West Notes: Giants, Halos, D-backs, Dodgers, Mariners
The Giants have informed 38-year-old shortstop Jimmy Rollins that he won’t make their roster, Andrew Baggarly of the East Bay Times was among those to report. San Francisco is now awaiting word on whether the longtime Phillie and 2007 NL MVP will accept a minor league assignment, per manager Bruce Bochy, but Baggarly notes that Rollins has a Thursday opt-out in his contract. This could conceivably be the end of the line for Rollins, who posted subpar seasons with the Dodgers and White Sox over the past two years. Chicago released him last June after a 41-game stint on the South Side, and he went on to ink a minors pact with the Giants in December.
More from the West divisions:
- Angels utilityman Dustin Ackley will not opt out of his minor league deal, reports Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The former star prospect will instead go to Triple-A. Ackley, 29, is still recovering from the shoulder surgery he underwent as a Yankee last June; consequently, he hasn’t played the field this spring.
- The Diamondbacks optioned Ketel Marte to Triple-A on Tuesday, meaning they’re primed to divide shortstop between Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings. Manager Torey Lovullo isn’t sure which of the two will get the lion’s share of playing time at short, though “he sort of intimated” Owings will be in the lineup everyday at various positions, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links). Since debuting in 2013, Owings has seen action at both middle infield spots and center field.
- It’s clear that the Dodgers will go with right-hander Brandon McCarthy over southpaw Alex Wood for the fifth spot in their rotation, writes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Wood seems resigned to the idea that he’s headed to the bullpen, observes Plunkett. While the 26-year-old Wood isn’t thrilled, he’s staying upbeat. “If I were anywhere else, I don’t think we’d be having this discussion,” he said. “You can look at it as the glass being half empty or glass half full. It’s one of those things where I’m excited because this is the best team I’ve ever been on. Whatever they want me to do, that’s where we’ll go.” Wood isn’t new to the bullpen, having totaled 35 of 112 career appearances as a reliever, and he could return to the rotation if the injury bug once again bites McCarthy. For now, it appears McCarthy will slot in behind Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Hyun-jin Ryu.
- Mariners reliever Shae Simmons is progressing in his recovery from the forearm strain he suffered March 11, relays Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. An MRI on Tuesday confirmed no ligament damage, but the righty will still go at least a few more days without throwing. As Dutton notes, the 26-year-old Simmons missed almost all of the previous two seasons with the Braves while recovering from Tommy John surgery, so the latest development is an encouraging one.
Article XX(B) Free Agent Decisions
With five days to go until Opening Day, decisions are due at noon eastern on players who qualify as Article XX(B) free agents. The rule applies to players who a) have six or more years of service; b) finished the prior season on a 40-man roster or on the 60-day DL; and c) signed Minor League deals over the offseason. If a team does not release such a player prior to the deadline, then they must either put the player on the active roster (or DL) to start the year or be on the hook for some extra benefits — a $100K retention bonus and June 1st opt-out date (at a minimum).
Here are updates on players who’ll be paid the bonus or have instead learned that they’ve made their respective teams …
- Righty Brandon Morrow will not make the Dodgers roster, but he will remain in the organization, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. Morrow will take a minor-league assignment, and his $100K retention bonus, to open the season.
- Giants minor-league signee Aaron Hill is set to receive his $100K bonus, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News tweets, though that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to take an active roster spot to open the year. Baggarly suggests the veteran still has an excellent chance of earning an Opening Day nod after his solid performance in camp.
- The Angels have informed righty Yusmeiro Petit that he’ll be added to the roster for Opening Day, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. He figures to work as a long reliever and swingman in Los Angeles. Petit struggled in the second half last year for the Nationals, ending the year with a 4.50 ERA over 62 innings.
- Righty Tom Wilhelmsen and lefty Jorge De La Rosa have both been added to the Diamondbacks‘ 40-man roster, the team announced, though only the latter is an Article XX(B) player. They’ll both join the bullpen for the start of the season. Wilhelmsen posted better numbers in the second half of 2016, but still wasn’t quite his former self. Meanwhile, De La Rosa is set to transition to the bullpen after serving mostly as a starter over his 13-year MLB career.
