Rosenthal’s Latest: Cards, Yanks, Phelps, Asche, Turner
In his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports quotes one rival executive that said Cardinals GM John Mozeliak “realizes he has more talent than anyone else — and he’s reluctant to get rid of it.” (That reluctance is illustrated by Mozeliak’s comments to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as the GM told him that external changes aren’t much of a consideration at this time.) Rosenthal looks at some of the recent improvements in the Cardinals’ offense and echoes Goold’s initial report that patience seems the likely route for St. Louis at this point.
More trade-, draft- and prospect-related highlights from a lengthy piece that also looks at slow starts in the AL East and a surprising start from the Twins…
- The Yankees have better pitching depth than many realize, Rosenthal opines, noting that Adam Warren could be moved into the rotation when Shawn Kelley is healthy again. He also points to a quartet of hard-throwing relievers at Triple-A — Diego Moreno, Jose Ramirez, Danny Burawa and Branden Pinder. A trade is still something the Yanks will likely explore, but despite the aforementioned depth, the team likely doesn’t have the firepower to land someone like Cliff Lee, in Rosenthal’s eyes. They have little more to offer than relief help and high-end catching talent and could be competing with at least two other AL East teams in the Orioles and Blue Jays.
- David Phelps wasn’t the Yankees‘ priority when scouting director Damon Oppenheimer went to see Notre Dame play prior to the 2008 draft. Oppenheimer was scouting Phelps’ teammate Kyle Weiland, but Phelps impressed him with his competitiveness, prompting Oppenheimer to push for him in the 14th round, which looks to be a nice bargain pickup six years later.
- The Phillies are having internal discussions about moving Cody Asche to the outfield in 2015 in order to clear room on the 25-man roster for top prospect Maikel Franco at third base. Though Rosenthal doesn’t mention this, that does raise the question of what will become of Domonic Brown, the team’s left fielder who is once again struggling after what looked to be a breakout 2013 season.
- Rosenthal hears that NC State shortstop Trea Turner is drawing interest from teams in the No. 6-10 range of the upcoming draft. The fleet-footed shortstop also has pop in his bat (he’s second in the ACC in homers), but some scouts wonder if he can stick at shortstop. Rosenthal points out that both the Mariners (No. 6) and the Mets (No. 10) have needs at shortstop heading into a draft that is light on college shortstops.
- Analysts from the Pirates and Marlins made the same comment to Rosenthal in the past week: the most useful data regarding defensive shifts comes from where hitters put the ball in play against a team’s own pitchers. The Marlins aren’t particularly focused where batters hit the ball against soft-tossers, due to the flamethrowing nature of their rotation. Likewise, the Pirates’ shifts are based largely on batted ball data against Francisco Liriano, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton.
NL East Notes: Zimmerman, Phils, Tejada, Heaney
The Nationals raised some eyebrows recently by having injured third baseman Ryan Zimmerman work out in left field (as noted yesterday by the Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore), though many on the coaching staff were quick to tell Kilgore that Zimmerman was merely getting some conditioning work. In a second piece from Kilgore last night, Zimmerman essentially said the same, noting that he cannot take grounders during batting practice at this point and the outfield worked helped him “from going crazy.” Manager Matt Williams, however, wouldn’t rule out using Zimmerman in the outfield, though he sounded more comfortable with the longtime third baseman as an emergency option there: “I think he’s a wonderful athlete and if we have a pinch late in a game where we have nobody left and he’s got to play left field, or right field or center field, he could do it.”
Here’s more from the NL East…
- The next 20 games could determine the Phillies‘ course of action this summer, writes CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury. The Phils have a stretch of 20 games in 20 days beginning tonight, and 11 of those contests come against divisional opponents. If the team fares well in this stretch, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. may well push the decision off for a few weeks, but Salisbury implies that a particularly poor showing could push the Phillies into sell mode.
- Salisbury’s colleague, Corey Seidman, points out that fans can’t pin the team’s 19-22 record on the aging core. Ryan Howard is on pace for 28 homers, Chase Utley has played like an MVP candidate thus far, Jimmy Rollins has a career-high .359 OBP, Carlos Ruiz‘s OBP sits at .396 and Marlon Byrd has hit very well. Cliff Lee, A.J. Burnett and Jonathan Papelbon have all turned in solid ERA marks also, he adds. However, the team has received next to no production from Ben Revere and Domonic Brown, the bullpen has struggled and the bench has combined to hit .181 with four homers thus far.
- Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald found the Marlins‘ recent signing of Miguel Tejada a bit puzzling, so he spoke with VP of player development Marty Scott about the deal. Scott said the signing was made for depth purposes and that Tejada impressed both offensively and defensively in private workouts. “I don’t want something to happen at the big-league level where we don’t have someone we know who can come up and do the job,” said Scott before calling Tejada a “safety valve.”
- From that same piece, Spencer reports that the Marlins are currently listing Thursday’s starter at Triple-A as “TBA,” and that spot is very likely to be filled by top prospect Andrew Heaney, who has dominated Double-A Jacksonville. If all goes well, says Spencer, Heaney could be with the Fish in early June.
Minor Moves: Spence, Oeltjen, Germano, Billings
Here are today’s minor transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…
- The Marlins announced (on Twitter) that left-hander Josh Spence has been released from their Triple-A New Orleans affiliate. Spence, a 26-year-old from Australia, pitched reasonably well for the Zephyrs, posting a 3.97 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. However, he also walked seven hitters in that time and hit a batter. Command hasn’t been an issue for Spence in previous minor league seasons, but he walked 24 batters in 40 innings for the Padres in 2011-12 despite a strong 3.15 ERA and 9.2 K/9 rate.
- The Diamondbacks‘ Triple-A affiliate, the Reno Aces, announced today that outfielder Trent Oeltjen has been released (Twitter link). The Australian 31-year-old batted just .219/.286/.313 in 35 plate appearances for the Aces, but he has a strong .294/.358/.479 batting line in his career at that level. His last Major League action came with the 2011 Dodgers.
- Right-hander Justin Germano has accepted his outright assignment to the Rangers‘ Triple-A affiliate, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports (via Twitter). Germano had the option of becoming a free agent after he was outrighted off the Rangers’ 40-man roster, following being designated for assignment earlier this week. The veteran righty has been hit hard in his two appearances with Texas this season, posting an 11.81 ERA over 5 1/3 IP.
- The Yankees have outrighted right-hander Bruce Billings to Triple-A, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Billings was designated for assignment on Thursday. The righty allowed four runs in four innings of work for New York this season, though he recorded seven strikeouts in that brief stretch.
- With Billings’ situation resolved, MLBTR’s DFA Tracker tells us that three players remain in DFA limbo: Royals outfielder Justin Maxwell, White Sox infielder Jeff Keppinger and Marlins reliever Carlos Marmol.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Marlins Release Carlos Marmol
The Marlins have released veteran right-hander Carlos Marmol, the team announced via Twitter. Miami designated Marmol for assignment last week.
Marmol, 31, pitched 13 1/3 innings for the Fish this season, posting an 8.10 ERA and continuing his career pattern of posting high strikeout numbers (9.5 K/9) along with a lack of control (6.8 BB/9). The righty was able to miss enough bats to deliver a few impressive seasons out of the Cubs bullpen but eventually became too unreliable for the closer’s job. Chicago dealt him to the Dodgers last July and Marmol then signed a minor league deal with the Marlins during the offseason.
Justin Maxwell (Royals) and Jeff Keppinger (White Sox) are the only players still in DFA limbo, according to the MLBTR DFA Tracker.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Rodriguez, Germano
We’ll keep track of today’s outright assignments here..
- Athletics first baseman Daric Barton cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento, according to Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter). Barton, 28, has yet to repeat his outstanding 2010 campaign, when he played in 159 games and put up a .273/.393/.405 line while leading the league with 110 walks.
- The Marlins announced that they have outrighted Henry Rodriguez to Triple-A New Orleans. Rodriguez, designated for assignment on Wednesday, displayed what have become typical command problems for him in 2014, walking five batters in just 1 2/3 innings pitched for the Fish.
- The Rangers have outrighted Justin Germano to Triple-A Round Rock, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Texas designated the right-hander for assignment on Wednesday to make room on the roster for Scott Baker. Germano appeared in just two games for the Rangers, yielding seven runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. The veteran swingman has seen time in the Major Leagues in each of the past five seasons and owns a career 5.40 ERA in 330 innings pitched.
