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AL Notes: Hamilton, Twins, Dunn, Yankees

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Angels skipper Mike Scioscia is less-than-thrilled with Josh Hamilton and feels that he’s not quite the player he was when he was with the Rangers, writes Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News.  “Josh is not the same that we saw when we were looking at the other dugout,” Scioscia said. “He’s not in the batter’s box with the confidence we know he has. He’s not attacking the ball like he can. He’s working hard to try to find it …but we need him to do what he’s capable of doing, or close to that.” More out of the American league..

  • The Brewers and other clubs are looking for relievers, but a Twins official tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) that another August deal is doubtful.
  • White Sox skipper Robin Ventura knows that Adam Dunn has a tough decision on his hands as he considers retirement after the 2014 season, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com.  “That’s always a tough decision for guys,” Ventura said. “When they get where he’s at and Paul and all those guys that are of age, you get close and you might see the end. You don’t know. It’s a tough decision. This is something he’s done most of his adult life. It’s important. It’s still fun. You just never know. I’ve also heard guys talk that way and end up playing five more years.”
  • In case there was any doubt about his intentions, George A. King of the New York Post writes that Alex Rodriguez has been spotted working out at the University of Miami, where the baseball stadium is named after him, and at UCLA in Los Angeles.  The 39-year-old former MVP has three years and $61MM remaining on his contract with the Yankees.
  • The Yankees aren’t rushing Masahiro Tanaka back, but they are favoring an approach more proactive than protective, writes Brendan Kuty of the Star-Ledger.  “I think it’s important that we know he is healthy,” manager Joe Girardi said, “and the only way to find out is to get him in games.”  The Yankees’ $175MM investment threw fastballs from flat ground last week.

Injury Updates: Skaggs, Darvish, Tanaka, Fife

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Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced to reporters today that Tyler Skaggs underwent successful Tommy John surgery this afternoon. News of Skaggs’ injury first broke on Sunday afternoon. While the Halos have yet to make a move to address the void in their rotation, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them make some kind of waiver transaction in the next two to three weeks. Skaggs is expected to be out until 2016, Scioscia said on Sunday.

Here’s more on some injury notes from around the league…

  • The Rangers announced tonight that ace Yu Darvish has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Sunday) due to inflammation in his right elbow. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that Darvish will undergo further testing in the next day or two. Darvish apparently felt tightness when playing catch on Monday, and the discomfort failed to dissipate prior to a scheduled bullpen session on Tuesday. GM Jon Daniels tells reporters, including Grant (Twitter link), that doctors do not believe there is any ligament damage in the elbow. Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest tweets that team doctor Keith Meister feels that Darvish may be suffering from pronator flexor tendinitis. Darvish will undergo an MRI tomorrow, and in the meantime, the Rangers have selected the contract of right-hander Alex Claudio to take his roster spot. Daniels says the team is hopeful that Darvish will only miss two starts.
  • Injured Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka threw fastballs from flat ground today — a step forward from playing catch — tweets MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Tanaka feels that he still has a chance to pitch in a Major League game again this season. Skipper Joe Girardi told reporters, including Brendan Prunty of the Star-Ledger, that the team also has hope that Tanaka is not lost for the year.
  • Yet another pitcher has fallen prey to the Tommy John scourge, as Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times tweets that Dodgers righty Stephen Fife will undergo the procedure. Fife, who started 10 games for the Dodgers last year and one this season, has a 3.66 ERA in 91 Major League innings over the past three seasons. It seems likely that the 27-year-old would miss most, if not all of the 2015 campaign.

Angels Outright Caleb Clay

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The Angels announced that right-hander Caleb Clay has cleared outright waivers and been removed from the 40-man roster (Twitter link). The Halos signed Clay away from the Korea Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles back in June.

Clay, 26, was a supplemental-round draft pick (44th overall) by the Red Sox back in the 2006 draft. He struggled a great deal in Korea this season, pitching to an 8.32 ERA, but he seems to have righted the ship in eight starts for Anaheim’s Triple-A affiliate. In 52 1/3 innings at Salt Lake, he’s posted a 3.78 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9. He has, however, been homer-prone in that time, serving up eight long balls in that relatively small sample size.

