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Monfort: Rockies Lack Payroll Flexibility

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Not that it was ever much in question, but Rockies owner Dick Monfort confirmed in comments today that the organization won’t be able to spend its way out of its roster difficulties. “We don’t have a lot of flexibility next year,” Monfort said of the team’s payroll situation, as Nick Groke of The Athletic was among those to cover (Twitter links).

Appearing at an end-of-season press conference alongside GM Jeff Bridich and manager Bud Black, Monfort also commented on the team’s just-announced TV deal. The contract, which begins with the start of the 2021 season, is “not as lucrative as I wanted it to be,” says the Colorado franchise owner.

It’d be foolish to rule out contention for a club that features some impressive core talent and that made back-to-back postseason appearances in the prior two campaigns. But much went wrong for the Rox in 2019 and there aren’t many clear avenues to improving — at least, beyond getting the team’s existing players ready to roll for the new campaign.

Last year’s Rockies club opened with a $145MM payroll, marking the sixth-straight year in which the organization set a new high-water mark. That tally was reached in part with a series of multi-year contracts, many of which remain on the books.

Looking ahead to 2020, there’s already $120MM on the ledger, some portion of which is dedicated to underperforming assets. That’s before accounting for arbitration pay raises to Trevor Story, Jon Gray, Scott Oberg, David Dahl, and others. And it doesn’t include any new acquisitions.

There are other interesting observations still rolling out of the presser, with Michael Spencer of CBS Denver documenting some items of interest via video on his Twitter feed. Some recent comments from star third baseman Nolan Arenado featured heavily. Bridich contested any suggestion that the club has adopted or will take up a rebuilding posture. He also said the club is content with the opt-out clause included in Arenado’s contract. Indeed, the GM says it was his idea to bake it in. (Why? He spoke obliquely of “some of the realities that can exist” and “giving people the opportunity to take a breath, at a certain time period, to say is this right for me right now?” Of course, it’s also possible the team pushed the concept as a way of giving non-financial value.)

Looking ahead, the pitching staff is probably the key area of focus. Though the club was also distinctly below-average offensively, it’s easier to imagine relying upon internal strides in that area. Getting arms to Coors Field remains a difficult task, however, which helps to explain how the club ended up with some less-than-desirable reliever contracts. Bridich says the organization is “always looking” at ways to get quality players in, though the above-noted limitations figure to make that tough. The roster architect suggested that he remains confident in a group that certainly has been more effective in the recent past. As he put it, “I think that there still is a foundation as long as certain guys bounce back.”

Rockies Announce New TV Deal

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The Rockies have announced the extension of their contract with AT&T SportsNet, as Kyle Newman of the Denver Post was among those to report. Details on the length and value of the pact are not known.

These entities already had an arrangement for the 2020 season pursuant to their preexisting agreement. Earlier this year, owner Dick Monfort referred to the TV deal as being three or four years old, so that was obviously a shorter-term arrangement than those we’ve seen in some other circumstances.

In terms of the money involved, Monfort had cited a “sizable jump” in the rights fee amount in the prior deal. In its breakdown of the Rockies’ financial situation, Forbes claims that the present TV rights fee sits at an average of $20MM annually. The new one, it estimates, could double that sum — though whether it has in fact done so is not known. Whatever the precise amount of the past and future rights fees, it’s not likely an industry-leading amount.

It’s certainly possible that the Rox have boosted their earnings in a meaningful way, though this renegotiation doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. And the organization did not exactly help its leverage on the field, limping to a 71-91 record after two straight Wild Card campaigns.

With numerous roster needs to address, the Rockies will need every available cent of payroll they can muster to turn things around. The club ran its Opening Day payroll up to a team-high $145MM this year and already has $120MM committed (before accounting for significant arbitration raises) for 2020.

