Red Sox Sign Brandon Phillips
4:55pm: Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells MLB.com’s Ian Browne that Phillips will spend some time at the team’s spring complex in Florida getting into playing shape before reporting to Triple-A Pawtucket (Twitter links). Notably, the organization doesn’t view him solely as a second baseman, as Dombrowski notes that Phillips “can play a number of positions.” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, meanwhile, tweets that Phillips will actually be playing third base in Pawtucket when he gets there.
3:45pm: The Red Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve agreed to a minor league contract with veteran infielder Brandon Phillips. The longtime Reds second baseman had not signed with a team since the end of the 2017 season, so he’ll assuredly require some time to ramp up in the minors before he can be considered an option to join the big league club. Phillips is represented by ACES.
Second base has been an issue for the Red Sox all season, as they’ve been without Dustin Pedroia nearly all year following offseason knee surgery. Pedroia did return briefly, suiting up for three games before landing back on the DL with inflammation and discomfort in his surgically repaired knee. Eduardo Nunez has shouldered the bulk of the workload at second base this season in lieu of Pedroia, but he’s struggled mightily, hitting just .253/.284/.350 through 272 plate appearances to date.
Phillips, who’ll turn 37 tomorrow, isn’t the player he was during his peak, when he hit .280/.330/.449 with outstanding defense and above-average baserunning from 2007-12. That said, the three-time All-Star still posted a quite respectable .285/.319/.416 slash in 604 plate appearances between the Braves and Angels last season, delivering 13 homers and 11 steals.
Phillips is a four-time Gold Glover, but his defensive ratings dipped in 2016-17, with both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved providing a negative valuation of his glovework. He’s also been inefficient on the bases, as evidenced by a 25-for-41 success rate (61 percent) in stolen-base attempts over the past two seasons. Still, he’ll bring some valuable depth to an area of weakness for a Red Sox club that still doesn’t know when, or perhaps even if, Pedroia will return to the Major League roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jayson Werth To Retire
Veteran outfielder Jayson Werth tells Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports that he will retire. He had been with the Mariners organization on a minor-league deal.
Though Werth declined to describe the situation in precisely those terms, he told Heyman: “I’m done … whatever you want to call it.” That statement does not seem to leave much room for interpretation, so it seems fair to assume that Werth will not look to return from the hamstring injury that recently put him on the shelf at Triple-A Tacoma.
Werth, 39, had signed on with the Seattle organization after wrapping up a seven-year, $126MM contract with the Nationals. That monster contract marked one of several turning points over Werth’s long professional career.
Drafted 22nd overall by the Orioles in the 1997 draft, Werth did not exactly race to the majors. And he did not stick immediately upon reaching the game’s highest level. He bounced from the Baltimore organization to the Blue Jays and then on to the Dodgers, moving from behind the dish to the outfield along the way and receiving relatively meager opportunities in the majors.
Werth posted strong numbers in a partial season of work with Los Angeles in 2004, but ended up suffering a significant wrist injury during camp in the ensuing spring. He played poorly upon returning and the issue failed to dissipate. Werth ended up missing all of the 2006 campaign and being set loose by the Dodgers.
At that point, clearly, there was a high likelihood that Werth would simply never make good on his original promise. But he drew major-league contract offers and ultimately landed with the Phillies, as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes explained at the time.
Needless to say, things turned up from there. Werth ended up slashing a robust .282/.380/.506 in over two thousand plate appearances over four seasons in Philadelphia, swatting 95 home runs and swiping sixty bags along the way. He was a key piece of the organization’s magical run in that span, including a 2008 World Series victory.
When free agency arrived, both team and player decided to make other plans — not that the Phillies fans ever forgave Werth for leaving. As MLBTR’s Zach Links wrote, it took an eye-popping number to convince him to head to D.C., a surprising decision for a Nationals organization that was then a perennial cellar dweller.
Werth’s first season with the Nats did not go according to plan. And he missed time with a wrist injury in the one that followed. But his play picked up quite a bit. And the tide soon turned in the division, with the Washington organization rising as the Phillies fell apart. From 2012 through 2014, Werth made good on his hefty salary, posting a cumulative .303/.394/.479 slash with 46 home runs. Unfortunately, that output — and Werth’s good health — would not last. Over the final three years of his deal with the Nationals, he managed only a .233/.322/.402 batting line in 301 games.
