Latest On Seranthony Dominguez
Phillies right-hander Seranthony Dominguez has spent much of the 2019 season trying to avoid Tommy John surgery, though an upcoming medical examination could finally send the former closer under the knife. As manager Gabe Kapler told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury and other reporters, Dominguez will be examined by the head of the Phillies medical staff this week after the righty experienced elbow soreness during his most recent throwing session.
Dominguez has been sidelined since early June, and it seemed like surgery was all but assured after tests revealed a damaged ulnar collateral ligament. Instead, Dominguez opted for a PRP treatment after a consultation with Dr. James Andrews, in the hopes that the reliever could potentially heal in time for a return before season’s end. Now, “one would suspect that surgery is a strong possibility” if Dominguez is still sore after all this time, Salisbury writes.
After bursting into the majors with an impressive 2018 rookie season, Dominguez’s performance took a step back, though he was still largely an effective reliever over 24 2/3 frames for the 2019 Phillies. Dominguez posted a 4.01 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 54.5% grounder rate, and 2.42 K/BB, though an increased homer rate and big BABIP jump (.220 in 2018 to .323 in 2019) conspired to boost the 24-year-old’s ERA over a full run beyond his 2.95 mark from last season.
Though Dominguez wasn’t expected to factor into save situations quite as often, the Phillies were still excited to see what the homegrown product with the 97.8 mph fastball could do in his sophomore campaign. Instead, Dominguez was one of a seemingly endless string of injured Philadelphia relievers, and should Tommy John surgery indeed be his fate, he’ll also miss the entire 2020 season.
NL Central Notes: Jeffress, Kela, Baez, Darvish, Suarez, Reds
The Brewers released Jeremy Jeffress today, but before parting ways with the former All-Star, Milwaukee tried shopping the reliever within the NL Central. The Athletic’s Robert Murray reported back in July that the Brewers and Pirates were discussing a trade that involved Keone Kela, and Murray reports today that a Jeffress-for-Kela swap was floated between the division rivals, though “talks never gained traction.”
While the Bucs were (and possibly still are) open to moving Kela in trade negotiations, the controversial right-hander isn’t necessarily a totally expendable piece for the Pirates, whereas Jeffress was clearly no longer in Milwaukee’s plans, as GM David Stearns indicated today to Murray and other reporters. While Stearns left the door open for a potential reunion with Jeffress down the road, the reliever was hampered by a lack of trust in his splitter and a loss of velocity, possibly due to a heavy workload in 2018 or a shoulder injury that sidelined him for most of Spring Training. “I think his arsenal changed this year. That’s something that’s been well documented, not only with the fastball velocity but with the loss of a pitch that had become extremely important in his repertoire,” Stearns said. “When you lose a pitch, you have to become a different pitcher and it’s certainly possible that Jeremy can become a different pitcher and be effective. We just didn’t see it consistently enough to count on him at any point this year.”
Here’s more from around the NL Central…
- The Cubs received a twin dose of injury scares on Sunday when Yu Darvish was scratched from his start due to right forearm tightness. In that same game, Javier Baez suffered a sore neck and a jammed left thumb after sliding into Orlando Arcia‘s knee during a third-inning steal of second base. Baez stayed in the game before being removed in the seventh, and while he may miss a game or two, x-rays were negative on his hand and the shortstop expects to be fine. Darvish’s injury is more ominous, particularly since the righty has been dealing with the issue for his last five outings, as pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including MLB.com’s Russell Dorsey). Despite the late scratch, Maddon thinks Darvish will be ready to make his next turn in the rotation. Needless to say, the Cubs can’t afford to lose any key contributors given the tight status of both the NL Central and NL wild card races.
- Eugenio Suarez left the Reds‘ 5-3 win over the Cardinals tonight after being hit on the left hand during a fifth inning plate appearance. Suarez will be evaluated tomorrow after the swelling subsides. The third baseman has continued to be an offensive force for the Reds (.261/.342/.546 with 40 home runs in 568 plate appearances) despite a worrying spike in swing-and-miss, as Suarez has a league-high 161 strikeouts.
