NL Central Notes: Pirates, Cards, Reds, Brewers
Here’s the latest from the National League Central:
- Pirates manager Derek Shelton expects recently signed right-hander Trevor Cahill to break camp with the team, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic relays. “I don’t plan on him staying behind in Florida,” Shelton said of Cahill, whom the Pirates inked to a one-year, $1.5MM guarantee earlier this month. The Pirates aren’t yet sure which role Cahill will fill when the season starts, though. The well-traveled 33-year-old has amassed 225 starts in 352 appearances, and he’s coming off a season divided between starting and relieving with the Giants. Cahill wound up with 26 innings of 3.24 ERA ball and posted an excellent 29.2 percent strikeout rate, but he also walked 13.2 percent of the batters he faced, recorded a 4.38 SIERA and logged a personal-worst 33.3 percent groundball rate.
- John Nogowski has made himself a surprising candidate for a roster spot in Jupiter with the Cardinals, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 28-year-old first baseman has an uphill climb ahead of him even after hitting .391/.533/.522 in 30 plate appearances this spring. Thanks to his limited defensive utility, however, there may not be an avenue for the Florida native to make the roster. The Cardinals would basically have to resolve themselves to keeping a roster spot solely for pinch-hitting duties. With Paul Goldschmidt set at first and Matt Carpenter also on the roster, Nogowski wouldn’t even necessarily be the first left-handed bat off the bench. Because of the injuries in the rotation, the Cardinals could choose to go with a four-man bench to help fill the innings, deepening the need for versatility from their bench bats. Also working against Nogowski is that he has two option years remaining, whereas Justin Williams, another left-handed bat, has none. If Carpenter, Williams, and backup catcher Andrew Knizner all make the roster, the Cardinals will still need someone capable of backing up Paul DeJong at shortstop. Tommy Edman would be the backup shortstop if another infielder is not added to the Opening Day roster.
- The Reds are considering using Tejay Antone as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen, writes C.Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. Whenever he pitches, the Reds are going to lean on Antone. They don’t expect to get as much length out of their starters as they had in 2020, feeding the thinking that Antone might be most impactful as an innings eater out of the bullpen. Pitching coach Derek Johnson stressed the importance of the bullpen, saying:“I don’t look for our starters to necessarily go out and give us six or seven every time. I think it’d great when and if they do, and that’ll be a bonus, but I do think our games — like they have in the last couple of years — they have been won or lost, a lot of times, in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth inning. Our bullpen has to be solid if we’re going to have a chance.” Amir Garrett and Lucas Sims, two of their prime bullpen arms, have been slow in making their spring debuts, which could also play a part in the Reds’ using Antone in relief.
- As long as he’s healthy, Daniel Robertson appears to be a sure bet to earn a roster spot with the Brewers as a utility player, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Robertson, who doesn’t have any minor league options remaining and was out the past couple of days because of a knee issue, returned to Milwaukee’s lineup Monday. The ex-Ray and Giant signed a one-year, $900K deal with the Brewers in free agency.
Injury Notes: Engel, Lorenzen, Antone, Reds, Kelly
Adam Engel will begin the season the injured list, as White Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) that Engel will miss “at least a couple of weeks” due to a right hamstring strain. Long known for his glovework moreso than his bat, Engel hit .295/.333/.477 over 93 plate appearances in 2020, and was projected to serve as Chicago’s fourth outfielder this year, also getting his share of right field platoon duty with the left-handed hitting Adam Eaton. [UPDATE: Engel told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters that his injury carries a normal recovery timeline of 2-4 weeks, though that projection will depend on how his body responds to treatment.]
Utilityman Leury Garcia could fill Engel’s role, and La Russa also mentioned three other candidates in camp — prospect Luis Gonzalez, and non-roster invitees Billy Hamilton and Nick Williams. Mikie Mahtook is another center field-capable player with MLB experience in camp. If Engel does make good progress before Opening Day, it’s possible his IL stint could be fairly minimal, so the Sox might just use Garcia or Gonzalez as short-term replacements rather than make a 40-man roster move to accommodate one of the players on minor league deals.
