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NL Notes: Camp Delays, Dodgers, Cardinals, Gallegos, Health Updates, Senzel, Hamels

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Expect delayed arrivals to camp to become somewhat of a recurring story early in training camp as players attempt to clear the many hurdles to return to play. The Dodgers, for instance, will be missing a few players at the start of camp, though manager Dave Roberts wasn’t able to name specific players, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Likewise, the Cardinals will be missing reliever Giovanny Gallegos, who is delayed in his return from Mexico, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The Cardinals have not given a specific reason for his delay, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon. Rather than speculate on reasons for the holdup, let’s check in on some health updates from around the league…

  • Nick Senzel’s had a banged-up rookie season, appearing in 104 games with a .256/.315/.427 slash – but he’s ready to go for his sophomore campaign. His first season ended early when a torn labrum required Senzel to get shoulder surgery. That injury is fully recovered now, but only just now, as Senzel reported having throwing pain as recently as a month ago, per Bobby Nightengale of The Enquirer. Senzel may not have a steady defensive home when play begins, but he figures to be an everyday presence in the Reds’ lineup regardless, especially with the DH now in play.
  • Cole Hamels was never going to get a full Spring Training, not once a shoulder injury took him out of commission for a few months. The 36-year-old knows that the four-week leadup to the newly-rebooted 2020 season isn’t exactly the same, not at his age, but he plans to be ready to contribute, per Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Said Hamels: “It’s not as if I’m going to go out there expecting to pitch seven to nine innings. There’s going to be a gradual buildup process, and there’s going to be guys who will be able to piggyback on you, like in a high school or a college season. All that really matters is putting up zeroes. If you can put up two or put up five zeroes, that’s really helping the team, more so than (other pitchers) having to pick up and try to eat a lot of innings.” 

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2020 Amateur Draft Signings: 7/3/20

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Here are the latest draft deals …

  • The Dodgers have agreed to a $1,622,500 bonus with third-rounder Jake Vogel, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. That’s over a million north of the slot value of the 100th overall pick, so clearly the high-school outfielder represented a draft priority for his home-state club. Vogel had been ticketed for UCLA. Keith Law of The Athletic was most bullish on his outlook, rating him the 77th overall prospect. Law emphasized Vogel’s speed, defense, and quality hitting outlook while noting that he’ll likely always be limited by a lack of power.
  • Likewise, the Indians struck a big deal with a California outfielder plucked in the third round. Petey Halpin inked for $1.525MM, well north of the $610,800 pool allocation. He had been slated to play at the University of Texas. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs placed Halpin as the 59th-best prospect in the draft class while Law ranked him 50th. While there’s obviously a good deal of talent, it seems scouts are still a bit unsure exactly how Halpin will develop in the long run. Law calls him a “high school outfielder who might move to a corner but doesn’t have clear corner-outfielder power.”
  • A true two-way prospect, second-round draft choice Casey Schmitt has agreed to a $1,147,500 bonus with the Giants, Callis reports on Twitter. The San Diego State product is said to have possible routes to the majors as a power-hitting third baseman and/or solid relief arm. Baseball America ranked him 76th overall on its board. Also landing with the Giants is supplemental second-rounder Nick Swiney. Callis tweets that he’s set to earn $1.2MM ($976,700 slot value). Law was the high man by Swiney by a fair sight, grading him the 22nd overall talent in the draft pool. It’s all a question whether you believe in the strides Swiney showed before the 2020 collegiate campaign was cut short.

Luis Madero Tests Positive For COVID-19

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Giants right-hander Luis Madero has tested positive for COVID-19, as Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic was among those to cover via Twitter. He consented to the release of the medical information.

Madero, 23, was claimed and outrighted back in the pre-coronavirus days of Spring Training. That familiar grab-and-stash roster tactic has worked for the Giants since Farhan Zaidi came to town, though it’s expected to be utilized less frequently in 2020.

The Giants previously revealed that outfielder Hunter Bishop had tested positive as well. He’d have been a part of the 60-man player pool. Otherwise, Madero is the only player that was identified as being infected upon reporting for the launch of Summer Camp.

