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Rays Add Top Prospect Shane McClanahan To Playoff Roster

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The Rays are adding top left-handed pitching prospect Shane McClanahan to their postseason roster, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. They’ll need to make a 40-man roster move to formally select the 2018 first-rounder’s contract.

McClanahan, 23, was selected with the No. 31 overall pick out of the University of South Florida. He split the 2019 season across three levels — Class-A, Class-A Advanced and Double-A — while pitching to a combined 3.36 ERA with 11.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 0.52 HR/9. He currently ranks 79th on Baseball America’s end-of-season Top 100 prospect rankings and 99th at MLB.com. FanGraphs isn’t quite as bullish, listing him 10th within his own organization.

Armed with an upper-90s heater, a plus breaking ball and a potentially average changeup, McClanahan has the potential to eventually slot into the Rays’ rotation. That almost certainly won’t be his role this postseason, as he’ll likely instead give Kevin Cash a hard-throwing lefty with whom opposing advance scouts may not be especially familiar. MLB.com’s report on McClanahan gives him the upside of a No. 3 starter or better while noting that the effort in his delivery gives some scouts pause in projecting him as a starter. Even if the ’pen is his home in the long run, McClanahan’s power fastball and plus curve give him the tools to serve as a formidable relief weapon with Tampa Bay.

McClanahan won’t gain any big league service time for the days spent on the Rays’ postseason roster, but he’ll be added to the 40-man roster sooner than was necessary to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft and now firmly put himself in position for a big league opportunity early in the 2021 campaign. The Rays may still want to see McClanahan get some work in Triple-A next season, but a strong showing during a deep postseason run could also force the organization’s hand.

Twins To Add Top Prospect Alex Kirilloff To Playoff Roster

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In a surprise move, the Twins are set to promote top outfield prospect Alex Kirilloff for what would be his MLB debut during the first round of the postseason. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported last night that the move was being discussed, and both Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (Twitter link) hear that Kirilloff is indeed being added to the big league roster. His contract will need to be formally selected, although fellow rookie outfielder Brent Rooker is on the 10-day IL with a season-ending forearm fracture, so he could just be moved to the 45-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Alex Kirilloff | David Dermer-USA TODAY Sports

Kirilloff, 22, was the No. 15 overall pick of the 2016 draft. He missed the 2017 due to Tommy John surgery but cemented himself as one of the game’s top 50 overall prospects when he laid waste to Class-A pitching in his 2018 return. The Pittsburgh native split that season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, posting a combined .348/.392/.578 slash with 20 homers, 44 doubles and seven triples in just 561 plate appearances. He followed that up with a .283/.343/.413 slash that was good for a 121 wRC+ in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Southern League last year.

The move to bring Kirilloff up could very well mean bad news for either Byron Buxton or Josh Donaldson, each of whom has been hobbled by injuries recently. Buxton showed concussion symptoms after being hit in the head by a pitch late last week, while Donaldson has again been dealing with calf issues. Both Buxton and Donaldson worked out with the club yesterday, and manager Rocco Baldelli tabbed it a “relatively good day” for both players.

If and when Kirilloff is added to the roster there’s no guarantee he’ll draw a start in the series. Even if Buxton is sidelined, the club could lean on Eddie Rosario, Jake Cave and Max Kepler across the outfield. Kirilloff, as is the case with that trio, is a left-handed bat, so he wouldn’t even necessarily draw a platoon-based date with Houston lefty Framber Valdez. At the very least, however, he’d give the club an intriguing lefty bat to pinch-hit. Kirilloff has experience at all three outfield positions and at first base as well, so Baldelli could work him into the mix in a variety of ways.

Kirilloff won’t get any big league service time for appearing on the Major League roster in the playoffs, but his promotion only further confirms that he’s on the cusp of an audition as an everyday piece in Minnesota. The only question is just where he’ll slot in. The Twins locked Kepler up on a five-year extension just last year and control Buxton through the 2022 season. Rosario, meanwhile, is only controlled through 2021. Between fellow top 100 prospect Trevor Larnach and the aforementioned Rooker, Minnesota is well stocked with corner outfield bats that are MLB-ready or quite close to it.

