AL Notes: Joyce, Rangers, Otani, Tribe, Twins
Major League Baseball announced Saturday that it has suspended Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce two games without pay for directing an anti-gay slur at a heckling fan during the team’s game in Anaheim on Friday. In response, the A’s stated they’re “very disappointed” by Joyce’s “unacceptable” comments, but they “appreciate that Matt is contrite about his conduct and know he will learn from this incident.”
Joyce was apologetic Saturday, saying: “I am beyond sorry for the inappropriate language that I used and understand and agree that those words should NEVER come out of someone’s mouth no matter the situation. Anyone who knows me will tell you that it is not reflective of me as a person, how I treat others, how I live my life and that those hurtful words are not my views. I fully support and hope to help the LGBTQ community with their efforts in being treated fairly. I intend to let my actions speak louder than anything more that can be said about this truly regrettable moment.”
Joyce’s forfeited salary amounts to upward of $54K, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, and the A’s will donate it to PFLAG – an organization that provides support to the LGBTQ community.
More from the American League:
- The Rangers tipped their hand for the upcoming offseason when they traded minor league infielder Brallan Perez to the Orioles for $500K in international spending rights on Saturday, opines Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. To Grant, the move signals that the Rangers are retooling – not rebuilding – and will attempt to use their international money to sign two-way Japanese superstar Shohei Otani over the winter. The Rangers have coveted Otani for a while, which is part of the reason they didn’t make an effort to extend fellow Japan native Yu Darvish before they traded him to the Dodgers this past Monday, writes Grant. Big-money deals for over-30 pitchers are risky, Grant points out, and Darvish will turn 31 on Aug. 16.
- With Andrew Miller on the disabled list and Boone Logan‘s season likely over, the Indians are “open” to adding another left-hander to their bullpen this month, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). There’s not a lot of optimism it will happen, though, as an Indians official told Rosenthal that it’s “extremely difficult” to get a lefty reliever through the waiver process.
- The Twins’ first-year hierarchy of chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine is in the midst of reshaping the organization, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune in a pair of pieces. The club fired director of baseball research Jack Goin, a holdover from the team’s previous regime, on Friday. The Twins then axed four area scouts – Marty Esposito, Alan Sandberg, Ted Williams and Mark Wilson – on Saturday. More changes are on the way, but Falvey informed Neal that assistant GM Rob Antony and head of player personnel Mike Radcliff will continue to have roles with the Twins. Any alterations to the Twins’ major or minor league coaching staffs or their player development won’t come until the offseason, per Falvey.
Boone Logan Unlikely To Return In 2017
The Indians will likely go the rest of the way without lefty Boone Logan, as Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. While he probably won’t need surgery to address his lat injury, Logan is expected to require a lengthy period of rest and rehab.
If Logan doesn’t make it back, it’ll complicate the team’s decision on his $7MM club option, which comes with a $1MM buyout. Soon to turn 33, Logan has bumped his typically outstanding swinging-strike rate to a career-best 18.5% while averaging a dozen strikeouts per nine, drawing grounders on half of the balls put in play against him, and throwing as hard as ever. He has also managed only a 4.71 ERA, though perhaps he has been unfortunate to carry a .353 BABIP-against as well as a 62.5% strand rate. Cleveland has deployed Logan mostly against lefties, calling on him for only 21 innings over 38 appearances.
Since Logan initially hit the DL, the Indians have also lost star southpaw Andrew Miller — though he wasn’t exactly a situational piece. That potentially adds to the need left with the departure of Logan, though. Cleveland does have some internal options. Tyler Olson has carried his intriguing Triple-A numbers into the majors thus far, though that’s in just a four-appearance sample. And the club just added veteran southpaw Craig Breslow on a minors deal; of course, he did not exactly thrive earlier this year with the division-rival Twins.
All said, the news that Logan is likely down for the count could well spur the Indians to make a move — if, that is, an appealing option becomes available. While deadline targets like Brad Hand and Zach Britton weren’t traded, it’s far from clear that either would represent plausible candidates to move in August. And MLBTR’s list of the most likely August trade chips isn’t exactly loaded with lefty relievers. But it’s reasonably likely a contender or two will make an interesting arm available after they fall out of the race, and there are a few starters (say, Clayton Richard and Derek Holland) that could conceivably move into a relief role.
Indians, Craig Breslow Agree To Minor League Deal
The Indians and left-hander Craig Breslow have agreed to a minor league contract, reports WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (Twitter link). Breslow was released by the Twins shortly before the non-waiver trade deadline after being designated for assignment.
