Minor MLB Transactions: 4/15/17
Today’s minor moves from throughout the game:
- The Rockies have signed left-hander Steve Ascher to a minor league contract. The 23-year-old was previously with the Rays, who selected him in the 17th round of the 2014 draft. Ascher has spent most of his professional career at the Single-A level, though he did ascend to Double-A last season. In 46 innings, Ascher logged a 4.30 ERA, 7.04 K/9 and 3.52 BB/9.
- The Athletics have announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jaff Decker. To clear roster space, they’ve optioned outfielder Mark Canha to Triple-A Nashville and placed outfielder Jake Smolinski (shoulder) on the 60-day DL. Canha was off to a poor .105/.150/.158 start in 2017 after missing much of 2016 to a hip injury, and Decker (who has had prior cups of coffee with the Padres, Pirates and Rays) was batting .387/.472/.452 for Nashville.
- Astros righty Lupe Chavez has retired, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle notes. The Astros acquired the 19-year-old Chavez last August when they traded Scott Feldman to Toronto. Chavez had never pitched above the short-season leagues but had generally been successful, with a 2.19 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over 107 career innings. The reason for his somewhat surprising decision to retire isn’t known.
Would Carlos Correa Consider An Early-Career Extension?
TODAY: Correa tells Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle that he wasn’t aware of his agent’s comments and provided a somewhat different outlook, noting that he’d be “more than glad to listen” if approached with an offer. While Correa said that he has an open mind, and emphasized that he isn’t focused on a long-term deal, he did suggest that there’s something of a time limit on his willingness to consider signing away free-agent years.
“I’m not shutting the door,” he said. “The price has got be right, you know what I mean? And it’s got to be early. Once I get to arbitration there’s no turning back.”
YESTERDAY: Carlos Correa “is never going to do an [early] multiyear contract,” agent Greg Genske tells Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. The 22-year-old, who has already established himself as a star, is instead content to go year to year for the time being. Indeed, a “friend” tells Heyman that Correa’s “mentality has always been that he’s going to play it out.”
The organization’s decision to renew Correa at the league minimum in each of the last two years probably doesn’t help things, but that doesn’t seem to be the main driver here. (Per Heyman, Houston was offering around $565K this year and might have gone a bit higher, but Correa was willing to take the hit rather than agreeing to a price tag with which he didn’t agree.) Instead, as Heyman notes, the fact that he has already lined up significant sponsorship deals helps ensure that there’ll be plenty of earnings even if he suffers an injury or surprising performance downturn.
It’s worth noting, too, that Correa took home a $4.8MM bonus when he was taken first overall in the 2012 draft, which means he had already locked up life-changing money before reaching the majors. And though he probably won’t reach arbitration eligibility until 2019 — with 1.119 years of service entering the year, he’s unlikely to qualify as a Super Two player next winter — his early performance levels all but assure he’ll be richly compensated from that point forward.
Perhaps it’s still possible that the sides could end up exploring an extension at some point in the future, when Correa reaches arbitration and begins nearing free agency. Whether or not the minor salary squabbles impact that remain to be seen, but in all likelihood future arb discussions will be of greater import. Most important of all, of course, will be the willingness of Correa to forego a chance to test the open market when he’ll be entering only his age-27 season in 2022.
For the time being, Correa and the ‘Stros will continue to enjoy what has thus far been a highly productive relationship. Correa carried a .276/.354/.475 batting line with 42 home runs in just over one thousand plate appearances entering the current season, making him one of the best-hitting shortstops in all of baseball. While there’s currently a bumper crop of shortstops sprouting around the game, some of whom rate as more talented defenders, Correa is undeniably a top-quality all-around talent who rates as one of the best young players in baseball.
West Notes: Padres, Astros, Dodgers, Rangers
This year’s Padres are turning “tanking” into an art form, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Padres feature three players selected in the Rule 5 Draft, plus an incredibly inexperienced outfield and three starting pitchers who have recently been released. GM A.J. Preller’s strategy this season, Sherman writes, amounts to a “more extreme version of, say, what the Astros and Cubs did” — essentially, being indifferent to winning in the short term in order to get choice draft picks. Notably, Sherman detects a personal tone to criticism of the Padres’ strategy from employees of other organizations, in part because of Preller’s failure to disclose some relevant medical information in past trades, including the deal last season that sent Drew Pomeranz to Boston.
