Sabathia Possibly Done For Season; Yankees Re-Sign Capuano
The Yankees will place left-hander CC Sabathia on the disabled list due to a right knee injury, and manager Joe Girardi told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link) that “it’s a possibility” that Sabathia will not pitch again in 2015. As a result of the injury, the Yankees have re-signed Chris Capuano, who had briefly elected free agency, according to a team announcement.
The 35-year-old Sabathia exited yesterday’s contest due to knee pain after just 2 2/3 innings. If his season is indeed finished, he will end the year with a 5.27 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 138 1/3 innings. It would also mark the second straight year in which a right knee injury ended Sabathia’s season early. He has one more guaranteed season remaining on his contract and will earn $25MM in 2016, but his 2017 vesting option for the same amount will become guaranteed if Sabathia’s left shoulder remains healthy in 2016. The only ways for the option not to vest are if Sabathia ends the season on the DL due to a shoulder injury, if he spends 45 or more days on the DL due to a shoulder injury or if he makes six or more relief appearances due to a shoulder injury.
For the Yankees, it further depletes the team’s rotation depth, although as Jack Curry of the YES Network noted earlier today (on Twitter) that Michael Pineda threw a bullpen session today and is slated to return to the rotation on Wednesday vs. Houston. Pineda, then, would join Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino in the rotation, with Capuano (and perhaps eventually Bryan Mitchell) serving as depth options.
Capuano, who turned 37 earlier this week, has pitched 33 innings for the Yankees in 2015 but struggled to a 6.55 ERA. He’s averaged 8.5 K/9 but also yielded 4.4 BB/9, hit three batters and served up five homers. Capuano has, somewhat incredibly, been designated for assignment and outrighted three times in the past month. As the Yankees announced, he technically rejected his most recent outright in order to sign a new Major League contract and expedite his return to the big league roster.
Injury Notes: Sabathia, Hardy, Wright
An update some some notable players who will be joining or leaving the disabled list…
- C.C. Sabathia lasted just 2 2/3 innings in today’s start before leaving due to pain in his right knee. The veteran lefty will at least be shut down for a while, though Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including MLB.com’s Grace Raynor) that he presumed Sabathia will need a DL stint “just because he walked off the field without even throwing another pitch.” Sabathia underwent surgery on that same knee in 2014 and has been bothered by pain for much of this season, which could partially explain his rough 5.24 ERA over 135 2/3 innings. The Yankees had planned to expand to a six-man rotation upon Michael Pineda‘s impending return from the DL, though those plans are on hold with Sabathia sidelined.
- The Orioles announced that shortstop J.J. Hardy has been placed on the 15-day DL with a left groin injury, and he’ll undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury. Hardy, who also missed all of April with a strained shoulder, has hit only .220/.251/.313 in 353 plate appearances this season, his first under a three-year, $40MM extension signed last October. Ryan Flaherty will likely handle shortstop duties while Hardy is out, though the O’s also have Paul Janish at Triple-A.
- The Mets plan to activate David Wright from the disabled list prior to Monday’s game against the Phillies. Southpaw Dario Alvarez has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Wright on the active roster, ESPN’s Adam Rubin reports. Wright was originally placed on the DL in April with a strained hamstring but he was discovered to have the much more serious condition known as spinal stenosis.
Yankees Release Garrett Jones
AUG. 22: The Yankees have unconditionally released Jones, per GreedyPinstripes.com (via Twitter).
AUG. 12: The Yankees announced on Wednesday that first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones has been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for lefty Chris Capuano, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Additionally, the Yankees optioned righty Branden Pinder to Triple-A and recalled fellow righty Nick Goody.
This marks the second time this season that Jones, 34, has been designated for assignment by the Yankees. Acquired alongside Nathan Eovaldi in the trade that sent Martin Prado to the Marlins, Jones has batted just .215/.257/.361 with five homers in 152 plate appearances — his lightest production since a cameo with the Twins as a 26-year-old rookie in 2007.
Jones was initially designated for assignment to clear a spot on the roster for trade acquisition Dustin Ackley, but he was quickly released and re-signed to a big league deal afer Ackley landed on the disabled list.
Though his production this year has been unimpressive, Jones does have a history of solid offensive output. He batted .254/.316/.453 with 115 homers in 823 games for the Pirates and Marlins from 2009-14, and he’s a lifetime .265/.330/.473 hitter versus right-handed pitching.
Jones doesn’t appear likely to remain with the Yankees. He told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that it’d be difficult to remain with the team, as he’s hoping to find an opportunity to pick up more playing time (Twitter link). Jones could be a fit for a team with a need at first base or in right field, though he comes with notable platoon splits and grades out as a poor defender at both spots.