Breslow, 37 next week, put extensive work into revamping his mechanics this offseason and dropping to a more sidearm angle from the left side, but the results unfortunately didn’t line up with his efforts. Through 31 innings with Minnesota, Breslow averaged 5.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 40.4 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 5.23 ERA. His new approach, however, did sufficiently stymie left-handed batters at the plate. When left-handed bats squared off against Breslow, the result was a brutal .180/.279/.257 batting line, albeit in a fairly small sample of 44 plate appearances.
The Indians just placed Andrew Miller on the 10-day disabled list, leaving the inexperienced Tyler Olson as their only southpaw option in the bullpen. Perhaps, given Cleveland’s impressive depth when it comes to right-handed relievers, the Indians will be able to use Breslow in more of a specialized capacity. Despite his dominance over lefties, Breslow was clobbered for a .344/.404/.573 batting line by righties. The Twins, though, generally lacking depth and quality in their relief corps, were forced to use Breslow against right-handed bats more often than they’d probably have preferred (99 PAs vs. righties).
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/3/17
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…
- Per an announcement from the Indians, righty Perci Garner has been released after clearing waivers. Garner was designated for assignment recently. The 28-year-old cracked the majors briefly last year and showed well in the minors, but he has missed a lot of time in 2017 for injury reasons that remain less than clear. When he has pitched, his control issues have resurfaced. Through 14 1/3 Double-A frames, Garner permitted nine walks but also rang up 18 strikeouts while allowing five runs on only seven hits. But he managed to permit seven earned runs on only one hit in his three appearances at Triple-A, owing to eight free passes in just 1 1/3 innings.
- The Marlins have acquired outfielder Eury Perez from the Pirates, per an announcement from the Indianapolis Indians. Perez had been playing for Indianapolis, the Bucs’ top affiliate, since joining the organization on a minors deal over the winter. He has been productive at the plate (.336/.400/.433) continued to run wild on the bases (22 steals) in a fifty game sample. Perez has seen MLB action in four seasons, though he has just 156 total plate appearances — with a poor .254/.307/.282 batting line — at the game’s highest level.
- The Tigers are set to select the contract of veteran right-hander Edward Mujica, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). The 33-year-old hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2015, as he’s spent the past season plus between the Triple-A affiliates for the Phillies, Royals, Twins and Tigers. The former Cardinals closer has generally been excellent in Toledo this season, though, logging 46 innings with 7.4 K/9, 1.0 BB/9 and a 36.5 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 2.35 earned run average. He’ll join a Tigers ‘pen that has an MLB-worst 5.18 ERA and recently traded its best reliever, Justin Wilson.
Indians Place Andrew Miller On 10-Day DL
The Indians have placed star reliever Andrew Miller on the 10-day with right knee patella tendinitis, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets and the club has announced. Righty Adam Plutko was recalled to take his spot on the active roster.
Miller, 32, has been as nasty as ever this year, with a 1.67 ERA and 13.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. But as Bastian goes on to note, he has not been quite as sharp as usual of late — relative, at least, to his usually otherworldly efforts.
Going without the outstanding Miller for any stretch would hurt Cleveland as it tries to hold off the Royals in the AL Central. But it’s especially harmful since the team just lost fellow southpaw Boone Logan to an injury. Perhaps the Indians will find some added motivation to look at lefties over the month of August, though Tyler Olson has looked good early on.
Cleveland also revealed that righty Josh Tomlin will likely miss about six weeks of action after suffering a left hamstring strain, as Bastian further tweets. That’s not a huge concern now that Danny Salazar is back, but does reduce the team’s depth in the rotation.
Deadline Aftermath Notes: Profar, Marlins, Luhnow, Avila, Indians
Jurickson Profar didn’t appear in the lineup for the Rangers‘ Triple-A affiliate tonight, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Profar was frustrated that he wasn’t traded in a deadline deal. Profar has long been a staple of trade rumors dating back to his time as baseball’s top prospect, though injuries and a lack of production over 718 big league plate appearances have dimmed his star considerably. Profar is still just 24 years old and he’s been hitting well at Triple-A this year, though without a clear path to playing time or even a stable position ahead of him in Texas, it appears as though Profar is looking for a change of scenery. Of course, if other teams now know that Profar wants out, it will be harder for the Rangers to recoup value for him in a deal, so Profar may not have any immediate route to another team. He is under team control through the 2019 season.
Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up a busy deadline day…
- The Marlins rejected offers for Dan Straily and Dee Gordon prior to the deadline, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. It initially appeared as though the Marlins weren’t going to be shopping Straily, though they apparently tested his market and drew interest from at least four teams, though none were willing to meet Miami’s high asking price. As for Gordon, several teams were under the impression that Gordon was available in a salary dump type of trade and thus offered little in the way of prospects for the second baseman. The Marlins, however, didn’t see Gordon’s remaining salary (just over $41MM) as onerous to give away for virtually nothing in return.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells reporters (including Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle) that the team was working on some potential trades that “at times I would’ve put them at 90 percent-plus that we were going to get them done.” Instead, the only deal Houston made was to acquire Francisco Liriano, a much lower-profile move than some of the trades made by other World Series contenders at the deadline. Outfield prospect Derek Fisher was asked about in almost every possible deal, Luhnow said.
