Central Notes: Cardinals, Yarbrough, Pirates
The Cardinals could activate outfielder Lars Nootbaar from the injured list as soon as tomorrow, according to John Denton of MLB.com. Nootbaar, who has been on the IL since the beginning of the month with a lower back contusion, has slashed .266/.380/.390 in 184 plate appearances for St. Louis this season, good for a 118 wRC+.
As discussed by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nootbaar’s return will create something of a conundrum for Cardinals manager Oli Marmol, who has moved Tommy Edman from shortstop to the outfield in recent weeks, a change the switch-hitter has taken well to. Goold suggests that the return of Nootbaar, who can play quality defense in all three outfield spots, would give Marmol the option to shift Edman back to the infield, with Nootbaar taking over center and Nolan Gorman spending most days at DH. Otherwise, Marmol could leave Edman in the center and use Nootbaar and Dylan Carlson in the corners while allowing Jordan Walker, who has struggled to adjust to outfield work after spending most of his minor league career on the infield dirt, to DH.
Whatever defensive alignment the Cardinals end up with, Nootbaar’s return figures to help boost the club as it struggles to stay relevant in the NL Central. Despite an abysmal 29-43 record leaving them 8.5 games back in the NL Central, St. Louis still has a 12.1% chance to make the playoffs, per Fangraphs, thanks to their weak competition in the division.
More from around the Central divisions…
- Royals left-hander Ryan Yarbrough is set to begin a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League tomorrow, per a club announcement. That’s fantastic news for not only fans in Kansas City, but all around baseball considering the circumstances of Yarbrough’s injury. The lefty was placed on the injured list in early May with multiple head fractures after being struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Oakland slugger Ryan Noda. Prior to his injury, Yarbrough had struggled badly across ten appearances with the Royals, posting a 6.15 ERA and 5.17 FIP in 26 1/3 innings of work.
- Following today’s news that the Pirates are poised to promote 2021 first overall pick Henry Davis to the majors tomorrow, manager Derek Shelton told reporters, including MLB.com’s Justice delos Santos, that the club’s current catching tandem of Austin Hedges and Jason Delay would remain on the roster. With Pittsburgh planning to carry three catchers as Davis breaks into the majors, it’s worth wondering how the club plans to use Davis. While the youngster was drafted and has been used primarily as a catcher, he’s also started 15 games in right field over the past two seasons while mixing in starts at DH. Of course, the DH slot in Pittsburgh is largely occupied by Andrew McCutchen, leaving right field as Davis’s most likely home on days where Hedges or Delay start behind the plate. Connor Joe and Josh Palacios are currently manning right for the Pirates in a timeshare.
Royals Select Matt Beaty, Place Michael Massey On 10-Day IL
The Royals announced that they have selected the contract of utiltyman Matt Beaty from Triple-A, and placed second baseman Michael Massey on the 10-day injured list due to a left hand laceration. MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported earlier today that Beaty had a locker in the team’s clubhouse, and that Massey was likely headed to the IL with “a deep cut right on his knuckle, so he’s unable to move it much right now.” Vinnie Pasquantino (whose season has been ended by shoulder surgery) was moved to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Beaty.
After signing a minor league deal with Kansas City in January, Beaty was traded to the Giants on Opening Day, and he ended up appearing in four games for San Francisco while being optioned to the minors on multiple occasions and eventually designated for assignment. Beaty elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, and then returned to the Royals on a new minor league deal earlier this week.
Now, Beaty finally looks set to make his official debut in a K.C. uniform. The 30-year-old made his big league debut with the Dodgers in 2019, and hit .262/.333/.425 over 556 plate appearances in part-time action over the next three seasons, earning a World Series ring in 2020. Los Angeles traded Beaty to the Padres in March 2022 but the SoCal move went poorly, as Beaty played in only 20 games for San Diego last season while missing the bulk of the year due to a shoulder injury.