More injury situations from around baseball….
- With Sonny Gray already slated to begin the season on the IL, two more pitching concerns arose for the Reds on Saturday. Michael Lorenzen suffered a minor shoulder strain while pitching in an intrasquad game, and Tejay Antone ended a side session due to hip flexor irritation. GM Nick Krall told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that “we got as good of news as possible” on the two right-handers, saying “I think we’re hopeful that both will start the season on time, but we’re still monitoring the situation.” Lorenzen was taken out as something of a precaution, while Antone may perhaps be taken along a bit slower, considering that he was already trying to recover from a slight groin strain. Since the Reds have two off-days in the first eight days of the schedule, they could get by with just a starting four of Luis Castillo, Wade Miley, Tyler Mahle, and Jose De Leon should Lorenzen to miss time. If Antone is healthy and isn’t instead ticketed for the bullpen, he could also pitch as a starter rather than De Leon.
- Brewers pitching prospect Antoine Kelly underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last November, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes, and it isn’t yet certain when the southpaw might be back on the mound. “I think it’s unlikely for him to be ready by the start of the Minor League season….I think we do envision him pitching over the summer. Exactly when, we don’t know,” Milwaukee president of baseball ops David Stearns said. Kelly was a second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and he made 10 starts (nine in rookie ball, one in A-ball) that year before working out at the Brewers’ alternate training site last summer. Baseball America ranks Kelly as the fourth-best prospect in Milwaukee’s system, citing his plus fastball and plus slider, and saying he “has the attributes to develop into a mid-rotation or better starter.”
Brewers Notes: Infield, McKinney, Lauer, Cain, Williams
The most likely scenario for the Brewers at shortstop is turning back to Orlando Arcia while giving third base to Travis Shaw, per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Luis Urías, meanwhile, could begin the year in Triple-A. Urías has been hampered by a left hamstring injury, which could account for a potential early-season demotion. The Brewers were hopeful the former top prospect would show enough to claim a starting job in the infield this spring, going so far as auditioning Arcia at different spots around the diamond. If Urías isn’t totally full speed, the Brewers can use his minor league options as a means of keeping Daniel Robertson and Billy McKinney, each of whom they’d have to expose to waivers if they don’t start the season on the roster. McKinney wasn’t a lock to stay in Milwaukee, but he has done his part with a strong spring, writes Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal. The Brewers don’t have an outright need for McKinney, although it helps that the left-handed outfielder can play first base as well.
More out of Milwaukee:
- It has been a tough Spring Training for Eric Lauer, note Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Over five innings between three appearances, the left-hander has issued seven walks and given up three home runs. The Brewers optioned Lauer to Triple-A Nashville Friday, taking him out of the mix for a season-opening rotation spot. Acquired from the Padres as part of the deal that also brought in Urías and sent out Trent Grisham and Zach Davies, Lauer suffered through a brutal first season in Milwaukee. He allowed sixteen runs in eleven innings last year, issuing nine walks while striking out twelve.
- Lorenzo Cain and Devin Williams made their Cactus League debuts in last night’s game against the Reds, Haudricourt and Rosiak were among those to relay. Cain, delayed by a quad injury early in camp, took three plate appearances and played some center field. He’ll rest today but expects to be back in the lineup tomorrow. The Brewers have proceeded cautiously with Williams, who missed their playoff series last year with a shoulder injury. The reigning NL Reliever of the Year says he’ll have “three or four” more tune-up appearances before Opening Day, per Haudricourt and Rosiak.
Brewers Sign Zack Godley To Minor League Deal
The Brewers have signed right-hander Zack Godley to a minor league contract, Steve Adams of MLBTR reports. The non-roster invitee’s deal comes with an $800K base salary in the bigs, $800K more in incentives and a mid-May opt-out date.
