Astros Rumors

Pitching Notes: Quintana, Ryu, Weaver, Iglesias

By Connor Byrne | March 22, 2017 at 6:54pm CDT

Pittsburgh has pursued a trade for White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana over the past several months, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington found the asking price to be “well above where it made sense for us” (via ESPN’s Jim Bowden). With the Bucs seemingly out of the picture for Quintana, the Astros and Braves are the “best possibilities,” per Bowden, who notes that the White Sox “continue to work hard” to trade the 28-year-old. No deal is imminent, though, according to Bowden, who adds that the Astros would have to part with both right-hander Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker, two of Baseball America’s top 20 prospects, to acquire Quintana (all Twitter links). Houston balked at giving up a package of Martes, Tucker and righty Joe Musgrove for Quintana during the Winter Meetings.

For his part, White Sox GM Rick Hahn is content to wait until someone makes what he deems a satisfactory offer for Quintana, who’s reasonably priced and controllable through the 2020 season. “We’ve had conversations even this spring where if our asks was met, we’d make a move,” Hahn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “Obviously nothing has developed as of yet, but that could well change early in the season or it could take to the trade deadline or into the next offseason” (Twitter links).

The latest on a few other pitchers:

Remarkably, after missing almost all of the previous two years because of shoulder problems, Dodgers southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu is making a strong case to crack their season-opening rotation, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Ryu threw four scoreless, one-hit innings against Milwaukee on Tuesday, giving him nine frames of one-run ball for the spring. Manager Dave Roberts made it clear afterward that the Dodgers want him in their rotation, saying: “When we look back a year, where he’s come from, he’s done nothing but allow us to be very optimistic. Every time he’s gotten better and we’re building him up to be a starter and break camp with us. That’s the plan on our end. He worked hard to put himself in a position where he’s at right now. We’re a better team if he’s in the starting rotation.” With Julio Urias likely to begin the season in extended spring training and Scott Kazmir looking for his lost velocity, two of Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Alex Wood figure to claim the Dodgers’ available starting spots.
Padres righty Jered Weaver is dealing with a dead arm, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Weaver has also battled that issue in previous springs, notes Lin, though it’s not exactly encouraging news for a soft-tossing 34-year-old who’s coming off the two worst seasons of his career. Weaver indicated last week that he’s physically “10 steps above” where he was last year, when he piled up 178 innings with the Angels and logged the fourth-worst ERA (5.06) and second-highest FIP (5.62) among the majors’ qualified starters. The former ace lasted two-thirds of an inning in his start against the Royals on Wednesday and yielded four runs on three hits. He also hit two batters.
Already sans their best starter, the injured Anthony DeSclafani, as Opening Day approaches, the Reds might also begin 2017 without top reliever Raisel Iglesias, who hasn’t pitched since March 14. An elbow issue has kept Iglesias out of action, but an MRI only showed a bone bruise, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The good news is that it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a huge setback or there are any structural issues at all,” said manager Bryan Price. “The negative is that he’s going to have four more days off before he begins to throw again and we’ll have to see how comfortable we are by Opening Day or maybe before that.” A former starter, Iglesias was among the few bright spots in a historically inept Reds bullpen last year, when he posted a 1.98 ERA, 9.72 K/9 and 3.42 BB/9 in 50 innings as a reliever. Health permitting, the 27-year-old will serve as a high-leverage bullpen weapon this season.

Central Notes: Quintana, Guerra, Perkins, Park, Williams

By Mark Polishuk | March 21, 2017 at 10:35pm CDT

The Pirates, Astros and Braves are among multiple teams still showing interest in White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports. Pittsburgh and Houston have been widely linked to Quintana on the rumor mill all winter long, while connections between Quintana and the Braves have been largely quiet since December, when Atlanta reportedly balked at Chicago’s very high asking price for the southpaw. Several evaluators tell Passan that the Braves aren’t a great trade fit for the Sox, as while Atlanta’s farm system is very deep, its top prospects (Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies and Kevin Maitan) are all middle infielders, and Chicago already has Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada slated as their up-the-middle combo of the future. In short, not much has really changed on the Quintana front, as the Sox are in no rush to make a deal unless someone meets their price. “The White Sox have dispatched more scouts than usual” to minor league camps, Passan writes, in a sign of due diligence should a good trade offer suddenly emerge.

