Astros Designate AJ Reed For Assignment
The Astros have designated minor league first baseman AJ Reed for assignment in order to open a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Jose Urquidy, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jake Kaplan of The Athletic).
Reed, 26, once rated among the game’s top 20 prospects, per Baseball America, but simply hasn’t panned out as the organization hoped. He’s hit just .153/.253/.244 and punched out 50 times in 150 Major League plate appearances, and while he has solid overall numbers in Triple-A, this year’s .224/.329/.469 line has been underwhelming. Reed’s strikeout rate has jumped 23.7 percent in 2018 to 29.8 percent in 2019, but he’s still walking at the same strong 12 percent clip he’s managed in each of his three prior seasons in Triple-A.
Houston will have a week to trade Reed or attempt to pass him through outright waivers, although given his former prospect pedigree, it seems likely that he’d be claimed. A team like the Tigers, Royals, White Sox, Marlins, Mariners or Blue Jays would have little to lose by picking up Reed and giving him a look in the Majors down the stretch in 2019. The Orioles are stuck with Chris Davis‘ contract at first base but could still give Reed a look between first and the DH slot; general manager Mike Elias was Houston’s scouting director when Reed was taken in the second round of the 2014 draft.
Reed is in his final option year, so beginning in 2020, he won’t be able to be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. But for the time being, any team that does pick him up would be able to freely send him back and forth between Triple-A and the Majors.
Notable International Signings: 7/2/19
The 2019-20 July 2nd international signing period is officially underway, though it’s not exactly laden with suspense. Teams have long since lined up deals with newly eligible teenage players, so the news today largely represents confirmation of what was anticipated. Still, it’s a day of no small moment, particularly for the young men embarking upon professional careers.
Let’s round up some of the most notable signings of the day. Throughout, we’ll be citing to the reporting of Baseball America (signings tracker; scouting links) and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter feed; rankings) along with analysis from Fangraphs. You can find each team’s total bonus pool and other information on the process right here. Check the above links for further information and other signings. Here are a few key deals:
- Jasson Dominguez, OF, Yankees: Everyone’s top target is reportedly holding strong on his commitment to go to the Bronx. The deal is said to be for $5.1MM, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, with an announcement expected this evening. Dominguez is a switch-hitter who’s said to possess five-tool ability. The Fangraphs team is sufficiently impressed to run him all the way up to the #61 overall MLB prospect ranking right out of the gates (via Kiley McDaniel, on Twitter). The Yanks also have struck a $1.2MM deal with outfielder Jhon Diaz, Sanchez tweets. He was the 18th-rated player on the MLB.com board but ran all the way up to #7 at Fangraphs.
- Robert Puason, SS, Athletics: Another player who’ll command about $5MM, Puason is a toolsy shortstop with big upside. He was said to have a deal in place with the Braves before that team was slapped with international sanctions. It’s worth noting that the Atlanta organization wasn’t actually punished for agreeing to terms early (though that widespread practice is officially forbidden) but rather for structuring a group deal with Puason’s trainer, as Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper explains on Twitter.
- Luis Rodriguez, OF, Dodgers: The value on this one is unknown, but BA’s Ben Badler has photographic evidence of the signing (Twitter link). Rodriguez gets top-three billing from Fangraphs. The Los Angeles club is also in agreement with righty Kristian Cardozo, who’s also considered one of the thirty best players available.
- Bayron Lora, OF, Rangers: Baseball America has made this connection for some time; Sanchez tweets that it’s a $4.2MM deal for the slugging prospect. Shortstops Maximo Acosta and Zion Banister are also members of the Texas signing class. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter) has the former at $1.6MM and the latter at $835K. As he notes, the Texas organization will need to acquire some added pool capacity to make the math work.
- Erick Pena, OF, Royals: This is another signing called in advance by the BA crew. Sanchez has the bonus at $3.8MM (Twitter link). FG labels Pena “a well-rounded outfielder with considerable physical projection.”
