Steven Matz, Noah Syndergaard Both Pitching With Bone Spurs
10:49pm: Noah Syndergaard is also pitching with a spur in his right elbow, Ackert reports. Though he denied that in his comments after his start tonight, multiple other reports suggest that it is indeed an issue, and Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that the club is not acknowledging the spur at the pitcher’s preference.
Though Syndergaard was working in the triple digits in his outing against the Nationals, he seemed to be struggling with control. The big righty ultimately departed after just three innings of work having allowed a season-high five earned runs and three walks.
Syndergaard recently experienced discomfort that led to an MRI, but was given a clean bill of health. As with Matz, it seems that the spur is mostly a matter of tolerating pain and avoiding changes to mechanics that could lead to broader problems.
It’s important to emphasize that bone spurs are fairly common and aren’t necessarily major concerns if they do not cause ligament issues. And there’s no indication in his case that surgery is on the table at the moment in Syndergaard’s case. Ackert does note that the expectation is that both pitchers will ultimately require procedures — with hopes that they can be delayed until the season is over.
As for Matz, he has been battling through the issue for over a month and has been treated with a cortisone shot at some point, Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com writes. The spur is “not small” and is quite painful, and Heyman suggests that there’s at least some concern that continuing to pitch through it could contribute to a more serious injury. Matz himself is said to be uncertain at this time whether to elect surgery.
4:43pm: Mets southpaw Steven Matz has been diagnosed with a bone spur in his pitching elbow, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. The club is not only considering whether or not he’ll make his next start, but is assessing whether a surgical option will be pursued, per Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link).
GM Sandy Alderson will participate in a meeting to work through the options, per Carig’s report. The possibility of a procedure is just that at present, as no decisions have been made, but it appears to be very much on the table. While there’s no concern that pitching through the pain would lead to injury, at least directly, the club is said to be concerned that the pain has impacted his performance. Ackert notes that an operation after the season is also a possibility.
In the event that Matz does go under the knife in the near-term, Carig tweets, it would likely be six weeks before he is even able to begin throwing. He’d surely require a throwing program and rehab assignment from that point forward. While a precise timeline is difficult to guess, it could certainly represent a lengthy absence.
Matz had bounced back from a rough first start to post a long string of excellent outings — nine straight, in fact, in which he did not allow more than two earned runs. But things have been somewhat uneven in his three most recent starts, and his last effort set off some alarm bells. Matz not only allowed six earned runs, but failed to record a single strikeout in 4 1/3 innings. Glancing through the excellent Brooks Baseball database, it seems that Matz’s vertical release has dropped over the course of the season, though it’s unclear whether that’s connected at all.
This news represents another red flag for a Mets pitching staff that remains one of the game’s best. But heavy usage last season has, perhaps, shown up in several areas. Jacob deGrom isn’t throwing as hard, Noah Syndergaard has had a balky elbow, and Matt Harvey just hasn’t been his dominant self. The results are still excellent, on the whole, and it surely doesn’t hurt that Bartolo Colon has been magnificent while Zack Wheeler remains on the comeback trail (though the latter has been slowed of late). At the same time, there’s certainly some cause for concern with Matz, in particular — all the more so given that he dealt with lat issues in 2015.
Nationals To Promote Lucas Giolito
The Nationals will promote right-hander Lucas Giolito to make tomorrow’s start against the division-rival Mets, manager Dusty Baker told reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The promotion of the 21-year-old Giolito, who entered the season rated as the game’s No. 5 overall prospect according to Baseball America and currently rates as the No. 1 prospect in baseball according to updated prospect lists from MLB.com and ESPN, means that injured ace Stephen Strasburg will be replaced, for the time being, by arguably the most interesting arm in all of minor league baseball.
MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel wrote about the possibility of a Giolito promotion earlier today, noting that it was likely to be either him or Triple-A righty Austin Voth replacing Strasburg for now. Giolito, who had Tommy John surgery the year he was drafted, is on an innings limit after throwing just 117 innings last year as his workload is slowly ramped up. Per Kerzel in his morning piece on Giolito and Voth, the Nats typically try to keep year-to-year innings increases to 20, so Giolito may not be allowed to go more than 140 or so innings this season. He’s already pitched 71 frames this year, working to a 3.17 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. And, as the Nats have demonstrated in the past with Strasburg, they’re not afraid to adhere to strict innings limits even in amid the spotlight of a postseason race.
As for how Giolito currently fits into the Nationals’ plans, the organization itself remains a bit unclear on that front. MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman tweets that Baker told the media it’s “impossible” to know how long Giolito will remain in the rotation, and the decision will be handled on a start-by-start basis. Certainly, one would imagine that the health of Strasburg plays into the decision. That piece of information remains an unknown, though, as Baker informed reporters that Strasburg underwent an MRI today, and the team is awaiting the results of the examination. Even if it proves to be a short-term absence for Strasburg, it’s plausible that a strong performance from Giolito could unseat the struggling Gio Gonzalez in the starting five.
Washington selected Giolito with the 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft. He’d previously been considered one of the favorites to go with the No. 1 overall pick that year, but an elbow injury caused his stock to drop. The injury concerns proved valid when Giolito underwent Tommy John surgery, but he’s made a strong recovery and blossomed into the top-shelf prospect that most scouts expected him to become even after that injury.
Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com write in their free scouting report on the 6’6″. 255-pound Giolito that he has the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the minors thanks to an elite fastball, a power 12-to-6 curveball and a changeup that has steadily improved over his minor league career. ESPN’s Keith Law noted that some delivery tweaks in Spring Training actually set Giolito back a ways, but he appears to be back on track at this juncture. BA rated him only behind Corey Seager, Byron Buxton, Yoan Moncada and Julio Urias entering the season, noting that he had some room to improve the command of his secondary pitches as well as other facets of his game like holding runners and fielding his position. Across the board, Giolito is regarded as an elite talent and a player with ace upside if everything clicks at the big league level.
The timing of Giolito’s promotion means that even if he’s in the Majors to stay, he’ll avoid Super Two designation. The most service time he could accrue through season’s end would be 97 days, which would leave him well shy of a fourth trip through the arbitration process. If he is indeed a big leaguer from this point forth, Giolito won’t be eligible for free agency until following the 2022 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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Braves Sign No. 3 Overall Pick Ian Anderson
SATURDAY, 8:00pm: The signing is official, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
3:33pm: The Braves have announced that they’ve agreed to terms with Anderson. Heyman tweets that Anderson will receive exactly $4MM.
MONDAY: The Braves and No. 3 overall draft pick Ian Anderson are finalizing a deal that’ll pay the high school right-hander about $4MM, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman (links to Twitter). Heyman adds that Anderson will not officially sign until he has graduated. That bonus represents a savings of about $2.5MM on his slot value of $6,510,800 (via MLB.com’s Jim Callis) — money that will help the Braves afford later picks such as Joey Wentz, Kyle Muller and Drew Harrington — each of whom has already reportedly agreed to an over-slot deal.
Anderson, who just turned 18 last month, was rated most highly entering the draft by ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 7 overall), but Baseball America (No. 12) and MLB.com (No. 13) each had him as a top-half-of-the-first-round talent as well. Shortly before the draft, rumors surfaced indicating that Atlanta may tab Anderson in order to save some funds which would be allocated tough signs, and that indeed is how their draft played out.
Scouting reports on Anderson from the three outlets above praise his fastball that sits in the low 90s but can reach 95-96 mph, and BA calls his changeup “devastating” while giving him credit for an above-average curve as well. At 6’4″ and 180 pounds, there’s certainly reason to think that Anderson can continue to fill out his frame. Anderson’s stock might’ve been higher this season if he hadn’t been slowed by an oblique injury and a bout of pneumonia. Ultimately, his deal will allow the Braves to add four high-upside arms to their ranks. While three of them (Anderson, Wentz and Muller) will be a ways off because they are of the high school variety, landing three arms that both BA and MLB.com rated within the top 25 draft prospects seems like a strong haul that should only further bolster an impressive Braves farm system.
