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Indians Option Triston McKenzie To Triple-A

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The Indians sent right-hander Triston McKenzie to Triple-A Columbus, as originally noted on MLB.com’s transactions page and confirmed by multiple reporters.  Right-hander Kyle Nelson was called up to take the open spot on the active roster.

Selected 42nd overall in the 2015 draft, McKenzie has been a fixture on top-100 prospect list for the last few years, even though forearm and shoulder injuries sidelined him for all of the 2019 season.  As a result, this will be McKenzie’s first appearance in Triple-A baseball, after pitching 90 2/3 innings at the Double-A level in 2018.

The Tribe saw enough in McKenzie at their alternate training site last season to promote him to the big leagues without the benefit of any Triple-A time, and McKenzie made an immediate impression.  He posted a 3.24 ERA and a strong 33.1% strikeout rate in his first 33 1/3 career innings, and it seemed like he was on his way to becoming Cleveland’s latest homegrown pitching star.

While McKenzie’s future is still bright, the 2021 season has been a speed bump.  McKenzie has a 6.89 ERA over 31 1/3 innings, still with a big strikeout rate (30.6%) but not much else positive within his metrics.  The 23-year-old has among the worst hard-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball, and his garish 20.8% walk rate is the highest of any hurler in baseball with at least 30 innings pitched.

The extreme control problems are unusual, since McKenzie had very solid and even above-average walk rate during his minor league career.  It’s possible the numbers could just be an aberration, though the Tribe will let him work things out at Triple-A rather than risk more struggles at the big league level.

For taking over McKenzie’s rotation spot, Logan Allen might be the easiest choice to fill in, though he has also struggled over five starts with the Tribe this season.  Jean Carlos Mejia or Cal Quantrill could be stretched out as starters, or Eli Morgan or Scott Moss might be options at Triple-A.

Indians Made Extension Offer To Shane Bieber In Spring Training

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The Indians have made extension offers to ace Shane Bieber during each of the past two Spring Trainings, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Terms of the respective offers are unknown. Bieber, a client of Rosenhaus Sports Representation, is under team control via arbitration through 2024.

It’s wholly unsurprising Cleveland would like to keep Bieber long-term. The 25-year-old has cemented himself as one of the sport’s top pitchers in recent seasons. After impressing with 214 1/3 innings of 3.28 ERA/3.36 SIERA ball in 2019, Bieber has taken his game to another level over the last two years. He was a unanimous selection as the AL Cy Young award winner in 2020 after dominating hitters to the tune of a 1.63 ERA with an MLB-best 122 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings.

Bieber hasn’t continued to pitch at that superhuman level this year, but he’s still been one of the game’s best arms. Over his first eight starts, the right-hander has worked to a 2.95 ERA, and he again leads MLB in strikeouts (85). Bieber has thrown a league-leading 132 1/3 frames over the past two seasons. In that time, he also ranks among the league’s top three pitchers (minimum 50 combined innings) in strikeout rate (39.3%), strikeout minus walk rate (31.9 percentage points), SIERA (2.58) and swinging strike rate (17.4%).

Given that continued level of dominance, it stands to reason the Cleveland front office will reengage with Bieber’s camp next winter. In March, Bieber expressed openness to a potential long-term deal but suggested he wasn’t much interested in discussing an extension during the regular season. He’s presently slated for his first of three trips through arbitration next offseason.

There haven’t been many extensions for starting pitchers with three-plus years of service time (which Bieber is set to reach before next offseason) in recent years. Phillies ace Aaron Nola and Cardinals righty Carlos Martínez are the only starters in that service class to sign long-term extensions over the past half-decade. Nola’s 2019 deal guaranteed the righty $45MM over four seasons with a fifth-year club option. Martínez signed a loftier five-year, $51MM guarantee but surrendered an extra potential free agent season via a second club option. Bieber has been more dominant during the past two seasons than either Nola or Martínez were at the time of their respective deals. If he finishes this season just as strong, he could justifiably set an asking price a fair bit loftier than those figures.

