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Quick Hits: Pence, Kelly, Profar, Gray

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Giants right fielder Hunter Pence left tonight’s game after re-aggravating a hamstring injury that plagued him for much of the past two weeks, and he’s headed for an MRI in the morning, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The extent of the injury won’t be known until tomorrow morning, but Pence was unable to even finish running to first base on a grounder to third base in the fourth inning. Pence is hitting .298/.375/.486 with seven homers in 208 trips to the plate this season, and any prolonged absence for him would be a tough pill for San Francisco to swallow. Were he to require a stint on the disabled list, he’d end up alongside fellow outfielder Angel Pagan, who is on the DL with the same injury. Jarrett Parker is already on the roster due to Pagan’s injury, and Mac Williamson is an obvious candidate to come up and fill Pence’s 25-man roster spot if necessary.

A few more notes from around the game…

  • The Red Sox optioned right-hander Joe Kelly to Triple-A following a brutal start against the Orioles on Wednesday. Kelly last just 2 2/3 innings and was tagged for seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks with just one strikeout. That difficult outing and an 8.46 ERA notwithstanding, Kelly was caught off-guard by the move, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. “Obviously I didn’t see it coming,” the right-hander said. “I’m just going to go down there and try to continue to get better at commanding the baseball…. I’ve got to try to get my mechanics right and get that fastball command where it was a couple starts ago and to where it needs to be.” Manager John Farrell said that Kelly is “blessed with a golden arm and tremendous stuff” but lacks execution on his pitches. As Britton points out, Clay Buchholz struggled in relief on Wednesday, while Henry Owens, Sean O’Sullivan and Roenis Elias all have their own red flags about them. For the time being, Noe Ramirez is taking Kelly’s roster spot. Boston can skip the fifth spot in its rotation entirely the next time it comes up due to an off day on the schedule.
  • Jurickson Profar has been impressive while filling in for the suspended Rougned Odor, but Rangers manager Jeff Banister cast some doubt on whether he’ll remain with the club following Odor’s activation on June 4, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. “In Jurickson’s case, I think the concern and need with him is the everyday process,” said Banister. “When you haven’t played every day for two years, getting the body back up to speed to play every day and continue to play every day, we need to make sure we monitor that.” Banister said that four games a week would be enough to keep Profar on the big league roster, but as Wilson writes, Texas isn’t keen on putting him in the outfield or at third base, and getting him four starts per week between the two middle infield positions and at DH could be tough. Profar went 2-for-5 with a double tonight and is hitting .357 since his recall from Triple-A.
  • Sonny Gray’s target date for a return to the Athletics’ rotation is June 10, writes Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com. Gray is slated for a bullpen session Thursday and a rehab start on Saturday at Class-A Stockton, and assuming all goes well, his stay on the disabled list will be a fairly abbreviated one. Gray hit the DL back on May 22 with a strained trapezius muscle, and the A’s are undoubtedly hoping that some time off will help him return to form; Gray has logged a dismal 6.19 ERA this season while displaying the worst control of his career, averaging 4.5 walks per nine innings and unloading a league-high nine wild pitches through his first 48 innings of work.

Brewers Designate Colin Walsh

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The Brewers have designated Rule 5 pick Colin Walsh, the team announced. The infielder’s roster spot will go to Neil Ramirez, who was claimed off waivers.

Walsh, 26, recorded just four hits in his 63 plate appearances on the year. He did pick up 15 walks, but also struck out 22 times in his first attempt at the majors. Though Walsh had survived several prior roster shakeups that could have sent him packing, Milwaukee evidently decided that he no longer was worth occupying a 25-man spot in order to keep his future rights.

Other teams will have an opportunity to trade for or claim Walsh’s Rule 5 rights. If that does not occur, he’ll be offered back to the Athletics, who employed him prior to his selection in the draft at the end of the Winter Meetings last December.

Injury Notes: Hill, Ryu, McCarthy, Zimmermann, Ackley

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The Athletics suffered a bit of a scare today as surprise staff ace Rich Hill left his outing early. It’s being diagnosed as only a “real mild groin strain,” though, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area reports (Twitter links). Hill himself suggested that he doesn’t expect to miss a start, let alone require a DL placement, though obviously that’ll depend upon how the injury progresses. Oakland will obviously hope that Hill can keep up his impressive start to the year — a 2.25 ERA through 11 starts, with more strikeouts than hits and walks allowed — in order to help keep the club alive in the AL West or otherwise turn into a prime trade chip.

