Latest On Kendrys Morales
News earlier today that Prince Fielder will miss the rest of the season sparked speculation that Kendrys Morales would be a fit to replace him, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the team has indeed scouted the switch-hitting slugger’s workouts at the Scott Boras Training Institute in Miami. The Rangers, according to Heyman, had seen Morales work out even before the news of Fielder’s injury.
A pair of other clubs with potential need for an offensive boost have also watched Morales — the Brewers and Orioles. Additionally, the Mariners have remained in touch with Morales “at times,” according to Heyman. He adds that it isn’t hard to see the Brewers getting involved after the draft, especially if their offense continues to sputter (Milwaukee has dropped five of its past six games and scored just 15 runs in that time). Heyman runs down a list of potential suitors for Morales, though most are classified by him to be long shots.
In my estimation, the Brewers and Rangers appear to be the best fits on paper. The Orioles may want to keep their DH slot open for Matt Wieters, whose arm issues could prevent him from throwing and therefore from seeing time behind the plate. Seattle already has a large number of first base/DH types, though the news that Corey Hart will be out for an extended period of time and the persistent struggles of Justin Smoak could alter their plan of attack.
Barring a surprise push from the Mariners to re-sign Morales in the next two weeks, it seems unlikely that he’ll agree to a deal before the MLB Draft, which begins on June 5. Teams other than the Mariners, of course, will no longer be required to forfeit a draft pick should they sign Morales at that point.
Mariners Sign Todd Coffey
THURSDAY: Coffey has passed his physical, making his deal with the Mariners complete, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Coffey’s base salary upon making the Major League roster will be $750K, and his contract contains $350K of incentives. He’ll earn $15K per month in the minor leagues, Heyman adds.
TUESDAY: The Mariners are set to sign right-hander Todd Coffey to a minor league deal, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter links). The Beverly Hills Sports Council client’s deal is pending a physical, and he’ll fly to Arizona on Wednesday or Thursday to take that exam, Dutton adds.
Coffey missed the 2013 season after undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career. His most recent Major League action came in 2012, when he posted a 4.66 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. Coffey was in the midst of a strong 8 2/3 inning scoreless stretch that season but was hit hard in his final outing — his final appearance before undergoing surgery.
Coffey had posted a 3.62 ERA in 59 2/3 innings the year prior, and has had similar ups and downs throughout his entire career. He’s had fairly wild swings in his year-to-year ERA, but xFIP has consistently pegged him for something in the 3.90 to 4.00 range, while SIERA has been a bigger fan, suggesting marks between 3.50 and 3.80.
Coffey has averaged 93.2 mph on his heater throughout his career, and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan recently reported that he was sitting at 91-92 mph in his most recent workout for teams. The Mariners rank ninth in the Majors in bullpen ERA (3.29), and Coffey will provide them with a nice option, should one of their current arms go down to injury. Seattle also had interest in Heath Bell recently, so it does appear they’ve been actively pursuing additional depth.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels On Injuries To Fielder, Profar
Earlier today we learned that Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder was “seriously considering” season-ending surgery to fix a herniated disc in his neck. Later, an afternoon conference call with Rangers GM Jon Daniels confirmed that the five-time All-Star will go ahead with that plan. Naturally, the injury to Fielder raised speculation from many that the Rangers could consider free agent Kendrys Morales. While Daniels didn’t refer to the former Mariners slugger directly, I asked him if he might consider making a notable out-of-house pickup to fill the void in the batting order.
“Not today, not right now,” Daniels said. “I think that our focus right now is on the group of guys [including the injured Jurickson Profar and Dan Robertson] that are going to come back…There’s a group of guys that are up here in the big leagues that have put together a few good games this week, and we want to see if we can build on that and then evaluate where we are and adjust if that time comes.”
The Rangers received $30MM from the Tigers to help cover part of Fielder’s deal, but with an Opening Day payroll north of $136MM, one might wonder if the owners are feeling tapped out. When I asked Daniels if he might be afforded some financial flexibility to make a significant out-of-house addition, he simply said that he’s not willing to divulge one way or another.
In addition to losing Fielder, the Rangers also got some bad news concerning Profar, who will be sidelined another 8 to 12 weeks thanks to the Grade 2 strain in his right arm. That’s similar to the timeline we initially heard on Profar in late March, but the clock has been reset and this time around his rehab process will be “even more conservative.” With the rash of injuries that the Rangers have had to deal with, Daniels had a hard time concealing his frustration.
