Royals Make A Number Of Roster Moves
The Kansas City Royals have been busy this afternoon. They announced a number of roster moves. In terms of additions, Kelvin Gutierrez has been reinstated to the active roster from the injured list, and Nick Heath has been recalled. To make room, Matt Reynolds has been designated for assignment and Ryan McBroom has been assigned to the team’s alternate training site.
Heath, 26, has 2 hits in 6 at-bats this season for the Royals, his first taste of big-league action. The speedy centerfielder split 2019 between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .255/.345/.387. Heath is a burner who will get into games as a pinch-runner. He stole 60 bases last year in 73 attempts for an 82% success rate.
Gutierrez has been a top-20 prospect for the Royals, but an elbow strain sent him to the 60-day injured list in July. He debuted last season, appearing in 20 games and slashing .269/.304/.356 as their starting third baseman for much of May. Injuries slowed his progress before a toe fracture ended his season in September. Maikel Franco takes his licks as the Royals’ regular third baseman these days, but the 26-year-old Gutierrez will serve as his backup, per MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter). Franco has spent time DHing recently due to a leg injury, so Gutierrez may get some playing time right off the bat. He’ll be at the hot corner and batting sixth for the Royals today.
Gutierrez ostensibly takes Reynolds’ roster spot. The 29-year-old journeyman had taken on the backup third baseman role, but he went hitless in 11 at-bats while striking out 7 times. Reynolds was called up from the alternate training site earlier this week, but he’ll now be exposed to waivers before reassignment.
McBroom is probably the most recognizable name of the bunch. He’s appeared in 34 games for the Royals this season. Most of his time has come at first base or designated hitter, but he’s also frequently been brought off the bench as a pinch-hitter and occasionally sees time in the outfield corners. A triple slash of .253/.291/.493 contributed negative 0.1 rWAR, but positive 0.2 fWAR for the 28-year-old this season. With Franco taking at-bats at designated hitter because of his leg injury, the Royals have less need for McBroom’s power bat.
Rays Acquire Outfielder Michael Gigliotti From Royals
The Rays have acquired speedy outfielder Michael Gigliotti from the Royals to complete a July 21st trade, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The deal allowed Kansas City to keep control over Rule 5 draft pick Stephen Woods Jr. The Royals have announced the deal. The team also announced the release of Ofreidy Gomez and the addition of right-hander Alec Marsh to the team’s alternate training site.
The Royals selected Woods with the 4th overall pick of the 2019 Rule 5 draft. The 25-year-old right-hander made two appearances for the Royals this season without yielding a run. He was making the jump to the show from High-A, but this deal allows the Royals to move him freely from the active roster to the alternate training site as they so choose.
Gigliotti was a 4th round draft choice of the Royals in 2017. Baseball America ranked him as the Royals #27 overall prospect heading into the 2020 season, while Fangraphs did not place him among their top 43 prospects. Fangraphs prospect scribe Eric Longenhagen wrote, “Gigliotti has the best approach and contact skills of this group but he’s performed against competition much younger than him and has been hurt a lot.” The slender 24-year-old split 2019 between the Royals of the Arizona League, Single-A, and High-A. Across the three levels, Gigliotti hit .282/.369/.368 while swiping 36 bags.
Royals Move Matt Harvey To Bullpen
Right-hander Matt Harvey has gotten another chance this year to get his once-great career back on track, but he hasn’t been able to take advantage of the opportunity since the Royals promoted him Aug. 18. He’ll now move to the Royals’ bullpen with a couple weeks left in the season, while Carlos Hernandez will join their rotation, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star tweets.
A front-end starter earlier in his career, injuries – including thoracic outlet surgery – knocked Harvey from elite status a few years ago. He hasn’t recovered since, and this is now the second straight horrid season in the majors for the Dark Knight. He struggled so much with the Angels last year that they bailed on him in July 2019 despite an $11MM investment. While Harvey did land a minor league contract with the Athletics the next month, he didn’t make it back to the majors last season and didn’t find another deal until the Royals signed him this past July.
