Coronavirus Updates: Draft, ASG, Workouts, Scouting
We now know that the COVID-19 pandemic may delay the start of the Major League Baseball season until at least June or July. As of now, however, the league hasn’t indicated whether it will postpone the June 10-12 draft or the July 14 All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Meanwhile, the league and the union have been negotiating on payment for the players during this shutdown. MLB proposed “an initial lump payment” to the players to make up for missed checks early in the season, and then the MLBPA countered that offer, Sherman writes. It’s unclear how much progress the two sides have made in those talks, though. The league plans to turn its attention to payment for minor leaguers and stadium and team personnel once it’s through ironing out how to proceed with players who are on 40-man rosters, per Sherman.
- Yankees players have been staying in Florida to work out, but manager Aaron Boone admitted Monday that might not be feasible anymore, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays. Boone, whose organization had a minor leaguer test positive for coronavirus last week, acknowledged that “it’s getting more and more challenging” to carry out present plans, adding that he’ll likely return to New York in the next couple days. It remains to be seen whether members of the club will follow suit in returning to their homes, but if they do, Boone’s confident they’ll be able to stay in shape by working out on their own.
- Mariners players have been exiting their facility in Arizona, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The M’s are down to 28 players remaining there, and they sent all of their non-roster invitees home.
- Count former Mets general manager and current Athletics consultant Sandy Alderson among those dumbfounded that independent workouts are still going on at all. He expects them to end in the immediate future. “I would be surprised if anybody is in camp after the next two or three days, because No. 1 it doesn’t make any sense from a baseball standpoint, if the season is not going to start until maybe June 1,” Alderson told Mike Puma of the New York Post. “And secondly it doesn’t make any sense in terms of setting an example for the rest of the population to have a bunch of athletes running around playing catch. That does not constitute social distancing.”
- MLB has ceased all scouting activity, both foreign and domestic, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. That’s hardly a surprising development with just about all sports on hiatus at this point. Even in-home and in-person visits have been prohibited, Rosenthal notes.
Offseason In Review: Oakland Athletics
The Athletics won 97 games and earned a wild-card berth for the second straight year in 2019. They weren’t all that active over the winter, but with the AL West rival Astros engulfed in turmoil, the talented A’s may be in position to take over the division this season.
Major League Signings
- Jake Diekman, LHP: Two years, $7.5MM
- Total spend: $7.5MM
Options Exercised
- Yusmeiro Petit, RHP: One year, $5.5MM
Trades And Claims
- Acquired C Austin Allen and OF Buddy Reed from Padres for 2B Jurickson Profar
- Acquired INF/OF Tony Kemp from Cubs for INF Alfonso Rivas
- Acquired cash considerations from Cubs for RHP Jharel Cotton
- Acquired INF Vimael Machin (Rule 5 pick) from Phillies for cash considerations
- Acquired RHP Burch Smith from Giants for cash considerations
- Claimed LHP T.J. McFarland from Diamondbacks
Notable Minor League Signings
- Ryan Goins, Ian Gardeck, Lucas Luetge, Jaime Schultz, Zach Lee, Donnie Hart, Ronnie Freeman, Dillon Thomas, Jordan Weems, Carlos Perez, Nate Orf, Brian Schlitter
Notable Losses
- Profar, Cotton, Blake Treinen, Tanner Roark, Homer Bailey, Brett Anderson, Ryan Buchter, Josh Phegley, Matt Harvey
For the second consecutive year, Oakland managed to weather a slew of injuries in its pitching staff and establish itself as one of the majors’ elite teams. The A’s received little to no contributions from Sean Manaea, A.J. Puk and Jesus Luzardo – three ultra-skilled southpaws who, if healthy, should be prominent parts of their rotation this year. Puk has been battling shoulder issues and didn’t seem likely to be ready for Opening Day as of earlier this week. However, with the coronavirus delaying the start of the season by at least two weeks, it’s possible Puk will be OK by Game 1. Should that be the case, he and the other two aforementioned lefties would probably be in line to join righties Frankie Montas and Mike Fiers in the A’s starting five. On paper, that’s a promising group – albeit one that lost three legit starters in Tanner Roark, Homer Bailey and Brett Anderson during free agency.
