AL Central Notes: Boyd, Indians, Mize, Sox, Cease
Matthew Boyd elevated his stock considerably with a strong start to the season and a heavier reliance on four-seamers and sliders, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently took a look at whether the Tigers might be open to trading the 28-year-old lefty. While the rebuilding Detroit club likely isn’t in a position to wholly refuse offers on virtually anyone on the roster, the Tigers do have a preference if they’re to move Boyd, Rosenthal reports. Given the glut of young pitching in the upper minors, the team’s ideal trade package for Boyd would center around a controllable young hitter with substantial upside. The Tigers needn’t feel compelled to move Boyd either this summer or even in the 2019-20 offseason, as he’s still controlled for another three seasons, but his improvements thus far appear more legitimate than many early-season, small-sample success stories. It’s easy to imagine that he’s already more appealing to other clubs than he was a month ago, and even if the Tigers ultimately hang onto him, Boyd will surely be one of the most sought-after arms in the game this summer if he maintains his early output.
Here’s more from the American League Central…
- Right-hander Casey Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, tossed a no-hitter in his Double-A debut following a midweek promotion, but the Tigers aren’t planning to accelerate his timeline to the Major Leagues based on that dominant effort, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “[General manager Al Avila] has told me, ‘Don’t even look at them,'” manager Ron Gardenhire tells McCosky of Mize and fellow top pitching prospects Matt Manning and Alex Faedo. “So, I am happy they’re doing well, but they are not in my thoughts.” Both Avila and assistant GM David Chadd were present to watch Mize’s one-walk, no-hitter live and will watch Faedo an Manning this week as well. However, McCosky notes that the pair isn’t getting live looks at those young arms with an eye toward a near-term promotion. Faedo has just 89 innings above A-ball, while Manning has just 39 1/3.
- The Indians left themselves little margin for error this past offseason and are now paying the price, writes Zack Meisel of The Athletic (subscription required). Cleveland pinned its hopes on a dominant rotation but is already down Mike Clevinger and Corey Kluber. While the former is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a teres major strain, he can’t be activated until June 7 given his placement on the 60-day injured list, and there’s no timeline yet for the latter. As far as in-house alternatives, Adam Plutko is still working his way back from a forearm issue, leaving Jefry Rodriguez as the de facto fourth starter and a collection of question marks behind him in the fifth slot. Chih-Wei Hu and non-roster journeyman Asher Wojciechowski are perhaps the likeliest fifth options for an Indians club that currently faces a three-game deficit in the division.
- Although Tommy John surgery is “on the table” as an option for injured White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, his health won’t impact top prospect Dylan Cease‘s timeline to the big leagues, general manager Rick Hahn told reporters Thursday (link via LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune). “[N]o one is going to be promoted to Chicago simply because there’s a need in Chicago,” said Hahn, stressing that Cease or any other prospect will only be promoted when the player’s development dictates a promotion. “(Cease’s) timeline is not in any way affected by anything that happens with Carlos. It’s only going to be affected by what happens with (Cease).” The 23-year-old Cease, who entered the year as a consensus Top 50 prospect in the game, has done a good job making an early case for a big league debut. Through 24 1/3 innings at Triple-A, he’s pitched to a 3.33 ERA with a 30-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 55.1 percent ground-ball rate.
Tigers Place Josh Harrison On IL, Select Harold Castro
The Tigers announced Tuesday that they’ve placed second baseman Josh Harrison on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 27, due to a left shoulder contusion. In his place, the club has selected the contract of infielder Harold Castro. Lefty Matt Moore was moved from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding 40-man roster move.
Harrison, 31, inked a one-year deal worth $2MM with the Tigers this winter, reuniting him with Pittsburgh double-play partner Jordy Mercer in the Detroit infield. He’s off to an ugly start to the season, however, hitting .156/.212/.233 through his first 99 trips to the plate. Harrison’s strikeout rate hasn’t spiked to a worrisome degree, though, and over the course of a full season one would imagine that his .181 average on balls in play will bounce back even as his hard-hit and line-drive rates have fallen off from their 2018 levels.
Castro, 25, made his big league debut with the Tigers last season but tallied just 10 plate appearances (with three hits) in September before being outrighted off the 40-man roster following the season. He stuck around with the Tigers, though, and will now get another crack at the Majors on the heels of a strong start in Toledo. Through 76 PAs, Castro is hitting .353/.392/.544 with three homers and four doubles. It’s possible that his newfound spot on the 40-man roster will be in jeopardy once Harrison is ready to go, though Castro does still have three minor league option years remaining, so the organization could also keep him on the 40-man as a valuable depth option who can be shuttled between Toledo and Detroit over the course of the season.