Wilmer Font Elects Free Agency

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Sept. 29: Font rejected the outright assignment in favor of free agency, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. He’d have had the right to do so after the postseason anyhow, barring a surprise addition back onto the roster.

Sept. 28: Blue Jays righty Wilmer Font cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster, per the transactions log at MLB.com. Font remains in the club’s 60-man player pool, however, and because he was on the team’s initially listed playoff player pool, he’d be eligible to pitch in the postseason should injuries prompt a need to select him back to the 40-man roster. That’s assuming Font accepts the outright assignment, of course. He does have the right to reject the assignment both by virtue of service time (three-plus years) and having previously been outrighted (back in 2014).

Font, 30, has pitched for five different clubs over the past three seasons, seeing time with each of the Dodgers, Athletics, Mets, Rays and Blue Jays while bouncing around the DFA circuit. He spent all of 2020 with the Jays but was tagged for 18 earned run in just 16 1/3 innings. Eight of those earned runs came in a pair of four-run meltdowns, but Font wasn’t exactly reliable even setting those two drubbings aside. He made 21 relief appearances this season, only three lasting more than an inning, and surrendered runs in nine of them.

Font has above-average velocity and solid spin rates on his heater and hook, all of which has contributed to five clubs rolling the dice on him since 2018 despite a lack of consistent success. Font did notch a sub-2.00 ERA in 27 frames with the 2018 Rays, but he struggled through 14 innings with Tampa Bay the next season before being cut loose. Overall, he’s pitched 151 2/3 innings in the big leagues but has just a 5.82 ERA and 5.41 FIP to show for his efforts.

Quick Hits: Padres, M’s, Twins, White Sox

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It’s possible Dinelson Lamet or Mike Clevinger could start Game 1 of the Padres’ series against the Cardinals on Wednesday, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. It’s fantastic news for the Padres, who saw Lamet go down with right biceps tightness last Friday, while Clevinger suffered a sprained right elbow last Wednesday. At least in Clevinger’s case, it initially didn’t seem he would be ready for the start of the playoffs, but it now looks as if the Padres’ top starters (along with Zach Davies) will be ready when they begin their first postseason series since 2006.

  • The  Mariners will enter the upcoming offseason with a focus on upgrading their bullpen, per general manager Jerry Dipoto (via Greg Johns of MLB.com). Seattle would “like to add three or four guys down there that can stabilize that group and give us some certainty as we move toward the end of a game,” acccording to Dipoto. The Mariners, who finished with a 27-33 record, kept their long-running playoff drought going this year thanks in part to a weak relief corps that finished last in the AL in ERA (5.92).
  • Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson (calf) and center fielder Byron Buxton (concussion) had “a relatively good day” Monday, according to manager Rocco Baldelli (via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Donaldson battled calf problems in the past, but that didn’t stop the Twins from signing him to a four-year, $92MM contract in the offseason. Further calf troubles have held Donaldson to 28 games this year, though, and he hasn’t played since Sept. 25. Buxton, who also has a history of injuries, only played in 39 regular-season games. However, even without full campaigns from either of those two, the Twins won 36 games en route to a second straight AL Central title. They should be even stronger if the two are ready for playoff action.
  • White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez expects to be available for the team’s Game 1 playoff showdown in Oakland on Tuesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com was among those to tweet. Jimenez hasn’t played since Sept. 24 because of a mid-foot sprain, but when he was able to take the field, he was one of Chicago’s most valuable hitters. As a .296/.332/.559 hitter in 226 plate appearances, the 23-year-old Jimenez helped the White Sox to their first playoff berth since 2008.

Michael Lorenzen Could Start For Reds In 2021

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Having finished the regular season 31-29, the Reds are gearing up for their first playoff appearance since 2013. However the postseason ends for the club, though, it will face important questions in its starting rotation heading into 2021. National League Cy Young candidate Trevor Bauer (whom the Reds unsurprisingly want to re-sign) and fellow right-hander Anthony DeSclafani are due to become free agents in a couple months, so Cincinnati will have questions to address in its starting staff.

Fortunately for the Reds, they do have a few notable starters locked into spots going into next year. Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle and Wade Miley are slated to remain in place, so the Reds are already in better shape than a lot of teams even if they lose Bauer and/or DeSclafani. But if a worst-case scenario happens and both players depart, the Reds are interested in moving reliever Michael Lorenzen to their rotation, Bobby Nightengale of the Cinncinati Enquirer relays.