Here are some more health-related matters of note around the game:

  • Dodgers lefty Hyun-jin Ryu needs to skip at least one start after experiencing shoulder soreness, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports. Manager Dave Roberts says that he’s not yet sure what to expect in terms of Ryu’s timeline, in a video tweeted by J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group. “We were kind of thinking middle of June,” Roberts said of Ryu’s anticipated return to the majors. “With this little setback, it pushes that back.”
  • Fellow Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy is still making positive strides in his own rehab, as Hoornstra further notes on Twitter. The veteran righty is set to face live hitters tomorrow, marking an important point in his return from Tommy John surgery.
  • Tigers righty Jordan Zimmermann is nearly ready to return from his recent groin injury. Per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, via Twitter, the veteran hurler will start on Friday so long as a bullpen session tomorrow doesn’t give rise to any concerns.
  • Dustin Ackley is out of action for the Yankees and may well be facing a DL stint after suffering a shoulder injury, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog reports. New York could turn to veterans Nick Swisher or Chris Parmelee, both of whom are playing at Triple-A, Jennings suggests. It appears, though, that the club will look to get Mark Teixeira back in the lineup rather than reaching into the minors for another option at first, per George A. King III of the New York Post. That could allow the team to shore up another area, without implicating the 40-man roster, if Ackley hits the disabled list.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Machado, Teheran, Hill, Pomeranz

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Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper might not be the only $400MM free agent if he reaches the open market in 2018, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link), who reports that Orioles third baseman/shortstop Manny Machado could also exceed that total. Machado is a more valuable defender at third than Harper is in right, argues Rosenthal, and is just three months older than Harper (both will be 26 in 2018). Machado, who has slashed a videogamelike .323/.397/.634 with 13 home runs in 209 plate appearances this year, has outhit Harper (.243/.423/.537, 12 homers in 201 PAs) and leads all major leaguers in fWAR (3.4).

Here’s more inside info from Rosenthal:

  • The Braves will only trade right-hander Julio Teheran if they can get a major league hitter of similar quality and age in return, general manager John Coppolella told Rosenthal. “The days of us trading players like Teheran for prospects are over. We need to get better at the major league level. We would have to be overwhelmed to move Teheran,” Coppolella said. Teheran, 25, is off to a strong start this year (2.57 ERA, 8.43 K/9, 2.43 BB/9 in 63 innings) and is signed to a reasonable contract through 2020.
  • Although left-hander Rich Hill looks like an attractive trade candidate, the Athletics could elect to keep the 36-year-old and extend him a qualifying offer at season’s end if nobody makes a satisfactory offer for him. The A’s would then either retain Hill for at least another season at $15.8MM – a significant increase from his current salary of $6MM – or lose him in free agency and receive a first-round pick as compensation.
  • Teams are contacting the Padres about southpaw Drew Pomeranz, per Rosenthal, who adds that GM A.J. Preller “remains open-minded” to the idea of moving any of his players. Acquired from the A’s for a pittance during the offseason, Pomeranz has somewhat quietly been terrific this season. With a stingy 1.70 ERA, the 27-year-old is behind only Clayton Kershaw and he ranks 12th among qualified starters in strikeouts per nine innings (10.19), though his lofty 4.25 BB/9 is 10th from the bottom. Pomeranz is currently on a cheap salary of $1.35MM and has two arbitration-eligible years remaining.

Pitcher Notes: Buchholz, Boxberger, Gray, Wilson

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Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz is displeased with his demotion to the bullpen, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Buchholz declined to talk to reporters for the second straight day and threw in a curse word as he walked away from them Saturday, according to Drellich. Manager John Farrell has left the door open for Buchholz to return to the rotation, saying, “While he might not like the current situation, that’s where we are. If he pitches to his talents and abilities, that role can potentially change.” Buchholz, 31, has been a solid starter for most of his career, but he put up a 6.35 ERA, 5.88 K/9 and 3.91 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings in that role this year and will try to right the ship as a reliever.

