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AL Notes: Colabello, Encarnacion, Calhoun, Richards, Collins

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Suspended Blue Jays first baseman/outfielder Chris Colabello maintains that he has no idea how he ended up with prohibited PEDs in his system, as Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports. The 32-year-old says that he only ever took supplements provided by the organization, was meticulous in avoiding uncertain substances, and has gone to great lengths to try to figure out how the banned substance ended up in his system. The piece offers necessary context to go with Colabello’s extensive comments on the matter, and is a must-read for anyone interested in his story or the broader issue of performance enhancing drugs.

Here’s the latest out of the American League to round out the evening:

  • While initial extension talks this spring weren’t fruitful, the Blue Jays told slugger Edwin Encarnacion that they’d consider re-opening things over the summer, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). A deal to keep Encarnacion off of the open market still seems unlikely, of course, particularly given where things ended up. Per Heyman, Toronto offered a two-year pact with multiple vesting options. While the veteran’s camp didn’t counter, he’s expected to seek four or five guaranteed seasons in free agency. He’s off to a bit of a slow start, but that still seems eminently achievable if he ends up with anything approaching his recent levels of production.
  • Meanwhile, Angels GM Billy Eppler says that the organization has yet to engage outfielder Kole Calhoun or starter Garrett Richards in extension talks, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. Explaining that he’s still “just feeling everybody out,” Eppler did acknowledge that he’s at least considered the idea. “I would be lying to tell you that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind,” he said. “But we’re not at that point. It’s just not something I want to talk about while they’re playing; while they’re trying to perform.” The new GM also noted that the high-budget Halos have the luxury of waiting. “That’s a factor,” he said. “You might be able to afford going year to year in certain situations, just because of your own circumstances.”
  • Major League Baseball will not suspend Tigers outfielder Tyler Collins for flipping the bird to booing fans, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets. That’s good news for Detroit, which would have had to go a man short during any time that Collins would have missed.

AL West Notes: Murphy, Heaney, Skaggs, Lee, Rasmus

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The Athletics announced today that minor league right-hander Sean Murphy has died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 27. A former 33rd-round draft pick, Murphy was recovering from 2014 Tommy John surgery prior to his untimely passing. He pitched 490 2/3 innings with a 4.26 ERA in parts of five minor league seasons with Oakland. Current and former teammates have taken to social media to express both disbelief and sadness at the news, and MLBTR joins the many in the industry offering its sincerest condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of a young man who is gone from the world far too soon.

A few notes from around the division…

  • The Angels received a pair of health updates on left-handers Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs yesterday. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Heaney, on the disabled list due to a flexor strain in his left arm, received another MRI after progress in his rehab was said to have plateaued. The test revealed no further injury in his arm and upheld the original diagnosis of a strained flexor muscle. However, Heaney has yet to resume throwing, so he’ll need to progress through a throwing program before embarking on a minor league rehab assignment, which suggests that a return in the near future shouldn’t be expected.
  • As for Skaggs, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes that the 24-year-old was scratched from his start for Triple-A Salt Lake yesterday because he was “feeling some fatigue” from last Wednesday’s outing, in the words of Angels GM Billy Eppler. Asked if Skaggs would make his next scheduled start on Saturday, Eppler was noncommittal, telling Gonzalez that the club would take a day-to-day approach and “continue to be extra cautious with him.” Skaggs had Tommy John surgery late in the 2014 campaign and missed the entire 2015 season rehabbing from the procedure.
  • Yahoo’s Tim Brown spoke to Mariners first baseman Dae-ho Lee about the difficult decision he made to jump to leave superstardom in Asia to test himself in Major League Baseball. Lee, who batted .303/.387/.514 with 323 homers in 15 seasons between the Korea Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball, explained that he’s dreamed of playing in the Majors since childhood but elected to go to Japan when his first crack at free agency in Korea arose. “I had a little opportunity before but I didn’t make my decision to challenge the major leagues,” he said through his translator. “I wanted to learn more. So I decided to go to Japan and learn more baseball.” Countryman and division rival Ji-man Choi called Lee’s decision to make the jump to the Majors at age 33 inspirational to him and other Korean players. Lee has started six times in 19 games as the left-handed component of a platoon with Adam Lind, and he’s batting .235/.316/.588 with a pair of homers in 19 plate appearances.
  • Colby Rasmus’ improved selectivity and gains in contact rate have him on the precipice of a breakout season, opines Chris Perry of SB Nation’s Crawfish Boxes. Perry notes that while Rasmus, of course, isn’t going to sustain his current 56-homer pace, the early power surge and improved approach at the plate make the first 30-homer season of Rasmus’ career a distinct possibility.