- Ronnier Quintero, C, Cubs: Occupying the #6 spot on the boards of both Fangraphs and MLB.com, Quintero will follow Willson Contreras from Venezuela to the Chicago organization. The Cubbies also have a deal with fellow top-ten-ish prospect Kevin Made, a shortstop. Sanchez puts the Quintero deal at $3MM and Made’s mark at $1.7MM. Another Venezuelan backstop, Brayan Altuve, will cost the Cubs another million bucks, seemingly setting up the organization for a search for some added pool money.
- Roberto Campos, OF, Tigers: The Detroit organization popped for a hefty $3MM to secure the services of the Cuban outfielder, per Badler (via Twitter). Campos defected in somewhat dramatic fashion several years ago at just 13 years of age. He wasn’t listed among the best prospects, but Chris McCosky of the Detroit News indicates on Twitter that the Tigers like his bat quite a bit.
Several other well-regarded prospects also secured bonuses of $2MM or more, per Sanchez and/or Badler:
Astros Reportedly Interested In Matthew Boyd
Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd will be one of the most coveted players available leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, owing to his performance and affordable team control. Contenders aplenty will call the Tigers about Boyd in the next few weeks, if they haven’t already. Count AL West-leading Houston among the clubs interested in the 28-year-old, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports. To this point, though, the Astros have not shown a willingness to trade high-end outfield prospect Kyle Tucker for Boyd, according to Morosi.
Tucker would give the offensively challenged Tigers a much-needed player to build around in the field. Their interest in Tucker goes back multiple years, Morosi notes, as the Tigers tried to acquire him from the Astros when the teams made a deal around right-handed ace Justin Verlander late in the 2017 season. Almost two full years later, Tucker remains a potential star in the making for the Astros. MLB.com ranks the 22-year-old as the game’s 10th-best prospect and notes he has high-average, 25-home run upside. Tucker has already slammed 24 homers in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this year, moving past a slow start to log a .274/.348/.606 line (123 wRC+) in 330 plate appearances with Triple-A Round Rock.
Although Tucker posted disastrous production in his 72 major league-PA debut a year ago, it’s clear the Astros aren’t going to let that define him. If the team keeps Tucker, he could follow another excellent Astros prospect, slugger Yordan Alvarez, as an in-season difference-maker in 2019 or perhaps become a regular next year.
Speaking of 2020, the Astros are set to head into then with questions in their rotation. Verlander and Brad Peacock will be back, Lance McCullers Jr. should return from 2018 Tommy John surgery, and any of the Astros’ starting prospects might step up to claim a rotation spot. Gerrit Cole will have a chance to leave for a mega-deal in free agency, however, and Wade Miley and Collin McHugh could also depart. Boyd would help cover for their losses, and he’d do so at an affordable price. He’ll make his second of four potential trips through arbitration during the upcoming winter, when he’ll earn a raise over his relatively negligible $2.6MM salary.
While Boyd could make a long-term impact for the Astros, they could also use a complement now to slot in with Verlander and Cole atop their rotation. Boyd arguably didn’t look up to the task in June when he allowed 19 earned runs and 10 homers in a five-start, 29-inning stretch. He still put up 41 strikeouts against five walks during that span, though, and boasts a more-than-respectable 3.72 ERA/3.57 FIP through 101 2/3 frames this season. Furthermore, with a stunning 11.42 K/9 against 1.77 BB/9, Boyd’s K/BB ratio ranks fifth among starters.
The Tigers are within reason to want a prospect-driven haul for Boyd, and the Astros just may be the ones who give it to them sometime this month. However, if Detroit’s dead set on getting Tucker as part of a Boyd package, it appears the club will have to look elsewhere.
Astros To Select Jose Urquidy
The Astros will select the contract of right-hander Jose Urquidy, who’ll be called up to start for them tomorrow, president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow announced to reporters Monday (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). His promotion will require a 40-man roster move, but Houston won’t announce that transaction until tomorrow.
Urquidy, 24, wasn’t considered to be among Houston’s top tier of prospects heading into the season but has elevated his status with a solid showing in his first career action at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels. The righty missed the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery but returned to pitch 57 1/3 innings of 2.35 ERA ball in Class-A last season. This year, he’s posted a combined 3.40 ERA with 12.2 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and 0.94 HR/9. Urquidy is more of a fly-ball pitcher, so drawing his first MLB assignment at Coors Field isn’t necessarily ideal, but he’s been incredibly stingy with the long ball throughout his minor league career (20 homers in 297 innings).
