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Carlos Gomez Elects Free Agency

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Veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment from the Mets, per the International League transactions log. He was designated for assignment over the weekend.

Gomez, 33, ripped a trio of home runs in his brief reunion with the Mets — including a go-ahead three-run shot not long after being selected from the minor leagues. However, his overall body of work in his return to Queens, where he made his MLB debut as a 21-year-old back in 2007, proved underwhelming. In 99 trips to the plate, the two-time All-Star and former Gold Glover hit just .198/.278/.337 with 30 strikeouts.

Gomez had a solid season with the Rangers back in 2017, but his brief All-Star peak from 2013-14 is now a distant memory. Gomez batted a combined .284/.347/.491 with 47 homers, 74 steals and strong defense in that stretch, racking up 12.3 WAR along the way. Since that brilliant pair of seasons, he’s hit a combined .236/.311/.395 in 1863 plate appearances. He’s not the elite runner he once was, but Gomez still possesses above-average speed (79th percentile in average sprint speed, per Statcast) and is experienced at all three outfield spots, making him a reasonable minor league pickup for a team in need of outfield depth.

162 Games Of Shohei Ohtani

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The Angels had far more important things on their mind Tuesday, a night in which they mourned the loss of friend and teammate Tyler Skaggs, but their game against the Rangers marked Shohei Ohtani’s 162nd as a part of their offense. Injuries have prevented the two-way phenom from making a greater impact since he emigrated from Japan entering the 2018 season, but in the full season he has played, Ohtani has more than matched the overwhelming hype that accompanied his arrival.

Although there wasn’t much question Ohtani would turn into a front-line starter when he left his homeland for the majors, there was plenty of doubt regarding how well he’d fare as a hitter. It turns out Ohtani has made more of a mark on the offensive end to this point, though the fact that he underwent Tommy John surgery last October is partially the reason for that. The righty-throwing Ohtani accumulated only 51 2/3 and 10 starts in 2018, when he logged a terrific 3.31 ERA/3.57 FIP with 10.97 K/9 against 3.83 BB/9.

Ohtani’s pitching numbers will stay in place until he returns to the mound from his TJ procedure in 2020. That same surgery stopped Ohtani from making his 2019 debut as a hitter until May 7, but the DH has more than made up for lost time in the nearly two months since then.

The lefty-swinging Ohtani burst on the scene last year with a .285/.361/.564 line (152 wRC+) and 22 home runs in 367 plate appearances. Thanks to that and his output on the mound, Ohtani rightly took home American League Rookie of the Year honors. While Ohtani hasn’t been quite as strong this year on a rate basis, he has still been a premier hitter, evidenced by his 142 wRC+.

Across 195 trips to the plate, Ohtani has slashed .303/.359/.554 with 12 homers. Now, 162 games and 562 PA into his career as a major league batter, Ohtani owns a .291/.360/.561 slash – good for an exemplary 148 wRC+ – with 34 homers. His .269 isolated power ranks 10th in the majors since 2018, wedging him between the powerful duo of Khris Davis and Luke Voit. The speedy Ohtani has added 14 steals on 19 tries for good measure, giving him a 3.9 fWAR over a full season as a major league offensive player.

Ohtani was marvelous last year and has been again this season, though there are some differences in the way he has compiled his production. Ohtani’s pulling pitches less, hitting far more grounders and far fewer fly balls, all of which has led to a power decrease. He’s still formidable in that department, though. An uptick in line drives has helped Ohtani rank near the absolute top of the majors in expected slugging percentage (86th percentile), expected weighted on-base average (89th percentile), hard-hit percentage (94th percentile), expected batting average (95th percentile) and average exit velocity (99th percentile), according to Statcast. The difference between his .378 xwOBA and .382 wOBA, both of which rank in the top 40 among hitters with at least 150 PA, is negligible.

It’s unwise to draw conclusions from such a small sample, yet it’s worth noting the lefty-swinging Ohtani has been much better against same-handed pitchers than he was a year ago. As FanGraphs’ heat maps indicate (2018, 2019), Ohtani showed no power versus lefties when they threw pitches belt high or lower on the outer half last season. That hasn’t been the case at all this year, on the other hand. At the same time, he has taken tremendous steps forward against breaking pitches in general – after managing a .292/.300 wOBA/xwOBA versus such offerings in 2018, he’s up to .414/.363 a couple months into the current season. Ohtani has shown further growth as a hitter by chasing less outside the zone, swinging and missing at fewer pitches and making much more contact than he did during his rookie campaign.

