AL West Notes: Perez, Astros, Weaver, Prospects
Earlier today, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reported that the Astros have reached an agreement with Cuban southpaw Cionel Perez on a $5.15MM signing bonus (which will cost the team a total of $10.3MM after luxury tax considerations). Ben Badler of Baseball America provides an updated scouting report on the newest member of the Astros’ farm system, noting that since leaving Cuba he’s added a two-seam fastball to his repertoire and made improvements to his slider. Badler also adds that Perez had been slated to pitch in the Dominican Winter League this summer, though it’s possible that the new signing could impact that schedule. Moreover, Badler reports that Houston has already reduced the bonuses of two high-profile international prospects — Anibal Sierra and Freudis Nova — after their physicals revealed some causes for concern. With Perez’s deal still pending a physical, it’s possible that his bonus could change.
Here’s more from the AL West…
- ESPN’s Buster Olney opines that even with the postseason eligibility deadline having passed, the Astros should pursue trades for rotation upgrades to help ensure that they’re even able to reach the playoffs. With the Pirates recently suffering a sweep and falling six back in the NL Wild Card race and the Marlins presently five back in that same hunt, Olney suggests right-handers Ivan Nova and Andrew Cashner as possible targets for Houston. Of course, neither would be likely to make more than three starts for Houston anyhow, and the Astros themselves aren’t in much better shape than Pittsburgh or Miami. Houston currently sits 3.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race, and they’re trailing Baltimore, Toronto, New York and Detroit in the standings at the moment.
- Jered Weaver is dealing with more uncertainty than he ever has in his professional career, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, as the lifetime Angels right-hander doesn’t know whether he’ll be back with the team next season. “It’s definitely a ball of confusion going on in my head, but I’m trying to focus on going out and pitching,” said the 33-year-old. Per Fletcher, even the Angels may be uncertain as to whether they’re truly interested in re-signing Weaver, as that interest level is likely dependent on whether ace Garrett Richards ultimately requires Tommy John surgery or not. Weaver’s diminishing velocity has been a notable storyline in Anaheim for the past couple of seasons, though as Fletcher points out, it’s actually ticked upward late in the 2016 campaign. Weaver has a 3.97 ERA and a 21-to-5 K/BB ratio over his past four starts, so perhaps even getting his heater back up into the mid-80s is enough for him to rediscover success. However, he’s also currently leading the league with 195 hits and 35 homers allowed, which has resulted in a 5.25 earned run average.
- The Mariners are likely to recall first base prospect Dan Vogelbach, whom they acquired in the trade that sent Mike Montgomery to the Cubs, per Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter link). While Vogelbach didn’t hit quite as well as he did in the Cubs’ minor league system following the trade, he did slash .240/.402/.422 with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, demonstrating a keen eye at the plate and some pop to go along with it. Vogelbach could factor into the picture for the Mariners at first base and/or DH next season, so getting a look at him over the final few weeks of the year, even if it’s in a limited capacity, should give the Seattle front office a chance to plan for the 2017 season.
- Meanwhile the Athletics are bringing up even more young players now that the Triple-A season has ended, announcing that Renato Nunez and Matt Olson are joining the club. (Olson’s contract was selected to the 40-man roster and will fill the spot that was vacated by Billy Butler‘s release.) Both players rank among Oakland’s top 15 prospects, with Nunez in particular receiving high praise from outlets like MLB.com and Baseball America. Nunez struggled somewhat as one of the youngest players in the Pacific Coast League, slashing just .228/.278/.412, and his primary position (third base) is presently occupied by fellow youngster Ryon Healy. However, Nunez has seen some time at first base and in left field in the minors and could be evaluated for a potential fit at either spot. Olson, meanwhile, entered the season as a Top 100 prospect at MLB.com (No. 100, to be exact) but struggled through the first half before salvaging his season with a .260/.349/.462 batting line from July 1 through season’s end. He’s seen more time in right field than at first base this season but has plenty of experience at both spots.
Astros To Sign Cuban Left-Hander Cionel Perez
The Astros have agreed to sign left-handed pitching prospect Cionel Perez for a $5.15MM signing bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The 20-year-old Perez, a client of Octagon according to Sanchez, was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball just last week after having left Cuba back in May of 2015. Due to his age and limited professional experience, Perez qualifies as an international amateur, meaning he is subject to international bonus pools. The Astros are already over their $2.197MM pool allotment, so the signing of Perez will come with a 100 percent luxury tax, thus making this a $10.3MM expenditure for Houston.