Angels Sign Kyle Kendrick To Minor League Deal

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APRIL 24: The Angels have officially announced the signing. Kendrick will start for their Triple-A affiliate today, according to Taylor Blake Ward of InsideTheHalos.com (Twitter link).

MARCH 30, 12:43pm: It will be a minor league deal, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. While that’s not surprising, it certainly would’ve been possible for Kendrick to ink an MLB pact if he was going to open the season in the majors. Instead, it seems, he’ll head to Triple-A.

12:22pm: The Angels are working to finalize an agreement with free agent righty Kyle Kendrick, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports report (Twitter link). The veteran starter was released earlier in the spring by the Braves.

Kendrick, 31, hasn’t posted a sub-4.00 ERA season since 2012 and was hit hard last year with the Rockies. He also turned in wholly uninspiring results in his minimal spring action before being released by Atlanta.

But Kendrick is also a known commodity with 212 major league starts under his belt, and that’s something the team certainly could use. Though he Halos entered the spring with a seeming rotation surplus, injuries have sapped some of the depth and left the staff exposed in the event of any setbacks.

West Notes: Valencia, Erlin, Skaggs, Castro, Mariners

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The Athletics announced following tonight’s game that third baseman Danny Valencia will be placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a hamstring injury suffered in yesterday’s contest. Valencia, though, tells reporters that he doesn’t consider the issue to be serious and doesn’t anticipate missing more than the minimum amount of time (Twitter link via the Bay Area News Group’s John Hickey). “I will be very upset not to be in [the] lineup,” said Valencia in reference to the end of his 15-day DL window. The A’s didn’t announce a corresponding roster move, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that it’s “clear” that the versatile Tyler Ladendorf will be recalled from Triple-A.

A few more notes from the game’s Western divisions…

  • The Padres have placed left-hander Robbie Erlin on the 15-day DL and recalled right-hander Leonel Campos from Triple-A El Paso, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. “He’s had some tightness in his forearm,” manager Andy Green said of Erlin. “He’d pitched through it, was capable of continuing to pitch through it. … We just thought it best at this point in time to shut him down for a couple weeks and get on top of it.” The Padres haven’t announced a replacement yet, but Lin tweets that Double-A right-hander Cesar Vargas was scratched from his start tonight and does not have an injury, making him a definite possibility. The Friars gave Vargas a big league contract and put him on the 40-man roster this offseason despite the fact that he’s never pitched in the Majors. Vargas has a 1.42 ERA through his first two starts this season and has a career 2.58 ERA at that level.
  • Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs tells MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez that he’s throwing his fastball between 90 and 94 mph and is ready for a return to the Majors. However, Skaggs is still building up his endurance and says he understands the Halos’ cautious approach to his return. “I haven’t had any input or anything,” said Skaggs. “They said they want to save my innings for the end of the year, which completely makes sense. It’s frustrating for me because I want to pitch more. But it’s a good thing that they care about me, care about my future, about my health.” A healthy Skaggs could be a boon to an Angels rotation that is without C.J. Wilson and is going to be without Andrew Heaney for an indefinite amount of time. Heaney went on the disabled list with a forearm strain and, as of earlier this week, was said by manager Mike Scioscia to have “plateaued” in his rehab from the injury.
  • Rockies right-hander Miguel Castro is dealing with shoulder inflammation and could land on the disabled list, writes MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. The hard-throwing 21-year-old, acquired in last summer’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster, has been outstanding for the Rockies early in the 2016 season, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings pitched.
  • The Mariners’ revamped bullpen has delivered excellent results early in the season, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Incredibly, as Dutton points out, none of the seven relief pitchers that are currently in manager Scott Servais’ bullpen were on the Mariners’ Opening Day roster in 2015. GM Jerry Dipoto acquired four of the club’s current relievers (Steve Cishek, Joaquin Benoit, Joel Peralta and Nick Vincent — this offseason, but Dipoto explained to Dutton that he’s all too aware of how fleeting the success could be. “I spent my entire major-league career pitching 400 pitched games in the bullpen,” said Dipoto. “Never did anything else. If you think you’ve got it figured out, you don’t. The bullpen is about as unpredictable as it gets.”

