J.A. Happ Retires
Veteran lefty J.A. Happ has retired after spending parts of 15 seasons in the Major Leagues. The 39-year-old discussed his career, his journey to pro ball and his decision to step away from the game in an appearance on the Heart Strong Podcast with Jessica Lindberg.
Happ acknowledges that he went “back and forth for pretty much the whole winter” trying to determine whether he wanted to return for another season, going through his usual training regimen to be ready in case he felt a pull to return to the mound.
“It got to the point where it was Opening Day, and I turned the first game on, and I talked to my wife, Morgan, and I said ‘What are you feeling?’ She just kind of looked at me and said, ‘A little anxiety.’ I wanted to turn it on to see what I felt, too, and I didn’t maybe feel what I needed to feel in order to think I wanted to keep doing this. I felt like that was a sign, like ‘OK, it’s time to go.’ Even though I had put the work in to be ready if the right situation came, I felt like it was time to move on and be a dad and dive into the kids. … It was emotional — something I didn’t expect. I called my agent that day, right after we turned that game on, and said, ‘I think this is it.’ I told the people I feel like I needed to tell. I think I’m still processing it, but I do wake up feeling good about it, and I’m happy to start the process of being a full-time dad, for the time being, at the very least.”
Originally a third-round pick by the Phillies back in 2004, Happ made his MLB debut with Philadelphia in 2007, appearing in just one game. He pitched in eight games the following year, earning enough trust to make the team’s NLCS roster and turn in three sharp innings of relief. By the 2009 season, Happ not only established himself as a member of the Phillies’ rotation but took home a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting after logging a 2.93 ERA in 166 innings of work. He began that year in the bullpen but moved into the rotation in late May, going on to hurl shutouts against the Blue Jays and Rockies in just the seventh and fourteenth starts of his big league career.
Strong as Happ’s early work was, the Phillies couldn’t resist the temptation to include him as part of the return for right-hander Roy Oswalt — a three-time All-Star and regular Cy Young contender at that point in his career. That 2010 swap proved to be the first of several notable trades in which Happ was involved over the course of his career. The Astros included him in a massive 11-player swap with the Jays that saw Happ land in Toronto and a then fresh-faced prospect named Joe Musgrove among the most notable names sent to Houston. Happ was also swapped straight up for outfielder Michael Saunders in 2014, and after returning to the Blue Jays on a three-year, $36MM deal as a free agent, he was flipped to the Yankees for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney in the final season of that pact.
Happ was never a flamethrower or a perennial All-Star, but he carved out a lengthy career as a mid-rotation starter in the perennially dangerous American League East, spending six of his 15 years with the Jays and another three with the Yankees. From Happ’s peak in 2014-20, he notched 1058 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA ball — a strong run that included an All-Star nod in 2018 and a sixth-place finish in 2016 American League Cy Young voting. His consistency netted him a trio of sizable free-agent contracts: his aforementioned $36MM deal with the Blue Jays, a two-year Yankees deal worth $34MM, and a one-year deal with the Twins that promised him $8MM just last season.
All in all, Happ steps away from the game with a lifetime 133-100 record, a 4.13 ERA, 1661 strikeouts, four complete games and three shutouts compiled while suiting up for eight teams: the Blue Jays, Phillies, Yankees, Astros, Twins, Mariners, Pirates and Cardinals. He reached the postseason six times, winning a World Series ring with the 2008 Phillies and pitching well in four of those six playoff runs. (He made one start with the Yankees both in 2018 and 2020, neither of which went particularly well.) Between the three previously referenced free-agent deals and his arbitration seasons, Happ earned more than $97MM in a career pegged at 21.5 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference and 21.8 WAR by FanGraphs.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images/Imagn.
Twins Place Royce Lewis On IL, Recall Jose Miranda
11:24 AM: Less than 24 hours after replacing him on the major league roster with Royce Lewis, the Twins have recalled infielder Jose Miranda to take Lewis’ place, the team announced. The move gives Miranda another chance to establish himself in the bigs, though his path to playing time is much less clear.
First promoted in early May, Miranda has gotten off to a slow start in the majors, logging a .164/.200/.284 triple-slash in 70 trips to the plate. He’s posted a stronger .256/.295/.442 line in 95 plate appearances at Triple-A St. Paul, though he’s not yet come close to matching the combined .344/.401/.572 he posted between St. Paul and Double-A Wichita in 2021.
