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AL West Notes: Healy, Bradford, Hamels, Thompson

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The Mariners announced today that they’ve placed first baseman Ryon Healy on the 10-day disabled list due to a sprained right ankle. The move is retroactive to yesterday, so Healy will be eligible to return from the DL in nine days’ time, though no specific timeline was given for his rehab. Right-hander Chasen Bradford, an offseason waiver claim from the Mets, has been recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to take his place on the roster.

Healy, 26, is off to just a 2-for-22 start to his Mariners career and has now been dealt a pair of injuries early in his Seattle tenure, as he also missed several weeks of Spring Training following surgery on his right hand. He did knock in three runs with a double on Saturday, though he’ll now have to wait more than a week (at least) to try to build on that momentum. In his absence, the Mariners can turn to Daniel Vogelbach to line up at first base or go with utility options such as Taylor Motter or Andrew Romine at first base, leaving Vogelbach to DH in place of the also-injured Nelson Cruz.

More out of the AL West…

  • Rangers lefty Cole Hamels is entering a transitional phase of his career, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, as his significantly diminished velocity now forces him to become more of a finesse lefty than a power pitcher. Hamels has never been a flamethrower, per se, but he averaged 92 mph or better on his fastball for the vast majority of his career, including last season in 2017. Through his first three starts of the 2018 campaign, however, Hamels has averaged just 89.7 mph on his heater. While some pitchers build up velocity over the course of a season, Hamels has never started out a year with this lack of life on his fastball. “I’m in between in terms of identifying what I need to do and going out and doing it,” Hamels tells Grant. “You can’t be in between on those two types of pitches and executing them.” To his credit, Hamels has racked up 23 strikeouts in just 16 innings, but he’s also issued nine walks, served up five homers and is currently toting a cumbersome 5.06 ERA.
  • Trayce Thompson thought several years ago that he could be included as part of the prospect package the White Sox sent to the Athletics to acquire Jeff Samardzija, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Marcus Semien eventually headlined a package that did not include Thompson, but Oakland eventually got their hands on him over the weekend by claiming him off waivers from the Yankees. Thompson is thrilled to be reunited with Semien, one of his closest friends, and to be playing in the Bay Area, where his brother Klay stars for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. “It was a long week for sure, one of the longest weeks of my life,” said Thompson, who was placed on waivers by two different teams last week. “When the Yankees got me, initially I thought it was a good opportunity, they have a lot of guys hurt and stuff … Then they told me their plan to try to spin me back through waivers and maybe get me to Triple-A — that’s not the news as a baseball player you want to hear.” Thompson acknowledges that he could once again be the odd man out in Oakland in the near future and speaks about the roller-coaster-like feeling of being on the bubble of multiple big league rosters in an interview that’s well worth a read for some insight into the human component of MLB transactions.

Injury Notes: Powell, Ramirez, Blackmon, Rodriguez, Indians

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Athletics outfielder Boog Powell is headed to the DL after suffering a knee sprain, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The left-handed-hitting Powell has hit just .167/.200/.292 in the first week of the season, though he did impress with a 135 wRC+ in limited action with the A’s last season. Powell beat out top prospect Dustin Fowler for the starting center field job during spring training, but he’ll now be absent for at least ten days while rehabbing.

