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No Extension Talks Yet Between Angels, Alex Cobb

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Alex Cobb made his final start of the season this afternoon, allowing five runs over as many innings in a loss to the Rangers. It’s possible that was his last outing in a Los Angeles uniform, as Cobb is slated to hit free agency this winter. After the outing, the right-hander expressed a desire to stick around in Anaheim beyond this year though.

Cobb told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that while there’s not yet been any talk between the club and his representatives at Beverley Hills Sports Council, he believes both sides are amenable to extending their relationship. “We both have the understanding that there’s mutual respect there and mutual desire to reunite next year,” Cobb said. “We haven’t had those talks yet, but it’s obviously something I’d be really happy to do.”

Mutual interest in a reunion doesn’t guarantee anything will get done, of course, but it’s nonetheless the first step in any potential extension. It’s not particularly surprising the Angels would like to keep Cobb in the fold, as he posted a quietly strong first season in Anaheim (today’s start notwithstanding).

The Angels drew some criticism last offseason when they traded one-time top prospect Jahmai Jones to land Cobb from the Orioles. General manager Perry Minasian and his staff were rewarded for their faith in the veteran hurler, as he worked to a 3.76 ERA across 93 1/3 innings this season. A pair of injured list stints (one because of a blister, the other due to wrist inflammation) limited Cobb to nineteen starts, but he posted generally strong results when healthy.

Cobb backed up his sub-4.00 ERA with quality peripherals. He punched out a career-best 24.9% of opponents while handing out free passes at only an 8.4% rate. Always one of the game’s better pitchers at keeping the ball on the ground, he racked up grounders at a 53.8% clip that’s more than ten percentage points above the league average. Cobb’s 3.78 SIERA (prior to today’s start) lands right in line with his actual run prevention figure.

Soon to turn 34 years old, Cobb looks to have a real case to land a multi-year deal this winter. That didn’t seem particularly likely just a few months ago, as the first three years of his free agent contract with the Orioles didn’t go well. Between 2018-20, he tossed 217 innings of 5.10 ERA/5.22 FIP ball in Baltimore. Cobb candidly acknowledged when speaking with reporters today he’d once feared those struggles could soon limit his chances to continue playing, but he’s flipped that script with a strong showing in Anaheim.

Potential suitors — the Angels included — will have to determine precisely how much to buy into Cobb’s renewed success. His repertoire wasn’t much different than it had been in recent seasons. Cobb continued to lean on his sinker (40%), split (37%) and curveball (16%) while occasionally mixing in a four-seam fastball, as he had in Baltimore. His pitch velocity, spin and movement haven’t changed much. But Cobb has excelled at avoiding the heart of the plate and getting opposing hitters to chase pitches outside the strike zone, leading to a personal-best 11.6% swinging strike rate.

Cobb certainly benefitted from a bit of good fortune in the home run department. Even after coughing up two long balls against Texas today, his season-long HR/9 mark winds up at just 0.48. Teams wouldn’t be able to count on Cobb being quite that successful at keeping the ball in the yard moving forward, but he did execute pitches consistently enough on the whole to put together a quality bounceback season.

As is typically the case, the Angels look likely to target rotation help over the offseason. Shohei Ohtani will continue to star in his two-way role, and Patrick Sandoval earned a spot in next season’s group before suffering a season-ending back injury. José Suarez will likely hold down a spot as well, but Cobb’s departure would still leave at least two spots in the rotation to be addressed. Griffin Canning remains on hand, and top prospect Reid Detmers should get another chance at some point in the year. But injuries and/or underperformance often force teams to lean on seven or eight starters over the course of a season. Adding some veteran certainty to that group, whether Cobb or external upgrades, figures to a top priority for Minasian and his staff yet again.

Royals Promote Angel Zerpa

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The Royals announced the promotion of southpaw Angel Zerpa to start this evening’s game against the Indians. It’ll be his major league debut. He was added to the 40-man roster last winter to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft, so no move was needed in that regard. Southpaw Daniel Lynch was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hand contusion to clear active roster space.

