Phillies Acquire Joel Cesar To Complete Austin Davis Trade
The Phillies announced that right-hander Joel Cesar has been acquired from the Pirates. Cesar acts as the player to be named later from the August 26 trade that sent Austin Davis to Pittsburgh.
Cesar was a member of the Pirates’ 2015-16 international signing class, and the righty has posted some solid results over four seasons on the farm. Cesar has a 3.18 ERA, 2.06 K/BB rate, and 8.7 K/9 over 138 2/3 innings, working as a reliever in 87 of his 90 career games.
The 24-year-old has yet to pitch beyond the Double-A level, though a Triple-A assignment would have been likely had there been a 2020 minor league season. Cesar wasn’t included in Pittsburgh’s 60-man player pool, though he’ll now join Philadelphia’s 60-man mix and report to the Phils’ alternate training site.
A’s Designate Daniel Mengden For Assignment
The Athletics have activated Daniel Mengden off the COVID-19 injured list and designated the right-hander for assignment, the team announced.
It has been an altogether tough year for Mengden, who underwent two intestinal surgeries and an arthroscopic elbow surgery during the offseason before testing positive for the coronavirus (with no symptoms, thankfully) in early September. On the field, Mengden has posted a 3.65 ERA over 12 1/3 innings for Oakland, starting one game and working as a long man out of the pen in his other three appearances.
Mengden’s skillset would seemingly make him a useful bullpen piece for the A’s during the playoffs, making the DFA placement a bit of a surprise. But, with a relief corps that is arguably already the best in baseball, the Athletics simply might have decided that they didn’t have room for Mengden. Opening up a roster spot could also hint at a future move to come in the season’s final days.
Mengden has a 4.64 ERA, 2.20 K/BB rate, and 6.7 K/9 over 302 2/3 career innings (starting 48 of 60 games), all with the A’s since making his Major League debut in 2016. Though there is only a week left in the regular season, it wouldn’t be a shock to see a team claim Mengden to get a quick look at him and gain a controllable arm. Mengden will be arbitration eligible for the first time this winter.
Orioles Acquire Victor Gonzalez From Mets, Release Chandler Shepherd
The Orioles have acquired infield prospect Victor Gonzalez from the Mets as the player to be named later in the August trade that sent Miguel Castro to New York. The 17-year-old Gonzalez has been added to Baltimore’s 60-man player pool, while right-hander Chandler Shepherd was released to make room.
Gonzalez, hailing from the Dominican Republic, signed for a $250K bonus as a member of the Mets’ 2019-20 international signing class. With the 2020 minor league season canceled, Gonzalez has yet to officially begin his pro career, and he wasn’t part of the group working out at the Mets’ alternate training site. Baseball America’s Ben Badler described Gonzalez as having “a good chance to stay at shortstop” since he has “a quick first step, covers ground well and has a strong arm for the position.”
Shepherd joined the Orioles on a waiver claim in May 2019 and made his MLB debut last season, posting a 6.63 ERA over 19 innings for the O’s. The righty was outrighted off the 40-man roster after the season but remained in the organization, and was briefly called up to the Orioles’ roster this season but didn’t appear in a game before being designated for assignment in August.
Originally a 13th-round pick for the Red Sox in the 2014 draft, Shepherd has a 4.17 ERA, 3.44 K/BB rate, and 8.6 K/9 over 455 2/3 career minor league innings in the Boston and Baltimore organizations. Somewhat unusually, he began his pro career as a reliever before becoming mostly a full-time starter prior to the 2018 season. (Three of Shepherd’s five Major League games were starts.)
Cubs Notes: Wick, Chafin, Quintana, Lester
The Cubs bullpen has quietly gotten on track after a very rough start to the season, but the relief corps took a hit with yesterday’s news that Rowan Wick suffered a left oblique strain. Wick “got some testing done and it’s pretty bad,” manager David Ross told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters, and it could mean that Wick might be out of action for the postseason. Wick has a 3.12 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 3.33 K/BB over 17 1/3 innings this season, with just one home run allowed. He also has four saves this season, though none over the last month as Jeremy Jeffress has recently emerged as Chicago’s top closer option.