Here’s more on a few other established pitchers:

  • The Rays will slowly transition reliever Brad Boxberger back into the closer role when he returns soon from core muscle surgery, manager Kevin Cash said (via Sam Blum of MLB.com). The righty led the American League in saves last year (41), but thanks to the brilliance of fill-in Alex Colome, the Rays haven’t missed him in the ninth inning. Nonetheless, Boxberger’s presence will aid a Rays bullpen that has been mediocre this year. In 137 2/3 innings from 2014-15, Boxberger compiled a 3.03 ERA, 12.55 K/9 (seventh among qualified relievers) and 3.67 BB/9.
  • Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray threw a 35-pitch first bullpen session Saturday – his first BP session since going on the disabled list last Sunday with a trapezius injury – per Jane Lee of MLB.com. Gray “feels good,” manager Bob Melvin said afterward, and could return on or shortly after June 5.
  • Two big-name Angels, southpaw C.J. Wilson and righty Tim Lincecum, are on similar timelines to make their major league debuts this year, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Wilson, who has been out all season with an injured left shoulder, will make his first of at least two starts with Triple-A Salt Lake City on Monday.
  • In case you missed it, the White Sox and Padres are discussing a James Shields trade.

Injury Notes: Jordan, Gray, Ross, Martin, Ottavino, Smith, Chirinos

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Nationals right-hander Taylor Jordan underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team announced. It’s his second time undergoing a UCL replacement for the 27-year-old. Jordan burst onto the scene for the Nats in 2013, but has failed to maintain that promise at the major league level. He did have a strong season in the results department last year at Triple-A, though, and allowed just three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the 2016 campaign. Now, it’ll be at least a year or so before Jordan can try to get back on track.

Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:

  • Athletics staff ace Sonny Gray is readying to throw from a mound tomorrow, per Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California (via Twitter). It’s certainly good to hear that Gray feels good enough to begin working his way back from a trapezius issue, though his timeline remains completely unknown.
  • Padres skipper Andy Green says that righty Tyson Ross may be ready to begin throwing within one week’s time, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. It’s been a slow process for Ross, as the Pads seek to ensure that his shoulder issues don’t worsen. While the trade deadline remains two months away, leaving some time to turn him back into a potentially valuable trade chip, it’s worth bearing in mind that Ross will need a full build-up and rehab stint before returning to the major league hill.
  • The Mariners have placed outfielder Leonys Martin on the 15-day DL today with a hamstring strain, the club announced. The team had believed he might avoid such an outcome altogether, so it doesn’t seem as if there’s any reason for significant concern. Stefen Romero will take Martin’s roster spot for the meantime. Martin, an offseason trade acquisition, had been off to an eye-opening .262/.339/.483 start at the plate for Seattle.
  • Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is nearly ready to throw live batting practice, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. He’s still working back from Tommy John surgery, but it’s encouraging to hear that his rehab could soon begin in earnest. Colorado, meanwhile, will no doubt be excited to look forward to receiving a return on the team’s investment in Ottavino over the winter.
  • Southpaw Will Smith is expected to return to the Brewers by next week, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. That’s great news for Milwaukee, which has been without the excellent 26-year-old reliever all year long. He’ll join Jeremy Jeffress at the back of the pen — and, perhaps, on the trade block.
  • Rangers backstop Robinson Chirinos will begin a rehab stint tomorrow with hopes of returning to the majors on June 9, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan was among those to tweet. Texas has been blessed with surprisingly productive starts from the catching position, but Chirinos had been expected to handle most of the duties before suffering a forearm fracture.

Billy Beane Suggests A’s Injuries Won’t Lead To Early Sell-Off

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The Athletics are dealing with a run of injuries that VP of baseball operations Billy Beane calls “the worst one since I’ve been here,” as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The pitching staff, in particular, has been dogged by health issues.

“Where it’s really hit us has been our starting pitching — and that’s an area we tried to create a lot of depth,” explained Beane. “We’ve already wiped out that depth in the first six weeks.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that Oakland is ready to sell. In Beane’s view, “There’s no rational reason to move anyone when you don’t have enough bodies.”

It’s fair to note, too, that several of the team’s hypothetical trade pieces — especially outfielder Josh Reddick, but also infielder Jed Lowrie and even staff ace Sonny Gray — are or recently have been unavailable due to injury, meaning that they aren’t really near-term trade candidates regardless. That also helps to explain some of Oakland’s struggles.

