Brewers Rumors

Yan Gomes Out Four To Eight Weeks With Separated Shoulder

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2016 at 3:06pm CDT

3:06pm: The Indians announced that Gomes has been placed on the disabled list with a separated A/C joint and will miss the next four to eight weeks due to the injury. Perez has been activated in his place.

7:58am: Indians catcher Yan Gomes suffered a separated right shoulder in yesterday afternoon’s game against the Twins when he tumbled following a close play at first base and will be placed on the disabled list, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The injury could bring Gomes’ 2016 season to an end, he adds. Fellow backstop Roberto Perez is set to be reinstated from his own stint on the disabled list in Gomes’ place. Perez has been out since the first week of May after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured thumb.

According to Hoynes, the immediate response from the club was that even with the loss of its starting catcher for what could be the rest of the year, Cleveland doesn’t plan to pursue a more established catcher like Jonathan Lucroy via the trade market. The team’s belief is that Perez can hold down the fort as the primary catcher for the remainder of the season, with Chris Gimenez continuing to serve as the top backup option.

Of course, it’d be a surprise to see Cleveland brass plainly state that the plan was to pursue an upgrade on the trade market, and despite whatever the team wishes to publicly state, catcher is and has been an unequivocal weakness for the team all season long. Hoynes reported on Saturday that Cleveland valued Gomes’ defensive contributions to the point where it wouldn’t look for an upgrade in spite of his offensive woes, but the 28-year-old (29 tomorrow) has batted a woeful .165/.198/.313 at the plate this season. Gimenez’s .188/.231/.271 line isn’t any better, and Perez was hitless through 15 plate appearances prior to his injury (though he did have six walks).

All told, Cleveland catchers have been far and away the least productive collection of backstops in all of Major League Baseball this season, hitting a combined .169/.216/.299. That production more closely resembles the league-average pitcher (.134/.163/.171) than it does the league-average catcher (.240/.308/.384). The 27-year-old Perez offers some hope, to be sure, having posted very solid OBP and slugging marks in spite of a low average in 2015 when he batted .228/.348/.402 in 226 plate appearances. He hit well in 24 plate appearances on his rehab assignment as well, though the bulk of that work came at Rookie ball, and a sample of 24 PAs is hardly indicative of things to come anyhow. Moreover, Perez is returning from a thumb operation, and it’s not uncommon for players to struggle at the plate in the early stages of their returns from thumb, hand or wrist surgery.

The Indians may indeed wish to see how Perez handles his first few games back from the disabled list before pursuing any outside help, but it’s hard to imagine that the front office won’t be at least gauging the price on potentially available backstops. Even in the event that they don’t wish to pay a prohibitive price for a top-tier option such as Lucroy, the market features a number of rentals that are currently performing well (e.g. Nick Hundley, Kurt Suzuki) and several other options that won’t come at such a premium cost, as I wrote last week when examining the 2016 trade market for catchers.

AL West Notes: Bregman, Healy, Valencia, Rodriguez, Rangers

By Jeff Todd | July 15, 2016 at 8:30pm CDT

The Astros’ reported deal with Yulieski Gurriel adds another notable option to the mix in the left side of the infield, but that doesn’t mean top prospect Alex Bregman is on the trade block. Far from it, in fact, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (on Twitter). A source tells Morosi that the club isn’t interested in flipping Bregman for a top-flight starter — though certainly the rising prospect is the kind of blue-chip asset that could net a major piece in return.

Here’s more from the AL West:

Just-promoted prospect Ryon Healy will serve as the Athletics’ primary third baseman, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). That leaves hot-hitting Danny Valencia to pick up plate appearances at first base and the corner outfield. Oakland’s decision to modify and reduce Valencia’s role seems to suggest that he isn’t a major part of the club’s plans for 2017. That, in turn, would presumably increase the team’s inclination to deal him this summer.
Athletics reliever Fernando Rodriguez will miss four to six weeks after being diagnosed with a lat tear, Hickey tweets. Rodriguez expressed surprise and disappointment with the prognosis. The 32-year-old has been a steady, albeit not a dominant, member of the A’s pen for the last two years. Over 40 2/3 innings in 2015, he owns a 4.20 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
As the Rangers continue to browse the shelves of potentially-available starters, the team has at least asked the Braves about Julio Teheran, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). That hardly means there’s any real action on the righty, particularly since we’ve seen Texas tied to a whole host of starters in recent weeks. Cotillo also hears that the Rangers have had talks with the Brewers on catcher Jonathan Lucroy and southpaw Will Smith, though Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the chatter “went nowhere.” All told, it still seems that the Texas front office is canvassing possibilities with the deadline a few weeks off.