The most obvious replacement is Andrew Chafin, who was just activated from his own stint on the injured list. A left finger sprain has kept Chafin out of action since August 17, meaning that Chafin has yet to pitch since the Cubs acquired from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline. Chafin has an 8.10 ERA this season, though over the small sample size of 6 2/3 innings, and a lot of that damage stems from a July 29th outing that saw Chafin allow three runs to the Rangers without retiring a batter. If Chafin returns to his solid form from the 2015-19 seasons, he could be an important weapon for a Cubs team that has designs on a deep October run.
More from Wrigleyville…
- Speaking of the bullpen, Ross said that the Cubs will use Jose Quintana in short stints when he returns from the 10-day injured list. Quintana is expected to return during the Cubs’ upcoming four-game series with the Pirates (beginning on Monday), and the team’s plan is to gradually build up Quintana’s pitch count. But, “if not, if we don’t have that opportunity….then he’ll just stay a bullpen piece and we’ll use him that way,” Ross said. Between Quintana’s recovery from thumb surgery and this current IL stint due to a left lat injury, the southpaw has only made two appearances all season, both as a reliever — these games marked his first work as a relief pitcher since his 2012 rookie season. Assuming no setbacks and a spot on the postseason roster, Quintana could be an intriguing x-factor in the playoffs, theoretically capable of working as a traditional reliever, a multi-inning swingman, a bulk pitcher following an opener, or as an opener himself for the first two or three innings of a bullpen game.
- The Cubs surely won’t exercise their $25MM club option on Jon Lester for the 2021 season, as the veteran left-hander will instead be bought out at the lower sum of $10MM. That said, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago opines that a reunion between Lester and the Cubs on a lower-cost deal shouldn’t be ruled out, with Lester offering familiarity and veteran leadership to a team that will still need pitching depth. Lester has a 4.91 ERA, 2.92 K/BB rate, and 6.7 K/9 over 51 1/3 innings in 2020, showing only flashes of his past All-Star form. On the plus side, Lester is still very durable, averaging 199 innings per season from 2008-19 with only a few minor IL stints during that stretch. Lester, Quintana, and Tyler Chatwood will all be free agents, leaving Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks as the only locks for Chicago’s 2021 pitching staff. No-hitter hero Alec Mills seems like a solid bet for one rotation spot, and youngsters like Adbert Alzolay, Tyson Miller, or even top prospect Brailyn Marquez will be in competition for the other two jobs, so bringing Lester back as an experienced option makes some sense.
Minor MLB Transactions: 09/19/20
Today’s minor moves:
- The Red Sox have selected the contract of outfielder César Puello. Right-hander Zack Godley has been placed on the 45-day injured list, while infielder Yairo Muñoz went on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to September 18) with a lower back strain. The 29-year-old Puello only has 186 MLB plate appearances to his name, but he’s built a strong track record in Triple-A. In parts of five seasons at the minors’ highest level, Puello has put up a .292/.391/.446 line.
AL Injury Notes: Osuna, Cruz, Mariners, Guerrero, Iglesias
Some injury notes from around the American League:
- Astros’ closer Roberto Osuna has progressed to throwing, per GM James Click (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Osuna was seemingly ticketed for a Tommy John surgery after going down with an elbow injury earlier, although the reliever instead elected to rehab and attempt to return this season. The likelihood of that happening isn’t clear, but it’s generally encouraging to hear that he’s throwing again.
- Twins’ DH Nelson Cruz was scratched from today’s lineup against the Cubs. He’s dealing with right knee soreness, per various reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). Eddie Rosario, who was initially slated to start in left field, got to DH instead, with LaMonte Wade, Jr. taking over in left. Cruz has again been among MLB’s best hitters, slashing .314/.403/.623 over 201 plate appearances.
- A pair of Mariners are unsurprisingly out for the season, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Catcher Tom Murphy has been shut down; he’ll miss the entire year due to a fractured metatarsal in his left foot. Outfielder Mitch Haniger continues to build up strength and endurance but hasn’t yet begun baseball activities, per Divish. Like Murphy, Haniger missed all of 2020.
- The Blue Jays held Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. out of today’s lineup as a precaution, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The young first baseman felt “a little dizzy” after being hit by a pitch in the helmet last night, per Nicholson-Smith. The Jays can afford to slow play things with Guerrero, as they sit four games up on Seattle for the final playoff spot in the American League.