Here’s more from both the NL and AL Central…

Also from Passan’s piece, two sources believe that after Quintana, the Brewers’ Junior Guerra is the best starter available on the trade market. Guerra received a bit of trade buzz at the trade deadline and back in November, though there wasn’t much chatter about the righty. Guerra came out of nowhere to post a 2.81 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.33 K/BB rate as a 31-year-old rookie last season. Despite his rather advanced age, his good performance and five remaining years of team control make him an interesting trade chip for Milwaukee.
Glen Perkins will meet with Twins trainers and coaches later this week to determine the next step of his rehab from shoulder surgery, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, and a 60-day DL stint is a possibility. Perkins would have to give his consent to be placed on the disabled list, as per the rules of the collective bargaining agreement. That placement would allow Minnesota to open up a 40-man roster spot for another player, though Perkins wouldn’t be able to return until June 1 at the earliest. The veteran lefty has been limited to 20-pitch bullpen sessions every four days during Spring Training, and will start the season on at least the 10-day DL, though he is hopeful of being able to pitch much earlier than June 1.
Byung Ho Park was outrighted off the Twins’ 40-man roster last month, but the first baseman is trying to work himself back into the club’s immediate plans with a big Spring Training, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes. Park has recovered from a wrist injury that hampered him during his rookie season, and he also seems generally more relaxed now that he is more used to MLB pitching. According to South Korean reporters who followed Park in the KBO League, Bollinger writes that Park similarly put a lot of pressure on himself early in his career before settling in and becoming a major star for Nexen Heroes. Since Kennys Vargas has one more option year remaining, Minnesota has the flexibility to send Vargas to Triple-A if Park impresses enough to win the DH job.
White Sox VP and former general manager Ken Williams has “not been this excited about the White Sox’ future in a long, long time,” he told media (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Williams was resistant to GM Rick Hahn’s idea for a rebuild, though he noted that “a lot of us around here needed this kind of jolt” brought on by the franchise’s youth movement. “To talk to Rick about the possibilities trade-wise we may have out there in the future, free agency, international signing wise…we’re in full-go mode. And it’s exciting,” Williams said.

Astros Outright Max Stassi

By Jeff Todd | March 21, 2017 at 1:48pm CDT

The Astros have outrighted catcher Max Stassi off of the club’s 40-man roster, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to report on Twitter. He has been assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers.

Stassi, who just turned 26, had seemed destined to play a significant role for Houston last year before an injury delayed his start to the year. He ended up seeing just nine games of MLB action, representing his fourth-straight season of minimal major league time.

At Triple-A, Stassi again struggled to boost his offensive performance. All said, he has produced at just a .231/.290/.379 clip with 29 long balls in 1,019 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors.

AL West Notes: De Aza, Mariners, Cashner, Astros

By Steve Adams | March 15, 2017 at 1:46pm CDT

The injury to Athletics outfielder Jake Smolinski gives non-roster invitee Alejandro De Aza a considerably stronger chance of making the roster, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. While both De Aza and fellow NRI Jaff Dacker have impressed the A’s in camp, De Aza appears to have an edge due to the fact that he has an opt-out in his contract at month’s end if he has not made the roster. Decker, meanwhile, does not have that luxury. Slusser notes that it’s possible that Mark Canha will be the only outfield reserve to break camp with the team, should the A’s wish to carry eight relievers (thereby allowing them to retain out-of-options righty Raul Alcantara), but that’d also leave them without much of a backup option in center field.

