Robinson Cano Expected To Lose Roster Spot With Padres; Reportedly Likely To Elect Free Agency
The Padres are likely to request that second baseman Robinson Canó accept an optional assignment to Triple-A El Paso, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Heyman suggests the eight-time All-Star would refuse to go to the minor leagues, as is his right as a player with five-plus years of MLB service time.
If San Diego follows through with removing Canó from the active roster, he’d have the right to elect free agency. That seems to be the likeliest outcome, which would end his time in San Diego after just 11 games. Robert Murray of FanSided first tweeted there was “growing chatter” that Canó’s time in the organization could be coming to a close.
The Friars just signed Canó to a big league deal last month, finalizing agreement on May 13. That came on the heels of the Mets designating the five-time Silver Slugger winner for assignment and releasing him, one year removed from a 162-game PED suspension. In so doing, New York ate the approximate $37.6MM remaining in guaranteed commitments on his contract through 2023. The Padres, pressed right against the base competitive balance tax threshold and looking for affordable offensive help, rolled the dice on Canó for just the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum salary.
Canó had started awfully with the Mets, hitting .195/.233/.268 through 12 games. That came with a massive spike in strikeouts and ground-balls relative to his earlier work, and he saw a significant drop in his free passes. San Diego chalked that up to the minuscule sample and hoped Canó would rediscover better form at the plate, but that hasn’t happened in the past couple weeks.
Through 33 plate appearances, the lefty-swinger is hitting just .094/.121/.094. He’s drawn one walk against ten strikeouts and has yet to tally an extra-base hit. The alarming strikeout, grounder and walk numbers have all gotten worse relative to his early-season numbers with the Mets. It seems the continuation of those struggles will lead the Padres to make a quick trigger in letting Canó go not long after bringing him aboard.
At 30-20, the Friars are 3 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. They’re firmly in Wild Card position at the moment and surely have their sights set on taking the division, so they can ill afford to continue devoting Canó at-bats while he’s struggling to this extent. With no way to send him to the minors without his consent, they’re reportedly willing to watch him depart the organization entirely.
Canó has seen occasional starts at second base, freeing up Jake Cronenworth to bounce around the diamond a bit more. If the Friars indeed grant Canó his release, Cronenworth would likely head back to the keystone on a more or less everyday basis. Eric Hosmer, Ha-Seong Kim, and Manny Machado make up the remainder of the typical starting infield. The team is hoping star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. can make his return either later this month or in early July.
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Canó would head back to the open market and explore other options. The Mets will continue to pay all of his salary (minus the league minimum for any time he spends on another MLB roster), so there’d be no financial risk for a team in adding him. The bigger question is whether he’s still capable of performing well enough to warrant an active roster spot.
Dan Winkler, Nick Tropeano Opt Out Of Deals With Rangers
Right-handers Dan Winkler and Nick Tropeano have opted out of their respective minor league contracts with the Rangers, reports Levi Weaver of the Athletic (Twitter link). Texas opted against selecting either onto the 40-man roster, so they’ll return to the open market.
Winkler signed his non-roster pact shortly after the lockout was lifted in March. The 32-year-old had pitched in the majors each season from 2015-21, including a 47-game stint with the Cubs last year. Winkler had a strong run of success early in his career with the Braves, but he’s struggled of late as he’s increasingly battled control concerns. Last season, he had a 5.22 ERA for the North Siders, walking 15.8% of opponents.
He has spent this season with the Rangers’ top affiliate in Round Rock, making 16 appearances. Over 18 innings, he has a 3.50 ERA with an excellent 32.1% strikeout rate. He’s partially offset that with a much too high 16% walk percentage, however, and those strike-throwing shortcomings were enough the Rangers decided to let Winkler test free agency rather than get a look in the MLB bullpen.
It’s been a fairly similar story for Tropeano, who signed his deal in January. A starting pitcher with the Astros and Angels early in his career, he’s worked out of the bullpen for the Angels, Pirates and Mets over the past few seasons. Tropeano had a nice seven-game run with Pittsburgh during the abbreviated 2020 campaign, but he only got five MLB appearances last year.
Working in long relief for Round Rock, the 31-year-old tallied 20 2/3 frames across 12 outings. He had a 3.05 ERA, but that was obscured by underwhelming peripherals. Tropeano doled out free passes to nearly a fifth of the batters he faced while striking out a league average 23.6% of opponents. The former fifth-round pick will try to iron out his control woes in a new environment.