NL West Notes: Padres, Ahmed, Friedman, Tapia, Wallach

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The Padres are expected have a busy offseason as the team tries to figure out the proper mixture for a contender.  Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune breaks down the Padres position-by-position as they look ahead to 2020, and the common refrain from many inside the organization is that perhaps only seven players (Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Chris Paddack, Eric Hosmer, Garrett Richards, Andres Munoz, and Kirby Yates) look like sure bets to be with the organization next season.  Everyone else, even from seeming building blocks like Dinelson Lamet or Hunter Renfroe, could potentially be traded for more proven talents.

“They have roster problems. They have to move people,” one rival executive tells Acee, which gets to the heart of the challenge facing the Padres.  The team still doesn’t totally know what they have in some players who have been inconsistent at the Major League level, yet a wave of prospects coming up and the organization increasingly impatient for a winning season, some tough choices may have to be made about who stays and who becomes a trade chip.

Some items from around the NL West…

  • Nick Ahmed enjoys playing for the Diamondbacks, but when it comes to the possibility of a contract extension, the shortstop tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that “I want to sign a fair deal. I’ve played long enough to realize that. I want to be able to take advantage of what I’ve got to this point in my career.”  A September slump has dropped Ahmed’s slash line to .255/.318/.442 over 621 PA this season, though his 93 wRC+ still represents the best offensive production of his six-year career, and his glovework has continued to be excellent.  Ahmed has one year of arbitration remaining before he hits free agency in the 2020-21 offseason, and he’ll be 31 on Opening Day 2021.  It makes for something of a tricky extension case, as Piecoro notes, since there aren’t many shortstop comps that would serve as a model for a potential multi-year contract.  There also hasn’t been any word from the D’Backs if they’d be interested in extending Ahmed, though Piecoro observes that GM Mike Hazen “does not speculate on such topics.”
  • There hasn’t yet been word about Andrew Friedman’s status with the Dodgers, as the president of baseball operations will reach the end of his contract when the Dodgers’ season ends.  The involved parties didn’t provide any details about negotiations, though there seems to be general optimism that a deal will be reached, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times writes.  Friedman said he wants to return, while team president Stan Kasten said he is “pretty confident” Friedman will be back, and “expect him to be here for a long time.”  Manager Dave Roberts also feels Friedman will remain in L.A., saying “everything I hear is [a new contract] is imminent, that it will get done.”
  • Raimel Tapia projects as an everyday left fielder for the Rockies in 2020, Nick Groke of the Athletic (subscription required) writes, which should help a player who seemed to get better with more regular playing time this season.  As a highly-regarded prospect coming out of Colorado’s farm system, Tapia received only 239 MLB plate appearances from 2016-18 before getting more of an extended look this season.  While Tapia has only a .276/.310/.418 slash line (74 wRC+) over 442 PA, he has also battled injuries and didn’t get many consistent starts until late July, Groke noted.  Sticking with Tapia as the mostly everyday left fielder would reduce Ian Desmond to a backup role, though the highly-paid veteran hasn’t done enough to merit more at-bats over three disappointing years in Colorado.  There’s also the possibility, however, that the Rockies could trade Tapia in the offseason to address other roster needs.
  • Tim Wallach is leaving his job as the Marlins’ bench coach to be closer to his family in California, though one rival executive tells Ken Rosenthal (in his latest FOX Sports video) that Wallach could be a possible candidate for the Padres’ managerial opening.  It wouldn’t be the first time that Wallach has been linked to San Diego, as he interviewed for the last managerial vacancy before the club went with Andy Green.  Wallach has over 12 years of MLB coaching experience and has also managed at the Triple-A level in the Dodgers’ organization, though he hasn’t been a big league skipper.  In the wake of Green’s firing, Rosenthal wonders if the Padres could prefer someone with Major League managing experience rather hire than another first-timer.