“He’s put himself in that conversation,” pitching coach Derek Johnson said of Lorenzen. “Where we need to go depends on who is going to come back, who we’re going to get.”

Lorenzen first debuted in 2015, a year in which he amassed 21 starts in 27 appearances, but has largely served as a bullpen piece since then. The 28-year-old has been a useful member of the Reds’ staff throughout his career, having pitched to a 3.97 ERA/4.28 FIP with 7.8 K/9, 3.71 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent groundball rate across 444 1/3 innings. Lorenzen’s also known for his prowess at the plate (at least, compared to most pitchers), but if he moves into a starting role next year and the universal DH sticks around, at-bats could be hard to come by for him.

Previewing The 2020-21 Free Agent Class: Shortstops

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With the 2020 regular season having reached its end, there will be more and more talk about free agency during the upcoming weeks. MLBTR has already taken a look at the catchers and first basemen due to reach the open market soon. We’ll now turn to the shortstop position, where a few household names are without contracts for 2021.

Everyday Shortstops

  • Marcus Semien (30): It has only been a year since Semien was a superstar-level producer, as the A’s shortstop posted 7.6 fWAR in 2019. This regular season didn’t go nearly as well for Semien, though, considering he wound up with a .223/.305/.374 line (good for a wRC+ of 91 – down 46 points from his previous figure) and seven home runs over 237 trips to the plate. Semien’s Statcast numbers, including an expected weighted on-base average that tumbled from .367 to .274, also plummeted. It’s now up in the air whether the low-budget A’s will issue Semien a qualifying offer once the season ends. It’s tough to believe it has even become a question for someone who was coming off an MVP-type campaign around 12 months ago.
  • Didi Gregorius (31): Gregorius starred as a Yankee for much of his Bronx tenure from 2015-19, but he underwent Tommy John surgery before the last of those seasons and missed significant time as a result. Sir Didi also saw his production fall off a cliff when he was healthy enough to play, but after signing a one-year, $14MM contract with the Phillies last winter, he got back on track. Gregorius slashed .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs in 237 plate appearances as a Phillie, and he struck out in a mere 11.8 percent of PA. He’ll be a QO candidate before a potential trip to the market.
  • Andrelton Simmons (31): Left ankle problems have weighed down the defensive virtuoso since 2019, when he also struggled at the plate. But, despite not finishing with a single home run, Simmons rebounded this year with 127 plate appearances of .297/.346/.356 hitting. The Angels will now have to decide whether to hand a QO to Simmons, who was a five-fWAR player as recently as 2018.

Utility Types

  • Freddy Galvis (31): He’s not the most exciting option, but a team could certainly do worse than Galvis. The versatile infielder, who has tons of experience at short and second, turned in another passable regular season at the plate in 2020. The switch-hitting Galvis concluded with a line of .220/.308/.404 and seven HRs across 159 PA. He has recorded a wRC+ of at least 85 three times in a row.
  • Ehire Adrianza (31): Adrianza gave the Twins league-average production on offense a season ago, but he struggled mightily this year, hitting .191/.287/.270 without a home run in 110 PA. He’s not about to hit free agency at an ideal time, then, though that could make the multi-positional Adrianza an intriguing buy-low candidate for many teams.
  • Eric Sogard (35): Like Adrianza, Sogard had a very fine 2019. Sogard signed with the Brewers for $4.5MM after that, but everything went south from there. Along with hitting a woeful .209/281/.278 with one HR across 128 PA, Sogard’s xwOBA dove from .342 to .250 in a one-year span.

Club Option Decisions

  • Jose Iglesias (31): Typically known as a slick fielder with an unimposing bat, Iglesias went wild at the plate this year as a member of the Orioles, winding up with a .373/.400/.556 mark and three homers in 150 PA. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about that performance, including a .407 batting average on balls in play that checks in 99 points above his lifetime BABIP, but Iglesias should still be a useful player in 2021 even if his offense returns to its previous form. Therefore, for $3.5MM (compared to a $500K buyout), it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the O’s exercise their option over Iglesias.