Central Notes: Sano, Wood, Tigers
Twins third baseman Miguel Sano is launching an official rehab assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll open at the High-A level, with planned stops at the next two rungs on the ladder before MLB activation, MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park was among those to report. Sano has been working back from an injury to his Achilles that healed much more slowly than anticipated. The hope now is that the issue is behind him, but the Twins want to get Sano plenty of reps before bringing him back to the big-league roster. Sano, who’ll turn 26 on May 11th, is looking to bounce back after a highly disappointing 2018 campaign. No doubt the Minnesota organization would like to see him put in some of the work he was prevented from undertaking this spring.
More from the game’s central divisions …
- The Reds received some unwelcome news on starter Alex Wood, as manager David Bell told reporters including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) that the southpaw recently suffered a setback while trying to work through the back problems that have sidelined him to date. Wood has yet to appear with his new organization, which had hoped he’d be one of three new veteran starters to bolster the rotation. An examination has been scheduled for Wednesday, at which time more on Wood’s outlook may be known. The 28-year-old is earning $9.65MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility after defeating the Reds in an arb hearing.
- Health issues are creating problems in the Tigers rotation, which means GM Al Avila is weighing the options for filling in. As Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes, the top Detroit baseball decisionmaker doesn’t see much of interest in free agency; he says the front office will “have to keep our eye on the waiver wire and on guys in the minor leagues who have opt-out clauses.” With nothing doing there at the moment, the Tigers are looking internally. Ryan Carpenter and Kyle Funkhouser both are under consideration, with the team also pondering the possibility of utilizing Blaine Hardy in a swingman role once he’s activated from the IL.
- It’s awfully tempting to wonder whether one of the Tigers‘ blue-chip pitching prospects could instead get the call, particularly after ace-in-the-making Casey Mize spun a rare complete-game no-hitter this evening. Whether that’ll be a possibility at some point remains to be seen, but it’s worth bearing in mind that there are some notable roster considerations that counsel against a quick promotion even beyond service-time considerations. As Avila tells McCosky, the organization anticipates a need to add something like ten prospects to the 40-man roster in advance of this winter’s Rule 5 draft. The club is obviously keeping a close eye on the downstream effects of its decisions.
Tigers Place Jordan Zimmermann On IL With UCL Sprain
5:27pm: It seems as if Zimmermann is expected to be able to rehab the injury without surgery, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. Team trainer Doug Teter says that the veteran will wait for five to seven days before he begins working back. It’s at least possible Zimmermann could return to the active roster within three or four weeks.
3:05pm: The Tigers announced today that righty Jordan Zimmermann has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow right-hander Zac Reininger.
That’s certainly ominous news for the veteran hurler, who left his start yesterday with elbow troubles. Zimmermann is already pitching on a replacement UCL after previously undergoing Tommy John surgery. It’s not known at this point whether a surgical outcome is on the table.
Injury Notes: Zimmermann, Smyly, Yankees
The Tigers are holding their breath after seeing starter Jordan Zimmermann depart with discomfort in his right elbow, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press was among those to report on Twitter. More on his outlook will be known after he’s evaluated tomorrow, but it seems there’s a bit of worry from within the organization. Zimmermann’s tenure in Detroit has been nothing short of disastrous; he entered the season with a cumulative 5.24 ERA and is sitting on a 5.93 mark through six starts this year. The club owes him $25MM this year and the same for 2020.
More on the health front:
- Rangers lefty Drew Smyly says he thinks he’ll be capable of returning after skipping only a starter or two, as MLB.com’s TR Sullivan tweets. He explains that he is just dealing with arm fatigue in his first full season back following Tommy John surgery. That’s reasonably promising news, standing alone. Trouble is, the Texas organization really needs innings right away. Prospect Taylor Hearn was bombed tonight, leaving the bullpen to pick up the pieces. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes on Twitter, veteran righty Jeanmar Gomez took the brunt of the damage and may now be at risk of losing his spot on the roster as the club scrambles to cover innings in the coming days.
- With loads of significant players on the injured list, there are always quite a few Yankees updates of note. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch rounds up the latest in one concise tweet. Aaron Hicks and Troy Tulowitzki both appear close to full (minor-league) game action, which suggests both may not be far off from a return to the MLB roster. Miguel Andujar is slated to appear at third base in extended spring action tomorrow. That represents the latest promising sign as he attempts to stave off surgery to address a shoulder injury that isn’t preventing him from hitting but has hampered his throwing. Just how that’ll all turn out remains to be seen, but it appears there is enough promise that he’s going to try to ramp back up at the hot corner.