NL West Notes: Marte, Rockies, Giants, Gott

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The Diamondbacks will take steps to try and keep Ketel Marte healthier in 2020, GM Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, including “getting him off his feet at various points in time” during the season, and investigating “offseason/spring training type of regimens, physically, that we can help him strengthen to put himself in a better position coming into the season.”  Something that doesn’t appear to be on the table is moving Marte back to second base, as while Hazen didn’t entirely rule out the idea, “I think how he fits onto the major-league team is a tremendous luxury.”  Marte’s transition to regular center field duty went swimmingly from a defensive standpoint, as he posted an excellent +7 Defensive Runs Saved and +10.8 UZR/150 over 687 2/3 innings at the position.  He also saw significant action at second base and a bit of time at shortstop, so between that versatility and a huge offensive performance (32 homers and a .329/.389/.592 slash line), Marte was one of the most valuable players of 2019 —- his 7.1 fWAR ranks sixth in all of baseball.

There was a bit of an injury cost, however, as Marte was shut down last week due to a stress reaction in his back.  While the stress reaction wasn’t terribly serious, keeping the superstar healthy is of the utmost importance for the D’Backs.  Hazen said the Diamondbacks won’t be “closing ourselves off to what the offseason will bring,” so Marte’s positional usage could perhaps be altered again should Arizona have the chance to acquire another regular center fielder (or second baseman).  Marte seems like the best bet to be in center on Opening Day, however, given that landing a center fielder would likely come at a significant financial or trade cost to the D’Backs.

More from around the NL West…

  • The Rockies’ troubled pitching situation is examined by The Athletic’s Nick Groke (subscription required), who projects that German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, and Jon Gray will headline the 2020 rotation.  The last two spots are up in the air between such names as Peter Lambert, Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Tim Melville, Rico Garcia, Chris Rusin, and Ryan Castellani.  While there’s certainly room for an external addition, the Rockies have now gone several years without signing a veteran to a significant Major League contract — Kyle Kendrick was the last, back in the 2014-15 offseason.  It doesn’t seem like this trend will change this winter, as the team doesn’t have much payroll space available (due in part to a lot of ill-fated free agent signings in general in recent years).  There’s also the fact that free agent pitchers who have a choice of multiple teams aren’t likely to want to come to Coors Field without a significant overpay.
  • Unsurprisingly, several Giants free agents aren’t planning to re-sign with the team until they know who the next manager will be, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  This includes the likes of Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith, who will be two of the more heavily-pursued arms on the market this winter, and also lower-tier free agents like Stephen Vogt, who Schulman noted “seems like the perfect candidate to re-sign as a free agent quickly after the season.”  Vogt has hit .264/.311/.492 with 10 homers over 273 PA this season, playing primarily as the backup catcher and also seeing a bit of time as a left fielder and first baseman.  Between his valuable bench presence and his ties to the Bay Area, Vogt indeed seems like a good fit for the 2020 roster, and he would “definitely be interested in coming back.”  If a new manager isn’t hired until the free agency period begins, however, the Giants would lose their exclusive negotiating window to talk terms with Vogt and other free agents.
  • The Giants announced that right-hander Trevor Gott underwent left groin surgery yesterday.  Gott’s season was already over due to an elbow strain, and the groin surgery only carries a six-week recovery period, so it shouldn’t impact Gott’s readiness for Spring Training.  Gott posted a 4.44 ERA, 9.7 K/9, and 3.35 K/BB rate over 52 2/3 innings out of San Francisco’s bullpen this season, though ERA indicators (3.13 FIP, 4.06 xFIP, 3.74 SIERA) point out that Gott performed better than his 4.44 ERA would imply.

Injury Notes: Suzuki, Adams, Lowe, Freeland

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Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki returned to the D.C. lineup tonight for the first time in nearly two weeks, logging a pinch-hit, bases-clearing double in the 10th inning of a game against the Marlins. Though he’s back to swinging a stick for the Wild Card-contending Nats, it isn’t as if he’s altogether healed from the elbow issues that first sidelined him on Sept. 7. As he told Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, Suzuki is simply going to have to play through pain if he wishes to help his club into October. “Shoot, I’m 35 years old. I’m going to be 36 (on Oct. 4),” the catcher said. “If I get hurt, knock on wood, it’s not going to be just a little rest thing…At the same time, I don’t know how many times I’m going to have the opportunity to get to the playoffs.”