Beaty has experience at both corner infield and outfield positions, with first base and left field being his primary positions. He could help out at all four spots plus the DH role in Kansas City, though first base might be a less-frequent role since Beaty and Nick Pratto are both left-handed hitters. In what is already looking like a lost season for the Royals, the team will surely prioritize giving Pratto everyday at-bats as a small silver lining to the blow that was Pasquantino’s shoulder injury.
Massey has seen most of the playing time at second base this season, though Matt Duffy, Nicky Lopez, and Maikel Garcia have also gotten some work at the keystone for platoon reasons and because Massey hasn’t hit much. The 25-year-old has batted .217/.279/.315 over 204 PA, with four home runs. Beaty’s availability for third base could open the door for Garcia or Lopez to play second base in Massey’s absence.
Royals Designate Mike Mayers, Select Brooks Kriske
The Royals announced that right-hander Mike Mayers has been designated for assignment. Mayers’ roster spot will be filled by fellow righty Brooks Kriske, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.
Mayers signed a minor league contract with Kansas City during the offseason, and when that contract was selected last month, Mayers added an eighth MLB season to his resume by appearing in six games for the Royals. Working as a bulk pitcher in four outings and as a proper starter in his other two games, Mayers had a 1.35 ERA over his first 13 1/3 innings before things soured, as he has given up 16 earned runs over his last 13 innings of work.
All in all, Mayers has a 6.15 ERA over 26 1/3 frames, with a tiny 14.3% strikeout rate. Mayers has generally not been a big strikeout pitcher over his career, apart from his two best seasons. He broke out with a 30.5 K% over 105 innings with the Angels in 2020-21, posting a 3.34 ERA while working mostly out of Anaheim’s bullpen. However, Mayers struggled in 2022, leading the Angels to outright him to Triple-A before waiving him after the season.
With teams always in need of pitchers who can eat innings, there’s a chance another club could put in a claim on Mayers. If he clears waivers, Mayers can elect to become a free agent again rather than an accept an outright assignment to Triple-A, since he has been outrighted before in his career.
Kriske was another minor league signing during the Royals’ offseason, as he made a return to North American baseball after spending the 2022 season in Japan. Pitching for the Yokohama BayStars, Kriske had a 2.57 ERA over 21 innings in Nippon Professional Baseball, while also making 14 appearances for the BayStars’ top minor league team. Kriske’s MLB experience consists of 15 innings with the Yankees and Orioles in 2020-21, with Kriske posting a 14.40 ERA in that small sample size.
Royals Release Jackie Bradley Jr.
TODAY: The Royals announced that Bradley has been released.
JUNE 12: The Royals announced Monday that they’ve designated veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to outfielder Dairon Blanco, whose selection to the big league roster is now official.
Bradley, the longtime Red Sox center fielder, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason and joined Matt Duffy and the since-released Franmil Reyes as veteran non-roster invitees who made the club out of spring training. Bradley wasn’t able to correct the offensive nosedive that began in 2021, however, hitting just .133/.188/.210 in 113 trips to the plate with Kansas City.
Even when he was hitting for a low average with the Red Sox late last decade, Bradley walked enough to maintain respectable on-base percentages and hit for some power to help prop up his overall production. That’s all evaporated in recent years, however. Bradley had a strong .283/.364/.450 showing with the Red Sox during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but he’s since turned in 911 plate appearances with a dreadful .176/.238/.275 batting line, a below-average 6.2% walk rate and minimal extra-base pop (42 doubles, four triples, 11 homers, .099 ISO).
The Royals’ outfield has been the least-productive unit in MLB this year. Kansas City’s outfielders have combined for a disastrous .200/.268/.328 batting line, with Bradley’s struggles factoring into the group’s MLB-worst wRC+ (62). Bradley alone is hardly to blame, as the Royals have received below-average production from MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Drew Waters and Nate Eaton. The previously mentioned Reyes and fellow veteran Hunter Dozier also had brief, unproductive appearances in the outfield prior to being released. Edward Olivares is the only player on Kansas City’s roster who’s delivered even average offense while playing the outfield.