The Mariners, too, could open the year with an eight-man bullpen, according to manager Scott Servais (as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes). Edwin Diaz is locked in as the team’s closer, and he’ll be joined by righties Nick Vincent and Evan Scribner as well as southpaw Marc Rzepczynski. Servais listed Dan Altavilla and Casey Fien as candidates as well. The Seattle ’pen picture is a bit muddied by the fact that Steve Cishek will open the season on the disabled list and that Shae Simmons is being slowed by forearm soreness. Other candidates for the bullpen include Tony Zych, James Pazos, Chris Heston and Ariel Miranda (as can be seen on the team’s depth chart at RosterResource.com).
Ailing Rangers right-hander Andrew Cashner had a good week of throwing, he told reporters earlier today (Twitter link via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan). He’s set to meet with doctors on Friday of this week and added that he “should take off from there.” It’s already been reported that Cashner won’t be ready to begin the 2017 season, but an exact timetable for his regular-season Rangers debut is not yet known.
The Astros have made an unorthodox coaching appointment, reports Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Sig Mejdal, who was hired by the Astros in 2012 and given the title of “director of decision sciences” and more recently named a special assistant to GM Jeff Luhnow, will continue to fulfill those duties while also serving as a coach with the team’s short-season Class-A affiliate in 2017. Mejdal will be a “development coach” and be on the road with the team full-time when their season begins in June. He’ll help both the players and his fellow coaches to utilize the increasing amount of technology that is becoming available to them (in addition to more traditional coaching duties). Luhnow tells Kaplan that Mejdal, a former NASA researcher, will still be involved in all front office processes even when he relocates to upstate New York for the new position this summer.

Offseason In Review: Houston Astros

By Connor Byrne | March 15, 2017 at 9:07am CDT

This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series.

Even though the Astros underwhelmed en route to 84 wins and a third-place finish in the American League West in 2016, they still entered the offseason in enviable shape. When previewing their winter in October, I wrote, “Given the plethora of talent that’s already in place, a productive offseason from general manager Jeff Luhnow would restart the hype machine for Houston next spring.” Luhnow followed through, leading PECOTA to project an AL-high 93 wins for his club this year.

Major League Signings

Josh Reddick, OF: Four years, $52MM
Carlos Beltran, DH: One year, $16MM
Charlie Morton, RHP: Two years, $14MM
Total spend: $82MM

Trades And Claims

Acquired C Brian McCann and cash considerations from Yankees for RHPs Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman
Acquired cash or a player to be named later from Phillies for RHP Pat Neshek
Claimed OF Nori Aoki off waivers from Mariners
Claimed LHP Ashur Tolliver off waivers from Angels

Notable Minor League Signings

C.J. Riefenhauser, Reid Brignac, Juan Centeno, Dayan Diaz

Extensions

None

Notable Losses

Neshek, Jason Castro, Doug Fister, Colby Rasmus, Luis Valbuena

Astros Roster; Astros Payroll Information

Needs Addressed

The 2016 Astros featured one of the majors’ least valuable outfields, a seven-man group which compiled a woeful .224/.302/.380 batting line (good for an AL-worst 86 wRC+) in 2,187 plate appearances. Carlos Gomez, whom Houston released in August, was one of the primary reasons for the unit’s bottom-of-the-barrel output. But nearly everyone else in the septet also failed to impress (only George Springer pulled his weight), so Luhnow elected to make over the outfield during the offseason. As a result of his moves, Springer will shift from right to center after logging just 17 appearances at the latter spot over his first three seasons.