From the non-contending Royals’ standpoint, there wasn’t much to lose in giving the 31-year-old Harvey a shot. The buy-low move has yielded disastrous results so far, though, as Harvey has surrendered 13 earned runs on 22 hits (including five home runs) and an 8:5 K:BB ratio in just 10 innings. He hasn’t lasted longer than three innings in any of his five appearances with KC.
Based on his performance in recent years, Harvey is likely headed for another minor league pact in the offseason. Of course, that’s if anyone wants to roll the dice on a hurler who has recorded a major league-worst 6.07 ERA in 317 1/3 innings since 2017.
Royals Place Jorge Soler On IL
The Kansas City Royals announced that outfielder Jorge Soler has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. Matt Reynolds has been recalled to take his roster spot.
Soler has not appeared in a game since Saturday. The Royals had hoped he’d heal enough from a few days off, but they still hope to get him back before the end of the season. Soler hasn’t quite lived up to the ceiling he set in 2019, but he’s remained a power threat in the middle of the Royals’ order. He owns a triple slash of .235/.331/.456 on the year over 159 plate appearances with 8 long balls and a still-robust .221 ISO.
Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan McBroom have served as designated hitter the last two games. The Royals are likely to cycle different players through the role as long as Soler is out, using the spot to semi-rest regulars like Hunter Dozier, O’Hearn, or Maikel Franco.
Reynolds is a 29-year-old left-side infielder who’s previously appeared in the majors with the Mets and Nationals. He spent all of 2019 with the Nationals’ Triple-A club in Fresno, putting up an impressive triple slash of .295/.401/.521 with 16 home runs. It was his best season by a fair margin, but given his age, the Royals do not likely expect much from Reynolds. That said, he could be one of the players used to cycle through as designated hitter, or he could spell Franco on occasion at third.
Royals Make Multiple Roster Moves
The Royals announced (Twitter links) several minor moves today, including the news that infielder Humberto Arteaga has been released. Kansas City also outrighted left-hander Randy Rosario to the team’s alternate training site, while minor league righties Jonathan Bowlan and Jon Heasley have both been added to the 60-man player pool and will also report to the alternate site.
Rosario will remain in the K.C. organization after he was designated for assignment on Thursday to clear a spot for newly-acquired outfielder Edward Olivares. After coming to Kansas City on a waiver claim last September, Rosario’s first full season with the Royals has been a struggle, over the small sample size of 3 1/3 innings. Rosario has a 8.10 ERA after allowing three runs from seven hits and three walks over four appearances.
Arteaga had been part of the Royals’ 60-man player pool but never got the call up to the big league roster this season. An international signing from the Dominican Republic in 2010, Arteaga’s long stay in the Royals’ farm system finally paid off with his first MLB promotion in 2019, as he hit .197/.258/.230 in 135 plate appearances. Arteaga has mostly played shortstop during his career, but he also offers experience at second and third base to any new team who could be looking for utility infield depth.
Bowlan and Heasley are both 23 years old, and were both members of the Royals’ 2018 draft class — Bowlan was selected in the second round (58th overall) and Heasley in the 13th round. Neither pitcher has worked above the A-ball level, so it’s probably unlikely that either will be promoted to the MLB roster, though their inclusion at the alternate training site will help continue their development given the lack of any proper minor league baseball this season.
Injury Updates: Hamels, Soler, Rays, Ramirez, Yankees
Cole Hamels will throw a live batting practice session on Sunday, as the injury-plagued southpaw might yet still have a chance to factor into the 2020 season. Braves manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and other reporters that “We’re just looking to get through a couple live BPs and see how he is,” perhaps wisely not setting even a speculative timeline given that Hamels battled shoulder issues during Spring Training and is currently on the 45-day injured list recovering from left triceps tendinitis. Bowman speculates that Hamels likely won’t start pitching in simulated games until next weekend at the earliest, so the left-hander might not be able to join the Braves until roughly the last 7-10 days of the regular season.
It makes Hamels into a total wild card for Atlanta’s playoff drive, though with the club looking to have a good shot at the postseason, it isn’t out of the question that Hamels could be part of a playoff roster. Having a former World Series MVP coming out of the bullpen would be quite an interesting wrinkle for Atlanta, though Hamels has only worked as a reliever twice in his 439 career games in the regular season and postseason.
