East News & Rumors: Marlins, Red Sox, Nats, Mets
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Saturday that the playoff-contending club hasn’t discussed signing Miami native and resident Alex Rodriguez, whom the Yankees released Saturday.“You’ve got to have a place to play. I know he hasn’t played in the field in a long time. I don’t know where he fits right now,” Mattingly told reporters, per the Associated Press. However, given the injury-forced absence of Justin Bour, Mattingly didn’t rule out the 41-year-old Rodriguez as a first base option for the Marlins. “There’s no reason he couldn’t play first. He has the ability to do a lot of things,” Mattingly stated. “We miss Justin a little bit over there at first. I don’t think we’ve been able to replace that. We’re always looking at ways of getting better in different areas.” The Marlins have been deploying right-handed hitters Miguel Rojas and Chris Johnson in a first base platoon with the lefty-swinging Derek Dietrich, though the former two have registered miserable batting lines this season. The same is true of Rodriguez – hence his release – but he’s only a year removed from hitting a tremendous .263/.394/.532 in 193 plate appearances against southpaws.
More regarding A-Rod and the majors’ two East divisions:
- For his part, Rodriguez seems unsure if he wants to continue his career. After his final game with the Yankees on Friday, the 22-year veteran was reluctant to say he was done. “For all the things I’ve been through, to have a night like tonight, I don’t know what more I can ask for,” he said (Twitter link via David Lennon of Newsday). For what it’s worth, in a survey of 24 executives from around baseball, nearly half (11) told Jayson Stark of ESPN that Rodriguez would return either this season or in time for spring training next year.
- On the heels of his Saturday release from the Nationals, free agent reliever Jonathan Papelbon would welcome a return to Boston, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI (Twitter link). Papelbon, whom the Red Sox selected in the fourth round of the 2003 draft, had a highly successful run with the club from 2005-11. During that seven-season, 429 1/3-inning span, the right-hander converted over 88 percent of save opportunities (219 of 248) and compiled a 2.33 ERA, 10.67 K/9 and 2.41 BB/9. He’s far less effective now, having lost a few miles per hour on his fastball and his job as Washington’s closer before it released him. However, Boston’s bullpen has posted a 4.14 second-half ERA – the sixth-highest figure in baseball – notes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, the Red Sox are without injured setup man Koji Uehara, and closer Craig Kimbrel has scuffled while dealing with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. Given their issues, Papelbon is “worth investigating,” Sox president Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- Thanks to a clean MRI on Saturday, the Nationals will not place right fielder Bryce Harper on the disabled list, president and general manager Mike Rizzo said (via Alex Putterman of MLB.com). Harper hasn’t taken an at-bat since last Saturday because of a stiff neck, and manager Dusty Baker is wary of playing the 23-year-old in the event the team decides to place him on the DL retroactively. By playing him, Baker would reset the clock on a retroactive DL stint.
- Left-hander Jon Niese is likely to return to the Mets’ rotation at the expense of Logan Verrett, whom the team pulled from its starting five after a disastrous Friday outing, according to Troy Provost-Heron of MLB.com. In an 8-6 loss to the Padres that dropped the Mets to below .500, Verrett yielded all eight runs on six hits (including four home runs) and three walks. Verrett has thrown 60 innings as a starter this year and recorded a 6.45 ERA, 6.15 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. Niese was a capable option out of the Mets’ rotation from 2010-15, but he struggled this year with the Pirates after an offseason trade, leading Pittsburgh to deal him back to New York prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. Niese’s return to the Mets was going well until Thursday, when he gave up six earned runs on three hits and three walks in just an inning of work.
Injury Notes: Harper, De La Rosa, Rasmus, Bour, Gray, Cishek, Zych
A slumping Bryce Harper was out of the lineup again tonight for the Nationals owing to a seemingly minor neck issue, but the precise nature of his injury has been the subject of some debate. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post breaks down all the back-and-forth on the topic. In essence, Nats GM Mike Rizzo strongly denied a report from SI.com’s Tom Verducci indicating that Harper may have been playing through a shoulder injury for some time. Rizzo insists that Harper simply has a stiff neck that has not yet required a DL placement.
Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:
- Diamondbacks righty Rubby De La Rosa has suffered a setback in his efforts to come back from a forearm injury, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. He’s headed for an MRI to see where things stand. It seems as if there’s little reason to expect the 27-year-old to return to the majors this season. That’s a tough blow for the D-Backs, who surely would like to get a longer look at a pitcher who showed a fair bit of promise this year. Over 47 2/3 innings earlier in the season, De La Rosa worked to a 4.15 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
- The Astros will be without Colby Rasmus for a month or more after he underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his ear, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Rasmus has been struggling for some time, and it’s fair to wonder whether the issue may have played a significant role. He’ll need to return in good form to provide a boost to the ‘Stros — and to bolster his fading free agent position.
- Marlins first baseman Justin Bour isn’t progressing in his attempt to return from an ankle injury, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. In fact, manager Don Mattingly says that Bour “went backwards” of late, with the team’s expectation now being that he won’t return until at least early September. That certainly seems to open some room for Miami to look into adding a bat to chip in down the stretch.
- Athletics righty Sonny Gray only just began forearm exercises today, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports. He won’t begin throwing again unless and until the inflammation subsides. At this point, it seems far from certain whether he’ll make it back to a major league hill this season.
- The Mariners may soon send reliever Steve Cishek out on a rehab assignment, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. It appears that his hip labrum issue is indeed as minor as the team had suggested. Meanwhile, fellow pen righty Tony Zych is also finally making some progress and will begin a rehab assignment on Friday. Adding those two arms down the stretch would provide a significant boost to Seattle’s late-inning mix.
Angels Claim Cody Ege
The Angels have claimed southpaw Cody Ege off waivers from the Marlins, per an announcement from Los Angeles. Right-hander Nick Tropeano was moved to the 60-day DL to create a 40-man opening.
Ege, 25, will head to Triple-A Salt Lake City to begin his tenure in the Los Angeles organization. He has spent most of the year at that level with Miami, compiling a 4.50 ERA over 44 frames with 7.2 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9.
That obviously isn’t a terribly promising pitching line, though Ege did earn a brief MLB promotion. He was also much better in the upper minors last year — good enough, in fact, to be a part of an under-the-radar deadline trade that has turned out to be more important than it initially seemed.
Ege was dealt along with Tomas Telis in the deal that sent Sam Dyson to the Rangers. That swap has certainly had an impact on both organizations, as Texas has utilized Dyson as its closer while the Fish have been forced to hunt for extra arms at the back of their pen.
Heyman’s Latest: Yankees, Braun, Miller, O’s, Marlins
In his column for Today’s Knuckleball, Jon Heyman takes a lengthy look at the Yankees‘ rebuilding process, including the numerous deadline deals struck by the club. GM Brian Cashman says that the club would have traded Carlos Beltran to the Red Sox had their offer topped that of the Rangers, but obviously it did not. Per the report, New York was also willing to consider moving Brett Gardner, but “no serious takers” emerged.
Here are some other highlights:
- While the Braves checked in with the Brewers on Ryan Braun before the deadline, talks never progressed — in large part because it didn’t seem worth pursuing given his no-trade clause. As Heyman notes, the six teams that can acquire Braun without his permission are all based upon geographic preference, and it was deemed unlikely that he’d waive his protection for a switch to Atlanta. Braun’s wife is expecting, Heyman notes, and that factor (in conjunction with the no-trade clause) may well explain why trade buzz never picked up on him this summer.
- The Braves also were one of the teams to ask the Diamondbacks about struggling righty Shelby Miller, who famously changed hands between those teams before the season. That deal seemed favorable to the Braves at the time, and looks even better for them now. Arizona was prepared to move Miller, Heyman notes, but never was offered anything close to what was deemed needed to make a deal.
- In August shopping news, the Orioles are looking to add a left-handed reliever, per the report. As Baltimore’s depth chart shows, the club doesn’t have any southpaws in the pen other than ace closer Zach Britton.
- The Marlins are also still looking for pitching this month. Though the team hopes that Wei-Yin Chen can return for the stretch run in September, the team still wants a starter after sending Colin Rea back to the Padres. That move brought back prospect Luis Castillo, who remains a useful trade piece for the club as it pushes hard for the post-season.
- One bullpen piece that is freely available is veteran righty Joe Nathan, who was designated recently by the Cubs. Heyman says that there’s “strong interest” given the solid (albeit quite brief) showing the 41-year-old put on in his brief time in Chicago.
Marlins Have Had Internal Discussions About Alex Rodriguez
1:30pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that a pursuit of Rodriguez is largely dependent on how long Miami expects first baseman Justin Bour to remain on the disabled list. Bour has been out since July 6 with an ankle sprain.