- Orioles’ shortstop José Iglesias left tonight’s game after getting hit on the left hand by a Charlie Morton pitch, relays Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Pat Valaika stepped in at short in his stead. The 30-year-old Iglesias, a longtime defensive stalwart, has been stellar when healthy for Baltimore, hitting .377/.406/.515 in 139 plate appearances. He has been diagnosed a left wrist contusion, per Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com (Twitter link).
Padres Activate Eric Hosmer From Injured List
The Padres announced they’ve activated first baseman Eric Hosmer from the 10-day injured list. He’s been on the shelf since September 8 due to a fractured finger. Additionally, San Diego recalled rookie right-hander Luis Patiño from the alternate training site. Righty Luis Perdomo and catcher Francisco Mejía were optioned out in corresponding roster moves.
Hosmer has been fantastic through 128 plate appearances this season, hitting .288/.344/.552 with eight home runs. That’s a notable step up from the roughly average offensive production the big ticket free agent acquisition managed his first two seasons in Southern California. The 33-19 Padres are essentially locked in as the fourth seed in the National League, but Hosmer will have a little more than a week to ramp back up before the start of the postseason.
Patiño has scuffled in his first 14.2 MLB innings, but he’s one of the game’s brightest young pitching talents. He’ll make his first MLB start tonight against the Mariners. Patiño and Perdomo could each be options for the Friars out of the bullpen come playoff time. Mejía is San Diego’s third catcher following the deadline acquisitions of Austin Nola and Jason Castro.
Chris Davis Out For Season
SEPTEMBER 19: Davis is out for the rest of the season, manager Brandon Hyde tells reporters (including Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com).
SEPTEMBER 14: The Orioles have placed first baseman Chris Davis on the 10-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis, per a team announcement. They also released utility player Stevie Wilkerson, activated outfielder Austin Hays and outrighted outfielder Mason Williams to their alternate site after he cleared waivers.
This is the second IL stint in the past few weeks for Davis, who was previously out from Aug. 19-Sept. 11 with the same injury. Davis appeared in one game since coming off the IL the first time, and now it seems that his season could be over. If so, it will go down as the fourth straight dreadful campaign for the former star, who has batted .115/.164/.173 with no home runs in 55 plate appearances in 2020.
Wilkerson hasn’t played at all this season after suffering a broken finger in late July. The 29-year-old was a regular for the Orioles last season, but he struggled to a .225/.286/.383 line with 10 home runs in 361 plate appearances in 2019.
Williams will stay in the organization just a few days after the Orioles designated him for assignment. They’ve designated and outrighted Williams twice in the past couple weeks.
Two Players At Brewers’ Alternate Site Test Positive For COVID-19
Three people at the Brewers’ alternate training site, including a pair of players, have tested positive for COVID-19, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). Everyone else who was at the site is in quarantine while being tested daily, Rosenthal adds.
These test results are not expected to impact the major league team, GM David Stearns confirmed (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). They will continue to play on as scheduled. Of course, having a large chunk of the club’s potential depth options quarantining for at least the next few days is suboptimal. Milwaukee sits at 24-26, one game back of the division-rival Reds for the final playoff spot in the National League (with the 25-26 Giants also ahead of them).
Rockies To Promote AJ Ramos
6:17 pm: Ramos’ promotion has been made official. Roster space was opened by the designation of right-hander Wade Davis for assignment.
1:02 pm: The Rockies are preparing to call right-hander AJ Ramos up to their active roster, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). An additional move will need to be made to create a space for Ramos on the team’s 40-man roster.
After a couple of false starts, it looks like Ramos is finally set to make his return to the majors after almost 28 months. The righty underwent shoulder surgery in 2018 after a rough 19 2/3 innings with the Mets that season, and was off the radar until this summer, when he inked minor league deals with both the Dodgers and Cubs. Neither of those contracts led to a Major League call-up, however, and the Rockies signed Ramos to yet another minors deal after the Cubs released him in early September.
Ramos turns 34 tomorrow, so the promotion is a nice birthday present for the former All-Star. Ramos posted some strong numbers with the Marlins from 2012-17 (including a 2.78 ERA, 2.19 K/BB rate, and 10.4 K/9), though his productivity dipped in 2017, particularly after a July trade to the Mets. The 22-28 Rockies are on the verge of being eliminated from postseason contention, so there’s nothing to be lost in seeing whether or not Ramos could potentially be a candidate for their 2021 bullpen.