Urquidy ranks 29th among Houston farmhands at MLB.com. Their scouting report pegs his fastball in the low 90s and topping out at 95 mph while praising a plus changeup and noting that his curveball needs some refinement. He’d have been Rule 5 eligible this offseason anyhow, so he was likely to be added to the 40-man roster one way or another between now and December. The ‘Stros don’t have an obvious 60-day IL candidate at the MLB level to open a 40-man roster spot for Urquidy. The team has been carrying a pair of out-of-options players in Tyler White and Tony Kemp, and Houston also saw 40-man right-hander Dean Deetz struggle in Triple-A this year before going down with an injury in late May.
West Notes: Astros, Martin, Rangers, Crouse, Dodgers, Lamet
Astros right-hander Corbin Martin, who suffered a “potentially serious” elbow injury while pitching in Triple-A, will receive a second opinion “early next week,” according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Rome adds that Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow doesn’t expect Martin to pitch “any time soon,” which certainly is not a promising indicator for the club, though there’s no timetable as of yet. Martin, regarded as baseball’s 48th-best prospect according to MLB.com, debuted earlier this season and enjoyed an impressive debut outing, though he wasn’t able to find much success after that, leading to his demotion to the minors. With Brad Peacock on the injured list and Martin, Framber Valdez, and Collin McHugh all disappointing in their auditions for the final spot in the starting rotation, the scuffling Astros will have to look elsewhere for starting pitching options.
Here’s the latest news from out West…
- Following the season, Rangers prospect Hans Crouse will undergo surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. However, Grant adds, Crouse will continue to pitch at the Class-A level. Crouse, just 20 years old, is ranked as the Rangers’ best prospect and tabbed by MLB.com as the 63rd-best across baseball. A glance at his minor-league numbers suggest that Crouse has performed just fine despite the injury, but it’s certainly a situation worth monitoring for a promising young starter.
- A couple of injured Dodgers are progressing in their recoveries, reports the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett on Twitter. David Freese and A.J. Pollock will each take live batting practice today, with Corey Seager a possibility to join them. Per Plunkett, Freese should rejoin the team this week, with Seager and Pollock due to start rehab assignments in the near future. Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times adds (via Twitter) that Pollock is aiming for a return immediately following the All-Star break.
- Padres starter Dinelson Lamet is slated to make his long-awaited return to the team in the coming days, writes Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. The right-hander hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2017, when he flashed tantalizing stuff in his debut season and subsequently missed the entire 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He has made six rehab starts this season—three in Single-A ball and three at Triple-A—throwing as many as 85 pitches, a mark that should govern his workload for the Padres down the stretch. The dynamic 26-year-old would boost the Padres rotation, which could be doubly important as Chris Paddack, the team’s best starter, faces questions about his workload.
Astros Place Brad Peacock On Injured List
The Astros have placed right-hander Brad Peacock on the 10-day injured list with shoulder discomfort and recalled lefty Reymin Guduan from Triple-A Round Rock, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to report.
The severity of Peacock’s injury is unknown, but regardless, it’s the latest unfortunate turn of events for the slumping Astros. The club has lost nine of 11, including a 10-0 drubbing at the hands of the Pirates on Thursday. Peacock started that game for the Astros and yielded six earned runs on seven hits and a walk (with two strikeouts) in three innings. The 31-year-old has now logged a nearly matching 4.13 ERA/4.14 FIP with 9.42 K/9 and 2.65 BB/9 across 85 innings and 17 appearances (15 starts) in 2019.
Houston already looks as if it’ll be in the market for starting pitching leading up to the July 31 deadline, and Peacock’s injury could further put the onus on the team’s front office to add reinforcements if he misses a solid amount of time. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are once again enjoying excellent seasons, and Peacock and Wade Miley have done well in complementary roles. However, Collin McHugh, Corbin Martin (now injured and in the minors) and Framber Valdez (just demoted to the minors) have failed to nail down the No. 5 spot in the Astros’ rotation this season.
