Royals Outright Brandon Maurer
The Royals have outrighted right-hander Brandon Maurer, per a club announcement. He’ll join the organization’s Triple-A affiliate.
Maurer, 27, looked to be an interesting buy-low piece when he was acquired last year in a multi-player swap. But things have not gone well for him since he landed in Kansas City.
Through 24 1/3 innings with the Royals, most of them coming down the stretch in 2017, Maurer owns an 8.88 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 14 free passes. He has continued to be bombed in his six Triple-A frames since being optioned earlier this season, recording an 8:1 K/BB ratio but coughing up 11 earned runs on 11 hits.
Knocking Down The Door: Fowler, Guerrero, Staumont, Stewart, Urias
“Knocking Down the Door” is a regular feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.
Dustin Fowler, CF, Athletics (Triple-A Nashville) | Athletics Depth Chart
Despite a devastating leg injury that occurred during the first inning of his MLB debut last June, many still expected Fowler to be the starting center fielder on Opening Day. While health did not appear to be a major factor—he had 47 plate appearances in 19 games this spring—the 23-year-old was understandably rusty at the plate. He hit just .222 with two walks and 13 strikeouts in the Cactus League. As a result, his Oakland A’s debut would have to wait until he began to show the form that catapulted him up prospect lists with the Yankees last season (.871 OPS, 13 HR, 19 2B, 8 3B, 13 SB in 70 Triple-A games). If the last seven games are any indication, he is getting close.
With 14 hits in his past 33 at-bats, including his first two homers of the season, a trio of three-hit games, three doubles and a pair of triples, Fowler has boosted his batting average over the .300 mark. He also has six stolen bases, which is a good indication that he’s recovered from his injury. The versatile Mark Canha has been productive while getting the majority of starts in center field as of late, but he’ll move back into a part-time role once Fowler arrives.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire) | Blue Jays Depth Chart
A 19-year-old with only a few weeks of Double-A experience has no business being on this list. Or being this good, even if his father is a Hall of Famer. But Vladimir Jr., after just 96 plate appearances, is making it clear that he has no business being at this level for much longer. The right-handed hitting third baseman is slashing .380/.442/.582 with two homers, eight doubles, 10 walks and 10 strikeouts in his first 20 games. He was also 7-for-13 in MLB camp during an impressive spring that he capped off with a walk-off homer in an exhibition game in Montreal.
The only question for now is whether he makes a stop in Triple-A before he begins his MLB career. Once he’s in the Majors, he’ll be in the lineup on a regular basis. With Josh Donaldson expected back soon from the disabled list after missing time with shoulder discomfort, it’s possible that Guerrero spells him at third base a few days per week and serves as the designated hitter on other days. The odd man out would be Kendrys Morales, who is hitless in his last 21 at-bats and is 8-for-50 on the season.
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Josh Staumont, RP, Royals (Triple-A Omaha) | Royals Depth Chart
Entering 2017 as one of the Royals’ best prospects, Staumont flopped in his first full season in the upper minors with a 5.56 ERA and 7.0 BB/9 in 124 2/3 innings between Triple-A and Double-A. A move to the bullpen has him back on track so far in 2018.
While the walks are still an issue—he’s walked seven in 10 1/3 Triple-A innings—he’s allowed just one earned run and hasn’t walked more than one batter in seven of his eight appearances. The 24-year-old right-hander has also struck out 22 batters, including 10 over his past two outings (3 2/3 IP). Coincidentally, the Royals have one of the worst bullpens in the Majors. Their closer, Kelvin Herrera, isn’t part of the problem, but he’s expected to be traded to a contender by July 31st and probably sooner than that. Staumont should get a chance to prove that he can be a part of the team’s late-inning, post-Herrera relief crew.
