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NL Central Notes: Schwarber, Thames, Cards’ Pen, Adams

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Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago tells the interesting tale of how Kyle Schwarber put himself on the Cubs’ radar — with a big assist from longtime scout Stan Zielinski, who unfortunately passed away recently. Zielinski drew quite a picture of Schwarber upon seeing him in person, invoking none other than Babe Ruth and calling Schwarber “the best college bat I’ve seen in a long time” — adding, “and remember I’m so old I’ve seen a lot of them.” It’s an interesting read that’s well worth your time.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • This profile of new Brewers slugger Eric Thames, from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, also merits a look this morning. Interestingly, as Nicholson-Smith writes and Thames explains, the 30-year-old has flattened his swing out since he last appeared in the majors. While there’s an increasing trend toward doing just the opposite to drive power enhancements, Thames engineered his return to the bigs by posting massive home run tallies in Korea.
  • The Cardinals aren’t denying that there’s a bit of worry with the early performance of their relief corps, as ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon reports. While the unit got the job done last night, Trevor Rosenthal — who was handed the ball in the eighth — was touched for three hits and a run while recording just one out. Closer Seung-hwan Oh and major free-agent signee Brett Cecil have each struggled through the season’s first nine games, among others. Short sample alarms are by now obviously blaring, and there’s not a whole that that could be done at this stage anyway. But that doesn’t mean the front office isn’t keeping an eye on the situation. “I’m concerned, but I also realize it is still too early to panic,” said GM John Mozeliak.
  • That’s not to say that the Cardinals aren’t open to trying things in hopes of jolting the club out of its uninspiring start. After all, lumbering first baseman Matt Adams has now seen 27 1/3 innings of action in left field — a decision that boosts the lineup but also comes with some tradeoffs. Matheny acknowledges as much, as Saxon further reports. “We’re going to get what we get out of a guy who hasn’t played a lot there,” Matheny said in discussing Adams’s transition to the grass. “We’ve seen opportunities to make an impact offensively and, right now, we need both.”

Central Notes: Martinez, Reds, Hughes, Thames

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Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez was able to take BP yesterday, manager Brad Ausmus tells Evan Woodberry of MLive.com (via Twitter). That puts the slugger a bit ahead of schedule in his rehab timeline from a lisfranc sprain in his right foot. The expectation had been that Martinez would not resume baseball activities until mid-April. Detroit is obviously hoping to get Martinez back quickly, while also balancing the need to ensure he doesn’t suffer a setback along the way.

Here’s more from the central divisions:

  • Reds skipper Bryan Price is backing up the organization’s promise to utilize unconventional bullpen tactics, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Yesterday, top setup man (and occasional closer option) Michael Lorenzen entered with the bases loaded in the third, putting out that fire and staying in to record three scoreless frames. (That’s not all; Lorenzen will also factor as a pinch-hitter.) Top baseball ops man Dick Williams has preached outside-the-box thinking for the rebuilding organization, with flexible, multi-inning relief outings representing one point of apparent focus. Top closer option Raisel Iglesias is also slated to continue throwing more than one frame from the pen at times, as he did on 17 occasions last year.
  • New Brewers reliever Jared Hughes discussed his transition from the NL Central-rival Pirates with Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He wasn’t surprised when he was cut loose by Pittsburgh, the only organization he had known to this point. “They told me early in spring that if it wasn’t going to be a great spring that they might need to part ways,” said Hughes. He noted, though, that struggling in camp is mostly a byproduct of his big frame. “I’ve got long levers,” said Hughes. “I need to get the timing of my sinker. … My sinker was not sinking the way it should have been. By the end of spring I was getting groundball outs. I’d imagine the Brewers saw it, and that’s what I’m doing now in the season.” Indeed, Hughes has generated eight grounders in 4 1/3 scoreless innings, though he has also issued four walks against just one strikeout thus far.
  • Another new Brewers player, first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames, took a much more circuitous route to Milwaukee. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy details how he landed with the Brewers, identifying the statistical and scouting analysis — as well as the “old-school sit-down” — that led to the three-year, $16MM pact. Thames, who is back in the majors for the first time since 2012, is off to a fine start. He owns a .333/.429/.611 slash through 21 plate appearances, though that comes with the usual sample caveats. Thamas has also gone down on strikes eight times against three walks and has hit safely on over half the balls he put in play.

Brewers Outright Michael Blazek

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Brewers announced that right-hander Michael Blazek, who was designated for assignment last week when they claimed Nick Franklin off waivers, has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A. The 28-year-old righty turned in a disappointing 5.66 ERA in 41 1/3 innings with the Brewers last year, but he’d previously been a reliable piece of the Milwaukee bullpen. In 55 2/3 innings for the Brew Crew in 2015, Blazek registered an excellent 2.43 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate. Blazek’s home-run, ground-ball and walk rates all went backward last season, but he did maintain a healthy 93 mph average on his velocity. Pitching in Triple-A Colorado Springs will hardly be a cakewalk, but he’ll look to get back on track in that hitter-friendly setting and work his way back into the Brewers’ big league plans.