Kansas City will have a week to trade Bradley, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He has the service time to reject an outright assignment even if he clears waivers, and it’s hard to imagine a team trading for him. One way or another, a return to the free-agent market seems likely in the near future.
Don Hood Passes Away
Former major league pitcher Don Hood passed away last Saturday, according to an obituary from a South Carolina funeral home. He was 73 years old.
A native of Florence, South Carolina, Hood was a first-round pick of the Orioles in the 1969 draft. He reached the majors within four years, debuting during his age-23 season. The left-hander started four of eight appearances for Baltimore as a rookie. He’d make 20 appearances (18 in relief) the next season.
After the 1974 campaign, the O’s dealt Hood alongside former MVP Boog Powell to the Indians for catcher Dave Duncan. Hood would spend the bulk of his career in Cleveland, pitching there for four-plus seasons. His best year came in 1977, when he pitched to an even 3.00 ERA over 105 innings. He worked mostly in long relief for the Indians but twice started 19 games in a season, including a career-high 154 2/3 frames during the ’78 campaign.
Halfway through the 1979 season, Cleveland flipped Hood to the Yankees for first baseman Cliff Johnson. Hood posted a 3.07 ERA in 67 1/3 frames during his only partial season in the Bronx. He bounced around late in his career via free agency, signing with the Cardinals and Royals. He closed his career with a personal-best 2.27 ERA in 47 2/3 frames for the 1983 Royals.
Hood played parts of ten years in the big leagues. He pitched in 297 games, starting 72 of them. Over 848 1/3 innings, he worked to a 3.79 ERA with 374 strikeouts. Hood won 34 contests and finished 84 games.
MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.
Royals Sign Adeiny Hechavarria To Minor League Deal
The Royals have added a pair of former MLB infielders out of independent ball on minor league deals, per a team announcement. Adeiny Hechavarría is headed to Triple-A Omaha, while Jack Reinheimer will report to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Hechavarría is the more notable of the duo. He was an everyday player for the Marlins early in his career and has tallied nearly 1000 games over nine MLB seasons. A career .253/.291/.351 hitter, Hechavarría was a bottom-of-the-lineup defensive specialist. He hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2020, as he played in Japan from 2021-22.
The 34-year-old spent Spring Training with the Braves this season. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster and was released. Hechavarría signed with the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks in April. He hit .297/.382/.538 with seven homers in 38 games to earn his way back to affiliated ball.
Reinheimer, 30, has 23 games of MLB experience between the Diamondbacks and Mets in 2017-18. He’s been in the Atlantic League with the Gastonia Honey Hunters, where he’s impressed with a .313/.421/.513 line with as many walks as strikeouts. The East Carolina product is a .266/.334/.358 hitter over parts of five Triple-A campaigns.
While the Royals have added some infield experience, they’re losing a bit of catching depth. Jakson Reetz is opting out of his minor league deal, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams (Twitter link). The righty-hitting backstop played in two big league contests with the Nationals back in 2021. He’s been in Omaha this year, putting together a quality .274/.349/.526 slash through 106 trips to the dish.
Royals Recall Samad Taylor For MLB Debut
The Royals recalled utility player Samad Taylor from Triple-A Omaha this afternoon. Nate Eaton was optioned in a corresponding move.
Taylor, acquired from the Blue Jays as part of last summer’s Whit Merrifield swap, is in the big leagues for the first time. The 24-year-old was added to Kansas City’s 40-man roster last offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He’s spent this entire season on optional assignment to Omaha. The righty-swinging Taylor has had an excellent start for the Storm Chasers, hitting .304/.409/.463 in 62 games. He’s walking at a huge 14.1% clip against a solid 19.6% strikeout rate.
