Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Newsstand

Brewers Designate Tommy Milone For Assignment

By | at

The Brewers announced that they’ve designated left-hander Tommy Milone for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Rob Scahill from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Milone, 30, opened the season as the lone left-hander on the Brewers’ roster, and his departure will give Milwaukee an all-right-handed staff (h/t: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, on Twitter). The former Nationals, Athletics and Twins hurler has been a fairly regular contributor in the Majors in each of the past five big league seasons, but Minnesota elected to outright him following the 2016 season rather than give him a raise on last year’s $4.5MM salary.

The soft-tossing Milone got quality results in the Oakland and Minnesota rotations from 2012-15, averaging 25 starts per season to go along with a 3.98 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. However, he slipped to a 5.71 ERA last year in Minnesota and ultimately lost his rotation spot. Milone’s ERA has continued to balloon in Milwaukee, where he’s logged a 6.43 mark through his first 21 frames, though his outstanding 16-to-2 K/BB ratio lends some optimism for a turnaround.

Milone is on a very affordable one-year deal that came with a mere $1.25MM base salary. Of that modest sum, just $1.05MM remains, so he’d make for a reasonable pickup should any club with rotation injuries wish to make a claim on waivers (or a minor trade). That said, Milone’s ceiling as a back-of-the-rotation starter, his recent struggles and the remaining cash on his deal could allow him to pass through waivers. At that point, he’d have the right to refuse a minor league assignment in favor of free agency, although as a player with fewer than five years of Major League service time, doing so would mean forfeiting the remaining money on his contract. As such, if has passes through waivers unclaimed, it seems likely that he’d remain in the organization and hope to work his way back to the Major League roster.

Adam Eaton Suffers Torn ACL, Meniscus

By | at

SUNDAY: Rizzo confirmed Eaton’s ACL tear on Sunday, adding that he also suffered a torn meniscus and a high ankle sprain. Eaton will face a six- to nine-month recovery period after he undergoes surgery, which the Nats haven’t scheduled yet (Twitter links via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). For at least the time being, Rizzo expects to replace Eaton from within, noting that center field is one of the organization’s deepest positions.

SATURDAY: Nationals center fielder Adam Eaton suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on Friday and will miss the rest of the season, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The injury occurred when Eaton beat out an infield single in the ninth inning of a 7-5 loss to the Mets. Eaton stepped on first base awkwardly and was then unable to put any weight on his left leg, forcing him to exit the game (video via MLB.com).

Entering Saturday, Eaton had been among the red-hot Nationals’ best players in his first month as a member of the club. The top-of-the-order hitter slashed an impressive .297/.393/.462 with two home runs and three steals across 107 plate appearances. In the process, the 28-year-old may have quelled some doubts about the Nationals’ decision to trade a significant haul to the White Sox for him over the winter.

Washington gave up three well-regarded pitching prospects, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning, for Eaton, leading to widespread criticism of Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo. However, Eaton had been a terrific offensive player in Chicago over the previous three years, and he drew great marks for his defense in both the 2014 and ’16 campaigns. Further, Eaton carries an appealing contract, one that could max out at an eminently reasonable $38.4MM through the 2021 season.

It’s fair to say Rizzo’s plan for Eaton was to serve as a key cog for a potential championship contender as early as this season, and at 16-8, first-place Washington has looked the part thus far. But the loss of Eaton is undoubtedly a major blow to their roster, and it’s now unclear who will man center field going forward. For now, it’s Michael Taylor, though he has never resembled a big league regular over 814 career PAs. Both the Nationals’ best player, right fielder Bryce Harper, and shortstop Trea Turner have experience in center, but moving either from his current spot would lead to more questions. Other 40-man options to help fill Eaton’s void include Brian Goodwin and Rafael Bautista, the latter of whom the Nats promoted when they placed Eaton on the disabled list early Saturday. The club also has an elite center field prospect in Victor Robles, but he’s only 19 and has never played above the High-A level.