There is room for improvement when it comes to plate discipline for Ohtani, whose K/BB ratio has hung around the league average in each of his two seasons. And he could have a difficult time continuing to uphold a .350 batting average, which he recorded last year and has again this season. However, as a fast runner who hits the ball hard and amasses a lot of grounders and liners, his skill set is conducive to a high BABIP.

Several months before Ohtani’s much-ballyhooed free-agent derby began, MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom surveyed scouts on what type of major league hitter he’d become. They didn’t forecast an elite-caliber offensive player, but that’s what Ohtani has been through his first full season at the plate. The fact that the two-way force hasn’t really begun to realize his potential as a pitcher is all the more thrilling for the Angels and all the more concerning for the rest of the league.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Orioles’ Josh Rogers Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Orioles left-hander Josh Rogers underwent his second Tommy John surgery today, manager Brandon Hyde announced to reporters (Twitter links via Joe Trezza of MLB.com). He’ll miss the remainder of the 2019 season and, in all likelihood, the bulk of the 2020 campaign as well. Rogers also underwent Tommy John surgery in high school back in 2013.

Rogers, 24, came to the Orioles as part of the trade that sent Zack Britton to the division-rival Yankees prior to last year’s non-waiver trade deadline. At the time, he looked like a near-MLB-ready arm that could occupy a spot at the back of the rotation or in the bullpen. Last year saw Rogers pitch to a combined 3.54 ERA in 139 2/3 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the two organizations. Given his proximity to the Majors, he was viewed as a candidate to log a fair share of innings for the Orioles in the first full season of their rebuild.

However, Rogers has struggled immensely both in the Majors and in Triple-A this season, logging an ERA north of 8.00 in a combined 69 1/3 innings. It’s certainly possible that issues in his elbow contributed to his poor results in 2019, though. While he’s not considered a premium prospect, Rogers ranked 28th among Baltimore farmhands heading into the season, according to Baseball America, who tabbed him as a potential fifth starter. For an Orioles club that is desperately thin on arms behind John Means, Andrew Cashner and Dylan Bundy, that would’ve been a most welcome outcome. Rogers is the second pitching prospect acquired in last summer’s fire sale to undergo Tommy John surgery this year, joining fellow righty Zach Pop, whom the Orioles acquired as part of their return for Manny Machado.

Instead, the Orioles have looked to a pair of minor trades to try to help stop the bleeding in the final two spots of the rotation. Baltimore acquired right-hander Tom Eshelman from the Phillies in exchange for international bonus money last month and acquired righty Asher Wojciechowski from the Indians in exchange for cash on Monday this week. Eshelman made his big league debut Monday, and the well-traveled Wojciechowski followed him in the rotation last night. There will likely be plenty of fluctuation in the composition of the team’s rotation between now and season’s end, but Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that the out-of-options Wojciechowski will remain in the starting five for now.

Carlos Gonzalez Elects Free Agency

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Cubs outfielder Carlos Gonzalez cleared waivers and elected free agency after being designated for assignment last week, manager Joe Maddon told reporters today (Twitter link via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune).

Gonzalez, 33, joined the Cubs on his second minor league deal of the season in late May and was selected to the Major League roster just days later. Unfortuately, CarGo’s time in Chicago didn’t go much better than his brief stint in Cleveland. After hitting .210/.282/.276 through 117 plate appearances with the Indians, Gonzalez batted only .175/.306/.300 in 49 plate appearances with the Cubs. He’s punched out in 31.3 percent of his plate appearances between the two teams.

While there’s plenty of name value attached to Gonzalez, a three-time All-Star and former MVP candidate, it’s been a few years since he delivered particularly strong offense. Dating back to 2017, Gonzalez has batted .260/.328/.423 (86 OPS+) and seen his power diminish. He did enjoy a strong all-around year in 2016 and crack 40 homers in 2015, but the combined .285/.337/.522 line he put together in those two seasons is well in the rear-view mirror at this point. While another club could very well look to roll the dice on a player with such a strong track record, it seems likely that he’ll have to settle for a third minor league deal.

Angels’ Tommy La Stella Likely Out Eight To Ten Weeks

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Angels infielder Tommy La Stella has been diagnosed with a fractured tibia in his right leg, the team announced today. He’s expected to miss the next eight to ten weeks of action. The injury, sustained last night when fouling a ball into his shin, will cause La Stella to miss the All-Star Game. Meanwhile, outfielder Brian Goodwin, who exited last night’s game after being hit by a pitch, has been diagnosed with a contusion. Both have been placed on the 10-day injured list.

In a pair of corresponding roster moves, the Angels have selected the contracts of corner infield prospect Matt Thaiss (as had been previously reported) and former Giants outfielder Jarrett Parker. Additionally, right-hander Jaime Barria is up from Triple-A Salt Lake to start tonight’s game.