- The Padres will add shortstop Erick Aybar to their roster, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The expectation is that Aybar will be the team’s regular at short to open the season. Clearly, that could change either now or in the future if the organization is able to pick up a somewhat younger player deemed worthy of a shot at a significant MLB opportunity. The 33-year-old Aybar has struggled badly in the past two seasons, though he was a productive, everyday player for years before that.
- Utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and lefty Eric O’Flaherty have been informed they’ll be on the Braves‘ Opening Day roster, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter link). The 31-year-old Bonifacio has struggled badly in his limited big league time over the past two seasons, though he had been a regular contributor before that. Never much with the bat, Bonifacio has long earned his keep through defensive versatility and excellence on the bases. Meanwhile, O’Flaherty has struggled to rediscover his form from his first stint in Atlanta. But he’ll receive another shot after a strong showing this spring; over 10 2/3 innings, O’Flaherty racked up 14 strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits and three walks.
- The Rays have informed both infielder Rickie Weeks and righty Tommy Hunter that they will be on the active roster to open the season, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Weeks is expected to function as a righty bench bat, perhaps spending some time at both first base and DH, while Hunter will take up a spot in the Tampa Bay bullpen. Both players enjoyed productive Grapefruit League stints, with Weeks posting a .999 OPS and Hunter allowing just one earned run (with nine strikeouts against three walks) in his eight innings. Both will require 40-man spots, once the moves are made official. Meanwhile, it’s not yet clear whether the team will commit to doing the same with just-acquired outfielder Peter Bourjos. Topkin tweets that he may instead be paid the roster bonus, though the team’s final decision isn’t yet known.
AL Notes: Heaney, Refsnyder, Rays, Frazier, Gentry
Angels southpaw Andrew Heaney signed a precedent-setting contract with Fantex in September 2015, and discussed the unique arrangement with Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times. “You can look it at as marketing your brand. You can look at it as an insurance policy,” Heaney said. “Obviously, money to one person is totally different than money to another person. I live in Oklahoma. It’s not expensive to live there. I don’t live an extremely lavish lifestyle. I just viewed it as, I want to be comfortable, and I want my family to be taken care of, and I’m OK with that.” Heaney agreed to take $3.34MM from Fantex investors in exchange for 10 percent of any future brand-related earnings (i.e. future salaries, appearances, endorsements), a deal that drew some skepticism from teammate Huston Street after crunching the numbers. “I told him, ‘If you make more than $80MM, then you made a bad deal.’ But if you make less than $80MM, you made a pretty good deal,” Street said. While there is risk involved for Heaney given his high talent ceiling, it could also be argued that he was wise to lock in an early fortune — Heaney made just one start in 2016 and is expected to miss all of the 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer.
Here’s more from around the American League…
- The Rays have interest in Rob Refsnyder, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Tampa is known to be looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder with options remaining, though Refsnyder doesn’t quite check every box for the Rays since he doesn’t play center field (and thus can’t serve as a backup for Kevin Kiermaier). Once one of the Yankees‘ more notable prospects, Refsnyder has fallen back on the depth chart as both an outfielder and an infielder. The Yankees are open to hearing offers for Refsnyder, so there’s a chance a deal could be reached, even though the two AL East rivals are very infrequent trade partners.
- Todd Frazier tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that he hasn’t had any talks with the White Sox about an extension as he heads into the last year of his contract. Despite the lack of negotiations and the trade buzz that has circled around Frazier as a veteran player on a rebuilding team, Frazier says he hopes to remain with the Sox over the long term.
- Winning a job with the Orioles would complete a remarkable turn-around for Craig Gentry, as the outfielder tells Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun that just months ago, he felt his career coming to an end. Gentry suffered a concussion (the sixth of his career) in September 2014 and was bothered by symptoms for almost two years; combined with a lumbar injury last year, Gentry was limited to just 40 total plate appearances over the last two seasons. These issues caused Gentry to question his passion to keep playing, though after his health finally began to improve this offseason, a session with Orioles hitting coach Scot Coolbaugh paved the way for Gentry to sign a minor league deal with the O’s. That contract doesn’t give Gentry an opt-out until the middle of June, though it could be a moot point if Gentry breaks camp with the team.