“My reaction to the news unfortunately wasn’t surprise just because from talking to [Prince] and seeing him, we knew that this was serious. We were hoping the injection could keep him comfortable and get him through the season. Sometimes you have that response. His response was initially positive,” Daniels said. “The upside is that I’ve been told that this particular surgery has a high success rate. It doesn’t have the same level of risk that a lumbar [problem] of the lower back has in terms of how you use those two parts of the body and the weight you have to support. I’m looking forward to seeing this guy healthy and what he can do, but that’s more of a 2015 and beyond thing.”
The other silver lining, if there is one, is that Profar is not ticketed for surgery at this time. For Fielder, he’ll have to have a cervical fusion on his c5 and c6 vertebrae on Tuesday. One might wonder if the problem could have been caught if the Rangers had Fielder undergo a full physical after acquiring him, but Daniels says that a cervical MRI wouldn’t have been conducted anyway since there was no prior issue there.
It remains to be seen whether the Rangers will make a splashy move to help bolster their weakened lineup, but there’s no doubt that they’ll miss Fielder in 2014.
Fielder Likely Out For Season; Profar Out 8-12 Weeks
5:14pm: Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers do have insurance on Fielder’s contract, but it likely won’t save them much in 2014. The policy pays out 50 cents on the dollar for every dollar owed past a certain time period, which is believed to be around 90 days. Grant estimates that the policy will save the Rangers a little north of $2MM this season.
4:48pm: Daniels also informed reporters that Profar has suffered a Grade 2 strain in his arm. While there’s no set timetable for his return, the recovery time is likely 8 to 12 weeks, according to Daniels.
4:40pm: GM Jon Daniels has informed reporters on a conference call that Fielder is scheduled for season-ending surgery next Tuesday. They will seek one final opinion before proceeding with the procedure, but surgery appears to be a near certainty. As Daniels explains, a cervical MRI — which is not part of any standard physical — would’ve been required to catch any such issue with Fielder.
2:49pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Fielder is also undergoing a second MRI today as he looks to determine the best course of action (Twitter link).
2:09pm: Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder is “seriously considering” undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Fielder received a root-nerve injection over the weekend and is meeting with spine specialist Dr. Drew Dossett today instead of traveling to his former home of Comerica Park for the team’s series against the Tigers. While Fielder can hope that the injection provides some relief, it won’t change the fact that the herniated disc is still pinching a portion of the nerve in his neck, causing weakness in his left arm.
Losing Fielder for the season would be another blow to a Rangers team that has been beleaguered by injuries all season. The Rangers opened the season knowing that Derek Holland would miss the first half of the season, and since that time they’ve also seen Martin Perez go down with Tommy John surgery and Matt Harrison re-aggravate a back injury that now appears to be career-threatening. The team is also currently without Jurickson Profar and Geovany Soto — both of whom were expected to be regulars in manager Ron Washington’s lineup.
The Rangers acquired Fielder and $30MM from the Tigers in exchange for Ian Kinsler this winter in what was perhaps the biggest blockbuster of the offseason. Fielder is earning $24MM this season and will be paid the same amount each year through the 2020 campaign, though beginning in the 2016 season, Detroit will begin paying out its $30MM in installments of $6MM per year.
Fielder, acquired to bolster the Rangers’ lineup, has instead batted just .247/.360/.360 in 178 plate appearances. It’s hard to chalk up a major injury for Fielder to anything other than rotten luck for the Rangers, as Fielder had previously missed just one game in the past five seasons. He’d played in 157 games in each of full season of his career prior to this injury.
Should Fielder go down for the season, Mitch Moreland would likely shift back to first base and handle the position on an everyday basis. One has to wonder if a season-ending injury could cause the Rangers to reconsider a run at Kendrys Morales, who, like Fielder, is represented by Scott Boras. That, of course, is purely my own speculation at this point.
Pirates Designate Phil Irwin For Assignment
The Pirates announced that they have designated right-hander Phil Irwin for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Josh Wall, who was claimed off waivers from the Angels (Twitter link).