On the other hand, the A’s now sit nine back in the division, in a dead heat with an Astros club that also hopes to climb out of the cellar. And the team has numerous other players that could hold significant appeal to the rest of the league.

No player has done more to increase their stock early in 2016 than southpaw Rich Hill, who Beane says is “doing exactly what you want a number one starter to do.” MLBTR’s Connor Byrne took a look at Hill’s trade deadline profile just yesterday, explaining that he could conceivably be the best starter made available this summer. While his modest $6MM salary making him affordable for any contender, he could be in high demand.

Hill isn’t alone, of course. Oakland could market third baseman Danny Valencia, who is stinging the ball while earning a reasonable $3.15MM salary with one more year of arb control still to come, and is also capable of playing the outfield. Veteran outfielder Coco Crisp owns a useful .250/.305/.429 slash in the final guaranteed year of his contract, though as MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted recently his vesting option could come into play. The 36-year-old is also playing on a relatively expensive $11MM annual salary, and defensive metrics have soured considerably on his glove.

Struggling DH Billy Butler wouldn’t seem to hold much appeal to other organizations, but pen arms such as Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle, and John Axford might. All three of those relievers come with future seasons of control, though only the southpaw Doolittle is controlled at below-market rates.

As Slusser explains, the A’s do not typically prefer to abandon hopes of contention, and probably won’t have much interest in a full-blown teardown. But the club is in a tough spot. While it seems that the front office will at least give things a few weeks, it may prove hard to resist an opportunity to cash in a few expiring assets later this summer, with Hill and Reddick still looking like the most plausible and valuable chips.

Rich Hill: This Summer’s Sought-After Arm

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Imagine a world without Clayton Kershaw. Following baseball would be a lot less entertaining for those who derive joy from watching a dominant player perform at an all-time great level, but at least the sport wouldn’t be devoid of standout left-handers. The likes of Chris Sale, David Price, Madison Bumgarner, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Dallas Keuchel, Jose Quintana and Rich Hill would still be around, after all.

One of those names is eye-catching, and it’s certainly not Sale, Price, Bumgarner, Lester or Hamels, all of whom have long track records of excellence. Keuchel has faltered in the early going this season, but he was stellar in 2014 and followed that up with an American League Cy Young Award-winning campaign in 2015. Quintana, meanwhile, has been one of baseball’s most effective starters since his coming-out party in 2013.

Now we arrive at the 36-year-old Hill, who ranges from four to 10 years the senior of every other southpaw listed above. This is the same Hill who, prior to last September, hadn’t made a major league start since 2009. Between 2007-15, he appeared in the majors with seven different teams – including multiple stints with the Red Sox – and toiled with a slew of minor league clubs. As recently as last August, Hill was in the independent Atlantic League as a member of the Long Island Ducks. The Red Sox then brought back Hill on a minor league deal in mid-August, and they summoned him to the majors a month later. Beginning on September 13th, Hill embarked on a four-start rampage that saw him strike out 32 hitters, walk five and compile a 1.55 ERA across 29 innings. Hill parlayed that resoundingly successful three-week run into the richest payday of his career when he landed a one-year, $6MM deal with the Athletics in November.

Over nearly twice the sample size this year (57 2/3 innings), Hill’s brilliance has continued. Among qualified starters this "<strongseason, Hill ranks eighth in ERA (2.18), ninth in FIP (2.72) and 13th in K/9 (10.13). His 3.60 xFIP is less exciting, albeit still easily above the league-average mark of 4.03, and Hill’s 48.5 percent grounder rate trails only Noah Syndergaard, Kershaw and Danny Salazar among pitchers who have struck out at least 10 batters per nine innings. Amazingly, Hill manages to keep company with their ilk despite neither throwing particularly hard nor possessing an expansive repertoire with which to confound hitters. His 90.4 mph average fastball isn’t exactly imposing, and Hill relies almost exclusively on two pitches. The thing is, opposing offenses can’t seem to figure out either pitch. Hill’s curveball, which he has thrown a little over 50 percent of the time this year, has been the second-most valuable curve in the league to this point, according to FanGraphs. His four-seamer, deployed on 44 percent of pitches, has been the league’s 11th-most valuable fastball, placing him in a class with Syndergaard, Stephen Strasburg and Johnny Cueto.