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Christin Stewart, OF, Tigers (Triple-A Toledo) | Tigers Depth Chart
The Tigers had a fairly uneventful offseason, which wasn’t totally unexpected as they moved toward a rebuild. But with several free agents available at a discounted rate—Carlos Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez and Jon Jay are just a few examples—it was a bit surprising that they took a hard pass and began the season with Mikie Mahtook and Leonys Martin in their starting outfield. While it’s not clear whether the Stewart factored in to the decision—he hit 28 homers in Double-A in 2017, but also struck out 138 times—he could soon get the chance to show that he can be a part of the solution.
Not only has the 24-year-old left fielder continued to mash in the upper minors—he’s slashing .311/.404/.568 with four homers, five doubles and 11 walks in his first 89 Triple-A plate appearances—he’s also striking out at a much lower rate than in year’s past (24 % in ’17; 15 % in ’18). Playing alongside Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez should only help to continue that trend.
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Luis Urias, 2B, Padres (Triple-A El Paso) | Padres Depth Chart
Padres hitters continue to rack up strikeouts at a record pace. They lead the league with 309 whiffs in 1135 plate appearances and are on their way to surpassing the MLB single-season record of 1571. As a comparison, Urias has struck out 150 times in 1618 plate appearances in the minors. He also has 166 walks. The 20-year-old won’t be their savior in 2018, but he can certainly help this bunch.
Over his first 19 games in Triple-A, Urias is slashing .307/.416/.440 with two homers, four doubles, 13 walks and 15 strikeouts. He has nine hits, six walks and one strikeout over his last 22 plate appearances. The Padres moved quickly to fill two rotation spots with prospects—Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer both debuted in April—and now it’s becoming increasingly possible that Urias joins them to replace the struggling Carlos Asuaje (.576 OPS) as the starting second baseman.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals Release Clay Buchholz
The Royals have released righty Clay Buchholz from his minor-league deal, per a club announcement. He had been pitching in the minors in hopes of earning a call-up to the MLB roster after signing late in Spring Training.
Buchholz, 33, would have earned at a $1.5MM annual rate had he cracked the MLB roster. The contract also came with $250K in available incentives and a May 1st opt-out date.
Clearly, the Royals decided against bringing the veteran hurler onto the major-league roster. Buchholz, in turn, evidently felt he could find greater opportunity with another organization. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of opportunities he fields now that he’s back on the open market.
Buchholz, who has certainly had his fair share of success at the game’s highest level, has produced good results in the upper minors thus far. He has worked 16 innings over three starts, permitting just two earned runs on ten hits. But he’s also carrying a middling 9:7 K/BB in that stretch, and Rustin Dodd of The Athletic tweets that the team has “seemed less bullish about his stuff” over time.
Poll: What Last-Place AL Team Is Likeliest To Turn Its Season Around?
With one day left in April, we’ve already seen a wide gulf emerge within the American League standings. Three clubs (the Red Sox, Yankees, and Astros) are on pace to surpass 105 wins, while six teams are also currently on pace to win fewer than 70 games. By comparison, only six teams in all of baseball failed to surpass the 70-win plateau in 2017.
Obviously, it’s still very early, and there’s plenty of baseball still to be played for these struggling teams. Three teams, however, will head into May in the basement of their respective divisions, and in those cases, a slower start could be much harder to overcome. The Rangers, Royals, and Orioles all faced rather tricky paths to contention even in the best of circumstances, and their poor April records may force them to make some hard decisions about how long they’re willing to go before considering selling pieces at the trade deadline.
Let’s check in on the three last-place teams to see which has the most potential to make April simply a “slow start” en route to a respectable or even a contending season…
Rangers (11-18): With Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, and Rougned Odor all on the disabled list, Texas fans are beginning to have some unpleasant flashbacks to the team’s disastrously injury-plagued 2014 campaign. Still, while the injury bug explains the lack of offensive production, the Rangers’ pitching situation has looked as shaky as it appeared to be heading into the season. Other than the surprise continuation of Bartolo Colon‘s late-career renaissance, it’s been mostly bad news for both the rotation and the bullpen, with Martin Perez, Matt Moore, Matt Bush, Alex Claudio, and Kevin Jepsen all getting off to particularly tough starts.