Perez currently rates fourth on Sanchez’s list of top 30 international prospects at MLB.com. Perez currently has a fastball that sits 92-95 mph, per Sanchez, though there’s room to add to his growing frame still, so some scouts feel the velocity will tick up another couple of miles per hour. Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote back in December that Perez had shown some improvements with his once-fringe breaking pitch, which at the time was flashing the potential to be an average or better offering. He’s also added a changeup that he’s still working on since leaving Cuba.
Per Sanchez’s report, the Astros were joined by the Orioles, Padres and Reds in their pursuit of Perez, but it’ll be Houston who adds the intriguing young arm to its farm system. The aforementioned report from Badler noted that Perez could be ready for Low-A ball, but it’s of course possible that he begins his pro career in the United States a level higher now that he’s a year older — especially if he puts in some work over the winter. Perez appeared in just two seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, logging 139 innings with a 2.20 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in his age-17 and age-18 seasons.
AL West Notes: Butler, Gray, Lincecum, Fowler
It was 50 years ago today that Nolan Ryan made his Major League debut, tossing two relief innings (and recording three strikeouts) for the Mets during an 8-3 loss to the Braves. Ryan spent his first five big league seasons in New York, including winning his only World Series ring as part of the 1969 Miracle Mets squad. Still, Ryan is probably much better remembered for his stints with the Angels, Astros and Rangers during his legendary career. Here’s the latest from around the AL West…
- The clubhouse fight between Billy Butler and Danny Valencia in August didn’t play a role in the Athletics‘ decision to release Butler today, A’s GM David Forst and manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich) today. Butler was released because it was simply “the right time to move on. It’s something we’ve discussed,” Forst said. “A lot of the younger players are here now, potentially more coming once [Triple-A] Nashville’s done. The at-bats just were not there. It’s time for us to move our focus beyond.”
- Butler also comments within the piece, saying the release wasn’t unexpected but he feels he could’ve used more at-bats to prove himself. His rough 2015 season “was definitely below what my expectations of myself are,” Butler said. “This season, it’s hard to even judge that. I haven’t even had many opportunities to play. When I did, I thought I helped the team.”
- Sonny Gray threw 11 pitches off a mound in a short bullpen session on Sunday, and the A’s righty told the media (including MLB.com’s Michael Wagaman) that he is still hopeful of pitching again this season, even if it’s just a relief outing or two. Earlier reports this week suggested that Gray’s 2016 season was probably over, given the nature of his injury (a right forearm strain) and the fact that the A’s are well out of the pennant race.
- Tim Lincecum won’t pitch again for the Angels in 2016, but GM Billy Eppler tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’ll touch base with the righty in the offseason. In fact, Eppler said he has already “spoke at length with [Lincecum] about some thoughts for the wintertime and I’ll probably have more dialogue with him to see what he’s doing from a rehabilitation and strengthening standpoint.” Shea figures Lincecum will have to accept a minor league contract and be more open about converting to relief pitching if he hopes to continue his career. The Giants were interested in Lincecum as a reliever last winter, so a reunion could be possible if Lincecum indeed accepts a role change. While Lincecum struggled badly in limited duty with the Halos, Shea feels a proper offseason of conditioning and a full Spring Training could be greatly beneficial for the right-hander.
- This weekend’s Cubs/Astros series has led to some reflection about Houston’s decision to pass on Kris Bryant in the 2013 draft, but ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers looks back at another connection between the two clubs. In January 2015, the Astros traded Dexter Fowler to Wrigleyville for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily, a deal GM Jeff Luhnow said the two sides discussed for over a month before Straily’s inclusion clinched things. While Fowler has been a star over his two seasons for the Cubs, Luhnow has no regrets, given that Fowler was a year away from free agency and Valbuena has been a pretty solid player for the Astros. (This isn’t mentioned in Rogers’ piece, but moving Straily may actually be the bigger loss for Houston. Straily was traded to San Diego in March for Erik Kratz, and the righty developed into a good rotation piece for the Reds this season.)
Rosenthal On Astros, Rangers, Nova, CBA
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports.
- Some members of the Astros are frustrated that the team didn’t deal for a top starter at the August 1 trade deadline, but GM Jeff Luhnow says the team ultimately didn’t make a big acquisition because teams were requesting big hauls in return, including players already contributing at the big-league level. Rosenthal notes that the Astros had previously had a surplus of starters, leading them to deal Dan Straily and then, months later, Scott Feldman for minimal returns (or perhaps seemingly minimal returns, since it’s way too early to get a clear read on Lupe Chavez, the very young pitcher the Astros got from the Blue Jays for Feldman). With Lance McCullers and Dallas Keuchel now hurt, though, the Astros might not have enough top starting pitching.
