Wei-Yin Chen Signs With NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines
It’s been nearly a year since veteran left-hander Wei-Yin Chen pitched in a professional game, but the former Orioles and Marlins hurler will be returning to the mound with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The Marines announced that they’ve signed the 35-year-old southpaw for the remainder of the 2020 season (hat tip to NPB Tracker’s Patrick Newman, on Twitter). He’s currently going through a two-week quarantine before joining the Marines, per Focus Taiwan. He’ll be formally introduced at an Oct. 5 press conference.
Chen had hoped to return to the big leagues in 2020, signing a minor league deal with the Mariners after being released by the Marlins following the 2019 season. Seattle cut him loose in June, however, prior to the return-to-play agreement between MLB and the MLBPA. The Taiwanese lefty wasn’t able to latch on with another MLB organization, so he’ll instead return to NPB, where he starred for the Chunichi Dragons for five seasons prior to his original MLB deal with the Orioles. In five seasons with the Dragons, Chen logged a 2.59 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9, totaling 650 2/3 frames along the way.
That strong showing caught the eye of then-Baltimore GM Dan Duquette and his staff, who inked Chen to a three-year deal worth a bit less than $12MM (plus a club option for a fourth year). That investment paid off in spades, as Chen emerged as a fixture in the O’s rotation over the subsequent four years. From 2012-15, Chen turned in 706 2/3 innings of 3.72 ERA ball with a 4.14 FIP. His 7.0 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 marks were near-mirror images of his strikeout and walk rates in NPB. Chen averaged 29 starts and 177 innings per season in his four-year run with the Orioles, adding three postseason starts along the way (two very good ones and one rather poor outing against the Tigers).
Weighted metrics like ERA+ and ERA- painted Chen about 10 percent better than the league average in that time, given his tough home park, and he parlayed that quality run into a hefty five-year, $80MM deal with the Marlins. Miami lived to regret the deal, as the highly durable Chen was sidelined by an elbow sprain by mid-July in the first year of the contract (2016). He was limited to 33 innings in 2017 as he battled a UCL injury that ultimately did not require surgery. Chen returned to the Miami rotation in 2018 but struggled to a 4.79 ERA through 26 starts. He spent the 2019 campaign in the team’s bullpen but posted a 6.59 ERA, which led to an offseason DFA and his eventual release.
That release proved to be a blessing in disguise for Chen and a financial nightmare for the Marlins. Because he was cut loose in November — well before there was any talk of a shortened season — Chen is owed the entirety of his $22MM salary in 2020 rather than the prorated portion of that sum. His new deal with the Marines will tack about $290K onto that sum, per Nikkan Sports.
It’s always possible that Chen could make his way back to the Major Leagues if he’s able to revitalize his career in Japan, although given that he’s now 35 and a half decade removed from MLB success, that seems like a long shot. If Chen’s time as a Major Leaguer is through, he’ll wrap things up with a 59-51 record, a 4.18 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over the life of 1064 2/3 innings in the bigs.
Chen certainly didn’t justify the Marlins’ weighty investment in his left arm, but he was also an overwhelming bargain for the Orioles, who paid him just shy of $15.5MM in his four years there. It wasn’t a strong finish for Chen, but his overall body of work in the big leagues was quite solid — particularly given that half of it was spent in the AL East and pitching his home games at Camden Yards.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/21/20
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Marlins selected right-hander Brett Eibner before their loss to the Braves on Monday, per a team announcement. They also optioned right-hander Robert Dugger and lefty Braxton Garrett. The Marlins signed Eibner, a former outfielder, to a minor league contract at the beginning of August, and he has been on and off their 40-man roster since then. Eibner made two appearances for Miami earlier this season and combined for 1 1/3 innings of three-earned run ball.
Quick Hits: Tigers, Cubs, Red Sox, Phillies, Brewers
The Tigers suddenly have a managerial opening now that Ron Gardenhire decided to retire Saturday after almost three full seasons on the job. Gardenhire oversaw teams that were in full rebuilding mode, evidenced in part by the 132-241 record the Tigers compiled under him, but they’re seemingly moving back toward respectability now and may want to push for contention sometime soon. As such, the Tigers are looking for an experienced skipper to replace Gardenhire, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic hears (subscription link). Former Astros manager A.J. Hinch and ex-Braves/Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez could be among the candidates. Hinch has been out of baseball since the league suspended him last January as a result of the Astros’ sign-stealing violations, though he’ll be eligible to return in 2021. Gonzalez was a candidate for the Tigers’ managerial job before it went to Gardenhire in 2017.
More from around the league…
- The Cubs will activate left-hander Jose Quintana to start against the Pirates on Tuesday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets. The team has been without Quintana since he went on the IL on Sept. 2 with left lat inflammation. It’s the second IL stint of the year for Quintana, who began the season on the shelf with a left thumb issue. He debuted Aug. 25 and has since made two appearances, during which he combined for six innings of four-run ball.