- As for star Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the biceps issue that drove him to the injured list appears to be sorted. But he’s now dealing with a new shoulder malady. Per Andy Martino of SNY.tv, the hope is that this new problem will only extend his absence by a week or so. It’s all a bit foggy but seems less than concerning on the whole, at least in comparison to the club’s overall injury malaise. Having treaded water admirably thus far, the Yanks can go another week without Stanton. They are still in good position in the AL East — so long as their health fortunes finally turn, at least.
AL Central Notes: Mize, Carrasco, Soler
The Tigers announced Thursday that top pitching prospect Casey Mize has been promoted to Double-A Erie. Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, tore through an early assignment to Class-A Advanced, posting a comical 0.35 ERA with a 25-to-1 K/BB ratio in 26 innings of work prior to the promotion. The former Auburn ace, clearly miles ahead of the competition he faced at that first stop, looks to be on a relatively fast track to the big leagues. The 21-year-old (22 on May 1) totaled 128 1/3 innings between college ball and the minor leagues last season, so he may not even be on all that aggressive of an innings cap (although surely the Tigers will exercise some degree of caution as pertains to his workload). Widely regarded as one of the game’s best overall prospects, Mize could put himself in the conversation for a big league promotion this summer or in early 2020, at the latest, assuming things go smoothly in Double-A and Triple-A.
More from the division…
- An MRI revealed no damage in the ailing knee of Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Carrasco tweaked the knee in his most recent start against the Marlins while covering first base on a grounder, and while he finished that frame (the fourth), he didn’t return for the fifth. The righty told skipper Terry Francona that the knee had begun to tighten up, and the Cleveland manager understandably opted to go the cautious route. Carrasco is in line to make his next scheduled start on Sunday and seemingly won’t have any limitations placed on him.
- The Royals are cognizant of the fact that Jorge Soler‘s work in right field is a work in progress, at best, but the organization plans to continue giving him opportunities to improve, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. It seems the team believes there’s better glovework to be unlocked with more reps, with Soler possessing the physical tools needed to man the position. The coaching staff is stressing the need for him to take better routes to the ball — particularly when it’s hit over his head. There’s little doubt that Soler’s upside would be maximized by playing on the grass regularly, rather than serving solely as a DH, though he has already logged more than two thousand MLB innings in the outfield without mastering the gig. He’s also pacing the American League with 39 strikeouts and carrying a .288 on-base percentage, which arguably represent larger concerns. Soler is under contract through 2020 under the international free agent contract he originally signed out of Cuba. The out-of-options 27-year-old will be eligible for arbitration for one season thereafter.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/25/19
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…
- The Tigers have released right-hander Eduardo Paredes from their Triple-A club, as first noted on Roster Roundup’s transactions log. Still just 24 years old, Paredes spent time in the Majors with the Angels in both 2017 and 2018, pitching to a combined 5.53 ERA with 32 strikeouts against 13 walks in 40 1/3 innings as a big leaguer. Paredes notched impressive numbers in the minors up through the 2017 season, but he struggled in Triple-A and the Majors last year. Those difficulties continued in 2019, when he served up nine runs and walked nine batters in just 12 innings with the Tigers’ Toledo affiliate. Overall, Paredes has a 4.24 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 0.88 HR/9 and a ground-ball rate just shy of 33 percent in 91 1/3 career innings of Triple-A ball.
AL Pitching Injury Notes: Snell, Carrasco, Smyly, Estrada, Hardy
The Rays have decided to start ace lefty Blake Snell today after he bounced back quicker than expected from a minor toe fracture, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. There are some obvious risks to bringing him back before he’s ready, but the organization obviously feels that isn’t the case. The reigning American League Cy Young winner has been outstanding once again early in 2019, with a 2.16 ERA and 13.0 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 over 25 frames.
More on the health front, focusing on some other AL hurlers:
- Indians righty Carlos Carrasco departed his start yesterday early with some left knee discomfort and will undergo an MRI to make sure there isn’t an injury. It’s being billed as a precautionary measure, as MLB.com’s Mandy Bell reports (via Twitter). The Indians will hope it comes back clean, as he’s a key part of the team’s plan to fend off challengers in the AL Central. Carrasco has had a few rough outings this year, but has also spun a pair of 12-strikeout gems and was getting the job done yesterday before tweaking the joint.