Pirates Claim Tommy Field Off Waivers

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The Pirates have announced they have claimed infielder Tommy Field off waivers from the Angels. Field, who was designated for assignment Thursday, has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

The 27-year-old has spent the entire season at Triple-A Salt Lake slashing .285/.351/.440 in 382 plate appearances. Defensively, he is primarily a shortstop, but has also seen time at second and third base for the Bees. Field did appear in 15 games with the Angels in 2013 posting a line of .154/.185/.154 over 27 plate appearances – his most extensive action since making his MLB debut with the Rockies in 2011 (.271/.314/.271 in 51 plate appearances).

The Pirates’ 40-man roster is now full.

Tyler Skaggs To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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The Angels have received devastating news on injured Tyler Skaggs; the promising left-hander is out for the season and all of 2015, as he will undergo Tommy John surgery Wednesday, reports the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher. The rehab time for Tommy John surgery is 12-18 months and Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters the club won’t rush Skaggs back until 2016 because “the great likelihood is if you remain conservative, you make better decisions.” 

The Angels were already known to be pursuing rotation help on the waiver wire, but presumably, the definitive loss of their No. 4 starter for roughly one calendar year will cause their search to accelerate. Dipoto, however, says that pursuit will focus on back-end starters.

“I don’t know too many circumstances where your young starters gets hurt and you are compelled to go chase the top of the market. We’ll stay focused on the type of model we set up. We do feel like we have enough depth to absorb the loss right now.“

The Halos selected Skaggs with the 40th overall pick in the 2009 draft but eventually traded him to the D’Backs in a trade for Dan Haren, only to reacquire him this offseason in the Mark Trumbo trade (Dipoto was on the acquiring end of both of those deals, as he was Arizona’s interim GM for the Haren deal).

Skaggs, who only recently turned 23, was enjoying his return to the Angels organization. In 113 innings of work this season, the top prospect had begun to deliver on his potential, posting a 4.30 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and  a 50.1 percent ground-ball rate. ERA estimators such as FIP (3.55), xFIP (3.67) and SIERA (3.75) all felt that Skaggs was better than his ERA.

Skaggs had emerged as a solid fourth option behind Garrett Richards, Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson, with Matt Shoemaker and Hector Santiago serving as internal options for the fifth spot. Those five arms will now comprise Scioscia’s primary rotation now, however, and given Wilson’s tremendous struggles of late, that creates a great deal of uncertainty. At this point, I’d be surprised if the Angels didn’t acquire an additional arm to add some stability to the middle or back of the rotation.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Angels Searching For Rotation Help On Waiver Wire

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The Angels claimed Vinnie Pestano off waivers from the Indians and subsequently worked out a trade for the righty earlier today, but GM Jerry Dipoto tells reporters, including the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher, that he’s actively claiming other players and trying to bolster his rotation (Twitter links). However, acquiring starting pitching upgrades at this time of year is very difficult, Dipoto added (rival clubs, of course, can pull their players back off revocable waivers).

The Halos clearly passed on Josh Beckett when he was placed on waivers, as he’s the lone starting pitcher on MLBTR’s list of players that have already cleared revocable waivers. Beyond that, however, there figure to be multiple possibilities on the market, though several would come with significant financial commitments. A.J. Burnett of the Phillies, for example, was said to be on waivers earlier this week. So, too, were Kyle Kendrick, Jason Hammel and Wade Miley, although each would come with road blocks (e.g. Kendrick’s salary and mediocre performance, Hammel’s presence on the roster of a division rival and Arizona’s unwillingness to move Miley).

The Angels’ pitching depth took a hit when Tyler Skaggs was lost to the disabled list due to a strained flexor tendon in his left arm last week. At the same time, C.J. Wilson, who is returning from injury, pitched poorly in his first time back on the mound and has allowed six runs in four of his past five outings.

For the time being, Wilson will pair with Garrett Richards and Jered Weaver atop the rotation, with Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker rounding out the quintet. However, Dipoto will have several options available to him. Last month, I took a look at the trade market for starting pitchers, and while several arms I listed in the post have since been moved, a good number of the pitchers listed could make sense for the Halos. Bartolo Colon, for example, would be a sensible option to add some stable innings down the stretch for Anaheim, and his salary makes him a likely candidate to clear waivers (his name is purely my own speculation, of course).

Angels Acquire Vinnie Pestano

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6:43pm: Angels GM Jerry Dipoto tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that Pestano was acquired after the Angels claimed him on waivers (Twitter link).