Fortunately, there’s no indication at this point that Madero is dealing with particularly concerning symptoms. He’ll need both to recover physically and register two negative tests before he’s able to get back to the 60-man activities.

Madero likely didn’t have a real shot at earning a big-league gig out of the gates, but he surely could be a candidate for a chance at the majors at some point this season if he performs well. He has at times looked like a legitimate MLB prospect, but has also endured some rough patches. One of those came last year at Double-A, where he worked to a 5.72 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 89 2/3 innings.

Cleveland Indians To Consider Name Change

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In the wake of the potential forthcoming name change of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians appear to be approaching a reckoning of their own. The organization issued a statement on the matter, first disclosing it to Zack Meisel and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) and then publishing it on Twitter.

While the “Indians” moniker hasn’t drawn quite as much ire as the Washington football club’s nickname, there has been pressure on the baseball club for quite some time. Much of the scorn focused on the team’s “Chief Wahoo” logo, which was finally sidelined for its offensive depiction of Native Americans.

No doubt the Cleveland organization saw the writing on the wall and recognized the merits of moving now. High-visibility corporate pressure finally forced the hand of the long-time D.C. NFL institution, but the obvious financial motivation left the club looking all the more craven.

The Indians attempted to walk a line in their official statement, hinting that the name change was already under consideration while also acknowledging that the immediate impetus was tied to “recent social unrest”:

“We have had ongoing discussions organizationally on these issues. The recent social unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice. With that in mind, we are committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name.”

There’s no commitment just yet, but The Athletic cites “a source familiar with the club’s thinking” for the proposition that the organization is “prepared to consider changing the team name more seriously than they have before.”

Certainly, it would be difficult to walk this back now and hang onto the moniker for the long haul. Taking this approach does perhaps have the advantage of buying some time and avoiding the sudden crunch facing the Washington football club. It sounds as if the Cleveland organization will launch a process of some kind to make a final determination on the old nickname and a potential replacement.

Tommy Pham Tests Positive For COVID-19

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The Padres announced today that outfielder Tommy Pham has tested positive for the coronavirus, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was among those to cover on Twitter. Pham authorized release of his personal medical information. Fortunately, he’s said to be asymptomatic at the moment.

Pham, 32, has yet to suit up for a regular season game with the Padres. He was a key offseason acquisition for the San Diego organization, which is hopeful that Pham will continue to perform like the under-the-radar star he has been in recent years.

It’s good that the Padres were able to catch Pham’s condition before he entered the clubhouse and came into direct contact with all his teammates. He’ll be quarantined for the time being to avoid any possibility of transmission.

Hopefully, Pham will continue to experience no or limited symptoms. But in order to get into Summer Camp and get ready for the season, he’ll have to register negative for COVID-19 in two consecutive tests. That could well delay his availability for the coming season.

The Friars are also awaiting the arrival of closer Kirby Yates, another key piece of the picture in 2020. He is said to be dealing with a “non-COVID-related family issue,” but the expectation is that he’ll be able to get to work in the coming days.

MLB & MLBPA Announce Initial Coronavirus Testing Results

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MLB and the MLB Players Association have jointly announced the results of the initial round of coronavirus testing. The league says that 31 players and seven staff members tested positive out of 3,185 total people tested.

At first glance, the ~1.2% rate of positivity is lower than might have been feared. It does not appear that any previously identified cases are included in the numbers, but the results seem generally promising regardless.

That said, the results also highlight the ongoing challenges. Nineteen of thirty teams had at least one positive test. While the idea was to catch any incoming infections before they could spread, that ratio goes to show the extent to which the virus could yet permeate the league if it’s able to gain any footholds.

Clearly, baseball isn’t out of the woods yet when it comes to successfully staging a 2020 season. But it was possible to imagine a world where a large volume of positive tests would’ve thrown up an immediate roadblock.

