Dodgers Rumors

West Notes: Myers, Ohtani, Haniger, Puig

By Connor Byrne | April 28, 2018 at 11:12pm CDT

Padres outfielder Wil Myers exited the team’s game against the Mets on Saturday with a left oblique strain, according to an announcement from San Diego. The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, but oblique strains often require stints on the disabled list. Myers was already on the DL earlier this month (with a right arm injury), thereby limiting him to 40 plate appearances thus far in 2018. The Padres had a crowded outfield on their hands prior to Saturday’s game, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com detailed at the time, with Myers, Manuel Margot, Franchy Cordero and Jose Pirela among their options. Pirela had been slated to see more time at second base as a result, but if Myers joins fellow Friars outfielder Hunter Renfroe on the DL, that plan could change.

Dodgers Recall Alex Verdugo, Option Scott Alexander

By Connor Byrne | April 28, 2018 at 8:46pm CDT

The Dodgers have recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned left-handed reliever Scott Alexander to OKC, per a team announcement. This may only be a short-term move by LA, which is dealing with an injury to Yasiel Puig and needed another outfielder for the second half of its doubleheader Saturday in San Francisco.

The 21-year-old Verdugo will play right field and bat second Saturday night for the Dodgers, who took a 15-6 decision over the Giants earlier in the day. Puig departed that game with a potential foot issue and will undergo X-rays, opening up room for Verdugo to come off the Dodgers’ taxi squad.

This isn’t the first major league action for Verdugo, a second-round pick in 2014 who debuted in the league last year and struggled over a small sample size of 25 plate appearances (174/.240/.304). He was far better during his initial taste of Triple-A action, hitting .314/.389/.436 (118 wRC+) in 495 PAs to further bolster his status as a high-end farmhand. The lefty-swinger ranks as MLB.com’s second-best Dodgers prospect, trailing starter Walker Buehler (who was on the hill for his first career win in Game 1 on Saturday), and the outlet’s 32nd overall prospect in the sport.

While Verdugo hasn’t dominated of the gates in 2018, evidenced by a .276/.309/.474 (98 wRC+) line in 81 PAs, he could still emerge as a long-term piece for the Dodgers soon. Of course, if Puig avoids a long absence, Verdugo may quickly head back to the minors. Both Puig and center fielder Chris Taylor have performed poorly this year, though each player likely has a long leash, and the Dodgers have benefited from the unexpected excellence of much-maligned corner outfielder Matt Kemp thus far.

Alexander has been anything but excellent, meanwhile, despite being one of the Dodgers’ top offseason acquisitions in a fairly low-key winter for the team. He joined the reigning NL pennant winners in a three-team trade after serving as an important member of the Royals’ bullpen last year. Alexander recorded a staggering 73.8 percent groundball rate en route to a 2.48 ERA over 69 innings, though both figures have trended in the wrong direction in 2018. In his first action with the Dodgers, the 28-year-old has posted a 6.35 ERA and a 57.1 percent grounder rate in 11 1/3 frames, to go with more walks (nine) than strikeouts (seven).

NL Notes: Puig, Straily, Reds, Brewers, Mets

By Connor Byrne | April 28, 2018 at 7:52pm CDT

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig will go for X-rays after fouling a ball off his left foot Saturday and leaving the team’s game against the Giants, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report. An injury to Puig could open the door for highly touted outfield prospect Alex Verdugo, who McCullough notes is on the Dodgers’ taxi squad for their doubleheader in San Francisco. Verdugo, 21, collected 25 plate appearances in his first major league action in 2017. He hasn’t gotten off to a great start at the Triple-A level this year (.276/.309/.474 – good for a 98 wRC+ – over 81 PAs), though Puig also hasn’t exactly been on fire up to now. The 27-year-old has hit an unsightly .193/.250/.250 (43 wRC+) in 96 PAs on the heels of a bounce-back 2017.

As we await word on Puig, here’s more from around the NL:

Marlins right-hander Dan Straily will likely make his 2018 debut Monday against the Phillies, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com suggests. Straily, arguably Miami’s best starter, has been on the DL all season with a forearm injury. The 29-year-old is coming off back-to-back respectable campaigns, including 2016 with Cincinnati, and could perhaps emerge as a trade chip for the Marlins if he’s healthy and effective as the season progresses.
Righty Luis Castillo was a key part of a Reds-Marlins trade in 2017 that also involved Straily, and the former has struggled mightily this year after looking like a potential long-term cog last season. The Reds are now working to fix Castillo, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com details. “They all agree that his arm angle has changed a little bit,’ interim manager Jim Riggleman said of pitching coach Danny Darwin, bullpen coach Ted Power and coach Derrin Ebert. “His hand is maybe not getting on top of the ball like it needs to. What that does, is it causes the ball to flatten out instead of sink. Hitters love that when the ball moves [flat] across the plate instead of having some sink. It’s kind of running right into their barrel.” Hitters have indeed barreled up against Castillo, who has seen his ERA rise from 3.12 in 2017 to 7.85 this year. Along the way, the 25-year-old has experienced a velocity drop and allowed more hard contact, Sheldon explains in a piece that’s worth checking out in full. It’s been a discouraging development for the Reds, who haven’t had much success developing front-line pitching from within.
Brewers southpaw Wade Miley, out since late March with a slight groin tear, made his third and final rehab start Friday. The Brewers now must decide within the next two days whether to add Miley to their roster or release him, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes. If the Brewers do keep Miley, whom they signed to a minor league deal over the winter, they could option starter Brent Suter or reliever Brandon Woodruff to Triple-A to make room, McCalvy notes. But it’s “a tough decision” because Milwaukee’s staff has fared well thus far without Miley, manager Craig Counsell admitted.
The Mets have activated left-hander Jason Vargas from the disabled list and optioned righty Jacob Rhame to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Vargas is set to take on San Diego on Saturday in his first start of 2018 after signing a two-year, $16MM deal in free agency. The 37-year-old, who logged a 4.16 ERA/4.67 FIP across 179 2/3 innings as a Royal in 2017, missed nearly the entire month of April after suffering a fracture in his right hand in late March. Vargas is in his second stint with the Mets, having previously been a member of the organization in 2007.

NL Notes: Bruce, Kang, Stratton, Panik, Gohara, Pennington

By Kyle Downing | April 28, 2018 at 1:30pm CDT

Mets outfielder Jay Bruce has been taking ground balls at first base, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. Wagner adds that the Mets may consider playing him there in order to open up room for Brandon Nimmo to receive everyday playing time again. First base incumbent Adrian Gonzalez has struggled mightily thus far, with just a .203/.300/.320 batting line on the season. It’s still only April, but in light of his struggles last year with the Dodgers, Gonzalez’s leash might be fairly short. That’s particularly true since Nimmo reached base in half of his 38 MLB plate appearances this season. It’s fair to think that the Mets are looking hard for ways to lock Nimmo into an everyday role.

Other news out of the NL…

Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang won’t receive any discipline from MLB, nor will the team dole out any punishment, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. Kang was denied a U.S. visa for all of last year due to multiple DUI-related arrests. He’s finally able to return to the Pirates as of Thursday.
Today, the Giants reinstated Chris Stratton from the paternity list, optioning outfielder Austin Slater to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. Within hours, however, the club reversed its reported stance on Mac Williamson’s status, placing him on the seven-day concussion DL. The move allowed the Giants to recall Slater, who’s directly replacing Williamson. Stratton sports an impressive 2.32 ERA and 2.69 FIP across five starts this season, though the fact that he hasn’t allowed any homers despite a 37.8% hard contact rate suggests he might have been a bit lucky in that regard. Stratton will take his scheduled turn through the rotation today against the Dodgers.
In other Giants news, second baseman Joe Panik has been placed on the disabled list with a sprained left thumb. The club correspondingly purchased the contract of second baseman/outfielder Alen Hanson, who leads the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with a .403 batting average. The club moved Mark Melancon to the 60-day DL in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Hanson.
The Braves have reinstated left-hander Luiz Gohara from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Gohara suffered a sprained ankle during a spring training outing, and had exhausted the maximum amount of time allotted for rehab starts. He’ll likely make a couple more starts in the minors before returning to help the Braves at the major league level. Gohara had figured to be a prominent part of Atlanta’s rotation before the season began.
The Reds announced that infielder Cliff Pennington has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville. Pennington, who signed a minors deal in the offseason, made the club out of spring training camp as a bench player. However, he’s struck out in nearly 40 percent of his plate appearances thus far and has yet to sock an extra-base hit.

Athletics Acquire Wilmer Font

By Jeff Todd | April 25, 2018 at 3:29pm CDT

The Athletics have acquired righty Wilmer Font from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. Lefty Logan Salow will head to Los Angeles in return.

Font is out of options, so he’ll need to be added to the active roster by the A’s. He cracked the Dodgers pen to open the 2018 season but was knocked around early. Thus far in 2018, opponents have scored 13 earned runs and cracked five home runs in Font’s 10 1/3 innings of work.

That said, Font is an interesting player to take a risk on. He was lights out as a starter last year at Triple-A, carrying a 3.42 ERA with 11.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. The A’s will hope that Font can rediscover the form that produced those results and convert it into MLB production.