The loss of La Stella stings both for the team and for La Stella himself. A longtime reserve infielder who at one point was undecided as to whether he wanted to continue his career, La Stella has thrived in a near-regular role in 2019, hitting at a .300/.353/.495 clip in 312 plate appearances. La Stella’s 16 home runs are more than he had in his entire career (947 plate appearances) heading into the season, and his brilliant showing drew enough fan recognition to earn the 30-year-old a starting nod in the aforementioned All-Star Game.

From a team standpoint, it’s another disheartening setback in what has become one of the most difficult seasons in franchise history. The Angels were (and are) still reeling from the gut-wrenching death of left-hander Tyler Skaggs when La Stella had to be helped off the field. Watching La Stella suit up for the All-Star Game could’ve served as a brief respite from the unyielding grief felt in the Angels’ clubhouse, but La Stella himself will now be a spectator for the Midsummer Classic.

In his absence, the Halos will get their first look at Thaiss, a 2016 first-rounder who has begun to tap into his power since reaching Triple-A in 2018. Thaiss was a catcher at the time of his draft but widely expected to move to first base in pro ball. He’s done just that, for the most part, but Thaiss has played more third base (391 innings) than first base (191) in 2019. The Angels could potentially shift David Fletcher over to second base and continue the Thaiss experiment at the hot corner, thus adding a left-handed bat to help replace La Stella. In 372 plate appearances in Salt Lake, Thaiss was hitting .274/.390/.477 with 14 home runs.

As for Parker, the 30-year-old will return to the big leagues for the first time since 2017 with today’s promotion. He spent parts of the 2015-17 seasons in San Francisco, hitting a combined .257/.335/.456 with 15 homers in 382 plate appearances. Most of his production came early in his MLB tenure, though, and he mustered a lackluster .247/.294/.416 slash through a career-high 177 plate appearances in his final season on the MLB roster. So far in 2019, Parker has turned in a terrific .296/.424/.604 slash with 19 home runs in just 283 plate appearances. He’s fanned at a fairly high 27.2 percent clip but helped to offset those whiffs with a 17.3 percent walk rate.

Royals Release Brad Boxberger

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July 3: Boxberger cleared waivers and is now a free agent, the Royals announced.

July 1: The Royals have requested release waivers on veteran reliever Brad Boxberger, per a club announcement. He had been designated for assignment recently.

It’s not surprising to see this move, as Boxberger’s $2.2MM salary never figured to hold much appeal after his messy performance to open the season. Had he shown enough of a spark to draw any trade interest, he’d likely have been held on the K.C. roster a while longer.

Boxberger worked to a 5.40 ERA in 26 2/3 frames, hardly the productivity the Royals were hoping for when they placed a value bet on the 31-year-old. He coughed up 5.7 free passes per nine, which is on the high side for his career but not totally out of character. Despite keeping an 11.3% swinging-strike rate that’s not too far off his career average, Boxberger has managed only 9.1 K/9 after retiring about a dozen per nine via strikeout over the past two seasons.

Beyond the outcomes, Boxberger has seemingly shown diminished arm speed. With his fastball velocity dropping significantly, he has tried to ramp up usage of a heretofore little-used slider.

That’s not to say that other organizations will turn up their noses. Boxberger has excelled after down stretches in the past and is still youthful. Even if the velo doesn’t return, he is a rather intriguing, low-risk bounceback candidate. Unless he’s claimed, which would rate as a surprise, the Royals will remain obligated for Boxberger’s remaining salary, less any pro-rated portion of the league minimum he earns if he makes it back to the majors.

Angels To Promote Matt Thaiss

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The Angels are set to promote corner infield prospect Matt Thaiss for his MLB debut. Halos Prospects first reported on Twitter that Thaiss was “expected” to be called up today, and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Thaiss is indeed getting the call. Corresponding moves aren’t yet clear, though Tommy La Stella did sustain a painful-looking leg injury last night upon fouling a ball into his shin and has since been replaced on the All-Star roster. Brian Goodwin also exited last night’s game after being hit by a pitch.

Matt Thaiss | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Thaiss, 24, was the Angels’ top pick (No. 16 overall) back in 2016. A catcher at the University of Virginia, Thaiss was widely expected to move to first base in pro ball but was a first-round pick all the same due to his offensive upside. While he has indeed moved out from behind the plate, he’s spent considerably more time at third base than at first base so far in 2019. At the plate, Thaiss is enjoying a solid .274/.390/.477 slash with 14 home runs, 17 doubles and two triples in 372 plate appearances. Long touted for his terrific plate discipline, Thaiss has walked at 15.9 percent clip against a 17.2 percent strikeout rate.