If Suzuki’s ongoing presence is a question of pain tolerance, the Nats should be sure to have plenty of aspirin on hand for the veteran backstop. After all, his .260/..319/.473 line (100 wRC+) through 301 plate appearances this year is vastly superior to the output offered by teammate Yan Gomes in 2019 (.221/.316/.370 slash in 329 plate appearances).

More notes about athletes dealing with their own share of September pain…

  • As noted by Greg Johns of MLB.com, Mariners reliever Austin Adams crumpled into a heap after tweaking his knee while covering first base in tonight’s game against the Orioles (link). Adams, 28, had to be helped off of the field by trainers. After kicking around the Angels and Nationals organizations since being drafted in 2012, Adams had appeared to find a comfortable home with Seattle in 2019. In his first prolonged big league exposure, the righty has logged a whopping 15.06 K/9 rate in 31.2 innings this year, with solid ERA (3.98) and FIP (3.12) indicators.
  • Rays youngster Brandon Lowe was back in uniform and manning second base today–albeit only in a sim game. Still, manager Kevin Cash thinks the rookie is almost ready to return from a left quad strain that has sidelined him since being injured in a rehab appearance in late July. “He’s close,” Cash told Juan Toribio of MLB.com (link). “I saw a video of him going first to third, and he’s running a lot better. I’m not going to say he’s back to his normal speed yet — he’s going to have to manage that whenever he does get activated — but we’re encouraged that the at-bats have been really good, the defense has been really good, it’s just running and getting out of the box and us having enough trust in him that he can manage that.” Lowe hasn’t played since July 2nd, when leg issues first befell him. Because Lowe is on the 60-day IL, the team would have to clear a 40-man spot to facilitate his return.
  • Rockies starter Kyle Freeland has been activated by the club and started tonight’s game against the Dodgers. Logging two scoreless innings in something of an “opener” capacity this evening, Freeland penned something of a modestly positive chapter in what has been an otherwise forgettable 2019 saga. With a sky-high 6.98 ERA (6.13 FIP) in 99.1 innings entering tonight’s game, Freeland has been a chief culprit in Colorado’s ’19 pitching woes. Interestingly, Jeff Saunders of the Denver Post penned a column today examining baseball’s offensive explosion in 2019, citing Freeland as one player who will be difficult to evaluate this offseason in part because of the possible “juiced” quality of this year’s baseball (link). Said Saunders: “In my opinion, the  “juiced baseball” really hurt Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland this season. I’m not making excuses for Freeland’s 6.98 ERA and 25 home runs served up in 20 starts, because he was clearly off his game and his mechanics were out of whack. But I also think it’s true that Freeland became a little gun shy because his slider wasn’t breaking as it should and he gave up a number of cheap home runs.” There may be some merit to this thinking. Freeland posted a 22.9% HR/FB rate this season while home run records were shattered league-wide.

NL Injury Notes: Baez, Weaver, Brewers, Rockies

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The Cubs will evaluate shortstop Javier Baez by week’s end to see when he’ll be able to start rehab activity, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. The club has been without Baez for just about all of September because of a hairline fracture in his left thumb, and it’s likely the injury will prevent the star from suiting up again in the regular season as Chicago tries to at least earn a wild-card berth. The Baez-less Cubs have been turning to recently recalled youngster Nico Hoerner at short, and fortunately for them, he has begun his career in outstanding fashion. Thanks in part to Hoerner’s contributions, the Cubs are 6-2 dating back to his Sept. 9 debut.