Yankees Designate Chris Capuano For Assignment
The Yankees have announced that they’ve recalled righty Branden Pinder and designated lefty Chris Capuano for assignment. Capuano, who turned 37 this week, has a 6.55 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 33 innings split between the rotation and the bullpen with the Yankees this season.
This marks the third time in the past month that the Yankees have designated Capuano, whose $5MM guaranteed salary has made it possible for them to move him on and off their roster without much risk. Capuano pitched two innings on Thursday, and the addition of Pinder, who hasn’t pitched since Tuesday, gives them a fresher and probably more effective arm. The Yankees also had a heavily left-handed bullpen, with Chasen Shreve, Justin Wilson and closer Andrew Miller all pitching from the left side.
AL East Notes: Dombrowski, Yankees, Shapiro, Gonzalez
The hiring of Dave Dombrowski puts a new face atop the Red Sox‘ baseball operations hierarchy but does not change the goal and the philosophy of the organization, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. As Silverman writes, the Red Sox were going to overhaul the roster this winter whether Dombrowski, Ben Cherington or someone else was leading the charge. Chairman Tom Werner and president John Henry both spoke about how the team will still use data and analytics to its advantage, while Dombrowski said he’s not planning to “blow up” Boston’s baseball ops department.
More from the AL East…
- Tim Britton of the Providence Journal looks at how Dombrowski’s history will tie in with the Red Sox. Dombrowski has a reputation for trading prospects for proven talent after his time in Detroit, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, he notes. Part of successfully executing that philosophy is trading prospects at peak value and maximizing return — something the Sox failed to do with names like Will Middlebrooks and Anthony Ranaudo. Dombrowski spoke of dealing from a surplus in his introduction to Boston media, Britton writes, and he points out that center field, shortstop and catcher could all be areas of surplus/redundancy for the Sox. The other questions for Dombrowski in Boston will be how aggressively he’ll pursue top-flight free agent pitching this winter and whether or not he can rebuild a bullpen that has been largely problematic in 2015, writes Britton.
- Praising the Yankees‘ decision to hang onto the likes of Greg Bird, Luis Severino and other top prospects is premature, opines Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. While Bird and Severino have each contributed to the Bombers over the past few weeks, Martino writes that the true wisdom or folly of that decision won’t be known for quite some time. A dominant October run from Severino might speed up the process of proving GM Brian Cashman’s decision to be shrewd, but the possibility also exists that the Yankees’ coveted prospects will go the route of Jesus Montero. Martino doesn’t necessarily make the argument that Cashman should have traded prospects away, but rather just urges onlookers to take a less reactionary approach following a two-homer game from Bird and a trio of solid starts from Severino, as narratives can change quickly when looking at small samples from early in prospects’ careers.
- On the heels of last night’s report from Ken Rosenthal, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi writes that he, too, hears the Blue Jays consider Indians president Mark Shapiro a “strong candidate” to replace retiring CEO Paul Beeston. However, Davidi notes that there may yet be others in the mix for the impending vacancy. Notably, Davidi writes that the “assumption” is that GM Alex Anthopoulos will be offered some kind of extension prior to his contract’s expiration on Oct. 31.
- Miguel Gonzalez‘s struggles with the Orioles are ill-timed, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The organization’s top alternatives at the minor league level — Tyler Wilson and Mike Wright — are both injured at the moment, and there aren’t many other options to give him a break from his troubles. As Encina notes, Gonzalez has struggled quite a bit when ahead in the count — even on 0-2 counts — which has contributed to a 6.48 ERA over his past 11 starts. I’ll add that the struggles are doubly problematic for Gonzalez, who is eligible for arbitration for the second time this winter and due a raise on his $3.275MM salary.
Front Office Notes: Dombrowski, Sox GM, Dipoto, Brewers
Following a 45-minute introductory press conference for new Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald provided a rundown with some highlights. Dombrowski was blunt in stating that the Red Sox need to find some pitching, specifically stating his affinity for power arms. He also noted that a top-of-the-rotation arm is something he’d prefer to bring into to the fold. “Normally, if you’re going to have a world championship club, you need to have a No. 1 type of guy,” Dombrowski explained. He also addressed the team’s GM search. When asked about why he needs a general manager, when it’ll be Dombrowski who has the final say, the veteran executive replied, “This is a big market. There’s a lot going on, day in and day out. We have a lot of expenditure at the major-league level, pursue talent aggressively all over the globe. I think if you get the right person on board with you, if you can get that person and be in sync with them, that can only be helpful.” Dombrowski also touched on his familiarity with analytics as well as the fact that he doesn’t necessarily feel the need to make sweeping changes to a front office that already has “a lot of good people” with “good reputation.