- The Reds‘ pitching has gone from a major weakness in 2018 to a strength in 2019, and while some new acquisitions like Sonny Gray and (the since-traded) Tanner Roark played a part in that improvement, Cincinnati’s biggest addition might have been pitching coach Derek Johnson. C. Trent Rosecrans and Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required) break down how several of the Reds’ arms have changed their tactics from last season now that they’re under Johnson’s tutelage.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/1/19
Wrapping up minor league moves from around the game…
- The Pirates outrighted Rookie Davis off their 40-man roster, as per John Dreker of Pirates Prospects. The move was made to clear 40-man space for the Bucs’ upcoming September promotions, which Dreker says will take place after Triple-A Indianapolis finishes its season on Monday. Davis will remain at Triple-A, where he has spent most of the season apart from a five-game stint on Pittsburgh’s MLB roster in May and June. Davis has a 5.64 ERA, 1.82 K/BB rate, and 6.8 K/9 over 52 2/3 IP for Indianapolis, though his season has been abbreviated by a 60-day IL stint due to forearm and hand issues. Perhaps best known for being part of the four-prospect package sent from the Yankees to the Reds in the original Aroldis Chapman trade in 2015, Davis has an 8.05 ERA over 34 2/3 Major League innings.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Padres, Harper, Phillies, Anderson, Marte
Click here to read a transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat, moderated by MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk
Reyes Moronta Suffers Season-Ending Shoulder Injury
Reyes Moronta‘s season is over, as the Giants right-hander has suffered a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. (Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report the news.) It isn’t yet known if Moronta will undergo surgery, though it is being considered.
Such an outcome isn’t unexpected given Moronta’s extreme reaction last night upon suffering the injury. After throwing a pitch to Luis Urias in the sixth inning of last night’s 4-1 Giants loss to the Padres, Moronta fell to the ground in obvious pain, and needed a few minutes to recover before leaving the field.
Depending on the severity of the tear and other details regarding the injury, surgery could potentially keep Moronta on the IL for a very lengthy time, perhaps to the extent of putting his entire 2020 season in jeopardy. Sean Manaea, Arodys Vizcaino, and Jimmy Nelson are a few recent example of pitchers who underwent similar labrum procedures, with Manaea returning to the mound just today after missing over a year, and Nelson representing more of a worst-case scenario since he missed over a season and a half of action. Again, it won’t be known if Moronta is looking at a similar timeframe given the specifics of his own tear, though obviously he, the Giants, and the doctors will explore whether or not the injury could heal without surgical intervention.
The news brings an unfortunate end to a second consecutive season of very solid work for Moronta out of the Giants’ bullpen. The hard-throwing righty posted a 2.86 ERA, 11/1 K/9, and 2.12 K/BB rate over 56 2/3 innings this season, following a 2.49 ERA over 65 frames in 2018. Walks have been a continual problem for Moronta, as his 5.2 BB/9 is one of the chief reasons advanced metrics are less impressed by his work (3.57 FIP, 4.84 xFIP, 4.30 SIERA this season), though he has done an admirable job of keeping the ball in the park during the homer-happy 2019 season — Moronta’s 6.5 % homer rate is the sixth-lowest of any pitcher in baseball with at least 50 innings pitched this year.
Moronta is a homegrown Giants product, signed out of the Dominican in 2010 as a 17-year-old free agent. He has worked almost exclusively as a reliever during his pro career, and was in line to assume a larger role in San Francisco’s bullpen given how the Giants already parted ways with some veteran relievers at the trade deadline, and face the potential loss of Will Smith to free agency this winter.
Mets Re-Sign Ruben Tejada
The Mets have re-signed infielder Ruben Tejada to a minor league contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Tejada won’t yet be part of the expanded September roster in New York, as he’ll report to Triple-A Syracuse for now.