The team’s big infield trio may not all be back until June, so can the Rangers at least tread water until then? It doesn’t help that the rest of the AL West teams are all at the .500 mark or better, though the Angels (+5), Mariners (-2), and A’s (+3) are all nothing special in terms of run differential. (Of course, Texas is a miserable -39 in that department.) The Rangers will need more arms to step up if they are to turn their season around, plus some internal reinforcements have already come in the form of Delino DeShields and Tony Barnette, who are both back after lengthy DL stints of their own. Top prospect Willie Calhoun could also provide more help for the lineup, though Calhoun is off to a quiet start at Triple-A this year.
Orioles (8-20): The Orioles and Rangers share pretty similar tales of woe. Baltimore has also been hurt by a tough division, a lack of quality starting or relief pitching, plus several key injuries — Zach Britton and Mark Trumbo have yet to play a game, while Jonathan Schoop, Tim Beckham, and Colby Rasmus are all on the DL. Manny Machado‘s individual brilliance has been tempered by a lack of hitting from almost everyone else on roster, with Chris Davis standing out as the single worst position player by fWAR (-0.6) in baseball so far this season.
Dan Duquette unofficially cited Memorial Day as the date when teams begin to evaluate where they really stand in a season, so the O’s therefore have just under a month to get on track. That might be enough time to get at least some of the injured parties back, plus it’ll give time for Alex Cobb to hopefully start rounding into form given that the late-to-sign righty has a 13.11 ERA over his first three starts. On paper, Baltimore has too much hitting talent to be as bad as they are at the plate, so you figure that at least some type of positive correction is in store.
Royals (7-20): The Royals held off on a full-fledged rebuild over the winter, though their decision about whether to try for another playoff run may have been made for them by their lousy April. The Royals entered Sunday’s play with the fewest runs in the majors, as only Mike Moustakas and Jorge Soler were putting up good numbers at the plate, and some quality returns by the starting rotation have been undermined by arguably baseball’s worst bullpen. Even with closer Kelvin Herrera still boasting a perfect 0.00 ERA through 9 2/3 innings, the road to Herrera has been plagued by potholes, as the relief corps is collectively at or near the bottom of the list in just about every major statistic.
One bright side for the Royals? Their competition. The AL Central has been baseball’s worst division through the first month, with the first-place Indians holding just a 14-12 record. As bad as Kansas City has been, the Royals are still just 4.5 games back of the second-place Tigers. Since the White Sox and Tigers are rebuilding and the Twins are struggling to recapture their 2017 form, there is some opportunity for the Royals to regain some ground if they can beat up on their division foes.
Which of the AL’s last-place squads do you think has the best chance of recovering from its shaky April? (Link for app users)
Which Team Has The Best Chance Of Turning Its Season Around?
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Rangers 54% (5,720)
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Orioles 28% (3,000)
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Royals 18% (1,885)
Total votes: 10,605
Central Notes: Moustakas, Kang, Matheny, Brewers
Some rumblings from around both the AL and NL Central….
- Mike Moustakas looks like a prime candidate for a deadline trade, though in a video for FOX Sports (Twitter link), Ken Rosenthal cautions that the Royals could face some difficulties in finding a trade partner. For one, there aren’t any contenders with an obvious need at third base, though injuries can certainly change that equation. One rival executive tells Rosenthal that it can be hard to trade a single-position rental player like Moustakas at the deadline.
- Jung Ho Kang‘s impending return to the Pirates “is probably his last chance with us,” GM Neal Huntington said on his weekly radio show with Joe Block (hat tip to MLB.com’s Adam Berry). Kang received a work visa earlier this week and is preparing to rejoin the Pirates organization after spending all of 2017 on the restricted list following a DUI conviction in South Korea. Should the infielder face any more off-the-field issues, things “are not going to go well for” Kang with the team, Huntington said. It isn’t any surprise that Kang is on a very short leash given his past history, and he very well could be entering his last few months with the Bucs regardless of how he might perform if and when he returns to the majors. It doesn’t seem likely that the Pirates will exercise their $5.5MM club option on Kang’s services for 2019, barring a major turn-around.