- The Rangers attempted to acquire Ivan Nova from the Yankees last month, with the talks occurring very close to the deadline. The Yankees, of course, sent Nova to the Pirates, where he has had tremendous success in their rotation. Nova has posted a 2.53 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and a remarkable 0.4 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh. It’s impossible to say, of course, whether Nova would have had similar success in Texas, which is a completely different context in which to pitch, perhaps especially for someone like Nova, who struggled with allowing home runs in New York. But he might well have been able to help a team that has seen A.J. Griffin and Lucas Harrell struggle at the back of its rotation over the past month.
- MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is due to expire at the beginning of December, but the two sides would prefer to have a new agreement in place by the beginning of November. The free agent market could unfold slowly without a new labor deal, with teams reluctant to commit to free agents without a clear idea of the rules going forward.
Jeff Luhnow Reflects On Decision To Pass On Kris Bryant
The Astros have more than their share of highly talented young players, but one player they don’t have in their system is Cubs masher Kris Bryant. Houston had the chance to take Bryant with the first pick in the 2013 draft, but they decided on righty Mark Appel instead, and the Cubs snagged Bryant with the next selection. Appel, now 25, has yet to make his big-league debut, and was traded to the Phillies in the Ken Giles deal last offseason. Bryant, meanwhile, leads the NL in home runs, runs scored and OPS+ while anchoring an intimidating Cubs lineup.
The Cubs and Astros are currently playing a series, so Astros GM Jeff Luhnow fielded questions about the Bryant-Appel decision. Here’s some of what he had to say, courtesy of Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“There’s a history lesson to be learned about the risk with pitchers vs. position players,” says Luhnow, referring to the tendency of position players to be better bets in the early stages of the draft. “[T]hat’s a history lesson that’s been laid out over a long period of time. Having said that, if you want an impact pitcher, you have to gamble.”
The Astros have had plenty of experience selecting both position players and pitchers with top picks in recent years. Of their ten first-round picks from 2011 to 2016, six were position players, and three of those (George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman) clearly look to be significant parts of their future. Another, outfielder Derek Fisher, was a later selection who doesn’t look like an impact player, but who has consistently hit well in the minors. The others, Kyle Tucker and Daz Cameron, were drafted last year and are still teenagers. Cameron has struggled so far in his pro career, but Tucker’s is off to a fast start, as he’s already advanced all the way to Class A+ Lancaster.
Meanwhile, two of four pitchers the Astros have selected in the first round, Appel and Brady Aiken, have suffered significant speed bumps even though they were both first overall picks, and the Astros famously didn’t even sign Aiken due to a disagreement regarding the Astros’ concerns about his health. One of their other first-round pitching picks was this year’s 17th overall selection, Forrest Whitley, about whom it’s way too early to pass judgment. Even granting the Astros’ success with 2012 supplemental pick Lance McCullers, their experience does seem to bear out the maxim that there are considerable risks to selecting pitchers at the top of the draft.
Nonetheless, Luhnow says the Appel/Bryant decision doesn’t keep him up nights. “We’ve got Carlos Correa. We’ve got Alex Bregman. We’ve got Lance McCullers. Our scouting department has done a nice job with the draft,” he says. “You can always look back and say I should have taken this player instead of that player, but there’s no reason to really dwell on it.”
Dallas Keuchel Cleared Of Structural Issues In Shoulder, But Timeline Uncertain
Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel is shut down at the moment with shoulder issues, but he said today that he has been cleared of structural concerns, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 reports (Twitter links). Tests showed inflammation, but he says the club’s training staff is confident that “a little bit of time” is all that’s needed to heal the joint.
If the issued had arisen earlier in the season, the ‘Stros would surely have less immediate concern, as Keuchel could take his time getting back to full strength and embark upon a rehab stint. Plus, it would be easier to fill innings with an outside addition.
As it stands, though, there’s less than a month to go in the regular season and Keuchel’s absence will tell for a club that’s fighting to stay in the Wild Card hunt. Whether he can make it back by season’s end, or for a hopeful postseason run, is “hard to say at this point,” GM Jeff Luhnow tells MLB.com’s Alyson Footer (via Twitter). It doesn’t help that the southpaw won’t have an opportunity to pitch in the minor league system on a rehab assignment.
