen. Right-hander David Hale was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man space. The Bombers also recalled right-handers Ryan Dull and Chance Adams and outfielder Clint Frazier.
  • The Cardinals have selected catcher Joe Hudson, per a team announcement. The 28 year-old got into eight games last year with the Angels. He’s had a tough season offensively with Triple-A Memphis, slashing .223/.293/.411. Outfielder Lane Thomas was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a season-ending wrist injury. Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets that veteran backstop Matt Wieters is day-to-day with a calf strain, so the club elected to bring Hudson and Andrew Knizner aboard to bolster their catching depth.
  • The Brewers announced they have selected the contract of first baseman Tyler Austin. A former Yankee, Twin and Giant, Austin has a strong minor-league track record and brings some right-handed power, but has mustered only a .220/.288/.451 line in 556 career MLB plate appearances thanks to untenable strikeout rates.
  • Top Astros prospect Kyle Tucker isn’t up yet, but he will be shortly, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Houston’s additional reinforcements will be announced tomorrow, Rome adds. The 22 year-old corner outfielder has again laid waste to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and has nothing left to prove at the minor-league level, but opportunities have been few and far between in the Astros’ loaded lineup.
  • Just-acquired first baseman Ryan McBroom will be selected to the Royals’ active roster shortly, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. As Flanagan notes, the 27 year-old was likely to be added to the 40-man this offseason to protect him from the Rule V draft regardless, so there’s little harm in giving him his first taste of MLB action in the meantime. The former 15th-rounder has put up strong offensive numbers throughout his minor-league career, culminating in a .315/.402/.574 line in the Triple-A International League this season.

Indians Designate Jon Edwards

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The Indians have designated right-hander Jon Edwards for assignment, tweets Zack Meisel of the Athletic. Further, right-hander A.J. Cole and outfielder Tyler Naquin have been placed on the 60-day injured list. Those moves clear the three 40-man spaces necessary for today’s earlier roster moves.

Edwards has pitched in 18 games in Cleveland the past two seasons after a three-year MLB hiatus. Despite maintaining a mid-90’s fastball, that brief MLB work hasn’t gone well for Edwards, whose sky-high home run rates have caused a 6.67 FIP that reflects much more poorly than his combined 2.70 ERA. Edwards has spent most of 2019 with Triple-A Columbus, where he’s offset a solid strikeout rate (28.2%) with a few too many walks (12%), en route to a pedestrian 4.22 ERA.

Cole was placed on the 10-day IL a few weeks ago with a shoulder impingement which proved to be season-ending. He finishes the year with a 3.81 ERA in 26 relief innings. Naquin, arguably Cleveland’s best outfielder, suffered a gruesome ACL tear Friday night.

Indians Activate Carlos Carrasco, Dan Otero

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In heartwarming, if expected, news, the Indians announced today they have activated Carlos Carrasco from the 60-day injured list. The club also activated right-handed reliever Dan Otero.

It has been a trying season for Carrasco, who was shut down indefinitely in May after being diagnosed with leukemia. While he hasn’t had time to ramp up to a starter’s workload, he’ll be available in short stints for Cleveland’s postseason push. They’ve had to weather a number of injuries, but they still sit half a game up on Tampa and Oakland for the AL Wild Card. They’re also within shouting distance of the Twins in the AL Central, sitting 4.5 games out with a month to play.

Otero has been out since May 31 with right shoulder inflammation. The 34 year-old is amidst his second straight trying season, sporting just a 9.5% strikeout rate in 23.2 innings. He’s no longer an integral part of a strong Cleveland bullpen.

Tyler Naquin Suffers Torn ACL

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Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin will miss the remainder of the season after an MRI revealed that he has a torn right ACL, writes Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. The injury was initially announced as a knee sprain, but today the Indians learned that it was in fact as bad as it looked, with Naquin carted off the field after a violent collision with the outfield fence at Tropicana Field. With Naquin heading to the injured list, the Indians have recalled Jake Bauers to take his spot on the active roster.