In the event Washington is unsatisfied with its own center fielders, it could go outside the organization for help. Pickings in free agency are slim, though, with the potentially retired Angel Pagan representing the best of a deeply flawed class of unsigned players. Notably, the Nationals aggressively pursued Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen via trade prior to landing Eaton, and the five-time All-Star could hit the block again this year if the Bucs don’t contend. However, the Nationals found the Pirates’ asking price for McCutchen to be prohibitive in the offseason. If the Nationals don’t look again to McCutchen, Kansas City’s Lorenzo Cain could be a possibility, as the scuffling Royals are on track to sell off veterans this summer. The Nats already have interest in the Royals’ closer, Kelvin Herrera, and could perhaps attempt to reel in him and Cain in a package. That’s merely speculation, of course, and having already surrendered a prospect bounty for Eaton a few months ago, Rizzo might be reluctant to part with more high-end youngsters for another outfielder.

Shelby Miller To Have Tommy John Surgery

By | at

SATURDAY: Miller has, in fact, decided to undergo Tommy John surgery, writes FanRag’s Tommy Stokke. Details of the surgery are unclear, but he’ll miss the rest of 2017 and quite likely a portion of the 2018 season while he recovers.

THURSDAY: Diamondbacks right-hander Shelby Miller has been diagnosed with flexor strain and a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, Miller himself tells reporters (Twitter links via FanRag’s Tommy Stokke). Miller is considering his options, including Tommy John surgery, and will make a decision sooner rather than later.

The 26-year-old Miller exited his most recent start due to forearm tightness and was quickly placed on the 10-day disabled list, though this new diagnosis guarantees that he’ll miss considerably more time than that — likely the remainder of the 2017 season unless he pursues a non-surgical route such as a platelet-rich plasma injection or stem cell treatment (neither of which would guarantee that he’d ultimately avoid surgery).

The news comes as a significant blow to the D-backs after Miller showed encouraging signs early in the season. After a dreadful first year in Arizona (6.15 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 3.8 BB/9), Miller was showing improved velocity and missing more bats early in the 2017 season. Through his first three outings, Miller logged a 3.50 ERA with a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 48 percent ground-ball rate. His most recent outing, however, back on April 23, lasted just four innings as Miller issued five walks and saw his average velocity dip.

[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks Depth Chart]

With Miller out for a significant time regardless of his ultimate treatment option, the D-backs will have a vacancy in their rotation. Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin, Robbie Ray and Taijuan Walker are presently occupying the top four slots, and right-hander Zack Godley was recalled to make a spot start yesterday (though he’s already been optioned out).

In addition to Godley, right-hander Braden Shipley (a former first-round pick that’s currently in Triple-A and made his MLB debut in 2016) and right-hander Archie Bradley could be candidates to join the rotation. Bradley has been lights out in a relief role early this season, though GM Mike Hazen very recently told the Arizona Repbulic’s Nick Piecoro that the organization still views Bradley as a starter in the long run.

Dodgers To Promote Cody Bellinger

By | at

The Dodgers will promote top prospect Cody Bellinger, according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). The 21-year-old will provide a left-handed-hitting option at first base and the corner outfield, though it’s unknown how long he’ll remain in the majors.

Cody Bellinger | Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Bellinger flew up top prospect charts with a strong 2016 season, in which he slashed .271/.365/.507 over 477 plate appearances, the vast bulk of them coming at Double-A. After an excellent stint in the Arizona Fall League, Bellinger sat at seventh among all prospects leaguewide in the ranking of Baseball America.

Since that time, Bellinger has taken Triple-A by storm. Through 77 trips to the plate, he owns a .343/.429/.627 batting line with five home runs and seven steals. Adding him to the active MLB roster, though, will require the creation of a 40-man space.

The Dodgers fielded trade inquiries on the blue-chip prospect over the winter, as they have recently for other hyped youngsters such as Corey Seager, Julio Urias, and Joc Pederson. But Los Angeles has held firm on those players, all of whom will now have reached the majors. With Pederson on the DL, a need arose for another outfield bat, and it’ll be Bellinger who gets the call — at least temporarily. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets, Bellinger is expected to see time in left and center.