While postseason success wasn’t to be in D.C., Werth will be remembered well for his leadership role in an important time in the organization’s history. Now, he tells Heyman, he’ll head off to spend more time with his family — and, perhaps, take up some organic farming. Both sound like worthy pursuits, and we at MLBTR wish him the best of fortune.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson Takes Leave Of Absence Following Cancer Recurrence
6:20pm: Asked whether he’d return should be again be declared cancer-free, Alderson offered a candid assessment of his recent work (link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). “[I]f I were to look at it on the merits, I’m not sure coming back is warranted,” Alderson said, in a nod to his team’s 31-45 record. Joel Sherman of the New York Post, meanwhile, writes that while Alderson and COO Jeff Wilpon neglected to go further into the prospect of the future, Tuesday’s press conference “sound[ed] like a goodbye to the job.”
The Post’s Mike Puma tweets that in the interim, there’s an expectation that Ricco will serve as the de facto point man, with Minaya and Ricciardi serving as experienced advisers and sounding boards. It’s been reported on multiple occasions in the past that the organization views Ricco as something of an heir apparent to Alderson anyhow, and the coming months could serve as an audition of sorts for the longtime AGM.
3:12pm: Mets GM Sandy Alderson will take a leave of absence to address a recurrence of cancer, the organization announced. Tim Britton of The Athletic (Twitter links) was among those to cover the news.
Alderson, 70, previously took a leave of absence in December of 2015 owing to a cancer diagnosis. He was later able to resume his duties as the top baseball decisionmaker, a role he has held since the end of the 2010 season.
In Alderson’s absence, top lieutenants John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi, and Omar Minaya will run the baseball operations department. That group brings decades of baseball operations experience to the table. Ricco has been an assistant GM with the Mets since 2006, while Minaya is a former Mets GM himself. Ricciardi, meanwhile, was once the general manager of the Blue Jays.
It is not known at this time how long Alderson will be away, but he says that he will likely undergo surgery later this summer. Fortunately, the veteran executive says that the prognosis is good. MLBTR joins those around the game in sending its best wishes for a rapid and full recovery.
Josh Donaldson Suffers Setback In Injury Rehab
What once looked to be a potentially minor trip to the disabled list for Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson will now be prolonged in fairly considerable fashion. The Blue Jays revealed today that Donaldson incurred a setback while fielding ground-balls in Florida as part of his rehab program (Twitter link via Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling). An MRI has already been taken, revealing an “acute strain” of his calf muscle that’ll require him to be shut down once again. Donaldson will be reevaluated in three weeks, per Zwelling.
That timeline figures to knock Donaldson out for the remainder of the first half, as he’ll assuredly be eased back into baseball activities before ramping up and heading out on a minor league rehab assignment.
It’s already been nearly a month since Donaldson last saw action in a big league game. He’s been on the disabled list twice this season, with the other stint coming due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Obviously, that’s not how Donaldson hoped his contract season would play out — especially not after a monster finish to the 2017 season in which he hit .302/.410/.698 in August and September to close out the 2017 season, homering 22 times in 227 plate appearances along the way.
The 32-year-old Donaldson has been limited to just 159 plate appearances so far in 2018, hitting at a .234/.333/.423 pace with five homers. That combination of solid on-base skills and useful power numbers (.190 ISO) isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s nowhere near the lofty standards that the 2015 AL MVP has established for himself since breaking out as one of the league’s best all-around players back in 2013. As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes noted on the latest edition of MLBTR’s 2018-19 Free Agent Power Rankings, Donaldson’s injury troubles could be significantly diminishing his earning power in free agency; Donaldson ranked fourth on the first edition of the list but fell to eighth on this month’s update back on June 7.
There is, of course, still time for Donaldson to return and rebuild some of his stock. But at 33 years of age this winter and with an absence that could now approach two months for his current calf injury, Donaldson will have a fairly big hole out which to dig himself, and his reps at MVP Sports will have some work to do in convincing interested teams that his injuries come with minimal changes of lingering into 2019 and beyond.
As for the Blue Jays, the setback Donaldson is especially problematic given their status as sellers at this summer’s non-waiver deadline. Even in a best-case scenario, Donaldson would have minimal time to return and showcase his health prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. Perhaps his sizable $23MM salary for the 2018 season would allow him to clear revocable trade waivers and be marketed in August, but there’s no denying that his value on the trade market has taken a substantial hit and robbed the Jays of some opportunity to acquire meaningful prospect capital in exchange for the final few months of control over Donaldson.