The Braves were $2,584,700 over-slot on the combination of Wentz, Muller and Harrington, so the savings from Anderson alone appear to be enough to ensure that Atlanta avoids the loss of a future first-round pick. That wouldn’t happen until the Braves exceeded their bonus pool by more than five percent, although Atlanta will pay a 75 percent luxury tax on any overages up to five percent. That, however, hasn’t been a deterrent for teams in the past and should be of fairly marginal consequence to the Braves should they be required to do so this year.
Mets Sign Jose Reyes To Minor League Deal
The Mets have announced that they’ve officially re-signed infielder Jose Reyes to a minor league deal. Reyes is represented by the Legacy Agency.
The move was widely expected, with various reporters writing Friday evening and Saturday morning that the Mets were set to acquire Reyes. Earlier this week, the Rockies requested release waivers on Reyes after designating him for assignment, and he officially cleared those waivers at noon Central time today. Reyes had been placed on administrative leave and then suspended after an offseason domestic violence incident, and he has not yet played in the big leagues this season.
Andy Martino of the Daily News tweets that Reyes is expected to play in the minors for a week or two before being promoted. Reyes will report to short-season Brooklyn on Sunday. He is in the midst of a long-term deal he initially signed with the Marlins, but the Mets will have to pay him only a prorated portion of the league minimum (a bit over $250K for the rest of the season), with the Rockies assuming the bulk of what’s left of his deal.
It’s unclear how the Mets plan to use Reyes. Asdrubal Cabrera has performed reasonably well at Reyes’ usual position of shortstop for the Mets this season, and Reyes has not graded well there defensively in recent years. Third base could be a possibility, or the Mets could play Reyes at second, with Neil Walker heading to the hot corner. Either scenario would bump Wilmer Flores from the lineup, at least occasionally. The team could also simply use Reyes to spot various regulars. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweeted yesterday that the team has even considered using Reyes as an outfielder. Via Newsday’s Marc Carig (on Twitter), Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that the team has talked with Reyes about him playing a number of positions.
It’s far from clear, at least from the numbers, that Reyes would be an upgrade as a starter for the Mets, since he batted just .274/.310/.378 last year despite spending part of the season with Coors Field as his home park. Reyes’ advancing age (he’s now 33) and apparently declining skills raise questions about why the Mets are interested in him, particularly given the domestic violence incident, in which he allegedly grabbed his wife’s throat and pushed her into a door. The Mets also have a young second baseman in Dilson Herrera who is batting .290/.337/.496 for Triple-A and would appear to fit in well if the Mets do decide to move Walker to third. Despite significant injuries to infielders David Wright (neck) and Lucas Duda (back), the Mets could certainly have found a path forward without Reyes.
As James Wagner of the New York Times explains, though, the Mets see Reyes as family after he spent 12 years in their organization. Despite the domestic violence issue, then, they appear to see him as being worth a second chance.
“We made the decision to offer a contract to Jose after extensive consideration and discussion with Jose, his representatives, Major League Baseball and various departments at the Mets,” said Mets GM Sandy Alderson in a team statement. “We are convinced that Jose has accepted responsibility for his actions and their consequences and have confirmed he is taking steps beyond those prescribed by MLB, including ongoing counseling.”
Reyes himself expressed remorse for his off-field behavior.
“As I have expressed in the past, I deeply regret the incident that occurred,” he said. “I have completed the counseling required by MLB, have been in ongoing therapy, and will continue with counseling going forward.”
Purely from the standpoint of his on-field performance, Reyes might have something left — he produced at least 2.2 fWAR in every season from 2010 through 2014, frequently ranking among his league’s leaders in stolen bases and generally producing good on-base percentages. The Mets currently rank 24th in the Majors with a .308 OBP, and a revitalized Reyes certainly would help with that figure.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brewers Sign Fifth Overall Pick Corey Ray
The Brewers have announced that they’ve signed fifth overall draft pick Corey Ray, an outfielder from Louisville. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets that Ray will receive $4.125MM, giving the Brewers a modest savings against the $4,382,200 slot value of the fifth overall pick.
