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Pitcher Notes: Fried, Eovaldi, A. Wood, Brewers, Rangers

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Braves southpaw Max Fried exited his start Monday with a blister on his left index finger, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes (subscription link). The Braves will re-evaluate Fried on Tuesday, per O’Brien, who points out blister issues have “plagued” the 25-year-old in the past. Blisters can be serious enough to lead to injury list stints, though Fried is optimistic he’ll avoid an IL placement. The Braves’ 58-37 record and 7 1/2-game lead in the National League East have come thanks in part to Fried. He turned in five shutout innings in a victory over Milwaukee on Monday, giving him a 4.08 ERA/3.86 FIP in 103 2/3 frames on the season.

The latest on a few other hurlers…

  • Red Sox soon-to-be closer Nathan Eovaldi will embark on a rehab stint Wednesday or Thursday, likely with Triple-A Pawtucket, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that Eovaldi could rejoin Boston’s staff sometime this week. Eovaldi, who has been out since late April because of right elbow surgery, will be pitching in a full-time relief role for the first time in his career when he returns. The 29-year-old has started in 152 of 160 appearances thus far.
  • Reds lefty Alex Wood will make his third Triple-A rehab appearance Wednesday, when he’ll throw four innings and 60 to 65 pitches, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. It’s a good sign for Wood, whom back problems have stopped from pitching in in the majors in 2019. His return, if it comes, could be a boon for a Cincinnati team that isn’t waving the white flag on a playoff push despite a 43-48 record.
  • The Brewers placed right-hander Corbin Burnes on the injured list Monday because of shoulder irritation, recalling fellow righty Burch Smith from Triple-A San Antonio to take his place. The club put Burnes on the shelf in the wake of his most recent blowup Sunday, when he allowed four earned runs on four straight hits and failed to retire a batter in a loss to the Giants. Even though the 24-year-old Burnes has struck out just better than 13 batters per nine innings this season, struggles preventing home have led to an ineffectual 9.00 ERA/6.12 FIP across 46 frames. Burnes didn’t give up any homers Sunday, but he has allowed HRs on an astounding 39 percent of fly balls this season.
  • Rangers pitching prospect Yerry Rodriguez is done for the season because of a UCL sprain in his right elbow, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays. The club will shut Rodriguez down for six to eight weeks and then re-evaluate him. Rodriguez, who entered the season as FanGraphs’ 14th-ranked Rangers prospect, notched a brilliant 2.08 ERA/3.16 FIP with 10.38 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9 in 73 2/3 Single-A innings this season.

Mariners Release Jon Niese, Tyler Cloyd

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The Mariners have released left-hander Jon Niese and righty Tyler Cloyd, Triple-A Tacoma broadcaster Mike Curto reports. Both pitchers had been on the Rainiers’ roster.

Niese’s release is the latest unwelcome development in what has largely been a solid professional career. The 32-year-old lasted just under three months with the Mariners, who inked him to a minor league contract April 25, and threw 70 1/3 innings of 5.76 ERA ball with a microscopic strikeout rate (4.9 K/9, against 3.1 BB/9) as a member of Tacoma’s roster. It was the first true game action since 2016 for Niese, who – despite spending time with the Yankees in 2017 and the Rangers in ’18 – battled injuries that prevented him from pitching over the previous two seasons.

Niese struggled mightily in his most recent major league season, which he divided between the Pirates and Mets, but otherwise has enjoyed a better MLB career than most pitchers. He posted a 4.07 ERA/4.02 FIP with 6.92 K/9, 2.78 BB/9 and a 50.1 percent groundball rate in 1,189 1/3 innings – almost entirely with the Mets – from 2008-16.