AL West Notes: Stroman, Astros, Yordan, Trout, Laureano
Marcus Stroman has been mentioned as a possible trade target for not only the Astros, but virtually every team in baseball that could be looking for starting pitching help. Houston’s interest in the Blue Jays righty, however, dates back to at least 2017, as Peter Gammons reports (Twitter link) that the Astros heavily evaluated Stroman when exploring pitching targets that summer. Houston “did almost as much work on” Stroman as they did on eventual acquisition Justin Verlander, Gammons writes. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle addressed Gammons’ tweet and the Astros’ pitching needs as part of a mailbag piece, noting that Stroman’s pitching style doesn’t match Houston’s preferred model for a starter, though the Astros don’t hold hard and fast to that model — case in point, their signing of Wade Miley last winter.
Here’s some more from around the AL West…
- Yordan Alvarez left today’s game after three innings due to what the Astros described as “discomfort” in his left knee. (MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those who reported the news.) The injury isn’t thought to be serious, as Alvarez said he could have continued playing, though manager A.J. Hinch said he removed Alvarez “as a precaution” and “we’ll give him a day or two” to get healed up. Alvarez initially suffered the injury after fouling a ball off his knee on Tuesday. The rookie slugger has been nothing short of incredible during his first 65 Major League plate appearances, with seven homers and a .298/.385/.719 slash line.
- Before Mike Trout signed his record-setting extension with the Angels in March, Phillies fans long wondered if the superstar would one day join the Phils to play closer to his hometown of Millville, New Jersey. As Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller writes, however, Trout appreciates keeping some space between his real-life home and his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. “Obviously, a lot of people from home wanted me to come back east. We were thinking about it, my wife and I,” Trout said. “But it’s perfect to be able to go back in the offseason and have a life, be myself and spend time back in my hometown. It’s always good to go back.” The story is well worth a full read for Trout’s loyalty to the Angels, the connection between Trout and Millville, plus the interesting note of how Bryce Harper got in touch with Trout before signing to learn some details about the Philadelphia area, prior to Harper’s deal with the Phillies.
- The Athletics are known to be considering extensions with several of their players, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle adds Ramon Laureano‘s name to the list of those under consideration for a long-term deal. “Laser Ramon” has already gained attention for his excellent throwing arm, and has also shown some promise at the plate, entering today hitting .261/.306/.440 with 12 home runs over 314 plate appearances. An extension for Laureano would probably be a relatively inexpensive investment for Oakland, certainly in comparison to the much greater dollar figures it would take for the A’s to extend the likes of Matt Chapman or Marcus Semien. But, there’s also no real rush to extend Laureano yet, as the outfielder has yet to amass even a full year of MLB service time.
Astros Select Cy Sneed, Transfer Joe Smith To 60-Day IL
9:30am: The Astros have transferred Smith to the 60-day IL, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Smith’s still working back from the surgery he underwent on a ruptured left Achilles last December. He won’t return until sometime after the All-Star break.
8:28am: The Astros will select right-hander Cy Sneed‘s contract from Triple-A Round Rock, according to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Sneed will replace the optioned Framber Valdez on Houston’s 25-man roster, but the team will need to create a 40-man spot for him. Kaplan suggests the Astros will shift injured reliever Joe Smith to the 60-day IL to make room for Sneed’s promotion.
Sneed entered the pros as a third-round pick of the Brewers back in 2014, but they traded him to the Astros the next year for infielder Jonathan Villar. He reached Triple-A ball for the first time in 2017 and has pitched exclusively at that level since then. Across 70 1/3 innings and 14 appearances (eight starts) this season, the 26-year-old Sneed has logged a 4.48 ERA/5.34 FIP with 7.55 K/9, 2.82 BB/9 and a 40.2 percent groundball rate.
Astros Option Framber Valdez
The Astros have optioned lefty Framber Valdez to Triple-A following tonight’s game, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome). The move creates a vacancy in the Houston rotation, as Valdez had been serving as the fifth starter. A corresponding roster move will be announced tomorrow.