It is yet unknown if Naquin will opt to undergo surgery to repair the ligament, and while a 2019 return is out of the question, a more precise timeline is likewise unknown. However, it stands to reason that Naquin could miss a significant portion, if not the entirety, of next season.

It’s a devastating break for the Indians and Naquin, 28, who has emerged as a critical part of his team’s second-half success. He had been enjoying his best offensive season since his rookie year in 2016, along with much-improved performance in the outfield, where he has graded out as an above-average defender. His bounce back from a pair of disappointing seasons has been crucial in revitalizing the Cleveland outfield, which stood out as perhaps the club’s most pressing need on Opening Day.

The progress that Naquin, Oscar Mercado, and Yasiel Puig have made will now hit a roadblock, which could hardly come at a worse time for the Indians, who have already lost one of their stars, Jose Ramirez, and find themselves in the thick of the American League playoff race. The team is still within range to overtake the Twins for the AL Central, and while they still own the first Wild Card spot, they’ll need to fend off a pair of strong teams in Oakland and Tampa Bay.

In light of today’s news, though, they’ll have to do so without Naquin, who will likely give way to a combination of Bauers and Greg Allen in left field. That pair has netted roughly replacement level production; while not unplayable in the outfield, there’s little doubt that they come in a step below Naquin, a difference that is magnified in significance for a team in Cleveland’s position. Allen, like Naquin, saw his offensive output jump forward in July, though he’s regressed noticeably in August. For his part, Allen has stood out as a defensive left fielder, though the same can’t be said for Bauers, who has spent the last month in the minor leagues after the arrival of Puig and Franmil Reyes.

Between Naquin, Ramirez, and a slew of pitchers including Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Mike Clevinger, the Indians have had their playoff hopes tested by health-related absences to some of their most important contributors. Though they have thus far managed to succeed in the face of those injuries, the season’s final month will no doubt be a considerable challenge, and unexpected contributors will need to emerge if the club is to reach the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.

Tyler Naquin Removed From Game On Cart

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The Indians suffered a potentially significant blow Friday, as outfielder Tyler Naquin was removed on a cart after making a catch at the outfield wall (video via Dawn Klemish of MLB.com). It has been announced as a right-knee sprain, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets, but that’s only a preliminary assessment.

Manager Terry Francona told Klemish and others after the game, which the Indians lost 4-0, that it’s too soon to “play doctor.” However, Francona added that “it didn’t look good, and we’re very concerned.”

Naquin, the 15th overall pick in 2012, burst on the scene as a rookie in 2016, but injuries and underperformance have largely weighed him down since then. He has reestablished himself as a capable big league hitter this season, though, with a .288/.325/.467 line and 10 home runs in 294 plate appearances. The 28-year-old has performed even better in the outfield, combining for 8 Defensive Runs Saved and an 8.3 Ultimate Zone Rating among all three positions.

Naquin’s output this year has been worth 1.4 fWAR, which leads an Indians outfield that hasn’t received high-end numbers from anyone. Trade deadline acquisitions Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes (primarily a DH) haven’t been all that impactful to this point. Rookie Oscar Mercado has slowed down significantly since an encouraging start. Greg Allen hasn’t hit, nor has Jake Bauers (who has been in the minors all month). Worsening matters, Jordan Luplow – the most productive hitter among Indians outfielders this year – has been on the IL since Aug. 5 with a strained hamstring.

Adding up all of the above highlights Naquin’s importance to Cleveland, whose position player group just took an enormous hit last weekend when third baseman Jose Ramirez suffered a fractured hamate bone in his right hand. The club’s still in possession of the AL’s No. 1 wild-card spot by half a game, but if Naquin heads to the IL, its lineup will be down three regular contributors.

Indians Activate & Option Bradley Zimmer, Designate Jordan Stephens

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The Indians announced that outfielder Bradley Zimmer has been activated from the 60-day injured list. He was optioned down to Triple-A, where had been playing on a rehab assignment.

To create a 40-man roster opening, the Cleveland organization designated righty Jordan Stephens for assignment. He’ll have to be exposed to waivers since trades are not permissible at this stage of the season.

