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AL Central Notes: Verlander, Miller, Lopez, Sox

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Too often overlooked in the general talk about Justin Verlander’s contract serving as an impediment to a theoretical trade is the amount of leverage that Verlander’s no-trade clause gives him, opines ESPN’s Buster Olney. Verlander currently can’t become a free agent until after his age-36 season, but his recent return to form would give him the ability to hold out for a contract extension in order to green-light a move to another club. (One middle ground, speculatively speaking, could be to push for his $22MM vesting option for the 2020 season to be exercised in advance.) A strong finish could make that all the more true if the Tigers hold him and look to move him this offseason. Verlander’s last seven starts have resulted in a 1.71 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9, though he’s still received some help in terms of BABIP (.229) and strand rate (91 percent) in that time.

More from the AL Central…

  • Andrew Miller is scheduled to make a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday this week, and the Indians are expecting him to need just one appearance before being activated, per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. If all goes well, that seems to point to a total of roughly two weeks on the shelf for Miller, who hit the disabled list back on Aug. 3. Hoynes also notes that outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall began a rehab assignment on Sunday, so he could return from a lengthier absence (on the disabled list since July 9) in the relatively near future as well.
  • The White Sox will monitor Reynaldo Lopez’s workload over the rest of the season, manager Rick Renteria tells Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times, though the skipper declined to divulge a specific innings cap on the ballyhooed young righty. “I think everybody is very cognizant of pitch counts,” said Renteria. “Like we talked about last night, he has wipeout type stuff. He can strike out a lot of guys. Those guys tend to elevate in their pitch counts sometimes. We will be mindful of that.” Lopez totaled 153 1/3 innings between the Majors, Triple-A and Double-A last season. He’s currently pitched 127 innings between Triple-A Charlotte and his lone start with the ChiSox.
  • Following last night’s trade of Tyler Clippard to the Astros, the White Sox don’t have a single player on their roster with a save in 2017, as MLB.com’s Scott Merkin points out. Clippard, David Robertson, Dan Jennings, Tommy Kahnle and Anthony Swarzak have all been dealt to other clubs in the past five weeks, while excellent setup man Nate Jones is out for the remainder of the 2017 season. Merkin suggests that Jake Petricka and rookies Brad Goldberg and Aaron Bummer could all be candidates to get some save opportunities. Petricka, who has 16 career saves after spending part of the 2014 season as Chicago’s primary stopper, seems to be the logical candidate for saves of that bunch. However, each of the three has struggled considerably at the big league level in 2017. Of the others currently in the South Siders’ bullpen (depth chart), Greg Infante and Juan Minaya have had the best results this season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/10/17

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Thursday’s minor transactions from around baseball:

  • The Mariners announced that they’ve outrighted catcher Tuffy Gosewisch to Triple-A Tacoma. The team designated Gosewisch for assignment after its minor trade with the Rays last weekend. Gosewisch hadn’t suited up for the Mariners since May, a month in which he appeared in 11 games and struggled to an .071/.103/.071 line in 31 plate appearances. The 33-year-old has been better this season in Tacoma, albeit not great, with a .219/.310/.358 performance in 249 PAs. To Gosewisch’s credit, though, he has done a nice job holding would-be base stealers at bay throughout his pro career, and has caught 18 of 52 attempted thieves (35 percent) with the Rainiers this season.
  • Angels outfielder Shane Robinson was also outrighted to Triple-A. He’ll return to Salt Lake, where he has batted .338/.397/.436 in 298 trips to the plate this year, after hitting just .200/.276/.200 in 29 tries with the Angels. They designated him Monday.
  • Blue Jays right-hander Mike Bolsinger was outrighted, too, the club announced. The Jays designated Bolsinger last weekend for the third time this year. With a 6.31 ERA over 41 1/3 innings this season, Bolsinger hasn’t fared well at all in Toronto. The 29-year-old has been excellent with Triple-A Buffalo, though, having notched a 1.60 ERA, 6.95 K/9 and 1.07 BB/9 over 33 2/3 frames.
  • The Indians have re-signed righty Perci Garner to a minor league contract, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Cleveland just released Garner, 28, a week ago. Injuries have limited him to 15 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A this year.

Indians Designate Daniel Robertson

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The Indians have designated outfielder Daniel Robertson for assignment, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. His 40-man spot was needed for the just-acquired Jay Bruce.