The changes started with an early November waiver claim, Nori Aoki, whom the Astros picked up from the AL West rival Mariners. At $5.5MM, Aoki should give the Astros an acceptable left field regular at a reasonable price, though the 35-year-old’s upside is limited. The Japan native has been a competent hitter since debuting stateside in 2012, having slashed .286/.353/.387 while registering a minimal strikeout rate (8 percent) in 2,670 trips to the plate. However, there’s little power to speak of – as his career ISO (.100) shows – and he’s no longer a stolen base threat. After swiping anywhere from 14 to 30 bags in each of his first four seasons, Aoki was successful on only seven of his 16 attempts a year ago. He also had an ugly season versus same-sided pitchers (.227/.299/.258), albeit only over 108 PAs. Historically, Aoki has held his own against both left- and right-handed hurlers. He has also typically been a decent defender (6.6 Ultimate Zone Rating, one Defensive Run Saved), but his minus-four DRS and minus-5.5 UZR from 2016 pale in comparison to both his career numbers and the brilliant work of predecessor Colby Rasmus (20 DRS, 14.9 UZR last season). The Astros understandably said goodbye to Rasmus, however, on the heels of an injury-plagued season in which he hit a meager .206/.286/.355 in 417 tries.

Aoki figures to serve as a stopgap as the Astros await the arrivals of both Kyle Tucker, who tops out at No. 19 in Baseball America’s prospect rankings, and Derek Fisher (83rd on MLB Pipeline’s list), whereas Josh Reddick will occupy a spot in the team’s outfield for the long haul. At $52MM, the right fielder is in possession of the largest contract the Astros have awarded since Jim Crane bought the franchise in 2011. Reddick debuted in earnest that year with the Red Sox and has since slashed a respectable .259/.321/.435 in 2,809 PAs while thriving in the field (54 DRS, 41.2 UZR). The lefty-swinging 30-year-old does come with troubling platoon issues, though, having batted .218/.280/.360 line in 800 PAs against same-handed pitchers. He hit a nadir in that department last year with a hideous .155/.212/.155 line over 104 trips to the plate as an Athletic and Dodger. Should that carry into this season, the Astros do have righty-hitting outfield reserves he could platoon with in Jake Marisnick and Teoscar Hernandez, though utilizing a fairly expensive player in a timeshare wouldn’t be ideal.

In addition to securing Aoki and Reddick, the Astros acquired two more prominent players for their lineup in catcher Brian McCann and designated hitter Carlos Beltran. All of Aoki, Reddick, McCann and Beltran bat from the left side (Beltran’s a switch-hitter; more on him later), meaning an Astros team that went into the offseason with mostly right-handers came out with a balanced lineup. The four newcomers will complement righties in Springer, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yulieski Gurriel and Evan Gattis.

While the power-hitting Gattis ostensibly could have taken the reins at catcher (he earned mostly positive defensive marks from Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner in 52 games there last year), Houston instead swung a trade for the more established McCann. In doing so, the Astros lost a couple promising arms, per FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, and subsequently saw previous starting backstop Jason Castro and his excellent pitch-framing skills head to the Twins in free agency. Nevertheless, the 33-year-old McCann isn’t exactly a slouch behind the plate, and he’s a much better offensive player than Castro. Although McCann is no longer the force he was in Atlanta, where he slashed .277/.350/.473 from 2005-13, he is coming off a three-year stretch in which he hit an above-average .232/.320/.456 with the Yankees.

Among the pitchers who will throw to McCann is Charlie Morton, who will slot into the Astros’ rotation after totaling only 17 1/3 innings last season. Then with the Phillies, Morton suffered a torn hamstring in late April and didn’t pitch again. Morton did show encouraging signs during a tiny sample of work, though, as he ran his average fastball velocity up to a personal-best 93.3 (well above his 91.5 lifetime mark) and posted a 12.3 percent swinging-strike rate (far better than his 7.8 percent career figure). The 33-year-old has since thrown even harder this spring, and if those velocity gains stick, he could be a lot more interesting than the pitcher he was with Atlanta and Pittsburgh from 2008-15. To his credit, Morton did have some strong seasons with the Pirates, and his career 55.4 percent ground-ball rate makes him a good fit for a Houston team which plays in a homer-friendly ballpark and has a quality defensive infield. The biggest concern with Morton arguably centers on health, as he wasn’t able to avoid the disabled list in any of the previous five seasons. On the other hand, the still-unsigned Doug Fister – whom Morton is replacing – was one of just two Astros who threw at least 180 innings last year.