Heyman’s Latest: Hosmer, Corbin, O’s, Astros, Brewers, Rangers

By Steve Adams | July 14, 2016 at 10:10pm CDT

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports covers a lot of ground in his latest Inside Baseball column, beginning with a look at the Royals and the closing window of Kansas City’s core players (Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas). Hosmer is controllable through 2017, and while the Royals would love to keep him in K.C. forever, Heyman writes that Royals brass feels Hosmer and agent Scott Boras could seek $20MM+ on a 10-year deal. Those numbers may sound jarring for Hosmer, especially in light of Brandon Belt’s $79MM price tag this offseason, but a pair of GMs to whom Heyman spoke invoked contractual comparisons of Jason Heyward and Jacoby Ellsbury when looking ahead to Hosmer’s market. Hosmer will be entering his age-28 season when he hits the free-agent market, so he’ll certainly have youth on his side in addition to consistently improving performance.

NL Notes: Rupp, Guerra, Kang

By Jeff Todd | July 14, 2016 at 8:36am CDT

It’s quiet today, but baseball’s second half begins in earnest tomorrow. Over the break, a roster of American League All-Stars defeated an assortment of National Leaguers by a score of 4 to 2. Owing to one of the most confounding rules in all of sport, this means that the A.L. entrant in the World Series will own home-field advantage for the Fall Classic.

As the A.L. post-season hopefuls celebrate their victory, here’s the latest from the N.L.:

Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com writes that a breakout first half from Cameron Rupp has made him a potential trade chip for the Phillies. While the 27-year-old comes with another four years of club control beyond the 2016 season, he represents a rare, controllable option for teams in need of offense behind the dish. A number of contenders meet that criteria, Seidman notes, listing the Indians and White Sox as a pair of clubs that have received well below-average production from their backstops this season. While the Phils needn’t feel compelled to move Rupp, GM Matt Klentak showed with the offseason Ken Giles trade that he’s willing to move assets with considerably more club control than the typical trade candidate if the right offer presents itself.
Brewers righty Junior Guerra has been one of the game’s most remarkable stories in the first half, turning from a waiver claimee (in GM David Stearns’s first transaction) into a quality starter. As Gary D’Amato of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes, it was his discovery — and mastery — of the splitter that made him a Rookie of the Year candidate at 31 years of age. Harnessing that key offering “was a long process,” he says, explaining that he didn’t feel comfortable with it until about two years ago. Because of his age, Guerra is in a rather unique position with regard to contract rights; he also could be a more likely trade candidate than might otherwise be anticipated given his meager service time (though I didn’t feel compelled to include him in our list of potentially available starters). “Right now I’m not thinking about money,” he tells D’Amato. “I’m just thinking about working hard and providing for my family. I want to keep working hard in order to keep getting chances.” Field questions about his trade status is probably quite an unexpected luxury, but Guerra says he hopes to continue pitching in Milwaukee.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says that the league won’t take any action with regard to Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang until the Chicago police have advanced their investigation into allegations of sexual assault, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. “We are aware of the situation and are working with law enforcement,” said Manfred. “We will make a decision when we have sufficient facts as to whether application of, for example, the administrative leave provisions in the new policy are applicable.” The league had moved more swiftly to place Hector Olivera on administrative leave earlier this season, but he was arrested and charged in the immediate aftermath of the incident in question. In many ways, Kang’s situation will represent a new challenge for the commissioner’s office, who has already dealt with several cases under a still-new policy addressing domestic violence and sexual assault. This is the first case falling under the latter rubric, and also the first involving an important player whose team is involved in a post-season race.