Salow was a sixth-round pick in last year’s draft who showed some swing and miss, but also some command struggles, in his first two dozen innings as a professional. The southpaw has shown well out of the gates at the Class A level in 2018, allowing just one earned run on one hit and two walks while compiling eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Dodgers Select Contract Of Daniel Hudson, Option Walker Buehler

By Steve Adams | April 24, 2018 at 6:29pm CDT

6:29pm: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets that the expectation is that Buehler will return to the club Saturday and serve as 26th man in the Dodgers’ doubleheader against the Giants, starting one of the two games.

5:41pm: The Dodgers announced tonight that they’ve added veteran right-hander Daniel Hudson to the 40-man roster and brought him up to the Majors. Top prospect Walker Buehler, who tossed five shutout innings for the Dodgers yesterday, was optioned to clear a spot on the 25-man roster. Los Angeles had 39 players on its 40-man roster prior to adding Hudson, so no corresponding 40-man move was necessary.

The veteran Hudson joined the Dodgers on a minor league pact back on April 2 after being cut loose by the Rays at the end of Spring Training. Tampa Bay will be responsible for paying the bulk of Hudson’s $5.5MM salary, with the Dodgers owing him only the pro-rated league minimum for time spent on the big league roster.

Hudson, 31, is coming off a mediocre season with the Pirates, during which he totaled 61 2/3 innings and averaged 9.6 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 with 1.0 HR/9 en route to a 4.38 ERA. He’s demonstrated impressive velocity since moving to the bullpen after his second Tommy John surgery, and while Hudson has shown flashes of brilliance over the past three seasons, the aggregate results have been fairly pedestrian.

Hudson opened the season with 4 2/3 shutout innings early in Triple-A, and the Dodgers will hope to catch lightning in a bottle with him in similar fashion to the manner in which they struck gold on Brandon Morrow last year. Of course, L.A. isn’t shy about quick roster turnover, so if another roster need arises, it’s also possible that Hudson’s stay with the team will be an abbreviated one.

[Related: Los Angeles Dodgers depth chart]

Buehler, 23, will head back to the minors and continue to work in the rotation, though it stands to reason that he’ll likely be back with the Dodgers later this year. The former first-rounder (24th, 2015) is generally regarded as one of the game’s elite pitching prospects but still has just a total of 36 innings at the Triple-A level under his belt (in addition to 14 1/3 MLB frames). Rich Hill tossed a four-inning simulated game today and will rejoin the rotation Monday (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times) so there’s no long-term spot in the rotation for Buehler to occupy. When Hill returns, he’ll join Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kenta Maeda in the starting five.

Dodgers Designate Wilmer Font

By Jeff Todd | April 23, 2018 at 6:29pm CDT

The Dodgers have designated right-hander Wilmer Font for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to top prospect Walker Buehler, whose promotion — to make his first-ever MLB start — was previously reported.

Font, who’ll soon turn 28, received his first real shot at the majors to open the 2018 season. The results, however, just haven’t been there, as he has surrendered 13 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings.

There’s just one walk — of the intentional variety — on Font’s stat line, so he’s been in the zone. But he has also coughed up 18 base hits, five of which have left the yard, and generated soft contact on just one of every ten balls put in play against him.

Despite the struggles, it would not be surprising to see another organization roll the dice on the out-of-options Font. After all, he turned in an impressive 2017 effort at Triple-A. In 134 1/3 innings spread over 25 starts last year at the highest level of the minors, Font worked to a 3.42 ERA with even more impressive peripherals (including 11.9 K/9 against just 2.3 BB/9).

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/23/18

By Steve Adams | April 23, 2018 at 9:06am CDT

We’ll kick off the week with Monday’s minor moves from around the game…

The Dodgers picked up right-hander Tyler Pill from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations in a minor swap late last week (Twitter link via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group). Pill, 27, signed a minor league deal with the D-backs after making his big league debut with the Mets in 2017. The brother of former big league first baseman Brett Pill, Tyler tossed 22 innings for the Mets and yielded 13 earned runs (5.32 ERA) on 22 hits and 10 walks with 16 strikeouts last season. He’s posted solid numbers up through Double-A but struggled at the Triple-A level, although those shaky results came exclusively at an exceptionally hitter-friendly setting in Las Vegas (and the Pacific Coast League in general). Pill debuted with the Dodgers’ own Triple-A affiliate over the weekend and tossed three scoreless frames. He’ll add some depth to an organization that shuffles its pitching staff and the fringes of its 40-man roster perhaps more aggressively than any club in the game.
Right-hander Luke Jackson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Braves after being designated for assignment last week, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 26-year-old Jackson owns a 4.85 ERA and a 36-to-21 K/BB ratio in 52 innings with the Braves over the past two seasons and has struggled to a 5.79 ERA in 70 total innings at the big league level. Jackson hasn’t missed enough bats in the big leagues (5.8 K/9, 10.7 H/9), but he does have a track record of missing bats in the minors (career 9.8 K/9).
Also via Eddy, the Reds have released outfielder Adam Brett Walker from the organization. Walker, 27, was a third-round pick of the Twins in 2012 and boasts huge raw power but plenty of swing-and-miss issues as well as a limited defensive skill set. Minnesota removed him from the 40-man roster after the 2016 season, and he landed with the Brewers, Orioles (twice), Braves and Reds via a series of waivers claims and minor league signings in 2017 alone. Walker’s power is evident in looking at his career .232 ISO in the minors, but he’s whiffed in 30.9 percent of his minor league plate appearances — including an enormous 37.4 percent strikeout clip in Triple-A.