Orioles Acquire Yaqui Rivera From Marlins
The Orioles announced they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Yaqui Rivera from the Marlins. He’s the player to be named later in the April deal that sent relievers Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott to South Florida.
Rivera, 18, was a recent signee of Miami’s out of the Dominican Republic. He made his professional debut last season with a few outings in complex ball and nine starts in the Dominican Summer League. Rivera, who has never appeared on an organizational prospects list at FanGraphs or Baseball America, missed some bats but also had an elevated walk rate — unsurprising tendencies for a pitcher so young.
The 6’2″ hurler is one of three young players the O’s added to the organization in the deal. Baltimore also picked up left-hander Antonio Velez, who has struggled with home runs over his first eight outings in Double-A this year, and low minors outfielder Kevin Guerrero. The 25-year-old Velez is certainly the most likely of the trio to make any kind of near-term impact in spite of his early struggles in Bowie; Guerrero and Rivera are long-term developmental fliers.
Sulser and Scott have each stepped into the big league bullpen in Miami, with the former assuming some high-leverage opportunities. It’s been a fairly similar start to the season for both, who each have quality swing-and-miss numbers but have struggled with control. Sulser owns a 4.50 ERA through 18 innings, and he’s seen his fastball velocity drop nearly two ticks on average relative to last season. Scott remains among the harder left-handed throwers in the game, but he’s dealt with strike-throwing issues throughout his career. He has a 5.40 ERA in 18 1/3 frames with the Fish.
Health Notes: Kershaw, Lewis, Barnes
Clayton Kershaw threw a 30-35 pitch bullpen session this afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). It marked the star southpaw’s second bullpen work of the week, as he also tossed 35 pitches on Memorial Day. The team will monitor how Kershaw feels over the coming days, but it’s possible he heads out on a minor league rehab assignment as soon as this weekend.
Kershaw has been on the injured list since May 13 after experiencing some inflammation in the SI joint of his right hip area. The team initially expressed hope he’d be back after a minimal 15-day stint, although that proved untenable once the three-time Cy Young award winner experienced continued soreness. Now that he’s back on a mound and potentially nearing a rehab assignment, however, it seems as if he could be back at Dodger Stadium by the middle of the month. Before the injury, Kershaw had been characteristically excellent, posting a 1.80 ERA through five starts.
Some more health situations of note:
- The Mariners placed outfielder Kyle Lewis on the seven-day concussion injured list, retroactive to May 29, before tonight’s game against the Orioles. There’s no indication the 26-year-old is in for a long-term absence, but it’s another health setback for a player who has dealt with more than his fair share of injuries. Lewis’ previous issues have typically been related to his right knee, and he only made his season debut on May 24 after he missed the final few months of last season due to a meniscus tear and a bone bruise in the joint. To take Lewis’ spot on the active roster, infielder Abraham Toro is back from the 10-day IL. The switch-hitting Toro is off to a disappointing .179/.237/.366 start through 135 plate appearances. He missed the minimal amount of time on the shelf recovering from a left shoulder sprain.
- The Red Sox placed reliever Matt Barnes on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 31, before this evening’s contest with the Reds. He’s dealing with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. It’ll be a reset opportunity for Barnes, whose struggles down the stretch last season have carried over into this year. Through 20 games, the right-hander has a 7.94 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. That’s on the heels of a 6.48 ERA in the second half of 2021, an out-of-the-blue downturn for a pitcher who earned a deserved All-Star nod during a dominant first-half performance. Barnes signed a two-year, $18.75MM extension last July — a deal that looked team-friendly at the time but has gone immediately haywire. To take Barnes’ spot on the roster, fellow reliever Matt Strahm has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list following a two-day absence.
Angels Release Austin Romine
The Angels have released catcher Austin Romine, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. Sam Blum of the Athletic tweets that the veteran backstop triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league deal. That left the Angels to decide whether to select him onto the 40-man roster or grant him his release.
Romine is one of a handful of veterans who have three automatic opt-out dates under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement. Players who qualified for major league free agency at the end of last season — based on having six-plus years of big league service — who signed a minor league deal during the winter had opt-out possibilities on each of April 2 (five days before Opening Day), May 1 and June 1. Romine forewent his first two opt-out chances but triggered the final provision.
The 33-year-old will now head back out onto the open market in search of a new opportunity. As a catcher who has appeared in parts of 11 big league seasons, he shouldn’t have much trouble finding another minor league job elsewhere. A longtime backup with the Yankees, Romine has suited up with the Tigers, Cubs and Angels since leaving the Bronx. He’s a career .238/.276/.357 hitter over 437 MLB games.