Listed at 5’8″, Taylor doesn’t have huge power. He’s an up-the-middle defender who has split his time between second base and center field. Taylor also has plus speed and has already stolen 34 bags in Triple-A this year. He’s not in tonight’s starting lineup against the Angels but could factor in off the bench.
Johan Camargo Opts Out Of Deal With Royals
Infielder Johan Camargo has been released by the Royals, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. MLBTR has learned that he triggered an opt-out in his deal. The Octagon client is now on the open market and free to sign with any club.
Camargo, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Royals this winter. He began the year on the minor league injured list but joined Triple-A Omaha in mid-May. That’s limited him to just 68 plate appearances in 15 games so far this year, but he has made the most of those. He has walked and struck out 11 times each for a strong 16.2% rate in both categories while hitting four home runs in that brief spell. His .298/.412/.544 batting line amounts to a 140 wRC+, indicating he’s been 40% better than league average in that time.
That’s a small sample of Triple-A work, but it’s understandable that Camargo would want to use that platform to survey the open market if the Royals weren’t willing to call him up. He also has plenty of major league work on his résumé, though generally as a light-hitting utility player. He’s hit .255/.313/.410 over the past six major league seasons with Atlanta and Philadelphia, which translates to a wRC+ of 90. He’s done so while spending time at all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners. He’s also a switch-hitter, which adds to his versatility.
Given his track record and strong start this year, he could have earned himself a promotion into a big league bench job. The Royals have a regular infield mix consisting of Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Massey, Maikel Garcia, Nicky Lopez and Nick Pratto, with Matt Duffy currently serving as the veteran utility guy off the bench. Duffy has a strong .312/.365/.403 line on the year and the club will seemingly stick with him instead of turning to Camargo.
That will allow Camargo the chance to look for opportunities elsewhere. Plenty of clubs around the league are dealing with significant injuries and they could be intrigued by a versatile player who’s been hot of late. If he is able to get himself back onto a 40-man roster, he is out of options but he could be retained via arbitration for 2024 since he won’t be able to get to six years of service time this year.
Vinnie Pasquantino To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
The Royals announced Wednesday that first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino will require surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He’s expected to miss the remainder of the 2023 season. “It’s tough,” Pasquantino told the Royals’ beat after the announcement (Twitter link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). “But this is something where we can just go ahead and attack this now and be better come 2024.”
It’s an awful development for an already last-place Royals club that has won the fewest games in baseball (18) and has the sport’s second-worst run differential (-104). The 25-year-old Pasquantino has proven to be an 11th-round steal in the 2019 draft, mashing his way to top prospect status before making his MLB debut in 2022. Dating back to last year, he’s played in 133 games and tallied 558 plate appearances for the Royals, batting .272/.355/.444 with 19 homers and 27 doubles.
Through the season’s first two months, Pasquantino boasted a .267/.343/.471 slash, but when the calendar flipped to June his bat evaporated. The lefty had just one hit in 23 June plate appearances. Given that there wasn’t one specific play on which the injury is known to have occurred, it’s certainly possible that it was impacting him throughout that cold streak before he ultimately landed on the injured list.
With Pasquantino on the injured list, fellow homegrown first baseman Nick Pratto will likely be given the everyday reins at first base. Kansas City had already been getting Pratto’s promising bat in the lineup as often as possible, giving him DH and corner outfield work to maximize his exposure to big league pitching. The results have been good, with the former No. 14 overall draft pick batting .281/.367/.425 in 169 plate appearances. Pratto, however, is also punching out at an untenable 34.3% rate and currently boasts a sky-high .430 BABIP. There’s likely some regression in store, particularly if he can’t cut back on that alarming strikeout rate.
Pasquantino has been one of the Royals’ only good hitters so far in 2023. He, Pratto, Salvador Perez, utilityman Matt Duffy and outfielder Edward Olivares are the only Kansas City hitters with even average offensive output, by measure of wRC+. The Royals currently sit 26th in MLB in team batting average (.230), 26th in slugging percentage (.378), 28th in runs scored (251) and 30th in on-base percentage (.293). Subtracting Pasquantino from an already inept offense is a gut punch. The Royals likely didn’t have any delusions about their standing at the trade deadline, but losing their promising young first baseman for the season only further solidifies them as a surefire seller.