Kansas City has brought up a slew of pitching prospects over the past couple seasons. Zerpa isn’t seen as the same caliber of talent as players like Lynch, Brady Singer, and Jackson Kowar, but he’s still viewed as one of the top handful of pitching prospects in the system. Entering the year, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted Zerpa as the #10 farmhand in the Kansas City organization, while Baseball America placed him 20th on their midseason update.

Both outlets note that Zerpa doesn’t throw especially hard — his sinker typically ranges from 90-94 MPH — but he draws praise for his advanced strike-throwing acumen and secondary offerings, especially his mid-80s changeup. Longenhagen suggests Zerpa could settle into the back of the rotation in the future, while BA projects him as a likely reliever.

Zerpa will break into the big leagues as a starter, although he could be an option to work in either capacity for the Royals fairly early next season. He’s only made one career Triple-A appearance, so he seems likely to begin the year in the minors. But the Kansas City front office clearly believes Zerpa’s not far away from being a regular big league contributor.

While Zerpa had never pitched above Rookie ball before this season, the Royals added him to the 40-man last November because they believed it plausible another club could fast-track him to the big leagues as a Rule 5 pick to gain his long-term control rights. He’ll indeed make it to the majors just a few days after his 22nd birthday, the culmination of a four-level journey this season.

Zerpa has a 4.58 ERA in 88 1/3 minor league innings this year. He began the campaign in High-A and posted a sterling 2.59 mark. An inflated .370 batting average on balls in play after a promotion to Double-A led to a 5.96 ERA at that level, but he posted high-end strikeout and walk rates (28.9% and 7.4%, respectively) across all three levels. That showing earns Zerpa a late-season audition in the big leagues.

Giants Designate Jose Quintana For Assignment

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The Giants announced they’ve reinstated first baseman Darin Ruf and right-hander Johnny Cueto from the injured list before this evening’s game against the Diamondbacks. In corresponding moves, left-hander Tony Watson landed on the 10-day injured list due to a strain in his throwing shoulder, while fellow southpaw José Quintana was designated for assignment.

The transactions series likely ends Quintana’s time in San Francisco after just a few weeks. The Giants claimed Quintana off waivers from the Angels at the end of August, absorbing the approximate $1.5MM remaining on his contract to add him just before the deadline for players to be eligible for teams’ postseason rosters.

Picking up Quintana didn’t work out quite as planned. He made five relief appearances with San Francisco, working 9 2/3 innings of five-run ball. The 32-year-old punched out twelve batters in that limited time, but also issued six walks and was tagged for three home runs. Evidently, the front office determined they were content with their other lefty bullpen options — even as Watson lands on the IL — to let Quintana go before the start of the postseason.

Quintana will almost certainly wind up hitting free agency in the next couple days, either via release or rejection of an outright assignment. He’ll hit the open market coming off a disappointing season. Signed by Los Angeles to a one-year, $8MM deal in free agency, he was bumped from the rotation after posting a 7.22 ERA through his first nine starts. He didn’t find much more success in relief, posting a 5.52 ERA from that point forward between the Angels and Giants.

It was an atypical season for Quintana, who has offered quality production over the course of his career. He was quietly one of the game’s better starters for a few seasons with the White Sox, leading to a blockbuster crosstown deal that sent him to the Cubs in 2017. That trade — which sent Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease to the South Siders — quickly proved regrettable for the Cubs, but Quintana did at least offer consistent innings and useful production for much of his time in Wrigleyville.

He lost most of last season due to injury, though, and his 6.43 ERA this year is by far the highest of his career. That’s been driven by personal-worst walk and home run rates, but Quintana has curiously been better than ever before at missing bats. He’s punched out 28.6% of opposing hitters on the strength of an 11.9% swinging strike rate; both marks are career-highs and above the league average. That extreme production came into play even before Quintana was moved to the pen, as he’d fanned 30.1% of batters faced over his first nine starts.