AL West Notes: Heaney, Santiago, Beltre, Zunino

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Angels manager Mike Scioscia tells reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link) and Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (Twitter link) that left-hander Andrew Heaney has “plateaued” in his rehab from left forearm tightness. Heaney is “still feeling something when he throws harder,” per Fletcher. Gonzalez adds that Heaney is stuck playing catch from 60 feet and unable to ramp up his workouts from that point. The 24-year-old Heaney hit the disabled list earlier this season after experiencing a drop in velocity over the course of his lone start of the season. The Halos, who are without C.J. Wilson for an indefinite time and have seen Jered Weaver’s velocity dip to the very low 80s, and a prolonged absence would only further raise questions about the starting staff. On the plus side, Nick Tropeano has stepped up with a pair of excellent starts for the Angels in Heaney’s stead.

A few more notes from the AL West…

  • Hector Santiago of the Angels is showing an early velocity bump, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez explains. The southpaw matched a career high of ten strikeouts in a sterling start yesterday, aided by a heater that touched 96 mph. He has posted an average fastball velocity of over 92 mph over his first three starts after hovering below 91 mph in the past two seasons. Notably, Santiago is showing significant improvement in other important areas, with a 12.0% swinging strike rate and 47.3% ground-ball rate that dwarf his career marks.
  • Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards examines the two-year, $36MM contract extension to which Adrian Beltre agreed with the Rangers, writing that Beltre’s steady excellence at the plate and in the field gives the contract significant bargain potential. Perhaps more interestingly to some, Edwards juxtaposes Beltre’s age-31 through age-36 seasons with some of the game’s all-time great players and does the same with projections for his upcoming seasons, noting that Beltre is building quite the Hall of Fame case.
  • Mariners catcher Mike Zunino is off to a blistering start at Triple-A Tacoma this season, batting .447 with six homers through his first nine games/40 plate appearances. However, manager Scott Servais tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune that Zunino isn’t in line for a quick promotion to the Majors as a result of his torrid opening stretch. “It needs to be a process for (Zunino),” said Servais.“And if he does take an 0-for-10, how is he responding to that? … But Mike needed to get off to a good start, which he did. Have success and (experience) confidence-building. It’s really, really good for him. And for us.” For the time being, Chris Iannetta and Steve Clevenger are the catching options for the Mariners on the 25-man roster.

AL Notes: Brantley, Heaney, A’s

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A few notes from the American League…

  • Standout Indians left fielder Michael Brantley will soon make his 2016 debut, according to manager Terry Francona. “He’s getting pretty close,” Francona said (link via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). Brantley is likely to play consecutive games at Double-A Akron sometime during the upcoming week, per Bastian, as he works his way back from a right shoulder injury. Brantley emerged as one of the league’s most dangerous offensive threats during the previous two seasons, slashing a combined .319/.384/.494 with 35 homers and 38 steals, before undergoing shoulder surgery last November.
  • Angels southpaw Andrew Heaney still has a ways to go to return from a left flexor muscle strain, manager Mike Scioscia told reporters, including Brian Hall of MLB.com. Heaney started for the Halos on April 5 and put up a decent line against the Cubs (six innings, seven strikeouts, no walks, seven hits, four runs), but his velocity dropped precipitously from the beginning of his outing to the end and he complained of left forearm tightness. The 24-year-old then landed on the disabled list the next day.
  • The Athletics will continue using both right-hander Ryan Madson and lefty Sean Doolittle to close games, manager Bob Melvin told Willie Bans of MLB.com. “We’re just trying to do the best we can with, number one, matchups and, number two, with how guys are pitching,” he said. Madson has fared well this year (six innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts, one walk) while going 3 for 3 on save chances. On the other hand, Doolittle – one of the game’s top relievers from 2012-14 – has not bounced back nicely this season after missing nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury. Although Doolittle’s velocity has stayed in line with his career averages, the 29-year-old has yielded four earned runs and three homers in 5 2/3 innings this season.