At this stage of the season, the organization is likely limited to the arms it already has on hand (see the Houston depth chart here) to fill the void in the rotation. Youngster David Paulino received his first major league start recently, but lasted only three innings and coughed up four earned runs with two walks, two wild pitches, and no strikeouts. The Astros received somewhat more promising results from just-activated righty Brad Peacock in his outing, as he allowed one earned in 3 2/3 frames, but he did permit five base knocks and managed only a pair of Ks.
AL West Notes: Correa, Gamel, Rangers
The Astros will be without shortstop Carlos Correa for at least two games as he travels back to Houston to get his ailing shoulder examined, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, including Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Correa is believed to be troubled by some inflammation in his shoulder, and despite his leaving the team, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious in nature just yet, as Hinch said the team’s expectation is that Correa will play at some point this weekend. If that’s the case, it’s a minor hiccup for the Astros, but a more prolonged absence is something the Astros can ill afford as they sit two games back in the American League Wild Card hunt. With Correa absent, Alex Bregman saw his first Major League action at shortstop last night.
More from the American League West…
- August trade acquisition Ben Gamel will get a long look from the Mariners down the stretch, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. “We’re really going to look at those corner outfield spots against right-handed pitching,” manager Scott Servais said prior to tonight’s contest. “…I do think we owe an opportunity to find out what Ben Gamel can do. So he’s going to play.” Gamel has just one hit in 16 at-bats with Seattle so far, though he’s already delivered some highlight-reel defense. With Nori Aoki and Franklin Gutierrez set to hit free agency, there could potentially be some corner outfield at-bats for Gamel to win next season with a strong showing in September and in Spring Training.
- The Rangers are set to get Colby Lewis back on Sunday, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. With Lewis joining Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Martin Perez and A.J. Griffin, Texas will have six options in the rotation, but skipper Jeff Banister says the team won’t deploy a straight six-man rotation. However, each of the six will get some starts down the stretch. Wilson writes that Perez, Griffin and Holland will each have some extra rest built into their schedules over the season’s final few weeks. Lewis, 37, has a 3.21 ERA with 5.6 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 through his first 98 innings of the 2016 campaign.
- Wilson also writes that Shin-Soo Choo has begun throwing as he continues his rehab from a forearm fracture. He’ll throw every other day and take some swings with a fungo bat today as he aims to return to the Rangers‘ roster for a potential playoff run. Choo’s chances of returning during the regular season aren’t great, but he said last month he hopes to play in October.
NL Notes: Jay, Campos, Gutierrez, Feliz
Padres outfielder Jon Jay officially returned to action last night, making his first plate appearance since the 19th of June. As Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune explains, the 31-year-old stayed busy during his rehab from a fractured forearm. While he says his focus remains on “going out and proving to everyone that I’m healthy and I can still play at a high level,” Jay also spent time focusing on other aspects of the game. “I love this game of baseball, and in the future you never know what’s going to happen,” said Jay. “I would maybe want to coach or be involved in the game still with player development or whatever it might be. I’m kind of working on those things now so that if an opportunity does come in the future, I’m ready for it.” First things first, though: Jay will be playing to help set up his next contract, as he’ll reach the open market this fall. Mutual interest in a return to San Diego won’t be explored further until that time, both he and manager Andy Green noted.
More from the National League:
- The Diamondbacks received unfortunate news about righty Vicente Campos, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Not long after making his MLB debut, the 24-year-old has been diagnosed with an ulnar fracture that will require surgery and an eight-month recovery timeline. That seems to suggest that a mid-season return in 2017 may be possible, at least, but the fracture obviously represents a highly disappointing development. Campos was acquired in July in the Tyler Clippard swap.
- Just-signed righty Vladimir Gutierrez was also pursued by several other clubs before agreeing with the Reds, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter links). The Rangers and Astros were the two primary pursuers who were willing to strike a deal right now, but three other organizations tried to convince the Cuban youngster to wait until the following July 2 signing period to put pen to paper. Meanwhile, Cinci GM Dick Williams says that the club likely won’t be making any other big-dollar signings in the near term.
- Pirates righty Neftali Feliz left action on Saturday, leading to some concern about his health, but it appears to be a minor issue. As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday, there is no elbow or shoulder concern. Feliz still hasn’t returned to the bump, but is expected to be ready in short order, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a solid campaign in Pittsburgh, posting a 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 53 2/3 innings, though some good batted ball fortune (.240 BABIP despite allowing 37.0% hard contact) may be helping. He’ll return to the open market this fall.
Astros To Promote David Paulino
The Astros have decided to call up right-handed pitching prospect David Paulino, according to Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Because he already held a 40-man roster spot, no corresponding move will be required.