While many fans will wonder whether this setback could impact the timeline of uber-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it’s worth reminding that Guerrero himself hasn’t played since June 6 due to a strained patellar tendon in his left knee. He was slated to be evaluated four weeks after sustaining his own injury, and the Jays will presumably want to get him some reps in minor league games before even considering a promotion to the Majors.
Tigers Sign Casey Mize
The Tigers announced today that they’ve signed No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize. He’ll be introduced today at a press conference. Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter) that the former Auburn ace received a $7.5MM signing bonus. That’s a new record bonus for the current draft structure, though it still checks in south of the full slot value of $8,096,300. Mize was advised by and is now represented by the Bledsoe Agency.
Mize, 21, was the consensus top talent in the 2018 draft class. He topped pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, MLB.com, Fangraphs and ESPN, and virtually every mock draft leading up to the draft itself had projected that the Tigers would select him. He’ll instantly become one of the game’s top pitching prospects (and top overall prospects) and will give the Tigers a potential fast-moving, high-end pitching talent to add to their minor league ranks.
In his junior season at Auburn, Mize pitched to a 3.30 ERA with a ridiculous 156-to-16 K/BB ratio in 114 2/3 innings of work. He works with a fastball that reaches 97 mph but sits more in the 93-95 mph range and draws exceptional reviews for his ability to command that pitch as well as a splitter that both MLB.com and Baseball America rate as a 70-grade pitch (on the 20-80 scale). Mize also began throwing a cut fastball this year — another pitch that has quickly earned plus ratings — and throws a slider as well.
The rebuilding Tigers have begun to amass an impressive collection of arms that could be in the Majors by 2019 and certainly by early 2020. Detroit has selected a pitcher with its top pick in each of the past four drafts, and those arms — Alex Faedo (2017), Matt Manning (2016) and Beau Burrows (2015) — are widely ranked as the organization’s Nos. 2-4 prospects. Their top prospect, prior to signing Mize, is right-hander Franklin Perez — another highly touted arm whom the Tigers acquired from the Astros as the centerpiece to last summer’s Justin Verlander blockbuster. With Mize now joining that quartet, and Michael Fulmer and Matthew Boyd controlled for four years beyond the current season, the Tigers have the makings of an impressive up-and-coming pitching staff on which their fans and front office can dream.
Hanley Ramirez Not Under Federal Investigation
SUNDAY: Ramirez is not under federal investigation and has not been connected to any drug ring, Shelley Murphy and Evan Allen of the Boston Globe report. Rather, Ramirez’s friend – who was arrested in April while transporting fentanyl from New York to Massachusetts – mentioned the player’s name “to get the cops off his back, which didn’t work,” the friend’s attorney informed Murphy and Allen.
Ramirez’s agent, Adam Katz, responded Sunday, saying (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today, on Twitter): “The reporting on Hanley’s involvement in this matter was reckless and irresponsible. It’s unfortunate that one careless, inaccurate story can generate such widespread negative and damaging coverage. Hanley is pleased to be absolved from wrongdoing and having any involvement in this matter.”
FRIDAY: Long-time major-leaguer Hanley Ramirez is “being eyed” in relation to a broader federal and state drug investigation, Michele McPhee of ABC News and Newsweek reports on Twitter. The precise nature of the Ramirez’s involvement is not yet entirely clear; at present, it’s not even apparent whether he is viewed as a potential suspect of any kind by authorities, and he has not been charged with any crimes.
Ramirez’s agent, Adam Katz, issued a statement to media members including Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). He asserts that “Hanley has no knowledge of any of the allegations contained in this media report and he is not aware of any investigation.”
McPhee, a veteran crime reporter, explained in an appearance on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub (audio link) that a man (not Ramirez) was found by police to be carrying in his vehicle a large volume of drugs — specifically, fentanyl and crack cocaine. She continued to report that the man, who was later arrested and charged, “claimed that one of the items found in the vehicle belonged to Hanley Ramirez and then FaceTimed [Ramirez] in front of police.”