Robertson, 31, has seen action in each of the past four MLB seasons — including a 32-game run this year in Cleveland. But he has never shown much with the bat, with a cumulative .262/.314/.328 slash over 386 trips to the plate.

Through 178 plate appearances at Triple-A on the year, Robertson is slashing .340/.407/.409 — reflective of his typical blend of excellent plate discipline and little pop. Robertson has also swiped quite a few bags as a professional, though he’s just 7-for-12 at Triple-A this year and has only successfully taken a bag in half of his dozen career attempts in the majors.

Notes From The Jay Bruce Trade

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Last night’s trade sending Jay Bruce from the Mets to the Indians was perhaps the most significant deal since the non-waiver deadline. It could well hold that title the rest of the way, though there are also a variety of other notable players that could be dealt this month. (Click here for MLBTR’s top 25 ranking of candidates; click here to see the players that have already reportedly cleared waivers.)

While the transaction was largely a straightforward affair — a team with a need chipped in a low-level prospect and took on the entire contract of a veteran who fit — it’s worth taking a look at some of the post-deal chatter:

  • Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti spoke with the media about the deal, and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian provided a transcript of the chat. Antonetti acknowledged the importance of injuries to the swap, noting that the club wouldn’t really even have playing time to give to Bruce were it not for the absences of Lonnie Chisenhall and now Michael Brantley. The timing was right now, says the club’s top baseball decisionmaker, but the organization has long had interest in Bruce. While Cleveland will begin to face some challenging playing-time questions if it gets a fully healthy roster, the expectation at present is that Bruce will “play regularly.”
  • There aren’t a lot of recent scouting reports on Ryder Ryan, the young righty who goes to New York in the trade. That’s due largely to the fact that he is a late-round relief prospect that hasn’t had much time to climb the organizational ladder. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a reasonably intriguing prospect. Antonetti himself said as much, crediting Ryan’s “really good stuff” and saying he “has a chance to pitch in a major league bullpen.” Baseball America also has some details, noting that Ryan is working in the mid-nineties while working on developing his slider and commanding his pitches.
  • One of the most interesting elements of the deal, though, was the alternative swap that didn’t go through. The Yankees were in on Bruce through to the end, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) and Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link) report. But the Yankees’ offer would’ve left the Mets holding onto most of Bruce’s remaining salary this year, per reports from Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (on Twitter) and Newsday’s Marc Carig (also in a tweet), while also picking up two prospects that (it stands to reason) would be more valuable than Ryan. The Mets’ motivation for choosing Cleveland’s offer isn’t yet entirely clear — GM Sandy Alderson has yet to speak to the media, but will do so today — but there could certainly be multiple factors at play. While the cross-town Yankees obviously aren’t off limits as a trade partner, perhaps considerations of intra-city marketing played some role. And surely the cost and talent packages offered different benefits and drawbacks.
  • Per Sherman, Bruce would’ve functioned as the DH had he been acquired by the Yankees, filling in there with Matt Holliday on the DL. With Aaron Hicks nearing a return and Greg Bird still representing a possible option, there are some internal possibilities for bolstering the team’s array of lefty bats. While it’s not clear at present whether the Yanks are looking hard at alternatives, it stands to reason they’d be open to the possibility. (Clearly, though, there are limits to how much salary they want to take on at this point.) Among the players that we have identified as plausible August trade chips, there are a few that could fit the bill. If the Mets are willing to keep chatting, old friend Curtis Granderson or even Neil Walker could make sense; neither has the same profile as Bruce but both offer more defensive function. Former Red Sox nemesis Daniel Nava might be an affordable target, while Matt Joyce of the Athletics is surely available. Of course, Yonder Alonso arguably made the most sense, but he was dealt to the Mariners after Seattle placed a waiver claim (meaning the Yankees never had a shot — at least, after July 31st).

Indians Acquire Jay Bruce

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The Indians have officially announced a deal with the Mets that’ll bring outfielder Jay Bruce to Cleveland. Going to New York in return is 22-year-old righty Ryder Ryan. All of Bruce’s remaining salary — around $4MM of the $13MM annual obligation — will land on Cleveland’s books.

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It’s hardly a major surprise to hear of a deal involving Bruce; indeed, he ranked second on the list of top August trade candidates that we just published earlier this evening. The fading Mets have given signals they’d consider making him a qualifying offer, but that never seemed a sure thing.