Click “Read More” to continue…

Questions Remaining

Regardless of whether it’s fair, many are reluctant to brand the Astros as legitimate contenders because of perceived weaknesses in their rotation. In addition to the less-than-durable and typically mediocre Morton, they’re set to run out other starters off injury-shortened seasons in Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. Keuchel is only two years removed from winning the AL Cy Young, but he tumbled to earth last year and then saw his season end in late August on account of shoulder inflammation. Despite an untenable walk rate (5.0 per nine), the curveball-loving McCullers stymied opposing offenses, though he dealt with shoulder and elbow issues along the way and didn’t pitch past Aug. 2.

While Morton, Keuchel and McCullers are now healthy, the Astros’ other two expected starters – Collin McHugh and Mike Fiers – aren’t at full strength. Even when they are, nobody would count either as a front-line starter, which is arguably a need for the Astros. Management doesn’t seem content with the team’s rotation options, as president Reid Ryan observed in December that Houston’s missing an ace and Luhnow attempted to trade for one throughout the offseason. Luhnow’s efforts focused on the likes of Chris Sale, Chris Archer, Danny Duffy, Sonny Gray and Jose Quintana, among others. Sale ultimately went from the White Sox to the Red Sox; Archer is still with the Rays, who aren’t in any rush to move him; Duffy signed an extension with the Royals; and Gray is now injured. That leaves Quintana, who looks like a shoo-in to leave the ChiSox via trade sometime soon. It’s no secret that the Astros want Quintana (as MLBTR’s Quintana archives show), but they’re also unwilling to deal a package consisting of Tucker and right-handers Francis Martes and Joe Musgrove to nab the ace southpaw.

Assuming a trade doesn’t come together by Opening Day, the Astros might not enter 2017 with a No. 1-caliber starter (though Keuchel certainly was one from 2014-15). Nevertheless, they will have at least six major league-caliber starters, including Musgrove, who showed well in his 62-inning debut last year and now looks ticketed for Triple-A. The 21-year-old Martes, meanwhile, is a unanimous top 40 prospect who will join Musgrove in Fresno and could break into the Astros’ rotation this season. Yet another Fresno-bound starter, David Paulino, is on a few top 100 lists, while Brady Rodgers is also on hand as further depth.

Sticking with pitching, Luhnow called the need to find another left-handed reliever as “glaring” going into the winter. He didn’t end up adding any to the Astros’ bullpen, though, meaning they’ll again count on Tony Sipp as their lone southpaw. Although Sipp was dreadful last season, he was highly effective in the preceding two seasons. Even if he’s unable to bounce back this year, Houston should still have an elite bullpen with Chris Devenski, Will Harris, Luke Gregerson and Michael Feliz setting up closer Ken Giles. All five of those righties handled lefty-swingers a year ago.

Supporting the Astros’ pitchers will be a lineup featuring three stars (Altuve, Correa and Springer) and several useful complements (Beltran, Reddick, McCann, Aoki and Gattis). There are questions centering on their other two prominent hitters, Gurriel (first base) and Bregman (third base). With uncertainty surrounding those two, it’s possible the Astros will miss Luis Valbuena, who signed with the Angels after a two-year stretch in Houston in which he manned both corner infield spots and batted .238/.329/.446 across 835 PAs.

The 32-year-old Gurriel had been a superstar in both Cuba and Japan, which helped lead the Astros to sign him to a $47.5MM contract last July, but he didn’t post appealing results in his late-season debut in the majors. Over 137 PAs, Gurriel batted a subpar .262/.292/.385. It would be unwise to write Gurriel off based on that small sample, of course, and Luhnow said last week he expects Gurriel “to be a high-average hitter who is going to hit a lot of doubles, have double-digit home run power and play very good defense at first or third or wherever he’s asked to play.”