Oakland didn’t augment its starting staff during the offseason (maybe it didn’t need to), but it did spend on its bullpen. The club kept a couple of its 2019 relievers in lefty Jake Diekman and righty Yusmeiro Petit, who will cost a combined $13MM this season, and claimed southpaw T.J. McFarland from the Diamondbacks.
Diekman wasn’t especially productive after he joined the A’s in a late-July trade, walking 16 hitters and yielding 11 earned runs in 20 1/3 innings with the club. But the A’s are banking on the hard thrower’s high-strikeout, high-groundball ways paying dividends over a full campaign. He and McFarland, who struggled mightily to prevent runs in four of the past five seasons, are the top lefties in a bullpen that said goodbye to Ryan Buchter over the winter. McFarland’s like Diekman in that he induces plenty of grounders. Conversely, he’s not much for velocity or strikeouts. And McFarland has typically experienced difficulty versus right-handed hitters, which isn’t going to fly in a league that’s now imposing a three-batter minimum rule.
The acquisition of McFarland isn’t the only change the A’s bullpen underwent in recent months. The team cut ties with righty Blake Treinen, formerly a lights-out closer who trudged through a dreadful 2019. For the most part, the A’s bullpen was a strength then, but Treinen’s unexpected drop-off certainly didn’t help matters. Based on his numbers from last season, Treinen won’t be missed. Moreover, the Treinen-less A’s still look fairly set from the right side with the durable and effective Petit, closer Liam Hendriks (who was just about untouchable last season), Joakim Soria and J.B. Wendelken comprising their go-to late-game options, and they’ll hope Lou Trivino can return to his 2018 ways after falling flat as a sophomore.
Meanwhile, the A’s position player cast went largely unchanged in the past few months. Their most notable move was to trade second baseman Jurickson Profar to the Padres in a deal for Austin Allen, who will back up the touted Sean Murphy at catcher. The Athletics had high hopes for Profar when they acquired him from the division-rival Rangers entering 2019, but his lone year in an A’s uniform was a failure.
The A’s could have replaced Profar with any number of affordable, well-known options via the open market (Starlin Castro, Brian Dozier, Cesar Hernandez, Wilmer Flores and Brock Holt are some who come to mind). They even had interest in a reunion with old friend and current Met Jed Lowrie, though it’s probably fortunate for the A’s that didn’t happen, considering Lowrie’s lofty salary and ongoing injury troubles. In the end, Oakland came away with Tony Kemp in a minor trade with the Cubs. It remains to be seen, though, whether Kemp will even crack the roster. He doesn’t possess much of a track record, has no minor league options and, before MLB’s spring training shutdown, was competing with three younger second basemen in Jorge Mateo, Franklin Barreto and Rule 5 pickup Vimael Machin. There’s no sending any of those three to the minors, either (at least, not without risking losing them), and they likely have higher upside than Kemp. However, the A’s could platoon the lefty-hitting Kemp or Machin with one of the other two.
Second base aside, there weren’t many A’s positions ripe for upgrade over the winter. Their hitters did, after all, rank fifth in the majors in fWAR, fifth in wRC+ and eighth in runs last season. Most of that unit’s back, including their three best players in third baseman Matt Chapman, shortstop Marcus Semien and first baseman Matt Olson. There has been talk of extensions for all three over the past couple years, but nothing has materialized to this point. Barring a change in the coming months, it could be the last season in Oakland for Semien, a free agent-to-be who – if he comes close to replicating his jaw-dropping 7.6-fWAR effort from 2019 – will be one of the most coveted players on the open market next winter.
Fortunately for Oakland, it’s not in immediate danger of losing Chapman or Olson, standouts who still have another season of pre-arbitration eligibility. They and Semien are supported by some strong complements in outfielders Ramon Laureano and Mark Canha. Designated hitter Khris Davis also deserves mention; that is, if he can revisit his usual form after an injury-marred 2019. But one of the A’s three outfield spots does look somewhat iffy. While Stephen Piscotty was terrific two years ago, he fought multiple health problems and didn’t perform well last season. He’s now battling another injury – an intercostal strain – though perhaps he’ll have enough time to recover by Opening Day if the game’s coronavirus-caused moratorium lasts long enough. If not, the A’s may turn to the switch-hitting Robbie Grossman, who’s adept at getting on base but doesn’t offer that much else. Of course, if Piscotty’s problem is serious enough, there’s a case Oakland should look to the No. 1 free agent left – outfielder Yasiel Puig – though that seems improbable.