Godley, who will turn 31 next month, was an effective starter at times for the Diamondbacks from 2015-18. At his best, he combined for 333 1/3 innings of 4.10 ERA pitching with a 51.6 percent groundball rate and a 24.7 percent strikeout rate during the final two of those four seasons. Unfortunately, Godley’s career has taken a major turn for the worse since then. In 120 2/3 frames since 2019, Godley has recorded a 6.49 ERA – last among 139 pitchers who have thrown 120-plus frames dating back to then – with below-average strikeout and walk percentages of 17.8 and 10.2, respectively.
After Godley opened 2019 with a rough few months, the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment. While Godley then found a new team in the Blue Jays, they let him go after the season. Godley landed with the Red Sox last year, but a flexor issue limited him to 28 2/3 innings of 8.16 ERA ball. Godley dealt with a velocity drop then, as his fastball went from the low 90s to the high 80s, but he threw for about 12 teams a couple weeks ago and his velo returned to normal.
Quick Hits: Rockies, Cron, A’s, Mathias, Angels
C.J. Cron appears to be the favorite to claim the Rockies’ open first base job, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post as part of a reader mailbag. Signed to a minor-league deal in February, Cron is competing with Josh Fuentes and fellow non-roster invitee Greg Bird. Installing Cron at first would allow Fuentes to see action at multiple corner positions off the bench. That might make it tough to also carry Bird as a lefty bench bat, although Saunders notes there’s a chance all three players make the season-opening active roster, particularly if Brendan Rodgers is forced to start the year on the injured list after straining his hamstring. Cron and Bird would each need to be added to the 40-man roster if they make the team, although Colorado currently has one open 40-man spot.
More from around the sport:
- Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk made his Cactus League debut today. He threw approximately 30 pitches this afternoon and plans to toss around 45 in his next outing, writes Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Manager Bob Melvin has mentioned Puk as a potential option for the season-opening rotation if Mike Fiers, suffering from hip inflammation, isn’t ready by the first week of April. It remains to be seen if Puk will have enough time to sufficiently build up strength for the start of the season himself.
- The Brewers placed Mark Mathias on the 60-day injured list yesterday to create roster space for Travis Shaw. It seems Mathias will be on the shelf for significantly longer than that two-month minimum. The utilityman suffered a posterior labrum tear, he told reporters (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Mathias is awaiting a second opinion on the possibility of rehabbing the injury without surgery; even if he can avoid going under the knife, the 26-year-old says he’s likely looking at a three to four month layoff. Mathias made his MLB debut last season.
- Today’s news that Felix Peña likely won’t be available for Opening Day leaves the Angels’ bullpen down an important arm. After the injury, general manager Perry Minasian acknowledged the club might now go outside the organization to acquire additional relief help, Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic was among those to relay. Free agency still offers a few possibilities, with 32-year-old righty Shane Greene arguably the top arm available. Greene’s market has been rather quiet all offseason, but he continues to throw in anticipation of an opportunity, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
Brewers To Add Travis Shaw To 40-Man Roster
11:25 am: The Brewers have announced the move. Mark Mathias has been placed on the 60-day injured list because of a torn labrum in his shoulder.
8:28 am: As expected today, Travis Shaw informed the Brewers of his plans to execute an opt-out clause in his contract if the Brewers did not guarantee his contract for the 2021 season. The Brewers complied, guaranteeing Shaw $1.5MM in 2021 with an additional $1.5MM in incentives still on the table, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). The Brewers 40-man roster is currently full, so they will need to make a corresponding move before officially adding Shaw to the payroll.
Shaw will likely open the season as the Brewers starting third baseman, though it’s reasonable to expect he’ll be rested against southpaws. With right-handers Luis Urias and Orlando Arcia competing at shortstop, plus another right-hander in Daniel Robertson as a potential bench bat, there are more than enough options to take the small side of a straight platoon. For his career, Shaw is a 110 wRC+ hitter against right-handers and a 79 wRC+ hitter against lefties. If Shaw is able to produce at that rate against right-handed pitchers in 2021, he’ll more than cover the cost of his salary.