5:05pm: The Angels have added yet another reliever to their ranks by acquiring right-hander Vinnie Pestano from the Indians in exchange for minor league righty Michael Clevinger. Both teams have announced the trade.

Vinnie Pestano

The 29-year-old Pestano emerged as a lights-out setup man for the Indians in 2011-12, posting a combined 2.45 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 132 innings of work. Pestano’s excellent work was worth 4.4 rWAR and 2.5 fWAR in that time, suggesting that he was one of the game’s more valuable relief options.

Pestano fell on hard times a bit in 2013, however, as his BB/9 rate climbed north of 5.0, and his ERA spiked to 4.08. Things between him and the Indians organization appeared to be tense the following offseason, when Pestano lost an arbitration hearing after Cleveland used comments that Pestano himself made to the press against him in a trial. Pestano had told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “I’ve been battling all year. As soon as I think I’ve got something figured out, I go out there and the results are the same. It’s getting really frustrating. I’m still the same pitcher in my head, I’m just not throwing the same way I used to.”

Quotes like that one were fired back at Pestano in the arb hearing, which the reliever told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian that he didn’t appreciate: “That was the only thing that I didn’t care for. I definitely think it’ll affect how I see things going forward. I don’t really know if I can be as honest and up-front anymore. I’ve got three more years of arbitration left. I don’t know what they’ll pick to use against me next year or two years from now.”

Pestano has once again been excellent in the minors this season, posting a 1.78 ERA with a strong 37-to-12 K/BB ratio in 30 1/3 innings for Triple-A Columbus. He joins a growing list of relievers acquired by Halos GM Jerry Dipoto this season, as Dipoto has also brought in Jason Grilli, Joe Thatcher and Huston Street. Because Pestano was on the Indians’ 40-man roster, he would either have had to clear waivers or have been claimed by the Angels in order to facilitate a trade. The Angels will be able to control Pestano, who is earning $975K this year, through at least the 2017 season. For the time being, he’ll head to Triple-A Salt Lake.

As for the Indians, they’ll receive Clevinger — a 23-year-old righty selected by the Angels in the fourth round of the 2011 draft. Clevinger tore through Class A this season, notching a 1.88 ERA in five starts before being promoted to Class-A Advanced. He’s struggled at that level, however, posting a 5.37 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings of work. Clevinger ranked 17th among Halos prospects entering the 2014 season, according to Baseball America, and MLB.com had him 10th among Angels farmhands on its midseason Top 20 list (though it should be noted that the Angels’ farm system is poorly regarded).

Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, at a time when it looked as if he could be emerging as Anaheim’s top pitching prospect, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note in their free report. BA notes that he features a 91-93 mph fastball that he can cut well, in addition to three offerings — a changeup, slider and curveball — that could become average offerings. Effort in his delivery leads some scouts to project him as a reliever, though BA notes that the Angels wanted to give him as long a look in the rotation as possible due to a lack of organizational depth.

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register first reported the trade (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Angels Designate Tommy Field For Assignment

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The Angels have designated infielder Tommy Field for assignment in order to clear room on the roster for right-hander Vinnie Pestano, who was acquired from the Indians less than an hour ago, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.

The 27-year-old Field hasn’t appeared with the Halos since last season, but he’s put together a strong campaign for Triple-A Salt Lake. The former Rockies farmhand has slashed a solid .285/.351/.440 with seven homers and five steals in 382 trips to the plate. Field is primarily a shortstop, but he’s seen some time at second base and third base as well this season. He could be of interest to a team in need of infield depth, as evidenced by the fact that he hasn’t been easy to sneak through waivers in the past. The Twins claimed Field off waivers from the Rockies back in 2012, only to lose him on waivers to the Angels a few weeks later.