MLB.com ranked Ray the sixth-best talent available in this year’s draft, with Baseball America rating him seventh. MLB.com noted that he provided the “best combination of hitting and athletic ability” available in this year’s draft, praising his combination of power and speed, which resulted in 15 homers and 44 steals in a .310/.388/.545 junior season at Louisville. He mostly played right field in college, although he seems likely to get a shot at center field as a pro.
In April, MLBTR’s Chuck Wasserstrom spoke to Ray, who said he imagined himself as a future leadoff hitter. He also described being selected by the Mariners in the 33rd round in 2013 and ultimately deciding to go to college. “That dream was knocking on my door, and those were some pretty tough conversations with my father. He told me I wasn’t ready. All I was seeing was the dollar amount and not the big picture,” Ray said. As it turns out, it looks like he made a good decision, as he’ll now get a multimillion-dollar bonus and an immediate spot near the top of the Brewers’ list of top prospects.
Rockies Request Release Waivers On Jose Reyes
The Rockies announced today that they have requested release waivers on Jose Reyes, whom the team had previously designated for assignment last week. Reyes will have 48 hours to clear waivers, after which he’ll become a free agent and have the ability to sign with any club for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum. Technically, a team could claim Reyes off release waivers, though considering the $38.14MM remaining on his contract through the end of the 2017 season, he’s a virtual lock to clear and seek new employment on the open market.
There was some talk of the Rockies potentially trying to trade Reyes, but any efforts toward that end unsurprisingly came up empty. Colorado has had ample time to attempt to trade Reyes since he was arrested last Halloween and faced charges of domestic abuse from his wife (said charges were dropped in April), but the team has yet to find a taker. It seems likely that some team will ultimately take a shot at signing Reyes to what would be a minimal commitment, however, if only due to his track record as a well-above-average player on the field. Recent reports have indicated that the Mets are “warming up” to the idea of a reunion with Reyes, who is said to very much hope to return to Queens.
Whether Reyes proves to be any kind of on-field upgrade remains to be seen. Though he does have a long track record of production, as noted above, he was one of the game’s worst offensive players last season following his trade to Colorado. Despite the fact that Coors Field is notorious for inflating offense, Reyes posted just a .259/.291/.368 line in 208 plate appearances as a member of the Rockies. Overall, his combined .274/.310/.378 slash was considerably below average for a player that split his season between two of the game’s most favorable parks for offense.
Glen Perkins To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
JUNE 22: Perkins himself announced tonight (Twitter link) that he will indeed undergo season-ending surgery tomorrow afternoon. The surgery was a last resort after exhausting his other rehab options, per the left-hander’s message. Perkins’ hope, it seems, is that he can be ready to go for Spring Training next season.
JUNE 16: Twins closer Glen Perkins has been diagnosed with a torn labrum that will likely require season-ending surgery, reports La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Neal notes that the extent of the tear, at this point, is not yet clear, though he adds that Perkins also has some problems with his rotator cuff. Per Neal, Perkins could be ready for the beginning of the 2017 season, though it’s possible he’ll miss a bit of time at the beginning of the year.
Earlier this week, Perkins said that he was headed to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a third opinion on his ailing shoulder after suffering multiple setbacks in his attempts to get back on the mound. Perkins admitted to 1500 ESPN’s Phil Mackey at the time that he “[didn’t] have a good feeling” about the meeting but was hoping to be pleasantly surprised. That, unfortunately for both him and the team, was apparently not the outcome from his appointment.