Bruce has turned in a quality season thus far for the Mets after being shopped around a bit last winter. Entering today, he carried a .258/.324/.524 slash and had launched 29 long balls. Long in the doghouse of advanced metrics for his work in the outfield, Bruce has posted much improved numbers there, though his baserunning marks have since faded.

There was talk before the deadline that Cleveland would have interest in Bruce. That seems all the more necessary now, with Michael Brantley joining Lonnie Chisenhall on the DL and the Royals continuing to hang around in the AL Central. Bruce’s lefty power bat will fill in the gap while those two players work back and add quite a bit of firepower to the overall offensive mix for a hopeful postseason run.

Bruce will no doubt be pleased with the trade; indeed, he had reportedly indicated a willingness to waive his partial no-trade clause to go to a contender (though the Indians were not on it, per Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network, on Twitter). Instead of possibly drawing a qualifying offer after playing out a lost Mets season, he will enter free agency free and clear of any draft compensation while joining a contender.

Though New York will give up the chance to issue Bruce a qualifying offer, it’s not hard to see the reasoning here. The 30-year-old is a quality player, but a roughly $18MM salary — even for a single year — is no small amount. Plus, Bruce’s continuing presence with the Mets would’ve meant for an awkward outfield mix, as the team would’ve presumably bumped Michael Conforto into significant time in center. Instead, the Mets can utilize Conforto in right, pairing Juan Lagares with Brandon Nimmo or another player in center, while perhaps redirecting some of those resources. It’s worth bearing in mind, too, that the new CBA would only have given the Mets a pick after the second round if Bruce had declined the QO and signed elsewhere. Plus, the Mets will now have a cleaner path for the promotion of first base prospect Dominic Smith.

Clearing Bruce’s remaining salary is likely the main driver here. But Ryan will bring another interesting arm to the New York system. He is said to have plenty of velocity in the tank, though he also has limited experience on the mound after mostly playing in the field during college. Through 41 1/3 frames at the Class A level this year, Ryan owns a 4.79 ERA with 10.7 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) first reported a deal was in the works. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) said it was being finalized; Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (Twitter link) first said the deal was done. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the prospect return on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Indians Place Michael Brantley On Disabled List

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The Indians announced on Wednesday that they’ve placed left fielder Michael Brantley on the 10-day disabled list due to the sprained right ankle that he suffered in last night’s game. Infielder Erik Gonzalez has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding move.

Cleveland did not give a timeline on Brantley’s return to the roster, but even a brief loss is a blow for the team, as Cleveland finds itself in a reasonably tight American League Central division. The Indians are currently four games up on the Royals and 5.5 games ahead of the Twins in the Central. Brantley’s DL stint means he’ll miss a three-game set in Minnesota from Aug. 15-17 and at least the beginning of a three-game set in Kansas City immediately following that series. Cleveland also hosts Kansas City from Aug. 25-27.

Manager Terry Francona tells Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the sprain isn’t overly serious, but it’s also the second time that Brantley’s right ankle has sent him to the DL this season. “It’s considered mild, but it’s such a small area and you have to go more on the symptoms than maybe the diagnosis,” said Francona.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians depth chart]

With Brantley on the shelf for the time being, the Indians figure to rotate Austin Jackson, Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte in the outfield corners while rookie Bradley Zimmer handles the bulk of the playing time in center field. Cleveland is currently without Lonnie Chisenhall thanks to a strained right calf, meaning they’re without two of their top left-handed bats in the outfield. Speculatively speaking, the Indians could eventually turn to Tyler Naquin, even for a brief time, to add another lefty-swinging outfielder to the mix while Brantley and Chisenhall mend.

In 372 plate appearances this season, Brantley has posted a very solid .299/.358/.445 batting line with nine homers, 20 doubles and a triple.

Injury Notes: Camargo, Brantley, Yunel, Cobb, Kela, Knapp

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Some notable injury news from around the league as Tuesday evening winds down…

  • Camargo will head to the 10-day disabled list, but it looks like Braves fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the MRI revealed no structural damage in Camargo’s right knee. Instead, he’s been diagnosed with a bone bruise. Camargo has been told he’ll miss anywhere from 10 to 14 days (Twitter link via Bowman). While not an ideal outcome, it’s a better prognosis than some may have feared when seeing the 23-year-old helped off the field and struggling to put any weight on his right leg. It’s likely that Swanson will take Camargo’s roster spot, though that has yet to be announced by the team.
  • MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets that Indians left fielder Michael Brantley is headed for an MRI on a sprained ankle that he sustained in tonight’s game. An Achilles injury has “already been ruled out,” according to Bastian, and the team will have further updates on his status tomorrow morning.