Looking longer term, Bellinger’s promotion comes late enough into the season that his path to free agency would be delayed by one year, but not so late that he’d avoid Super Two status. If Bellinger remains in the Majors to stay, he’d accrue 159 days of Major League service time, putting on track to reach arbitration after the 2019 season and free agency upon completion of the 2023 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins “Moving Forward” With Jeter/Bush Group

By | at

The Marlins are “moving forward” in negotiations with the would-be ownership group headlined by Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (links to Twitter). The organization is said to be “optimistic” that a deal will be reached to transfer control from current owner Jeffrey Loria to Bush, who’d be the new control person, and the four other members of the group. It’s said to be an “agreement in principle” that sets a $1.3B purchase price.

This report follows some conflicting signals sent throughout the day. Earlier, a report suggested that the Jeter/Bush group was the only possible bidder left due to a lack of interest. But even that group was said not to have submitted a firm offer, with financing still in the works. Marlins president David Samson flatly rejected this report, saying it was strewn with errors but declining to specify or correct them.

Later, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg reported that the Jeter/Bush group had “won the auction” for the organization — which presents quite a different picture of the entire process. In addition to framing it as an “auction” for the first time, this report says that there were multiple other bidding groups, including one headed by businessman Wayne Rothbaum and another led by Tagg Romney (which included Hall-of-Fame hurler Tom Glavine). When asked to respond, Samson stated that he would not offer any comment, as Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel tweets.

Notably, none of the reports suggest that any paperwork has been signed. It’s important to bear in mind, too, that even in the event that a preliminary agreement is struck, it would still be subject to a lengthy finalization process — between the parties and also involving authorization from Major League Baseball.

Angels Moving Garrett Richards To 60-Day DL

By | at

When a biceps strain forced Angels right-hander Garrett Richards to the 10-day disabled list April 7, there was optimism that he’d return quickly. Now, unfortunately for both Richards and the Halos, he’s in line to sit out at least into the summer. The Angels are moving him to the 60-day DL, per an an announcement from the team.

“His most recent assessment and exam showed mild improvement in biceps strength and also irritation of the cutaneous nerve which is contributing to his strength deficit,” stated the club.

This is the second serious arm injury for Richards since last year, when an elbow issue limited him to just 34 2/3 innings. Richards elected against Tommy John surgery, instead opting for stem-cell therapy treatment, which was successful enough that he was able to take the mound again during the first week of this season. Richards allowed no runs on three hits and a walk in his April 5 season debut against the Athletics, but his biceps strain forced him to exit after only 4 2/3 frames.

As was the case last year, Richards’ prolonged absence should be a serious blow to the Angels’ hopes of contending. The club won a mere 74 games last season and has begun 2017 an ugly 7-11. For the second straight year, the Halos’ Richards-less starting staff hasn’t fared well. Thus far, the group has posted the majors’ fifth-worst ERA (4.35) and eighth-worst FIP (4.18). Ricky Nolasco, Matt Shoemaker, Jesse Chavez, Tyler Skaggs and J.C. Ramirez have taken the mound for multiple starts, while Alex Meyer has made one.

Looking ahead, it’s possible the 28-year-old Richards’ latest issue will put his tenure with the Angels in jeopardy. The team kept Richards via arbitration at a $6.85MM cost this year, but if he’s unable to return in 2017 (or if he shows poorly upon his comeback), he could be a non-tender candidate during the offseason. Richards is due to make his fourth and final trip through arbitration next winter.

Tom Glavine Part Of Group Working To Purchase Marlins

By | at

Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine may be part of the Marlins’ next ownership team. The former Brave and Met is a member of a faction that has put in a bid to purchase the franchise from owner Jeffrey Loria, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg. Solamere Capital co-founder Tagg Romney, son of 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is at the helm of the group. Notably, Mitt Romney is not involved in this venture.

The exact price of the Romney group’s bid isn’t known, though Soshnick relays that offers for the Marlins currently range between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion – an enormous increase over the $158MM Loria paid in 2002. Fifteen years later, Loria “wants to get out of it,” Glavine told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Glavine added that he feels “very good” about the Romney offer, though the 51-year-old declined to disclose whether he’s committed to putting forth any money (Glavine made just under $130MM as a player, per Baseball Reference). Glavine’s also unsure of how long a potential sale might take to go through, but he did reveal that his main purpose has been to woo investors to the Romney side.