Valdez had a rough night in Houston’s 14-2 loss to the Pirates, as he was ambushed for six runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings of work. That marked the second straight clunker for the 25-year-old southpaw, who served up five runs in 3 1/3 innings to the Yankees his last time out. Prior to those rough two outings, though, Valdez had turned in two strong performances (albeit against lackluster Orioles and Blue Jays lineups).
The ‘Stros have a pair of off days baked into the schedule next week, so they can navigate a trip through the rotation without needing to rely on a fifth starter. Still, it’s worth wondering whether they’ll give Valdez another look or explore another possibility. The team did just activate Collin McHugh from the injured list, though he struggled in the rotation earlier this season. The Astros have also tried righty Corbin Martin in that role, but he was hit hard in the big leagues and hasn’t exactly thrived in three starts since being sent back down. Rogelio Armenteros won’t be an option for another nine days (barring an injury on the MLB roster), as he was just optioned to Triple-A yesterday. He hasn’t excelled in Triple-A himself, anyhow. Top prospect Forrest Whitley, meanwhile, has battled shoulder issues recently and isn’t close to being an option at this point.
All of that uncertainty could lead the Astros to eventually look outside the organization for some rotation help. They’re currently leading the Rangers by 5.5 games, so there’s no urgency to strike up a deal in the short term, but that’s a closer race than many anticipated in the American League West. Injuries to some star players (e.g. Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa) haven’t helped Houston, although they’re close to full strength in the lineup at this point, with only Correa absent among the team’s regulars. Still, the rotation was largely viewed as a piecemeal operation heading into the season, and it seems reasonable to expect that the Astros will at the very least explore their options — particularly with Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley set to become free agents at season’s end.
Injury Notes: Astros, A. Reyes, Cain, Dodgers, Lamet
Astros right-hander Corbin Martin is dealing with “a potentially serious elbow injury,” Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes. Martin suffered the injury during a start for Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday. MLB.com’s 48th-ranked prospect, Martin made his major league debut earlier this season when the Astros were looking for a fifth starter, though he wasn’t able to lay claim to the spot. The 23-year-old made five starts and posted a 5.59 ERA with 8.84 K/9 and 5.59 BB/9 in 19 1/3 innings before the Astros optioned him back to the minors.
- Cardinals righty Alex Reyes has been diagnosed with a strained pectoral muscle that will cost him to two to three starts, according to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak (via Mark Saxon of The Athletic). It’s the latest in a growing line of injuries for the touted Reyes, who, largely because of health issues, hasn’t been able to stay in the majors since his 2016 debut. The 24-year-old has spent almost all of this season at Triple-A Memphis, where he has recorded a 7.39 ERA with 12.21 K/9 and 7.71 BB/9 in 28 innings (10 appearances, seven starts).
- Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain underwent cryptotherapy on his right thumb Tuesday, but it should only keep him out a couple days, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com relays. Cain has undergone the procedure on a few occasions during his career, per McCalvy, who notes the 33-year-old has been battling pain for weeks. That likely helps explain Cain’s surprising decline in production. One of the majors’ most valuable players from 2017-18, Cain’s off to a .253/.314/.357 start in 331 plate appearances this year.
- The Dodgers are hopeful shortstop Corey Seager will return immediately after next month’s All-Star break, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday (via Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Seager would end up missing about a month in that scenario, having gone to the IL with a left hamstring strain June 13. Meanwhile, fellow Dodgers infielder David Freese‘s injured hamstring is “not responding like we’d hoped,” Roberts revealed. Nevertheless, the Dodgers are optimistic Freese – who just hit the shelf over the weekend – will come back prior to the break.
- The Padres could soon have “a serious conversation” about whether to add rehabbing righty Dinelson Lamet to their rotation, per manager Andy Green (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). The team’s “getting more and more excited about that concept” of plugging in Lamet, who’s mending from April 2018 Tommy John surgery and may only be one more rehab start from heading back to San Diego. The 26-year-old’s first major league start of the season could come as early as July 4, Cassavell reports. Lamet showed promise in his only big league season, 2017, during which he logged a 4.57 ERA with 10.94 K/9 and 4.25 BB/9 in 114 1/3 innings.