Other injury notes from around baseball…

  • Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets that Angels righty J.C. Ramirez exited his most recent start with “forearm tightness”. It’s highly disturbing news for the Halos; Ramirez was diagnosed with a partially-torn UCL in his throwing elbow last season, but elected to go with stem cell surgery rather than opt for a Tommy John procedure. Ramirez has thrown 6 2/3 innings this season; he’s struck out four opposing hitters while allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and seven walks.
  • Rockies star Charlie Blackmon is dealing with some back spasms, but told reporters he is not injured (h/t Nick Groke of the Denver Post). “It was a little bit tight for most of the game and kept getting tighter. I’ve dealt with it before and been all right.” Blackmon, of course, just signed an extension with Colorado and is a key component to their contention plans this season.
  • The Red Sox have officially activated left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez from the 10-day disabled list. Right-hander Marcus Walden has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket in a related move. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes that Hector Velazquez and Brian Johnson are expected to pitch out of the bullpen for the time being, as the Sox have a number of off days coming up; those days will eliminate the need for a fifth starter for the time being. The 25-year-old pitched to a 4.19 ERA last season in 137 1/3 innings last season, and is coming off a winter knee surgery.
  • Jordan Bastian of MLB.com has the latest updates on a number of Indians injuries. Right-hander Danny Salazar (shoulder) is still unable to throw off a mound with “full intensity”, so he’s still a few weeks away from game activity. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela (hamstring), on the other hand, is just a week away from possibly starting a minor-league rehab assignment. Left-hander Ryan Merritt (knee) has resumed throwing and is scheduled to pitch an extended spring game on Wednesday, while righty Cody Anderson (elbow) is finally back to throwing off a mound following Tommy John surgery in March of 2017; he’s “several week away” from potential game activity. Of these four players, only Anderson has a minor-league option remaining, meaning the Tribe will be facing a significant roster crunch in the near future. In other Tribe injury news, Lonnie Chisenhall has officially been placed on the 10-day DL. Tyler Naquin has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take his place (h/t Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Athletics Claim Trayce Thompson

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SATURDAY: Thompson has officially joined the 25-man roster, with the A’s announcing that righty Daniel Gossett has been optioned to Triple-A to make room.

THURSDAY: The Athletics have claimed outfielder Trayce Thompson off waivers from the Yankees, per a club announcement. Thompson had only recently joined the New York organization after being claimed from the Dodgers.

Oakland has bumped righty Paul Blackburn to the 60-day DL to open a roster spot. Because he is out of options, Thompson will need to join the active roster, unless the A’s decide to try to squeeze him through waivers — as the Yanks just did, unsuccessfully.

Thompson, 27, could fulfill a reserve outfielder role for an Oakland organization that is currently sporting a three-man bench. He struggled quite a bit in 2017, of course, and followed that up with a miserable stint in the Cactus League. But Thompson was an effective player in the 2016 campaign, when he turned in 262 plate appearances of .225/302/.436 hitting with good glovework and top-of-the-line baserunning.

A’s To Promote Franklin Barreto, Place Chad Pinder On 10-Day DL

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The Athletics will place utilityman Chad Pinder on the 10-day DL due to a hyperextended left knee, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  In a corresponding move, Oakland will also call up one of their top prospects, infielder Franklin Barreto.

Pinder suffered the injury during Thursday’s game and, while it wasn’t serious enough for him to leave the field that night, the A’s decided to be cautious after Pinder’s pregame workout yesterday.  Oakland has two off-days next week but also a two-game interleague series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, so the extra bench depth was required for the extra substitutions often necessary in NL games.

This will be Barreto’s third visit to the big leagues after a brief stint with the A’s last summer and another call-up in September once the rosters expanded.  The 22-year-old didn’t show much at the plate, posting just a .602 OPS over 76 plate appearances, though he did perform much better (.290/.339/.456) over 510 PA for Triple-A Nashville in his first extended taste of Triple-A pitching.  Barreto has been a staple of top-100 prospect lists for several years, including high grades from Baseball America (which ranked him as the 43rd best minor leaguer in the sport), Baseball Prospectus (63rd) and MLB.com (66th) prior to this season.

Depending on how long Pinder is out, this could end up being another relatively brief call-up for Barreto, as the A’s obviously want to see him playing every day in the minors rather than only receiving sparing playing time as a big league bench player.  (Service time considerations are also surely a factor for the organization.)  Marcus Semien and Jed Lowrie are still locked in as Oakland’s regular middle infield combo, plus Matt Chapman has quickly become a fixture at third base, not that Barreto has ever played the hot corner.  Barreto does seem in line for some work, however, as he is currently the only backup infield option on Oakland’s 25-man roster.

Athletics Acquire Josh Lucas From Cardinals

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The Cardinals and Athletics have swapped a pair of right-handers. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that reliever Josh Lucas is headed to the A’s, with the Cardinals receiving minor-league starter Casey Meisner in exchange.

The 27-year-old Lucas made his majors debut last season with St. Louis, tossing 7 1/3 relief innings across five appearances. He struck out seven hitters and walked four while allowing three earned runs. Across the past two seasons in the Cardinals’ farm system, the righty posted a K/9 north of 10 and a ground ball rate of nearly 50%. He has 49 career MiLB saves, but was designated for assignment by the Cards earlier this week, a move that came as something of a surprise considering that Lucas seems to carry some upside.