Quick Hits: TJ, Martinez, Dodgers, Cubs, Amateur
Pitching injuries are the big topic around the league, so let’s catch up on some of the latest commentary. Writing for GammonsDaily.com, Neil Weinberg offers a hypothesis (which, as he notes, may not really be testable) on the seeming Tommy John epidemic: what if the reason that more high-end professional pitchers are experiencing UCL tears is simply because better management at younger ages has actually prevented them from blowing their arms out at an earlier age? Meanwhile, pointing to the contractual effects of the injury bug, a GM tells Peter Gammons (Twitter link) that, “with all these injuries, I think pitchers will be reluctant to turn down extensions.” At Fangraphs, Wendy Thurm explores the costs to pitchers who lose time to TJ recovery, providing a bevy of salary information on past and current pitchers who have experienced the career-saving procedure.
Here are more notes from around the game:
- One player coming off of surger (on his shoulder) is righty Cristhian Martinez, who Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com says (Twitter link) is expected to throw for teams by the end of May. The 31-year-old, who was non-tendered by the Braves, was good for a 3.63 ERA in 151 1/3 innings over 2011-12.
- The Dodgers need to make some moves if they want to get back on trajectory, opines Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. While the team is among the most well-rounded in baseball, that does not mean it is without its faults; one scout tells Castrovince that “the bench is awful, the bullpen is fringy at best, maybe below average, and there’s no situational hitting.” Though Castrovince says that the stats don’t really bear out the latter concern, he says the team should take the much-discussed step of shipping out one of its highly-paid outfielders.
- Trading away players is an expectation for the Cubs, of course, and Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com discusses the team’s most likely pieces (after ace Jeff Samardzija). Though Jason Hammel just suffered his worst start of the year, Rogers says he still looks to be on track to bring back a strong prospect return. Nate Schierholtz and Jose Veras still look like trade chips to Rogers, though both will need to improve rather substantially to maximize their trade value to their current club.
- The latest amateur draft mocks are out, with MLB.com offering a first-round projection and Baseball America putting out its second version. The BA staff now sees a shake-up in the early portion: their board has the Marlins going with catcher/outfielder Alex Jackson at second overall, the Cubs choosing lefty collegiate Kyle Freeland in the fourth slot, and big-armed high schooler Tyler Kolek falling to the Phillies at number seven. Both MLB.com and BA like the Jays to take N.C. State shortstop Trea Turner and prep righty Touki Toussaint. Meanwhile, the Twins have interest in Jackson with their fifth-overall pick — if he lasts that long — tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, though he notes that there is still no consensus as to whether he can stick behind the dish.
- Turning to the international market, there has of course been much discussion over whether — and, if so, how — a draft might be implemented. Writing for the Hardball Times, Alex Remington argues against a draft. Among his reasons are the concern that less young international players would have a chance to play professionally; various deleterious consequences that could occur in Latin America (without solving the issues that currently persist); and that implementation could pose a “logistical nightmare.”
Jose Fernandez Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
FRIDAY: Fernandez underwent successful surgery today, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The club anticipates the usual twelve to eighteen month recovery period.
TUESDAY, 10:02pm: The Marlins have announced that Tommy John surgery has been recommended to repair a ligament tear in Fernandez’s right elbow, though the team cautions that it has yet to be decided whether (and if so when) the procedure will take place.
9:09pm: The second physician’s assessment was the same as the first, tweets Spencer: a UCL tear for which surgery is recommended.
2:20pm: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has some further details on the situation, reporting that ElAttrache diagnosed Fernandez with a “significant tear” of his ulnar collateral ligament and recommended surgery. Fernandez will visit with Kaplan today for his take, but all expectations are that a Tommy John procedure will ultimately result.
MONDAY, 7:30pm: The Marlins expect that Fernandez will require season-ending surgery, reports Rodriguez (via Twitter). Needless to say, the outstanding 21-year-old would be the crown jewel of the many outstanding pitchers who have succumbed to elbow injuries in recent months.
7:15pm: Fernandez has already undergone a second MRI, Rosenthal tweets. The first was overseen by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, says Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel, with Fernandez then returning to Florida for a second MRI and consultation with team medical director Lee Kaplan.
5:32pm: Rosenthal tweets that Fernandez has been placed on the DL with a right elbow sprain. He adds that Fernandez is returning to Miami and the results of the MRI are still pending. Spencer quotes Redmond’s response when asked if he is concerned about Tommy John surgery: “I think you’re always concerned when you’re talking about elbows. It’s a big blow.”
4:45pm: The Marlins are off to a surprising start to their 2014 season at 20-18, but bad news appears to be on the horizon. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that Jose Fernandez is undergoing an MRI in Los Angeles, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Cy Young hopeful is expected to be placed on the disabled list. The Marlins announced earlier today that manager Mike Redmond would be addressing the media at 6:30pm EST.