More injury updates from around the National League…

  • Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver may be a “couple days” from returning to a major league mound, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. Weaver threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday as he works back from forearm and ulnar collateral ligament issues that have shelved him since late May. The offseason acquisition, who joined the D-backs via their Paul Goldschmidt trade with the Cardinals, had been amid a stellar campaign before landing on the shelf. Weaver owns a 3.03 ERA/3.11 FIP with 9.82 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings on the season. While Arizona’s playoff hopes have faded this year, the hope is Weaver and fellow young righty Zac Gallen will be among those to help drive the team back into contention in 2020.
  • Brewers righty reliever Corey Knebel is “continuing to make progress” in his recovery from the Tommy John procedure he underwent in March, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Knebel expects to return to throwing from a mound when spring training rolls around, per Haudricourt. It’s all the more impressive on the Brewers’ part that they’re in the thick of the wild-card hunt without having received anything from Knebel, who was one of their best bullpen options from 2017-18.
  • Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland is nearing a late-season return, according to Nick Groke of The Athletic. A strained groin has kept Freeland from taking a big league mound since Aug. 20, but he’ll be able to make two more starts (albeit at just two to three innings per appearance) this year, Groke notes. Freeland will attempt to end his surprisingly dismal season on a high note when he suits up again. One of the NL’s premier pitchers just a year ago, Freeland has been just the opposite in 2019. The 26-year-old has logged a 6.98 ERA/6.13 FIP across 99 1/3 frames, and his struggles led the Rockies to demote him to the minors earlier in the season.

Early Trade Deadline Re-Assessment: NL West

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It has only been about six weeks, so it’s too soon to judge with finality how this year’s trade deadline maneuvers will play out. That said, we’re already most of the way through the period — the regular season portion, at least — for which rental players were acquired. Even players with future control are usually added first and foremost for their immediate contributions (though there are some exceptions). It’d be awfully premature to say anything conclusive about the prospect side of any deals, but we do now have some additional information with which to work.

So, that’s why we’re going to take a glance back over our shoulders at the moves (and major non-moves) that organizations made in the run-up to this year’s trade deadline. We already covered the AL Central, NL Central, AL East, NL East, and AL West. Now we’ll finish things off in the NL West …

Dodgers

With visions of Felipe Vazquez as the trade deadline approached, many fans likely came away thoroughly underwhelmed by the Dodgers’ efforts. But if making that deal would’ve cost Gavin Lux, then he wouldn’t be in the lineup right now.

Plus, the Dodgers are awfully good even without another high-end relief arm. The bullpen has some big questions, to be sure, but the L.A. organization is loaded with starting pitching options that can all be deployed in various ways come October. There’s no question that there’s a possibility we’ll look back and think the Dodgers should have done more, but it’s likewise impossible to argue with the organization’s process or results in recent years.

So, what did the team do? On deadline day, the headliner was … trading for lefty reliever Adam Kolarek. That seemed ho-hum, but he has been quite useful, allowing just one earned run in 10 1/3 innings over 21 appearances. Yep, he’s being utilized judiciously, but that makes sense. Kolarek has been bombed by righties this year but has held opposing southpaws to a meager .183/.227/.269 batting line. The player sent out to get him, outfielder Niko Hulsizer, acquired in return, didn’t really have enough action to change his outlook in any meaningful way.

Otherwise, the moves were even lower-stakes arrangements. Utilityman Kristopher Negron has chipped in well since his acquisition and the Dodgers probably won’t miss Daniel Castro, who hasn’t hit much in the upper minors and wasn’t likely to play a significant role this year or next. The Dodgers haven’t gotten anything from Tyler White, but also probably haven’t seen anything from Andre Scrubb to cause major regret from that trade. Jedd Gyorko hasn’t hit well since coming over, but that didn’t cost much either. Young righty Jeffry Abreu, sent in the swap along with the contract of Tony Cingrani, hasn’t yet thrown competitive innings with the Cardinals. The Dodgers also picked up international spending capacity and cash considerations in the deal.

Diamondbacks

The major move came at the very last minute, with the D-Backs parting with veteran righty Zack Greinke. It’s hard to imagine that free agent contract having a softer landing. In addition to shedding much of the remaining financial obligation, the Arizona organization added four high-quality prospects.