The towering 6’7″ Meisner had a solid showing with the A’s High-A affiliate last season, posting a 3.98 ERA with 9.64 K/9. However, he struggled a bit upon a midseason promotion to Double-A; after that point, the 22-year-old averaged fewer than five innings per start while seeing his walk rate nearly double and his strikeout rate plummet to 5.64 K/9. Meisner was selected by the Mets in the third round of the 2013 draft, and subsequently traded to the A’s in exchange for reliever Tyler Clippard.

AL Notes: Santana, Rodon, Fowler/Powell, A’s Park

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Twins skipper Paul Molitor revealed to reporters today that the team’s top starter, Ervin Santana, is “a bit” behind schedule (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger). Santana has been limited to throwing soft baseballs into a screen, and a return in May now looks considerably likelier than a return in late April. Santana underwent surgery to repair an injury to the middle finger on his right hand back in February. When he’s ultimately ready to return, he’ll join a new-look rotation that includes newcomers Lance Lynn and Opening Day starter Jake Odorizzi, as well as returning righties Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Meanwhile, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn provided the media with a positive update on the rehab progress of left-hander Carlos Rodon (Twitter link from Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Rodon, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder back in September, has begun throwing sliders in his bullpen sessions, which are up to 30 to 35 pitches each, per Hahn. A return in late May isn’t out of the question, which would give the Pale Hose a rotation boost a bit sooner than they previously expected.
  • The Athletics optioned top prospect Dustin Fowler to Triple-A Nashville to begin the season, leaving Boog Powell to open the season as Oakland’s center fielder. A’s GM David Forst spoke highly of both outfielders in an email to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, noting that Fowler “worked incredibly hard to rehab his knee injury and amazingly put himself in a position to help us as soon as he’s needed.” Forst added that he expects Fowler to contribute at the big league level sooner rather than later. Manager Bob Melvin, Slusser notes, voiced a preference to bring Fowler to the Majors when he’s ready to stay rather than risking the possibility of rushing him and needing to send him back down. Fowler already has 95 days of MLB service time after spending the second half of last season on the DL, so the decision to option him isn’t tied to a desire to delay his free agency or any other such service manipulation.
  • In their latest ballpark-related initiative, the Athletics have announced (Twitter link) that they wish to obtain the O.Co Coliseum and its surrounding property in exchange for taking over $135MM in debt relating to the site. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier & Ross dove into the interesting bid, which represents the latest new plot twist in a long-running drama. Generally, while the A’s are not committed to the site, the club is also concerned that alternative bidders might acquire it with other intentions — perhaps leaving the organization with only one site option (Howard Terminal) for a long-sought new park. In a follow-up tweet, the Chronicle duo reported that the team and municipality have agreed upon “exclusive talks over ballpark development,” potentially involving either of the two remaining site options, though just what that entails is not immediately clear.

Athletics Outright Raul Alcantara

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The Athletics have outrighted right-hander Raul Alcantara to Triple-A, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The out-of-options reliever will have the right to reject the assignment, having already been outrighted previously.

Alcantara, 25, had been in competition to take the club’s last bullpen slot. Instead, he’ll end up in the upper minors — either with the Oakland organization or, if he chooses, another team.

The results at the MLB level have been lacking for Alcantara, who has been knocked around in 46 1/3 total big league frames and surrendered six earned runs while recording just two strikeouts in his 8 2/3 innings this spring. But he has impressed in his time at Triple-A in the past two campaigns, working to a 1.82 ERA in 79 1/3 innings with 6.1 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9.

Athletics Prospect A.J. Puk Recommended For Tommy John Surgery

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8:34PM: As per a statement released by the A’s, Dr. James Andrews has recommended that Puk undergo Tommy John surgery to correct UCL damage in his throwing elbow.  Andrews provided the second opinion after Dr. Doug Freedberg made an initial diagnosis.  The procedure would put Puk out of action for an estimated 12-15 months, and it seems likely that Oakland would err on the longer side of that timeline for precautionary reasons.

6:28PM: A’s manager Bob Melvin confirmed that Puk is getting a second opinion but didn’t provide details on the specifics of the injury, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets.