- While closer Corey Knebel has been on the DL, the Brewers‘ adoption of a fully situational bullpen has been a big success, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Manager Craig Counsell has been deploying his pitchers simply as “out-getters,” in his words, and not worrying about using specific arms in specific roles. Entering today’s play, Brewers relievers had a cumulative 2.50 ERA (third-best in baseball) despite heavy usage, as the team has the fourth-most bullpen innings of any club in the league. This outstanding relief effort has helped the Brewers offset some pretty middling numbers from the starting rotation.
- With Mike Matheny set to manage his 1000th game on Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at how Matheny has handled the pressure and expectations of his six-plus seasons running the Cardinals‘ dugout. Despite Matheny’s 559-440 record, he has faced criticism from some corners of the St. Louis fanbase for not having either the consistent success (particularly after consecutive non-playoff seasons) or the openness to publicly discuss decisions as former skipper Tony La Russa. Behind closed doors, however, Matheny has been praised for his leadership and teaching skills. “He’s got a lot of talents….He has it all covered,” Michael Wacha said. “Whenever he talks in front of a group of people that group of people is leaning in, listening to what he’s saying. He carries that confidence that he knows he belongs where he is.”
Royals Release Tyler Collins
The Royals have released outfielder Tyler Collins, according to Rustin Dodd of The Athletic (via Twitter). He was playing at the organization’s top affiliate on a minor-league deal.
Collins, 27, had seen MLB action over the past four seasons with the Tigers. He has had his share of opportunities, but has only managed a .235/.299/.380 slash in 552 plate appearances in the majors.
It seemed that Collins might have a shot at earning some time in the K.C. outfield mix, but he turned in a tepid performance in the Cactus League. And he never got going at Triple-A Omaha, where he has managed just seven base hits — all singles — in his 62 plate appearances.
AL Central Notes: Yost, Hale, Kinley, Wilson
Ned Yost’s current contract expires at season’s end, but Royals general manager Dayton Moore tells Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports that the organizational hope is that Yost will be managing the team beyond this season. “We definitely want him back,” Moore said.Heyman indicates that the decision on whether Yost remains in Kansas City appears to be one that is dependent on Yost’s own personal preferences. Yost hasn’t made up his mind about managing beyond 2018 yet, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan, who notes that Moore has suggested for years that Yost will effectively have the reins in Kansas City for as long as he likes. Rustin Dodd of The Athletic tweets that Yost says his goal is to see the rebuild through to the point where his successor will be positioned for early success.
More from the division…
- The Twins tried to sign right-hander David Hale this offseason, GM Thad Levine told reporters today after claiming Hale off waivers (link via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger). “We think we may have been the runners-up to the Yankees in terms of enticing him to come to Spring Training,” said Levine. “From a pitch profile standpoint, we’ve liked him. I think at this stage in the year, it’s important to add to your depth, and we did that. He can pitch in a variety of roles.” The 30-year-old Hale has a 4.33 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9 and a 52.1 percent ground-ball rate in 180 1/3 innings at the Major League level.
- Also from Bollinger’s piece, the Twins are hoping they can find a way to retain right-hander Tyler Kinley, whom they selected in the Rule 5 Draft but designated for assignment yesterday. Kinley will first have to be exposed to waivers, but if he clears, the Twins could look to work out a trade with the Marlins that would allow them to keep Kinley in their minor league ranks. “We’ve talked about the possibility of what had to be done, even last night, to be able to keep him in a Twins uniform,” manager Paul Molitor told reporters. “I don’t know how likely that is. But we’ll see what kind of response and interest there is.”