Earlier Updates

  • The Angels announced on Tuesday that third baseman Yunel Escobar is headed to the disabled list with a “mild grade 1 oblique strain.” Per the club’s announcement, a general timetable for recovery from such an injury is two to three weeks. While Escobar was hardly a definitive trade candidate, the free-agent-to-be seemingly stood a chance of being moved prior to the end of the month in the event that the Angels can’t right the ship and fall out of the American League Wild Card race. The 34-year-old is hitting .274/.333/.397 with seven homers through 381 plate appearances in his second season with the Angels. Now sidelined until mid-to-late August, Escobar’s chances of being dealt look decidedly slimmer, though he could still conceivably return and demonstrate his health for interested parties.
  • Braves infielder Johan Camargo suffered a leg injury prior to tonight’s game and has been initially diagnosed with a hyperextended knee, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Camargo hopped over the chalk line while taking the field and seemed to trip in doing so, ultimately crumbling to the ground and needing to be helped off the field (video link via FOX Sports Braves, on Twitter). O’Brien notes that Camargo is set to undergo an MRI, and Dansby Swanson has already been pulled from the game with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett. The Braves figure to have further word on the injury later tonight.
  • Rays right-hander Alex Cobb has landed on the 10-day disabled list due to a case of turf toe, the team announced. Cobb tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that the injury was an issue in his last start and adds that he felt he could’ve pitched through it, but the team wanted to proactively get him healthy (Twitter link). It’ll be Blake Snell taking Cobb’s place for what looks to be a minimum-stay DL stint, per Topkin, meaning that prized prospect Brent Honeywell will have to wait a bit longer to make his big league debut with the Rays.
  • The Rangers announced that right-hander Keone Kela has been placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 5, with soreness in his right shoulder. It’s an inopportune time for an injury for Kela, who could’ve been in line to see some save opportunities (and thus pad his arbitration earning power), as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests. As Grant notes, there’s no timetable for his return — Kela will be reevaluated when the Rangers return from their current road trip — and manager Jeff Banister said it would be “a challenge” to get Kela a look in the closer’s role later this year.
  • The Phillies will be without catcher Andrew Knapp for at least a “couple weeks” after an MRI revealed a fracture in his right hand, according to Matt Gelp and Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Knapp had been on the DL with a hand contusion and would’ve been eligible to return on Monday but will now be sidelined a fair bit longer. That will give the Phils more of a chance to look at prospect Jorge Alfaro, and manager Pete Mackanin tells Gelb and Breen that he plans to give the 24-year-old Alfaro a fair bit of playing time. “I’ll pick my spots, but I’ll play him,” said Mackanin. “I can’t catch Rupp everyday. He’ll get a good bit of playing time.”

AL Notes: Joyce, Rangers, Otani, Tribe, Twins

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Major League Baseball announced Saturday that it has suspended Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce two games without pay for directing an anti-gay slur at a heckling fan during the team’s game in Anaheim on Friday. In response, the A’s stated they’re “very disappointed” by Joyce’s “unacceptable” comments, but they “appreciate that Matt is contrite about his conduct and know he will learn from this incident.”

Joyce was apologetic Saturday, saying: “I am beyond sorry for the inappropriate language that I used and understand and agree that those words should NEVER come out of someone’s mouth no matter the situation.  Anyone who knows me will tell you that it is not reflective of me as a person, how I treat others, how I live my life and that those hurtful words are not my views.  I fully support and hope to help the LGBTQ community with their efforts in being treated fairly.  I intend to let my actions speak louder than anything more that can be said about this truly regrettable moment.”

Joyce’s forfeited salary amounts to upward of $54K, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, and the A’s will donate it to PFLAG – an organization that provides support to the LGBTQ community.