Some more injury situations from around baseball…
- Jorge Soler left tonight’s game due to what the Royals described as right oblique soreness. This is the second time in four days that Soler has exited a game due to such an injury, and perhaps on a related note, Soler is hitless over his last eight plate appearances. Soler has been a few steps behind his big 2019 numbers this season, though he is still hitting a solid .237/.333/.459 with eight homers over 159 PA.
- The Rays have been plagued by pitching injuries this season, and two more hurlers ran into potential issues on Saturday. Newly-acquired southpaw Cody Reed left tonight’s game during the eighth inning with an injury to his pinkie, though manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Jose Toribio (Twitter links) that the problem doesn’t appear to be serious. The news isn’t as good for left-hander Shane McClanahan, as the prospect will miss around two weeks after suffering a hyper-extended left knee during a fielding play at the Rays’ alternate training site. The 31st overall pick of the 2018 draft, McClanahan got some top-100 prospect attention from Baseball Prospectus and Baseball American prior to the season, and there was some speculation Tampa Bay might give the 23-year-old his first taste of big league action sometime in September.
- Marlins outfielder Harold Ramirez had to be carted off the field tonight after suffering what the club described as a left hamstring strain. Ramirez suffered the injury while trying to beat out a grounder during the fifth inning of Miami’s 7-3 win over Tampa Bay. Playing in just his third game of the season, Ramirez was only activated off the injured list today, as he was one of the many Marlins players sidelined after positive COVID-19 tests.
- Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera) with updates on injured sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, saying that Judge will increase his baseball-activity work on Monday. Stanton, who Boone feels is “a little ahead of Judge” in terms of readiness, has already been taking part in baseball activities and is now running at 80 percent as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain.
Royals Designate Randy Rosario For Assignment, Promote Edward Olivares
The Royals have designated left-hander Randy Rosario for assignment in order to open a spot on the active roster for outfielder Edward Olivares, who has been recalled from the alternate training site and will start tonight’s game in center field, manager Mike Matheny announced to reporters (Twitter link via Alec Lewis of The Athletic). Olivares was acquired in the trade that sent closer Trevor Rosenthal to the Padres.
Rosario, 26, was a somewhat promising bullpen prospect as he rose through the Twins’ system several years back, posting quality numbers in the upper minors before getting hit hard in a brief debut look in 2017. The new Minnesota front office took him off the 40-man roster, and upon landing with the Cubs, Rosario turned in a 3.66 ERA in 46 2/3 frames of work as a rookie in 2018. However, his 30-to-22 K/BB ratio in that time didn’t inspire much confidence, and Rosario has indeed been hit hard in subsequent seasons. Dating back to 2019, he has a 5.09 ERA in just 17 2/3 innings.
The Royals had spoken favorably of the hard-throwing Rosenthal, with GM Dayton Moore expressing a desire to keep him long-term, but the addition of Olivares to the Padres’ offer likely made it too tempting to overlook. The 24-year-old got out to a poor .176/.224/.294 start in his debut season this year, but that ugly line came in a tiny sample of just 36 plate appearances.
The overall body of work for Olivares in the minors is much more favorable, highlighted by a .283/.349/.453 showing in the Double-A Texas League last year. That production may not appear especially potent at first glance, but it was 23 percent better than that of a league-average hitter in an extremely pitcher-friendly environment, per wRC+, and Olivares adds plenty of value on the bases and in the field as well.
Beyond the 18 homers on which he connected last year, Olivares collected 25 doubles and a pair of triples while going 35-for-45 in stolen base attempts. Olivares has fanned in a relatively low 17.6 percent of his career minor league plate appearances and is considered an average or better outfielder capable of playing all three spots. At the very least, he seems capable of stepping in as a quality fourth outfielder, but the rebuilding Royals will likely give him ample opportunity to seize an everyday spot in their outfield moving forward.
Ian Kennedy Diagnosed With Grade 2 Calf Strain
An MRI revealed that Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy has a Grade 2 calf strain, manager Mike Matheny tells reporters (Twitter link via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com). The team expects that he’ll need a minimum of three weeks to recover. That doesn’t technically close the door on Kennedy’s 2020 season, but it now seems quite doubtful that he’ll be able to make it back.