2020 Outlook
Clearly, it was not an exciting offseason for the low-budget Athletics, whose Opening Day payroll should check in south of the $100MM mark yet again. Despite the team’s lack of spending power, though, executive vice president Billy Beane and general manager David Forst have once again built a roster that looks as if it will contend. That appears all the more likely with the Astros – the back-to-back-to-back AL West champions – besieged by a sign-stealing scandal, a regime change, the loss of Gerrit Cole and an injury to Justin Verlander. Even with all of that adversity, the Astros still look talented enough to continue their reign in the division, but the A’s should at least nip at their heels and push for a third playoff berth in a row.
How would you grade the A’s offseason? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)
How would you grade the A's offseason?
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C 44% (1,018)
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B 32% (754)
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D 12% (285)
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A 7% (167)
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F 5% (109)
Total votes: 2,333
Latest On MLB, Coronavirus
11:10am: Teams throughout the league have been sending scouts home this morning, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that “just about every team, if not every team” has taken this step. Meanwhile, in an unlocked article that is not behind the web site’s paywall, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal runs through several potential pandemic-related issues and courses of action for the league.
As for any actual action from the league, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the league is likely to provide some clarity today. At this point, it feels inevitable that the league will make a statement on the status of Spring Training games and the regular season in the very near future.
1:55am: The coronavirus outbreak led the National Basketball Association to suspend its season on Wednesday. It’s unclear how Major League Baseball will react before its regular season is scheduled to begin March 26, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that the pandemic will have a sizable effect on its plans.
It’s possible, for instance, that some of the league’s teams will start 2020 by playing regular-season games outside of their normal home venues. That already seems to be the case for the Mariners, who are “likely” to host their season-opening series in the Phoenix area instead of in Seattle, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. But they may not be the only club in that situation. The state of California has recommended limiting public gatherings to 250 people for the rest of March, which means the Dodgers, Padres and Athletics could either play their initial series elsewhere or have those sets postponed, Passan tweets. All three of those teams are scheduled to play at home until early April.
For now, MLB executives aren’t slated to discuss how they’ll proceed until a Friday conference call, per Passan. However, with the NBA shutting itself down and the National Hockey League possibly poised to make a similar announcement on Thursday, perhaps MLB will reach a decision on how it will move forward sooner than expected. The hope is that the league will come up with a plan “within days,” three high-level team officials told Passan.
Coronavirus Response Will Require MLB Schedule Changes
1:30pm: The Athletics and Giants have issued statements regarding the coronavirus. An exhibition game between the two that was scheduled to take place at Oracle Park on March 24 has been canceled, the Giants announced. The two clubs are looking into alternate settings.
Meanwhile, the A’s, who are scheduled to open the season at home with a four-game series against the Twins, announced that they will “adhere to any government directives and work with Major League Baseball on all alternative arrangements.” It seems overwhelmingly likely that the series will be played in a different setting than expected — be it a new location or an empty stadium.
12:25pm: As the coronavirus continues to sweep across the globe, it is increasingly apparent that staging Major League Baseball games in the manner anticipated will simply not occur. Already today we have seen several major developments in the response to the deadly disease.
This story is far bigger than sports. But sports have an essential role to play, both in forestalling transmissions that can occur in large gatherings and in signaling the need for community-level precautions.
Today, the World Health Organization formally designated the coronavirus a pandemic. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that nations “can turn the tide,” but warned not only of “the alarming levels of spread and severity” but also “the alarming levels of inaction” around the globe.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, addressed the matter in relation to basketball. The Ivy League has canceled its conference tournament but others remain on schedule along with the NCAA tourney. And while the NBA has begun preparing for disruption, it hasn’t yet acted.