A former top prospect, the 26-year-old Zimmer has missed the entire season owing to shoulder surgery. He’s also looking to bounce back from a brutal 2018 season at the plate. The athletic outfielder stumbled to a .226/.281/.330 slash in 114 MLB plate appearances in what turned out to be a lost campaign.

It’s far too early to draw any conclusions, but it’s promising to see Zimmer hitting well in his initial action in the upper minors. He has a .333/.412/.600 batting line with a pair of long balls in a dozen rehab contests. Whether that’ll carry over to the bigs — and when he’ll get a chance to test himself — remains to be seen.

As for Stephens, who’s nearing his 27th birthday, there have been some ups and downs this year. He was bludgeoned at Triple-A to open the year and ended up being claimed by the Indians from the White Sox. After a bounceback stretch at the Double-A level, Stephens again ran into the International League buzzsaw. All told, he has allowed 17 home runs and 66 earned runs in just 66 1/3 innings at the highest level of the minors this season.

Owner David Glass Reaches Agreement To Sell Royals

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4:17pm: The Royals have issued a press release confirming the agreement.

11:31pm: Royals owner David Glass has agreed to sell the team to Kansas City businessman John Sherman for a sum of one billion dollars, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter). Sherman, currently the vice chairman of the division-rival Indians, will divest himself from the Cleveland organization once the agreement is ratified by the other 29 ownership groups in November. Talks of a potential sale were first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic earlier this week.

Nightengale tweeted yesterday that the sale of the Royals was motivated by health reasons for Glass, 83. The former CEO of Wal-Mart, Glass purchased the Royals for the sum of $96MM back in 2000. He was responsible for appointing Dayton Moore as the club’s general manager — a decision that resulted in a lengthy rebuild but ultimately culminated in consecutive World Series appearances, including the team’s drought-breaking World Series win over the Mets in 2015.

Sherman, 64, purchased a minority stake in the Indians back in 2016 and has since upped his share of the club. As Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer explored last year, Sherman was a Royals season-ticket holder at the time who’d made a fortune in starting natural gas and energy companies (LPG Services Group, Inergy L.P.) and selling them to larger entities. Indians majority owner Paul Dolan referred to Sherman as his “partner” in that interview with Pluto, underscoring his prominence in that ownership group. Suffice it to say, today’s reported agreement has ramifications for both organization — the specifics of which remain to be seen.

The Royals, under Glass and Moore, have been in the midst of a rebuild over the past couple of seasons. The organizational hope has been that by targeting near-MLB-ready players in trades and prioritizing college players (pitchers, specifically) in the past couple of drafts, that retooling can progress at a considerably more rapid pace than Kansas City’s prior rebuilding effort. The Royals have cut payroll by nearly $50MM in that time and figure to see further dollars stripped from the books this season with Alex Gordon’s four-year, $72MM contract coming off the ledger.

As with any ownership change, the effects could be far-reaching. Recent examples of team sales highlight but a fraction of the possibilities. The Padres, for instance, hired new front-office leadership (headed by GM A.J. Preller) and embarked on an aggressive, win-at-all-costs approach in the first season that the group led by Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler took over the club. When that boom or bust approach fell well short, the Friars embarked on a lengthy rebuilding effort that has yet to reach its terminus.

More recently, Jeffrey Loria sold the Marlins to a group led by billionaire Bruce Sherman and future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter. While Sherman and Jeter added some new front office personnel — most notably, longtime Yankees exec Gary Denbo — their group also retained president of baseball operations Michael Hill and manager Don Mattingly. A long-term approach headlined by the trades of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna was nevertheless put into motion in the Sherman/Jeter group’s first season in place.