9:15 AM: Just one day after being recalled from the minors, Royce Lewis is going to be placed on the injured list due to a bone bruise on his right knee. The corresponding move appears to be a recall of Jose Miranda, as Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press relays that he is starting today’s game. Miranda was just optioned yesterday when Lewis was recalled. Position players normally cannot return until 10 days after being optioned, though exceptions are made for IL placements and doubleheaders. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune relays word from manager Rocco Baldelli that Lewis’s injury doesn’t appear to be overly serious, it’s just that the team needs every position on the roster for schedule reasons.
On May 20, the Twins began a stretch of playing 18 games in 17 days, thanks to tomorrow’s doubleheader in Detroit. Given that grind and a number of injuries to the pitching staff, the club is currently carrying just 12 position players on the active roster. With that short three-man bench, they can’t afford to use a spot on a player that’s going to be unavailable, even if it’s just for a few days.
Dan Hayes of The Athletic confirms the imminent IL placement, noting that the upcoming trip to Toronto is playing a factor as well. It was reported yesterday that the club expects “a few” players won’t be able to cross the border into Canada due to their unvaccinated status, which could further handcuff the team in the coming days.
Lewis started out his MLB career on a good note, but got demoted once Carlos Correa returned from injury to retake the regular shortstop duties. After his demotion, he got a bit of practice in the outfield and started in center field for the Twins yesterday before his injury. In 12 big league games so far, he’s hitting .300/.317/.550 for a wRC+ of 150.
AL Central Notes: Gray, Grossman, Greinke
Twins’ starter Sonny Gray left today’s game after being visited by team trainers. The team announced to reporters, including Dan Hayes of The Athletic, that Gray has right pectoral tightness. The severity isn’t known at this time, but it’s no doubt worrying for the Twins and their fans. Gray already missed about three weeks on the IL this season, although that was a hamstring strain.
Still, the Twins are in a bit of a squeeze when it comes to their rotation. Chris Paddack, Josh Winder and Joe Ryan have all landed on the IL in the past couple of weeks, which has thinned out their depth. The rotation at the moment consists of Gray, Dylan Bundy, Bailey Ober, Chris Archer and Devin Smeltzer. The club is currently in the middle of a stretch where they play 18 games in 17 days, thanks to a doubleheader that’s coming up on Tuesday. Even if Gray can make his next start, it’s going to be a challenge to get through the next chunk of their schedule.
Perhaps adding to that challenge will be the subtraction of some unknown players when the Twins head to Toronto next week to face the Blue Jays. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune relays word from president of baseball operations Derek Falvey that “a few” of the players on the roster won’t be making the journey. Current Canadian health restrictions don’t allow for those not vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the border into the country. (Canada is not exceptional in this regard. The same restrictions apply in reverse, as unvaccinated Canadians are not currently allowed to enter the United States.)
Other notes from the division…
- Robbie Grossman started today’s game as the designated hitter for the Tigers but was replaced by Jeimer Candelario. Manager A.J. Hinch told reporters after the game, including Jason Beck of MLB.com, that Grossman was experiencing neck spasms. While it doesn’t appear Grossman is headed for a lengthy absence, it’s surely frustrating for a Detroit team that has been heavily snakebit this season. Though the club entered the season with hopes of competing for a playoff spot, they’ve been hit by a large number of injuries, most notably in the starting rotation. The club’s record is currently 17-29, putting them second-last in the American League, ahead of only the Royals. That has the club trending towards being sellers at the deadline this year, with short-term assets the most likely to go. Grossman fits that bill, as he’s in the second season of the two-year deal he signed with Detroit in 2021. Unfortunately, his trade value is likely at a low ebb, due to his slow start to the year. After hitting .239/.357/.415 last year for a wRC+ of 114, he’s currently slashing .199/.311/.241 this year for a 71 wRC+. Last year’s 23.1% strikeout rate has also shot up to 30.7% this year. He and the Tigers will both surely be hoping that this current issue can be quickly left behind so that Grossman can get back on track. The Blue Jays tried to acquire Grossman at last year’s deadline, though they may not have as much interest now, based on his campaign so far.
