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Tyler Naquin Expected To Miss Rest Of Regular Season

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Outfielder Tyler Naquin is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, Reds manager David Bell tells Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

This news is most unwelcome for the Reds, as Naquin has been a pleasant surprise for them this year. After being non-tendered by Cleveland in December, he latched on with the Reds on a minor league deal in February and then had a great spring, vaulting himself onto the Opening Day roster. Since then, he has gotten into 127 games for the Reds, hitting .270/.333/.477, good enough for a wRC+ of 111. Despite subpar defense, he’s still been worth 1.4 wins above replacement on the season, according to FanGraphs. Unfortunately, on September 11th, Naquin and teammate Jose Barrero collided while attempting to trying to catch a fly ball. Naquin came out of that game with bruised ribs and was eventually placed on the IL a few days later.

If Cincinnati were to go on a lengthy playoff run, Naquin’s chances of returning would surely improve, though that seems very unlikely at this point. The club has gone on an ill-timed slide here in September, with a record of 7-13 in the month so far. When combined with the incredible 12-game win streak of the Cardinals, the Reds are now 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with just over a week remaining in the season.

Longer term, the team will now have to decide whether to tender Naquin a contract for 2022. He will finish this season with just over five years’ service time and can be controlled for one more season via arbitration. Naquin played the 2020 season on a prorated $1.45MM salary and was let go by a Cleveland team that didn’t think he was worth an arbitration raise. Now Cincinnati is in a similar position, paying him $1.5MM for this year. However, Naquin was coming off a disastrous campaign in the shortened 2020 season, hitting .218/.248/.383, a wRC+ of 65.

The Reds are likely to see Nick Castellanos opt out of the last two years of his contract and return to free agency. That would leave Jesse Winker as the only lock for next year’s outfield, along with unproven options such as TJ Friedl, Max Schrock, Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino. Keeping Naquin around for another season and giving him a modest arbitration raise could be a good way to provide the club some extra cover as they navigate the offseason outfield market.

Blue Jays Designate Jake Lamb For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated infielder Jake Lamb for assignment, according to a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster was needed for fellow infielder Breyvic Valera, who has been reinstated from the COVID-related IL. Additionally, left-handed pitcher Tayler Saucedo was optioned to Triple-A and right-handed pitcher Thomas Hatch recalled to take his place.

Lamb was picked up off waivers by the Blue Jays on September 3rd to help add some depth at third base in the wake of injuries to Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal. Since that time, he’s been sharing time at the hot corner with Valera. He hasn’t been able to help the Canadian birds too much, in a small sample of just 12 games, slashing .129/.256/.290, for a wRC+ of 49. Since Lamb was claimed after August 31st, he wouldn’t have been playoff eligible, and is also headed to free agency at the end of the season. Those factors, combined with the fact that Biggio and Espinal are both on rehab assignments and nearing returns, edged him out of Toronto’s plans.

He had a better showing for the White Sox earlier in the season, when he slashed .212/.321/.389 over 43 games, a wRC+ of 99. But even that wasn’t good enough to hold onto a roster spot, as the Pale Hose opted to give that playing time to Romy Gonzalez instead. Lamb had two excellent campaigns for the Diamondbacks in 2016 and 2017, hitting .248/.345/.498, production that was 12% better than league average, according to wRC+. However, after undergoing shoulder surgery in 2018, he hasn’t been able to reach that same level of production, although his walk rate is still good. From 2019 to the present, his line is .193/.309/.358, wRC+ of 81. He’ll now see if any team is intrigued enough to give him some at-bats down the stretch, though any team doing so wouldn’t be able to use him in the postseason.

As for Valera, he’s back after just a single day on the IL. It was a precautionary placement on account of a family member testing positive. Since he’s back so quickly, it can be assumed that he himself did not test positive. In 36 games with the Jays this year, the switch-hitter has a line of .253/.308/.361, for a wRC+ of 81.

Giants Sign John Nogowski To Two-Year Minors Contract

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The Giants have signed first baseman John Nogowski to a minor league contract that runs through the 2022 season, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jessica Kleinschmidt reports (Twitter links).  Nogowski wasn’t on the open market for very long, as he was only released by the Pirates three days ago.