Paulino, a towering 22-year-old righty, drew top-100 prospect consideration entering the year from Baseball America. And he has largely continued that momentum, improving to 47th on BA’s midseason top 100 and rating as MLB.com‘s 76th-best prospect in the game on their own midseason rankings.
The appeal here is obvious: Paulino has a huge frame and a mid-nineties heater to go with a quality curve. His third pitch, a change, is somewhat less developed but seems to hold the promise of being a useful major league offering. Paulino comes with a big ceiling, scouts say, but it remains to be seen how the entire package will translate at the major league level.
Paulino has impressed thus far in 2016, at least when he has been on the mound. He served a suspension for a violation of team rules in the middle of the year — the situation remains murky — meaning that he has only accumulated 90 total frames on the season. That still rates as a career-high for a hurler who had undergone Tommy John surgery before he was sent from the Tigers to the Astros as the player to be named later in the Jose Veras trade.
Despite that hiccup, Paulino obvious did enough to convince the Astros brass that he was worthy of a shot at the majors. He burned through Double-A, posting a 1.83 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 over 64 frames, earning a bump to the highest level of the minors. Though Paulino has allowed 16 hits and six earned runs over his 14 frames (spread over three starts) at Triple-A, he has managed to compile an appealing 20:6 K/BB ratio.
For the ‘Stros, it’s hard not to wonder whether there’s at least some connection between the move and the recent loss of staff ace Dallas Keuchel. While Paulino’s precise role remains unclear, the injury to Keuchel may have made the organization more willing to roll the dice on an unproven arm — whether in the rotation or some kind of relief role. Even if it is somewhat sub-optimal to rely on Paulino at this stage, he certainly delivers some upside and didn’t require any roster maneuvering.
As for service-time considerations, the move will obviously get Paulino’s ticker started. If he opens the 2017 season in the majors, then the extra days of action will have no impact. If, however, the Astros decide they’d like to further delay his free agency, then time spent in the bigs this season will extend the number of days he’d need to stay down next year.
Dallas Keuchel Sidelined With Shoulder Inflammation
Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel will miss at least two starts due to shoulder inflammation, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch both said today. Mark Berman of FOX 26 reported Luhnow’s comments (Twitter links), while MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart spoke with Hinch.
At present, it seems, the team doesn’t yet know the cause or full extent of the problem. As such, it’s not yet clear whether Keuchel will be able to return to help drive a push for the postseason, or appear if the team qualifies. Houston is all but buried in the AL West, but entered play today two games off of the Wild Card pace.
The 28-year-old Keuchel hasn’t been at his best thus far in 2016, as he carries a 4.55 ERA over 168 frames — well off of the sub-3.00 rate he maintained over the last two campaigns. Still, he has rated as a solid performer in the eyes of ERA estimators while maintaining quite useful peripherals (7.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 56.7% groundball rate). With his average fastball lagging by over a mile per hour as against recent campaigns, though, Keuchel has been hurt by the long ball (16.4% HR/FB rate) — the same issue that plagued him before his 2014 breakout.
Despite the struggles, Keuchel remains a largely irreplaceable piece for the ‘Stros, with the absence of Lance McCullers Jr. further amplifying the problem. At this stage of the season, especially, the club needs every quality inning it can get.
Both Luhnow and Hinch acknowledged that the timing of the injury raises the possibility that Keuchel won’t return in 2016. “I don’t know the answer to that,” the GM said when asked if the southpaw would make it back. “I don’t think anybody really knows the answer to that.” As the skipper put it, “where we’re at on the calendar, it’s going to bring the obvious questions, but we just don’t know right now.”
Efforts to address the inflammation have not yet proven successful, Hinch explained. Keuchel first had pain in his last start, on August 27, and experienced discomfort when he tried to throw on Sunday. And attempts “to give him some gaps in time in giving him some rest periods … hasn’t solved it,” said Hinch. Ultimately, the manager noted, Keuchel will not be allowed to resume throwing “until he’s pain-free.”
The biggest question, perhaps, is whether a deeper structural problem is at play. That’s completely unknown at this point, though more information may become available once Keuchel undergoes a full examination by medical professionals.
Even if he can dodge a broader issue, the injury is likely to cost Keuchel some arbitration earnings. He won’t reach 200 innings for the third-straight season, only has nine wins on his record, and will be weighed down by the sub-par earned run average. Of course, he is working from a monster first-year arb award of $7.25MM, which obliterated prior high-points for first-year arb-eligible starters, so Keuchel will remain a major arbitration earner in his second season of eligibility.