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Jordan Hicks To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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June 25, 3:54pm: Hicks will undergo Tommy John surgery Wednesday, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters.

1:10pm: The Cardinals have formally placed Hicks on the injured list and also optioned lefty Genesis Cabrera to Triple-A Memphis. Right-handers Daniel Ponce de Leon and Dominic Leone have been recalled from Memphis in a pair of corresponding moves.

June 24: Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks has suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the team announced. Hicks may need to undergo Tommy John surgery as a result, though the club noted it’s still determining the next course of action.

Should the 22-year-old Hicks have to go under the knife, he’d miss the rest of this season and likely the majority of 2020 on top of it. Hicks would continue to accrue service time in the process, meaning he’d stay on track to reach arbitration after 2020 and free agency at the end of the 2023 campaign. More importantly, though, Hicks’ loss would be a devastating near-term shot to St. Louis’ bullpen, which has seen him turn into one of the game’s most imposing relievers since he debuted in 2018.

Hicks didn’t log impressive strikeout and rates as a rookie last season, when he put up 8.11 K/9 and 5.21 BB/9 in 77 2/3 innings, but still recorded a 3.59 ERA/3.74 FIP with a 60.7 percent groundball rate. He also saved six of seven chances and amassed 24 holds, thanks in part to devastating velocity. Hicks was the only pitcher in the majors to average upward of 100 mph on his four-seam fastball and sinker last season. He has clocked in just below 101 mph on his four-seamer and at 101.1 mph on his sinker this year, and enjoyed even better results before suffering his injury. Hicks made good on 14 of 15 save chances for the Cardinals this season and notched a 3.14 ERA/3.18 FIP with 9.73 K/9, 3.45 BB/9 and a fantastic 67.2 percent grounder rate in 28 2/3 innings.

Losing Hicks is all the more troublesome for the Cardinals given their place in the National League playoff race. The 40-37 Redbirds haven’t been great this season, but they’re still just two games behind the NL Central-leading Cubs and tied with the Rockies for the NL’s second wild-card spot.

Fortunately for the team, it does have at least a few other reliable late-game relievers. John Gant, Giovanny Gallegos and John Brebbia have joined Hicks in turning in good to excellent results, while Andrew Miller has been better of late after a rough start. The Cardinals also have former starter Carlos Martinez, who has been effective in 15 relief innings since making his season debut in May. Still, in the wake of the awful news on Hicks, St. Louis’ relief corps may well end up as an area of focus for the club’s front office as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.

Yankees Designate Kendrys Morales For Assignment

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The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the injured list and designated him for assignment. New York also optioned righty Jonathan Holder to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalled lefty Stephen Tarpley in his place.

Morales’ roster spot has looked to be in jeopardy since Didi Gregorius returned and the team and added another healthy option to the infield mix. He dodged one bullet and quite likely had his Yankees tenure prolonged due to the calf strain that landed him on the IL 12 days ago, but his tenure in the Bronx now looks to have reached its conclusion. With Luke Voit and the newly acquired Edwin Encarnacion now likely to split time between first base and DH, the Yankees simply don’t have room on the roster for Morales.

The 35-year-old Morales mustered only a .177/.320/.242 line through 75 plate appearances with New York while splitting first base/DH duties with Voit.  It’s been a rough season overall for the veteran slugger, who has followed up a solid 2018 season at the plate (.249/.331/.438) with a .194/.313/.253 effort in 201 plate appearances between Oakland and New York. The Yankees will gauge interest in Morales, if they haven’t done so already, and if there’s no suitor in a trade, he’ll likely be released and return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Orioles Sign Adley Rutschman

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5:04pm: Rutschman’s deal is official, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com tweets. He signed for under slot at $8.1MM, according to Callis, who notes it surpasses the record $8MM the Pirates gave No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole in 2011.

9:27am: The Orioles are close to a deal with No. 1 overall draft pick Adley Rutschman, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The former Oregon State catcher’s No. 1 overall slot carries a value of $8.42MM. Rutschman isn’t the only top O’s pick on whom there’s news today, however; MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (also via Twitter) that the team’s second-rounder, Gunnar Henderson, has agreed to a deal worth $2.3MM. A high school shortstop out of Alabama, Henderson will receive a bonus that is well north of his No. 42 selection’s $1.771MM slot value.