After making his MLB debut with a one-game cup of coffee with the Cardinals in 2020, Nogowski played in 19 more games with St. Louis this year before the Cards dealt him to Pittsburgh in July.  Nogowski posted an 1.074 OPS over his first 53 plate appearances with his new team, but he fell back to earth after that tremendous start, and finished with a .677 OPS over his 123 PA in a Pirates uniform.  For the season as a whole, Nogowski has hit .233/.301/.310 with one home run over 143 PA.

Nogowski is no stranger to the Bay Area, as he spent his first three pro seasons in the Athletics’ organization after being selected in the 34th round of the 2014 draft.  The 28-year-old has posted some solid numbers over his minor league career, particularly in terms of on-base percentage — Nogowski’s .269/.388/.423 slash line over 680 PA at the Triple-A level is a bit better than his overall career numbers as a minor leaguer.

Given the Giants’ knack for revitalizing hitters, it might not be surprising to see Nogowski translate those minor league numbers into production at the big league level.  Albeit in the small sample size of 147 PA in the majors, Nogowski has a very high 87.8% contact rate, so there is some interesting potential if Nogowski is able to improve the quality of that contact.

Nogowski has primarily been a first baseman during his career but has played a few games in the outfield, giving him a bit of the positional flexibility that the Giants prefer.  Looking at San Francisco’s right-handed hitting bench options, Nogowski can provide depth if Donovan Solano leaves in free agency, or if the Giants wanted to move on from arbitration-eligibles like Austin Slater or Darin Ruf (though Ruf in particular has had an excellent season).  While the Giants have a number of quality bench or platoon players, the club might be looking to stockpile even more depth should the National League adopt the DH for 2022 and beyond.

Angels Select AJ Ramos

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The Angels announced they’ve selected veteran reliever AJ Ramos to the big league roster and recalled bullpen mate James Hoyt from Triple-A Salt Lake. José Marte and Sam Selman were optioned to clear active roster space. Los Angeles also reinstated rookie southpaw Reid Detmers from the COVID-19 injured list and optioned him to Salt Lake.

Selecting Ramos and activating Detmers required opening a pair of spots on the 40-man roster. To do so, the Angels transferred Justin Upton and Dylan Bundy from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Ramos is in the majors for the first time this season. He’s best known for his early-career days with the Marlins, with whom he began his big league career in 2012. The right-hander was electric from essentially the outset of his career, ascending to the closer’s role within a couple seasons and earning an All-Star nod in 2016. Over his first four-plus MLB seasons, Ramos posted a 2.66 ERA/3.15 FIP across 287 2/3 innings of relief.

Halfway through the 2017 season, Miami traded Ramos to the division-rival Mets. He had a decent year but fell off a bit from his previous pace. Ramos struggled badly through the first couple months of 2018 before it was revealed he’d suffered a labrum tear in his shoulder that necessitated surgery.

That procedure kept Ramos out of action for more than two calendar years. He began a comeback attempt in 2020 and landed successive minor league deals with the Dodgers and Cubs. While neither of those stops resulted in a major league opportunity, Ramos did get back to the bigs late in the year with the Rockies. He made three appearances with Colorado last September, his first MLB action in 28 months, and signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the offseason.

Ramos has spent the entire season with Salt Lake. The 35-year-old has avoided the injured list and logged 53 innings over 42 outings, pitching to a 5.26 ERA in a very hitter-friendly environment. Ramos has been extremely fly ball prone and has issued a few too many walks, but he’s continued to miss plenty of bats. He’s punched out 31% of opposing hitters on the strength of a big 15.4% swinging strike rate, and the Angels will give him a late chance to demonstrate his form against big league opponents.

As with last season’s stint in Colorado, it’s possible Ramos’ stay with the Angels will be quite brief. He’s scheduled to hit free agency again at the end of the season. The late-season look will allow him to showcase his current caliber of stuff before he reaches the open market.

The IL transfers officially bring Upton’s and Bundy’s seasons to a close. It was a third consecutive down year for Upton, who hit .211/.296/.409 with seventeen homers over 362 plate appearances. His campaign ends prematurely because of a right lumbar strain.

Upton will return to Anaheim next season on a $28MM salary, the final year of his deal. The Angels have youngsters Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh at the big league level, and Mike Trout is expected back at full strength. It’s possible Upton’s role is curtailed a bit moving forward, although he still brings enough right-handed pop to contribute in a part-time capacity.