5:45PM: Athletics left-handed pitching prospect A.J. Puk was shut down last week due to biceps soreness, and now there are concerns that Puk may have a ligament problem in his throwing elbow, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman.  Puk “was thought to be” looking for second opinions after initial meetings with doctors since his shutdown, which would hint at a larger issue.  Another possible ominous sign, as noted by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), is that the A’s themselves have yet to go on record about Puk’s injury, not even to confirm the initial diagnosis.

The worst-case scenario for ligament issues, of course, would be Tommy John surgery, which would sideline Puk until midway through the 2019 season.  The A’s have already lost Jharel Cotton to TJ surgery this spring and Paul Blackburn has also been sidelined with a forearm strain, though Puk going on the shelf would represent a big setback for both the club and for one of the game’s best prospects.

Puk entered the spring as the consensus pick as Oakland’s top minor leaguer, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranking the southpaw 13th on his list of the top 100 prospects in baseball.  (Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and Fangraphs all had Puk 30th, while MLB.com ranked him just behind at 32nd on their top-100 lists.)  Puk only added to his stature with a strong showing in Oakland’s spring camp, though a rough performance in his final appearance led to the shutdown, and Heyman observes that Puk’s velocity had dropped over his last two outings.

Drafted sixth overall in 2016, Puk had already reached Double-A last season and it was expected he would make his MLB debut at some point this season.  After his good start in spring camp, there was even some chatter that the A’s would give him an aggressive promotion right to the big leagues, though obviously now the team will be as careful in possible in getting Puk back onto a mound at all, if possible.

Offseason In Review: Oakland Athletics

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This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s 2017-18 Offseason In Review series.  Click here to read the other completed reviews from around the league.

After posting their third straight sub-.500 campaign in 2017, which they opened with a paltry $81MM-plus payroll, the Athletics will start the new season with an even lower outlay. They’re set to check in at around $70MM, the cheapest total in the majors and the franchise’s lowest since 2013, and the MLBPA has taken notice. The union filed a grievance against the A’s and three other small-spending, revenue sharing recipients last month, though nothing has come of it to this point. Having been atop the A’s baseball department since 1998, executive vice president Billy Beane has grown accustomed to Oakland’s relative lack of financial resources. And in spite of the A’s inability to throw money around, the on-field product seems to be on the upswing, thanks in part to the winter efforts of Beane and general manager David Forst.

Major League Signings

Trades And Claims

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Athletics Depth Chart; Athletics Payroll Information

Needs Addressed

At a combined $11.5MM, three free-agent signings will take up a decent chunk of Oakland’s season-opening payroll. The most noteworthy member of the group, catcher Jonathan Lucroy, didn’t ink a deal until March 12, making him one of the prominent victims of a famously slow-developing free-agent market. MLBTR predicted a two-year, $24MM contract for Lucroy at the outset of the offseason, but interest in the two-time All-Star was scarce after he he underwhelmed between Texas and Colorado in 2017.

The 31-year-old Lucroy is coming off the worst offensive season of his accomplished career, having hit .265/.345/.371 (82 wRC+) in 481 plate appearances, even though he racked up nearly as many unintentional walks (46) as strikeouts (51). He experienced a power outage that overshadowed his impressive strikeout-avoiding abilities, largely because while others around the game have worked to hit more fly balls, Lucroy went in the opposite direction. Lucroy hit grounders at a 53.5 percent rate (the 10th-highest mark in the sport), a massive increase over the 41.1 percent figure he put up from 2010-16. Moreover, the once-pristine pitch-framing grades he used to earn on the defensive side continued to drop off to an alarming extent, as this table from FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan indicates.

When you add those factors up, it’s no wonder Lucroy went four-plus months without a job. At the same time, though, he’s not far removed from a 2016 campaign in which he accounted for an excellent 4.6 fWAR, and Steamer is projecting 2.9 fWAR in 2018. ZiPS offers a far less enthusiastic forecast (1.9), meanwhile, but that would still be a palatable outcome for an A’s team that paid relatively little for Lucroy and isn’t tied to him for the long haul. And with the Bruce Maxwell–Josh Phegley tandem not inspiring much confidence, Oakland looked like a logical fit for Lucroy in the months before it signed him –  especially given that Maxwell is in legal trouble as a result of an early offseason arrest for a gun charge.