Brewers Designate Damien Magnifico For Assignment

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The Brewers have selected the contract of right-hander David Goforth and designated right-hander Damien Magnifico for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move, the club announced via Twitter.

Goforth, a seventh-round pick for the Brew Crew in 2011, has a 6.11 ERA over 35 1/3 career innings with the club and a 3.95 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.65 K/BB rater over 481 1/3 frames in the minors.  Southpaw Brent Suter was optioned to Triple-A yesterday, so with Goforth taking his place, Milwaukee now has an all-righty bullpen.

Magnifico made his big league debut last season, notching three innings over a three-game cup of coffee with the Brewers.  The 25-year-old righty was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 draft and he has a 3.71 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 339 2/3 career innings in Milwaukee’s farm system.

Brewers Notes: Villar, Broxton, Jungmann

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Melvin Roman, the agent for Brewers infielder Jonathan Villar (among others), said today on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) that Villar is “willing to bet on himself and go year-to-year unless they approach us with a contract that makes sense.” Villar reportedly rejected an extension this offseason that would’ve guaranteed him around $20MM. While it’s difficult to dissect that offer without knowing the exact amount and length, there are several instances of players in Villar’s service class securing quite a bit more.

Jason Kipnis, Matt Carpenter and Rougned Odor each signed in the vicinity of $50MM. The Brewers could rightly argue that Villar doesn’t have the track record that any of those three players did upon signing, of course, though Roman could cite Jose Ramirez’s $26MM deal and Villar’s superior power/speed numbers in arguing for a larger sum. Or, the two sides could go the route that the Twins went with Brian Dozier when he signed a four-year, $20MM deal that locked in his arbitration salaries but didn’t extend the club’s control.  That’s all just a quick and rudimentary look at some recent comps, with the greater takeaway perhaps being that Villar isn’t inclined to take an especially club-friendly deal at the risk of short-changing himself.

More on the Brew Crew…

  • Brewers center fielder Keon Broxton escaped serious injury after a frightening hit-by-pitch today, writes Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Broxton was hit in the head by a 93 mph fastball from Rockies rookie Anthony Senzatela, but was fortunately wearing a helmet with a “C-flap” — the increasingly popular helmet that extends protection with a flap that covers a hitter’s cheek. Broxton, who considered reverting to a traditional helmet this spring, said he believed the pitch that struck him would’ve connected directly with his eye socket had he not had the extended flap on his helmet and vehemently encouraged teammates and players around the league to begin donning the same type of helmet. “I’m grateful I kept that thing on, and I encourage every player to use it,” says the center fielder. “Even if you’re uncomfortable with it, guys, it saved me. I know it’ll help out a lot of other players as well. The best thing about this game is being healthy and being on the field.” Broxton was diagnosed with a small nasal fracture but won’t require a DL stint.
  • Milwaukee optioned right-hander Taylor Jungmann to Double-A Biloxi today, per a club announcement. The move creates a spot on the 25-man roster for waiver claim Nick Franklin, who will join the Brewers this weekend. Per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link), the Brewers are being selective with their minor league assignments for pitchers this season. Jungmann and pitching prospect Jorge Lopez both struggled considerably in Triple-A Colorado Springs last season — a notorious hitters’ haven — thus prompting the Brewers to slot them in Double-A. In writing about the move, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy notes that Jungmann righted the ship in Biloxi last season, so perhaps the friendlier environment will be advantageous. This, McCalvy adds, is Jungmann’s final option year, so it’s a fairly pivotal season for the former first-round pick.

Brewers Claim Nick Franklin, Designate Michael Blazek Fror Assignment

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The Brewers have claimed infielder/outfielder Nick Franklin off waivers from the Rays, reports Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The Rays had designated the 26-year-old Franklin for assignment over the winter. Milwaukee announced the move, somewhat surprisingly adding that righty Michael Blazek has been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Franklin enjoyed a productive year for the Rays in a limited sample of 191 plate appearances last season, hitting .270/.328/.443 with six homers and six stolen bases. However, the former top prospect never settled into an everyday role with Tampa Bay or even a regular position. Last year, Franklin saw time at shortstop, second base, first base, right field and left field, though the majority of his work in the Majors has come at second base.