It’s an especially disappointing end for Bundy, who expressed confidence two weeks ago that he’d make it back to the mound before the end of the year. Instead, his final five weeks will be wiped out by a shoulder strain. It ends a season in which Bundy threw 90 2/3 innings of 6.08 ERA ball, a massive drop-off from a 2020 season in which he picked up some down-ballot Cy Young support.

The career-worst showing couldn’t have come at a worse time for Bundy, who’ll hit free agency for the first time this winter. It’s possible the 28-year-old will be limited to a one-year deal in an attempt to rebuild his value before re-testing the market during the 2022-23 offseason.

Cardinals Release Daniel Ponce De Leon

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SEPTEMBER 23: The Cardinals announced Thursday that Ponce de Leon has been granted his release. He’ll be free to explore opportunities elsewhere.

SEPTEMBER 22: Ponce de Leon cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis, the Cardinals announced Wednesday. He’ll remain in the organization but is no longer on the 40-man roster.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to lefty Brandon Waddell, who has been recalled from Triple-A Memphis.

Ponce de Leon, 29, got out to a nice start in his big league career with the Cards. From 2018-19, the former ninth-round pick tallied 81 2/3 frames with a 3.31 ERA, a solid 24.8 percent strikeout rate and an 11.6 percent walk rate. The free passes were too frequent, of course, but Ponce de Leon generally functioned as a useful swingman in St. Louis over those two seasons. He appeared in 24 games and split his time evenly between the bullpen and the rotation: a dozen appearances each. He had a bit more success out of the ’pen, but Ponce de Leon was quite solid in both roles.

Things took a downward turn in 2020, when he limped to a 4.96 ERA in 32 2/3 frames, and the 2021 season has gone largely off the rails for the righty. So far, Ponce de Leon has pitched 33 1/3 innings and been tagged for a dismal 6.21 ERA. His 15.2 percent strikeout rate is far and away the lowest of his career, and his 13.9 percent strikeout rate is right in line with last season’s career-worst mark of 14.0 percent. Ponce de Leon is generating fewer swinging strikes than ever before, and the 89.1 mph average exit velocity he’s allowed is a career-high mark.

The Cardinals will place Ponce de Leon on outright waivers or release him within the next couple of days. It’s possible that given his 2018-19 success, another club in need of some depth would  take a speculative look via waiver claim. However, Ponce de Leon is also out of minor league options, so any club that picks him up won’t have the luxury of sending him to the minors unless they can successfully pass him through waivers themselves.

MLB To Test Pre-Tacked Baseball In Triple-A

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Major League Baseball will introduce a pre-tacked baseball at certain Triple-A games for the minor league season’s final week and a half, reports Kyle Glaser of Baseball America. The new ball won’t be in effect at all games at the minors’ top level, as MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword tells Glaser there’s not yet enough supply to support a wide rollout.

It’s a bit surprising to see the experimental ball introduced at such a late stage of the season. The pre-tacked ball being tested in games did seem to be an inevitability at some point, though. Last month, Hannah Keyser of Yahoo! Sports reported that MLB had sent a prototype of a pre-tacked ball to certain big league players for feedback.

That experimentation comes on the heels of the league’s crackdown on pitchers’ usage of foreign substances. That was motivated primarily by a desire to police the most egregious offenders, pitchers who’d used extremely sticky substances to improve the quality of their raw stuff. However, MLB announced they’d legislate out all non-rosin sticky stuff — even substances more generally considered acceptable, like a sunscreen/rosin combination — to make enforcement more feasible for umpires. The league expressed an openness at the time to potential pre-tacked baseballs that would improve pitchers’ grips without meaningfully, artificially enhancing pitch movement. Three months later, they’ve found a product they deem suitable for in-game evaluation.

The pre-tacked baseball — which involves more than the traditional process of rubbing down the ball with mud — will be a change to the affiliated ranks. It’s not a new concept, though. Certain foreign leagues like Japan’s NPB and South Korea’s KBO have used pre-tacked balls for years, and a few players from the U.S. National Team have gone on record in support of the pre-tacked balls used in this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. (KBO and NPB rules call for slightly different specifications regarding the ball than do MLB regulations, so MLB’s pre-tacked prototype will not be the exact same as those foreign leagues’ balls). MLB itself experimented with a pre-tacked baseball in Spring Training 2019 but scrapped the project after receiving negative feedback.