What the sale of the club remains for the Royals, of course, can’t be immediately known. Moore is not only among the game’s longest tenured baseball operations leaders, he’s also widely respected by colleagues and peers alike. His contract reportedly runs through the 2020 season. Manager Ned Yost, meanwhile, is signed only through season’s end. There’s been plenty of speculation about the 65-year-old Yost’s future, particularly in the wake of a near-fatal accident last offseason in which he shattered his pelvis upon falling out of a deer stand while hunting. The general belief has been that Yost is in excellent standing with the organization, but the skipper himself has previously hinted that he may not manage beyond his current contractual agreement.

Payroll mandates and the corresponding roster-construction implications for both the Royals and the Indians that stem from the ownership change will play crucial roles in steering both organizations’ immediate futures.

Indians Sign Ryan Lavarnway

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The Indians announced Friday that they’ve signed veteran catcher Ryan Lavarnway to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus.

Lavarnway, 32, appeared in five games with the Reds this summer amid a series of injuries to Cincinnati’s catching corps, hitting .278/.316/.722 with a pair of homers in 19 plate appearances. He’s a lifetime .211/.270/.343 hitter at the MLB level and a .271/.363/.426 hitter in parts of nine seasons of Triple-A ball.

The Indians have both Roberto Perez and Kevin Plawecki as catching options on the big league roster, but Lavarnway will become a candidate to get a look once rosters expand on Sunday. He’ll provide some direct competition to Columbus catcher Eric Haase, who previously appeared a good bet to join the Indians as a September call-up.

MLBTR Poll: Superstars For Sale?

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ESPN scribe Jeff Passan floated a very interesting tidbit in his latest column Wednesday: There’s a belief among rival executives that the Red Sox, Indians and Cubs will at least be willing to listen to trade offers for their franchise players during the upcoming winter. That means any of Boston’s Mookie Betts, Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor or Chicago’s Kris Bryant could change hands once the offseason rolls around. It’s far from a guarantee anyone from the group will wind up on the move, but the idea that they might should make hot stove season all the more interesting.

The only member of the trio with fewer than two years of team control remaining is Betts, who will enter his final season of arbitration eligibility over the winter. The 26-year-old right fielder is just a season removed from earning AL MVP honors, which helped him land a historic $20MM payday to avoid arbitration last winter. The 2019 version of Betts hasn’t been as stellar as the MVP-winning player, but that’s not a knock on his performance this season so much as a compliment to what he did a year ago, when he amassed an eyebrow-raising 10.4 fWAR. Betts is up to 4.8 in that category this year, having slashed a strong .282/.384/.494 with 21 home runs and 13 stolen bases across 622 plate appearances.

Just a year from winning their latest World Series title, why would the Red Sox possibly move Betts? They’re unlikely to make the playoffs this year, though a trip back to the postseason in 2020 hardly looks out of the question. However, Betts has indicated on multiple occasions that he’d like to test free agency after next season, when he could reel in one of the all-time richest contracts in the sport. For the Red Sox, trading Betts a year before a potential journey to the open market would help the club replenish its farm system to some degree. The Red Sox only came in 22nd place in Baseball America’s most recent talent rankings.

The Indians, on the other hand, boast the game’s 10th-best system, though they’re incapable of spending to the extent the Red Sox can. That means Lindor is quite likely to end up elsewhere in the coming years. Mr. Smile will be a free agent after 2021, but it would behoove the Indians to get something for him prior to then. In the meantime, the 25-year-old Lindor is sure to collect a notable raise over his current $10.55MM salary when he reaches arbitration for the penultimate time during the offseason. Lindor perhaps hasn’t been quite as great as he was in 2018, a career-high 7.6-fWAR campaign, but his 4.3 mark and .300/.353/.532 line with 24 homers and 19 steals through 522 PA are mighty impressive nonetheless. Needless to say, teams will line up for the elite shortstop if small-market Cleveland goes with the agonizing decision to make him available in the coming months.

And then there’s Bryant, yet another former MVP. The Boras client joins Lindor as another all-world performer who’s slated for his second-last trip through arbitration in a few months. Bryant, 27, is well on his way to another raise (he’s currently on a $12.9MM salary), having batted .282/.379/.521 and smashed 29 dingers over 552 trips to the plate. Whether the Cubs would truly consider parting with Bryant is up in the air, but they are amid their second somewhat disappointing season (albeit one that looks as if it will culminate in yet another playoff berth), and waving goodbye to the third baseman/outfielder would go a long way toward aiding them in bolstering their system. It’s definitely a below-average group, according to BA, which places it 29th in baseball.