More from the American League:

  • The Rangers tipped their hand for the upcoming offseason when they traded minor league infielder Brallan Perez to the Orioles for $500K in international spending rights on Saturday, opines Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. To Grant, the move signals that the Rangers are retooling – not rebuilding – and will attempt to use their international money to sign two-way Japanese superstar Shohei Otani over the winter. The Rangers have coveted Otani for a while, which is part of the reason they didn’t make an effort to extend fellow Japan native Yu Darvish before they traded him to the Dodgers this past Monday, writes Grant. Big-money deals for over-30 pitchers are risky, Grant points out, and Darvish will turn 31 on Aug. 16.
  • With Andrew Miller on the disabled list and Boone Logan’s season likely over, the Indians are “open” to adding another left-hander to their bullpen this month, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). There’s not a lot of optimism it will happen, though, as an Indians official told Rosenthal that it’s “extremely difficult” to get a lefty reliever through the waiver process.
  • The Twins’ first-year hierarchy of chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine is in the midst of reshaping the organization, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune in a pair of pieces. The club fired director of baseball research Jack Goin, a holdover from the team’s previous regime, on Friday. The Twins then axed four area scouts – Marty Esposito, Alan Sandberg, Ted Williams and Mark Wilson – on Saturday. More changes are on the way, but Falvey informed Neal that assistant GM Rob Antony and head of player personnel Mike Radcliff will continue to have roles with the Twins. Any alterations to the Twins’ major or minor league coaching staffs or their player development won’t come until the offseason, per Falvey.

Boone Logan Unlikely To Return In 2017

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The Indians will likely go the rest of the way without lefty Boone Logan, as Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. While he probably won’t need surgery to address his lat injury, Logan is expected to require a lengthy period of rest and rehab.

If Logan doesn’t make it back, it’ll complicate the team’s decision on his $7MM club option, which comes with a $1MM buyout. Soon to turn 33, Logan has bumped his typically outstanding swinging-strike rate to a career-best 18.5% while averaging a dozen strikeouts per nine, drawing grounders on half of the balls put in play against him, and throwing as hard as ever. He has also managed only a 4.71 ERA, though perhaps he has been unfortunate to carry a .353 BABIP-against as well as a 62.5% strand rate. Cleveland has deployed Logan mostly against lefties, calling on him for only 21 innings over 38 appearances.

Since Logan initially hit the DL, the Indians have also lost star southpaw Andrew Miller — though he wasn’t exactly a situational piece. That potentially adds to the need left with the departure of Logan, though. Cleveland does have some internal options. Tyler Olson has carried his intriguing Triple-A numbers into the majors thus far, though that’s in just a four-appearance sample. And the club just added veteran southpaw Craig Breslow on a minors deal; of course, he did not exactly thrive earlier this year with the division-rival Twins.

All said, the news that Logan is likely down for the count could well spur the Indians to make a move — if, that is, an appealing option becomes available. While deadline targets like Brad Hand and Zach Britton weren’t traded, it’s far from clear that either would represent plausible candidates to move in August. And MLBTR’s list of the most likely August trade chips isn’t exactly loaded with lefty relievers. But it’s reasonably likely a contender or two will make an interesting arm available after they fall out of the race, and there are a few starters (say, Clayton Richard and Derek Holland) that could conceivably move into a relief role.

Indians, Craig Breslow Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Indians and left-hander Craig Breslow have agreed to a minor league contract, reports WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (Twitter link). Breslow was released by the Twins shortly before the non-waiver trade deadline after being designated for assignment.

Breslow, 37 next week, put extensive work into revamping his mechanics this offseason and dropping to a more sidearm angle from the left side, but the results unfortunately didn’t line up with his efforts. Through 31 innings with Minnesota, Breslow averaged 5.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 40.4 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 5.23 ERA. His new approach, however, did sufficiently stymie left-handed batters at the plate. When left-handed bats squared off against Breslow, the result was a brutal .180/.279/.257 batting line, albeit in a fairly small sample of 44 plate appearances.

The Indians just placed Andrew Miller on the 10-day disabled list, leaving the inexperienced Tyler Olson as their only southpaw option in the bullpen. Perhaps, given Cleveland’s impressive depth when it comes to right-handed relievers, the Indians will be able to use Breslow in more of a specialized capacity. Despite his dominance over lefties, Breslow was clobbered for a .344/.404/.573 batting line by righties. The Twins, though, generally lacking depth and quality in their relief corps, were forced to use Breslow against right-handed bats more often than they’d probably have preferred (99 PAs vs. righties).

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