Luis Valbuena To Miss 4-6 Weeks Due To Hamstring Strain
The Angels will be without Luis Valbuena for an estimated 4-6 weeks after the first baseman suffered a Grade 1 strain in his right hamstring, the club announced. Valbuena suffered the injury yesterday, forcing him to leave a Spring Training game.
Valbuena was signed to a two-year, $15MM contract in January and slated to get the bulk of playing time at first base for the Halos. C.J. Cron will handle first base in Valbuena’s absence, with Jefry Marte in line to pick up some at-bats against right-handed pitching. Albert Pujols underwent foot surgery in December and will only be limited to DH duty in the near future — fears that Pujols could miss the start of the season have seemingly been allayed, since Pujols has been playing regularly since March 10 and hitting very well.
[Updated Angels depth chart at Roster Resource]
While a Grade 1 is the least-serious type of hamstring strain, the injury is still quite troubling given that Valbuena underwent surgery on this same hamstring last August while still a member of the Astros. It’s worth noting that Valbuena originally hit the DL with that injury in late July and missed almost a month before having to undergo his season-ending surgery, so it’s clear that the Angels will be quite cautious in order to prevent more lingering issues. The Angels don’t really have anywhere else to put Valbuena besides first base since Pujols looks to be locked into the DH role.
Valbuena, 31, has hit .243/.334/.442 with 54 homers in 1382 PA for the Cubs and Astros since the start of the 2014 season, including a .260/.357/.459 slash line and 16 big flies over 342 PA for Houston in 2016. Valbuena has hit right-handed pitching much better than southpaws over that stretch, so Cron would’ve likely been in line anyway for a good chunk of playing time when the Angels faced a left-handed starter. There was some trade buzz around Cron earlier this winter in the wake of Valbuena’s signing, though if Valbuena’s hamstring will be an ongoing issue, there seems virtually no chance Cron will be moved.
West Notes: Diamondbacks, Angels, Rockies
Diamondbacks right-hander Archie Bradley has worked solely as a starter at all three minor league levels and the majors, but the team is considering moving him to the bullpen, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The 24-year-old is open to making the switch. “With the way I’m throwing the baseball right now, the way I feel, the way the ball is coming out, I’m comfortable in any role, in any capacity,” Bradley said. “Just put me on this team.” Bradley, whom Baseball America once regarded as a top 10 prospect, made 26 starts for the D-backs last year and managed a 5.02 ERA, 9.08 K/9, 4.26 BB/9 and a 45.1 percent ground-ball rate over 141 2/3 innings. Now, he’s behind Zack Greinke, Taijuan Walker, Robbie Ray, Shelby Miller and Patrick Corbin in Arizona’s rotation pecking order, per Piecoro.
More on Arizona and two other teams in the majors’ West divisions:
- Miller, who endured a nightmarish, well-publicized 2016 with the Diamondbacks, continued to flash high velocity Wednesday, according to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Miller’s four-seam fastball sat between 93 mph and 96 mph (and touched 97 mph), and “the industry is intrigued” by the improved stuff he has shown this spring, relays Castrovince. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo thinks the righty is “ready to do some special things this year,” while Miller says he’s “just trying to have a positive outlook on everything” and not dwell on last season.
- Angels first baseman Luis Valbuena left the team’s game early on Wednesday as a result of right hamstring tightness, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. While the severity is unknown, it’s worth noting that Valbuena missed a large chunk of 2016 with a right hamstring injury and underwent season-ending surgery in August. The Angels will turn to C.J. Cron as their primary first baseman if they lose Valbuena, who’s entering the first season of a two-year, $15MM deal.
- Rockies left-hander Chris Rusin had been vying for one of their available rotation spots before suffering an oblique injury March 3. Rusin returned to throwing on Wednesday, in the form of a 25-pitch bullpen session, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. The 30-year-old hopes to return by Opening Day, but he no longer has a chance to earn a starting job. The Rockies will choose two of Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez, Harrison Musgrave and Kyle Freeland to fill out their rotation behind Jon Gray, Tyler Anderson and Tyler Chatwood.