Perkins’ season, it seems, will come to a close with just two uninspiring appearances under his belt. His absence and a significant decline in the performances of 2015 holdovers Kevin Jepsen and Trevor May has led to disastrous results from the Twins’ bullpen this season. Minnesota relievers rank 26th in the Majors with a collective 4.58 ERA. The team has recently demoted Jepsen, who had been closing in Perkins’ stead (a role he filled quite well in 2015), and installed a committee of Brandon Kintzler and trade candidate Fernando Abad as its primary ninth-inning options.
Prior to this season, the 33-year-old Perkins had made three consecutive All-Star teams and carried a 2.84 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 through 313 1/3 innings dating back to the 2012 season. He’s earning $6.3MM in 2016 and is owed $6.5MM for the 2017 season as well under his current contract. Minnesota also carries a $6.5MM club option on him for the 2018 season (his age-35 campaign), which comes with a $700K buyout.
Phillies Sign Mickey Moniak
The Phillies announced that they have agreed to terms with high school outfielder Mickey Moniak, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft earlier this month. Terms of his bonus were not disclosed by the team, but MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports that Moniak received a $6.1MM bonus (Twitter link). The No. 1 overall pick came with a slot value of $9,015,000 this season.
Moniak, who turned 18 just over a month ago, rated as the No. 5 overall prospect in the class on the pre-draft rankings of Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. However, the bulk of mock drafts from those outlets in the days just prior to the draft had forecast that Philadelphia would indeed tab the California native as the top pick in this year’s draft.
Moniak had been committed to UCLA but will forego college and instead embark on his professional career. The aforementioned rankings heap praise onto Moniak for his hit tool, grading it as the top high school hit tool in the entire draft. He’s an above-average runner that is said to have great instincts in center field, and each of the reports above expresses confidence that he can stay there. Moniak doesn’t project to develop significant power due to a fairly slight frame, though Baseball America invokes a comparison to Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich — an outcome with which the Phillies would surely be thrilled.
The Phillies, per Callis, had an overall draft pool of $13,405,200, which was the second-largest among all big league teams this season. Because Moniak didn’t command the full value of that slot — and it’s worth noting that none of the players selected first overall have commanded full slot value since the current iteration of draft signing rules was implemented — the Phillies will be able to reallocate roughly $3MM worth of savings to later picks. Among the notable high school names drafted by the Phillies that may require over-slot deals to break college commitments are second-round pick Kevin Gowdy, third-round pick Cole Stobbe and 11th-round pick Josh Stephen.
Red Sox Outright Rusney Castillo
JUNE 20: Castillo has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Pawtucket, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
JUNE 19, 1:21pm: The Red Sox hadn’t contacted Castillo as of an hour ago, tweets Rob Bradford of WEEI. Castillo has three days before he’ll have to report to the team, Bradford adds.
10:57am: The Red Sox placed outfielder Rusney Castillo on outright waivers Saturday, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Castillo will clear waivers Monday if nobody claims him. Given that Castillo is on a $10.5MM salary this year and is set to rake in upward of $50MM through 2019, odds are strongly against a team claiming the Cuba native.
This obviously isn’t the outcome the Red Sox or Castillo anticipated when the two sides agreed to a seven-year, $72.5MM contract in 2014. Castillo came to the United States as a potential five-tool center field option for Boston, but he never lived up to that promise with the Red Sox after an excellent initial taste of the majors.
When he first joined the Red Sox late in the 2014 season, Castillo appeared in 10 games and collected 12 hits – including three home runs – three walks and three steals in 40 plate appearances. Over a much larger sample size last season, he batted a poor .253/.288/.359 with five homers and four steals across 289 trips to the plate. That lack of production has carried into this year, with Castillo having posted a .245/.304/.320 line in 161 PAs with Triple-A Pawtucket. Despite the Red Sox’s injury issues in left field, where Blake Swihart and Brock Holt are both on the shelf, the 28-year-old Castillo has collected just eight PAs in the majors this season.
Going forward, there’s a chance Castillo will remain with the Red Sox organization if he clears waivers, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. While Castillo would no longer be on the club’s 40-man roster, he’d still be able to suit up for Pawtucket.