With Quintana and Watson out of the picture, the Giants look likely to enter the playoffs with Jarlin García and José Álvarez as lefty relief options. Manager Gabe Kapler didn’t rule Watson out for the entire postseason when speaking with reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area), but it at least seems he’d miss the Division Series if the club advanced to that point. Acquired from the Angels at the trade deadline, Waston has posted a 2.96 ERA over 24 1/3 frames with San Francisco.

Ruf looks likely to assume the bulk of the playing time at first base moving forward. Brandon Belt fractured his left thumb after being hit by a pitch over the weekend, and that injury could cost him most or all of the team’s playoffs. Like so much of the roster, Ruf has excelled when given the opportunity this year. Through 300 plate appearances, he owns a .268/.387/.512 line with fifteen home runs. Belt’s injury could force the Giants to deploy Ruf more against right-handed pitching than they have so far, but he’s more than held his own in limited action against righties while absolutely mashing southpaws.

Pirates Select Tanner Anderson

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The Pirates announced they’ve selected righty Tanner Anderson to the big league roster. Prospect Roansy Contreras was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis after tossing three scoreless innings in his big league debut yesterday. To create space for Anderson on the 40-man roster, the club transferred lefty Dillon Peters from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Anderson is back in the majors for the first time in two years. Originally a Pirates’ draftee, he got to the big leagues with Pittsburgh in 2018 and made six relief appearances. That offseason, the Pirates traded him to the A’s. Anderson made five starts for Oakland the following season before being designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster. He hasn’t appeared in the majors since, but he’ll get another opportunity over this season’s final few games.

Over 33 2/3 big league innings, the 28-year-old Anderson has managed only a 6.15 ERA with a below-average 14.9% strikeout rate. He’s pitched fairly well in a swing capacity with Indianapolis since signing a minor league deal with the Bucs in July. Anderson has a 4.17 ERA over 36 2/3 frames with the Pirates’ top affiliate. His 15.6% strikeout rate there is similar to his lackluster big league mark, but Anderson has a decent 8.8% walk percentage and has racked up ground-balls at a huge 60.9% clip.

Peters landed on the IL last week with a lower back strain. Once the club determined he wasn’t going to make it back this season, there’s no harm in transferring him to the 60-day IL. Pittsburgh acquired the 29-year-old from the Angels for cash considerations a few months ago. He’s made six starts in black and gold, tossing 26 2/3 frames of 3.71 ERA ball.

Yankees Place Luke Voit On Injured List

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The Yankees announced that first baseman Luke Voit is landing back on the 10-day injured list with left knee inflammation. Reliever Albert Abreu is up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his active roster spot.

Voit has been plagued by injuries for much of this season, with the left knee particularly problematic. He began the year on the IL after tearing the meniscus in the area. That initial stint cost him the first five weeks of the year, and he missed three weeks between July and August due to recurring inflammation. (Voit also missed time in May and June because of an oblique strain).

The series of health issues limited Voit to 241 plate appearances in a regular season that has now officially been brought to a close. His .239/.328/.437 line still checks in around 12 percentage points above league average by measure of wRC+, but it’s a significant drop-off from Voit’s first few seasons in pinstripes. The slugger entered this season with a .279/.372/.543 mark in 892 plate appearances as a Yankee, including a .277/.338/.610 line with a league-best 22 home runs in last year’s shortened season.

It seems likely the persistent health troubles impacted Voit’s productivity even when he was well enough to take the field. New York acquired Anthony Rizzo from the Cubs at the trade deadline to help cover for Voit’s health question marks, but the front office will need to decide how comfortable they are in Voit’s ability to return to his prior form moving forward. Rizzo is slated to hit free agency this offseason, while Voit will be entering his second of four years of arbitration eligibility. Whether the Yankees are comfortable enough with Voit’s knee to allow Rizzo to sign elsewhere remains to be seen.