12:41pm: The Marlins have at least had some internal discussions about signing Alex Rodriguez once he is formally released by the Yankees this weekend, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Heyman notes, however, that there’s no real evidence yet that A-Rod’s hometown team will try to sign him. Meanwhile, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson tweets that he was told earlier this week that while a signing shouldn’t be considered likely, it shouldn’t be completely ruled out, either.
Heyman adds that a Rodriguez signing almost certainly wouldn’t be able to happen until after rosters expand on Sept. 1, which makes some sense. At age 41, Rodriguez can’t be counted upon to play defense with any sort of regularity, if at all (he hasn’t taken a single inning in the field this year). As such, dedicating a precious 25-man roster spot to a strict pinch-hitter in the midst of a playoff push would be an ill-advised move. Owner Jeffrey Loria is a Rodriguez fan, Heyman points out, but the Marlins didn’t show any interest in picking up Rodriguez prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.
Rodriguez will be released on following Friday’s game, as the Yankees announced last week. He’ll become a special advisor and instructor within the organization following his release, but A-Rod wouldn’t rule out the possibility of signing with another team if there was interest. With a .203/.251/.355 batting line on the season, he’s looked overmatched at the plate, but he is less than a year removed from batting .250/.356/.486 with 33 homers in 151 games in 2015. He’ll still be owed $25.5MM through the end of his contract at the time of his release, but the Yankees will be on the hook for that sum. A new team would need only pay Rodriguez the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the roster once he clears release waivers.
Marlins Designate Cody Ege For Assignment
The Marlins have announced that they’ve designated lefty Cody Ege for assignment. They also announced a variety of other moves — they’ve placed closer A.J. Ramos on the 15-day DL, as anticipated, with a finger fracture, and optioned lefty Hunter Cervenka to Triple-A New Orleans. They’ve also recalled righty Austin Brice from New Orleans and selected the contract of lefty Chris Narveson. Brice and Narveson should help ease the burden on the Marlins’ bullpen after the team’s 14-inning game yesterday.
[Related: Miami Marlins Depth Chart]
The Marlins acquired the 25-year-old Ege last season when they sent Sam Dyson to Texas. Ege has spent most of the season in bullpen with New Orleans, where he’s posted a 4.50 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 44 innings. He also appeared in five games with the Marlins, the first of his big-league career. The Marlins selected his contract in April. The 2013 15th-round pick has a career 2.63 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in parts of four minor league seasons.
Marlins To Place A.J. Ramos On DL
The Marlins will place closer A.J. Ramos on the 15-day DL, Andy Slater of 940-AM WINZ tweets. Slater adds that the team will send lefty Hunter Cervenka, who it recently acquired from the Braves, to the minors. Corresponding moves have yet to be announced, although the Marlins used eight relievers (including Cervenka and starter Andrew Cashner) in a 14-inning loss to the Giants yesterday, so bullpen reinforcements would appear to be in order.
There’s no specific word on the reason for Ramos’ DL placement, although he recently has been unavailable due to a jammed finger. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out, but if the finger turns out to be the only problem, the Marlins’ initial reluctance to place him on the DL might suggest they believe the injury won’t turn out to be serious. Fernando Rodney collected a save this weekend in Ramos’ absence and appears likely to continue to close until Ramos returns.
The 29-year-old Ramos has had a solid second season as the Marlins’ closer, collecting 32 saves while posting a 3.05 ERA and compensating for a high 5.3 BB/9 with an excellent 11.4 K/9. He’s now pitched parts of five seasons with the Marlins, with a career 2.69 ERA, 10.6 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.
AL East News & Rumors: A-Rod, Rays, Marlins, Pearce
Here’s the latest from around the AL East…
- Alex Rodriguez didn’t close the door on continuing his career beyond his final game as a Yankee on Friday, but playing in his home state of Florida might not be in the cards. The Rays don’t have interest in A-Rod, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports, while MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro believes it is “highly doubtful” that the Marlins sign the veteran slugger. (Both links to Twitter.)
- The two Florida teams were listed by ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) as speculative fits if Rodriguez decided to keep playing, with the Twins and Astros also being cited. A-Rod could help on the field if he has anything left in his bat, though Olney noted that Rodriguez’s vaunted game preparation could make him a mentor for young players on the four teams. Once Rodriguez is released, of course, a new team would only owe him a prorated minimum salary, with the Yankees responsible for the rest of his hefty remaining contract.