The Indians, of course, have taken plenty of criticism for their lack of spending. Cleveland’s $49.6MM payroll this season is the league’s second-lowest, in the estimation of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. However, the Indians have rather aggressively pursued early-career extensions for some of their star players in recent years. They also don’t have a single guaranteed contract on the books for 2022 and beyond, giving them plenty of long-term flexibility.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/10/21

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Catching up on some minor league moves from around baseball…

  • The Astros have signed righty Michael Kelly to a minor league pact, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Kelly was the 48th overall pick of the Padres in the 2011 draft, but he hasn’t made it to the bigs thus far. Along with the Padres, the 28-year-old appeared in the minors with the Orioles through 2018, recording a 5.35 ERA over 607 2/3 innings. Kelly’s most recent professional action came in 2019 with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League.

Earlier updates:

  • The Dodgers signed right-handers Kevin Quackenbush, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, and Aaron Wilkerson to minor league contracts earlier this month, and all are on the roster for the team’s Triple-A affiliate.  Quackenbush is the most experienced of the trio, with 207 2/3 MLB innings with the Padres and Reds from 2014-18, and the 32-year-old is back in the Dodgers organization after previously pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2019.  Bibens-Dirkx was a member of several organizations before catching on with the Rangers in 2016 and posting a 5.27 ERA over 114 1/3 innings from 2017-18.  Wilkerson appeared in parts of three Major League seasons with the Brewers from 2017-19, posting a 6.88 ERA over 35 1/3 frames of work.
  • The Indians signed right-hander Matt Koch to a minor league deal back in April.  Koch pitched for the Yakult Swallows in 2020, posting a 7.88 ERA over 16 innings with the Japanese club.  Formerly a member of the Diamondbacks, Koch pitched 86 2/3 of his 125 1/3 career Major League innings in 2018, when he had a 4.15 ERA/4.85 ERA while starting 14 of his 19 games for Arizona.  For his overall career, Koch has a 4.88 ERA at the big league level.

Pirates Claim Ben Gamel, Designate Michael Feliz

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The Pirates have claimed outfielder Ben Gamel off waivers from the Indians, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to pass along (Twitter links). To create space on the 40-man roster, righty Michael Feliz was designated for assignment.

Gamel signed a minor-league contract with the Indians over the offseason and earned an Opening Day roster spot with a productive Spring Training. The 28-year-old couldn’t carry that over into the regular season, though, going just 1-17 with three walks and six strikeouts before Cleveland moved on. Tough start to 2021 notwithstanding, Gamel has been an acceptable role player for much of his MLB career. Also a former Yankee, Mariner and Brewer, the left-handed hitter has managed a .259/.330/.385 line (95 wRC+) over parts of six major league seasons.

The Pirates have cycled through a handful of outfielders in the season’s first month-plus. Dustin Fowler and Anthony Alford were quickly waived after terrible starts, and the Pirates are currently without Gregory Polanco due to a COVID-19 protocol violation. General manager Ben Cherington did say this afternoon on 93.7 The Fan that the Pirates expect Polanco back shortly (h/t to Mackey). Left fielder Bryan Reynolds is currently day-to-day with lower body soreness (via Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic), so Gamel will add some depth to a shortened outfield.

That outfield shuffling comes at the expense of Feliz, who joined the Pirates as part of the Gerrit Cole trade. The 27-year-old reliever has tossed 113 1/3 innings of 5.00 ERA ball since, mostly between 2018-19. Feliz has only allowed three runs (two earned) through 7 2/3 innings with quality strikeout and walk rates, but he’s been fortunate to not allow a home run despite a paltry 13.6% grounder rate. The Pirates have a week to trade Feliz or expose him to waivers, where his affordable $1MM salary could appeal to a rival club.

Roberto Perez Undergoes Surgery To Repair Broken Finger

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2:50 PM: It appears the Indians will be without their starting catcher for quite some time. Manager Terry Francona told the media, including the Athletic’s Zack Meisel (Twitter links), that Cleveland expects Perez to be out for 8-10 weeks.

2:04 PM: Indians catcher Roberto Perez underwent surgery to repair the fractured ring finger on his right hand, tweets Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal. The team has yet to provide a timeline as to when Perez might be cleared to return to action, but Cleveland will now be without its top catcher for the foreseeable future.

Perez suffered the injury when he got crossed up with hard-throwing James Karinchak, and while he tried to play through the issue for awhile, he eventually was placed on the injured list earlier this week. He met with a specialist this week, Lewis notes, and clearly the surgical route wound up being the recommended course of treatment.

The injury initially occurred more than three weeks ago at a time when Perez was batting .238/.448/.524 with a pair of home runs through his first 29 plate appearances. Unsurprisingly, his bid to remain productive with a broken finger didn’t go particularly well; in 44 plate appearances since that time, Perez has just three hits and a dismal .075/.159/.175 slash.