Brewers Claim Rob Scahill From Pirates

By charliewilmoth | July 12, 2016 at 1:20pm CDT

The Brewers have announced that they’ve claimed righty reliever Rob Scahill from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Colorado Springs. The Bucs designated Scahill for assignment when they claimed Eric Fryer from the Cardinals last week.

The 29-year-old Scahill has spent the season bouncing back and forth between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis. He’s generally had good big-league results in two seasons with the Pirates, with a 3.26 ERA, but he’s posted somewhat underwhelming peripherals (7.1 K/9, 4.2 BB/9). Previously, he’d appeared in parts of three seasons with the Rockies. The Brewers probably liked that Scahill entered the season with less than two full years of service time, however, and that he can still be optioned back and forth to the minors.

Quick Hits: Groome, Red Sox, Lucroy, Chapman

By Connor Byrne | July 11, 2016 at 10:36pm CDT

With Friday’s deadline to sign 2016 amateur draft picks creeping up, the Red Sox and first-round selection Jason Groome are in a dispute over how much the left-hander is worth, reports Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball. Boston is currently offering Groome $3.5MM – which is $372K more than the 12th overall selection’s $3,192,800 slot value – according to Heyman, who adds that the 17-year-old had a pre-draft agreement with the Padres to sign for $5MM had he fallen to them at No. 24. The Red Sox have in the neighborhood of $400K remaining in their pool and could up their offer to Groome, Heyman notes, and he expects the two to eventually reach a deal.

More from Boston and a few other major league destinations:

An unusually high number of scouts (18) recently took in a Class-A Rookie League Game for the Rangers, leading FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal to wonder if a trade is on the way. Specifically, the Rangers and Brewers could match up in a deal for catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Rosenthal suggests, with a scout informing him that Milwaukee has been observing Texas’ system. Brewers general manager David Stearns has not been averse to acquiring teenage prospects in the past, writes Rosenthal, who lists 17-year-old outfielder Leody Taveras and 18-year-old shortstop Anderson Tejada as a couple of the Rangers’ top Arizona League players. The Rangers have drawn connections since the offseason to Lucroy, an All-Star backstop who’s signed for cheap through next season.
Prior to his late-season major league breakout last year, Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. garnered the attention of several GMs while he was thriving in the minors, according to agent Scott Boras. “I had six different general managers calling me, because he was just killing the ball in Triple-A,” Boras said (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). Boras added that he doesn’t ask GMs to trade his clients, so he didn’t request a deal out of Boston for Bradley – who has been outstanding for the Red Sox since last August. The 26-year-old earned his first All-Star trip this season on the strength of a .296/.378/.548 batting line with 14 home runs in 344 trips to the plate. In addition to his prowess with the bat, Bradley has been among the majors’ premier base runners this year, as FanGraphs shows.
The Yankees’ playoffs odds at FanGraphs sit at a measly 7.5 percent, which Joel Sherman of the New York Post cites while arguing that it would be “terrible business” for the .500 team to retain lefty closer Aroldis Chapman past the Aug. 1 trade deadline. With World Series contenders like the Cubs, Rangers and Nationals looking to augment their bullpens, Sherman believes the Yankees are in prime position to orchestrate a bidding war for Chapman, whom they acquired from the Reds for an underwhelming group of prospects over the winter. Chapman was then dealing with a troubling domestic violence incident off the field, but he served a month-long suspension to begin the year and has continued dominating on the mound since. Even if the Yankees do trade Chapman, that wouldn’t preclude them from making a push to re-sign the pending free agent in the offseason, Sherman points out.

NL Notes: Lucroy, Giants, Cards, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | July 11, 2016 at 8:58pm CDT

Brewers catcher and eminently valuable trade chip Jonathan Lucroy said Monday that he and the team are not engaging in contract extension talks (Twitter link via Chris Cotillo of SB Nation). “I want to be competitive. I want to be on a team that is playing for a championship,” Lucroy told Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball. “If that’s the Brewers, great. If not, not. It’s a tough situation.” With a relatively insignificant $4MM salary this year and a $5.25MM club option for 2017, Lucroy is currently on one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball. That should help the Brewers land a quality haul for the All-Star if they deal him by the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The 30-year-old has rebounded from an injury-plagued 2015 to hit .304/.361/.491 with 11 home runs in 324 plate appearances this season. Defensively, Lucroy has thrown out a terrific 39 percent of attempted base stealers while rating near the top of the league in the pitch-framing department.