Of course, averages don’t tell nearly the whole picture in Shaw’s case. His best seasons in the Majors came in Milwaukee as he posted a 3.5 fWAR campaign in 2017 and backed it up with a 3.7 fWAR season in 2018. His worst year came immediately after, however, as Shaw and the Brewers saw his production tumble to a shocking .157/.281/.270 line across 270 plate appearances worth -0.8 fWAR. He found more of a middle ground in his one season with the Blue Jays, slashing .239/.306/.411 over 180 plate appearances with a 8.9 percent walk rate and 27.8 percent strikeout rate. That’s a slightly below-average walk rate and slightly above-average strikeout rate, but he did, at least, cut down his strikeouts after striking out 33.0 percent of the time during his disastrous 2019 campaign.
Ryan Braun “Strongly Leaning” Toward Retirement
As of February, free-agent outfielder Ryan Braun said he wasn’t interested in continuing his playing career. That still seems to be the case, as Braun stated in a radio interview Monday that he hasn’t touched a baseball or a bat since last season ended, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. Braun also revealed that he’s “strongly leaning” toward retirement, though he’s not ready to commit to a decision yet.
If the 37-year-old Braun does continue his career, it appears it will have to be with the Brewers – the only organization he has known since he went fifth overall in the 2015 draft. Braun admitted that he “can’t foresee a scenario in which I play for any other major league team,” per Will Sammon of The Athletic.
In the event it’s Brewers or bust for Braun, then the longtime left fielder probably is done. After all, the club already has Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, the newly signed Jackie Bradley Jr. and Avisail Garcia as its top four outfielders. Braun has a bit of first base experience on his resume, but the Brewers are committed to Keston Hiura at that position. It would be easier to envision a Braun-Brewers reunion had the National League kept the designated hitter for 2021, but that’s not happening.
If Braun is done, he’ll exit as a six-time All-Star and a onetime MVP in his league. Braun owns a stellar .296/.358/.,532 line with 352 home runs and 216 stolen bases in 7,340 plate appearances, though he batted a career-worst .233/.281/.488 with eight HRs and one steal over 141 PA last year.
Brewers Notes: Shaw, Fisher, Houser, Cain, Black
Travis Shaw can opt out of his minor league contract with the Brewers tomorrow but it seems very likely that the team will include Shaw on its Opening Day roster, according to Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Officially selecting Shaw’s contract would guarantee the veteran a $1.5MM salary for the coming season, and the Brewers would have to make another corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster spot. The left-handed hitting Shaw is expected to get the bulk of playing time at third base when a right-hander is on the mound, with Orlando Arcia, Daniel Robertson, and (if not at shortstop) Luis Urias all getting at-bats against southpaws.
More from the city of Giannis, Liberace, Laverne and Shirley…
- Today’s Cactus League game with the Mariners saw both Derek Fisher and Adrian Houser leave early due to injury. According to the Brewers’ official announcement, “left hamstring discomfort” forced Fisher from the game after he scored from first base on a double, and manager Craig Counsell told Haudricourt and other reporters that Fisher will be out of action for a while. The out-of-options Fisher was already facing some tough competition to win a roster job, and this injury setback could further hamper if not ruin his chances. As for Houser, he left the game with right thumb discomfort, but both the hurler and Counsell felt it was a minor issue that shouldn’t much interrupt Houser’s preseason preparations.
- In other injury news, Lorenzo Cain is expected to make his Spring Training debut by the weekend, Counsell told The Athletic’s Will Sammon and other reporters. After opting out of much of the 2020 season, Cain’s return to the field has been slowed by a quad injury. It remains to be seen how much time Cain will need to ramp up for the season, so an injured list placement probably still isn’t out of the question for at least the first week of the schedule.
- Right-hander Ray Black will begin throwing off a mound by the end of the week, Counsell said, as Black will return to work after being shut down due to elbow inflammation. The hard-throwing Black tossed only three innings over three games in 2020, missing much of the season due to a strain in his right rotator cuff. Given his recent injury history, Black could very well be an IL candidate for Opening Day.