Clearly, any substantial injury to Fernandez would be a devastating blow to the Marlins. The 21-year-old is off to a dominant start to the season, having pitched to a 2.44 ERA with 12.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent ground-ball rate in 51 2/3 innings. Fernandez was hit hard by the light-hitting Padres in his last outing, surrendering six runs (five earned) on six hits and a walk in five innings, though he was reportedly ill prior to that outing.
Marlins Nearing Minor League Deal With Miguel Tejada
The Marlins are nearing a minor league contract with veteran infielder and former American League MVP Miguel Tejada, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Spanish Twitter link). The 39-year-old Tejada is a client of Relativity Sports.
Tejada received a 105-game suspension last season for a pair of positive tests for a banned amphetamine (Adderall), resulting in a 25-game and 80-game suspension, as he had already tested positive for Adderall once in the past. Tejada also faced potential punishment from the Biogenesis scandal, but Major League Baseball gave him a choice between accepting his 105-game ban for Adderall use or facing further punishment due to his Biogenesis link.
Prior to last year’s suspension issues, he’d been playing with the Royals in a utility infield capacity, batting .288/.317/.378 with three homers in 167 plate appearances. That marked his first big league action since 2011, as he sat out the 2012 season entirely.
Tejada is a career .285/.336/.456 hitter in parts of 16 seasons with the A’s, Orioles, Astros, Royals, Giants and Padres. The six-time All-Star took home AL MVP honors in 2002 when he hit .308/.354/.508 with 34 home runs for the Athletics, but his legacy has been tainted by connections to performance enhancing drugs and the falsification of his age, in which he led Major League teams to believe he was two years younger than he actually is.
Marlins Sign Randy Wolf
8:49pm: Wolf did agree to a 45-day advance consent form with the Marlins, reports Rosenthal (links to Twitter). He explained that he was comfortable agreeing to those terms this time around because he was signing in the middle of the season. Wolf was set to opt out and join another (unnamed) club when the Marlins offered him the chance to join their rotation, Rosenthal adds.
2:32pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Wolf will earn a $1MM base salary plus performance incentives (Twitter link).
2:11pm: Randy Wolf exercised an opt-out clause with the D’Backs earlier this afternoon and has a new team just hours later. The Marlins have officially announced the signing of the Wasserman Media Group client to a one-year, Major League deal. Wolf will reportedly slot into Miami’s rotation, though it sounds like he’ll be backing up rookie Anthony DeSclafani in tonight’s game.
Earlier this afternoon, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reported that the Marlins were working to make a pitching addition that was not currently part of the organization, and Wolf would clearly fits that bill.
The 37-year-old Wolf underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2012 season, but he looks to be fully recovered after a strong Spring Training with the Mariners and a respectable showing in six starts for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno. Wolf posted a 4.50 ERA with a 35-to-18 K/BB ratio while in Reno. He had originally made the Mariners’ roster out of Spring Training as the fifth starter but instead requested his release when the team asked that he sign a 45-day advance-consent clause that would’ve allowed them to terminate the deal for any non-injury reason in that window.
Wolf is a 14-year big league veteran that has a 4.20 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate in 2268 innings between the Phillies, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, Astros and Orioles. Miami has a definite need for pitching depth after the devastating news that their young ace, Jose Fernandez, will likely miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
With Fernandez out for the season, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez are locks in the rotation. Jacob Turner has been starting as well, but he’s battled shoulder problems that have likely hampered his effectiveness. Tom Koehler‘s hot start likely leaves him with a rotation spot locked down as well. In addition to DeSclafani, Miami has a slew of pitching prospects that are nearly Major League ready, though none are as intriguing as 2012 first-round pick Andrew Heaney, who has been simply dominant to this point in his minor league career.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported that Wolf was headed to Miami (Twitter link), and ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported that it was a one-year, Major League deal (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marlins Designate Henry Rodriguez For Assignment
The Marlins have designated right-hander Henry Rodriguez for assignment and optioned lefty Dan Jennings to Triple-A New Orleans, according to the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer (on Twitter). According to the club’s transactions page, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani‘s contract has been purchased from Double-A Jacksonville.
Rodriguez displayed what have become typical command problems for him in 2014, walking five batters in just 1 2/3 innings pitched for the Fish. He’s issued 107 free passes in 150 1/3 career innings at the big league level, offsetting an impressive strikeout rate (9.0 K/9) and strong velocity (he’s averaged 98 mph on his heater in his career).