- Right-hander Nick Pivetta will make his Red Sox debut Tuesday with a start against the Orioles, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays. Pivetta, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Phillies last month in the teams’ trade centering on relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree, pitched to a 5.50 ERA/4.64 FIP in 396 1/3 innings from 2017-20.
- Meanwhile, the Phillies announced that Hembree’s heading to the 10-day injured list with a right elbow strain, which could put his season in jeopardy. Hembree has struggled mightily as a member of the Phillies, with whom he has yielded 13 earned runs on 17 hits in 9 1/3 innings.
- Brewers catcher Manny Pina will start baseball activities next week, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. That may not help the Brewers this year, as they’re no lock for the playoffs at 26-26. They lost Pina for the regular season to a right knee injury Aug. 28, at which point he was hitting .231/.333/.410 in 45 plate appearances. The Brewers have since turned to Jacob Nottingham as their top complement to Omar Narvaez behind the plate.
Arizona Fall League Cancels Season
As recently as June, the concept of an expanded Arizona Fall League was under consideration by Major League Baseball. But MLB has now decided to cancel the AFL’s 2020 season, Josh Norris of Baseball America reports.
The AFL is the latest baseball league to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has cut this year’s major league season of 162 games to 60 and has canceled the minor league campaign.
Because there’s no minor league ball, teams have placed many of their best young players in their 60-man pool and allowed them to train at their alternate sites. Some of those players will enter their teams’ playoff bubbles or join the fall instructional league. That’s among the reasons there will not be an AFL season this year, per Norris, who adds that MLB had concerns over whether the AFL’s usual sites would have been equipped to handle all of the players, coaches and staff members on each team during a pandemic.
For now, the hope is that the coronavirus will not prevent the 2021 AFL season from occurring. The league’s planning on a normal year then with six teams of 35 players apiece, according to Norris.
Braves Place Cole Hamels On 10-Day IL
The Braves have placed southpaw Cole Hamels on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder issues, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report. Hamels will not be available for the postseason, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets.
Then coming off their second straight NL East title, the Braves signed Hamels to a one-year, $18MM contract last winter with the hope the longtime workhorse – previously with the Phillies, Rangers and Cubs – would fortify their rotation. Instead, though, because of various arm problems, Hamels only made one start (on Sept. 16) and threw 3 1/3 innings in a Braves uniform under his current deal.
Hamels’ health woes, not to mention the issues Mike Soroka (Achilles) and Mike Foltynewicz (performance) have faced, have made this a less-than-ideal season for Atlanta’s rotation. To the team’s credit, though, it’s on its way to another division title. The Braves lead the NL East by three games, but even if they hang on, they’ll enter the playoffs dealing with questions in their rotation beyond newfound ace Max Fried and standout rookie Ian Anderson.
Hamels, 36, is set to enter free agency off the worst season of his career during the upcoming winter. While Hamels is a 10-time 30-game starter, an eight-time 200-inning hurler and someone who has logged a 3.43 ERA/3.68 FIP in the majors, a high-paying deal figures to be out of the question in the wake of what has been a nightmarish year from a health standpoint.
Rockies Place Nolan Arenado On IL, Release Wade Davis
The Rockies announced that they’ve placed third baseman Nolan Arenado on the 10-day injured list with left AC joint inflammation and a left shoulder bone bruise, released reliever Wade Davis and recalled outfielder Sam Hilliard.
This will end the 2020 campaign for Arenado, a five-time All-Star who posted the worst numbers of his career this year. In fairness to Arenado, he only played 48 games and accrued 201 plate appearances, but no one expected the big-hitting 29-year-old to slash .253/.303/.434 – way down from the .295/.351/.546 line he owned entering the season.
It’s now possible Arenado has taken his last at-bat with the Rockies, as his dissatisfaction with team management was well-documented last offseason and may not have gotten any better since. Arenado has made it clear that he wants to win, but at 23-29, the Rockies are in line to miss the playoffs for a second straight season. Of course, from their standpoint, there may not be any incentive to move Arenado off such a disappointing showing by the 29-year-old. Regardless, 2021 could be the last guaranteed season for Arenado, whom the Rockies signed to an eight-year, $234MM contract before 2019. That deal includes a post-2021 opt-out clause, though Arenado may be leery of exercising it in and leaving so much cash on the table.
Davis, meanwhile, became a DFA casualty on Saturday, ending a horrid stint in Colorado for the former lights-out right-hander. On an annual basis, Davis became the highest-paid reliever ever when the Rockies signed him to a three-year, $52MM contract before 2018. Unfortunately for him and the Rockies, though, his tenure with the club couldn’t have gone much worse. Now 35, Davis mustered a miserable 6.49 ERA and lost about 2.5 mph on his fastball in 112 1/3 innings as a Rockie.