Shortly after they reeled in Lucroy, the A’s reunited with someone who figures to pitch to him this year, righty Trevor Cahill, whose signing came in response to starter Jharel Cotton’s season-ending injury. The 30-year-old Cahill had some of the top years of his career as a full-time starter in Oakland from 2009-11, but he has since shifted between teams’ rotations and bullpens to mixed results.

Most recently, Cahill struggled across 21 appearances (14 starts) with the Padres and Royals last year, when he pitched to a 4.93 ERA/5.28 FIP with an untenable walk rate (4.82 BB/9). Injuries were a major problem in 2017 for Cahill, who went on the disabled list three times because of shoulder and back issues. It’s hard to expect much from Cahill in 2018 (judging by his salary, the A’s agree). Because Cahill’s not stretched out enough to begin the year as a major league starter, he’ll open as depth – something the A’s need in the wake of the Cotton news, not to mention top prospect A.J. Puk’s biceps soreness and Paul Blackburn’s forearm strain.

Months before the Lucroy and Cahill signings, the A’s struck early in free agency when they committed a two-year, $10MM guarantee to workhorse reliever Yusmeiro Petit, who stood out with the division-rival Angels last season. Petit has been quietly superb at times since breaking out with the Giants in 2013, and that was especially true in 2017. The 33-year-old led all relievers in innings (87 1/3, excluding the four he picked up as a starter) and registered 1.9 fWAR out of the bullpen (tied with ex-Athletic Ryan Madson for 13th best in the league). Along the way, he managed a 2.76 ERA/2.85 FIP and appealing strikeout and walk rates (9.95 K/9, 1.77 BB/9).

Going forward, it would be overly optimistic to expect the soft-tossing Petit to be nearly that good again. He was subpar as recently as 2016, after all, and isn’t the darling of projection systems heading into the new year. As is the case with the Lucroy and Cahill additions, though, the price tag is low enough that Petit won’t exactly have to turn in an elite-caliber season to justify the signing. The hope is that he’ll be at least perform with reasonable effectiveness while continuing to eat innings, thus aiding an unspectacular-looking starting staff.

Joining Cahill and Petit in the A’s new-look bullpen will be two trade acquisitions, righty Emilio Pagan and lefty Ryan Buchter. The A’s got Pagan from the division-rival Mariners as part of a deal involving first baseman/former third baseman Ryon Healy, who shouldn’t be all that tough for Oakland to replace. Healy is young (26), cheap and had a memorable debut in 2016, but a lack of walks (4.1 percent) and a high batting average on balls in play (.352) made the .305/.337/.524 line he enjoyed in 283 PAs as a rookie hard to fully buy into. It wasn’t surprising that Healy came back to earth over 605 PAs last year (he batted a league-average .271/.302/.451), when his walk problem got even worse (3.8 percent) and his BABIP was a more normal-looking .319.

With third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Matt Olson having exploded on the scene in 2017, not to mention the presence of big-hitting DH Khris Davis, there was no clear path to at-bats in Oakland anymore for Healy. Consequently, Beane and Forst turned him into Pagan (also 26), who experienced his first MLB action last season and opened eyes in the process. After compiling consistently good numbers in the minors from 2013-17, Pagan came up and gave the Mariners quality production (3.22 ERA/3.28 FIP, 10.01 K/9, 1.43 BB/9 in 50 1/3 innings). Like Petit, Pagan seems to be capable of working more than your typical reliever, having gotten three or more outs in 13 of 34 appearances in 2017.

Buchter is also a reliable source of frames, as the 31-year-old collected 63 or more in each of his first two seasons. The former Padre and Royal has been steady overall, evidenced by a 2.85 ERA/3.82 FIP and 10.02 K/9 against 4.04 BB/9. Buchter has also been roughly as effective versus same-sided hitters (.249 wOBA against) and righties (.271), meaning he’s not just a lefty specialist. So, at the cost of the now-gone Brandon Moss (whom the A’s are paying $5MM through next season to not play for them), the up-and-down Jesse Hahn and decent pitching prospect Heath Fillmyer, the A’s seemingly did well to land Buchter’s four years of affordable control.