Rutschman, 21, entered the draft as the consensus top talent on the board. The switch-hitter posted a ludicrous .411/.575/.751 batting line with 17 home runs, 10 doubles and a triple through 266 plate appearances in his junior season with the Beavers. Rutschman’s eye-popping batting average and considerable power numbers almost overshadow his plate discipline at first glance, but his 76-to-38 BB/K ratio is every bit as impressive as the rest of his numbers — if not more so.

Baseball America, MLB.com, Fangraphs and ESPN all ranked Rutschman as the top player in the 2019 draft. ESPN’s Keith Law noted that Rutschman’s defense and plus power give him a high floor with the ceiling of a repeated All-Star, while BA’s report touts him as a potential .300 hitter with plus defensive tools and “excellent” makeup and leadership abilities. Rutschman was the only player in the draft that Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen tabbed as a 60 FV (future value) player on the 20-80 scouting scale. Over at MLB.com, Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo note that while some players who enter a season as a projected top talent struggle with that pressure and spotlight, Rutschman thrived and elevated his game en route to further cementing himself as this year’s best draft prospect.

Broadly speaking, Rutschman is regarded as a plus defender with power from both sides of the dish, strong plate discipline and a strong enough hit tool to post high batting averages as well. If all of that pans out, Rutschman has the makings of a franchise catcher for the new-look Baltimore front office.

Henderson, meanwhile, has yet to turn 18. Scouting reports were reflective of a split camp as to whether he can remain at shortstop or will need to move to third base down the road. MLB.com (No. 27) and Baseball America (No. 30) pegged him as a late-first-round talent, while ESPN (No. 40) and Fangraphs (No. 41) had him a bit lower. Henderson was Gatorade high school player of the year in Alabama and draws praise for his above-average power and the potential for an above-average hit tool. Henderson is young for his graduating class and still filling out his 6’3″ frame, leading to varying projections about his power potential and eventual defensive home. Even reports who project him to move to third base, though, suggest that he has the tools to be a quality defender there.

Nationals Release Trevor Rosenthal

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The Nationals have released reliever Trevor Rosenthal, the team announced. The club recalled fellow right-hander Austin Voth from Double-A Harrisburg to take Rosenthal’s 25-man roster spot.

Rosenthal was a standout reliever for most of his run with the Cardinals from 2012-17, during which he was a dominant closer at times. However, Rosenthal’s Cardinals career came to an unfortunate end when he underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2017. He sat out 2018 while rehabbing the injury, but Rosenthal parlayed his track record in St. Louis into a $7MM guarantee with the Nationals last November. The Nats still owe Rosenthal approximately $3.73MM.

Washington’s hope upon signing Rosenthal was that he’d help repair a bullpen that was among the league’s worst in 2018. Instead, Rosenthal became the poster boy for an even sorrier Nationals relief corps this season. The trouble began right away for the 29-year-old Rosenthal, who failed to record a single out until his fifth appearance of the season. After a couple more weeks of struggles, the Nationals sent Rosenthal to the injured list April 26 because of a viral infection.

Rosenthal finally returned from a rehab assignment June 10, but his long layoff didn’t lead to a rebirth. Fittingly, he didn’t get anyone out during his final Nationals appearance in a loss Saturday versus the Braves, who posted three earned runs on three walks against him. Rosenthal concluded his disastrous D.C. run with a 22.74 ERA and 7.11 K/9 against an unbelievable 21.32 BB/9 in 6 1/3 innings.

As woeful as Rosenthal has been this year, he still has his Cardinals days and a 98 mph fastball on which to hang his hat. Consequently, teams could pursue Rosenthal on a minor league contract in his return to free agency.

Frankie Montas Gets 80-Game PED Suspension

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In stunning news, Major League Baseball has issued an 80-game suspension to Athletics ace Frankie Montas for performance-enhancing drug use, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Montas tested positive for banned substance Ostarine, according to Sam Dykstra of MLB.com.

“The A’s were disappointed upon learning of this suspension,” the team said in a statement. “We fully support MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and we will welcome Frankie back after the discipline has been served.”

Montas issued a statement of his own (via MLBPA Communications), saying, in part, “While I never intended to take any prohibited substance, I unfortunately and unknowingly ingested a contaminated supplement that I had purchased over-the-counter at a nutrition store here in the United States.”

The 26-year-old added that he accepts responsibility for the ban and hopes to contribute to the A’s later in the season.