AL Notes: JD Martinez, Ackley, Kopech, Red Sox, Pineda
Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez suffered a sprain in his mid-right foot while making a catch on Saturday and left the game after just an inning. (Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press has the details.) X-rays were negative and Martinez will be re-evaluated on Sunday before the club decides that any further tests are necessary. He was seen on crutches and left the ballpark in a walking boot, though Martinez told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that “it’s good that I’m able to move on it.” Needless to say, losing Martinez for any extended length of time would jeopardize both the Tigers’ lineup and Martinez’s chances at a big free agent contract next offseason as one of the top players on the open market.
Here’s more from around the American League…
- Dustin Ackley has an opt-out date near the end of Spring Training in his minor league deal with the Angels, the utilityman tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, though he hasn’t decided whether he’ll exercise the clause or remain with the Halos’ Triple-A club. Ackley’s choice is complicated by the fact that he has yet to play the field this spring as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. The veteran tells Fletcher that he can play first base and swing more or less normally, though he isn’t yet able to handle the throwing involved with second base or the outfield. Ackley hopes he can “at least give them [the Angels] some games defensively before camp is over.”
- Michael Kopech was one of the major pieces the White Sox acquired in the Chris Sale trade, and Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago opines that Kopech could follow Sale’s career trajectory by breaking into the bigs as a reliever. The White Sox eased Sale into the majors by using him out of the bullpen in his first two seasons before unleashing him into the rotation, where Sale emerged as one of baseball’s best starters. Kopech only turns 21 in April and has yet to pitch above high-A ball, though if he continues to impress in the minors, Chicago may be tempted to get him to the big leagues by 2018 as a reliever.
- The Red Sox face a number of pressing questions as they head into the season, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes, including some injury concerns for key arms like David Price, Drew Pomeranz and Tyler Thornburg. If these pitchers have to miss time in April, that could be particularly difficult for the club given that Boston faces a tough schedule over the first six weeks, including a lot of division games and tough inter-league matchups against the Cubs, Cardinals and Pirates. As Gammons notes, this could add up to a slow start for the Red Sox, which will only add to the pressure for a team that is expected to challenge for a World Series.
- Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda has already experienced a lot of ups and downs in his career, in no small part due to his struggles with the language barrier, as ESPN’s Andrew Marchand details. Pineda came to MLB with little formal education and virtually no knowledge of English or American culture, which led to some inevitable growing pains (such as Pineda’s infamous suspension for using pine tar in April 2014). The piece is well worth a full read, as it chronicles Pineda’s rise to the majors and the problems that he and many other foreign-born players face upon being thrust into the pressurized environment of pro baseball.
Pitching Notes: Arrieta, Bumgarner, Kopech, Smyly, Angels, Holland
While there’s no evidence of progress between the Cubs and Jake Arrieta on a new contract, the righty provided some interesting thoughts on his outlook to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Arrieta says he believes he may be able to land “a six- or seven-year deal” when he does sign, whether that’s with Chicago or another organization via free agency. And the 31-year-old adds that he’s looking ahead to a lengthy career, saying: “I feel very confident I can pitch until I’m 40. I do everything possible to make sure I’m healthy and durable.” Arrieta isn’t putting any time restrictions on talks with his current team, telling Heyman he’d consider offers at any time while also noting that he doesn’t want his contract situation to distract from the season to come.
Arrieta stands to play an important role in next year’s free-agent market. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently listed him as the top pending free agent in his first power ranking of next winter’s crop of open-market talent, with three other high-end hurlers not far behind. Here’s more on a few pitching situations from around the game:
- Another important potential extension scenario is still open out west, where the Giants and ace Madison Bumgarner have three years to consider another long-term pact. As Heyman writes, there’s nothing new to report at this point. And that’s fine with Bumgarner, who says it’s “not really up to me” when talks will get underway in earnest. “Whenever the time comes, it’ll be a conversation held in private,” he says. The star southpaw says he’s comfortable pitching under his previous extension for the time being, explaining that he has no regrets. After all, he acknowledges, both he and the organization took a risk in inking that pact.