Cloyd’s also 32, though his big league track record is nowhere near as long as Niese’s. In parts of four seasons with the Phillies, Mariners and Marlins from 2012-18, Cloyd totaled just 112 frames and recorded a 6.35 ERA/4.88 FIP with 6.83 K/9, 3.38 BB/9 and a 35.7 percent grounder rate. Cloyd reunited with the Mariners in late April, the same day Niese signed, and proceeded to put up an ugly 7.43 ERA/5.94 FIP in 66 2/3 innings in the difficult Pacific Coast League environment. Cloyd has typically performed far better at the minors’ top level, evidenced by his 4.31 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 653 1/3 Triple-A innings.

Rays Have Asked About Zack Wheeler

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Mets right-hander and prime trade candidate Zack Wheeler went on the injured list Monday with shoulder fatigue – an issue that may damage or destroy his value. However, if Wheeler makes it back in the next couple weeks, the Rays could be among the teams competing for him around the July 31 trade deadline. They’ve asked about Wheeler, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Tampa Bay’s rotation currently has a notable omission of its own in righty Tyler Glasnow, who has been down since the beginning of May with a flexor strain. Rays manager Kevin Cash announced Monday that Glasnow may not make it back this season, which could intensify their efforts to acquire pitching before the deadline.

At 56-40, two games up on the American League’s No. 1 wild-card spot and five behind the AL East-leading Yankees, the Rays are in position to buy. The success the Rays have achieved this year is all the more impressive when considering their dearth of traditional starters. Charlie Morton, Blake Snell and Yonny Chirinos are all the team has right now in that regard, though Brendan McKay has performed well in the first three starts of his career and could return from Triple-A Durham soon.

In acquiring Wheeler, the low-budget Rays would be getting one of baseball’s hardest-throwing starters on a salary even they could afford ($5.975MM). But Wheeler’s not under control past 2019, which would make him a pure rental for Tampa Bay, and has had a difficult time preventing runs this year.

In spite of his 97 mph-plus fastball, the 29-year-old Wheeler has pitched to a below-average 4.69 ERA across 119 innings. While a subpar Mets defense has undermined Wheeler’s efforts, he has further hindered his cause by yielding home runs on a career-worst 13.7 percent of fly balls. FIP (3.66), xFIP (3.84), SIERA (3.99) and fWAR (2.6) all suggest Wheeler has deserved far better this season, though, and his 9.83 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9 presents another reason for bullishness. Of course, if Wheeler’s still out of commission by the deadline, his production could prove to be meaningless to the Rays and other July buyers.

Cubs Acquire Martin Maldonado For Mike Montgomery

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The Cubs have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado from the Royals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Left-hander Mike Montgomery’s going to Kansas City in the swap, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The teams have confirmed the trade.

With Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini having combined to offer excellent behind-the-plate production in 2019, the Cubs don’t look like a fit for Maldonado on paper. However, Conteras is heading to the injured list with a strain of the arch muscle on his right foot, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to report. The Cubs don’t expect Contreras to need longer than the minimum 10-day IL stint, Sharma adds.

Playoff-contending Chicago’s getting a capable stopgap in Maldonado, whom it showed interest in during the offseason. Maldonado chose against signing with the Cubs over the winter because he wanted to join a team that would offer him more playing time than he’d have gotten in Chicago. It proved to be a wise decision on Maldonado’s part. With Salvador Perez out for 2019, the 32-year-old Maldonado ultimately became Kansas City’s primary catcher after signing for $2.5MM guarantee a few weeks before the season.

Long known as a tremendous defender with a questionable bat, Maldonado lived up to his reputation with the Royals. In 261 plate appearances in KC, Maldonado hit .224/.288/.359 (71 wRC+) with six home runs. On the other end, he threw out an above-average 33 percent of would-be base stealers and earned quality reviews from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.

In exchange for Maldonado, a soon-to-be free agent, the out-of-contention Royals are getting two-plus years of control over Montgomery. A swingman for most of his career and a full-time reliever this year, Montgomery, 30, will slot into the Royals’ rotation immediately, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. He’ll also rejoin the organization that spent a first-round pick on him in 2008. Four years later, the Royals traded Montgomery to the Rays in a blockbuster that also included James Shields, Wade Davis, Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi.