Rockies Designate James Pazos For Assignment

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The Rockies announced that they have designated left-hander James Pazos for assignment.

Pazos, previously with the Yankees, Mariners and Phillies, joined the Rockies in a trade with Philadelphia early in the 2019 season. He has since given the Rockies just 15 2/3 innings of 6.89 ERA pitching with 6.32 K/9 and 5.17 BB/9.

At his peak, Pazos was a threat out of the Mariners’ bullpen from 2017-18. He amassed at least 50 innings in each of those seasons, combining for 103 2/3 frames, and logged a 3.39 ERA with 9.55 K/9 against 3.39 BB/9. Pazos averaged nearly 96 mph on his fastball in the first of those two seasons, but the 29-year-old has seen his velocity fall to the lower 90s since then.

Shed Long Undergoes Surgery On Right Tibia

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The Mariners announced Monday that second baseman Shed Long underwent a “closed reduction intermedullary fixation of his right tibia on Sept. 22 to repair a stress fracture in his right shin.” He’s expected to be able to participate in Spring Training games next year, per the club.

Originally a Reds draftee — 12th round, 2013 — Long rose through the ranks to become one of Cincinnati’s more promising prospects in 2018. The Reds sent Long and a Competitive Balance Round A selection to the Yankees in exchange for Sonny Gray, however, and the Yankees immediately flipped Long to the Mariners for outfield prospect Josh Stowers in what effectively amounted to a three-team swap.

Long, who turned 25 last month, made his big league debut with the Mariners in 2019 and got out to an impressive start, hitting .263/.333/.454 with five homers, a dozen doubles, a triple and three steals through 168 trips to the plate as a rookie. He opened the 2020 season as the everyday option at second base but floundered after a decent start to the season, posting a .451 OPS in his final 24 games.

Overall, through 296 career plate appearances, Long is a .223/.294/.383 hitter. He’s walked in nine percent of his plate appearances but saw his strikeout rate climb from 23.8 percent as a rookie to 29.8 percent in 2020. While Long’s bat-to-ball skills and overall offensive output trended in the wrong direction this year, though, his glovework seemingly ticked up. Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average all agree that Long’s defense at second base improved markedly this season.

Long wouldn’t blame his 2020 struggles on the stress fracture, but both he and Mariners skipper Scott Servais said earlier this month that it’s an injury which had plagued him throughout the season (link via MLB.com’s Greg Johns). Asked whether he debated shutting down earlier than he did, Long told Johns and other reporters: “You tell any person in America or anywhere for that matter that they’re going to be the starting second baseman for any Major League team, that’s not an opportunity that’s always presented to you. No matter what, I’m trying to make the most of this opportunity.”

It’s an admirable take, and Long described himself as a “high pain-tolerance guy.” That pain grew too considerable when he fouled a ball into the area of the stress fracture, however. He’ll now take the offseason to rehab and prep for what will be a more crowded competition at second base in 2020. The Mariners acquired Ty France in the trade that sent Austin Nola to the Padres, and versatile Dylan Moore surely piqued the club’s interest with a big season of his own.

Long has experience in the outfield, logging 130 innings in left field with the Mariners since his debut, and he’s tallied eight innings at third base as well. Each of Long, France and Moore have a minor league option remaining after this season (multiple, in Moore’s case), which would allow the Mariners to get someone regular work in Tacoma if playing time in the big leagues is too hard to come by. If nothing else, that level of depth is a welcome “problem” to consider as Seattle continues to take its next steps in emerging from a rebuilding process.

Athletics To Activate J.B. Wendelken

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Athletics righty J.B. Wendelken will return from the injured list in time to be included on tomorrow’s postseason roster, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland placed the righty on the injured list over the weekend without specifying a reason. While the vague nature of his placement and his quick return suggest that he was very likely on the Covid-19 injured list, that doesn’t mean Wendelken ever tested positive. Players can be placed on the Covid-19 IL for experiencing symptoms or if they come into contact with someone who previously tested positive.