In the interim, the Yankees will continue to pencil Rizzo in at first base with Giancarlo Stanton serving as the primary designated hitter. New York enters play tonight one game up on the Red Sox for the top Wild Card spot in the American League, a game and a half clear of the Mariners (the closest team just outside the current playoff picture). The Yankees didn’t provide a timetable for Voit’s return, so it’s possible he makes it back at some point during a potential playoff run. To give him that opportunity, the club will need to lock down a postseason spot and win the Wild Card game without his contributions.

Cubs Select Erick Castillo

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The Cubs are selecting catcher Erick Castillo to the big league roster, the team informed reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). Fellow backstop Austin Romine is headed to the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move.

Castillo is an organizational veteran, having joined the Cubs as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela during the 2010-11 international signing period. He has spent the past decade-plus climbing the minor league ranks, and he’ll be rewarded for his perseverance with his first major league call at age-28.

The right-handed hitting Castillo has never appeared on an organizational prospects list at either FanGraphs or Baseball America. That’s largely thanks to a general lack of production at the plate. Over nine minor league seasons, Castillo owns a .212/.281/.264 line with six home runs. He’s a .197/.288/.236 hitter in brief action over parts of three Triple-A campaigns. Clearly, Castillo won’t bring much power potential to the plate, but he’s generally done well to put the ball in play throughout his professional tenure. He’ll be on hand to back up Willson Contreras over the season’s final four games.

Angels Move Matt Thaiss To Catcher

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Former first-round pick Matt Thaiss was a catcher in college but was drafted more for his bat than his defensive skills. Upon selecting him with the No. 16 overall pick in 2016, the Angels immediately converted Thaiss to a corner infielder. However, manager Joe Maddon tells reporters that Thaiss, who moved back behind the plate in Triple-A this season, will now be considered a full-time catcher (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Thaiss was recalled from Triple-A today, with righty Janson Junk being optioned to Salt Lake in his place.

It’s a notable development for the Angels, who’ll likely entrust Max Stassi with the bulk of the catching workload in 2022 but will also see veteran Kurt Suzuki become a free agent this winter. For now, Thaiss gives the Halos an option to perhaps see some time as a backup next year. However, if he proves to be a passable option behind the dish and can carry over any of his minor league production to the big leagues, Thaiss would give the Angels a potential long-term option at catcher.

That’s a tall order for a player who didn’t receive great reviews for his defense at catcher even dating back to his college days at the University of Virginia. Baseball America noted in 2016, when ranking Thaiss as the No. 28 prospect in the draft, that he had “more than enough arm for the position, but many scouts aren’t sold on his receiving and blocking skills despite the work he’s put into both.” He was regarded as a polished hitter but one who was best-suited for a position change. The Angels clearly agreed, as Thaiss didn’t catch a single game in their system until earlier this year.

Thaiss has yet to provide much offense in the big leagues, although he hasn’t had much of a look — just 196 plate appearances in that three-year span. He’s walked in 11.2 percent of those plate appearances, connected on nine homers and struck out at a 31.1 percent clip. The overall .201/.291/.397 slash isn’t good, but there’s some obvious power and a knack for drawing walks with Thaiss. His small sample of MLB work paints the portrait of a three-true-outcomes slugger, but strikeouts haven’t been a major issue for Thaiss in the upper minors. He’s fanned in 18.3 percent of his Triple-A plate appearances over three seasons and, this year, is slashing a very solid .280/.383/.496 with 17 long balls in 449 trips to the plate.

The move to catcher, in some ways, is partly out of necessity. The presence of Jared Walsh, Shohei Ohtani and (until he was released in May) Albert Pujols cut into any available at-bats at first base or designated hitter. The signing of Anthony Rendon nixed any chances of Thaiss becoming a long-term option at the hot corner. Thaiss could’ve conceivably been a fill-in at third this season, given Rendon’s injuries, but he’s instead been honing his catching skills down in Triple-A. It’s a small sample of just 54 games, but Baseball Prospectus gives Thaiss solid marks both in framing and blocking. He’s thwarted just 20 percent of stolen base attempts (12 of 60). It’s a work in progress.