Bregman offers even more hope, as the 22-year-old lived up to his elite prospect hype by slashing .264/.313/.478 in his first 217 major league PAs last season. However, as Tony Blengino of FanGraphs explained earlier this month, Bregman’s batted-ball data indicates he was quite fortunate to have as much success as he did. That doesn’t mean Bregman will disappoint in 2017, but it might be wise to tamp down short-term expectations.

Deal Of Note

McCann was teammates with Beltran in each of the past three seasons in New York, and the former helped the Astros reel in the latter, according to Luhnow. Even with recruiting help from McCann, Houston had to pony up $16MM for Beltran, who encountered a robust market for his services despite being a one-dimensional player entering his age-40 season. Along with the Yankees, who had interest in re-signing Beltran, the Red Sox, Indians and Blue Jays were in the mix for the potential Hall of Fame outfielder. The Astros were confident they were going to pick up either Beltran or now-Indian Edwin Encarnacion, and they emerged with the older, less effective and cheaper player. That sounds harsh, but it’s not meant to knock Beltran, who remains an outstanding hitter.

Although he struggled in his first year as a Yankee, perhaps because of an injury, Beltran bounced back over the previous two seasons to combine for a terrific .286/.337/.493 line with 48 home runs – including 29 in a 2016 season spent between New York and Texas. Still in the Lone Star State, Beltran will try to help the Astros overtake the Rangers, winners of back-to-back AL West titles. Of course, this isn’t Beltran’s first stint in Houston – that came after it acquired him from the Royals in a June 2004 trade. Beltran flourished, especially when he nearly mashed the Astros to a World Series berth that October, and then left as a free agent at season’s end. Thirteen years later, he should again provide a threatening offensive presence on an Astros team with championship aspirations.

Overview

Back in June 2014, when the Luhnow-led Astros were wrapping up a long rebuild, Sports Illustrated declared that the franchise would win its first World Series in 2017. While that might prove overly optimistic roughly eight months from now, it’s clear that the Astros belong on a short list of legitimate championship contenders heading into the regular season. At the very least, thanks in part to Luhnow’s maneuverings from this past winter, Houston should be the favorite to win its division – a feat the team hasn’t achieved since 2001, when it was a member of the National League Central.

What’s your take on the Astros’ winter? (Link to poll for mobile app users …)

How would you grade the Astros' winter?

B 60.37% (777 votes)

A 28.21% (363 votes)

C 9.40% (121 votes)

D 1.24% (16 votes)

F 0.78% (10 votes)

Total Votes: 1,287

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Braves Claim Kevin Chapman From Astros

By Steve Adams | March 13, 2017 at 2:22pm CDT

The Braves announced on Monday that they’ve claimed left-handed reliever Kevin Chapman off waivers from the Astros. Houston reportedly placed the 29-year-old Chapman on waivers over the weekend. Atlanta had an open spot on its 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary.

Chapman is out of minor league options, so the Braves will need to either carry him on their roster to start the season or once again expose him to waivers if they hope to send him to the minor leagues. The former fourth-round pick has a career 4.09 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 55 big league innings.

While Chapman saw quite a bit of time in the Majors in 2013-14, he’s logged just 13 1/3 combined innings with the Astros over the past two seasons as they’ve relied heavily on Tony Sipp as the primary (and in many cases only) left-handed option in manager A.J. Hinch’s bullpen.