Romine appeared in ten games with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake this season, hitting .273/.368/.394 with a homer in 39 trips to the plate. He also saw action in three big league contests as a designated COVID-19 substitute when the Angels lost both Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki to the virus list last month. Romine was returned to the minors when that duo made it back onto the field, and Los Angeles will continue with the Stassi – Suzuki pairing.
Twins Sign Hunter Wood To Minor League Deal
The Twins have signed right-hander Hunter Wood to a minor league contract, per Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America.
Wood, 28, spent the 2021 season in the Rangers organization but made just five big league appearances before an elbow injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He eventually underwent surgery that installed an internal brace to address what was termed (by the team) as a “mild” sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament. That surgery, performed in late June, came with a projected recovery timetable of “at least” eight months.
Wood has appeared in parts of four seasons between Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Texas, pitching to a combined 3.34 ERA in 91 2/3 innings with a 21.8% strikeout rate, an 8.1% walk rate and a 36.7% ground-ball rate. Of those marks, only the walk rate is better than league-average, but Wood has been excellent in terms of limiting hard contact when healthy, per Statcast (career 87.2 mph average exit velocity, 4.0% barrel rate and 29.5% hard-hit rate).
While he’s technically made 10 starts in the Majors, Wood has totaled just 17 frames during those “starts.” The Rays used him as a frequent opener from 2018-19, but Wood’s longest career outing in the big leagues is three innings, so he’ll likely continue to work in short-relief stints for the Twins once he’s fully mended from surgery and assigned to a minor league affiliate. Eventually, Wood figures to serve as bullpen depth in Triple-A, and vie for a spot in the big league bullpen when a need inevitably arises. Were he to make it back to the big leagues, Wood could be controlled for four more years beyond the current season, but he has a ways to go before that’s even a legitimate consideration.
Brewers Select Jason Alexander
JUNE 1: Milwaukee has officially selected Alexander’s contract, optioning Luke Barker to Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move. To create 40-man roster space, they’ve transferred reliever Jake Cousins from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Cousins went on the IL on May 1 with an elbow effusion, and he’ll now be out of action through at least the end of July. It seems unlikely he’ll be back when first eligible anyhow, as he recently told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link) he received a platelet-rich plasma injection and would be shut down from throwing entirely for at least a month.
MAY 31: The Brewers are planning to start right-hander Jason Alexander tomorrow night against the Cubs, tweets Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He is not yet on the club’s 40-man roster, so the Brew Crew will have to make a corresponding move.
Alexander, 29, is set to make his MLB debut. The younger brother of former Dodgers reliever Scott Alexander, Jason Alexander went undrafted in 2017. He signed with the Angels as a free agent, working his way as high as Triple-A but never getting onto the 40-man roster. Los Angeles released him in 2020, and he hooked on with the Marlins the following April.
The California native made just six appearances in the upper levels of the Miami farm system as he missed some time due to injury. He signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee in December and has spent the first couple months with their top affiliate in Nashville. Over nine outings (seven starts), Alexander has worked to an excellent 2.64 ERA through 47 2/3 innings. His 17.5% strikeout rate is below-average, but he’s posted a hefty 63.3% ground-ball rate and only walked 6.3% of opposing hitters.
Milwaukee has been hit by a couple key rotation injuries of late, forcing them to dip into their starting pitching depth. Both Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff have landed on the injured list, forcing Aaron Ashby into regular action alongside Corbin Burnes, Eric Lauer and Adrian Houser. The fifth spot is uncertain, with well-regarded prospect Ethan Small making a spot start yesterday during a doubleheader. Alexander will now get a chance to audition for a role himself.
Cubs Place Drew Smyly On Injured List
The Cubs have placed starter Drew Smyly on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 31, due to a right oblique strain. Chicago reinstated righty Michael Rucker and outfielder Jason Heyward from the IL, optioning outfielder Nelson Velazquez to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move.
Smyly was pulled from his start against the Brewers on Monday after three innings because of oblique soreness. He’ll now head to the IL with a strain, the severity of which is yet unclear. Oblique strains often require upwards of a month of recovery time, but the grade of the strain will obviously impact how quickly the southpaw will be able to return. The Cubs haven’t yet specified a timetable.