- Several high-salaried Tigers players were mentioned in trade whispers, though only some relatively small contracts or pending free agents were moved by GM Al Avila in deadline trades. Avila told the Detroit Free Press’ Anthony Fenech and other reporters that the roster reshuffling wasn’t about cutting costs. “I do not have a mandate to dump salary. Never have, and I won’t have it and I’ve been told it will never happen. So that’s a tremendous thing,” Avila said. The Tigers already have over $140MM on the books for 2018 — assuming they pick up Ian Kinsler‘s option and that Justin Upton does not opt out of his contract — though some of that salary could end up being pared back via winter trades, even if payroll considerations don’t strictly demand it.
- The Indians figure to be active on the waiver front in August, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines, since the club didn’t address its primary deadline needs of a utility infielder or left-handed reliever. The Tribe didn’t want to meet the asking price for the likes of Justin Wilson and Brad Hand, though Hoynes notes that the team did “push hard” for Orioles closer Zach Britton. Cleveland is currently going with recent waiver claim Tyler Olson as the situational lefty in the pen, with star southpaw Andrew Miller reserved for a more prominent setup or multi-inning role.
Indians Acquire Joe Smith
The Indians have acquired right-hander Joe Smith from the Blue Jays, The side-arming reliever, a free agent at season’s end, will return to Cleveland for his second stint with the Indians. Minor league lefty Thomas Pannone and shortstop Samad Taylor are going to the Jays to complete the deal. Righty Perci Garner has been designated for assignment by the Tribe to make roster space for Smith.
The 33-year-old Smith enjoyed five excellent seasons in Cleveland, pitching to a 2.76 ERA in 271 innings there from 2009-13. Since that time, he’s produced quality results in both Anaheim and in Toronto, although his 2017 campaign has been slowed by a roughly month-long stay on the disabled list due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
That said, Smith has been outstanding, when healthy, thus far in 2017. Through 35 2/3 innings, he’s averaged 12.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 with a 43.2 percent ground-ball rate. The resulting 3.28 ERA looks solid in its own right but is buoyed by even more impressive FIP (2.31), xFIP (2.46) and SIERA (2.42) marks — suggesting that there’s yet room for improvement down the stretch.
Smith is earning a modest $3MM in 2017, and he’s owed the balance of that figure — roughly $1.03MM — through the end of the year. In the interim, he’ll slot into a formidable Indians relief corps that is anchored by Andrew Miller and Cody Allen but also features a number of strong right-handed options, including Zach McAllister, Nick Goody, Dan Otero and Bryan Shaw.
MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal (on Twitter) reported the trade. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweeted the return after Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter) that it involved two lower-level minor leaguers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yu Darvish Trade Rumors: Deadline Day
It’s quite possible that today is Yu Darvish‘s last day as a member of the Rangers organization. The Texas ace has drawn interest from several teams, with the Dodgers the most prominently linked club. However, Darvish has also been tied to the Yankees and the Indians to varying extents. The Astros are also said to have checked in, though the intra-division roadblock makes that notion a bit tougher. We’ll track all of the latest Darvish chatter in this post between now and the 4pm ET non-waiver trade deadline…
- At this point, it seems that Darvish will either go to the Dodgers or stay put, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Given other indications that Los Angeles is focused elsewhere, it could be that the righty won’t end up changing hands today.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter) that it’s “getting increasingly harder” to envision Darvish landing with the Dodgers, as the two sides “simply aren’t matching up.”
Earlier Updates
- Bowden suggests that the Dodgers could look to pry lefty Alex Claudio away from the Rangers in a package deal alongside Darvish (Twitter link). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests the same, though he notes that it’d still require the Dodgers changing their stance on the inclusion of Verdugo or Buehler. Claudio, though, is just 25 years old and is controlled through 2021, so he’d be a nice long-term piece for L.A. He’s held lefties to a laughable .131/.169/.197 slash this year and has a masterful 70.5 percent ground-ball rate overall in 2017. However, he doesn’t miss many bats.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweets that the Indians “are not in on Darvish” at this time. Notably, Cleveland was reported by Hoynes to be in pursuit of Orioles closer Zach Britton.