- Tigers reliever Alex Wilson is going through the toughest stretch of his career, he told reporters after serving up a walk-off homer to Corey Dickerson today (links via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com and George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press). “The only other time I can think of searching a little bit was Double-A, my first go-round in Double-A,” said Wilson. “And that was just learning curve. It’s not so much that anymore. I feel good about what I’m doing. It’s just not being rewarded right now.” Woodery notes that the Tigers have been quick to take action with struggling players this season, optioning Mikie Mahtook and designating Drew VerHagen for assignment. However, Woodbery adds that the Tigers will likely try to get him straightened out in some low-leverage spots before considering a more drastic move. As he points out, Wilson does have a minor league option remaining.
AL Injury Notes: Rangers, Royals, Mariners, Orioles
The Rangers activated center fielder Delino DeShields from the DL prior to their game Sunday and sent fellow center fielder Carlos Tocci to the DL with a bruised left hip. This represents a quick return for DeShields, who suffered a broken left hamate bone March 31 and was expected to miss four to six weeks. Neither Tocci, a Rule 5 pick, nor Drew Robinson effectively grabbed the reins in center during DeShields’ absence. Rangers center fielders have hit a league-worst .148/.242/.193 in 100 trips to the plate, 92 of which have come from Robinson and Tocci.
- The Royals have promoted right-hander Clay Buchholz from Double-A to Triple-A, per Tony Boone of the Omaha World-Herald. Buchholz will make a rehab start Sunday, his second of the year, and could debut with the Royals as early as next Saturday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com suggests (Twitter link). The 33-year-old Buchholz, who missed nearly all of last season with the Phillies after undergoing surgery to repair a flexor tear in his right forearm, joined the Royals last month on a minor league contract. That deal includes a May 1 opt-out, perhaps making it all the more likely the Royals will promote him – especially considering how poorly fifth starter Eric Skoglund has fared in the early going.
- Meanwhile, injured Royals cornerstones Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon are “very close” to returning, manager Ned Yost told Rustin Dodd of The Athletic and other reporters on Sunday. Yost added that both players could come back from their rehab assignments during Kansas City’s next series, which begins Tuesday. Perez suffered a Grade 2 MCL tear in his left knee on March 28, while Gordon has been out since April 10 with a labral tear in his left hip. Gordon got off to a woeful start (.174/.208/.217 in 24 PAs), as has his team, which entered Sunday with the worst record in the AL (4-15).
- The Mariners reinstated righty Erasmo Ramirez from the DL on Sunday and somewhat surprisingly optioned outfielder Guillermo Heredia to Triple-A. In doing so, they bought more time for franchise icon and fellow outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, whom Heredia has easily outplayed thus far. Ichiro, the game’s oldest position player at 44, has opened with an unusual .212/.212/.212 line in 33 trips to the plate. The 27-year-old Heredia, on the other hand, has slashed .310/.417/.552 with a pair of homers in 37 PAs. Ramirez, who had been down with a lat strain since spring training, slotted back into Seattle’s rotation Sunday.
- Orioles designated hitter Mark Trumbo hasn’t played this season because of a quad strain he suffered in mid-March. Trumbo previously opened a rehab assignment earlier this month, only to halt it after feeling discomfort. He’ll take another crack at it beginning Monday, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report. The plan is for Trumbo to play three games apiece at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, per manager Buck Showalter.
AL Central Notes: V-Mart, Buchholz, Eloy, Cordell
Tigers DH Victor Martinez hasn’t made any formal decisions on his future, but the five-time All-Star at least hinted at retirement following the 2018 season during an interview with MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. The 39-year-old Martinez, who missed time last season due to an irregular heartbeat, talks with Castrovince about the frightening incident when he first felt symptoms during a game — a sensation that was all the more troublesome given the history of heart issues that runs in his family. As Castrovince explains at greater length, Martinez lost his father to a heart attack at a young age, which only serves as further motivation for him to spend as much time with his own children as possible.