- Rangers starter Drew Smyly was placed on the 10-day injured list yesterday with what the club described as mid-arm nerve tightness in his left arm. It seems the hope is that he’ll only miss a start or two; the placement was back-dated to April 20th. The 29-year-old Smyly hasn’t quite had the bounceback campaign he was hoping for to this point, with a 7.80 ERA, 19:10 K/BB ratio, and four home runs allowed through 15 innings over four starts. Right-handed Wei-Chieh Huang is up to take the open roster spot. He made his MLB debut earlier this season and has been throwing well at Double-A.
- The Athletics sent righty Marco Estrada in for an “ablation procedure” on his balky back yesterday, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to cover (Twitter links). It seems he’ll be out through at least early May, though there isn’t a precise timeline just yet. The hope seems to be that this surgery will speed things up a bit. Meanwhile, the A’s hoping that reliever Lou Trivino will bounce back quickly after he was struck in the thumb by a baseball. He’s taking a few days but not slated to hit the injured list at the moment.
- The Tigers announced yesterday that lefty Blaine Hardy was heading to the IL with a left forearm strain. Injuries to that area can be quite concerning for a pitcher, but there’s no real indication at this point of the outlook for the 32-year-old. After dabbling with the rotation in 2018, Hardy has been utilized in a multi-inning relief capacity thus far, throwing a dozen frames in eight appearances. Fellow southpaw Jose Fernandez takes his spot on the active roster.
Tigers Assign Gregory Soto To High-A Lakeland
Tigers’ promising lefty Gregory Soto has been reinstated from the restricted list and assigned to High-A Lakeland, per the Tigers PR Department (via Twitter). Soto was added to the 40-man roster for protection in the Rule 5 draft back in 2017, so his reinstatement means the Tigers’ 40-man roster is now full. As Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group notes (via Twitter), the Tigers can shift Matt Moore to the 60-day IL should they need to open a spot on the 40-man.
Soto, 24, is a power lefty with considerable promise, though he has yet to pitch above High-A. He was the Tigers’ organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2017 after going 12-2 with a 2.25 ERA between Single-A and Lakeland. Last season, Soto struggled to find the strike zone with consistency. He walked 5.56 batters per nine innings en route to an 8-8 season with a 4.45 ERA before being suspended for the first 20 games of 2019.
The reason for the suspension was left unspecified at the time, though the listed infraction denotes “conduct that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of Baseball,” in short, though as Woodbery pointed out, this particular case was not prompted by an arrest, domestic violence, drugs or gambling.
Upon his return, the hope would be for Soto to make significant strides towards reaching his presumptive ceiling and one day make the big league rotation, though it’s hard to overlook the fact that his profile mirrors those of many eventual relievers. For now, the Tigers are in a better position than some organizations might be to use a 40-man roster spot on a 24-year-old in High-A. Soto was listed as the Tigers’ 26th ranked prospect at the start of this season by both MLB.com and Fangraphs.
Nicholas Castellanos Hires Boras Corporation
Tigers right fielder Nicholas Castellanos has hired the Boras Corporation to represent him moving forward, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports (Twitter link). The chance in representation comes just months before he’s slated to become a free agent for the first time.
Castellanos, 27, was previously represented by SportsMeter, making the switch an interesting one. SportsMeter and the Boras Corporation are the two agencies representing the game’s top two unsigned free agents in Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, respectively. Boras Corp is obviously among the game’s largest agencies and has a longer track record, though both outfits in this equation had some misses this offseason. In addition to the fact that Keuchel remains unsigned, both Martin Maldonado and Gio Gonzalez have left Boras Corp in the past month due to apparent unhappiness with their own open-market experiences.
[RELATED: MLBTR Agency Database]
That said, there are certainly some parallels between Castellanos and another prominent Boras client: J.D. Martinez. Beyond the fact that both have patrolled right field at Comerica Park, each is a defensively challenged slugger. Bat-only players have not been in particularly high demand of late, so a relatively limited market is to be expected. Castellanos can’t match Martinez’s track record at the plate, but he will have age on his side; the former will be selling his services beginning with his age-28 season, whereas the latter didn’t become a free agent until he’d already turned 30. That’s not to say that anyone should expect a $100MM+ contract for Castellanos in free agency, but the fact that the Boras Corporation has successfully brokered a sizable contract for a player with a similar skill set quite likely held some appeal in this case.
There is still nearly a full season left for Castellanos to demonstrate some improvements in his glovework. The DRS grading system has smiled upon his efforts thus far, though UZR remains unmoved. If he can prove himself to be even a palatable performer in right field, the slate of potential suitors might expand appreciably. Clubs with interest in the bat will surely have their scouts take a close look to see whether — and for how long — Castellanos can be trusted on the outfield grass.