A few more front office notes from around the league…
- After speaking with multiple industry sources, Sean McAdam of CSN New England writes that four candidates for the Red Sox’ GM opening include former Braves GM Frank Wren, former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd, former Angels GM/current Red Sox advisor Jerry Dipoto and Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler. Wren has been oft-mentioned in the past few days, and O’Dowd has also popped up more recently in reports. Regarding Eppler, McAdam writes that he’s blocked in New York by Brian Cashman, and many expect him to land a GM job elsewhere this winter.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke to one rival executive who said he would be “shocked” if the Dombrowski hired anyone other than Wren to serve as his new general manager (Twitter link). Of course, in the above-linked piece from Lauber, he writes that Dombrowski is in the early stages of compiling a list of candidates, and the Sox have assured the commissioner’s office that they’ll be interviewing minority candidates in their search.
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links) that there’s some industry buzz that Dipoto is on the Brewers’ radar as they look for a new GM. Milwaukee is said to be looking for a younger, more analytical general manager following Doug Melvin’s announcement that he’ll transition to an advisory role. Crasnick also notes that there’s some speculation that Cherington would be a good fit for Milwaukee’s GM vacancy.
AL East Notes: Anthopoulos, Wolf, Yankees
With Dave Dombrowski joining their division rivals, the Blue Jays remain in need of a replacement for outgoing president Paul Beeston. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca suggests that current GM Alex Anthopoulos could make a sensible candidate for that more expansive role. For one thing, says Davidi, it may not be wise to introduce any potential for internal discord in baseball decisionmaking by adding someone on top of Anthopoulos. And elevating the current GM would help ensure continuity. You’ll want to read the piece for the full concept.
- Of course, as Davidi notes, whether or not the Blue Jays consider Anthopoulos for a promotion, the team will need to act on his contract status by the end of October, when his current deal expires. With front offices churning around the league, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Toronto would be foolish not to act decisively to retain Anthopoulos. He proposes that the organization vest him with full baseball ops authority while adding a business-oriented president. (Obviously, that’s not the profile of Dombrowski, who Rosenthal says was brought in for a formal interview by the Jays.)
- Blue Jays lefty Randy Wolf recently requested his release to seek an opportunity at the big league level, but Toronto may give him that chance itself come September, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes. Toronto would have done so already had a specific team made an offer to add him to its MLB roster, Heyman notes, but was not interested in letting him go to another team’s Triple-A club. (Wolf was not able to negotiate an opt-out clause into his pact with the Jays.) Wolf has had an interesting recent transactional timeline, especially for a nearly 39-year-old veteran. He’s generated excellent results this year at Buffalo, tossing 139 2/3 innings of 2.58 ERA ball with 6.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
- The Yankees‘ 2006 draft class may have featured the most productive haul of future relievers in baseball history, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Mark Melancon, George Kontos, and Zach McAllister were all taken that year by New York — after the team selected Joba Chamberlain in the first round. While Chamberlain never followed through on the amazing start to his career, Sherman notes, the class does help to demonstrate that New York has been rather successful in developing high-quality pen arms.
Ian Kennedy, Joaquin Benoit Claimed On Waivers, Pulled Back By Padres
The Padres traded Will Venable to the Rangers tonight, but they almost certainly won’t be dealing another pair of potential free agents; Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that right-handers Ian Kennedy and Joaquin Benoit were both claimed on revocable waivers, but trades couldn’t be reached, so the Padres pulled the pair back.
Kennedy, 30, is a free agent at the end of the season and is owed about $2.58MM of his $9.85MM salary through season’s end. The former Yankees/D-Backs hurler has struggled for much of the season, but he’s been a more appealing trade target of late, working to a 2.82 ERA with a 76-to-23 K/BB ratio in 83 innings dating back to June 1. Kennedy’s been very homer-prone this season (1.9 HR/9), but much of that can be attributed to an abnormally high 18.7 percent homer-to-flyball ratio that is well above his career mark of 10.6 percent.
The 38-year-old Benoit has been one of the better late-inning relief arms in the game over the past few seasons, though there are some possible red flags in his game this year. Though Benoit’s pitched to a stellar 2.13 ERA, his strikeout rate (8.2 K/9) and walk rate (3.0 BB/9) have both gone the wrong direction in 2015, and he’s benefited from a likely unsustainable .163 average on balls in play. Nevertheless, his track record and strong bottom-line results led to a claim despite a relatively substantial salary; Benoit is owed $2.1MM of his $8MM salary through season’s end, to say nothing of a $1MM buyout on an $8MM option for the 2016 season (though some teams were probably interested in exercising that option).