“Honestly? I’m ready,” the longtime Tigers slugger tells Castrovince. “…I know I left everything in this game. I think the biggest problem for athletes is they don’t know what to do after baseball. That won’t be my problem.”
More from the division…
- The Royals assigned minor league signee Clay Buchholz to Double-A after he showed well in extended Spring Training, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Buchholz, who missed nearly all of the 2017 season following surgery to repair a flexor tear in his right forearm, tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings with one hit, two walks and five strikeouts in the first of what should be multiple rehab outings. Flanagan reminds that Buchholz has a May 1 opt-out date in his deal, however, so Kansas City could have to make a call on the longtime Red Sox righty before too long. With Nate Karns on the disabled list and Eric Skoglund struggling through his first two starts, there does appear to be room to fit Buchholz into the mix in Kansas City.
- The White Sox announced that top prospect Eloy Jimenez has recovered from the pectoral strain that sidelined him to open the season, and he’ll head to Double-A Birmingham in place of the recently released Courtney Hawkins. As James Fegan of The Athletic writes, the release of Hawkins makes it all the more likely that Chicago’s 2012 draft will prove to yield little to no value at the big league level. But, the Sox also now boast considerably stronger outfield depth in Class-A Advanced and in Double-A, representing a noted turnaround from recent seasons. Jimenez made an 18-game cameo in Double-A last season but figures to spend a greater chunk of time there, as well as some time in Triple-A, before being moved up to the big league level.
- News on fellow White Sox outfield prospect Ryan Cordell is less encouraging than the Jimenez update; Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago tweeted this week that the 26-year-old Cordell is expected to miss at least eight weeks after suffering a fractured collarbone. Cordell, acquired in the trade that sent Anthony Swarzak to the Brewers last summer, had a monster performance in Spring Training but had gotten off to a slow start in Triple-A Charlotte this year. Injuries have slowed Cordell’s path to the big leagues considerably in recent seasons, but he’s on the 40-man roster and had been viewed as a prospect likely to make his big league debut this season before this latest setback. It’s possible, of course, that Cordell recovers and appears for the ChiSox later this season.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Realmuto, Moustakas, Machado, Donaldson
The Mets made repeated inquiries on Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto during the offseason, says Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic in a video tweet. They also asked the Marlins about Starlin Castro. However, at that point in the winter, the club had just traded Christian Yelich to the Brewers, and they had also unloaded the contracts of Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna; they weren’t looking to cut any more salary at that moment in time. While the Mets are prepared to roll with Tomas Nido and Jose Lobaton for now, Rosenthal suggests that the club could attempt to revisit Realmuto discussions at some point.
More from Rosenthal…
- Although it’s early, Rosenthal suggests that Mike Moustakas looks like a hot trade candidate, citing his physical condition and low salary as selling points for the Royals third baseman. According to GM Dayton Moore, Moustakas is “running as well as he ever has.” Rosenthal figures that Kansas city will be among the most active trade deadline sellers in July, and could also dangle southpaw Danny Duffy, second baseman Whit Merrifield and closer Kelvin Herrera.
- The shifting power structure of Orioles ownership might affect the way the club approaches a potential Manny Machado trade, should they end up willing to deal him. Peter Angelos was always opposed to making trades with the division-rival Yankees, but the younger Angelos’ might not place such a restriction on the concept. There are a number of other reasons to throw cold water on the idea of a Machado-to-Yankees swap, as Rosenthal notes, such as the presence of Brandon Drury and the Yankees’ possible focus on pitching. Still, the idea seems more plausible now that Peter Angelos’ sons are more active in the running of the club.
- One rival executive estimates that there are “tens of millions” of dollars riding on the health of Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson‘s shoulder. Rosenthal posits that the former AL MVP will be much less valuable as a free agent if there are questions surrounding his ability to play third base; much of his value lies in his defensive prowess. Being viewed as a first base/DH type for the bulk of his remaining career could eliminate some NL teams as suitors, and it doesn’t help that Donaldson is about to turn 33.