Thaiss’ defensive development (or lack thereof) as a catcher carries some long-term implications. While the incumbent Stassi has enjoyed a quietly hit .256/.340/.463 with 20 homers in 415 plate appearances since Opening Day 2020 — a breakout that should really garner more attention than it has — he’s also on pace to be a free agent after the 2022 campaign. There’s an opportunity for Thaiss to make the necessary improvements and position himself as a plausible successor to Stassi, so it’s well worth keeping an eye on his progress behind the dish over the next year. If he’s unable to make the adjustment, he’d be out of minor league options by the time 2023 rolls around, clouding his outlook with the Halos.

Pineda, Baldelli Voice Interest In Reunion

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Twins righty Michael Pineda is set to hit free agency this winter, but he again made clear that he hopes to re-sign with the team following last night’s victory. Pineda stressed to Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and others that he “loves” Minnesota and would be happy to return — echoing previous comments about his hope to continue calling Target Field his home. Manager Rocco Baldelli also voiced his own hope that the front office will be able to come to terms on a reunion with Pineda, calling the big righty a “pillar in our clubhouse” and extolling Pineda’s leadership qualities.

There’s no indication the Twins and Pineda have begun extension talks, but Minnesota has already re-signed Pineda once. He’s spent the past four seasons in the Twins organization, playing on a pair of two-year deals ($10MM and $20MM, respectively). It’s been a mixed bag of a season for Pineda, who sports a 3.62 ERA through 109 1/3 innings. He’s missed time due to both an elbow injury and an oblique strain, the former of which surely curbed interest in him at the trade deadline.

Pineda’s average fastball is down to a career-low 90.9 mph, and his 19.2 percent strikeout rate is also a career-low. He’s allowing more hard contact than ever before, both in terms of average exit velocity (91.2 mph) and hard-hit rate (46.1 percent). That said, Pineda is also sporting one of the best walk rates of his career (4.6 percent), the best first-pitch strike rate of his career (69.7 percent) and continues to be one of the best in the game at inducing swings on pitches outside the strike zone.

The Twins have an obvious need for rotation help next season. They traded away Jose Berrios for a pair of high-end prospects at the deadline and lost righty Kenta Maeda to Tommy John surgery. Rookie Bailey Ober has stepped up and laid claim to a 2021 spot with a quietly solid debut campaign. Right-hander Joe Ryan, whom they acquired from the Rays in exchange for Nelson Cruz, has been excellent through the first four starts of his own career. Minnesota has plenty of near-MLB prospects as well — Jordan Balazovic, Jhoan Duran, Josh Winder and Matt Canterino among them — but there’s no experienced starter returning to next year’s staff with Maeda likely to miss the 2022 season.

Minnesota figures to pursue multiple veterans in free agency and via the trade market this winter, as owner Jim Pohlad has already emphatically declared that even after trading Berrios, his club isn’t planning on embarking on a rebuilding effort. A Pineda reunion wouldn’t be the marquee addition for their staff this offseason, but he’d give the team some continuity from a leadership standpoint and some innings at the back of the rotation behind whichever higher-profile arms the Twins ultimately pursue.

Of course, Pineda voicing his own desire to return in no way guarantees the interest will be reciprocated, but Baldelli’s comments at least indicate that he’ll be making his own pitch to the front office to keep Pineda in the fold. Given the injuries Pineda has battled and the drop in fastball velocity, it’s possible the Twins’ front office will simply decide it’s best to move on. At the same time, however, those factors will limit Pineda’s appeal on the market and could force him into an affordable one-year pact, which could pique the club’s interest.