Cleveland is temporarily losing one of the game’s best defensive catchers, although one of Perez’s primary competitors for that distinction is his own teammate, Austin Hedges. With Perez sidelined, Hedges figures to get the lion’s share of playing time. His bat isn’t likely to match that of a healthy Perez, as he’s mustered only a .118/.189/.294 output in 2021 and a .166/.243/.306 line overall dating back to 2019. Hedges’ glove, game-calling and framing should continue to work to the advantage of what is yet another high-quality Indians pitching staff, however.

That’s especially true given that he figures to share time with 37-year-old Rene Rivera, who was selected to the MLB roster to replace Perez. Rivera, a glove-first backstop himself, won’t provide much with the bat but will give Terry Francona another quality battery-mate for his pitchers.

Indians Place Roberto Perez On IL, Select Rene Rivera, DFA Ben Gamel

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The Indians have placed catcher Roberto Perez on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right ring finger, selected the contract of fellow backstop Rene Rivera, and designated outfielder Ben Gamel for assignment, Mandy Bell of MLB.com was among those to report.

Perez suffered the injury April 13 on a crossup with reliever James Karinchak, but it has become enough of a problem for him to land on the IL three weeks later. Perhaps thanks in part to the injury, the defensively adept Perez has recorded an unproductive .131/.274/.295 line with three home runs in 73 plate appearances this year.

The Indians will now pair catcher Austin Hedges with Rivera, whom they signed to a minor league contract last month. Rivera, 37, is a journeyman who hasn’t hit much in the majors since he debuted in 2004, and he totaled a mere 24 plate appearances with the Mets from 2019-20.

Gamel was another minors signing for the Indians in the offseason, and though he made their Opening Day roster, the 28-year-old didn’t do enough to hold down a spot. He wound up going 1-for-14 with a double and six strikeouts against three walks before the Indians sent him down on April 17.

Gamel has one more minor league option left, and considering he has put up passable offensive numbers throughout his career and lined up at all three outfield positions, he could catch on someplace else via trade or waivers in the next week.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/30/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Indians have selected right-handed reliever Nick Sandlin’s contract, Zack Meisel of The Athletic was among those to report. Sandlin joined the Indians as a second-round pick in 2018, but he has thrown just 50 1/3 innings in the minors since then, owing in part to a forearm strain in 2019 and the canceled minor league season in 2020. The 24-year-old submariner has been effective in the minors when healthy, having put up a 2.68 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 18 walks. MLB.com ranks Sandlin 30th in the Indians’ system, writing that “[h]e has a high floor as a multi-inning reliever and the upside of a back-of-the-rotation starter.”
  • The Pirates have released catcher Christian Kelley, Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Kelley had been with the Pirates since they chose him in the 11th round of the 2015 draft, but he hasn’t made it to the big leagues yet. The 27-year-old topped out at Triple-A in 2019 and hit .179/.251/.282 with five home runs in 281 plate appearances.

Indians Notes: Allen, Rotation, Vargas, Hankins, Jones

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The Indians optioned lefty Logan Allen to Triple-A following a trio of rough starts, including this week’s six-run drubbing at the hands of the Twins. Three of that game’s first four batters homered off Allen to put Cleveland in an early hole. Manager Terry Francona told reporters, including Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes, that Allen’s fastball command has been off. The pitcher himself agreed, calling his location “spotty” and acknowledging that he’s regularly put himself behind in the count and tipped the advantage in the hitters’ favor. Allen was brilliant in Spring Training, allowing just one run in 14 innings with an 18-to-3 K/BB ratio, but the early results this year just haven’t been there. He’s allowed 18 runs (16 earned) on 20 hits (seven homers) and seven walks with 12 strikeouts in 15 2/3 frames.

With Allen out of the rotation for now, it’s not clear who will step into the fifth spot. Righty Cal Quantrill and lefty Sam Hentges are possible options, and Hoynes notes that Hentges was stretched out to 85 pitches at the alternate site before being recalled and plugged into the team’s bullpen. Cleveland had an off-day yesterday, but the Indians are embarking on a stretch of 10 straight days with games, so they’ll need a fifth starter this coming Tuesday.