We’re still a couple months from the offseason rearing its head, but if anyone from this trio hits the block, it should make for an incredibly interesting winter of rumors. Do you expect any of them to actually change teams after the season?

(Poll link for app users)

Will any of these three be traded in the offseason?
Francisco Lindor 39.31% (3,089 votes)
Mookie Betts 34.23% (2,690 votes)
Kris Bryant 26.47% (2,080 votes)
Total Votes: 7,859

Royals’ Owner Discussing Sale Of Team

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Aug. 28: MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that “barring something unforeseen,” the sale from Glass to Sherman “will happen.” That certainly moves the ball forward from yesterday’s uncertainty regarding the seriousness of the talks, although it also suggests that no firm agreement is in place. Sherman, notably, would need to be approved by the other 29 ownership groups in the league and by MLB itself, though Heyman adds that Sherman is viewed as a “sure thing” for approval from the league (as one would expect from an executive who is already an established minority owner of another franchise).

Aug. 27, 6:20pm: The Royals have issued the following statement on the matter:

“The Kansas City Royals are not in a position to make any comments on the published speculation regarding any potential sale of the ball club. The Royals will make no further statements at this time.”

5:35pm: Royals owner David Glass is discussing a potential sale of the club with Kansas City businessman John Sherman, Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic report (subscription required). ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that the two are discussing a price worth north of $1 billion. Glass purchased the Royals in 2000 for a reported sum of $96MM.

Sherman, 64, is currently the vice chairman of the division-rival Indians, having purchased a minority stake in the team back in 2016. As Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer explored last year, Sherman was a Royals season-ticket holder at the time who’d made a fortune in starting natural gas and energy companies (LPG Services Group, Inergy L.P.) and selling them to larger entities. Sherman would, unsurprisingly, divest himself from the Indians organization if a sale is indeed agreed upon (per Passan).

There’s no indication that the two parties are close to an agreement, nor is there any indication that Glass is exploring other sale possibilities in the event that a deal with Sherman cannot be brokered. Asked about the report, general manager Dayton Moore told MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link) that commenting on any potential sale of the club would be “inappropriate.” Glass has not publicly acknowledged the reported negotiations.

Under Glass and Moore, the Royals emerged from irrelevance to appear in consecutive World Series, culminating in a 2015 championship achieved by the core of Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Danny Duffy. But the Royals have faded from contention in the American League Central in recent seasons and acted to cut payroll in each of the past two offseasons. Though the team was reportedly willing to sign Hosmer to a nine-figure deal to lead the club through the current rebuild, he took a more lucrative offer in San Diego while other stalwarts of that 2015 club have signed elsewhere in free agency or been traded.

The Royals’ Opening Day payroll in 2017 reached the unprecedented (for them) peak of $143MM, but since that time the figure has plummeted rapidly. Kansas City opened the 2019 season with a payroll a bit greater than $96MM, and with Alex Gordon set to come off the books, they have just $59MM in guaranteed salary on next year’s payroll. Offseason trades involving veterans such as Duffy, starter-turned-closer Ian Kennedy, quiet superstar Whit Merrifield or breakout slugger Jorge Soler could further reduce that commitment, though it’s not yet clear how motivated the Royals will be to make any such moves.

Moore has been targeting near-MLB-ready assets in trades and college pitchers in the draft in hopes of architecting a quick turnaround, though certainly a sale of the club could impact not only the offseason direction of the team but the very composition of the front office and the field staff. Flanagan reported within the past week that the Royals are nearing a new television contract with Fox Sports Kansas City, which would more than double their annual rights fees (albeit from an average of $20MM per year to $48-52MM per year), and such an agreement would obviously impact the financial evaluation of the franchise and its baseball operations directives as well.

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