Minor Moves: Carpenter, Wall, Rapada

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Angels have outrighted right-hander David Carpenter to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to the team’s transactions page. The 26-year-old Carpenter, not to be confused with the Atlanta setup man of the same name, fired three scoreless innings this season in his lone appearance with the Halos. He’s struggled in a pair of prior stints — including a 39 2/3 inning tryout in 2012 — and owns a 5.23 career ERA in 43 frames. Carpenter was designated for assignment over the weekend.
  • Right-hander Josh Wall has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Pirates, according to Pittsburgh’s transactions page. The 27-year-old Wall was designated for assignment on July 31 and has appeared in one big league game this season, though it came with the Angels, not the Pirates. Wall yielded six runs in one inning with Anaheim and was subsequently claimed off waivers by the Bucs. He’s been very good in 22 1/3 Triple-A innings with Pittsburgh this season, notching a 3.22 ERA with 22 strikeouts and just nine walks.
  • The Orioles have released southpaw Clay Rapada to create roster space at Triple-A Norfolk for the newly-signed Joe Saunders, the club’s top affiliate announced on Twitter. Rapada has yet to earn a substantial stretch of time on a big league roster since his excellent 2012 season, when he posted a 2.82 ERA over 38 1/3 innings for the Yankees (8.9 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9). This year, over 38 1/3 frames (that’s a coincidence, not a typo) at the Triple-A level, Rapada has allowed 5.63 earned per nine.

West Notes: Trout, Angels, Sizemore, Eppler, Cain, Astros

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Mike Trout is the game’s best player — really, he has been for some time — and he’s still three days shy of his 23rd birthday. That makes it all the more satisfying for the Angels that they have him locked up to a six-year, $144.5MM deal that does not kick in until next year. USA Today’s Glenn Davis explores how those happy circumstances came to pass in an interview with Halos assistant GM Matt Klentak. According to Klentak, Trout is not just immensely talented but also hard-working, detail-oriented, and grounded.

Here’s more on Trout and the game’s western divisions:

  • The Angels began thinking long-term extension as early as 2012, when Trout emerged as a force, but did not put the pedal down on talks until this winter. The extension came together in large part, said Klentak, because of “outstanding” communication between both sides, which allowed for multiple concepts to go back and forth before the ultimate framework was established. “Everybody knew where everybody stood, and it was a fairly positive, productive process all the way through,” Klentak explained. “That’s not always the case — I think that’s a credit to Mike, his character, and his family, and to [agent] Craig Landis as well.” The final contract, of course, gives the Halos control over their young superstar for an extended stretch without guaranteeing post-prime seasons, but also allows Trout to hit the open market at a young enough age to land another massive deal.
  • Klentak further noted that a major element of the drive to sign Trout, and other homegrown players before him, stems from the direction of owner Arte Moreno. “That’s something that Arte believes in strongly, that our baseball operations group believes in strongly,” said Klentak. “When you know the people as well as you get to know them over a player’s tenure in your organization, you feel more comfortable signing them to longer-term contracts.” Be sure to check out the rest of the piece for more of Klentak’s thoughts on Trout, the club’s overall composition, and the organization’s operating philosophies.
  • The Athletics appear to have decided against signing infielder Scott Sizemore despite previously showing interest, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland could still have interest in bringing him in next year, Slusser adds.
  • As the Padres reach the final stages of deciding on a GM, the club is “focusing most closely” on Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who says Eppler may now be the frontrunner to take over baseball ops in San Diego. Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller had been said to be leading the final field, which is said to include MLB executive Kim Ng and Red Sox AGM Mike Hazen. Scott Miller of Bleacher Report noted recently that Eppler was still “in the picture” to take on the role.
  • As we noted earlier today, Giants starter Matt Cain is scheduled for season-ending surgery to clean up bone chips in his elbow. Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News provides further details on the problem, which Cain said he has been dealing with in some form for the past decade. “They’ve always been there,” said Cain. “For some reason, they got in a different spot and they got aggravated.” With the problem failing to abate, all decided it was best to have the procedure now so that Cain could be ready for a normal spring ramp-up. San Francisco’s pre-deadline addition of Jake Peavy was connected to the club’s fear that it would be without Cain the rest of the way, Pavlovic adds.
  • The Astros felt comfortable dealing away starter Jarred Cosart in large part due to the development of the club’s arms both at the major league and minor league levels, reports MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. The swap — which followed up on prior trades of Bud Norris and Jordan Lyles — enabled Houston to bolster its outfield corp (with Jake Marisnick) in addition to adding a well-regarded prospect in Colin Moran. “We’ve got guys all the way up and down the system,” said GM Jeff Luhnow. “It’s one of those areas that could very easily, with one or two injuries, go from a strength to a weakness. We’re taking a calculated gamble in this, and it’s the right thing to do.” Of course, as noted earlier today, the deal also cleared two offseason 40-man spots for the Astros, who will have many young players to consider protecting from the winter’s Rule 5 draft.
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