Montas, who’s earning $560K this year, won’t be paid during his suspension. More importantly for Oakland, though, he won’t be eligible for the postseason if the team clinches a berth. At 40-36, the A’s are just one game out of the AL’s second wild-card spot.

The A’s are in contention this season thanks in no small part to Montas, who performed like an ace in 2019 prior to this shocking development. In what will go down as his last start for at least a few months, the hard-throwing right-hander tossed eight innings of one-run, nine-strikeout ball in a win over the Rays on Thursday. It was the fourth straight quality start for Montas, owner of a sterling 2.70 ERA/2.86 FIP with 9.7 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 50.8 percent groundball rate in 90 innings this season.

Should they stay in contention leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, the Athletics will have a chance to acquire starting help. However, it’s hard to believe anyone they’d acquire would make an impact similar to that of Montas, who’s near the top of the majors in most starting stats this year. The club does have important injury reinforcements working back – including Sean Manaea and Jesus Luzardo – who figure to make life easier for the Athletics once they return. However, any way you look at it, the loss of Montas is a devastating shot to the A’s rotation. It could have a significant effect on the AL playoff race as a result.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLB Authorizes Rays To Explore Montreal Season Split

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3:04pm: St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman does not sound quite as enthused by the idea as Sternberg. He says he previously informed the club that the city would not authorize talks with Montreal, John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.

12:46pm: In an eyebrow-raising development, Major League Baseball has granted authorization to the Tampa Bay Rays to explore the possibility of becoming a two-city franchise. The approval will allow the organization to pursue concepts in which the team would split its home games between Florida and Montreal. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first tweeted the news and has more in a story.

Notably, this does not mean that the Rays necessarily will move to Montreal. Even a part-time move would likely not occur for several seasons. Rather, commissioner Rob Manfred says there’s a “broad grant” for Rays owner Stu Sternberg to build out options, as Evan Drellich of The Athletic tweets.

In a statement, Sternberg says he remains “committed to keeping baseball in Tampa Bay for generations to come.” But he says he also believes “this concept” — referring to some kind of Montreal split — “is worthy of serious exploration.”

It’s hard to fathom a situation where a Florida/Montreal split represents a long-term solution. Presumably, that’d mean building (or rehabbing) and operating facilities in both cities, creating untold logistical hurdles on top of those that already exist.

As things stand, the Rays are contractually obliged to play at the Trop through the 2027 campaign. Getting local authorities to release even a portion of home games seems like a challenge. League owners and the MLBPA will surely want to see details and have quite a few questions answered. And with conceivable two-market opportunities come vast potential inefficiencies.

Montreal has a storied history with the game of baseball. But the club lost the Expos to D.C. after the 2004 season and hasn’t hosted a big-league club since. The city has hosted some late-spring contests at Olympic Stadium, but that venue poses many of the same issues presented by the Rays’ current home at Tropicana Field.

While this development does more to create possibilities than answer questions about the club’s future, it comes with immediate consequences. The Rays have struggled to gain traction in stadium talks in the St. Petersburg/Tampa area. Recent plans for an Ybor City complex fell flat, leaving Sternberg and company looking for new options — and, no doubt, also some leverage.

Mets Shut Down Brandon Nimmo

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The Mets have shut down injured outfielder Brandon Nimmo from baseball activities for the next month, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. Nimmo has been on the injured list since May 21 with a bulging disc in his neck.

Nimmo received his second epidural Tuesday since going on the IL, per DiComo. At this point, the Mets aren’t considering surgery for the 26-year-old, according to manager Mickey Callaway. Nevertheless, the fact that Nimmo will miss significantly more time than he already has is unwelcome news for the Mets, who – at 34-38 – haven’t had much go their way this season.

Nimmo, whom the Mets chose 13th overall in 2011, was one of the majors’ prominent breakout players in 2018. He slashed .263/.404/.483 (149 wRC+) with 17 home runs and 4.5 fWAR across 535 plate appearances. Nimmo wasn’t nearly as effective this year before going on the IL, evidenced by a .200/.344/.323 line (89 wRC+), though that was only a 161-PA sample size.