Fauci says the outbreak is “going to get worse” and left no doubt he sees a need to curtail large-scale gatherings, at minimum in areas in which community spread has been detected. “We would recommend that there not be large crowds,” he said. “If that means not having any people in the audience when the NBA plays, so be it.”
American municipalities are increasingly acting upon the evident need to slow the spread of the coronavirus to limit the strain on health systems to the extent possible. Some of those decisions could directly force MLB to change its plans. To this point the league has instituted various minor changes to regular Spring Training rules — media accessibility, fan interaction, non-essential personnel being kept from traveling or appearing in the clubhouse — but has not limited Spring Training contests or changed its schedule for the upcoming regular season.
The league has indicated an awareness of the gravity of the situation and acknowledged the “fluidity” inherent to it. As the dangers become all the more evident, one might hope that the urgency of the matter will lead the league to taking a proactive, leadership position.
With Seattle serving as one epicenter of the outbreak in the United States, it is now all but certain that the Mariners won’t play there as planned to begin the season. The team now expects its first two home series to be prohibited by decree of the governor, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter.
It’s quite likely this is the tip of the iceberg, in Seattle and elsewhere. We’ve seen concepts floated of moving games scheduled for Seattle to Arizona, but that’s premised on the highly questionable premise that it’ll be safe to stage such massive gatherings anywhere within the next several weeks.
Other municipalities are also moving in a similar direction, with more sure to follow as evidence of the virus’s spread increases. San Francisco has banned gatherings of over one thousand people for at least the next two weeks, Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Washington, DC has recommended cancellations of gatherings of one thousand or more people. That was the same guidance issued yesterday by San Francisco; the city boosted it to an outright prohibition after the NBA’s Warriors held a home game.
Whatever the annoyances or disappointments, they’re designed to avoid the awful situations we’ve already seen unfold in China, Italy, and other places. Experts have explained the critical importance of “social distancing” measures to prevent the rapid spread of the disease, which is far more deadly and damaging when overburdened health systems struggle to provide adequate treatment.
Contract Renewals: Rays, Devers, Olson
In the wake of a couple of newsworthy pre-arbitration contract renewals over the weekend, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd took to YouTube on Monday to offer a detailed explanation of the process. If you’re interested in checking it out, click the video below:
Here are the some of latest and most notable team-imposed pre-arb salaries for 2020:
- The Rays have renewed the contracts of outfielder Austin Meadows and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Meadows will earn $578,900, and Yarbrough will get $563,400. In Meadows’ case, it’s possible he and the Rays will work out a long-term arrangement in the near future. There’s interest from both sides in making that happen, after the 24-year-old broke out in 2019 with a .291/.364/.558 line, 33 home runs and 12 steals. For now, Meadows still has five years of team control left; he’s not slated to even reach arbitration until after the 2021 season. Yarbrough has the same amount of control left, but the Super Two player is scheduled for his first trip through arbitration next winter. The 28-year-old was a rather effective member of the Rays’ pitching staff from 2018-19.
- The Red Sox have renewed third baseman Rafael Devers for $692,500, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. This will be the last pre-arb year for Devers, who’s eligible to reach arbitration for the first of three potential times next offseason. It stands to reason the Red Sox will try to keep Devers around for the long haul, considering his tremendous output last year, but the two parties haven’t engaged in extension talks yet.
- The Athletics have renewed first baseman Matt Olson on a $603,500 salary, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Oakland was interested in extending Olson as of last season, but there haven’t been any rumblings about his long-term future since June. If nothing changes by next winter, the big-hitting Olson will head to arbitration for the first of three possible trips.
Quick Hits: Suarez, Puk, Trammell, Braves
Injured Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez continues to make progress in his recovery from the right shoulder surgery he underwent in January, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. Manager David Bell announced that Suarez will make his spring training debut Friday. Suarez won’t play the field in that game, but optimism continues to build that the slugger will be ready for Opening Day.