Wendelken, 27, has quietly emerged as a key member of the Oakland relief corps. He’s racked up 25 innings with a 1.80 ERA and 3.07 FIP in 2020, averaging 11.2 strikeouts, 4.0 walks and 0.72 homers per nine innings along the way. Dating back to the 2018 season, Wendelken has given the Athletics 74 1/3 innings with a 2.30 ERA, a 3.03 FIP and well north of a punchout per inning pitched. This year, Wendelken ranks well above average in fastball velocity, fastball spin, average exit velocity, opponents’ hard-hit rate and expected ERA, per Statcast.

A deep bullpen mix will be crucial against a formidable White Sox lineup that features multiple legitimate MVP candidates in Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson. That duo, plus the presence of Eloy Jimenez, make Wendelken all the more important, as he’s held opposing righties to a .205/.266/.319 slash in his career — including a .175/.226/.246 slash in 2020. Wendelken may well relish the chance to the White Sox, who traded him to Oakland in exchange for Brett Lawrie back in the 2015-16 offseason.

That’s not the only notable bit of pitching news for the A’s today. The club announced on Twitter that rookie left-hander Jesus Luzardo will get the nod to start Game 1 of this week’s Wild Card series against the ChiSox, with right-hander Chris Bassitt lined up to take the hill in Game 2. Bassitt, like Wendelken, will be in line to make his postseason debut against the team that traded him to the Athletics.

Injury Notes: Martin, Anderson, Castro, Gio

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A year after a Chris Martin oblique injury altered the course of the postseason for the Braves, Martin is now potentially hobbled once again. Atlanta announced yesterday that Martin exited the season finale with a potential groin injury. Manager Brian Snitker said after the game that Martin will be in for treatment today (link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Snitker said the Braves hoped to get out in front of the issue and hope it to be minor, but for the time being it sounds as though Martin is considered day-to-day. Anything more serious would be a major blow to the Braves’ bullpen, as Martin has been excellent in the first of a two-year, $14MM deal. In 18 frames, the 34-year-old righty allowed just two runs on eight hits with a 20-to-3 K/BB ratio.

A few more health situations to monitor among the game’s 16 playoff clubs…

  • Brett Anderson was forced out of the Brewers’ finale yesterday because of a blister on his left index finger, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. He’d have been in line to start the third game of the Brewers’ Wild Card series, but that availability is now in question. “We’ll figure out how we’re going to line everything up over the next day or so, and we’ll go from there,” was all president of baseball ops David Stearns had to say on the status of the rotation after yesterday’s game, per McCalvy. Anderson, signed to a one-year, $5MM contract over the winter, was a steadying presence in the Milwaukee rotation. He missed time with another blister early on, but his overall 4.21 ERA and 4.38 FIP in 47 frames kept the Brewers in the majority of games he started. Anderson, as always, was a ground-ball machine with terrific control, inducing grounders on 57.7 percent of balls put in play against him and averaging just 1.9 walks per nine innings pitched. He’ll turn 33 this winter, and that performance should ensure that he gets another chance in a rotation somewhere — be it with the Brewers or with another club.
  • Padres catcher Jason Castro took a foul tip the face behind the plate in yesterday’s game and has been diagnosed with a sprained jaw, per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (Twitter link). The good news for Castro and the Friars is that the 33-year-old passed concussion protocols. The club is optimistic that he’ll be good to go when the Wild Card round begins on Wednesday. Castro’s role with the Padres might not be as large as the team envisioned when acquiring him from the Angels, as the club managed to pry Austin Nola away from the Mariners just a day after picking up Castro. The former Astros, Twins and Angels backstop has had just 30 plate appearances with his new club and batted .179/.233/.357 in the process. But Castro is a very well-regarded receiver with strong framing numbers, good patience at the plate and some pop in his bat. He hit .232/.332/.435 in 275 plate appearances with Minnesota last year.
  • White Sox lefty Gio Gonzalez exited yesterday’s game with soreness in his left shoulder and will be evaluated further today, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Initially signed as a veteran option for the back of the rotation that would allow the Sox to ease their young starters into the mix in 2020, Gonzalez has spent more time in the ’pen than as a starter. His last seven outings have come in relief, and although he has a 2.53 ERA in that time (three runs in 10 2/3 frames), Gonzalez has also issued nine free passes and hit two batters in that stretch. Between that shaky showing and this new bout of shoulder troubles, it’s far from certain that he’ll factor into Chicago’s postseason plans.

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