Tim Dillard Announces Retirement
After an 18-year professional career, right-hander Tim Dillard announced today that he’s retiring from baseball. For some MLBTR readers, Dillard may not be a familiar name at all. Others — particularly Brewers fans — may know him well for his lengthy minor league run and parts of four big league seasons in Milwaukee. Others may recall Dillard for his contributions to MLB Trade Rumors over the years.
Dillard began doing some writing for MLBTR back in 2017, beginning with thoughts from early Spring Training that year and continuing, on occasion, through the 2018-19 offseason when he attended the Winter Meetings as a minor league free agent in search of an opportunity. The structure of his entries and his voice within them were uniquely Tim, and we were happy to host his writing over the years as he shared experiences, anecdotes and the more-than-occasional inanity from the road. You can check out his full archive here.
Tim was a 34th-round draft pick by the Brewers back in 2002 and by 2008 had reached the Major Leagues for his first taste of The Show. He’d go on to spend parts of four seasons with the Brewers, including a 2012 campaign in which he tossed a career-high 37 innings with a 4.38 ERA. From 2011-12, the sidearmer was an oft-used and solid piece of the Milwaukee bullpen. He spent another 13 seasons in the Triple-A ranks, including a 2019 run with the Rangers organization, played parts of three seasons on the independent circuit — two with the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers and one (2020) with the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen — and turned in an all-time great lip sync performance at the 2017 Univision Awards.
Tim — congrats on spending nearly two decades in pro ball, and thanks for all the fun here at MLBTR over the years! Best wishes!
Injury Notes: Carrasco, Davis, Brewers
Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco will pause his throwing regimen until next week, manager Luis Rojas revealed to reporters Wednesday (Twitter thread via The Athletic’s Tim Britton). Carrasco reported some soreness in his elbow, although Rojas said the organization isn’t overly concerned at this time. The longtime Indians righty says he has experienced similar soreness at a similar point in Spring Training in the past. For now, the club hopes to have Carrasco facing live hitters again by the end of next week. Jordan Yamamoto, Joey Lucchesi, Sam McWilliams and Sean Reid-Foley all stand as 40-man depth options. Carrasco, 34 later this month, was one of the Mets’ most notable offseason additions. He joined free-agent addition Taijuan Walker and righty Marcus Stroman, who accepted a qualifying offer, as additions to a Mets rotation that will also hope to have Noah Syndergaard back at some point midseason. Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, of course, will lead the group, and former first-round pick David Peterson pitched his way into the team’s plans with an impressive rookie showing in 2020.
Some more injury situations to keep an eye on around the league…
- Chris Davis has been down since last week due to a lower back strain, and Orioles general manager Mike Elias today told reporters that there’s still no timeline for when he’ll return to baseball activities (Twitter link via the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli). He saw a specialist earlier in the week. Davis, who’ll turn 35 next week, missed the bulk of the 2020 season due to knee problems and was slowed by a hip injury in 2019 as well. He was likely ticketed for a somewhat limited role now, given the return of Trey Mancini and the emergence of several prospects at the MLB level (Ryan Mountcastle chief among them). With no timeline at the moment, it could be tough for Davis to be ready by Opening Day. The Orioles owe him $23MM in 2021 and 2022.
- Brewers infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias is headed for an MRI after injuring his shoulder in yesterday’s Cactus League game, manager Craig Counsell announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal). There’s no official word yet on the extent of the injury, but Mathias will “miss some time” with the injury, which was sustained on a diving catch in the outfield. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut in 2020 and went 10-for-36 with three doubles in a brief look at the MLB level. He was 4-for-13 thus far in Spring Training and had been competing for a utility role with the club, but it sounds as though this setback could take him out of the running. In brighter news for Milwaukee fans, Counsell revealed that infielder Luis Urias‘ hamstring issue is on the mend. Urias took batting practice yesterday and could be in a game by this weekend.