Now for the latest on a few other clubs…
- Athletics hurler A.J. Puk has been down with a mild shoulder strain for a week, but the left-hander said Monday that he expects to resume throwing Tuesday (Twitter links via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). While Puk’s still hopeful that he’ll be set to go for the beginning of the regular season, he added that he doesn’t “want to rush anything. It’s a long season and I’d rather be feeling healthy down the stretch.” The promising Puk, 24, hasn’t experienced a healthy big league season yet. He missed 2018 because of Tommy John surgery and then combined for fewer than 40 professional innings last year as he worked his way back. However, he did toss 11 1/3 quality frames from the A’s bullpen late in the season. If Puk’s health holds up in 2020, he could emerge as a key member of Oakland’s rotation.
- Although he hasn’t played above the Double-A level yet, Padres outfield prospect Taylor Trammell remains in consideration for a major league roster spot, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. It’s a long shot that Trammell will actually begin the year in the majors, according to Cassavell, but manager Jayce Tingler noted that the 22-year-old is “playing really well” and has had “a great experience” in spring training. Trammell, whom the Padres acquired from Cincy in a blockbuster trade last summer, has gone 9-for-23 with three doubles and a triple this spring.
- Lefty A.J. Minter and righty Chad Sobotka‘s bids to earn season-opening roster spots with the Braves have already ended. The team optioned the pair Monday, leaving it with 52 players on its camp roster, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. Neither pitcher performed well for the Braves last year. Minter walked a little over seven hitters per nine, contributing heavily to a hideous 7.06 ERA in 29 1/3 innings. Sobotka wasn’t much better over his 29 frames, in which he logged a 6.21 ERA with 5.9 walks per nine and an HR/9 of 1.86.
Minor Signings: Barnes, Peterson, Stassi, Webster
Here are the latest minor signings of note from around the game, courtesy of Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America …
- The Orioles inked righty Danny Barnes. He’s a 30-year-old reliever who has spent his entire career to date in the Blue Jays organization. Barnes saw only limited action last season but was in the majors for each of the three prior campaigns. In 120 2/3 career frames at the game’s highest level, he carries a 4.33 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.
- Outfielder Dustin Peterson has joined the Angels. Still just 25 years of age, Peterson has a bit of MLB experience but has spent most of his time in recent seasons in the upper minors. The former second-round pick carries a .267/.320/.389 batting line in 1,107 total plate appearances at Triple-A.
- The Athletics have signed first baseman/outfielder Brock Stassi. He got a shot in a reserve role with the Phillies in 2017 but wasn’t able to take advantage, slashing just .167/.278/.295 in ninety plate appearances. Stassi has kicked around the indy ranks, Mexican League, and upper minors since.
- Former MLB righty Allen Webster is on board with the Nationals. He’ll be looking to crack the majors for the third-straight season at 30 years of age. The former top prospect has never managed to carve out a steady role at the game’s highest level, but he has registered 134 1/3 total innings, working to a cumulative 6.03 ERA.
Royals, Tigers Have ‘Shown Interest’ In Jorge Mateo
The Royals and Tigers have “shown interest” in A’s utilityman Jorge Mateo, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. Other clubs, too, have seemingly checked in, although one A’s source tells Rosenthal overall interest in the 24-year-old is “tepid.”
Mateo hit a decent .289/.330/.504 with 19 home runs and 24 stolen bases in Triple-A in 2019. That marked a significant step up from his abysmal showing there the year prior. He’s in the mix with Franklin Barreto, Vimael Machin and Tony Kemp for the seemingly wide open second base job in Oakland. There’s some upside in that group, but none of the players involved are yet established. More challenging, it’s not a group that comes with a ton of roster flexibility.
Mateo, Barreto and Kemp are out of minor-league options, meaning each has to make the active roster or be exposed to waivers. Machin, meanwhile, is a Rule V pick; he, too, must spend the entire season on the 26-man or be exposed to waivers (and if unclaimed, offered back to the Cubs’ organization).
It’s difficult to imagine a situation in which all of Mateo, Barreto, Machin and Kemp make the season-opening roster. There’s little reason not to explore the trade market for whomever the front office isn’t comfortable with making the roster.
Mateo and Barreto, also 24, would figure to draw some interest. Each was once a highly-touted prospect with youth still on his side. Neither has a strong MLB track record- Mateo has yet to reach the majors at all- but there are likely teams intrigued by their physical tools and generally solid minor-league performances.