Dodgers’ Walker Buehler To Start Monday

By Connor Byrne | April 22, 2018 at 1:21pm CDT

The Dodgers will recall right-hander Walker Buehler from Triple-A Oklahoma City and start him against the Marlins on Monday, according to a team announcement. It’ll be the first major league start for the 23-year-old Buehler, one of the most highly regarded pitching prospects in baseball.

Buehler, who has quickly ascended the ranks since the Dodgers chose him 24th overall in the 2015 draft, already comes with some big league experience. He made eight appearances out of the Dodgers’ bullpen toward the end of the regular season last year. It was a rough stint for Buehler, who allowed eight earned runs on 11 hits and eight walks in 9 1/3 innings.

While Buehler clearly struggled in Los Angeles in 2017, there were some positive signs, namely a high-90s heater that helped him rack up 12 strikeouts. He has consistently shown off that strikeout prowess in the minors, including early this season at Triple-A. Thus far, Buehler has fanned 16 (against four walks) and logged a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings. Buehler has only hit the five-inning and 80-pitch marks once in three starts in 2018, though, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes.

The Dodgers are accustomed to receiving short outings from the oft-injured Rich Hill, whose place Buehler will take for the time being after the veteran went on the disabled list with a finger issue earlier this week. The rest of the Dodgers’ rotation – Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kenta Maeda – looks set at the moment, so this could be a short stay in the majors for Buehler. But he’s clearly the Dodgers’ highest-upside depth starter, ranking as their top prospect at MLB.com and the outlet’s 12th-best farmhand overall, and could emerge as a significant factor soon enough.

NL West Notes: Desmond, Turner, Renfroe, Giants

By Connor Byrne | April 21, 2018 at 8:00pm CDT

Although we’re only three weeks into the season, it’s nonetheless discouraging that Rockies first baseman/outfielder Ian Desmond is off to a horrific start after such a disappointing 2017. Desmond, whom the Rockies signed to a five-year, $70MM deal in December 2016, has batted an unsightly .153/.184/.333 and posted minus-0.5 fWAR over 76 plate appearances this month. The 32-year-old’s not panicking, however. “Even though it’s bad right now, I know (my process) works, I know it’s worked in the past, and I believe it,” said Desmond (via Kyle Newman of the Denver Post) “When you’re going through something like this right now is when you really have to believe it, because you can really get sideways if you don’t.” Desmond has the support of manager Bud Black, who stated that “He’ll find his timing, and when he does, he’ll be the Ian Desmond that we’ve seen for eight-plus seasons.” While Desmond has recorded an unappealing 73.1 percent groundball rate this season on the heels of logging a 62.7 percent figure last year, he’s not necessarily aiming to hit more balls in the air. “Looking at it throughout the course of my career, I’m a groundball hitter, I’m a line drive hitter — I don’t think I’m ever going to lead the league in launch angle,” said Desmond, even though he acknowledged that the altitude at Coors Field makes it an especially friendly place for fly ball hitters.

Here’s more from the NL West:

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner told reporters Saturday that he still hasn’t swung a bat since suffering a broken left wrist in late March (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, on Twitter). As such, there’s still no timetable for Turner’s return, which is unfortunate for an LA team that has felt his absence during a slow start. Dodgers third basemen have only managed a .208/.274/.338 line in 84 PAs this season.
Prior to their game Saturday, the Padres activated center fielder Manuel Margot from the disabled list and sent right fielder Hunter Renfroe to the DL (retroactive to April 18) with elbow inflammation. Margot, who suffered bruised ribs when he took a pitch to the chest, returned quickly after going on the DL on April 11. Renfroe, meanwhile, “played with one arm for about a week and a half,” manager Andy Green told Justin Toscano of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday. The 26-year-old power hitter got off to a .200/.281/.440 start with two home runs in 57 PAs before going on the shelf.
The Giants expect left-handed reliever Will Smith back by May 1, manager Bruce Bochy announced Saturday (per Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group, via Twitter). Smith underwent Tommy John surgery prior to last season, meaning he hasn’t pitched in a major league game since the Giants’ NLDS loss to the Cubs in October 2016. The 28-year-old was a well-regarded reliever before his injury, which led the Giants to trade a couple of prospects to Milwaukee for him in August 2016.

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