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NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Pirates, Brito, Marin

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We’ll round up some news from the NL Central.

  • Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler sat out yesterday’s intrasquad game with back tightness, manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Anne Rogers of MLB.com). He won’t take part in today’s Summer Camp work, either. Shildt categorized Fowler’s absence as merely precautionary, calling him day-to-day. Also sidelined today is utilityman Brad Miller, who’s dealing with heel soreness, per Rogers. As with Fowler, the Cards appear simply to be exercising an abundance of caution with Miller.
  • Pirates outfielder Sócrates Brito has returned to Summer Camp, tweets Adam Berry of MLB.com. The 27-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19, but fortunately is asymptomatic and has twice tested negative for the virus, per MLB protocols. The out-of-options Brito was once a well-regarded prospect in the Diamondbacks’ system, but he’s not found any MLB success in parts of four seasons. All told, Brito has a career .179/.216/.309 (33 wRC+) line in 218 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. The speedster has been much better in Triple-A, with a .297/.345/.491 slash in over 1500 plate appearances.
  • Pirates first-year pitching coach Oscar Marin brings a newfound fluency in pitch data and biomechanics to the position, players tell Berry. As Steve Adams of MLBTR explored in March, the previous coaching staff- predominantly manager Clint Hurdle and pitching coach Ray Searage- advocated a sinker-heavy diet for most players, even if their pitch movement data suggested a north-south, four-seam heavy approach could’ve been more effective. (Steve’s optimism that Chris Archer, in particular, could rebound with such an approach was dashed by the subsequent revelation that Archer would need surgery due to thoracic outlet syndrome, but the general point remains). While the Hurdle-Searage staff wasn’t entirely averse to data, reliever Nick Burdi tells Berry the club is “starting to utilize (analytical information) a bit more,” under Marin and new manager Derek Shelton.

Orioles Richie Martin Breaks Bone In Wrist

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Orioles infielder Richie Martin has a broken bone in his right wrist, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASN) this morning. It seems he suffered the injury diving into a base during an intrasquad game yesterday. There’s no timetable for Martin’s return, but Dan Connolly of the Athletic tweets that the team expects him to be “out for a while.” He’ll begin the season on the injured list, confirms Joe Trezza of MLB.com (Twitter link).

The first pick in the 2018 Rule V draft, Martin stuck with the Orioles throughout the 2019 season. As with many Rule V selections, he looked overmatched at the plate, hitting just .208/.260/.322 (50 wRC+) in 309 plate appearances. Nevertheless, the Baltimore organization was sufficiently intrigued to carry him on the active roster all season and retain his rights long-term. The club did sign José Iglesias this offseason to solidify shortstop, but Martin looked to have a good chance to break camp with the club as a utility infielder, particularly in the absence of a minor-league season. Dilson Herrera, Andrew Velazquez, Pat Valaika and Stevie Wilkerson are among the other utility options on the O’s player pool.

Hyde also provided updates on a handful of other injured players in camp. Left-hander Ty Blach has some soreness in his elbow and will go for an ominous-sounding “second opinion,” Hyde says (via Kubatko). The former Giant is in camp as a non-roster invitee. Meanwhile, right-handed reliever Dillon Tate has elbow soreness of his own, but he remains day-to-day.

Hyde also acknowledged yesterday (via Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball) the club may be without outfielders Anthony Santander and Dwight Smith, Jr. in the season’s early going. For undisclosed reasons, neither has yet participated in team workouts. Naturally, that will lead to some speculation about COVID-19 protocolos, but it’s possible one or both is dealing with some other issue. Their questionable availability helps to explain the O’s reported interest in free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig, although there’s certainly room on the rather thin roster for Puig even if Santander and Smith return to the field quickly.

Tim Melville Reportedly Nearing Deal With CPBL’s Uni-President Lions

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Former Rockies right-hander Tim Melville is nearing a deal with the Uni-President Lions of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League, per local reports (h/t to CPBL Stats). Colorado released the 30-year-old in May.