Injury Notes: Dodgers, Hundley, d’Arnaud, Nava

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In the latest discouraging news for the Dodgers’ Hyun-jin Ryu, the lefty is battling “a little groin strain” and has halted his throwing program as a result, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). “Technically it’s a setback, and I don’t know how severe the injury is,” Roberts said (link via Dan Arritt of ESPN.com). Ryu, who underwent surgery on a torn left labrum last May, hasn’t appeared in a big league game since October 2014. He seemed to be making progress in his recovery prior to his groin acting up, having tossed two 20-pitch sim games April 8.

More injury notes from around Major League Baseball:

  • One of Ryu’s Dodgers teammates, outfielder Carl Crawford, is recovering well from a lower back injury and will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City in the upcoming week, according to Jack Baer of MLB.com. Crawford, whom the Dodgers placed on the 15-day disabled list April 9, should be activated April 24. Crawford started the Dodgers’ first three games of the season and hit .273/.273/.364 in 11 plate appearances. Upon returning, he’ll join a crowded outfield picture that includes Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez and Trayce Thompson, all of whom have been terrific this year.
  • The Rockies placed catcher Nick Hundley on the seven-day DL on Saturday with a concussion and called up pitcher David Hale from Triple-A, The Associated Press reports. The DL move was made retroactive to Thursday. Hundley has been dealing with concussion symptoms since he took a foul tip to the mask Wednesday. Prior to the injury, Hundley hit a solid .227/.393/.409 in 28 PAs.
  • Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud left Saturday’s loss to the Indians after getting hit on his left elbow by a 93 mph Zach McAllister fastball, but X-rays came back negative. The Mets diagnosed d’Arnaud with a bruise, and he’s now day to day, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “It’s going to probably be pretty sore the next couple days,” said manager Terry Collins. “He had a little trouble straightening his elbow, bending it. So we’ll keep an eye on it.”
  • The Angels on Saturday placed left fielder Daniel Nava on the 15-day DL with left patellar tendinitis, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times writes. Nava’s left knee has been an issue for him since 2013, which is “why we’re being cautious with it right now,” manager Mike Scioscia said. Nava has slashed .286/.333/.286 in 15 PAs so far this year, and he expects to return in early May. In the meantime, the Angels will replace him with fellow outfielder Rafael Ortega, whom they called up from Triple-A Salt Lake. The lefty-swinging Ortega went 0 for 3 with a stolen base and a walk in the Angels’ 6-4 loss to the Twins on Saturday.

Injury Notes: McCullers, Wilson, Alvarez, Revere

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Here’s the latest on some injury news around the game …

  • Astros righty Lance McCullers Jr. has been scratched from a scheduled rehab outing tomorrow, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter links). Skipper A.J. Hinch says that the young starter hasn’t experienced any kind of set-back, but hadn’t recovered quickly enough from his most recent work. Houston obviously wants to be certain that the 22-year-old’s shoulder is free and clear of problems before ramping him up, but the club is surely anxious to plug him back into a rotation that has had its share of struggles in the early going.
  • Meanwhile, the division-rival Angels have their own starter coming back slowly from shoulder problems in C.J. Wilson. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports on Twitter, Wilson is still throwing off of flat ground and has yet to move past sixty feet. He “still has a long way to go” to returning to a big league hill, Fletcher adds.
  • Yet another AL West club, the Athletics, received more promising news today on their own shoulder-plagued pitcher, righty Henderson Alvarez. He impressed the club with a two-inning sim game, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports, though he still may need two more before undertaking a rehab assignment. Soon to turn 26, Alvarez was signed to a one-year, $4.25MM deal in hopes that he’d recover from shoulder surgery and return to the solid form he’s displayed in the past with the Marlins.
  • The Nationals still don’t have a timeline for the return of center fielder Ben Revere, as Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com reports. Washington has fared well in his absence, but will look forward to adding his left-handed bat back to the top of the lineup. Fellow outfielders Jayson Werth and Michael Taylor are off to slow starts, though both had more promising results in tonight’s action.