Only one of those new players, infielder Josh Rojas, has ascended to the majors. The 25-year-old owns only a .232/.318/.337 slash in 107 trips to the plate, but his monster season in the upper minors still makes him an intriguing player going forward. The other three were even more highly regarded talents. Slugger-in-training Seth Beer struggled after the swap but still holds ample promise. Talented righties Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas will be looking to bounce back, respectively, from Tommy John surgery and a bit of a down season in the results department.

The Snakes figured to take a step back sans Greinke, but they actually managed to stay relevant in the Wild Card race. Young righty Zac Gallen has had a big say in that, having thrown 43 2/3 innings of 2.89 ERA ball since arriving in exchange for touted infielder Jazz Chisholm. That’s immensely promising for the Arizona organization, which will hope Gallen can sustain his breakout year. On the other side of that deal, it’s fair to note that the 21-year-old Chisholm put his struggles behind him to finish with a strong .284/.383/.494 (156 wRC+) run after going into the Miami system.

With a continued eye to making sound baseball decisions for sustainable competitiveness, the Diamondbacks finally hammered out a swap for sturdy but unexciting starter Mike Leake. The veteran righty had a no-trade clause and personal reasons to prefer pitching in Arizona, which may have helped the Snakes work out a solid deal that cost only $6MM in total salary obligations and Jose Caballero. The young infielder struggled to a .256/.339/.333 batting line at the High-A level after the deal.

The D-Backs got some cash in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy, but otherwise that was it for mid-summer roster moves. It’s easy to like the overall slate of changes, though we’ll need to track them to see how it all shakes out over the long haul.

Giants

Also busy were the Giants, who faced a tricky deadline situation owing to a hot streak that had the club in Wild Card contention. Ultimately, the team decided not to sell of quality lefties Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith — each of whom might have brought back significant returns. The former is sure to receive a qualifying offer and the latter is a candidate as well, so there are still some paths to achieving future value, but the organization knew it was making some sacrifices by holding on to these pitchers.

The San Francisco denizens did move quite a few other hurlers. Chief among them was righty Sam Dyson (link), who will be eligible for arbitration one final time in 2020. Unfortunately, he has struggled badly in just a dozen appearances with the Twins and is now under consideration for a season-ending shoulder procedure. That doesn’t look great for Minnesota, though questions remain on the other side of the swap as well. Power-hitting outfielder Jaylin Davis laid waste to Triple-A but has struggled in his first, brief foray into the majors. We won’t know for quite some time what the Giants really have in young pitching prospects Kai-Wei Teng and Prelander Berroa.

The well-timed reemergence of southpaw Drew Pomeranz allowed the Giants to package him with power righty Ray Black in a deal that landed long-lauded infield prospect Mauricio Dubon. Pomeranz has been useful in Milwaukee but is a pure rental; Black still hasn’t shown his big heat can consistently retire MLB hitters. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Dubon has turned in an impressive .302/.327/.547 run in his first 55 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. That showing could make him the favorite to handle second base next year in San Francisco. The club made way by dropping veteran Scooter Gennett, who had been acquired as a buy-low replacement for Joe Panik.

The other significant reliever swap involved high-priced veteran Mark Melancon. It was surprising to see the Giants shed all of the veteran’s remaining salary obligations. He has a strong 20:2 K/BB ratio in 15 2/3 frames since the deal, along with ten saves, but hasn’t consistently kept runs off the board. The Giants have to be pleased with what they saw from the player they added in that swap. Young righty Tristan Beck threw 35 2/3 innings of 2.27 ERA ball, with 9.3 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9, for the club’s High-A affiliate.

Rounding things out for the Giants, the team took a shot on outfielder Joe McCarthy, who has not yet figured things out at Triple-A. The cost was younger prospect Jacob Lopez, who is still in the low minors but generated solid results this year.

Padres

The deadline turned out to be all about one man: Taylor Trammell. Long considered an uber-talented outfielder, the former first-round pick was plainly targeted by the Padres. It took a complicated, three-team arrangement to make it happen, but the San Diego organization now has a player that it views as the center fielder of the future.