- We could be talking about White Sox phenom Michael Kopech in similar terms one day if he accomplishes his personal goals, which he discusses at length in an interesting piece from Scott Miller of Bleacher Report. Kopech tells Miller that he has his sights set on throwing harder than any pitcher ever has — he’s certainly already within range — while noting that his priority is “to be a dominant pitcher” regardless of the radar gun readings. Chicago fans who want to learn about one of the organization’s prized new prospects will want to give the post a full read.
- Mariners brass probably felt a mix of emotions as last night’s USA-Venezuela WBC matchup got underway, but as MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes, it ended up going quite well for the organization. Long-time staff ace Felix Hernandez was excellent, but it was new lefty Drew Smyly who opened eyes with his performance. The 27-year-old southpaw notched eight strikeouts against a potent Venezuela lineup over 4 2/3 strong frames, allowing only one unearned run. And he topped out at over 94 mph with his fastball, setting a new personal high-water mark in that regard.
- The Angels are still sorting through their rotation plans for the season, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. Righties Matt Shoemaker and Garrett Richards appear to be vying for the Opening Day nod, with no signals as yet as to who’ll take the honors. The primary concern, of course, will be ensuring that each is prepared for a fully healthy campaign after their respective health scares in 2016. As Fletcher explains, there’s still some uncertainty with the rest of the staff. Ricky Nolasco and Jesse Chavez appear to be on track to secure rotation jobs, though it’s not yet clear whether southpaw Tyler Skaggs will be ready to roll at the start of the season given the “shoulder fatigue” he has experienced.
- Turning to an interesting pen situation, the Rockies liked what they saw out of righty Greg Holland yesterday, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. The one-time ace reliever, who’s working back from Tommy John surgery, returned to competitive mound action for the first time with a 95 mph heater and effective breaking offerings. While the three-up, three-down frame came against minor-league opposition, the outing represented an important step for Holland as he seeks to reestablish his health and once-dominating stuff. That leaves him on track to make six or eight Cactus League outings, Groke writes, though he won’t take the hill again until the weekend. While the team’s plans for the ninth inning remain unresolved at this point, Groke suggests that it’s likely Holland will receive the closer’s nod over Adam Ottavino.
Injury Notes: Brito, Skaggs, Boxberger, Duffy
D-backs outfielder Socrates Brito suffered a dislocated finger while sliding headfirst into home plate today, tweets MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. He’s being further evaluated, though Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that manager Torey Lovullo wouldn’t rule out surgery as a possibility. Brito is behind Yasmany Tomas, A.J. Pollock and David Peralta on the Diamondbacks’ outfield depth chart, but he certainly has a chance to make the team’s roster (or to re-emerge in the Majors midseason) if healthy. While Brito hasn’t hit much in his brief taste of the Majors, the 24-year-old has been fairly productive in Double-A and Triple-A in each of the past two seasons.
A few more injury updates from around the league…
- Lefty Tyler Skaggs has been scratched from his upcoming Cactus League start due to weakness in his left shoulder, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. While the Angels are calling the setback minor in nature, DiGiovanna notes that there’s some cause for trepidation given Skaggs’ lengthy injury history. Shoulder troubles limited Skaggs as recently as 2016 — his first campaign back from Tommy John surgery that was performed late in the 2014 season. Furthermore, DiGiovanna cites scouts who attended Skaggs’ first outing of the spring in reporting that the southpaw’s fastball dipped from 89-92 mph early in that outing to the 86-88 mph range near the end of his day. Skaggs walked four hitters and didn’t complete one inning in that outing, though obvious Spring Training caveats come along with that unsightly outing. The current plan is for Skaggs to throw a ‘pen session this weekend.
- Right-hander Brad Boxberger had “a little bit of a setback” with his right lat muscle, Rays manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). The pitcher himself tells Topkin that he’s not concerned by the issue and isn’t feeling any discomfort in his arm. Both player and team are still hopeful that Boxberger can be ready for Opening Day. The now-former Rays closer — Alex Colome seized that role in 2016 — missed the majority of the most recent season due to groin and oblique issues.