More out of the NL:

While the NL West-leading Giants have come up as a possible fit for either Aroldis Chapman or All-Star Andrew Miller in advance of the deadline, the Yankees don’t regard San Francisco as a match for either, according to Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Notably, five Giants – right-handers Phil Bickford (No. 50) and Tyler Beede (No. 81), shortstop Christian Arroyo (No. 56), first baseman Chris Shaw (No. 83) and lefty Adalberto Mejia (No. 91) – are on Baseball America’s Midseason Top 100 Prospects list. The lefty-swinging Shaw, 22, would seem to make sense for the Yankees, offers Schulman, though it seems they disagree.
Cardinals All-Star infielder Matt Carpenter hopes to make a four-week recovery from the oblique strain that sent him to the disabled list July 7, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Carpenter has a “significant” tear along his right side, he said Monday, and the 30-year-old had a similar injury in 2012 that kept him out four weeks. Prior to going on the shelf, Carpenter slashed a tremendous .298/.420/.568 with 14 homers and nearly as many walks (58) as strikeouts (61) in 351 PAs.
Agent Scott Boras is “happy” with the way the Dodgers have handled 19-year-old phenom Julio Urias, he told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register on Monday (Twitter link). The Dodgers are monitoring the workload of the left-handed Urias, who is currently with Triple-A Oklahoma City and could factor in as both a reliever and starter in the majors down the stretch. Between OKC and LA, Urias has thrown 78 1/3 innings, which is just 9 1/3 fewer than the career-high 87 2/3 frames he amassed in 2014.

Knocking Down The Door: Arcia, Benintendi, Bregman, Lopez, Reyes

By Jason Martinez | July 11, 2016 at 2:26pm CDT

This week’s installment of Knocking Down the Door features a top prospect whose older brother is already in the Majors, two players selected in the top 10 picks of the 2015 draft, and a pair of starters that could add some flames to the back of the bullpen with their organization’s big league club.

Orlando Arcia, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (Triple-A Colorado Springs)

Arcia cemented his spot as the Brewers’ shortstop of the near future when he posted an .800 OPS with 25 stolen bases while playing most of the 2015 season as a 20 year-old in Double-A Biloxi. Now he’s on the verge of claiming that starting job before he reaches his 22nd birthday on August 4.

While Jonathan Villar’s breakout season (.806 OPS, 31 steals) has played a part in pushing back Arcia’s estimated time of arrival in Milwaukee—it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if he was called up in early May—the recent trade of Aaron Hill opens up third base for Villar while Arcia is putting the finishing touches on his Minor League career with eight hits in his last 20 at-bats, including three doubles, a triple, a homer and seven runs batted in.

Brewers Depth Chart

Andrew Benintendi, OF, Boston Red Sox (Double-A Portland)

The Red Sox have already patched up their bullpen by trading for Brad Ziegler, and they’re almost certain to acquire a starting pitcher before the non-waiver trade deadline on August 1 to shore up their shaky rotation. Their offense, meanwhile, is already the best in baseball and they could be even better once the Andrew Benintendi era begins.

I’m not certain that the 22-year-old Benintendi will be the first first-rounder (No. 7 overall) from the 2015 Draft to get the call to the big leagues—see Alex Bregman—but he shouldn’t be far behind. Coincidentally, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently hinted that Benintendi is close and might not need a stop in Triple-A.

Since a promotion to Double-A in mid-May, the left-handed-hitting center fielder has an .844 OPS in 47 games, including a .310 batting average since a 2-for-19 start. He’ll man left field once he arrives in Boston with Brock Holt moving back into his valuable role as a super-utility man.

Red Sox Depth Chart

Alex Bregman, INF, Houston Astros (Triple-A Fresno)

If you watched the Futures Game on Sunday, you know that I’m not the only person that thinks Alex Bregman should be in the Majors by now, including Bregman, who declared, “I’m ready,” when asked on MLB Network what he wanted the world to know about him.