Trammell remains an unfinished product. He wrapped up the season on a hot streak but ultimately carried only a .229/.316/.381 slash in his 133 Double-A plate appearances after the swap. The Friars are betting on their ability to finish off his development and surely hope they bought at a relative low point.

Making the deal cost the Pads a few quality assets. Young outfielder Franmil Reyes hasn’t yet settled in with his new team, posting 56 strikeouts in 161 plate appearances, but he comes with loads of cheap control and ample potential. Southpaw Logan Allen has mostly struggled this year, but he is another player that could soon be a quality MLB contributor. The Padres also parted with far-away youngster Victor Nova. Clearly, the San Diego end of this swap will take many years to evaluate in full.

It was otherwise a fairly quiet deadline period. The Padres got nothing from Carl Edwards Jr. after adding him from the Cubs; he seems a non-tender candidate this fall. Meanwhile, lefty Brad Wieck has been a surprising contributor in Chicago since that swap was completed. The 27-year-old has eleven strikeouts without a walk in 5 1/3 appearances. Also heading out of San Diego was righty reliever, Phil Maton, who has thus far been useful but unremarkable in Cleveland.

Rockies

Typically, when a team enters a season intending to contend and finds itself buried by the trade deadline, there’s a sell-off. Not so in Colorado — and for good reason. The club just didn’t have any assets that made sense to move. The higher-priced veterans haven’t performed well enough to generate appreciable cost savings, while the club’s core talent can’t be shipped out without leaving un-fillable holes. While some Charlie Blackmon explorations reportedly took place, that never seemed likely to result in a move and in the end fizzled out.

So … all we’re left with was this stirring blockbuster with the Yankees: the acquisition of right-hander Joe Harvey for minor league left-hander Alfredo Garcia. Harvey is a MLB-ready reliever who has shown some strikeout ability in the minors, though his initial transition to the highest level of the game hasn’t been especially promising. Garcia generated good results on both sides of the swap, but he’s a low-A player who is a long way from the bigs.

Health Notes: Marwin, Kintzler, Marlins, Rockies

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The latest on a few notable health situations from around the majors…

  • The Twins welcomed utilityman Marwin Gonzalez back from injury Monday in their win over the White Sox. Gonzalez hadn’t played since Aug. 27 because of an abdominal issue. His presence should help make up for the absence of fellow utilityman Ehire Adrianza (down with an oblique strain) and give the Twins the ability to rest first baseman C.J. Cron – who’s dealing with a bruised thumb, per Brian Hall of MLB.com. Gonzalez, the Twins’ highest-paid acquisition of last winter (two years, $21MM), has gotten past a sluggish start to post a useful .262/.322/.418 line with 15 home runs in 441 plate appearances this season.
  • Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler hasn’t pitched since Sept. 10, when the right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits in a third of an inning in a loss to San Diego. It turns out that Kintzler has been out with a mild left oblique strain, as Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to tweet. There’s no word on how much more time Kintzler will miss, but the sooner he returns, the better for the playoff-contending Cubs. The 35-year-old has bounced back from a shaky 2018 to post a 2.82 ERA/3.60 FIP with 7.62 K/9, 2.15 BB/9 and a 56.6 percent groundball rate in 54 1/3 frames.
  • Marlins first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper isn’t likely to return this season, Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio reports. The 28-year-old jammed his knee Friday, and though Mish notes it isn’t serious, the bottom-feeding Marlins don’t need to risk running Cooper out again this season. An ice-cold August has driven down Cooper’s numbers this year, but he has nonetheless been one of the hitter-needy Marlins’ top offensive players in 2019, having batted .281/.344/.446 with 15 HRs across 421 trips to the plate.
  • Rockies righty Chad Bettis, who underwent season-ending hip surgery Aug. 27, expects to go through “a normal offseason,” he told Kyle Newman of the Denver Post. That may be true from a health standpoint, but whether the winter will be conventional otherwise for Bettis is up in the air. After all, the Rockies could non-tender Bettis, who’s slated to go through arbitration for the third and final time. He made $3.325MM this season but only pitched to a 6.08 ERA/5.16 FIP in 63 2/3 innings – most of which came out of the Rockies’ bullpen.