- Topkin also reports that shortstop Matt Duffy‘s target to appear in Grapefruit League games has been pushed back from its original mid-March placement (Twitter links). Duffy, whose 2016 season ended when he underwent surgery to repair the injured Achilles tendon in his left heel, tells Topkin that his progress has been a bit slowgoing. Topkin notes that the delay in his return to the playing field could impact Duffy’s Opening Day availability, though Cash wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Duffy could be ready by that point. Nevertheless, one can imagine that the Rays aren’t keen on rushing the 26-year-old back to the field, so a backdated DL stint to begin the year seems plausible. Tampa Bay acquired Duffy alongside prospects Lucius Fox and Michael Santos in last summer’s Matt Moore swap with the Giants.
West Notes: CarGo, Skaggs, Pujols, Doolittle, Casilla
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post breaks down where things stand between the Rockies and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez in response to a fan inquiry. Noting that the sides haven’t engaged in further talks about an extension, Saunders says that he’s “not sure if the Rockies are willing to compete with top dollars [from free agency next winter] to extend him.” If no new deal is in the offing, the club will presumably wait to see how the season plays out to determine its next steps; Gonzalez could be dangled at the deadline or potentially receive a qualifying offer at year end.
Here are a few more notes from out west:
- Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs will have his next outing delayed after experiencing “a little weakness in [his] shoulder,” Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The young southpaw turned in a shaky performance in his first start of the spring; today’s news, perhaps, offers either an explanation or renewed cause for some concern. While it’s too early to know whether this is anything more than a blip, Skaggs’s injury history suggests it’s worth keeping an eye on. He showed plenty of promise upon his return to competitive pitching last year, but his ability to stay healthy and continue developing remains of critical importance to the Halos in 2017.
- The Angels will welcome back first baseman/DH Albert Pujols soon, however, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. After running the bases over the next two days, the veteran slugger is expected to appear for the first time this spring on Friday. That suggests it’s plenty possible that Pujols will be ready to go in time for Opening Day, though he’ll obviously need to maintain the health of his surgically repaired plantar fascia over the next few weeks.
- Two notable members of the Athletics pen are moving toward game readiness, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. Southpaw Sean Doolittle and righty Santiago Casilla are throwing live BP sessions today and tomorrow, respectively, setting them up to appear in Cactus League action sooner rather than later. Doolittle and Casilla currently project to function as the club’s top two setup men, though either could also conceivably wrestle closing opportunities away from Ryan Madson.
AL West Notes: Cishek, Maybin, Meyer, Richards, Rangers
While Mariners righty Steve Cishek is progressing as hoped, he doesn’t appear to be on track to be ready by Opening Day, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. While manager Scott Servais said he wouldn’t rule out that possibility entirely, he noted that “a lot of things would have to happen just right for that to happen.” We took a look recently at the M’s camp battles, with a particular focus on the pen — where there are many intriguing contenders who could step in while Cishek finishes his rehab.
Here’s the latest from the AL West:
- Angels outfielder Cameron Maybin was scratched today with right shoulder fatigue, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. That doesn’t mean much in and of itself, but Moura notes that the shoulder issue has also forced the 29-year-old to DH recently. It’s obviously far too soon for any alarm bells to ring, but the injury seems worth monitoring for Halos fans. A slowed-down Maybin could open the door to Ben Revere grabbing a larger share of the playing time to open the year; the two are the prime contenders for the team’s left field job.
- Meanwhile, Angels righty Alex Meyer had a somewhat worrisome outing today, as Moura further tweets. The towering hurler surrendered four walks and two extra-base hits in the first inning, and wasn’t able to complete the frame. One spring outing is hardly something to get too worked up about, but the obvious lack of control lends a bit more concern to the situation. Meyer has long struggled to tamp down the free passes, particularly at the major league level.
- Things went better yesterday for Angels ace Garrett Richards, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register reports. The TJ-avoiding righty was working in the upper nineties in his spring debut, which represented the first time he had lined up against big leaguers in a game setting since he injured his elbow last May. Interestingly, as Hoornstra adds, Richards plans to ditch the change he had worked on in 2016 but will ramp up the usage of his curve.
- The Rangers made their first round of camp cuts today, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Southpaw Andrew Faulkner opened the year on the MLB roster last year, but won’ repeat. As Grant explains, it’s somewhat surprising to see him apparently leave the roster competition this early. Other notable players heading to minor-league camp include prospects Yohander Mendez and Connor Sadzeck as well as veteran Adam Loewen.