Chapman struggled in Triple-A this past season (4.87 ERA in 61 innings) but does have a strong track record at that level, where he’s worked to a collective 3.67 ERA and racked up 262 strikeouts in 208 2/3 innings (11.3 K/9). He’s also struggled with his control throughout his minor league tenure, however, as evidenced by a career 4.7 BB/9 rate in the minors (4.9 in Triple-A). Chapman doesn’t dominate opposing lefties and permits them to reach too often via walk, but he’s also prevented them from hitting for any sort of power against him. In total, same-handed opponents have batted .263/.354/.325 against Chapman in the Majors. He’ll give the Braves an additional lefty option for the bullpen and compete with the likes of Ian Krol, Paco Rodriguez and non-roster invitee Eric O’Flaherty for a spot at the end of camp.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Astros, Royals, Gagne

By Connor Byrne | March 12, 2017 at 4:20pm CDT

Two weeks ago, the Dodgers were leaning toward having left-hander Julio Urias open the season in their rotation. It now appears he’ll begin in the minors as they attempt to tamp down his workload, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The 20-year-old phenom threw a career-high 122 innings between the majors and minors in 2016, and LA wants to keep him fresh this season for a potential playoff run. Should the Dodgers send down Urias, they’d choose among Brandon McCarthy, Alex Wood and “wild card” Hyun-Jin Ryu to fill their final two rotation spots, adds Sherman (Twitter links here).

Elsewhere around the majors…

Houston’s acquisition of catcher Brian McCann from the Yankees in November played a key role in their December signing of designated hitter Carlos Beltran, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow informed Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. “As we recruited Beltran, bringing McCann over was a big part of getting Beltran to accept coming over here,” said Luhnow. Teammates in New York from 2014-16, McCann and Beltran have already been quite valuable behind the scenes for the Astros, per Luhnow. “These two guys have been a tremendous boost to the environment in our clubhouse,” he stated. “I’m so glad they’re here.”
When he accepted the Royals’ two-year, $12MM guarantee as a free agent last month, southpaw Travis Wood seemed like a decent bet to start 2017 in their rotation. But another offseason acquisition, trade pickup Nate Karns, has emerged over Wood and Chris Young as the clear favorite for Kansas City’s last starting spot, tweets Sherman. The right-handed Karns, 29, made 46 starts with the Nationals, Rays and Mariners from 2013-16 and logged a 4.19 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.69 BB/9 over 249 innings. The 30-year-old Wood worked solely as a reliever with the World Series champion Cubs last season, which came after he racked up 133 starts in Cincinnati and Chicago from 2010-15. He recorded the same ERA as Karns (4.19) to go with 7.11 K/9 against 3.15 BB/9 during that 776-inning span.
Free agent reliever Eric Gagne, 41, is making a case for a contract in the World Baseball Classic, though the Team Canada righty and 2003 NL Cy Young winner realizes he’d first have to succeed in the minors to have any chance at returning to the majors. “I know the game, I know how it happens, I know they need spots on the 40-man roster and don’t want to release a young guy for a 41 year old, so of course I’d be willing to do anything,” the former closer told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Gagne, who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2008, worked out for five teams before the WBC, writes Davidi, and has since fared well in the tournament. “Words are irrelevant at this point. Clubs are seeing it with their own eyes,” Gagne’s agent, Scott Leventhal, told FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

Astros Place Kevin Chapman On Waivers

By Connor Byrne | March 12, 2017 at 11:59am CDT

The Astros have placed left-hander Kevin Chapman on waivers, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jake Kaplan, who doesn’t expect anyone to claim the reliever. Thus, the Astros will likely end up outrighting him to Triple-A Fresno.

The out-of-options Chapman, 29, has been with the Astros since 2012, when they acquired him in a trade with the Royals. Chapman made his major league debut the next season and logged a stellar 1.77 ERA over 20 1/3 innings, though that came with unimpressive strikeout and walk rates of 6.64 and 5.75, respectively, per nine frames. He has since tossed 13 1/3 more major league innings, including eight last season.

All told, Chapman owns a 4.09 ERA, 7.85 K/9, 5.07 BB/9 and 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 55 innings at baseball’s highest level. He has been more successful in 208 2/3 Triple-A innings, having registered a 3.67 ERA, 11.3 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9.