With less than two weeks remaining in the Triple-A season and the pre-tacked ball not yet going into effect at all those games, there won’t be much time for the league to collect data this year. Still, the introduction of the new ball into competitive affiliated game at all is notable, and it’s safe to presume MLB will continue to solicit player feedback and monitor the results in future seasons before considering introducing it at the big league level.

Potential modification of the ball is only one of a few changes with which MLB has experimented in the minor leagues. MLB introduced rules changes at various levels entering the season. The bases were expanded slightly at Triple-A; defensive shifting was limited at Double-A. An electronic strike zone, limits on pick-offs and a 15-second pitch clock were put into place at different levels of the low minors.

Most of those measures will remain under evaluation, as Glaser separately reports that MLB plans to test those rules at this year’s Arizona Fall League. While MLB purposefully distributed those rules changes throughout various levels of the minors to evaluate their impact in isolation, combining them in the AFL is designed to gauge whether there will be any holistic effects. Glaser’s post on the Fall League changes is worth a read in full for those interested, as is this article by Jayson Stark of the Athletic from last week about the pitch clock’s influence on play in the Low-A West league this season.

Astros’ Prospect Freudis Nova Undergoes Knee Surgery

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SEPTEMBER 23: Nova underwent surgery to repair the ACL injury, Jake Kaplan of the Athletic was among those to relay. He’s expected to miss the first half of the 2022 season. The Astros will need to reinstate Nova from the injured list over the offseason, but they can place him back on the 60-day IL at the start of next season to reopen 40-man roster space. Nova will receive major league salary and service time as long as he’s on the major league 60-day IL.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Astros are selecting reliever Seth Martinez to the MLB roster, relays Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Peter Solomon has been optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. To clear space for Martinez on the 40-man roster, minor league infielder Freudis Nova has been recalled and placed on the major league 60-day injured list.

Martinez is up for his first major league action. The right-hander was selected by the division-rival A’s in the 17th round of the 2016 draft coming out of Arizona State University. He spent the next four seasons in the Oakland system, topping out at Double-A. The Astros snagged him in the minor league phase of last winter’s Rule 5 draft and gave him an opportunity at the minors’ top level.

In his first crack against Triple-A hitters, Martinez has found plenty of success working in a multi-inning relief capacity. He’s soaked up 56 2/3 frames over 35 appearances with the Skeeters, posting a 2.86 ERA despite the generally hitter-friendly Triple-A environment. Martinez has backed that run prevention up with fantastic peripherals, striking out a huge 33.5% of opposing hitters while issuing free passes at an 8.8% rate. The 27-year-old has impressively gotten better at missing bats as he’s faced higher-level opponents. After posting just a 20% strikeout rate in Low-A in 2017, he’s successively improved his strikeout percentage year by year (25% at High-A in 2018, 29% at Double-A in 2019, 34% this season in Triple-A) to earn himself a big league look.

Nova, who was added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft, has spent the 2021 season with High-A Asheville. The 21-year-old suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last week. Obviously, he won’t play again this year and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the issue affects his early-season availability in 2022. (The team didn’t provide any sort of timetable on his recovery).

It’s a disappointing development for one of the Astros’ more promising infield prospects. A high-profile amateur signee out of the Dominican Republic in July 2016, Nova quickly rose near the top of the organization in the eyes of some evaluators. His stock has slipped thanks to disappointing performances in recent seasons — including a .224/.301/.335 line in 282 High-A plate appearances this year — but he still checked in 27th on Baseball America’s midseason update of Astros’ farmhands.

In a bit of a silver lining in an otherwise frustrating situation, Nova will at least pick up his first big league service time and pay for the season’s final two weeks. Players on the minor league injured list don’t accrue MLB service or pay but do continue to count against a team’s 40-man roster. In order to open the 40-man spot, the Astros will give Nova a bump in salary for the rest of the regular season.

Red Sox Designate Geoff Hartlieb, Yacksel Rios For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced they’ve designated relievers Geoff Hartlieb and Yacksel Rios for assignment. The moves create space on the 40-man roster for Jarren Duran and Jonathan Araúz, both of whom have reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list and optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Boston claimed Hartlieb off waivers from the Mets a few weeks ago, right as the bullpen was being hit hard by the virus spread throughout the clubhouse. Added for depth, he was immediately optioned to Worcester and didn’t wind up making an appearance with the Red Sox before losing his spot on the 40-man roster.