Moreover, Hill hasn’t shown vulnerability against either left- or right-handed hitters. Lefties have slashed a terrible .200/.238/.254 line while facing Hill, and righties (.207/.320/.280) haven’t exactly resembled Mike Trout. All of that amounts to a .237 wOBA, which means Hill is turning enemy hitters into something resembling the toothless 2016 versions of Jose Iglesias (.234) and Alexei Ramirez (.245).

Everything isn’t perfect for Hill, granted, whose BB/9 of 3.28 is too high. He also could face regression from his 79.2 percent stand rate and .287 batting average on balls in play. Further, Hill has the league’s third-lowest swing rate (40.7 percent), so perhaps his numbers will revisit Earth if opposing hitters adjust and start trying to put the ball in play more against him. Of course, when batters have made contact against Hill, not much has happened. His 16.3 percent infield fly rate ranks seventh in the league, and Statcast (link via Baseball Savant) indicates that Hill has allowed an 86.3 mph average exit velocity on batted balls. Kershaw, by comparison, is at 86.4. As evidenced by some of the other names on the leaderboard, surrendering soft contact doesn’t always guarantee results, but it can’t be construed as a negative. Neither can limiting the distance of batted balls, which Hill has also done. At an average of 191 feet, he’s once again right in line with Kershaw, who’s at 192.

All of this analysis leads us to the fact that the A’s have an eminently valuable commodity on their hands as the August 1st trade deadline creeps closer. At 20-28, Oakland is already nine games out of the AL West lead and 7.5 behind in the Wild Card chase. What’s more, the A’s don’t look like a highly talented team destined for an appreciable turnaround. Assuming the club’s losing ways continue, there won’t be a compelling reason for executive vice president Billy Beane and general manager David Forst to retain Hill beyond the deadline. Not only is Hill a pending free agent, but he’ll likely be the top starter available over the summer if the A’s shop him. That should only serve to drive up the A’s asking price and enable them to secure something enticing in return for Hill.  The only reason trading Hill wouldn’t make sense is if the A’s intend to extend the lefty, which can’t be ruled out.

The A’s and Bay Area-rival Giants aren’t known for dealing with each other, but Hill would seem to fit rather well in San Francisco’s rotation as it tries to secure an NL West title. The Giants have an outstanding trio in Bumgarner, Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, but they’re looking for answers otherwise. Another go-around with the Red Sox might make sense, too, given the uncertainty in their rotation past Price, Rick Porcello and knuckleballer Steven Wright. Teams like the Royals, Tigers, Rangers and Orioles (one of Hill’s previous employers), among others, look more hard up for rotation help than the Giants and Red Sox, and bear in mind that Baltimore may have created some in-season spending room with a pair of trades earlier this week. It’s also possible an injury (or injuries) will open up a need that doesn’t currently exist on another club’s starting staff, of course, thus leading to another potential Hill suitor.

FanGraphs pegs Hill’s 2016 contributions at $13.6MM in worth, which means the A’s have already more than doubled their investment so far, and – barring an injury to Hill or a drastic, unexpected decline in performance –  they’re primed to continue building on that surplus value over the next couple months. When those months pass and the season reaches the deadline, the A’s will be in position to transform an aging player on whom they took an offseason flyer into at least one quality young piece from another team. Oakland has made some head-scratching decisions in recent years (the Josh Donaldson trade and the Billy Butler signing come to mind immediately), but the move to buy low on Hill is going as smoothly as the club could have hoped, and has the chance to continue paying dividends in future years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Notes: Pagan, Chirinos, Athletics, Mets

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The Giants announced today that left fielder Angel Pagan has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a left hamstring strain — the same issue which already cost him nearly two weeks of action earlier this season. In his place, the team has recalled outfielder Jarrett Parker from Triple-A. Pagan has had a productive start to the season, batting .275/.338/.383 with a pair of homers and five stolen bases. That’s a notable improvement over last year’s production in 133 games, though this also marks the fourth DL stint for Pagan since 2013 — the start of his current four-year, $40MM contract. The 27-year-old Parker is hitting .281/.366/.615 with 13 homers at the Triple-A level this season and slashed an impressive .347/.407/.755 in a brief 54-plate-appearance promotion last September, with the bulk of that damage coming in a three-homer game in Oakland on Sept. 26.