Entering the season, MLB.com ranked Thaiss sixth among Angels prospects and ninth among all first base prospects in baseball. Fangraphs tabbed him as the Halos’ No. 9 prospect, praising a swing change in 2018 that finally allowed Thaiss to tap into some in-game power. He doesn’t have off-the-charts power, drawing more average scouting marks in that regard. Combined with his strong on-base skills, an ability to work counts, passable defense at first base and his recent exposure at the hot corner, that could be enough to make Thaiss a solid contributor for the foreseeable future.

Matt Bush To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Rangers right-hander Matt Bush has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will undergo Tommy John surgery, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

Bush, 33, had been pitching in Double-A while rehabbing a prior operation to repair damage to his right UCL. The issue was initially discovered late last September, at which point Bush underwent a non-Tommy-John surgical procedure in an effort to remedy the injury. Given the timing of that injury, he’d have missed the entire 2019 season anyhow, but it now looks likely that Bush will be sidelined for much of the 2020 season as well.

Recent indications fro the organization indicated that Bush was close to rejoining the Rangers’ bullpen. He’d pitched 8 2/3 innings in Frisco and allowed just one run on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Texas has already been said to be on the lookout for bullpen help, and the loss of what the team believed to be a near-term option will surely make that need felt all the more acutely. Bush struggled in 2018 but notched a 3.08 ERA and a 119-to-33 K/BB ratio through 114 innings in the two prior seasons.

Cubs Promote Robel Garcia

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The Cubs have selected the contract of infielder Robel Garcia from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Dillon Maples to open a spot on the 25-man roster, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced today in a radio appearance on 670 The Score (Twitter link). Chicago has open space on the 40-man roster, so the Cubs won’t need to designate anyone for assignment or move a player to the 60-day IL.

Garcia’s path to the Majors is an interesting one, to say the least. Signed by the Indians out of the Dominican Republic back in 2010, the now-26-year-old Garcia was released at the end of Spring Training in 2014. He was out of affiliated ball from 2014-18 before the Cubs rediscovered him playing for a professional team in Italy. Garcia obviously didn’t enter the season considered to be anywhere near the Cubs’ upper echelon of prospects, but he’s rapidly put himself on the team’s radar and now finds himself ticketed for the big leagues.

“He’s completely exceeding everybody’s expectations,” Cubs director of international scouting Alex Suarez told Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register in late June. “Obviously, it’s a surprise to the organization that he’s been able to make the adjustment as quickly as he has.”

To say that Garcia has made adjustments is an understatement. In a combined 291 plate appearances between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, Garcia has posted an eye-opening .285/.364/.594 batting line with 21 home runs, 14 doubles and a triple. He’s punched out an alarming 31 percent of the time thus far, including 34.2 percent in Iowa, but Garcia’s power is clearly a source of genuine intrigue — particularly with Addison Russell once again underwhelming at the plate and offseason pickup Daniel Descalso struggling to a similar extent. Garcia has played all four infield slots with the Cubs this season and is a switch-hitter, making him a particularly interesting and versatile asset for the Cubs.

White Sox To Release Yonder Alonso

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The White Sox have requested unconditional release waivers on first baseman/designated hitter Yonder Alonso, according to a club announcement. He’ll formally become a free agent once he clears waivers on Friday. A team could technically claim Alonso, but doing so would mean claiming the remaining $4.83MM still owed to him, which won’t happen given the former All-Star’s considerable struggles in Chicago.

Alonso, 32, was acquired partly because the Sox envisioned him to be a productive partner for Jose Abreu in a first base/DH timeshare but also likely as a means of enticing his brother-in-law, Manny Machado to choose the Sox in free agency. Neither of those things came to fruition, however. In 251 plate appearances this season, Alonso has floundered at .178/.275/.301 pace with seven home runs.

Alonso is still not far removed from an All-Star appearance in a 2017 season that saw him emerge as one of the poster boys for MLB’s “fly-ball revolution.” The former No. 7 overall draft pick (Reds, 2008) put a focus on elevating the ball with the A’s that season and saw his fly-ball rate jump nearly 20 percent from his 2015 levels with the Padres. He raked at a .266/.369/.527 clip with Oakland before being traded to the Mariners. His fly-ball rate, launch angle and average exit velocity have steadily trickled downward since that strong 2017 campaign, however.

Once he clears waivers, Alonso will be free to sign with any club and would only be owed the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent in the Majors, with the Sox on the hook for the remainder of this season’s salary. Disappointing as his tenure on the South Side of Chicago was, Alonso will likely find interest elsewhere given his solid track record (although he may need to settle for a minor league contract).

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