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, however, hears that the Indians and Astros are both “hanging around” in the Darvish picture, but the Dodgers are Texas’ preferred trading partner (Twitter link). The Yankees‘ interest in Darvish is dependent on the outcome of their talks for Sonny Gray, Crasnick adds.
- Bowden tweets that the Astros, Indians and Dodgers are the three teams that are still in the mix for Darvish, and he again mentions Mejia’s name in connection to talks. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians are interested in Darvish only if the price tag drops.
- While the Dodgers have generally regarded as the favorites for Darvish, their talks with the Rangers have essentially reached an impasse, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Los Angeles has reportedly been unwilling to part with the likes of top-ranked prospects Alex Verdugo, Walker Buehler and Yadier Alvarez for a half-season rental of Darvish, and it would seem that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has yet to budge in that regard.
- The Rangers and Indians have spoken about a “Yu Darvish for Francisco Mejia type” of deal, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. Including Mejia, the consensus top catching prospect in baseball, would be a steep price for Cleveland to pay for a rental, though the wording of the report leaves some wiggle room for other pieces to potentially be involved. The 21-year-old Mejia is hitting .317/.367/.520 with 10 homers through his first 279 plate appearances in Double-A and ranked as baseball’s sixth-best prospect on Keith Law’s midseason list. MLB.com pegged him 16th overall, while Baseball America had him 18th. Cleveland is on Darvish’s no-trade list, though it remains possible that he could waive that right for a clearer shot at the postseason.
Zach Britton Trade Rumors: Deadline Day
2:08pm: Offers are still “lacking” from the O’s perspective, Heyman tweets.
12:33pm: Indeed, an executive with one team even thinks Houston could be close to landing Britton as the team engages in “serious” pursuit of the star lefty, Rosenthal tweets.
Meanwhile, despite some indications to the contrary, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag hears the Orioles would still consider dealing Britton to the Nationals. (Twitter link.) That said, Baltimore is looking for an impact prospect from Washington or any other team.
And the Dodgers also are still not out of the running on Britton, Rosenthal tweets, leaving the field largely wide open.
12:28pm: Despite evidently finding a deal for Francisco Liriano, the Astros are still engaged on Britton, per Rosenthal (via Twitter). But teams aren’t sure even at this hour just how inclined Baltimore is to make a deal.
12:23pm: The Indians are now considered to be a “long shot” to acquire Britton, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
11:46am: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that the O’s remain “adamant” about not moving Britton without getting an elite prospect in return. ESPN’s Buster Olney, though, spoke to one evaluator who feels that the O’s have been steadily moving toward a trade of the lefty (Twitter link).
9:46am: MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Dodgers and Astros also remain in the mix for Britton (Twitter links). One executive from an interested team tells Rosenthal that it’s “still unclear” if the Orioles will actually part ways with their closer.
9:42am: The Indians are “pushing hard” in a bid to acquire left-hander Zach Britton from the Orioles, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). Cleveland was tied to righty Addison Reed earlier this morning, but the Mets’ closer now looks to be off the board as he’s reportedly headed to the Red Sox.
Britton, 29, entered the season on the short list of baseball’s very best relievers, but he’s missed significant time with a forearm injury in 2017 and has seen his K/BB numbers trend in the wrong direction when healthy. He’s also pitched on back-to-back days just once since being activated from the disabled list and is earning a steep $11.4MM this year.
That said, Britton is controllable via arbitration this offseason, and if he does indeed round back into top form, he’d give Cleveland an unparalleled combination of bullpen weapons, pairing with fellow lefty Andrew Miller and right-hander Cody Allen. When at his best, Britton uses a mid-90s sinker to generate grounders at a historic rate and boasts elite strikeout and walk rates. It’s been debated for a few weeks now whether the Orioles would ultimately be open to parting with Britton and whether any team would risk parting with the elite prospects necessary to acquire him in light of this season’s red flags.
Indians Still Looking To Add Reliever
We have heard all manner of connections today regarding the Indians, but it has emerged now — with about two hours left til the deadline — that Cleveland is focused on adding a reliever. The team is optimistic of finding a pen arm of some kind today, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
While the focus may be on a lefty, particularly one that would hold out the promise of some impact, that doesn’t appear to be an exclusive aim of the Cleveland brass. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag does tweet, though, that a southpaw would be preferred, and indeed Cleveland has been tied to some high-end lefties. Indeed, there were suggestions this morning that the Indians were “pushing” for Orioles lefty Zach Britton.
Among the targets is old friend Joe Smith, per Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (Twitter link). Smith has thrown well this year for the Blue Jays and recently returned from a lengthy DL stint. He is earning just $3MM this year and would deepen the overall unit, though he’s not really a top option for facing lefties. Smith has been much stingier when facing same-handed hitters over his career and in 2017.