The 305-game winner went into further detail in his discussion with Cafardo, saying: “It’s been a lengthy process. I was contacted a couple of years ago by some people to ask whether I’d have an interest in doing something along these lines, and I certainly did. This Marlins situation came about last summer. After casual conversations and kicking tires it became apparent we could put people together and raise money.”

If the Romney-led team does succeed in buying the Marlins, it’s unclear which role Glavine would take with the franchise, but he would “certainly want” some sort of position.

“I’m not going to say I’m the GM, but I know the game pretty well,” said Glavine. “I understand it. There’s a lot on the business side that I don’t understand, so I’m open-minded about what the best role for me would be and what I like to do the most.”

Glavine informed Cafardo that he believes at least three groups have made efforts to secure the Marlins. Quogue Capital founder Wayne P. Rothbaum is at the helm of one, per reports from both Soshnick and Douglas P. Hanks of the Miami Herald. However, Soshnick’s information differs from Hanks’ with respect to a couple of other prospective buyers, ex-Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Those two have teamed up to buy the Marlins, according to Hanks, but Soshnick notes that’s not yet the case. Instead, as of now, Jeter and Bush have only discussed working together, per Soshnick.

Giants Place Madison Bumgarner On 10-Day DL After Dirt Bike Accident

By | at

8:20pm: There’s internal concern that a two-month estimated absence may be on the low side, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets.

6:03pm: From the club’s perspective, there’s no real timetable at present, manager Bruce Bochy tells reporters including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

4:00pm: The initial expectation is that Bumgarner will be sidelined for six to eight weeks, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). It’s not clear, though, whether that figure includes the time that the lefty will presumably require to ramp up and move through a rehab assignment.

3:39pm: Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is headed to the 10-day DL after injuring himself in a dirt bike accident, the team announced. He is said to have suffered bruised ribs along with “a grade one or two left shoulder AC sprain.”

Fortunately, it seems there’s no reason to worry for Bumgarner’s long-term well-being. He has already been released from the hospital. But from an on-field perspective, the news certainly looks to be concerning.

To be sure, there’s little in the way of detail as to just how the injury will impact Bumgarner. For now, it seems he’ll rest before being reevaluated next week.

The injury is not a common one for a pitcher, but it does happen to quarterbacks with regularity. Treatment and timing will obviously depend upon the final assessment of the severity, though it seems that surgery isn’t likely to be needed for a grade one or two sprain.

Obviously, the fact that the injury occurred to Bumgarner’s throwing arm will be a significant factor. That’ll not only increase the risks of rushing back, but will presumably call for a lengthier timeline — including, perhaps, a rehab stint.

Bumgarner had been himself on the hill in the early going, continuing his outstanding track record of production. (To date, Bumgarner owns a 2.99 ERA with 8.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 over 1,242 2/3 career innings.) Now, he’s headed to the DL for the first time in his career.

What makes the southpaw special, though, isn’t just his effectiveness. It’s the fact that he has had a flawless record of durability. Bumgarner has made at least 31 starts and thrown at least 200 innings in each of his first six full seasons in the majors. Now, it seems those streaks are at risk.

The Giants have options on hand to fill in, with Ty Blach seemingly likely to step into the rotation and Chris Stratton coming up to provide another arm. But there’s no replacing Bumgarner, who is already a legendary figure in the organization due to his incredible postseason efforts.

Francisco Lindor Reportedly Turned Down Roughly $100MM Extension

By | at

4:57pm: Lindor says that he could imagine reaching a long-term deal at some point, but that the time wasn’t right to do so over the winter, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. The talks that did occur are “in the past,” says Lindor.

9:18am: There were reports during Spring Training that the Indians had attempted to work out a multi-year extension with star shortstop Francisco Lindor, but details on the talks never surfaced. This morning, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reports that Lindor turned down an offer that would’ve paid him “around $100 million.” Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer adds that the Indians did indeed make a “substantial” offer to Lindor, though he wasn’t able to confirm the $100MM figure (Twitter links). Furthermore, Hoynes says that there are no active extension talks with Lindor or any other player at this time.