Even considering Nimmo’s massive offensive decline this season, a healthy version would likely be the Mets’ best option in center field. Carlos Gomez and Juan Lagares have gotten all the playing time in center since Nimmo went down, but neither player has produced. They’re now drawing up plans to turn to right fielder Michael Conforto in center, Jeff McNeil in right and Dominic Smith in left, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. All three of those players have been among the Mets’ best hitters in 2019, but Conforto struggled mightily in center last season and Smith hasn’t shown he can handle the outfield on a consistent basis.

MLB, MLBPA Launching Bargaining Talks

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Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association have been circling one another warily for some time now, with occasional moments of accord but a pervasive sense of tension. Now, as Tyler Kepner of the New York Times reports, they’re headed back to the formal bargaining table long before the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement at the tail end of the 2021 season.

Ever since the last Basic Agreement was hammered out, readily discernible changes in teams’ market behavior have spurred growing unhappiness from the players’ side. Union chief Tony Clark put it in stark terms to Kepner, saying flatly that “the system doesn’t work.” He also offered a warning: “either we’re going to have a conversation now, or we’re going to have a louder conversation later.”

Of course, there were indications of systemic problems even before the latest CBA, with increasingly analytically advanced teams finding new ways to achieve cost-efficient on-field performance. But the changes to the game’s governing document only exacerbated matters for players, with new luxury tax rules creating new spending disincentives for teams. After two tense winters, we saw a dizzying run of extensions this spring. That spate of dealing seemingly reflected some fear and uncertainty in the free agent process as well as labor peace more generally. It put new money in players’ pockets, but also took quite a few potentially valuable seasons of future performance out of future open-market scenarios.

Over the past two and a half years, the MLBPA has hired a chief negotiator, added a familiar face to advise on PR, launched a still-unresolved grievance action against several teams, and otherwise made clear it is readying for a larger battle. While the league and union attempted to sort through a range of matters over the offseason, only a few rule changes were implemented.

Every on-field or transactional tweak proposed has understandably been viewed through a broader economic lens. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s pace-of-play initiatives have met headwinds from the players, perhaps owing to a need to find leverage that’s otherwise lacking. After all, the CBA is binding until it expires. And the players’ side will face many challenges in winning a better deal.

All of those developments have felt like a prelude to the unusual and potentially quite complicated process that is now being plotted out. Understandably, the initial discussion is a logistical one. Kepner says that the bigwigs on both sides of the aisle have chatted in person about how to approach this early engagement on the CBA.

On the league side, deputy commissioner Dan Halem says the goal is “a system that satisfies our competitive-balance concerns and basically keeps the overall economics where they are — but at the same time addresses the issues that [the players are] going to bring to us.” He reemphasized MLB’s oft-stated position that the players continue to enjoy the same-sized pie slice they always have, framing the matter as “really a distribution issue.”

It’s unlikely that Clark and company would fully agree with that sentiment. All can agree broadly with the goals of enhancing competition and ensuring that the game’s best talent is playing in the majors as soon as it’s ready. But the players also desire those results because they hope to unlock new earning avenues for more of their members. Per Kepner, they also wish to “restor[e] meaningful free agency” and improve the earning power of players with lesser service time. That sounds like something quite a bit different from redistribution; it sounds like the players ultimately want more pie. There are different ways to count the leaguewide dollars and cents. The players will undoubtedly argue their share has fallen and seek more.

 

 

 

Moore: Royals Would Have “Crazy” Asking Price On Merrifield

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Royals GM Dayton Moore strongly downplayed the likelihood of the team dealing away star utilityman Whit Merrifield, as Tom Martin of KCTV5 covers (video link, on Twitter). Calling Merrifield “one of the best players in all of baseball right now,” Moore says “the ask would be just crazy” if rivals come calling this summer.

It’s sensible for the K.C. exec to take a strong public position on Merrifield with the deadline now in sight. After all, he’d surely need something truly compelling to justify parting with a player who has now fully established himself as a high-quality all-around performer who’d improve any team in the league given his defensive versatility.

At the same time, Moore has now set a rather lofty standard at the outset of the trade season. Perhaps the Royals really do not have any interest at all in moving Merrifield. If they’d like to consider offers, though, they’ll now have to deal with a public perception that any return must be overwhelming.

There is an argument to be made that Merrifield would best be utilized as a trade piece. The Royals seem to be a ways from contention and still need to gather up youthful, controllable core assets.