- The Astros have liked what they’ve seen so far of Charlie Morton, who signed a two-year, $14MM deal with the team last winter, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. “I do believe that Charlie Morton isn’t a back-of-the-rotation guy,” said GM Jeff Luhnow during Spring Training. “He hit 97 three times in the first inning yesterday, with a lot of sink on his pitches and good secondary stuff. A healthy Charlie Morton could work himself into the conversation with Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers at the top of our rotation.” Morton allowed just two runs and two walks while striking out six in his first start of the year against the Mariners this week, although, uncharacteristically, he allowed 11 fly balls. Morton is excited about his new team’s prospects, Kepner writes. “The whole team is strong,” he says. “I just don’t see how we’re not set up to win.”
- With Rich Hill on the disabled list, the Dodgers will reinsert left-hander Alex Wood into their rotation for Monday’s game against the Cubs, manager Dave Roberts announced Saturday (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com). Wood wasn’t able to crack the Dodgers’ season-opening rotation, but he has enjoyed plenty of success as a starter. The 26-year-old has racked up 458 1/3 frames from the rotation and recorded a 3.40 ERA, 8.01 K/9 and 2.88 BB/9.
- Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is eligible to come off the 10-day DL on Sunday, but the team is unsure if it will activate him, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “The bottom line is, we are in the information-gathering stage, and how he feels,” manager Jeff Banister said of Beltre, who’s sidelined with a calf injury. “We’ll go from there.” Beltre took live batting practice Saturday, though he’s not yet able to run at full speed. Considering they’re off Monday, the Rangers could opt against activating the 38-year-old in favor of a couple more days of rest.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Yankees, Rockies, L. Robert, Orioles, Mariners
Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez left Saturday’s game in Baltimore with a right biceps strain, per a team announcement. There’s no timetable for his return, tweets FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, but it’s worth noting that Angels righty Garrett Richards landed on the 10-day disabled list Friday with a right biceps strain. It’s possible Sanchez’s injury will be more severe, of course, which would be a terrible development for the Yankees. The 24-year-old deservedly entered the season with significant hype surrounding him after hitting an astounding .299/.376/.657 with 20 home runs in 229 plate appearances as a rookie in 2016.
More from Rosenthal:
- When it comes to potentially acquiring starting pitching help this summer, the Rockies could be a team to watch, says Rosenthal (video link). Colorado might have enough young talent to swing a deal for White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana or Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray, posits Rosenthal, who notes that Baseball America regards its farm as the 10th-best system in the majors (ESPN’s Keith Law ranks it an even better ninth).
- The White Sox, Astros, Padres, Reds and Cardinals are the teams with the most interest in highly touted outfield prospect Luis Robert, reports Rosenthal. If he’s cleared to sign by June 15, the 19-year-old will go down as the last Cuban amateur to sign for big money – should the new collective bargaining agreement rules remain in place for a while, that is. Ben Badler of Baseball America has reported on multiple occasions that the White Sox are the favorites to land Robert. Unlike the ChiSox, all of the Astros, Padres, Cardinals and Reds have already exceeded their 2016-17 international bonus pools.
- With Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Adam Jones slated to become free agents after next year, the Orioles might look far different on the field by the 2019 season. Changes could be coming off the field, too, as both GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter will also see their contracts expire when the 2018 campaign concludes, per Rosenthal. Showalter isn’t looking to leave Baltimore, according to Rosenthal, though he’ll turn 61 next month, leading to questions as to whether he’ll transition to a front office job sometime soon.
- The Mariners’ competitive window might only stay open through next season, observes Rosenthal, who points out that Nelson Cruz, Jean Segura, Drew Smyly, Hisashi Iwakuma and Leonys Martin are scheduled to hit free agency after the 2018 campaign. General manager Jerry Dipoto made it clear over the winter that the Mariners are in “win-now” mode, which makes sense considering those soon-to-be free agents, not to mention that integral players such as Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Felix Hernandez are either in their 30s or will be soon. The Mariners don’t have a deep farm system, either, as both Baseball America and Law place it in the majors’ bottom 10.