Royals’ Richard Lovelady Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Royals left-hander Richard Lovelady announced late last night on Instagram that he underwent Tommy John surgery this week. It’s not entirely out of the blue, as the 26-year-old southpaw was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in late August.

Tommy John surgery will quite likely wipe out the entirety of the 2022 season for Lovelady, as most pitchers require more than a year of rehab work. The Cardinals’ Dakota Hudson is one recent exception, but even he returned just four days shy of his operation’s one-year anniversary. It’s technically possible that Lovelady could be ready late next September, but precedent very strongly suggests Spring Training 2023 is a likelier target date.

Losing Lovelady for a full year’s time is a notable hit to Kansas City’s bullpen outlook next season. Long rated as one of the organization’s most promising relief prospects, Lovelady has dominated in the minors and, in 2021, had begun to carry that success over to the big leagues. While Lovelady struggled in 21 MLB frames from 2019-20, he pitched to a 3.48 ERA with strong strikeout (27.1), walk  (7.1) and ground-ball (56.6) percentages in 20 2/3 innings this year. Combine that success with a career 2.12 ERA in the minor leagues, including a 2.51 mark in 107 1/3 Triple-A frames, and it’s easy to see why the organization is increasingly bullish on the lefty’s future.

The recent injury surely doesn’t change the Royals’ view that Lovelady can be a big part of their pitching staff down the road, but the wait for him to cement himself as such will now be further prolonged. That said, the Royals still control Lovelady all the way through the 2026 season, so even if he’s not back on a big league mound until 2023, they could still enjoy four full seasons of the talented lefty before he’s eligible to test the free-agent market. He’ll accrue a year of service time and big league pay next year on the 60-day injured list due to the fact that the injury occurred while he was pitching on the big league roster.

Looking ahead to the 2022 campaign, the Royals will lean heavily on the late-inning duo of Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont to close things down, while lefty Jake Brentz and righty Domingo Tapia have quite likely punched their tickets for a spot on the big league staff as well. Bullpen help, however, already figured to be a priority for the Kansas City front office this winter. Losing one of the team’s more promising arms for the majority or entirety of next season only makes that an even likelier area of focus for newly promoted president of baseball operations Dayton Moore, general manager J.J. Piccolo and the rest of the Royals’ baseball ops department.

Front Office Notes: Padres, Rangers, Phillies, Royals

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As the offseason nears, we’ve started to see some movement of front office personnel across teams. A few clubs have made significant changes to their executive staffs over the past few days.

  • Rangers assistant general manager Mike Daly is departing the organization to join the Padres’ front office, reports Jeff Wilson. (Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported this morning that Daly and the Friars were in talks). Daly had spent fifteen years with Texas working in international scouting and player development, the last five of which had come as assistant GM. He’ll now reunite with former Rangers’ executive A.J. Preller in San Diego. Daly becomes the second Rangers’ AGM in as many months to leave the organization; Shiraz Rehman departed in August, as the front office structure in Arlington continues to evolve under president of baseball ops Jon Daniels and first-year GM Chris Young.
  • While the Padres added one executive, they saw another depart. San Diego coordinator of advance scouting Preston Mattingly was hired as Phillies director of player development. (Dennis Lin of the Athletic first reported the news). Mattingly, the son of Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly and a former first-round draft choice, had spent the past five seasons with the Friars. The Padres have already seen quite a bit of turnover in the front office on the heels of their second half collapse.
  • The Royals announced a pair of promotions yesterday. Lonnie Goldberg has been promoted from assistant GM/amateur scouting to vice president of player personnel, while Danny Ontiveros has been bumped up from assistant director of scouting to scouting director. Both Goldberg and Ontiveros have been in the Kansas City organization for well over a decade, with much of that time spent in the club’s scouting department. Earlier this month, the Royals bumped longtime baseball operations leader Dayton Moore up to president of baseball operations, promoted AGM J.J. Piccolo to general manager, and brought veteran executive Gene Watson back into the fold after he departed Kansas City to join the Angels last winter.

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