Melville has played with seven affiliated organizations (reaching the majors with the Reds, Twins, Padres and Rockies) since entering the pro ranks as a prized high school pitching prospect back in 2008. He’s had some high minors success in recent years, but hasn’t clicked at the MLB level. In 48 career innings over 13 appearances, Melville has a 6.75 ERA/7.63 FIP.

Melville was sidelined by a cracked rib this spring, but it fortunately seems that’s behind him. As CPBL Stats notes, he’ll need to wait out a 14-day quarantine, mandatory for all foreign travelers arriving in Taiwan, before he’s able to take the field.

Latest On Diamondbacks, COVID-19

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The Diamondbacks have been among the teams who have been most impacted by COVID-19 cases, with multiple players testing positive over the last few weeks.  That list added another name today, as manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan) that another player on the D’Backs 40-man roster has tested positive.

It remains to be seen if that player’s identity will become public knowledge, given the league policies against revealing COVID-19 cases unless the player gives his consent.  We have already learned that Silvino Bracho, Seth Beer, Junior Guerra, and Kole Calhoun are among the D’Backs players who tested positive, and the good news is that the latter three players have since tested negative and are at Summer Camp.  (Bracho’s status is unknown, though he wasn’t expected to be in camp anyway after being placed on the 60-day injured list following a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.)

Calhoun discussed his return with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and other reporters, saying he was mostly asymptomatic — perhaps due to some hypochondria, as Piecoro writes that Calhoun “believes that at one point he managed to trick himself into thinking there was something wrong with his sense of smell.”  The lack of symptoms underlined Calhoun’s confusion about his health, as he received alternating results on a number of different COVID-19 tests.

Before posting the two negative tests required by MLB protocols to return to camp, Calhoun said his previous tests went “positive, negative, positive, negative, positive, negative….[The doctor] said at the end of an infection they’re finding some people who still show up positive.  It’s a matter of the sample that they get and did the virus attach itself to those cells.”

While circumstances like Calhoun’s are rather rare, it still underlines the difficulty that Major League Baseball (and society at large) will have in properly determining whether or not individuals are completely free and clear of the virus, given all that is still unknown about COVID-19.  As it pertains to the 2020 season, the nightmare scenario would be for a player to deliver a multiple negative test results but still be an asymptomatic carrier, thus running the risk of unknowingly infecting numerous teammates, coaches, and opponents.

In terms of being ready for the start of the season, Calhoun said “I don’t feel like I’m too far behind,” so there’s a chance he could line up as Arizona’s right fielder on Opening Day.  Calhoun signed a two-year, $16MM free agent deal with the Diamondbacks over the winter, though he’ll only receive a prorated portion of the $6MM salary he was originally slated to receive in 2020.

Starling Marte was also at Arizona’s camp on Friday, after missing the previous four days for an undisclosed reason.  Amidst coronavirus speculation, Marte told Buchanan and other reporters that the absence was due to “waiting for results” from a test, and Marte was cleared to participate once those results finally arrived.

Joey Gallo Joins Rangers Camp After Negative COVID-19 Tests

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Joey Gallo joined his Rangers teammates in Summer Camp activities Friday after the slugger passed two COVID-19 tests.  Gallo originally tested positive for the coronavirus back on June 29, albeit in somewhat unusual circumstances.

As Gallo told the Associated Press and other media, he twice tested positive for the virus after taking the saliva test, while a swab test in between those two positive results produced a negative diagnosis.  He never had any symptoms, leaving Gallo rather unsure as to whether or not he actually had COVID-19, and he said he is “now on edge” whenever he has to take another saliva test.

Regardless, Gallo was given the green light for Summer Camp activities in the wake of his two-week quarantine and subsequent negative testing, putting him potentially on track to be part of the Rangers’ Opening Day lineup.  Texas begins play on July 24, making it almost exactly one year since Gallo’s last appearance in a big league game, as a fractured hamate bone resulted in the end of his 2019 season.

Between the hamate fracture and an oblique strain, Gallo was limited to only 70 games, though he made the most of his playing time by hitting .253/.389/.598 with 22 homers in 297 plate appearances.  This performance earned Gallo his first All-Star appearance.