Collin McHugh Shut Down For Six Weeks
Astros righty Collin McHugh has been shut down for six weeks with a posterior impingement of his right elbow, the team has announced. An MRI did not reveal problems with his ulnar collateral ligament. McHugh will avoid surgery and will be reevaluated after six weeks. McHugh had begun the season on the DL due to right shoulder tendinitis, and he was pulled from a Triple-A rehab start earlier this week with elbow discomfort.
The 29-year-old McHugh posted a 4.34 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings with the Astros last year, continuing a solid three-year run that began when he posted a 2.73 ERA and finished fourth in AL Rookie Of The Year voting after the Astros claimed him from the Rockies in the 2013-14 offseason. He was set to open 2017 once again in the Houston rotation. In his absence, the Astros will continue to rely on their depth, with both Joe Musgrove and Mike Fiers joining Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton. There’s also Chris Devenski and long reliever Brad Peacock, both of whom have MLB starting experience.
In Triple-A Fresno, the Astros also have top prospect Francis Martes, although they might like him to get some experience at that level before joining the big-league rotation. Righty Brady Rodgers also appears to be a reasonable depth option.
Significant trades rarely occur this early in the season, so it stands to reason that the Astros might wait before making a huge move to replace McHugh. It’s worth noting, though, that they were connected to the White Sox’ Jose Quintana throughout the offseason and have more than enough young talent to complete a major trade. In lieu of that, it perhaps wouldn’t be surprising if they attempted some sort of minor transaction to round out their starting pitching depth.
AL West Notes: Cintron, McHugh, Ross, Faulkner
Former big leaguer Alex Cintron has joined the Astros as an interpreter, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. The nine-year veteran, who’s now 38, will primarily function as the club’s Spanish-language liaison while traveling with the team, though GM Jeff Luhnow says he’ll also provide some value “on the baseball operations side of things.” MLB and the player’s association installed a new rule last year requiring every club to carry such personnel, though it seems Houston has added a bit of a wrinkle by hiring a former big leaguer whose duties will extend further.
Here’s more from the AL West’s Texas contingent:
- Astros righty Collin McHugh is slated for a checkup after experiencing elbow and biceps tightness in his Triple-A rehab outing yesterday, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. The medical evaluation will obviously dictate how things progress, but as Kaplan writes, Houston must now consider the possibility that McHugh won’t be back for a few more weeks. He had been expected to return to the majors in the next few days, but was only able to work one inning before he was pulled.
- Things seemingly went better for Rangers righty Tyson Ross, who worked three innings in extended spring action, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Next up for Ross is a four-inning outing on April 12th. Obviously, it seems he’ll keep building up while working on a five-day schedule; given the progress thus far, perhaps he’ll be prepared to join the MLB roster in relatively short order. If and when he does, Ross will be throwing his first big league pitches since Opening Day of 2016.
- The Rangers‘ decision to trade lefty Andrew Faulkner yesterday came about after he fell well shy of expectations this spring, as Grant explains. Faulkner, 24, seemed set to compete for a pen job in camp, but never ironed out his mechanics. As Grant details, he lost his feel for the zone so much that he was not even appearing in minor-league games after departing major league camp. The Orioles evidently see some hope still, so for now he’ll take a 40-man spot in Baltimore. Meanwhile, Grant explains, Texas appears likely to utilize the roster spot that was cleared to add another reserve infielder or reliever.
Injury Notes: Richards, McHugh, Axford, Kaprielian
After exiting his first start of the season with biceps cramps, Angels ace Garrett Richards will undergo what the team is calling a precautionary MRI tomorrow, per a club announcement. Manager Mike Scioscia told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that the team’s medical staff is “confident this isn’t connected to his other situation last year,” in reference to the torn ulnar collateral ligament that Richards suffered last season. While the majority of players with UCL tears ultimately fall to Tommy John surgery, Richards opted for a stem cell therapy treatment that allowed him to rehab without surgery and pitch throughout Spring Training. The Halos are hopeful that Richards can help to anchor their staff in 2017, though obviously this isn’t the start they envisioned.
A few more notable injury updates from around the game…
- Astros right-hander Collin McHugh exited his rehab start with Triple-A Fresno on Thursday after just one inning, per Bryant-Jon Anteola of the Fresno Bee (Twitter links). According to Anteola, McHugh threw 26 pitches in the first inning, but after a pair of warmup pitches prior to the second frame, he called for the trainer to come to the mound and was removed from the game. McHugh dealt with a dead arm during Spring Training and opened the season on the disabled list. There’s been no word from the team just yet, but Anteola notes that McHugh’s pitch count for the rehab outing was set for 85 pitches, making the early departure all the more ominous.