Pasquantino will eventually be placed on the 60-day injured list whenever the Royals need to open a spot on the 40-man roster. He’ll continue to accrue Major League pay and service time while rehabbing, and he’ll finish out the 2023 season with exactly two years of MLB service time. That’ll keep him on track for arbitration eligibility following the 2024 season and free agency following 2027 season. An extension or a future optional assignment to the minors could change that outlook, of course.
Picollo: Royals Have No Intention Of Trading Salvador Perez
The Royals head into tonight’s series opener with the Reds sitting on a dismal 18-47 record. They’ve dropped six straight, and a surprising five-game win streak from the A’s has pulled Oakland within two games of K.C. in the race to the bottom of the league.
Kansas City is clearly ticketed for another summer as a deadline seller. While the Royals have a few interesting trade chips who seem likely to change uniforms within the next two months, franchise backstop Salvador Perez is not among them. Royals general manager J.J. Picollo went on record to quash speculation about a Perez deal, saying the organization doesn’t “have any intention of trading Salvy and it’s not something we are looking to do” (link via Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star).
Last week, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported the Royals were open to packaging other veteran players in trade discussions involving reliever Aroldis Chapman. That fueled some loose speculation about Perez’s potential involvement, though that always seemed far-fetched for myriad reasons. Picollo stated that another team reached out to inquire about the backstop’s availability but downplayed the importance of that (via Anne Rogers of MLB.com).
Even if the front office had a desire to move Perez, they’d face a number of hurdles. Foremost is his full no-trade protection as a 10-and-5 player (one with ten years of MLB service, the past five of which have come with his current team). “He completely controls the destiny and he has told us over and over again he wants to be a Royal his whole career,” the GM said.
Perez could kill any trade talks from the get-go. Even if he reconsidered moving on from the only franchise he’s ever known, a deadline trade would be tough to engineer. Significant midseason deals for catchers are rare, with teams often apprehensive about an incoming backstop adjusting to an unfamiliar pitching staff on the fly.
There’d also be a noteworthy financial component to any Perez trade. He’s playing this season on a $20MM salary. He’ll take home a matching figure next year and is guaranteed $22MM for 2025. There’s also a $2MM buyout on a $13.5MM club option covering the ’26 campaign. All told, Perez would have a little under $54MM in guaranteed money still remaining on the deal at the deadline.
That’s a hefty figure for another club to take on midseason. Trades of players with significant contracts can be easier to put together over the offseason, when clubs have greater budgetary flexibility and/or more time to ship out money in other deals. Kansas City would likely have had to eat some of that money to facilitate a trade. The front office probably isn’t eager about doing so considering Perez’s importance to the franchise as a seven-time All-Star and anchor of their 2015 World Series club.
To his credit, the 33-year-old has continued to produce offensively even as the lineup around him has floundered. Perez is hitting .273/.308/.502 through 247 trips to the plate. His 13 home runs are the most in the majors for a catcher. As has been the case throughout his career, Perez has gotten below-average marks for his pitch framing from public metrics. He’s clearly respected for his unquantifiable work with the pitching staff, however, and the Royals have kept him behind the plate while primarily moving MJ Melendez to the corner outfield.
Even with Perez all but a lock to stick in Kansas City past August 1, Picollo and his staff should be able to make some moves. Chapman is as likely as anyone in the sport to be traded, perhaps early in deadline season. Closer Scott Barlow, arbitration-eligible through 2024, could be on the move. Hard-throwing righty Josh Staumont could intrigue some clubs if healthy (he’s currently out with a neck strain), while players like Nicky Lopez and Matt Duffy might have modest appeal to teams trying to add a depth infielder.