Merrifield is already 30 years of age, which won’t be a turnoff to contenders but perhaps places him outside the optimal range for the Royals. He’s signed to quite an appealing contract that would suit most any budget, making him a high-value trade target. We just ranked Merrifield tenth on our initial list of the top 2019 deadline candidates, but that placement would be much higher if he was clearly available. Merrifield would perhaps be the most widely pursued position player on the market if put up for bidding.

Yankees Acquire Edwin Encarnacion

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11:49pm: The trade has been officially announced by both teams.  Jake Barrett was moved to the Yankees’ 60-day IL to make a 40-man roster spot for Encarnacion.

7:50pm: The Yankees have acquired first baseman/DH Edwin Encarnacion from the Mariners, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).  Right-handed pitching prospect Juan Then is headed to the M’s in the trade, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale adds that Then is the only player being acquired in exchange for Encarnacion.

According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), the two teams are “essentially splitting the money” owed to Encarnacion for the remainder of his contract.  The slugger has roughly $9.25MM left on the $20MM owed to him this season, after accounting for the $5MM being covered by the Rays as per the terms of the three-team trade that brought Encarnacion to Seattle from Cleveland back in December.  Encarnacion also has a $5MM buyout of a $20MM club option for the 2020 season.

The Yankees had a projected luxury tax number of slightly over $227.6MM prior to the trade, as estimated by Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez.  The addition of Encarnacion will all but guarantee that New York exceeds the second-highest luxury tax threshold ($226MM), though it still keeps them below the maximum penalty threshold of $246MM, as Joel Sherman tweets that Encarnacion’s luxury tax hit is a modest $3.4MM.  Should the Yankees exceed that $246MM figure, they’d be taxed at a 62.5 percent surcharge on the overage of every dollar beyond $206MM, plus their top draft pick in 2020 would be dropped by ten slots.

All in all, it’s a more than reasonable price for the Yankees to pay to add the American League’s leading home run hitter to their lineup.  After going through a bit of a down year by his standards in 2018 (though still producing a 115 wRC+), the 36-year-old Encarnacion was back in top form in Seattle, with a .241/.356/.531 slash line and 21 homers over 289 plate appearances.  Depending on how things go over the rest of the season, it’s also quite possible that the Yankees could pick up Encarnacion’s option for 2020, making him more than just a rental player.

With Encarnacion now in the fold to share first base and DH duties with Luke Voit, the Yankees have further boosted their already-strong lineup to near-Murderer’s Row levels when everyone is healthy.  Encarnacion now joins an everyday mix that will include Voit, Gleyber Torres, Didi Gregorius, DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez, not to mention Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier, and Gio Urshela available off the bench.  With this much depth on hand, it increases the chance that Frazier (who isn’t far removed from top-50 prospect status) could potentially become an expendable piece to acquire starting pitching at the deadline.

Encarnacion’s revived production only made him more of a trade chip for a Mariners team that continues to drastically overhaul its roster, and is willing to absorb salary to accommodate these trades.  Daniel Vogelbach has already emerged as an everyday first baseman/DH in Seattle, leaving the Mariners free to deploy Ryon Healy in the other slot when he returns from the IL, or the M’s can rotate multiple players through the DH role to keep everyone fresh.

Mariners fans may question the relative lack of a return for a decorated slugger like Encarnacion, though as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently examined, the veteran’s market was relatively slim.  He wasn’t really an ideal fit for everyday first base duty, which eliminated most NL teams, and even the American League market was relatively limited simply because there aren’t many teams still in realistic playoff contention.  Adding Encarnacion might have put the Red Sox over the maximum tax threshold for the second straight year, though for the Astros and even the small-payroll Rays, they could regret not topping the relatively small amount of money and prospect capital it apparently would’ve cost to pry Encarnacion away from a Mariners club that was open to offers.

Then, 19, is a familiar name for Mariners fans, as Seattle originally signed Then as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2016.  The Yankees acquired Then in November 2017 as part of the deal that sent Nick Rumbelow to the M’s, and MLB.com ranked Then as the 27th-best prospect in New York’s farm system.  Then has yet to pitch this season, but has a 2.67 ERA, 3.77 K/BB rate, and 7.9 K/9 over his first 111 1/3 innings as a professional.  According to MLB.com’s scouting report, Then doesn’t have a true plus pitch but “has a high floor” because of strong fastball command, a promising curveball, and “a changeup that’s advanced for his age.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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