- Royals manager Mike Matheny tells reporters, including Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star, that Zack Greinke is dealing with a forearm/flexor issue. Greinke himself spoke to reporters about the issue, including Worthy, describing his arm as “sore and tight.” Like the Tigers, there was some hope of the Royals coming out of their rebuild and competing his year, though that hasn’t happened. The club’s 16-30 record is worse than every team in the majors except for the 16-31 Reds, thanks in no small part to the starting rotation. Royals’ starters had an ERA of 5.07 coming into today, which was better than only the Reds and Nationals. That’s going to go up once today’s game is factored in, as Greinke allowed five earned runs in four innings today. His personal ERA on the season climbed to 5.05 from that start, which would be his highest since the 5.80 he put up back in 2005, his age-21 season. While the severity of the injury isn’t known, it’s never a good sign for a pitcher to have an arm issue, though he and the club will surely hope he can get past it and onto a better track going forward.
Twins Call Up Royce Lewis, Option Jose Miranda
2:28PM: In an unfortunate turn of events for Lewis, he had to leave today’s game with what the Twins described as right knee soreness. Lewis made a tremendous catch of an Emmanuel Rivera fly ball in the third inning but awkwardly collided with the outfield wall in the process. The Twins removed Lewis from the game an inning later, and he is currently undergoing more tests. A right knee injury is particularly ominous, as Lewis missed the entire 2021 season due to a torn ACL.
11:51AM: The Twins announced that star prospect Royce Lewis has been called up from Triple-A St. Paul for another taste of the big leagues. Infielder Jose Miranda was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
When Carlos Correa was on the 10-day injured list earlier this season, Lewis received his first MLB promotion and started 11 games at shortstop in Correa’s absence. Lewis made the most of his opportunity, hitting .308/.325/.564 with two home runs over 40 plate appearances, and flashing some of the potential that made him the first overall pick of the 2017 draft.
With Correa holding down everyday shortstop duty, Lewis told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes and other reporters today that he has four different gloves with him, indicating the 22-year-old’s readiness to play all over the diamond. At St. Paul this season, Lewis has seen action at third base, left field, and center field in addition to his usual shortstop duties, and Lewis also played a little second base earlier in his minor league career.
Lewis is in today’s starting lineup as a center fielder, with Byron Buxton getting a partial rest day as the DH. Having Lewis occasionally fill in center field would be a logical way to keep the oft-injured Buxton fresh, and the right-handed hitting Lewis could also complement left-handed hitting left fielder Trevor Larnach. There figures to be enough playing time available for Lewis in the majors, since obviously the Twins wouldn’t have interrupted his development at Triple-A just to park Lewis on the bench.
Miranda is a notable prospect in his own right, as his breakout 2021 minor league season earned him some top-100 prospect attention heading into 2022. Minnesota promoted Miranda for his debut in the Show earlier this month, though he hit only .164/.200/.284 in 70 PA.
Twins Place Danny Coulombe On 15-Day IL, Select Juan Minaya
The Twins placed left-hander Danny Coulombe on the 15-day injured list, while also optioning right-hander Yennier Cano to Triple-A. In corresponding moves, the Twins called up left-hander Jovani Moran and selected the contract of veteran righty Juan Minaya. (Minnesota had room on its 40-man roster, so no further moves were required to create space for Minaya.)
Coulombe heads back to the IL with the same left hip impingement that sidelined him back on May 11. The Twins only just activated Couloumbe from that previous IL stint yesterday, but he re-aggravated the injury in an appearance against the Royals. Playing on three separate minor leagues contracts with Minnesota over the last three seasons, Couloumbe has a 2.92 ERA over 49 1/3 big league innings with the Twins over the last three years.
Moran slides into Coulombe’s spot as a southpaw available out of the bullpen. The 25-year-old tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball for the Twins earlier this season, but he has been an active piece of the Triple-A roster, covering 12 1/3 innings in 10 appearances with a 4.38 ERA and a 19-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Moran’s importance in the short-term can’t be understated, as he joins Caleb Thielbar as the only two lefties in the bullpen.
The 31-year-old Minaya spent four seasons with the White Sox, making 125 appearances out of the bullpen between 2016 and 2019. In that time, he pitched to a 3.93 ERA/4.18 FIP over 128 1/3 total innings. He did not pitch in 2020, but came back with the Twins last season to post a 2.48 ERA/3.97 FIP in 40 innings spanning 29 appearances. Minnesota non-tendered Minaya last fall but re-signed the right-hander to a minor league deal after the lockout.