Red Sox Add Mike Kickham To Player Pool

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The Red Sox announced that left-hander Mike Kickham has been added to the team’s player pool.  Boston now has 50 players in their pool, ten shy of the 60-man maximum.

Kickham joined the Sox on a minors contract last December, and is looking to make it back to the big leagues for the first time since the 2014 season.  The southpaw posted a 10.98 ERA over 30 1/3 innings for the Giants in 2013-14 and then bounced around the minors and the independent leagues.  Kickham’s journeyman sojourn brought him to the Cubs, Mariners, Rangers, a return stint with the Giants, and (for the past three seasons) the Marlins’ farm system.  A return call to the majors hasn’t come despite some decent numbers, as Kickham has a 4.06 ERA, 2.19 K/BB rate, and 7.8 K/9 over 835 1/3 career minor league frames.

Given the uncertain nature of Boston’s pitching, Kickham might have a decent shot at cracking the Sox roster.  Staff ace Eduardo Rodriguez and left-handers Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor are are sidelined after positive COVID-19 tests, plus Collin McHugh won’t be fully ready to pitch by Opening Day.  This creates plenty of opportunity for a pitcher like Kickham to earn a roster spot as the Red Sox try to figure out how they’ll approach this dearth of arms.

Scott Kingery Cleared To Join Phillies’ Camp

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Scott Kingery took part in the Phillies’ Summer Camp activities today, his first time taking the field since a positive COVID-19 diagnosis last month.  Kingery discussed his condition with Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer and other reporters, detailing the multitude of unpleasant symptoms associated with his battle with the coronavirus.

“It’s not just a two-week thing.  I think there’s some stuff with the testing that [shows] the virus can stay in your body for a lot longer than we think,” Kingery said.  “Because of all the protocols you have to go through, it’s been about a month-long thing.  That’s going to be half of the season if you get it during the season.”

In Kingery’s case, he suffered from such varied problems as headaches, fever, chills, fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of both his sense of smell and sense of taste over the course of several weeks.  Once this ordeal had passed and Kingery went 72 hours without any symptoms, Kingery tested negative on a pair of COVID-19 tests and an electrocardiogram before being fully cleared to be part of the Phillies’ camp.

The Phillies have been perhaps the hardest-hit of any team by the coronavirus, with at least seven players and multiple coaches all held out of camp due to either contracting the virus themselves, or coming into contact with someone who did have the virus.  Of that group, Aaron Nola and Adam Haseley weren’t COVID-19 positive themselves, while Kingery, Tommy Hunter, and Mikie Mahtook tested positive.  Bench coach Rob Thomson also tested positive but was cleared to resume his duties today in camp, Lauber wrotes in a separate piece.

It isn’t yet certain if Kingery will be ready for the Opening Day roster, given that he only just began proper baseball activities alongside his teammates.  Phillies manager Joe Girardi noted that the team has a number of veteran infielders (Josh Harrison, Neil Walker, Logan Forsythe) on hand who “give you a lot of options” should Kingery need some extra time to ramp up.

“Scott’s health is the most important thing, and I don’t want him to end up on the [injured list] because his legs weren’t ready or he’s still feeling a little bit weak.  We’ve got to make sure that he’s really good to go,” Girardi said.

After working as a super-utility player in his first two MLB seasons, Kingery was expected to serve primarily as Philadelphia’s regular second baseman this season.  Jean Segura is moving over to third base to accommodate the newly-signed Didi Gregorius, while Harrison, Walker, and Forsythe are fighting for bench roles and could serve as extra depth all over the infield.  This could include second base in the event of a Kingery absence, or if Kingery is available but is being used as a center fielder.

Cole Hamels Uncertain For Braves’ Opening Day Roster?

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Triceps tendinitis prevented Cole Hamels from throwing a side session today, Braves manager Brian Snitker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Gabriel Burns and other reporters.  While Snitker gave no indication that Hamels wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season, the timeline cited by the skipper would seem to leave things cut very close for Hamels to make the initial 30-man roster.