The Royals and Tigers each seem like sensible matches if the A’s were to part with Mateo (or Barreto for that matter, although there’s no indication either team has expressed interest in him). Unlike Oakland, neither K.C. nor Detroit has much of a chance of contending for a playoff spot in 2020. There’d be limited harm in giving Mateo an extended MLB look in hopes he can make good on his past prospect status. He wouldn’t fetch nearly as much in trade as he would’ve a few years ago, but it’s not hard to imagine the A’s extracting something of value, whether from the Tigers, Royals, or another organization.
Notably, the Tigers have season-opening waiver priority leaguewide. (They’re followed by the Orioles, Marlins, then the Royals). If Oakland can’t come to an agreement on a trade but decides not to carry Mateo on the season-opening roster, Detroit would have first crack at him on waivers. That could inspire some urgency on Kansas City’s part to make a deal, depending on the extent of their interest in the speedster.
A.J. Puk Has No Structural Damage In Shoulder
MARCH 5: Today’s visit to Dr. Neil ElAttrache confirmed that Puk has no structural damage in the shoulder, manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). The southpaw figures to resume throwing in the next few days, Melvin added.
MARCH 3: The Athletics have temporarily shut down left-hander A.J. Puk because of a mild shoulder strain, manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday (via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). Fortunately for both sides, an MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, per Gallegos, who adds that the A’s will re-evaluate Puk on Thursday or Friday.
This doesn’t look like a serious injury at this point, but it’s a bit scary for an Oakland rotation that has dealt with constant issues over the past couple years. Puk wasn’t immune to those troubles prior to Thursday, as the prized 24-year-old missed all of 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and then sat out the majority of last season while recovering. He did work his way back late in the year, though, returning to make an impressive major league debut across 11 2/3 innings from the A’s bullpen. The towering Puk (6-foot-7) averaged just over 97 mph on his fastball during that brief showing.
Now, if he is healthy enough to begin the year in the bigs, Puk should be in line to open the season from the A’s rotation. The back-to-back playoff club boasts plenty of talent in that area, though the A’s fought no shortage of injuries in their starting staff during those two seasons. If all goes well over the next few weeks, Oakland figures to start 2020 with Puk complementing Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, Jesus Luzardo and Mike Fiers in its rotation.
West Notes: Astros, Giants, Ramos, A’s, Jefferies
The Astros can’t rule out making an external addition to their starting rotation mix, writes Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. General manager James Click has a somewhat uncertain stable of starters upon whom he can rely, with his Astros losing a considerable chunk of innings via the departures of Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley. The rotation currently projects as Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers, and some combination of Jose Urquidy, Josh James, and Framber Valdez. However, given the potential limitations on McCullers’s workload and the unproven back-end options, Click may dip into the free-agent pool for insurance. That said, pickings are slim this time of year, with the likes of Marco Estrada, Clayton Richard, and Danny Salazar (to name just a few) representing the most experienced free agents. For what it’s worth, minor-leaguers Bryan Abreu and Cristian Javier have impressed Click thus far and could contribute to the rotation this year.
Here’s more from baseball’s West divisions…
- Giants prospect Heliot Ramos is expected to be out of commission for at least a few weeks after suffering an oblique strain on Friday, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 20-year-old outfielder sustained the injury while making a throw home during the Giants’ matchup with the Rockies. Per Shea, Ramos will be re-evaluated this weekend, but is likely to be on the shelf for two weeks at minimum. Ramos is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the number 65 prospect in baseball, and the third-best in the San Francisco organization. He’s reached as high as Double-A and appeared in last year’s Arizona Fall League. He wasn’t invited to Major League camp this year, but has been brought up to participate in a couple of the Giants’ Cactus League games.
- An MRI of Athletics prospect Daulton Jefferies showed no issues with the elbow, though the right-hander does have a strain in his upper bicep, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The Oakland organization had some fear that Jefferies may have sustained an elbow injury when he exited a February 24 game prematurely. Per Gallegos, we won’t know exactly when Jefferies will be able to throw again until he visits a specialist tomorrow. Jefferies, 24, is coming off a solid 2019 season in which he made it to Double-A, throwing 64 innings of 3.66-ERA baseball at that level.