Orioles Claim Chris Vallimont From Twins
The Orioles announced that right-hander Chris Vallimont has been claimed off waivers from the Twins. Vallimont was designated for assignment by Minnesota earlier this week. To open up a 40-man roster spot, Baltimore moved Alexander Wells (who is recovering from a UCL strain) to the 60-day injured list.
Vallimont was assigned to the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate, and the righty has a 6.71 ERA over 110 innings at the Double-A level in the Twins organization. The Marlins selected Vallimont in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, then swapped him along with Sergio Romo in the July 2019 trade that sent Lewin Diaz to Miami. After a solid 2019 season, Vallimont didn’t play in 2020 due to the canceled minor league campaign, and has since struggled in his return to the field.
A lack of control has been Vallimont’s biggest problem, as he has an ugly 15.85% walk rate over his 110 Double-A innings. However, the righty’s 28.3% strikeout rate surely caught Baltimore’s attention, and his Vallimont’s potential as reliever. Vallimont has started 62 of his 64 career games in the pros, and if he can’t get on track as a starting pitcher, his ability to miss bats could play well out of a bullpen.
Twins Place Joe Ryan On COVID Injury List
The Twins have placed right-hander Joe Ryan on their COVID-related injury list. Left-hander Devin Smeltzer was called up to take Ryan’s spot on the active roster, and Smeltzer will start for Minnesota against the Royals on Thursday (Ryan’s next scheduled outing).
Manager Rocco Baldelli told the Associated Press and other reporters that Ryan was “doing okay,” but didn’t provide any details about Ryan’s health. If Ryan has only been sidelined due to symptoms or due to being a close contact, he could be activated from the COVID list as soon as tomorrow, though obviously that would be cutting it too close to make his scheduled start. If Ryan has indeed tested positive, he’ll miss at least the next 10 days, unless he meets the three criteria for early activation — 24 hours without a fever, two negative tests, and clearance from a panel of the team doctor, a league-appointed physician, and a union-appointed physician.
Acquired from the Rays as part of the Nelson Cruz trade last July, Ryan has emerged as a force in his rookie season. The righty has a 2.28 ERA and an above-average 24.3% strikeout rate, thanks in large part to a four-seam fastball that has been one of the most devastating pitches in baseball this season. Some secondary metrics (4.30 xFIP, 3.93 SIERA, .234 BABIP, 83.7% strand rate) indicate some good fortune, but Ryan has also done well to limit damage by allowing very little hard contact.
Minnesota had plenty of questions about its rotation heading into the season, but the starters have generally performed quite well, despite some injuries. Ryan and Josh Winder (shoulder impingement) are on the IL, while Chris Paddack has already been lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery.
Twins Reinstate Trevor Larnach, Place Cody Stashak On IL
The Twins have made a one-for-one swap from their active roster to the injured list, per a team announcement. Outfielder Trevor Larnach has been reinstated after two weeks on the shelf with a groin strain. Heading in the other direction is right-handed reliever Cody Stashak, being placed on the IL with a right shoulder impingement.
The return of Larnach gives the Twins an embarrassment of riches in terms of their outfield mix. Prior to his injury, Larnach was hitting .313/.365/.448 for a wRC+ of 139. His absence has led to more playing time for Gilberto Celestino, who has stepped up admirably. Through 27 games on the season, he’s hitting .355/.420/.419, 154 wRC+. Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick are also all playing well, with each having a wRC+ above 130.
One way to spread at-bats around to all of that crew would be to use the DH slot, though that would lead to less playing time for either Gary Sanchez or Ryan Jeffers, as Sanchez has been taking the bulk of DH time of late, with Jeffers behind the dish. Thanks in large part to this abundance of strong bats, the club is off to a 24-16 start to the year, with a 4 1/2-game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central.
For Stashak, this is his second IL stint of the year, as he began the season on the injured list due to right biceps tendinitis. Since returning, he’s thrown 16 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.86 ERA and 23.1% strikeout rate. His 26% ground ball rate is below average, but he’s yet to issue a single walk on the year. No timeline was provided for his injury, though shoulder issues for a pitcher are always at least somewhat concerning.
Twins Announce Multiple Roster Moves
The Twins announced a series of roster moves today, with reporters such as Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press passing them along. Righty Bailey Ober has been reinstated from the injured list while fellow righty Trevor Megill has had his contract selected. To make room on the active roster, lefty Devin Smeltzer was optioned while righty Josh Winder was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. To make room for Megill on the 40-man roster, righty Chris Vallimont has been designated for assignment. Winder’s placement is retroactive to May 18.