That defensive versatility figures to play well for the Brewers in the National League, as the switch-hitting Franklin will give manager Craig Counsell a jack-of-all-trades type to utilize in a variety of capacities. While there don’t appear to be everyday at-bats for Franklin anywhere in Milwaukee, he can join speedster Hernan Perez in bouncing all over the diamond and could, of course, take on a larger role in the event of an injury.

Blazek’s DFA is a bit of a surprise, if only because he’s just one year removed from a terrific season out of the Milwaukee ’pen. While the 28-year-old Blazek limped to a 5.66 ERA in 41 1/3 innings last year, he logged an outstanding 2.43 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate across 55 2/3 innings in 2015. Blazek maintained his velocity in 2016 (average fastball of 93.0 mph), but he did see his walk, home-run and ground-ball rates all trend in the wrong direction. Blazek does have a minor league option remaining, so any club that either claims him on waivers or acquires him via trade would be able to send him to Triple-A without needing to pass him through waivers.

While Franklin didn’t pan out with the Rays and Drew Smyly has since been traded to the Mariners, there’s still plenty of talent left in the Rays organization as a result of the team’s trade of David Price to the Tigers. In addition to Franklin and Smyly, Tampa Bay landed infield prospect Willy Adames in that deal, and the 21-year-old Adames is widely considered to be one of the top 50 or so prospects in Major League Baseball. The Rays also have Mallex Smith and minor leaguers Ryan Yarbrough and Carlos Vargas to show for their trade of Smyly to Seattle, creating further residual value from that 2014 blockbuster.

NL Central Notes: Lynn, Pirates, Garza

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Right-hander Lance Lynn, who will make his return from 2016 Tommy John surgery this week, told the St. Louis media today that he hopes to spend his entire career with the Cardinals and is open to negotiating a new contract (via Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Lynn, however, acknowledged that the Cardinals may not be open to such a concept until he’s proven that he’s back to full health, suggesting the All-Star break as a possible time. “I don’t want to be a free agent,” said Lynn, “but if that comes up then I’ll take it and run with it and see where it goes.” Lynn hasn’t pitched since the 2015 playoffs and is in the final season of a three-year, $22MM contract that he signed prior to the 2015 season to buy out all of his arbitration years. In 791 1/3 career innings, Lynn has a 3.37 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 44.4 percent ground-ball rate.

More from the division…

  • Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette takes an interesting look at the Pirates’ relationship with star outfielder Andrew McCutchen after exploring trades all winter. It’s a good read that features many people who are close to the 30-year-old, who’s under contract for the coming season and can be controlled for another year via club option. While McCutchen is all but certain to remain in Pittsburgh at least through the trade deadline, it’s still anybody’s guess whether he’ll remain thereafter.
  • The Pirates aren’t fretting over the fact that they’re without three of their top home run hitters from the 2016 season, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. While Sean Rodriguez, Jung Ho Kang and Matt Joyce combined to hit 34 percent of the team’s round-trippers last year, manager Clint Hurdle emphasized that one way to offset the loss is simply for his club to allow fewer runs. Hurdle adds that he believes there’s some untapped power in his lineup — Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell, in particular, seemingly have the potential to up their home run output, for instance. Biertempfel also notes that while some wondered whether the typically data-driven Pirates would begin to focus more on fly-balls and launch angle — an increasingly popular approach at the plate — hitting coach Jeff Branson strongly suggested otherwise. “I don’t get into all the launch-angle stuff,” Branson tells Biertempfel. “…if you start telling guys to hit the ball in the air, there are too many things that can go wrong, too many things that can get out of whack.” Branson later notes that he doesn’t dismiss launch angle entirely but also isn’t an expert on the matter. “We’re going to teach and talk about things we’re familiar with, things that we know work,” he adds.
  • Matt Garza is ahead of schedule as he looks to return from a groin strain that landed him on the 10-day disabled list to open the season, writes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The veteran Brewers righty could begin a rehab assignment as soon as early next week, manager Craig Counsell tells McCalvy, adding that Garza will require at least two rehab outings before being reinstated. Milwaukee just lost Opening Day starter Junior Guerra for the next six weeks, at minimum, so the return of Garza will make for a welcome addition. While the 33-year-old hasn’t lived up to the four-year, $50MM deal he signed with Milwaukee, he quietly worked to a very solid 3.72 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 57.5 percent ground-ball rate over the life of his final dozen starts in 2016 (65 1/3 innings).

Junior Guerra Out At Least Six Weeks With Strained Calf

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4:15pm: Brewers manager Craig Counsell offered a more pessimistic timeline, tweets MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The Milwaukee skipper said that Guerra will miss a minimum of six weeks and added that Guerra’s calf injury is “significant.” Left-hander Tommy Milone will step into the rotation and start in Guerra’s place on Saturday.

April 4, 3:48pm: Guerra tells Todd Rosiak of the Journal-Sentinel the early prognosis following an MRI calls for an absence of four to six weeks (Twitter link).