Hartlieb will find himself on waivers for the third time this season. The 27-year-old began the year with the Pirates, with whom he’d spent the first five years of his pro career. Pittsburgh waived Hartlieb in July, where the Mets claimed him. He’s worked nine innings of eleven-run ball between the two clubs, striking out nine but issuing eleven walks and hitting three batters. In 66 1/3 innings over parts of three MLB seasons, the right-hander owns a 7.46 ERA with a below-average 20.5% strikeout rate and an elevated 14.9% walk percentage.

In spite of those big league struggles, Hartlieb hasn’t yet made it through waivers unclaimed. He’s induced ground-balls on exactly half the balls in play in the majors, a quality rate. He also owns a far more impressive 3.06 ERA in 64 1/3 Triple-A innings, fanning 27.8% of opponents with a more manageable 10.9% walk rate. Hartlieb throws a mid-90s sinker and has gotten decent swing-and-miss numbers on his slider, and he can still be optioned through the end of the 2022 season. It’s not out of the question he lands with another club on waivers.

Rios has been a part of three organizations this year as well. The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Rays and got off a sterling start with their top affiliate in Durham. He couldn’t crack the loaded Tampa Bay bullpen, but the Mariners acquired him in early June and almost immediately selected him to the majors. His time in Seattle was short-lived, as he was designated for assignment less than a week later and traded to Boston.

Between the M’s and Red Sox, Rios has tossed 27 1/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball. That’s come with similarly poor peripherals as Hartlieb’s, but Rios has missed plenty of bats in Triple-A. The 28-year-old has a 1.45 ERA in the minors with a 32.9% strikeout percentage. As with Hartlieb, it’s possible another team takes a flier based on that Triple-A dominance, although Rios is in his final option year. Any team that claims him would need to keep him on the active roster next season or expose him to waivers themselves. Rios has previously been outrighted in his career, so he’d have the right to elect free agency if he passes through unclaimed.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/23/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Orioles announced that right-hander Manny Barreda has been outrighted off the 40-man roster and assigned to Triple-A.  Barreda was designated for assignment earlier this week.  A veteran of 15 professional seasons in the minor leagues and the Mexican League, the 32-year-old Barreda finally made his MLB debut this year, tossing 2 2/3 innings over three games for Baltimore.

Giants Place Darin Ruf On 10-Day IL, Activate Alex Dickerson

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The Giants have placed first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain.  The placement is retroactive to September 20.  Alex Dickerson has been activated from his own 10-day IL stint to replacement Ruf on San Francisco’s active roster.

This is the second time Ruf has been on the injured list this season, as he missed just under a month earlier in the year due to a right hamstring strain.  If Ruf’s has a low-level oblique strain, he might very well be able to return to action in the minimum 10 days.  However, if Ruf has a Grade 2 strain or worse, or if he simply has a setback in his recovery from a mild strain, it could impact his availability for the Giants’ postseason roster.

Missing Ruf for even 10 days will be a blow for the Giants as they try to hold off the Dodgers for the NL West lead.  One of many unheralded players who have emerged as huge contributors for San Francisco, Ruf has hit .270/.383/.513 with 20 home runs over an even 400 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 season.  Ruf saw a lot of action at first base in Brandon Belt’s absence, and in left field as the right-handed hitting side of the Giants’ ever-shifting outfield platoons.

It has been quite a return to Major League Baseball for Ruf, who broke into the Show in impressive fashion with the Phillies in 2012-13, but his production trailed off over the next three years.  Ruf then went to the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization and revitalized his career, hitting .313/.404/.564 with 86 homers over his 404 games in Daegu.

San Francisco will look to replace Ruf’s right-handed bat with a lefty swinger in Dickerson, though Dickerson is looking to re-establish his own status as a hidden gem on the Giants’ roster.  After some big numbers in his first two seasons in the Bay Area, Dickerson has hit a more modest .235/.303/.426 over 304 PA in 2021, though he has hit a career-best 13 homers.  Dickerson’s performance has surely been hampered by injuries, as he previously spent time on the IL with a right shoulder impingement and back tightness this year prior to this current absence for a right hamstring strain.  Dickerson will return after just shy of three weeks on the injured list with this latest problem.

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