There are some caveats here. It is not entirely clear, but stands to reason that the league was testing for active infection. Some players may already have recovered from an infection. When comparing to nationwide numbers, it’s important to understand the distinction. Then there’s the fact that all MLB participants just undertook travel, which could pose risk of later-emerging infections that weren’t yet evident upon arrival.

Having a reasonably manageable starting point certainly represents an important first step. But the real work is yet to come. Preventing the introduction of new sources of infection will require near-universal precautions for the duration of the season.

Yordan Alvarez Not Yet In Astros Camp

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Young Astros star Yordan Alvarez was notably absent from Astros camp today, though the precise reason isn’t yet clear. Manager Dusty Baker told reporters that he’s unable to provide further indication due to “league mandates.” Jake Kaplan of The Athletic was among those covering the chat (Twitter thread).

It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that Alvarez has tested positive for COVID-19, but that’s not necessarily the case. He may be held up for different reasons entirely. Even if the delay is related to the coronavirus, that doesn’t mean he has been infected.

Even if Alvarez is dealing with a health problem, it may still be hoped that he can return to action sooner than later. Whatever the case, Baker noted he’s hopeful that Alvarez will be able to report within a matter of days.

Alvarez, who recently celebrated his 23rd birthday, is expected to anchor the middle of the Astros’ already star-studded lineup after his mammoth debut season in 2019. He had dealt with knee issues last year and this spring, but the hope was that the long layoff would provide a respite.

GM James Click said just this morning that he believed Alvarez was ready for full-speed participation. The new top baseball operations exec did also note that some players and staffers in the organization had tested positive for coronavirus, though he did not offer specifics.

Obviously, we’ll all hope that Alvarez is able to resolve whatever issues he needs and report to Summer Camp sooner than later.

Welington Castillo Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Veteran catcher Welington Castillo has opted out of the 2020 season, Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Friday (Twitter link via the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty). Castillo inked a minor league contract with the Nationals back in January and was originally announced as part of the team’s 60-man player pool. However, it appears he’ll opt not to play during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Castillo likely wouldn’t have opened the year in the Majors, barring an injury to Yan Gomes or Kurt Suzuki, but as a 10-year Major League veteran, he was quite likely the first line of defense should either Gomes or Suzuki need to miss time. With Castillo forgoing the season, he won’t be paid and won’t accrue service time. Catchers Raudy Read, Tres Barrera and Jakson Reetz are all still in the Nationals’ 60-man pool.

The 33-year-old Castillo wrapped up a two-year deal with the White Sox last year. Chicago inked him at a $15.5MM total over two years, and while he hit reasonably well in limited action in 2018 (.259/.304/.406), his 2019 season was the worst of his career at the plate. In 251 plate appearances, Castillo mustered just a .209/.267/.417 slash.

Castillo becomes the third member of the Nationals organization to sit out the 2020 season, joining first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and right-hander Joe Ross. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end and likely return to the open market in search of another minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. In 2701 career plate appearances, Castillo is a .254/.313/.426 hitter with 98 home runs.

Rangers’ Brett Martin Tests Positive For COVID-19

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Rangers left-hander Brett Martin tested positive for COVID-19, the team told reporters Friday (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). It’s also notable that Martin is diabetic — although to this point the Rangers have thankfully indicated only mild symptoms for the southpaw. The team also has three minor league trainers conducting contact tracing for Martin, who arrived for summer camp earlier this week, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

As with Delino DeShields Jr. and the Indians this morning, it seems quite likely that Martin gave his consent for his diagnosis to be made public. Player cases aren’t to be disclosed to the media or public without the individuals consent.

Martin, 25, made his Major League debut with the Rangers last year and pitched 62 1/3 innings across 51 appearances (49 out of the bullpen). In that time, he worked to a 4.76 ERA but a more encouraging 3.65 FIP with a strong 62-to-18 K/BB ratio. If he’s able to get back to full strength without lingering complications, Martin would quite likely be in line for a relatively prominent bullpen role — particularly given this year’s expanded rosters. He’ll need a pair of negative tests with at least 24 hours between them before he is medically cleared to return.

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