April 3: Brewers righty Junior Guerra exited his Opening Day start after suffering a right calf strain running the bases, as Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports (links to Twitter). He will require a stint on the 10-day DL.

It’s not yet clear how severe the injury is, but manager Craig Counsell indicated that he’ll need more than the minimum time away, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets, the skipper says. Indeed, Guerra required crutches after undergoing his preliminary testing and treatment.

Even if it’s a relatively mild injury, it would be impossible to guess at the duration of Guerra’s absence. Milwaukee will surely exercise caution in bringing him back, and the timeline will no doubt be dictated by how he feels. Depending upon how well Guerra is able to maintain his arm strength while the calf heels, he may also require a rehab stint.

All said, there’s little in the way of long-term concern here, but it’s obviously disappointing to lose an Opening Day starter on the first game of the season. Guerra will remain one of the game’s most interest players to watch upon his return, when he’ll seek to continue the form that allowed him to compile 121 2/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball last year as a 31-year-old rookie.

Brewers Sign Jared Hughes

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The Brewers have announced that they’ve signed righty Jared Hughes to a one-year deal. Hughes will receive $950K plus a possible $250K in incentives based on games pitched, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Hughes is arbitration eligible for the last time next winter, meaning the Brewers have the ability to control him for two years. He is represented by SSG Baseball.

Hughes came available when the NL Central rival Pirates released him Thursday. Adding Hughes would give the currently shorthanded Brewers a full 25-man roster. The club is under the limit after demoting fellow relievers Rob Scahill and Tyler Cravy on Saturday.

In the 31-year-old Hughes, the Brewers would land a pitcher who has gotten positive results in the majors, having logged a 2.82 ERA and a 61 percent ground-ball rate in 309 1/3 innings. Hughes has done that in spite of a subpar K/9 (5.5), and he’s coming off a season in which his BB/9 increased from the mid-twos over the previous two years to 3.34. He also generated fewer swinging strikes than ever, though his 9.6 percent rate in 2016 wasn’t a significant drop from his 10.3 percent career mark. Nevertheless, he managed a 3.03 ERA over 59 1/3 frames and, based on his history of preventing runs, could give the Brewers an effective option alongside former Pirates teammate Neftali Feliz and Corey Knebel, among others.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was first to tweet that Hughes and the Brewers were nearing a deal. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first tweeted that a deal had been struck.

Quick Hits: Tigers, Giants, Sox, Astros, Brewers, Rays, Orioles

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The Tigers will “look into” signing just-released outfielder Melvin Upton Jr., according to general manager Al Avila, though Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press relays that a deal sounds unlikely (Twitter links). With J.D. Martinez on the shelf because of a foot injury, Upton’s brother, Justin Upton, will enter the season as Detroit’s only established outfielder. The Uptons played together in both Atlanta and San Diego from 2013-15, but it doesn’t seem as if they’ll reunite in the Motor City. Meanwhile, it doesn’t appear the Giants will even consider signing Melvin Upton. He’s not on their radar, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

More from around baseball:

  • Well-regarded Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert held a showcase Thursday in the Dominican Republic, and “high-ranking team officials” from several major league clubs were on hand, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America (click to watch footage of Robert). “Nearly all teams” sent someone to watch Robert, per Badler, who reported in March that the White Sox seem to be the likeliest landing spot for the 19-year-old. The White Sox sent special assistant Marco Paddy to observe Robert, and they have scheduled a private workout with him for next week. The Astros will also work out Robert, though they’ve already exceeded their 2016-17 international bonus pool.
  • Brewers reliever Tyler Cravy threatened to retire after his demotion to the minors Saturday, but the 27-year-old quickly walked back those comments, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “I don’t plan on quitting,” tweeted Cravy, who noted he’ll “continue to work hard” and allow his performance to “do the talking.” Cravy remains less than thrilled with the organization, it seems, as he added that he’s “still not aware” why he didn’t make Milwaukee’s roster.
  • The Rays have made “steady” progress toward a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area, owner Stuart Sternberg announced Sunday (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Sternberg is “very optimistic” something will get done to replace Tropicana Field, which opened in 1990 and has been the Rays’ home since 1998, their inaugural season.
  • The Orioles tried to make a trade with the Red Sox to keep Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavarez, Baltimore GM Dan Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, on Sunday (Twitter link). The division rivals couldn’t agree to a deal, though, so the Orioles had to return Tavarez to the Red Sox. Duquette revealed that there was less urgency to retain Tavarez because of the emergence of 22-year-old outfielder Cedric Mullins, whom MLB Pipeline ranks as the Orioles’ 19th-best prospect. Mullins will start the season with Double-A Bowie.
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