The suspect is evidently also linked to a broader Lawrence, Massachusetts fentanyl ring that has been the subject of a significant, ongoing investigation. Tom Cleary of Heavy.com dug up some related criminal complaints that seem to line up with the reporting. None of those documents mention Ramirez.
Additionally, McPhee stated in the above-linked radio interview that the incident “sparked, obviously, some contact between Ramirez and law enforcement who were working on this case.” That said, the nature and timing of that contact is not known. And there’s no real suggestion to this point that Ramirez is a subject of ongoing investigation himself.
Ramirez is currently a free agent. He opened the year with the Red Sox but was designated for assignment in late May and later released. When Ramirez was sent packing by the Boston organization, it came as a bit of a surprise. While he was slumping at the time, he had started the season well and seemed worthy of a longer leash, particularly given his hefty salary.
When the Sox decided on the move, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Alex Cora gave a somewhat unusual account of the decisionmaking process. With rather atypical willingness to discuss the decision in detail, both said that Cora had suggested it’d be preferable to part with Ramirez despite plans to move another player off of the roster.
McPhee says that the above-referenced incident “coordinated with the the timing of [Ramirez’s] release from the Red Sox.” The team, though, maintains that it had no knowledge of any investigation at the time, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. The decision on Ramirez was based purely on baseball considerations, per the organization.
It’s important to note, too, that it’s still not clear whether the dates really do line up in the manner hinted at. While Ramirez was technically released on June 1st, release waivers were requested on May 30th. And he was designated for assignment — the truly consequential roster move — on May 25th. A press release indicates that the arrest of the suspect occurred on June 6th; if the car stop occurred at a prior time, the date is unreported at this point.
It has also been a topic of some note in recent weeks that Ramirez has remained unsigned for an extended stretch. Because he was released, the Red Sox are obligated to him for the $15MM or that was left on his contract for the present season. Any other club could have (and still can) acquire Ramirez’s services for the only the league-minimum rate of pay. Today’s reporting could, in theory, provide a reason for Ramirez’s still-ongoing free agency. But there’s no direct evidence for that proposition and there are certainly other conceivable explanations for the fact that he has not yet joined a new team.
Ramirez, 34, is certainly not your average major leaguer. He has played 14 seasons at the game’s highest level, earning about $160MM along the way. Early in his career, it seemed Ramirez might be on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory, though he has not been consistently productive more recently. Ramirez has generated some controversy at times for eccentric behavior, though that has never been a significant concern during periods when he has produced at the plate. What impact, if any, this still-developing situation may have on his career moving forward remains to be seen.
MLB Suspends Roberto Osuna For 75 Games
After a long-pending investigation, Major League Baseball has announced a 75-game suspension of Blue Jays pitcher Roberto Osuna under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. The ban is retroactive to May 8th and will end on August 4th of this year. Osuna will not appeal the decision, the league states.
Manfred’s statement does not specify the league’s findings beyond stating that he determined Osuna to have violated the domestic violence policy. In some of the prior announcements of suspensions under the policy, Manfred has offered factual assessments and some explanation of the basis for the punishment.
In another (perhaps related) distinction from some prior precedent, the criminal case against Osuna is still pending. The league has generally waited until criminal matters are fully litigated or otherwise resolved, at least in part to facilitate the acquisition of information.
In this case, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, “it is believed MLB was able to interview the alleged victim” of the domestic assault. Osuna is said to be facing charges of assaulting his girlfriend. It seems, then, that commissioner Rob Manfred has been able to secure sufficient information to reach a determination.
There was surely greater pressure to reach a resolution given that the issue arose during the season. Osuna has been on administrative leave since his arrest, which explains the retroactive treatment. Heyman previously reported that the Toronto organization had unsuccessfully lobbied MLB for an expedited handling.
Under the policy, Manfred can issue suspensions or other punishments upon a finding that a player has committed a domestic assault or otherwise violated the terms of the policy, regardless of whether charges are brought or a conviction is secured. Punishment is subject to a “just cause” standard, though that will not be tested since Osuna has agreed to forego any appeal.
The 75-game duration of this suspension makes it the third-longest issued under the policy. Jose Torres (100 games) and Hector Olivera (82 games) hold the dubious distinction of having merited lengthier bans.
As the suspension is unpaid, Osuna will lose something on the order of $2.5MM of his $5.3MM salary for the season. It remains to be seen just how the remainder of his career will be impacted — it seems reasonable to expect broader ramifications, certainly — but at a minimum, his future potential arbitration earnings will be impacted substantially by the time he will have missed this season.