A few more notable injury updates from around the league…

  • Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos is ahead of schedule in his rehab and could beat his initial timeline of 10-12 weeks, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). Chirinos, on the disabled list due to a fractured forearm, could return the first day that he is eligible, on June 9, according to Wilson. Of course, catcher has been a surprisingly productive position for Texas even in the absence of their starting backstop; the trio of Bryan Holaday, Bobby Wilson and the since-traded Chris Gimenez have batted .260/.323/.473 with six homers entering play tonight.
  • The Athletics received good news on a pair of injured players on Monday, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Right-hander Henderson Alvarez has been cleared to resume playing catch after previously giving the team a scare when some discomfort in his rehabbing right shoulder led the club to order an MRI. His timeline to return has certainly been slowed a bit by the setback, but it would appear that he’s avoided a more significant injury. Beyond that, right fielder Josh Reddick won’t require surgery to repair his fractured left thumb, meaning he’ll be able to return to the club within five to six weeks as opposed to seven or eight weeks.
  • ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes that Travis d’Arnaud began throwing yesterday at his home in California and is expected to report to the Mets’ Spring Training facility this week, where he’ll ramp up his rehab. The 27-year-old d’Arnaud has played in only 13 games this season, and Kevin Plawecki has struggled in his absence, batting .193/.287/.277. Mets catchers have been among the least productive in baseball this season, making d’Arnaud’s return to the club particularly important for the Mets. Rubin also writes that Zack Wheeler has resumed throwing off a mound and is targeting a July 1 return from Tommy John surgery.

Quick Hits: Villar, Beane, Reyes, Draft

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With a quarter of the season in the books, Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at some players whose may simply headed for poor seasons rather than slow starts.  Sherman constructs a lineup for his “It Gets Late Early” team, a Bizarro All-Star lineup of notable names who haven’t lived up to expectations — Shelby Miller, Ken Giles, Prince Fielder, Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira, Dee Gordon, David Wright, Erick Aybar, Carlos Gomez and (somewhat surprisingly) two regulars from the league-leading Cubs, Jorge Soler and Jason Heyward.  Here’s more from around baseball as we head into the new week…

  • Jonathan Villar has been a nice surprise for the Brewers, and an NL scout tells John Perrotto of TodaysKnuckleball.com that Villar’s good start could be for real.  “I thought Villar was nothing more than a utility guy but he’s starting to prove me wrong,” the scout said.  “He’s really maturing as a player.  He may never be a star but he’s starting to look like an everyday guy to me.  I don’t think what he’s doing is a two-month fluke.”  It’s worth noting that Villar has a whopping .398 BABIP en route to his .286/.382/.390 slash line (and 14 steals) over 181 plate appearances, though his speed has also been a factor in allowing him to turn grounders into hits.  As Perrotto notes, Orlando Arcia is still slated to be Milwaukee’s shortstop of the future, though the Brewers may have found an unexpected deadline trade chip in Villar.
  • The Athletics don’t seem likely to make any notable acquisitions to help their injury-ravaged roster, CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich infers from Billy Beane’s comments.  The sheer number of injured players “would impact any team in baseball,” Beane said, “and it’s certainly going to have a greater impact on us, given we’re not going to have the depth or the resources” to find easy replacements.  The A’s fell to 19-26 after today’s loss to the Yankees and Oakland has already been cited as a possible trade deadline seller.
  • Cardinals pitching prospect Alex Reyes threw four scoreless innings in a Triple-A start today, his first action since returning from a 50-game suspension for marijuana use.  Suspension notwithstanding, Reyes could very possibly still reach the majors this season given his status as one of the game’s best prospects; the righty was rated very highly by Baseball America (7th), ESPN’s Keith Law (8th), Baseball Prospectus (10th) and MLB.com (11th) in preseason top-100 lists.  In an interview with MLB.com’s Nick Krueger, Reyes discusses his outing and how he hopes he can regain the trust of both the organization and the fans.
  • There’s still quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the June amateur draft, as Baseball America’s John Manuel writes.  Some of the uncertainty could stem from the fact that “there’s more comfort this year with the high school class than the college class,” one scouting director tells Manuel.  “It’s not a clear-cut Top 10 group . . . not as high-end a group as you would have hoped for this year.”
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