- Steve Pearce left the fifth inning of yesterday’s game due to a right elbow strain, and Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) that Pearce was feeling much better after receiving a cortisone injection. The team will wait a couple of days to gauge Pearce’s improvement, though Showalter hinted that Pearce could still be worked into games in a non-throwing capacity. The O’s re-acquired Pearce in a deadline trade with the Rays, adding the veteran to provide versatility and to boost the team’s productivity against left-handed pitching.
NL East News & Rumors: Ichiro, Prado, Walker, Phillies
Ichiro Suzuki joined the 3000-hit club today, as the Marlins outfielder collected his milestone hit in the form of a seventh-inning triple during Miami’s 10-7 win over the Rockies. Suzuki became the 30th player in MLB history to collect 3000 hits, though of course, Ichiro is now up to 4278 career hits counting his storied career in Japan. At age 42, Ichiro has shown no inclination to retire, so he should be able to climb several more steps up the all-time hit leaderboard before he finally hangs up the cleats. Congratulations to one of baseball’s legends as we check out some notes from around the NL East…
- The Marlins have yet to make Martin Prado a contract offer but they’re expected to do so after the season, a team source tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The 32-year-old has hit well in his walk year, carrying a .318/.372/.422 slash line over 452 plate appearances into today’s action. Prado has long been regarded as a clubhouse leader in Miami and he has also won the respect of Don Mattingly in the skipper’s first season running the Marlins. If Prado leaves in free agency, the Marlins do have a ready-made internal replacement for third base in Derek Dietrich.
- The Mets have yet to approach Neil Walker about a new contract, the free agent second baseman tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, though Walker is quite open to remaining with the team. “When I say I am excited about the future here, I don’t just mean what I think we can still do this season,” Walker said. “I like the players we have here, I like what I think we are building for this season and for years to come. I’d like to be a part of it, yeah.” A team source tells Ackert that the Mets will “make a good run” at re-signing Walker, and GM Sandy Alderson said earlier this week that the club would talk to Walker, especially given how Dilson Herrera‘s trade shakes up the Mets’ middle infield plans. Ackert, for her part, believes re-signing Walker would bring some much-needed stability to a Mets infield that has big injury question marks in David Wright and Lucas Duda.
- Hector Neris and Edubray Ramos will see a lot of action over the last two months of the season and the relievers could be trade chips for the Phillies this winter, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Phils scored one major trade haul for Ken Giles last winter, and if Neris and/or Ramos both continue their impressive performance, they could also bring back a solid return. As Phillies GM Matt Klentak noted about the trade deadline, “the industry is shifting. They’re paying a lot for elite bullpen arms. We learned that a little bit last offseason ourselves, and I think that’s been reinforced through some of the trades this year.”
Marlins Acquire Hunter Cervenka From Braves
The Marlins have acquired lefty reliever Hunter Cervenka from the Braves, Fan Rag’s Tommy Stokke tweets. The Marlins have announced that they’ve sent minor league infielder Anfernee Seymour and lefty Michael Mader to Atlanta.
The 26-year-old Cervenka slowly made his way through the Red Sox and Cubs systems after Boston drafted him in the 27th round in 2008. He briefly wound up in independent ball after being released by the Cubs last season, then signed a minor league deal with the Braves in the middle of the 2015 season. He made his big-league debut this season and has gotten good results in the big leagues despite a very high 6.1 BB/9, with a 3.18 ERA and 9.3 K/9 in 34 innings. He has solid velocity for a lefty, with a fastball that averages around 93 MPH, and a good slider that has helped him hold opposing lefties to just .143/.264/.242.
Cervenka should give the Marlins’ bullpen a second lefty to complement Mike Dunn. Marlins relievers have been slightly below average against southpaws this season, allowing them to hit .250/.342/.383.
The 21-year-old Seymour was the Marlins’ seventh-round pick in 2014. He was hitting just .252/.293/.306 while playing shortstop for Class A Greensboro. MLB.com rated him the eighth-best prospect in a weak Marlins system, noting his excellent speed — he has 36 steals this year.
The Marlins picked Mader in the third round in 2014, and after struggling to strike batters out last year at Greensboro, the 22-year-old has taken a modest step forward this season at Class A+ Jupiter, with a 3.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 103 innings in the rotation. MLB.com ranked him the Marlins’ 24th-best prospect, reporting that he throws his fastball in the low 90s and also has a changeup and an inconsistent but potentially decent curveball.