With the Ober and Winder moves, the rotation adds one arm and subtracts another. Ober went on the IL at the end of April with a groin strain. Prior to that, his season was off to a nice start, as he had thrown 19 2/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA, 19% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. Due to injuries to Ober and Dylan Bundy, Winder stepped up and threw 29 1/3 innings for the Twins. In that time, he put up an ERA of 3.68 with an 18.9% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.
With Chris Paddack undergoing Tommy John surgery, the Minnesota rotation now consists of Ober, Bundy, Chris Archer, Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray. No timetable was provided for Winder’s absence, but a shoulder issue is always at least a bit concerning for a pitcher. As long as he’s out, the club will have to think about who the sixth starter will be the next time one is needed. Options on the 40-man roster include Smeltzer, Jordan Balazovic, Ronny Henriquez, Cole Sands and Drew Strotman.
Megill, 28, made his MLB debut with the Cubs last year, throwing 23 2/3 innings out of their bullpen with an 8.37 ERA. That’s an obvious indicator of poor results, but it wasn’t all bad. He struck out 26.1% of batters faced and walked just 7%, both of those numbers being better than league average. However, his 24.1% HR/FB rate was more than double last year’s 10% league average. He was non-tendered and then signed by the Twins on a minors deal. He’s carried that profile over into 2022 so far, though with much better results overall. Through 11 innings in Triple-A, he has a 3.27 ERA. His 34.1% strikeout rate is fantastic, though his HR/FB rate is 33.3%, but that represents just two dingers. He has a couple of option years remaining, meaning he could be shuttled between Triple-A and the majors as long as he can hang onto a spot on the 40-man.
Vallimont, 25, just earned his spot on the roster in November, ahead of the Rule 5 draft that ended up being canceled due to the lockout. However, through 19 innings so far in Double-A this year, he has a 9.95 ERA. His 31.1% strikeout rate at this level last year has dropped all the way down to 17.9%. His walk rate also jumped from 14.6% to 20.5%. Those results were evidently enough for the Twins to risk losing him. They will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. Given his youth and ability to be optioned, he could attract the interest of clubs that need pitching depth who are willing to dismiss this year’s struggles as a small sample blip.
Twins Outright Jharel Cotton
May 20: Cotton cleared waivers and has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
May 17: The Twins will designate right-hander Jharel Cotton for assignment today in order to open roster space for right-hander Dylan Bundy, who is being activated from the injured list, manager Rocco Baldelli announced (Twitter link via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).
It’ll be the second DFA of the season for the 30-year-old Cotton, who was also designated back on April 13. Cotton cleared waivers the first time around and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A St. Paul, even though he has three-plus years of service time and a prior outright — either of which would allow him to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. The Twins will have a week to trade him or try to pass him through waivers a second time.
Cotton was claimed off waivers out of the Rangers organization at the end of the 2021 season and has tossed 6 2/3 innings for Minnesota thus far in 2022. He’s yielded just one run and punched out seven batters in that time, but he’s also walked six batters, hit another one and thrown a wild pitch. A former top-100 prospect who went from the Dodgers to the A’s alongside Grant Holmes and Frankie Montas in 2016’s Josh Reddick/Rich Hill swap, Cotton carries a 4.60 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate, a 9.2% walk rate and a 35.5% grounder rate in 195 2/3 big league innings.
As for Bundy, he’ll return after missing nearly two weeks following a positive Covid test. The former Orioles and Angels righty was brilliant to begin the season, combining for 15 1/3 innings of one-run ball with a 12-to-1 K/BB ratio across his first three starts as a Twin. He was clobbered for six runs in six innings against the Rays in his fourth start of the season, however, and his former Orioles club jumped him for a whopping nine runs in 3 2/3 innings the day before he landed on the injured list.
That pair of disastrous outings has overshadowed Bundy’s terrific start, and he’s now sitting on a 5.76 ERA with a 20.6% strikeout rate and 4.7% walk rate through 25 innings. With Bailey Ober sidelined by a groin strain and Chris Paddack landing on the 60-day IL owing to elbow inflammation, the Twins will be all the more dependent on a rebound from Bundy. If Bundy can put that pair of ugly outings behind him and right the ship, his one-year, $5MM contract contains an $11MM club option for the 2023 season. He’ll take the mound for tonight’s game in Oakland.