The 22-year-old continues to tear the cover off of the ball in Triple-A and obviously didn’t have any problems with the elite talent on the mound yesterday, as he was a home run shy of the cycle after just three at-bats. Opening a spot in the Houston’s lineup is really as simple as moving Luis Valbuena to first base and allowing A.J. Reed and Evan Gattis to platoon in the designated hitter spot—Gattis has an .802 OPS versus left-handed pitching and a .641 OPS versus right-handers.

The surging Astros will be fun to watch in the second half, especially with Bregman manning third base and hitting in the No. 2 spot between George Springer and Jose Altuve.

Astros Depth Chart

Reynaldo Lopez, SP/RP, Washington Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse)/Alex Reyes, SP/RP, St. Louis Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis)

I’ve lumped Lopez and Reyes together since the theme here is very similar. They’re two of the best pitching prospects in the Minor Leagues, both with limited experience in the upper minors—Lopez has 14 Double-A starts and two Triple-A starts; Reyes has made eight Double-A starts and nine Triple-A starts—and still a lot of room to develop as starting pitchers. But most will agree that they could dominate in the Major Leagues right now in one-to-two inning relief stints.

At 22 and 21 years of age, respectively, Lopez and Reyes could find themselves in the thick of the 2016 playoff race and pitching in plenty of meaningful games. Both can hit 100 mph on the radar gun as starters—I wouldn’t be surprised to see 102 mph in games where they’re only needed for a few batters. And, most importantly, their respective organizations could each use some help in the bullpen.

Nationals Depth Chart

Cardinals Depth Chart

“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.

NL Notes: Jeffress, Bell, Nationals, Braves

By Steve Adams | July 11, 2016 at 1:22pm CDT

The bullpen market has been picking up some steam lately, with the Red Sox acquiring Brad Ziegler from the D-backs and the Marlins landing Fernando Rodney in a trade with the Padres. Miami was apparently in the market for some more controllable bullpen help prior to landing Rodney, though, as MLB Network’s Peter Gammons reports (on Twitter) that the Marlins also spoke with the Brewers about Jeremy Jeffress. Milwaukee had a significant asking price on its closer, however, as Gammons hears that the Brewers asked for right-hander Chris Paddack (the pitcher Miami traded to get Rodney) and two more prospects in exchange for Jeffress. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd has long listed Jeffress on his weekly rankings of trade candidates, noting that it’s understandable for the Brewers to have a steep ask with another three years of club control remaining beyond 2016.

Relief Market Rumors: Nationals, Giants, Rangers, Jeffress, Smith, Cubs, Nathan

By Mark Polishuk | July 10, 2016 at 8:09pm CDT

Here’s a roundup of some bullpen-related rumors about teams who may be looking to add, subtract or stand pat in regards to their relief corps…

The Nationals, Giants and Rangers are the three teams “poised to be most aggressive in pursuit of late-inning relief help” in the opinion of rival evaluators, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required). The latter two clubs aren’t a surprise given how injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered both the San Francisco and Texas bullpens, but the Nats entered today with the fourth-lowest bullpen ERA (3.15) of any club in baseball. Despite good results overall, closer Jonathan Papelbon has outperformed his peripheral stats and seen a velocity drop, so Washington could be looking to make a midseason closer addition for the second straight year. All three teams have been linked to Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller if and when the Yankees make their star relievers available.
Brewers relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith are getting a lot of attention from scouts, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link). Jeffress was recently ranked by MLBTR’s Jeff Todd as one of the top 20 trade candidates leading up to the deadline, as the righty has performed quite well as Milwaukee’s closer. It was an injury to Smith that opened the door for Jeffress to take over the ninth-inning role, and Smith has pitched well himself in 17 innings since returning from the DL.
The Cubs have been heavily connected to bullpen trade rumors, though they could potentially receive help from within if veteran Joe Nathan is able to regain any of his old form, CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney writes. Nathan signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in May as the 41-year-old looks to return from the second Tommy John surgery of his career. Mooney and Cubs skipper Joe Maddon both provide some detail on Nathan’s promising appearances over six games for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate. Nathan struggled in 2014 and missed virtually all of 2015, of course, so you would think the Cubs would look for a more solid relief option even if Nathan does look good.

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