Lindor’s rejection of the reported $100MM figure — or anything even close to that figure, for that matter — means that the rising superstar turned down an extension that would’ve shattered the current record for a player in his service class. Lindor, 23, entered the year with just one year, 113 days of Major League service time. As MLBTR’s Extension Tracker shows, the previous record for an extension for any player in the one-plus years of service bracket is Andrelton Simmons’ seven-year, $58MM contract, signed with the Braves prior to the 2014 season.

It’s certainly possible that the $100MM figure wasn’t entirely guaranteed and is including the value of some option years, but it does seem all but certain that such an offer would’ve set a new record. Also of note is that the years of the extension offer aren’t included in the Verducci report; a $100MM offer over a term of eight years would be considerably different than $100MM over the next 10 seasons, for instance. The number of free-agent years involved in the deal as well as option years and no-trade provisions all come into play when negotiating extensions, meaning a rough value of the overall package doesn’t provide enough context to fully judge the offer.

And while it’s undoubtedly difficult for Indians fans to stomach the fact that Lindor wouldn’t take what would’ve been far and away the largest contract in franchise history, it’s also not entirely stunning to hear that he rebuffed the team. Lindor did, after all, receive a healthy $2.9MM bonus as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2011 draft, so he started his career in a considerably better place than most of his peers. Beyond that, as Verducci notes in the heart of his column, the free-agent market is moving forward and figures to do so substantially between now and the time that Lindor reaches free agency in the 2021-22 offseason.

The 2018-19 free agent class is stocked with premium talent and figures to be headlined by Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. The common consensus is that each of those players could command at least $300MM, and the possibility of a $400MM contract for either, given that their youth — each will be 26 when entering free agency — will lead to contract offers of extreme length. Lindor won’t be quite so young when he reaches the open market, but he’ll hit free agency at the age of 27 as he heads into his age-28 campaign. That’s still quite young for a player to reach the open market, and Lindor of course figures to do quite well for himself in arbitration over the five years between now and the open market, though he won’t qualify for that process until the completion of the 2018 season.

Notably, Verducci did speak to Lindor’s agent, David Meter, and while Meter understandably didn’t get into any specifics on what was or wasn’t offered, he didn’t take a firm stance against ever agreeing to a long-term deal. “It’s just one of those things we’ll look at on a year-by-year basis,” Meter tells Verducci. “I don’t think it’s very productive to draw a line in the sand.”

While that lends some mild optimism about the possibility of an extension further down the road, it also likely means that the Indians will be required to substantially increase their offer if they’re to have any chances of getting an agreement in place. By the time next offseason rolls around, Lindor will be just one year removed from arbitration eligibility. And though he’d already established himself as one of the game’s elite young talents with a .306/.356/.454 batting line through his first 1122 plate appearances (accompanied by premium baserunning and defense), there are still signs that the best is yet to come. Lindor has already homered four times in 2017 after hitting 15 all of last year, and he’s off to a .351/.415/.684 start to his season through 66 plate appearances. It’s unlikely that he sustains that pace, but any improvement in his production, paired with the increasing proximity to arbitration, will only serve to further escalate the price tag on a Lindor extension.

Rangers Release Josh Hamilton, Who Will Undergo Knee Surgery

By | at

The Rangers announced today that they have released outfielder Josh Hamilton from the minor-league deal that the sides struck during the offseason. Per the club, Hamilton suffered another knee injury during his rehabilitation efforts and will again require surgery.

Hamilton’s most recent surgery was on his left knee, the latest in a long line of procedures performed on the joint. But his new injury — the details of which have not been reported — occurred to the opposite knee.

It’s not known what’s next for the 35-year-old, who was in the mix for a roster spot in Spring Training before going under the knife. Last he played in the majors, back in 2015, Hamilton still had above-average power but struggled to reach base with a declining walk rate.

You have to go further back to find a full season of action — 2013, with the Angels — and further still to find one in which he was a highly productive player. That’d be 2012, when Hamilton set himself up for a big free-agent payday by slashing .285/.354/.577 and swatting 43 home runs in Texas. The Angels are paying off the last of that deal (less $2MM still owed by the Rangers) this year.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top