On the negative side, it’s worth noting that Buchter managed a horrid grounder percentage in 2017 (32.9), as did Petit (32.9) and Pagan (22.3). It’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll be able to continue limiting home runs this year, then, after they each allowed HRs at rates of 11 percent or less last season. If there’s an obvious reason for hope on that front, it’s that all three have helped cancel out their lack of grounders by inducing lots of infield pop-ups. Buchter has a 16.5 percent infield fly rate for his career, while Petit was at 18.6 last season and Pagan 12.2.

Buchter, Petit and Pagan will hope to keep tamping down dingers in 2018, but it’s the opposite for right fielder Stephen Piscotty, whom the A’s acquired from the Cardinals for infield prospects Max Schrock and Yairo Munoz in December. That came after the A’s flirted with acquiring the likes of Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Steven Souza Jr. and Adam Duvall. In the end, they emerged with Piscotty, who did cost them a couple interesting young players. Schrock is the Cardinals’ 10th-ranked prospect at MLB.com, and Munoz has already earned a roster spot in St. Louis.

It’s not hard to see why the A’s are bullish on Piscotty, who held his own from 2015-16 – a 905-PA span in which he slashed .282/.348/.467 (121 wRC+). Piscotty stumbled to .235/.342/.367 line (92 wRC+) in 401 PAs last season, but the 27-year-old was going through a hellish off-field situation in St. Louis, as his mother has been battling ALS back in Northern California. Now Piscotty – a Pleasanton, Calif., native – will be closer to her and have an opportunity to bounce back in a familiar setting. It should help his cause that the A’s park, the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, was roughly middle of the pack in terms of HR friendless for right-handed hitters a year ago, whereas St. Louis’ Busch Stadium ranked among the most difficult venues for RH batters.

If Piscotty does revisit his 2015-16 form in his return home, he’ll be an absolute bargain on the extension the Cardinals gave him a year ago (he’s guaranteed roughly $30MM through 2023). At the very least, he should be a marked upgrade defensively over the right fielders Oakland trotted out last year. The A’s group was among the worst at the position then; meantime, Piscotty collected eight Defensive Runs Saved and paired that with a 1.7 Ultimate Zone Rating. All said, he has accounted for 12 DRS and a 4.1 UZR in 2,588 innings in right field since debuting in 2015.

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AL West Notes: Jepsen, Mariners, Pagan, Bautista

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Some rumblings from around the AL West…

  • Veteran righty Kevin Jepsen has allowed only one run over 9 1/3 Spring Training innings, making him a strong bet to win a spot on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes.  Jepsen didn’t pitch in the majors in 2017 after a terrible spring camp with the Diamondbacks that led to a temporary absence from the game, as Jepsen took a couple of months to rehab a dead arm.  Once he felt healthy, he caught on with the Nationals on a minor league deal, though the biggest step in his turn-around came after a tip from catcher Spencer Kieboom allowed Jepsen to regain some of his old velocity.  Jepsen was a very effective reliever as recently as 2015, so Texas may have found a much-needed bullpen reinforcement for the cost of a minor league contract.
  • The Mariners thought so highly of Emilio Pagan as both a player and a person that GM Jerry Dipoto described the swap that sent Pagan and minor leaguer Alexander Campos to the Athletics for Ryon Healy as “probably the most painful trade we’ve made,” Dipoto tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  “In a group that’s not unused to changing bodies, a lot of guys were crushed we traded Emilio.  He’s an unbelievable guy, a tremendous human being, he does all the right things,” Dipoto said.  Pagan made his MLB debut in 2017 and immediately became a key cog in Seattle’s bullpen, posting a 3.22 ERA over 50 1/3 innings and recording 56 strikeouts against just eight walks.  Pagan has continued to hone his game this spring, telling Slusser that he has increased usage of his changeup and also been throwing more inside fastballs to hitters.
  • Contrary to some reports out of Mexico, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports (Twitter link) that the Astros aren’t signing Jose Bautista.  Given the Astros’ loaded roster, there wouldn’t have seemed to be much of a spot for the veteran slugger, particularly since he is coming off a sub-replacement level season in 2017.  There hasn’t been much in the way of concrete news about Bautista this winter, though the former Blue Jays slugger recently said he was still trying to find the best fit for he and his family amidst multiple Major League offers.
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