NL Notes: Hiura, BA Awards, Freeland

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With a .301/.369/.571 line, 16 home runs, and nine stolen bases in his first 295 plate appearances in the majors, Brewers infielder Keston Hiura has this season put on prominent display the skills that made him a top-10 pick in the 2017 Rule IV draft. Today comes word that the UC Irvine product is a little closer to putting those tools to further use, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets that Hiura did a full workout (including batting practice) before logging one at-bat in today’s game against the Cardinals (link). Hiura has been out with a left hamstring strain since Aug. 31. Though the club certainly awaits his return with eagerness, they have been doing just fine for themselves in Hiura’s absence. Saturday’s win brings their record to 8-2 over their last ten contests. They are now just 1.0 games back of the Cubs for the last Wild Card play-in spot.

More notes from around the NL…

  • Baseball America has released their annual “Classification All-Stars” list, in which they name their All-Stars, MVPs, and Pitchers of the Year for each minor league level irrespective of league. Notably, NL prospects took home Pitcher of the Year honors at every minor league level except Double-A (a level which Tigers farmhand Matt Manning trounced in 2019). The complete list of garlanded NL pitchers includes Arizona’s Zac Gallen (Triple-A), San Diego’s Mackenzie Gore (High-A), San Francisco’s Seth Corry (Single-A), Arizona’s Luis Frias (Short Season), Miami’s Luis Palacios (Rookie), and Jerming Rosario of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (Dominican Summer League).
  • The Rockies play the Padres this weekend in a three-game series that has few relevant ramifications–aside from which team may be hung with the unflattering distinction of being the so-called cellar dweller in the NL West this year. There may be another bright spot in the offing for Colorado as their season yawns to a close, however, as word now comes that pitcher Kyle Freeland is one step closer to ending his troubled 2019 season on a positive note. Manager Bud Black told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that Freeland threw an issue-free, two-inning simulated bullpen session on Saturday–the 26-year-old’s latest step in recovery from a groin injury suffered on Aug. 21. After vexing hitters thoroughly in 2018 (2.85 ERA in 202.2 innings), this season has been a true test of faith for Freeland, as his 6.98 ERA in 99.1 innings of work was the worst mark among all pitchers who tossed more than 90 IP this year.

David Dahl Will Not Return In 2019

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Rockies outfielder David Dahl says he won’t continue pressing to return late this year, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. That’s not terribly surprising with just two weeks left in a lost season.

Dahl had been working steadily back from a high ankle sprain — the latest in a string of injuries that have limited the talented performer to this point of his career. Fortunately, he says that he is making good progress. And this appears to be a one-off injury, entirely unrelated to the core-muscle maladies that had plagued him previously.

This will still end up being Dahl’s most voluminous MLB campaign to date. He appeared in an even 100 games — meaning he spent sufficient time on the active roster to be eligible for Super Two status. Dahl is certain to have sufficient service time, though his lost time will certainly limit his earnings.

Dahl won’t reach his 26th birthday until next April Fools’ Day, so he’s still plenty youthful. And he’ll be under arbitration control through 2023, meaning the Rox have ample time left to accrue value.

While he doesn’t draw many walks, Dahl hits for a high average with good power. He’s a lifetime .297/.346/.521 hitter in the majors — though that translates to a good-but-not-superlative 110 wRC+ once accounted for context. Defensive metrics haven’t been particularly fond of Dahl’s glovework, though they’re especially hard to trust at Coors Field.

UZR was actually fond of Dahl’s performance in a 300+ inning sample this year in center field. It seems the Rockies agree with that assessment. Skipper Bud Black says that Dahl will play up the middle when he returns next year, as Nick Groke of The Athletic covers on Twitter.

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