Pitching Notes: Rangers, Astros, Marlins, O’s, Red Sox, Jays

By Connor Byrne | March 11, 2017 at 10:21pm CDT

While it’s possible the Rangers will bring back right-hander Colby Lewis to compete for a spot in their banged-up rotation, there hasn’t been any movement toward re-signing the free agent, general manager Jon Daniels told Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. The 37-year-old Lewis is unwilling to take a minors deal, reports Fraley, so the Rangers will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster if they hand him a major league contract. Nearly all of Lewis’ career has been spent in Texas, where he pitched his first three seasons (2002-04) and the past seven (2010-16). He threw 116 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball last season, though his FIP, xFIP and SIERA each hovered around the 5.00 mark.

The latest on a few other American League pitchers:

No full-time reliever eclipsed the 90-inning mark in either of the previous two seasons, but several could do it this year, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. There’s “a growing desire” among GMs and managers to utilize certain relievers for multiple innings, relays Sherman, who writes that the Astros’ Chris Devenski and the Marlins’ David Phelps are prime candidates to serve as bullpen workhorses in 2017. “Not every reliever is built for a versatile role. [Devenski] is,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. The right-hander was sensational across 108 1/3 frames as a rookie last year, when he threw 83 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and delivered a 1.61 ERA, 8.98 K/9 and 1.26 BB/9. Phelps was great at preventing runs in both roles (2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings as a starter, 2.31 ERA in 62 1/3 relief frames), but the righty only worked an inning at a time from the bullpen. Miami’s now stretching him out to throw 50 pitches in a given appearance, if necessary. “I look at Phelps like Andrew Miller,” manager Don Mattingly told Sherman. “I can use him in multiple ways. I can pitch him a few innings or I can have him close a game. You can’t do it on a daily basis. He still needs his rest. You know in bigger situations in the fifth and sixth innings you can see him.”
One of the Orioles’ top starters, righty Chris Tillman, will open the season on the 10-day disabled list, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Tillman has been dealing with shoulder issues for the past few months, and he underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection in December. The Orioles won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, notes Kubatko, who lists Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Gabriel Ynoa, Jayson Aquino and Chris Lee as possibilities to slot into their rotation during Tillman’s absence.
Red Sox left-hander David Price threw Saturday for the first time since suffering a flexor strain earlier this month, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Manager John Farrell came away encouraged, calling it “a good day for David,” but a return still doesn’t exactly seem imminent for the ace. “All of the early phase of throwing are going to be short, controlled effort and energy,” said Farrell. “We’re not even mapping out distances right now. We’re more interested in seeing how his arm responds to even the light throwing.”
Blue Jays southpaw T.J. House left the team’s game against the Tigers in an ambulance Friday after a line drive struck him in the head. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any skull fractures and is “doing well,” GM Ross Atkins told Jayson Stark of ESPN on Saturday. The club will be “extremely conservative” in deciding when to clear House to return to the mound, Atkins added.

AL Notes: Rangers, Astros, Red Sox, Tigers

By Connor Byrne | March 5, 2017 at 2:08pm CDT

So far during their brief major league careers, Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo have not lived up to the hype they received as prospects, and Rangers general manager Jon Daniels doesn’t believe the organization has put either player in proper position to succeed. “Don’t hold it against these players,” Daniels told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. “That’s on us. We promoted them aggressively because they were advanced in a lot of ways, and when you get to Triple-A at age 19 or 20 years old and reach the big leagues at 20 or 21, that’s unusual. The guys that hit and perform immediately are on the fast track to the Hall of Fame discussion.” Considering they’re only entering their age-24 seasons, there’s certainly still time for Profar and Gallo to establish themselves in the infield or outfield. Texas, for its part, remain bullish on the pair. “The talent and the instincts haven’t gone anywhere,” Daniels noted. With their farm system having thinned out recently and several of their top players on the wrong side of 30, the Rangers have a lot riding on the development of Profar and Gallo, posits Crasnick.

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