Montgomery never pitched for the Rays, instead joining the Mariners in a swap in 2015 – the year he made his major league debut. He lasted with the Mariners for approximately a season and a half, going to the Cubs in July 2016 in yet another deal.  A few months later, Montgomery earned the save in the Cubs’ historic Game 7 World Series win over the Indians.

Montgomery was effective even before his career-defining moment in ’16 and has largely fared well since, but his numbers have taken a significant turn for the worse this year. He logged a woeful 5.67 ERA/6.21 FIP with 6.0 K/9, 4.33 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent groundball rate over 27 innings in his final season with the Cubs.

Overall, Montgomery has pitched to a far better 3.72 ERA/4.21 FIP with 6.87 K/9, 3.47 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent grounder rate across 167 appearances and 56 starts in the majors. The Royals will hope he puts up numbers more in line with his lifetime marks as a member of their rotation, which lost veteran Homer Bailey in a trade with the Athletics on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Cubs had already been in search of a left-handed reliever before trading Montgomery. Therefore, this deal could further put the onus on president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to acquire a southpaw by the July 31 deadline. With Montgomery on a $2.44MM salary this year, the Cubs added a small amount of payroll in this swap.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reds GM Nick Krall On Deadline Approach, Yasiel Puig

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Reds GM Nick Krall chatted with Jon Heyman and Josh Lewin on the Big Time Baseball Podcast (audio link), providing some information on the team’s approach to the swiftly approaching trade deadline. He largely echoed the recent comments of his boss, president of baseball operations Dick Williams, but put a slightly different spin on things.

Krall was somewhat less committed to the characterization of the Cincinnati outfit as a buyer. Williams said the club is in the “buyer category,” while also noting that the focus would go beyond the present season. Krall left a bit more wriggle room in the buying characterization and put a bit more emphasis on the longer-term picture. Over the coming weeks, he says, the Reds will “figure out how we want to improve it for the long run … not just for the next two months.”’

That’s not to suggest there’s any internal discord; it’s just added information that helps build out an understanding of the team’s stance. Krall’s phrasing seems to indicate a bit more more hesitancy to push future-oriented chips in when the division picture could change for the worse in a relatively short period of time. It appears he’s inclined to see how things look when the deadline is fully upon us.

“[I]f you can add somebody to bolster your team to help you make a run that would be awesome,” he said. “I think we’d love to do something like that and we’ve gotta just keep figuring out what the deals are and where we stand and keep moving.” While Krall said that “you’d love to be able to buy this year,” he went on to qualify things: “We’ve got a couple more weeks of games before we get to the actual deadline … you want to see if we can get some consistency.”

After wrapping up a win tonight against the division-leading Cubs, the Reds sit at 5.5 games off the pace. They’re not much closer to the Wild Card. It’s sub-optimal, but about as good as could be hoped having reached this stage of the season with a 43-48 record.

Krall suggests that the team believes its roster has performed somewhat better than its results would indicate. The team’s run differential has been in good shape lately, he notes. But the club needs to find a way to “turn those runs into wins.”

One key for the Reds is the play of pending free agent Yasiel Puig, who has been on a welcome tear at the plate. Krall says the sides have not held any discussions about a contract to keep the 28-year-old in Cincinnati beyond the present season. But he seemingly hinted that could be of interest. “He’s been great,” Krall said of Puig, calling the occasionally polarizing performer “a great teammate” and “high-energy guy” for the organization.

Mike Trout Suffers Minor Calf Strain

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MONDAY: An MRI revealed a “small” calf strain, Hoornstra was among those to tweet. Trout’s day-to-day.

SUNDAY, 6:52PM: Trout’s injury isn’t considered to be serious, manager Brad Ausmus told J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link).  Still, Trout will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his calf problem.

5:31PM: Mike Trout left today’s game after two innings due to what the Angels described as right calf tightness, and the star outfielder’s condition is day-to-day.  The injury seemingly wasn’t caused by any obvious play on the field — Trout softly lined to first base in his only at-bat of the game, and he didn’t make any defensive plays during his two innings of work.  Trout was replaced in center field prior to the beginning of the third inning.