- An MRI revealed nothing beyond the original diagnosis of a strain in the right shoulder of injured Athletics reliever John Axford, as MLB.com’s Alex Espinoza writes. Nonetheless, Axford won’t even pick up a ball for the next week. Manager Bob Melvin told reporters that there’s no timeline for Axford’s return right now, and the team will reevaluate the situation once he resumes throwing. It seems likely, then, that Axford will miss more than the minimum 10 days with this ailment, though the fact that the MRI revealed no structural damage in his rotator cuff or labrum is good news for both team and player. Somewhat remarkably, Espinoza notes that this is Axford’s first trip to the disabled list in a nine-year MLB career.
- Yankees top prospect James Kaprielian is headed for an MRI and a dye contrast on his right elbow after experiencing pain, the team announced. Kaprielian, New York’s first-round pick back in 2015 and one of the top-ranked prospects in all of baseball, has already been placed on the minor league disabled list. This isn’t Kaprielian’s first brush with arm troubles, either, as he made just three starts in 2016 due largely to a strained flexor tendon in his right arm. (He did return to make seven starts in the Arizona Fall League.) Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com and ESPN’s Keith Law all ranked Kaprielian in their top 100 prospects heading into the 2017 season, with Law’s No. 28 overall ranking standing out as the most bullish.
AL West Notes: Gray, Bassitt, Singleton, Mariners, Angels
Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray threw a 25-pitch bullpen session yesterday, during which he utilized all of his pitches and threw at a 100 percent effort level, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’s slated for another ‘pen session on Friday — the next step in his rehab of a strained lat muscle that caused him to be shut down for most of Spring Training. Gray will throw one or two more bullpen sessions in total, then throw to live hitters once or twice before embarking on a rehab assignment (where he’ll likely make two minor league starts), per Slusser.
Slusser adds a bit more good news for A’s fans as well, noting that right-hander Chris Bassitt looks to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from 2016 Tommy John surgery. Bassitt will throw to hitters today and is nearing a minor league rehab assignment of his own, though he’ll need a considerably longer rehab stint than Gray due to the nature of their injuries.
More from the AL West…
- Astros first baseman Jon Singleton has been pushed all the way back to Double-A to open the season, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes. While the move was made to ensure he is able to receive consistent playing time, that obviously suggests he’s behind others — most notably, A.J. Reed — in the depth chart. Unlike Reed, Singleton is also without a 40-man spot at present, though his contract, which runs through 2018 and includes three option years thereafter, surely provides at least some incentive for the organization to move him to the majors if circumstances warrant.
- Drew Smyly received a platelet-rich plasma injection on Tuesday, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto told the media (link via Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune). That procedure doesn’t impact the team’s expected recovery, however, which Dipoto still pegs at six to eight weeks. “Six weeks until he begins throwing. Eight until we anticipate we can make a better judgment on when he’ll rejoin the club,” Dipoto said. Fellow left-hander Ariel Miranda was tabbed as the first line of defense in the wake of Smyly’s injury, and he’ll make his first start of the season tomorrow.
- The Mariners‘ claim of right-hander Evan Marshall stems, in part, from familiarity on the part Dipoto, the general manager told reporters, including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. “He was actually a draft pick from my final year with the Diamondbacks,” Dipoto explains. “…He has a very heavy sinker that will touch 96 mph. His velocity will be in that 94ish range. He has a very high rate of ground balls, last year was 57 percent, which is pretty consistent with his career norm.” Marshall, 27, posted an outstanding 2.74 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 60.7 percent ground-ball rate as a rookie in 2014. Since that time, he’s struggled in the Majors, though one has to wonder how much those troubles were impacted by a skull fracture that he sustained when he was hit by a line drive — an injury that required surgical repair and cost him a significant chunk of the season.
- Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register spoke to Angels outfielder Ben Revere about his reserve role with the team and the difficulty of trying to reestablish oneself as a player that can be relied on every day while receiving only limited at-bats. Revere isn’t down on himself after losing out on the left field job despite a vastly superior spring to that of starter Cameron Maybin. “No matter what happens, if I go the whole year being a backup, I’m going to try to get No. 9 (Maybin) to have the best year of his career,” Revere says. “…Spring training doesn’t mean a damn thing. It’s all about performing when it counts. It starts now.”
- Fletcher also suggests, once again, that the Angels could be forced to make some type of roster move to alleviate the first base mix once Luis Valbuena returns from an injury next month. Valbuena figures to receive the bulk of the time at first base, leaving the Halos with a pair of right-handed-hitting complements in the form of C.J. Cron and Jefry Marte. While it was Marte who drew the start last night despite a lefty pitcher being on the hill, manager Mike Scioscia tells Fletcher that the decision to start Marte was merely a means of getting him into the lineup early in the season without asking him to sit for too long.
Quick Hits: Tigers, Giants, Sox, Astros, Brewers, Rays, Orioles
The Tigers will “look into” signing just-released outfielder Melvin Upton Jr., according to general manager Al Avila, though Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press relays that a deal sounds unlikely (Twitter links). With J.D. Martinez on the shelf because of a foot injury, Upton’s brother, Justin Upton, will enter the season as Detroit’s only established outfielder. The Uptons played together in both Atlanta and San Diego from 2013-15, but it doesn’t seem as if they’ll reunite in the Motor City. Meanwhile, it doesn’t appear the Giants will even consider signing Melvin Upton. He’s not on their radar, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
More from around baseball:
- Well-regarded Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert held a showcase Thursday in the Dominican Republic, and “high-ranking team officials” from several major league clubs were on hand, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America (click to watch footage of Robert). “Nearly all teams” sent someone to watch Robert, per Badler, who reported in March that the White Sox seem to be the likeliest landing spot for the 19-year-old. The White Sox sent special assistant Marco Paddy to observe Robert, and they have scheduled a private workout with him for next week. The Astros will also work out Robert, though they’ve already exceeded their 2016-17 international bonus pool.
- Brewers reliever Tyler Cravy threatened to retire after his demotion to the minors Saturday, but the 27-year-old quickly walked back those comments, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “I don’t plan on quitting,” tweeted Cravy, who noted he’ll “continue to work hard” and allow his performance to “do the talking.” Cravy remains less than thrilled with the organization, it seems, as he added that he’s “still not aware” why he didn’t make Milwaukee’s roster.
- The Rays have made “steady” progress toward a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area, owner Stuart Sternberg announced Sunday (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Sternberg is “very optimistic” something will get done to replace Tropicana Field, which opened in 1990 and has been the Rays’ home since 1998, their inaugural season.
- The Orioles tried to make a trade with the Red Sox to keep Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavarez, Baltimore GM Dan Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, on Sunday (Twitter link). The division rivals couldn’t agree to a deal, though, so the Orioles had to return Tavarez to the Red Sox. Duquette revealed that there was less urgency to retain Tavarez because of the emergence of 22-year-old outfielder Cedric Mullins, whom MLB Pipeline ranks as the Orioles’ 19th-best prospect. Mullins will start the season with Double-A Bowie.
Notable Roster Decisions: Friday
As Spring Training draws to a close, the final determinations about each team’s roster will be continue to come into focus. Here are some of the day’s more notable roster decisions…
- Prized righty Tyler Glasnow will take the final spot in the Pirates rotation, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He had been competing with Trevor Williams, who’ll head to the bullpen, Adam Berry of MLB.com adds on Twitter. With southpaw Wade LeBlanc also taking a job, that seems to set the stage for Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb to hit the waiver wire.
- The Giants have nailed down their bench and rotation, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Aaron Hill and Chris Marrero will round out the bench. The veteran Hill figures to share the infield reserve duties with Conor Gillaspie, while Marrero will surprisingly open the season as a part of a left field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jarrett Parker. Meanwhile, Matt Cain will keep a rotation spot, though Ty Blach will also make the club as a reliever — where he could often spell Cain in lengthier outings.
- With injuries and young arms entering the picture, the Rockies‘ pitching plans were interesting to watch this spring. As Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets, the team will roll with lefty Kyle Freeland and righties Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez to fill out their starting staff. It seems likely that the former two will open the year in the rotation, with Marquez heading to the pen and staying on hand if a need arises.
Click to read earlier updates …