It’s been a rough season for the 35-year-old Kennedy, who has yielded 14 runs through 14 innings of work for the Royals. While he’s still missing bats (15 punchouts) and exhibiting solid control (five walks, one intentional), he’s also been tagged for seven big flies already in that tiny sample.
Kennedy has had an up-and-down tenure since signing a surprising five-year, $70MM contract with the Royals prior to the 2016 season. He pitched well in his first year with the club, logging 195 2/3 frames with a 3.68 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning — precisely the type of performance for which the Royals hoped when he put pen to paper. Kennedy’s effectiveness dipped over the next two years, however, as he stumbled to a 5.06 ERA and allowed an average of 1.78 homers per nine frames.
Expectations were relatively minimal when the Royals moved Kennedy to the bullpen in the 2018-19 offseason, but the righty looked rejuvenated in a late-inning role. Kennedy ultimately emerged as the Royals’ closer, pitching to a 3.41 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 while racking up 30 saves. The Royals even received some trade interest in Kennedy last summer as the deadline approached, but they preferred to hang onto their veterans rather than pay down salaries in trades that would net them marginal returns.
The 2020 season was the last of Kennedy’s five-year deal with the Royals, so it’s possible he’s thrown his last pitch for the Kansas City club. He could of course be brought back on a small one-year deal or a minor league arrangement, but he’ll have the opportunity to speak to 29 other clubs before determining what’s next for him.
AL Central Trade Deadline Recap
With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each AL Central team’s trade activity over the past month.
Chicago White Sox
- Acquired cash considerations from Giants for OF Luis Basabe
- Acquired OF Jarrod Dyson from Pirates for international bonus pool space
Cleveland Indians
- Acquired cash considerations from Marlins for RHP James Hoyt
- Acquired OF Josh Naylor, RHP Cal Quantrill, C Austin Hedges, INF Gabriel Arias, LHP Joey Cantillo, and INF Owen Miller from Padres for RHP Mike Clevinger and OF Greg Allen
Detroit Tigers
- Acquired INF Zack Short from Cubs for OF Cameron Maybin
Kansas City Royals
- Acquired INF Lucius Fox from Rays for OF Brett Phillips
- Acquired OF Edward Olivares and a player to be named later from Padres for RHP Trevor Rosenthal
Minnesota Twins
- Acquired INF Ildemaro Vargas from Diamondbacks for cash considerations
AL Injury Notes: Twins, Jays, Kennedy, Hernandez, Odor
Some notes on prominent injury situations around the American League:
- Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli provided encouraging updates on a trio of injured players, via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter links). Star third baseman Josh Donaldson and center fielder Byron Buxton are seemingly nearing their returns, with each scheduled to play in an intrasquad game at the team’s alternate training site this afternoon. Right-hander Cody Stashak is evidently a bit further behind, but he’s lining up for a bullpen session soon, Park reports. If all goes well, he could be back on the active roster shortly thereafter.
- Blue Jays’ closer Ken Giles will throw a live batting practice session tomorrow, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). An impending free agent, Giles has been limited to two appearances this season by a forearm strain. Fellow right-handed reliever Jordan Romano, who looked on his way to breaking through as one of the game’s top strikeout artists before going down with a strained finger, has not yet progressed to throwing, Nicholson-Smith adds. The Toronto organization hopes he’ll be able to return this year, though.
- Royals’ reliever Ian Kennedy is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, the club announced. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). So continues a nightmarish season for the 35-year-old, who has allowed 17 runs (14 earned) in 14 innings. 2020 is the final year of Kennedy’s five-year, $70MM contract.
- The Red Sox are sending reliever Darwinzon Hernández to the 10-day injured list with a sprained AC joint, via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The hard-throwing southpaw missed the first three weeks of the season after testing positive for COVID-19, limiting him to three appearances. They’ve been more of the same for Hernández, who continues to rack up otherworldly strikeout totals while issuing an alarming number of walks.
- Rougned Odor is headed to the Rangers’ 10-day injured list with an eye infection, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). In his stead, shortstop Elvis Andrus is returning from an IL stint of his own. The Rangers discussed an Odor deal with the Red Sox earlier today, but the underperforming second baseman will instead remain in Arlington.