While the removal could have simply been precautionary in nature, any type of injury to baseball’s best player is certainly worth noting.  Trout is in the midst of yet another incredible season, with 30 homers and a .305/.455/.666 slash line over 402 plate appearances.  He leads the league in any number of categories, including wRC+ (191), fWAR (6.5), offensive bWAR (5.9), on-base percentage, runs created, and walks.  (In fact, Trout’s 77 walks top his 70 strikeouts.)

Los Angeles entered today’s action with a 47-46 record, five games behind Oakland for the final American League wild card slot.  Needless to say, the Angels’ playoff chances would take a big hit should Trout have to go on the injured list for any lengthy amount of time.  He is such a singular driving force in his team’s success that, if the worst-case scenario occurs and Trout does indeed need a significant IL stint, his absence could convince the Angels front office to explore selling veterans at the trade deadline.

Chris Taylor Diagnosed With Fractured Forearm

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10:09pm: Taylor said he suffered a non-displaced fracture just above the wrist, which typically comes with a four- to-six week recovery (Twitter link via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).

5:50pm: Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor has been diagnosed with a fractured forearm, per a club announcement (via Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, on Twitter). He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Matt Beaty.

It isn’t known at present what kind of an absence the club can anticipate from Taylor, a shape-shifting defender and steady offensive producer. Initial imaging did not uncover the break; whether that’s good, bad, or indifferent isn’t evident.

With the trade deadline landing in two weeks’ time, the Dodgers will have an opportunity to pursue reinforcements. Corey Seager and A.J. Pollock are both back, reducing the pressure. The organization is as laden with depth as ever, with top middle-infield prospect Gavin Lux among the players waiting in the wings in the upper minors.

The Dodgers won’t worry too much about a stretch sans Taylor. With a commanding division lead, the club can focus its deadline efforts on shaping its roster for the postseason. Unless the injury is quite a bit more severe than it seems at first glance, Taylor ought to have time to get back to health and up to full speed before October.

Royals “Close” To Trading Martin Maldonado

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The Royals pulled catcher Martin Maldonado from their game Monday, likely because a deal is on the way. They’ve been “working on a trade” involving Maldonado with an unknown team, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. A trade is indeed “close,” Mark Feinsand of MLB.com adds on Twitter.

A former Brewer, Angel and Astro, Maldonado joined the Royals on a $2.5MM guarantee in free agency this past March. The signing came on the heels of Tommy John surgery for Royals starting catcher Salvador Perez, though the expectation then was that rebuilding Kansas City would move Maldonado sometime during the summer. The team previously did the same this past weekend with right-hander and fellow low-cost offseason pickup Homer Bailey, whom it flipped to Oakland for a prospect. Outfielders Billy Hamilton and Terrance Gore may soon follow Bailey and (seemingly) Maldonado out of town.

The Royals’ version of Maldonado has been close to the same player his previous teams got. Never much of a threat with the bat, the 32-year-old Maldonado has hit .224/.288/.359 (71 wRC+) with six home runs in 261 plate appearances. Maldonado has long been an exemplary defender, however, and he has continued to provide plus work behind the plate this year. Not only has Maldonado thrown out 33 percent of would-be base stealers, placing him 5 percent of the league average, but he’s Baseball Prospectus’ 18th-ranked catcher among 95 qualifiers in its Fielding Runs Above Average metric. Maldonado has been especially solid at blocking pitches, per BP. Unlike previous seasons, though, it grades him as a neutral pitch framer – not a standout.

Where to now for Maldonado? Not the Rangers, according to Jeffrey Flanagan and T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, even though they’re contenders whose catchers rank dead last in the majors in fWAR. Both the Cardinals (Yadier Molina) and Angels (Jonathan Lucroy) just lost their primary backstops to injuries that will cost them roughly three weeks apiece. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Phillies are among buyers who haven’t gotten particularly good performances from their reserve catchers.