Irwin, 27, made one start for the Bucs in 2013, allowing five runs (four earned) in 4 2/3 innings. That start marks the lone Major League appearance for the former 21st-round draft pick. Irwin first reached Triple-A as a 25-year-old and spent 10 innings at that level last year as a 26-year-old. He’d been solid there until this season, where he has surrendered 21 runs in 21 2/3 innings.
Pirates Claim Josh Wall Off Waivers From Angels
The Pirates have claimed righty Josh Wall off waivers from the Angels, tweets Angels communications director Eric Kay.
Wall, 27, made only two appearances for the Halos this year, allowing six earned runs in just one inning of work. He has minimal previous MLB experience with the Dodgers, who included him with right-handers Steve Ames and Angel Sanchez last season as part of a trade package to acquire Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins (the real benefit for Miami, of course, was shedding Nolasco’s remaining $6MM or so in salary). The Halos claimed Wall in October after he was removed from the Marlins’ 40-man roster in some end-of-season maintenance.
Working at Triple-A over recent campaigns, Wall has consistently posted earned run averages in the mid-4.00 range, striking out better than eight batters and issuing around four free passes per nine. He continued that trend at Triple-A Salt Lake this season, fanning 11 and walking five en route to a 4.22 ERA in 10 2/3 innings of work.
Dodgers Release Miguel Olivo
The Dodgers have released catcher Miguel Olivo, the club announced via press release. With the move, Los Angeles has 39 slots filled on its 40-man roster.
It is not surprising to learn that the Dodgers decided to cut ties with the 35-year-old, who was just suspended for his disturbing assault on fellow minor leaguer Alex Guerrero. Olivo saw 25 big league plate appearances for the team, and had looked like a decent depth piece with his .368/.407/.605 line through 81 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
The veteran’s latest actions come after several other dramatic (albeit less concerning) confrontations. He had seemed on his way out of the Dodgers organization in the spring, when he requested his release upon being passed over for the club’s roster for Australia. And his time with the Marlins in 2013 came to an odd end after he reportedly told the club he was quitting over frustration at a lack of playing time.
Latest On Cuban Pitcher Misael Siverio
24-year-old Cuban lefty Misael Siverio, who has officially been declared a free agent, is expected to put on a showcase for MLB scouts on June 10 in Tijuana, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. Siverio defected last summer with hopes of reaching the big leagues.
As Nicholson-Smith writes, the 5’9 Siverio does not have a big fastball, but had a successful run through the Mexican Winter League last year. Through 29 1/3 innings, he posted a 2.45 ERA with 36 strikeouts against ten walks. Previous reports have indicated that, despite a relatively low profile, Siverio has drawn interest from about ten MLB clubs.
Several other recent Cuban defectors have inked minor league deals in recent months, including catcher Yenier Bello of the Braves ($400K bonus), righty Odrisamer Despaigne of the Padres ($1MM), and righty Dalier Hinojosa of the Red Sox ($4.25MM). Another player hoping to move from his home island to the North American professional ranks is first baseman Jozzen Cuesta, says Nicholson-Smith. However, Cuesta is still awaiting clearance from MLB and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Rangers Outright J.P. Arencibia Off 40-Man Roster
After originally optioning struggling catcher J.P. Arencibia, the Rangers have outrighted him off of the club’s 40-man roster, according to the PCL transactions page. Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported yesterday via Twitter that Arencibia had cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A.
The 28-year-old Arencibia has continued the decline he showed last year before being non-tendered by the Blue Jays and inking a one-year, $1.8MM deal with Texas. He carries a .133/.182/.233 line through 66 plate appearances this season, with just one home run. While Arencibia struggled to get on base even at his best, his .225/.279/.437 triple-slash (and 41 home runs) over 2011-12 was good for a 91 OPS+. He has been a sub-replacement-level player since.
White Sox To Designate Frank Francisco For Assignment
The White Sox will designate reliever Frank Francisco for assignment tomorrow, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports on Twitter. The move will clear roster space for the return of Chris Sale.
Francisco, 34, has been hit hard in his limited time with Chicago this year. Through 3 2/3 innings, he has allowed 5 earned runs on 7 hits (2 home runs) while striking out 5 and walking 3 batters. Francisco signed a minor league deal with the White Sox over the offseason. Before the 2012 season, he inked a two-year, $12MM pact to serve as the Mets closer; though he notched 23 saves in New York, Francisco managed only a 5.36 ERA in 48 2/3 innings in New York over the life of the deal.