Signed to a one-year, $5.25MM contract shortly after the lockout was lifted, Smyly has made nine starts with the North Siders. He has a solid 3.80 ERA across 42 2/3 innings, although he’s striking out a personal-worst 18.9% of opposing hitters. Smyly has compensated for the fewer punchouts with a career-low 5.6% walk rate, and he’s still generating swinging strikes on a quality 12.2% of his offerings. As he has throughout his career, Smyly has been prone to home runs, but he’s inducing ground-balls at his highest clip (47.8%).
If healthy, Smyly could be a fairly straightforward trade candidate before the August 2 deadline. He’s not going to bring back a franchise-altering return, but as a capable back-of-the-rotation rental on a noncompetitive Cubs team, Smyly would figure to draw interest. That’s contingent, of course, on his returning to health over the coming weeks and reestablishing himself on the mound.
Rucker has been out of action since May 17 with turf toe on his left foot. Heyward, meanwhile, has been down for the same amount of time while battling COVID-19 symptoms. He returns to both the active and 40-man rosters, and the Cubs needed to clear a 40-man spot for his reinstatement. They’ll do so by recalling righty Manuel Rodríguez from the minors and placing him on the big league 60-day IL.
Rodríguez, 25, made his first 20 MLB relief appearances last season. He struggled to a 6.11 ERA but averaged north of 97 MPH on his fastball. Unfortunately, he made just two April appearances with Triple-A Iowa before landing on the minor league injured list. According to Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), he’s dealing with a strain in his throwing elbow.
At the very least, Rodríguez won’t be eligible to return to the majors until August. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be healthy enough to make a late-season return. While he recuperates on the big league IL, Rodríguez will pick up major league service time and be paid at prorated portion of the $700K MLB minimum salary.
Jean Segura To Undergo Finger Surgery, Expected To Miss 10-12 Weeks
Phillies second baseman Jean Segura will need to undergo surgery after fracturing his finger during last night’s loss to the Giants, manager Joe Girardi announced to reporters (including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). The team expects him to be sidelined for 10-12 weeks.
The Phils just placed Segura on the 10-day injured list this afternoon, but it’s a virtual inevitability he’ll head to the 60-day version whenever the club needs a 40-man roster spot. It’s a brutal blow for the Phils, who are off to a disappointing 21-29 start. Philadelphia had another big offseason in an attempt to snap a decade-long playoff drought, but they’re already facing an uphill battle in the standings and will now have to play without a key regular for most of the year.
Segura has started 43 of the Phils’ 50 games this season. The contact-hitting second baseman had been having a solid year, carrying a .275/.324/.407 line through 179 trips to the plate. He has popped six home runs and swiped eight bases, making him one of the team’s more productive all-around position players. He’s in the final guaranteed year of his deal, and the club holds a $17MM option on his services for 2023 with a $1MM buyout.
With Segura out, second base seems likely to fall to a combination of rookie Bryson Stott and utilityman Johan Camargo for the time being. The former is one of the top young players in the Phillies’ system, but he’s struggled to a .123/.179/.151 line through his first 78 MLB plate appearances. Stott has hit very well in the minors and the Phils no doubt anticipate better results at the big league level, but he also only has 19 games of Triple-A experience under his belt.
Camargo has a much larger body of work in the majors. He’s a versatile infield defender with decent contact skills from both sides of the plate, but he’s not offered much in the way of offensive production since a strong 2018 season with the division-rival Braves. Camargo hit .212/.260/.361 in just shy of 400 trips to the plate between 2019-21, and the Braves cut him loose at the end of last season. He signed a one-year deal with Philly over the winter and has a .248/.318/.350 mark in 40 games.
The Phillies also have 25-year-old Nick Maton on the 40-man roster. The left-handed hitter posted a .256/.323/.385 line through his first 131 big league plate appearances last season. He’s yet to play in the majors this year, though he was recalled today from Triple-A Lehigh Valley after starting the season with a .241/.360/.462 line there. Prospect Luis Garcia, who has yet to reach Double-A, is the only other primary infielder on the 40-man roster aside from the presumptive starting group of Rhys Hoskins, Alec Bohm and Didi Gregorius.
With Segura facing an extended absence, it’s not of the question the Phils look to the trade market for some additional help. It’s rare to see trades of consequence this early in June, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and his staff could look externally for a more proven solution.
Teams like the Nationals and Reds have virtually no chance of reaching the playoffs this season, and they’ve each got second basemen who are headed for free agency at the end of the year (old friend César Hernández and Brandon Drury, respectively). Seattle’s Adam Frazier could also find himself on the move as an impending free agent, but the M’s aren’t likely to make that kind of deal unless they’re still far out of contention closer to the trade deadline.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Wednesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.