California Notes: Scully, Angels, Belt, Butler, Fisher

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Fans traveling to Dodger Stadium from Sunset Boulevard to Stadium Way can now make the journey on Vin Scully Avenue.  The city of Los Angeles officially renamed the street formerly known as Elysian Park Avenue in honor of the legendary voice of the Dodgers in a dedication ceremony today.  This will undoubtedly be just one of many well-deserved tributes to Scully as the iconic broadcaster enters his 67th and final season calling Dodger games.  Here’s the latest baseball news from California’s teams…

  • Even with Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson coming off the books next winter, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times doesn’t expect the Angels to be huge spenders in the 2016-17 free agent market.  Assuming the Halos don’t pass their high of $165MM on player payroll, they will only have around $40MM to spend on 16 roster spots.
  • Brandon Belt’s five-year, $72.8MM extension with the Giants is “a reasonable common ground” between the two sides, Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards writes in an analysis of the contract.  Belt may have sacrificed some extra money by not hitting free agency after the 2017 season, though since he’s had a bit of inconsistency in his career, landing a big nine-figure deal wasn’t a guarantee.  (Edwards doesn’t mention Belt’s concussion history, which may have also played a factor in his taking a big payday now.)  Edwards also notes that Belt is just the third player in the last three years to sign an extension two years away from free agency, along with teammate Brandon Crawford and the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton.
  • In an interview on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link), Athletics manager Bob Melvin implied that Billy Butler will indeed be a part-time player for the club, saying that “for the most part he’s gonna be playing against lefties.”  The veteran slugger has “been great about” accepting the reduced role.  Obviously, neither Butler or the A’s have to be happy that it has come to this, given the three-year, $30MM deal Butler signed prior to the 2015 season.  Butler has been the least-valuable player in baseball as per the fWAR metric since the start of the 2014 season, as he provides no defensive value as a full-time DH and his once-fearsome bat has badly declined.
  • Athletics majority owner John Fisher is taking a larger role in the club’s quest for a new ballpark, Phil Matier and Andy Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle report.  Fisher appears to be interested in a downtown Oakland location for a new stadium, possibly a site near Laney College if the team can purchase the land.  Since purchasing the A’s with Lew Wolff in 2005, Fisher has largely been publicly silent on team matters, with Wolff taking a more visible role as the Athletics’ managing partner.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/11/16

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Here are the day’s minor transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Pirates have placed John Holdzkom on release waivers, a week after the righty was designated for assignment.  Holdzkom went from independent baseball to a key role in the Bucs’ bullpen in 2014, recording a 2.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts in nine relief innings (his first and, to date, only taste of MLB action) to help Pittsburgh reach the postseason.  Holdzkom battled injuries, a loss of velocity and control issues in 2015, however, and he pitched only 24 1/3 innings of minor league ball.
  • The Angels selected the contract of left-hander Greg Mahle and optioned A.J. Achter to Triple-A in a corresponding move, the club announced.  (The Angels already had a 40-man roster spot open, so no further transactions were necessary to add Mahle.)  A 15th-round draft pick in 2014, Mahle has a 2.97 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 4.00 K/BB rate over 97 career minor league relief innings.  The 2016 Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranked him as the 13th-best prospect within the Halos’ thin farm system, noting that Mahle delivers his pitches from three different arm angles, including a sinking fastball that ranges from 85-94mph depending on from where Mahle is throwing it.  He also has a plus changeup.
  • The Diamondbacks outrighted Kyle Drabek to Triple-A after the righty went unclaimed, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports (via Twitter).  Drabek signed a minor league deal with the D’Backs during the offseason and pitched in one game for the club before being designated for assignment last Friday.  The 18th overall pick of the 2006 draft, Drabek has struggled at the big league level and also battled injuries, most notably two Tommy John surgeries.  Drabek has only thrown 12 2/3 innings over the last four seasons.
  • The Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League have signed left-hander Phil Coke and right-hander Ryan Kelly, Jason Bristol tweets.  Coke threw 12 2/3 innings with the Cubs and Blue Jays last season, and has also since signed minor league deals with the A’s and Braves.  The veteran southpaw was released by Atlanta during Spring Training.  Kelly was also released by the Braves during the offseason, ending a three-year stint in the organization.  Kelly made his Major League debut last season, posting a 7.02 ERA over 16 2/3 innings out of Atlanta’s bullpen.

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