While the waiver claims and retractions technically don’t prevent the pair from being traded, it becomes extremely unlikely that either will be moved now. The Padres can put both players on trade waivers for a second time, but the waivers would no longer be revocable at that point. More likely is the possibility that the Padres are impressed enough with Kennedy’s resurgence that they’re eyeing a draft pick as compensation in the event that he signs elsewhere. Heyman notes that rivals don’t view Kennedy as a surefire qualifying offer candidate, but his recent surge should make it worthwhile for the Padres to extend the roughly $16MM one-year offer. I’d expect that Kennedy, a client of Scott Boras, would decline the offer and test the free agent waters.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/18/15
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Lefty Chris Capuano accepted an outright assignment with the Yankees yesterday, as Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog tweeted, but the club has already announced Capuano’s recall today. The Yanks’ staff was stretched when starter Bryan Mitchell left early last night after taking a scary comebacker off of his head. Capuano, who signed a $5MM free agent deal with New York over the offseason, will return to the open market after 2015.
- The Padres have outrighted right-hander Dale Thayer, the club announced. Thayer was designated recently when the club signed fellow righty Bud Norris to join its pen. He has struggled this year, but does have an impressive track record in recent campaigns since making a late-career breakout. Over 65 1/3 innings last season, Thayer worked to a 2.34 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. He is earning $1.38MM this year and can be controlled for two more seasons via arbitration.
Blue Jays Notes: Saunders, Leake, Price, Pillar, Stroman
The Blue Jays have decided to shut down ailing outfielder Michael Saunders for the remainder of the season, manager John Gibbons told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Twitter link). Acquired in a one-for-one swap that sent J.A. Happ to Seattle this winter, Saunders tore the meniscus in his knee when he tripped over a sprinkler head in Spring Training. He was originally projected to miss half the season, but that timetable was accelerated to about six weeks after he had a large portion of the meniscus surgically removed. Saunders returned for nine games in early May but had lingering effects from the surgery. He had fluid drained from the knee and a cortisone shot, but neither proved effective enough to keep him from the disabled list for a second time. Those nine games will be the only ones in which Saunders takes the field in 2015. Uncertainty surrounding Saunders’ knee makes him a non-tender candidate, although he won’t receive much of a raise (if any) on this year’s $2.875MM salary. That makes him a nice low-cost asset with some significant upside; Saunders has always been injury prone but batted .248/.320/.423 with 162-game averages of 19 homers and 18 steals from 2012-14 despite playing his home games at the spacious Safeco Field.
A few other items pertaining to the Blue Jays, who narrowly trail the Yankees for the AL East lead…
- USA Today’s Bob Nightengale spoke to a number of Blue Jays players as well as Anthopoulous about the club’s flurry of trade deadline activity. Notably, Nightengale reports that the Jays had a trade for Mike Leake worked out with the Reds prior to acquiring David Price, but talks for Price ignited shortly before the trade with Cincinnati was finalized. Price himself offered an interesting take on the trade deadline, telling Nightengale that he thought he was going to be traded to the Yankees prior to learning of the move to Toronto.
- Nightengale asked Anthopoulos about the contrast to last year’s trade deadline, when the Blue Jays had a better record but did not make a move. “It was different last year,” the GM explained. “We had a lot of holes, a lot of guys hurt, and we weren’t going to (deal) without doing some real long-term damage to the organization. If we had done some of those deals, [Kevin] Pillar and [Josh] Donaldson are not on this team right now.” The implication there, of course, is that Pillar was in demand from other clubs, as were some combination of prospects Franklin Barreto, Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman, who went to Oakland in the Donaldson swap.
- Mark Buehrle spoke to Nightengale about how he has fallen in love with the Blue Jays and the city of Toronto after initially being upset to be traded there in 2012. “Before I came here, this was a place where I never wanted to play,” Buehrle candidly explained. “…You come here as a visitor, and you have the customs, trying to figure out your phone bills, the money exchange, the temperature readings. But now that I’ve played here, it’s been so great. It’s just such a great place to live and play. They make it so comfortable for you.” Nightengale’s entire article is well worth a read, particularly for Blue Jays fans.
- Marcus Stroman will throw a 40-pitch simulated game at the team’s Spring Training complex in Dunedin, Fla., next Monday, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair. If all goes well there, he’ll throw a 55-pitch simulated game on Aug. 29 and then make a rehab outing at Triple-A in early September before Buffalo’s season closes on the seventh. That Triple-A outing will determine whether or not Stroman can return to the club in 2015. GM Alex Anthopoulos shared a generally positive outlook on Stroman’s progress in a message to Blair, saying, “I’ve seen videos of his bullpen sessions, and he looks great.”