A few more notes out of Cleveland…

  • The Indians received poor news on a pair of their top pitching prospects, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Right-hander Carlos Vargas will miss the 2021 season after recently undergoing Tommy John surgery, while fellow righty and 2018 No. 35 overall pick Ethan Hankins has been sidelined by an elbow injury of his own that is currently being evaluated by team doctors. Vargas ranks 15th among Indians prospects at FanGraphs, 17th at MLB.com and 18th at Baseball America. Hankins respectively lands 12th, 10th, and ninth on those same rankings. Neither pitcher was likely to emerge in the Majors this season, as Vargas hadn’t pitched above short-season Class-A and Hankins hadn’t progressed beyond A-ball himself. Still, it’s a noted setback for a pair of promising arms who’ll now see their timeline to the big leagues pushed back — by at least a full season in the case of Vargas.
  • Top organizational prospect Nolan Jones will see the bulk of his time at his natural position, third base, in Triple-A to begin the season, but VP of player development James Harris tells Mandy Bell of MLB.com that Jones will also see work at first base and in the outfield in order to improve his versatility. “…[W]e just don’t know where the opportunity will be,” Harris says of working Jones at multiple positions. Both first base and the outfield have been much weaker spots in the Cleveland lineup than third base in recent seasons — in part due to Jose Ramirez’s emergence as an MVP-caliber talent but also due to a generally lackluster collection of hitters in a cobbled-together mix in the outfield and at first base. Jake Bauers has been among the game’s least-productive hitters at first base this season, and the Indians’ piecemeal approach to the outfield has again resulted in sub-par production. Indians outfielders have combined for a lowly 83 wRC+ in 2021, which ranks 23rd in MLB. Their first basemen are 29th of 30 by that same measure, checking in at just 58. Jones entered the season widely regarded as one of MLB’s top 50 overall prospects.

Indians Designate Oliver Perez For Assignment

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The Indians have designated veteran lefty Oliver Perez for assignment in order to open a roster spot for righty Nick Wittgren, who has been reinstated from the paternity list, manager Terry Francona announced to reporters this morning (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal).

It’s a bit of a surprising move, as Perez has pitched well for Cleveland dating back to 2018 and has yet to surrender a run in 3 2/3 innings this season. Francona, however, acknowledged that he’s had a difficult time finding opportunities to deploy Perez — perhaps a nod to the three-batter minimum rule that was implemented in 2020 and is rather limiting for lefty relievers of Perez’s nature. Perez has faced just six lefties in 2021, as opposed to a dozen right-handed batters. He’s done just fine against those right-handers, but as with most lefty relievers, Perez has a rather substantial platoon split over the course of his career.

Career platoon splits notwithstanding, Perez has reinvented himself after washing out as a starting pitcher back in 2010. The 39-year-old has a 3.42 ERA in 350 relief innings dating back to 2012, and he’s been particularly effective in Cleveland after a lackluster two-year run in Washington from 2016-17. In 94 2/3 frames with the Indians, Perez has pitched to a 2.57 ERA (3.22 SIERA) with a strong 28.5 percent strikeout rate against a similarly impressive 6.8 percent walk rate. Lefties have posted a pitiful .203/.254/.297 line through 197 plate appearances against him in that time, but Perez has also held righties to a relatively tepid .220/.306/.341 slash through 186 plate appearances.

Given that recent track record and an affordable base salary of $1.25MM, it’s quite possible that Perez will draw interest from another club — be it via a minor trade or a waiver claim. Were he to go unclaimed on waivers, he’d be eligible to reject any outright assignment in favor of free agency. In that scenario, a new club would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster, with Cleveland on the hook for the remainder of the contract.

Yonder Alonso Joins MLB Network

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Recently retired slugger Yonder Alonso has joined the MLB Network as an on-air analyst, the network announced in a Tuesday press release. He’ll debut as a guest co-host on Intentional Talk this Friday.

“I am beyond thankful to be joining MLB Network’s team, and I can’t thank everybody enough that has helped me get to this point,” Alonso said in today’s press release. “Having just retired, I look forward to having fun and contributing new insights about the game to baseball fans all over the world.”

The 34-year-old Alonso announced his retirement back in November after a 10-year big league career split between the Padres, Athletics, Reds, Rockies, Indians, Mariners and White Sox. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2008 draft, Alonso finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting with the Padres in 2012 and was an All-Star with the 2017 A’s. He finished up his playing days with a career .259/.332/.404 batting line and an even 100 home runs.

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