Nationals Acquire Kelvin Herrera
The Nationals have officially struck a deal to acquire reliever Kelvin Herrera from the Royals, making for a fascinating early swap. Outfielder Blake Perkins, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez, and righty Yohanse Morel will head to Kansas City in return.
This agreement represents a rare, mid-June strike of real consequence. We’ve already seen a few other notable trades this year, so it could be that the market as a whole will move quicker than usual — and much more rapidly than it did last year.
Herrera checked in at the #2 spot on MLBTR’s initial list of the top fifty trade deadline candidates. Beyond his excellence on the mound, Herrera’s pending free-agent status for the cellar-dwelling Royals made a trade all but inevitable. He’s arguably the most significant player to have been dealt in the month of June in recent memory — a topic we examined just last week.
The Nats will take over the $7,937,500 salary that Herrera is earning in his final season of arbitration eligibility. With 82 of the 186 service days on the MLB calendar already in the books, the Washington organization will be on the hook for something like $4.44MM.
Certainly, the high-octane Herrera looks to be a key new piece for the Nats’ pen. This deal is the latest summer bullpen swap for the organization. Last year, the Nationals added Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, and Brandon Kintzler, the same three hurlers that make up the preferred late-inning unit on the current ballclub. In prior years, the team added Mark Melancon and Jonathan Papelbon. (The latter trade was the most regrettable of president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo’s tenure. Not only was Papelbon a disaster in the second season of his deal, but the team handed quality young righty Nick Pivetta to a division rival.)
The 28-year-old Herrera will likely function in a set-up role in front of Doolittle, but skipper Dave Martinez will also have the choice to switch things up as match-ups dictate. Herrera has spent plenty of time as the K.C. closer and has loads of high-leverage postseason experience, so he ought to be able to function in any role that his new team prefers.
Herrera still works at about 97 mph with his fastball, though he once averaged over 99. Notably, he’s also generating swinging strikes at a quality 14.4% rate, marking a return to form after a downturn last year. Unsurprisingly, then, the results have been excellent thus far in 2018. Herrera has allowed just three earned runs in 25 2/3 innings, racking up a stellar 22:2 K/BB ratio along the way. He’s not generating quite as many grounders as he has in years past, but has tamped down on the long ball somewhat and has obviously been exceptionally stingy with free passes.
On the other side of this arrangement, the package features three interesting players that most prospect rankings did not grade among the very best in the Nats’ system. Clearly, though, the Royals felt the package was strong enough to warrant an early move. For the Nationals, shipping out that trio still leaves the club with the bulk of its highest-ranked prospects still available for the future — or, perhaps, for further deals this summer.
Depending upon who you ask, Gutierrez and Perkins each rated just outside of or just within the ten best prospects on the Nationals farm. The former is a 23-year-old third baseman who has scuffled a bit in his first attempt at Double-A this year, but is regarded as a talented corner defender who possesses a quality hit tool and some power potential. Perkins, 21, has run into some troubles at the High-A level but has an interesting blend of speed, power, and plate discipline along with up-the-middle defensive ability in the outfield. As for Morel, a reputedly live-armed 17-year-old, he’ll represent a long-term wild card in this swap.
Jon Heyman of Fan Rag first reported the deal (Twitter links), with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeting it was in place. Jon Morosi of MLB.com first reported the return (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros Extend Jeff Luhnow Through 2023
The Astros announced on Monday that they’ve promoted Jeff Luhnow from general manager to president of baseball operations and signed him to a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2023 season.
The exact length of Luhnow’s prior contract with the Astros was unclear, though owner Jim Crane plainly stated at today’s press conference that Luhnow is now under contract through the 2023 season. Financial details, of course, were not disclosed, although recent extensions signed by some of the game’s more highly regarded executives reportedly came with annual salaries ranging from a bit north of $5MM (Yankees GM Brian Cashman) to nearly $10MM (Cubs president of baseball ops Theo Epstein).
Luhnow was a polarizing figure early in his tenure with the Astros, as many raised an eyebrow and criticized from afar as he emphasized the usage of data, analytics and sabermetrics perhaps more than any executive in the game’s history. The Astros received flak not only for their heavy reliance on statistical data (often at the expense of traditional scouting) but also their aggressive utilization of defensive shifts and other, more experimental player development tactics such as tandem/piggyback starters in the minor leagues.