Giants Place Evan Longoria On 10-Day IL

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Giants third baseman Evan Longoria has been forced to the 10-day injured list with plantar fasciitis, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). His timeline to return is not yet known.

It’s unfortunate to see Longoria go down at this particular time. He has been on a tear in the month of July, launching six long balls in just thirty plate appearances. That has coincided with a nice little run for the San Francisco club itself.

So, time to change the trade deadline plans? Likely not. The front office is no doubt focused on maximizing value from the team’s trade chips. As tantalizing as the Wild Card may seem, it’d be awfully tough to forego a chance at securing a nice haul of young talent in hopes of somehow sneaking past quite a few other teams — most, more talented on paper — to earn a slot in the one-game play-in contest.

Longoria is not a likely trade candidate himself regardless of the team’s situation. His recent hot streak has only boosted his season slash to .241/.318/.446 — just about league average overall output when adjusted for park effects. That’s an improvement over Longoria’s subpar 2018 work, but hardly a return to his glory years. Even with the Rays picking up the deferred portion of his remaining contractual guarantee, the 33-year-old is hanging $52MM of obligations (including an option buyout) on the San Francisco books.

The loss of Longoria could have a slight impact on the trade season, though. With a resurgent stick and league-minimum salary, former hot corner stalwart Pablo Sandoval is a bit of an interesting trade chip for the Giants. He’ll now have a chance at something of a pre-deadline showcase in Longo’s absence.

Report: No Untouchables In Yankees’ Farm System

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The first-place Yankees are aiming for a championship this year, and it seems they’re prepared to pay steep prospect prices at the July 31 trade deadline in order to increase their chances. The team has no “untouchable” players in its farm system, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports.

No Yankees prospect has generated more hype lately than right-hander Deivi Garcia, whom they promoted to Triple-A ball last week. The 20-year-old Garcia is now the youngest player at the minors’ highest level, Davidoff notes. Garcia’s elevation to Scranton came in response to a great season-opening performance at Double-A Trenton, where he posted a 3.00 ERA/2.18 FIP with 14.49 K/9 against 4.41 BB/9 in 10 starts and 51 innings. Although he’s just 5-foot-9, Garcia’s tremendous early season showing helped earn him a 29th-place ranking in the midseason top 50 list ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required) just released.

General manager Brian Cashman said last week Garcia could be a factor on the Yankees’ roster down the stretch, but he wouldn’t be off limits in a deal, Davidoff suggests. The goal would be to acquire a controllable rotation piece in any swap involving Garcia, it seems. On the other hand, the Yankees “certainly wouldn’t” trade Garcia for Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner or another rental, per Davidoff. The same obviously goes for Mets righty Zack Wheeler, as Andy Martino of SNY.tv relays, but it may be a different story for controllable fireballer Noah Syndergaard. The Yankees have shown interest in Syndergaard, reports Martino, who points out the Mets sent special assistant Omar Minaya to scout Garcia’s Triple-A debut Monday. With that said, there’s little optimism the crosstown rivals will come together on a trade this month, Martino adds on Twitter.

Meanwhile, outfielder Estevan Florial – the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect in the most recent team rankings at MLB.com, FanGraphs and Baseball America (subscription required) – would be movable “in the right deal,” Davidoff writes. Unlike Garcia, the 21-year-old Florial hasn’t enjoyed a banner 2019 season in the minors. Currently at the High-A level after fracturing his right wrist in the spring, Florial has hit .229/.282/.359 (91 wRC+) with four home runs in 142 plate appearances.

In fairness to Florial, the injury may have a role in his underwhelming production this year. Moreover, Florial entered the season as a consensus top 100 prospect, so it stands to reason he’s someone who would interest other teams in trade talks. The Yankees generally aren’t short on enticing minor leaguers, according to a rival talent evaluator who spoke with Davidoff.

“It’s a really good system,” the evaluator said. “They certainly have the pieces to be aggressive.”

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