Pirates Select Jared Oliva
The Pirates have selected outfielder Jared Oliva‘s contract, per Adam Berry of MLB.com. They placed fellow outfielder Jason Martin on the 10-day injured list with an upper back strain and moved reliever Yacksel Rios to the 45-day IL in corresponding moves.
Oliva, who will turn 25 in November, could now get his first chance in the majors. The Pirates chose Oliva in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, and he made his Double-A debut last season. Oliva impressed at that level with a .277/.352/.398 line, six home runs and 38 stole bases across 507 plate appearances. He now ranks among the Pirates’ top 25 prospects at FanGraphs (No. 9), MLB.com (10) and Baseball America (23), with FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writing last February that Oliva’s “on-base ability and speed might enable him to be a center field regular.”
The bottom-feeding Pirates need as many reasons for hope as possible, so Oliva could provide some reason for optimism as a rough season draws to a conclusion. The club’s outfield ranks 29th in the league in WAR (minus-1.5) and dead last in wRC+ (50), which helps explain why the Pirates own the majors’ worst record at 15-38.
Cardinals Designate Roel Ramirez; Activate Dexter Fowler, Giovanny Gallegos
The Cardinals have announced a series of roster moves, Anne Rogers of MLB.com was among those to report. The club designated right-hander Roel Ramirez for assignment, activated outfielder Dexter Fowler and righty Giovanny Gallegos from the injured list, and optioned outfielder Justin Williams and RHP Nabil Crismatt.
Ramirez – part of the Cardinals’ July 2018 return from the Rays for outfielder Tommy Pham – lasted just under two months on St. Louis’ 40-man roster before the team designated him. The 25-year-old Ramirez, whom the Cardinals selected Aug. 5, made one disastrous appearance with the club this season and yielded six runs on six hits (including four homers) and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. He joined the Cardinals as the owner of a much more respectable 4.03 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 462 1/3 minor league frames.
At the major league level, Fowler and Gallegos could serve as important late-game reinforcements for the Cardinals, who have gone 26-24 and are currently in playoff position. They’ve been without Fowler since he went on the IL on Sept. 2 with a stomach illness. The switch-hitting 34-year-old slashed .279/.347/.485 with four homers in 75 plate appearances before then.
Just as Fowler’s an important part of the Cardinals’ outfield, their bullpen needs Gallegos, who’s back after the Redbirds placed him on the IL on Sept. 11 with a right groin strain. Gallegos has pitched to a 3.97 ERA/2.65 FIP and notched 11.12 K/9 and 2.38 BB/9 in 11 2/3 frames this season. He also leads the Cardinals in saves with four.
Domingo German Won’t Pitch In 2020
Yankees right-hander Domingo German, who’s serving the remainder of an 81-game suspension Major League Baseball handed him in January, may have been able to help the club during the postseason this fall. However, manager Aaron Boone said Monday that German won’t have enough time to ramp up for the playoffs, meaning he won’t pitch in 2020, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. The Yankees expect German to return for spring training next year.
German was a key part of the Yankees’ rotation last year, during which he notched a 4.03 ERA/4.72 FIP with 9.63 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9 in 143 innings, but he hasn’t pitched in just over 12 months (Sept. 18, 2019) on account of a violation of Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. The 28-year-old German then seemed to hint at retirement in July before walking those comments back.
Aside from Gerrit Cole, the Yankees appear to lack shoo-ins for the 2021 rotation, so German could re-enter the unit – especially with Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ on the brink of free agency. But the Yankees are at least on track to welcome back Luis Severino, who missed all of this season because of Tommy John surgery, while Deivi Garcia and Jordan Montgomery are among those who could compete with German for spots.
Nationals Select Paolo Espino
The Nationals have selected right-hander Paolo Espino, placed righties Aaron Barrett (triceps strain) and James Bourque (elbow strain) on the 10-day injured list, and moved lefty Seth Romero to the 45-day IL, the team announced. The Nats also recalled outfielder Yadiel Hernandez.
Espino, 33, could now log major league action for the first time since 2017 – his only season in the majors thus far. He posted a 6.00 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.75 BB/9 in 24 innings between the Brewers and Rangers then, but divided the previous two years among the Triple-A affiliates of those teams and the Nationals. Overall, he has recorded a 4.21 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 657 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level.
Injuries have been an unfortunate part of the package for Barrett, a ninth-round pick of the Nationals in 2010 who was an effective part of their bullpen from 2014-15. Barrett underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, though, and also suffered a fractured elbow. He made his return to the majors late last season, but the 32-year-old has only combined for four innings of six-run ball since then.