In the end, it’s hard to question much that the Astros have done during Luhnow’s tenure, though. The Astros are the reigning World Series Champions and have recently snapped off 11 consecutive wins to propel themselves to first place in the American League West. Their .658 winning percentage on the season trails only the Yankees and Red Sox, but the Astros will have ample opportunity to change that; they’ll play their next 19 games against teams with losing records.
Luhnow’s tenure with the Astros began with some aggressive tanking that saw the team earn the No. 1 selection in three consecutive drafts, though if there’s a notable blemish on his track record, it’s probably that two of those three instances paid little dividends. The Astros couldn’t have done any better in the 2012 draft when they surprised onlookers by selecting high school shortstop Carlos Correa over Stanford ace Mark Appel with the No. 1 pick. But Houston took Appel with the No. 1 overall pick a year later after he didn’t sign, and the team’s selection of Brady Aiken a year later led to a controversial scenario in which neither Aiken nor over-slot fifth-rounder Jacob Nix signed with the organization.
Of course, the failure to sign Aiken afforded the Astros with the No. 2 pick a year later, which the team used to draft current third baseman Alex Bregman. Bregman was added to a core of homegrown players that also featured Correa, George Springer, Jose Altuve, Lance McCullers and Dallas Keuchel. Luhnow and his lieutenants have also have plenty of successes both on the trade market (e.g. Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Brad Peacock). They’ve prioritized now-popular but once-obscure elements like spin rate when adding names like Collin McHugh (via waivers) and Charlie Morton (free agency), and they struck gold with another waiver claim in Will Harris.
Exactly how long Houston will retain this core group remains uncertain, of course. Altuve recently signed a massive five-year extension, but key players like Springer and Correa have yet to sign extensions. That pair is nonetheless controllable through the 2021 season, though the rotation figures to take a very different look in the coming years, as Keuchel (this winter), Morton (this winter), Cole (post-2019) and Verlander (post-2019) are all approaching free agency.
That said, there’s clearly little doubt among ownership that Luhnow and his staff are capable of absorbing whatever losses they’ll inevitably incur and replacing that group with a promising wave of new young talent and free-agent/trade acquisitions. One of the most impressive things about this regime, after all, is that for all of the success they’ve had in recent seasons, the Astros still have a strong farm system. Right-hander Forrest Whitley and outfielder Kyle Tucker lead the way, and both are considered to be among the game’s top 20 prospects. With several impressive prospects rising through the ranks, plenty of financial firepower at their disposal and an enviable core of controllable assets at the MLB level, Luhnow’s Astros have dynasty potential despite the increasingly competitive nature of the American League West.
Phillies Option Hector Neris
The Phillies announced that they’ve optioned right-hander Hector Neris to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and selected the contract of lefty Austin Davis from Double-A Reading. Neris has spent the better part of the past two seasons serving as Philadelphia’s closer.
While Neris was dominant in a setup role in 2016 and pitched similarly well in his first season as the Phillies’ closer in 2017, the 2018 campaign has been disastrous for the 29-year-old. His season-long struggles culminated yesterday in a meltdown that saw Neris yield four runs on four hits, including two homers, in just two-third of an inning.
That latest hiccup sent Neris’ ERA soaring to an even 6.00, though his struggles have been ongoing for a considerably longer period of time; Neris has been scored upon in five of his past eight appearances and in nine of his 30 games pitched on the season overall.
The demotion will provide Neris with a lower-pressure setting in which to work to correct his struggles, and service time won’t be a consideration with regard to determining the length of his stay in Lehigh Valley. Neris entered the year with two years, 104 days of Major League service, so he’s already cleared three years of service time and remains on track to be arbitration-eligible following the current season. He’ll still be controllable through the 2021 campaign, regardless of whether his optional assignment lasts for three weeks or three months.
It’s not clear who the Phillies will utilize as their closer in the interim. Seranthony Dominguez, Edubray Ramos and Victor Arano would each figure to be among the leading candidates, as they’ve all been dominant so far in 2018. If the Phillies prefer to save those tantalizing arms for higher-leverage spots while turning to a more veteran option to enter with the bases empty in the ninth inning, though, Tommy Hunter is on hand to potentially fill that role.