“I think we’re probably a week away from seeing where things are [with Hamels].  He’s day to day now as far as when he gets back on the mound,” Snitker said.  “His shoulder feels great.  He said he’s going through normal things he has before in spring training.  We’re probably a week away from seeing where he’s actually going to be when this thing starts.”

Since Hamels has yet to throw a simulated game or throw to live hitters, he’ll have less than a week before the Braves’ July 24th opener to get properly ramped up, going by Snitker’s “probably a week away” assessment.  Hamels could be pushed back to the fifth starter’s role to give him more time to prepare, and he wouldn’t have to pitch for very long, as the club is planning to use a piggyback strategy with all of its rotation — the starter would throw around three innings before being replaced by a reliever — in the season’s early days.  However, even if Hamels’ workload was limited, the team might also decide that it isn’t worth having him on the mound at all until he is is completely ready, so as to avoid further injury.

Ironically, Hamels was on pace to miss the original Opening Day, as shoulder issues kept him out of Spring Training prior to the league shutdown.  He had recovered from those problems and was expected to be ready to go for the second opener prior to this latest setback.  Hamels signed a one-year, $18MM deal with the Braves over the offseason to add some veteran experience and potential upside to a young Atlanta rotation.  With Sean Newcomb looking like the favorite to win the normal fifth starter spot, Josh Tomlin or Kyle Wright look like the top choices to fill in for Hamels if he does miss time at the start of the season.

Luis Urias, Angel Perdomo Test Positive For COVID-19

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TODAY: Urias and Perdomo were placed on the Brewers’ injured list, the team announced.

JULY 6: Brewers infielder Luis Urias and left-hander Angel Perdomo both tested positive for COVID-19 prior to intake, manager Craig Counsell told reporters this morning (Twitter links via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Both consented to their diagnoses becoming public. Urias and Perdomo are thankfully asymptomatic at this point and are going through the league’s COVID-19 protocols. They’ll need a pair of negative tests, separated by at least 24 hours, before they’re able to join Brewers Summer Camp.

There’s no firm timetable on Urias or Perdomo returning to the team, though Counsell estimated at least 10 days would be necessary. That’s of particular note for Urias, who was contending for a starting job in the infield and already had his initial Spring Training wiped out by a fractured hamate bone that required surgical repair.

The overall well-being of the 23-year-old Urias and the 26-year-old Perdomo is certainly the greater focus, but it’s now possible that they’ll only have a week or so to ramp up to the season. The potential impact that would have on Urias’ role, at least early on, is readily apparent. It’s likely that former top prospect Orlando Arcia would shoulder the lion’s share of the workload at shortstop should Urias be unavailable or limited out of the gate. As for Perdomo, he wasn’t in the club’s initial player pool but seems likely to be viewed as a left-handed depth piece who could make his MLB debut in 2020, assuming a full recovery.

Reds Sign Draft Pick Jackson Miller

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8:12PM: Miller will receive a $1.29MM bonus, as per Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline (Twitter link).  This puts the Reds just under their bonus pool limit with $6,100 to spare.

6:02PM: The Reds have completed their draft signings by reaching an agreement with 65th overall pick Jackson Miller.  The 18-year-old catcher announced the news himself on his Twitter feed.

Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, though the 65th overall pick comes with a slot value of $1,025,100.  Since the Reds have already signed five of the other six members of their draft class, they have plenty of room remaining ($1,296,100) in their $8,552,100 draft pool to give Miller an above-slot bonus.  Cincinnati could even offer more than that $1,296,100 figure if the team doesn’t mind paying a 75 percent tax on the overage for exceeding the draft pool limit, though topping the pool by more than five percent would be penalized with the loss of a future first-round pick.

The Athletic’s Keith Law described Miller as having “an advanced feel to hit,” albeit without yet much power in his left-handed swing.  Law ranked Miller 62nd on his list of 2020 draft prospects, with other pundits like Baseball America (99th), MLB Pipline (104th), and Fangraphs (123rd) not being quite as high on the 18-year-old.  As a catcher, the scouting reports noted some room for improvement, but plenty of promise for Miller to become at least an average defensive backstop.  Miller had committed to Wake Forest, but he’ll now begin his pro career as the Reds’ potential catcher of the future.

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