It was only a brief separation between the two parties, as the Mets just released Tejada earlier this week. He’ll continue to provide backup infield depth at Triple-A, and is probably ticketed back to the big leagues before too long. The 29-year-old has appeared in six games for the Mets this season after signing his initial minors contract back in March. That six-game stint marked Tejada’s Major League appearance since 2017, as he spent 2018 with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate and didn’t receive a call-up, ending a string of eight consecutive years of MLB action.
Tejada was hitless over nine plate appearances in those six Mets games this season, but he has a very strong .330/.408/.476 slash line over 304 PA for Syracuse.
Notable September Callups
We’ll track the flurry of notable callups as roster expand on September 1.
Latest Moves
- The Mets promoted left-hander Daniel Zamora and right-hander Tyler Bashlor from Triple-A, and also selected the contract of second baseman Sam Haggerty. (The club posted a fun video on its Twitter account of the players receiving the news.) A 24th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2015 draft, Haggerty came to the Mets last winter part of the trade that sent Kevin Plawecki to the Indians. Haggerty began the year at low-A ball and worked his way up to the Show after posting a .907 OPS over 49 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Earlier Updates
- The Diamondbacks announced a slew of callups today. Most notably, the club has selected the contract of outfielder Abraham Almonte and recalled right-hander Jon Duplantier. Almonte, 30, has logged time as a reserve each of the past six seasons, to the tune of a career .237/.294/.367 slash (79 wRC+). Duplantier, one of the club’s top pitching prospects, has battled injury issues in recent years but offers a high-upside bullpen piece for the stretch run.
- The Rays‘ September additions include a number of notable players, with Nate Lowe headlining a group of five call-ups. He’ll be joined by Peter Fairbanks and Daniel Robertson, among others.
- The Braves announced they’ve recalled utilityman Johan Camargo. Camargo was optioned after the club signed Adeiny Hechavarría to replace the injured Dansby Swanson at shortstop. Swanson’s back now, and Hechavarría is still on hand, so it’ll be a tough climb for Camargo, who’s mired in a dreadful season. He’s only a year removed from a productive age-24 campaign, though.
- The Padres will select the contract of right-handed reliever David Bednar, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The 24 year-old gets a little lost among the Padres’ loaded system, but he boasts a pair of plus offerings in his fastball and curveball, opine Kiley McDaniel and Eric Lognenhagen of Fangraphs. Despite a less-than-stellar reputation for his command, Bednar has dazzled in the Texas League this season, pitching to a 2.95 ERA with elite strikeout (35.8%) and walk (7.5%) numbers.
- The Indians announced today they have selected the contracts of Ryan Flaherty and James Hoyt. They’ve also recalled Eric Haase. Flaherty’s solid Triple-A work this year has earned him his seventh consecutive big league season, where he’ll serve as infield depth for the club down José Ramírez. Hoyt logged 72.2 innings with the Astros from 2016-2018 and offers right-handed bullpen depth, while Haase, 26, is a power-hitting catcher with contact issues.
- The Yankees announced they have selected left-hander Tyler Lyons. The veteran reliever just signed a minor-league contract with the organization a few weeks ago and adds depth to a loaded bullpen. Right-hander David Hale was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man space. The Bombers also recalled right-handers Ryan Dull and Chance Adams and outfielder Clint Frazier.
- The Cardinals have selected catcher Joe Hudson, per a team announcement. The 28 year-old got into eight games last year with the Angels. He’s had a tough season offensively with Triple-A Memphis, slashing .223/.293/.411. Outfielder Lane Thomas was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a season-ending wrist injury. Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets that veteran backstop Matt Wieters is day-to-day with a calf strain, so the club elected to bring Hudson and Andrew Knizner aboard to bolster their catching depth.
- The Brewers announced they have selected the contract of first baseman Tyler Austin. A former Yankee, Twin and Giant, Austin has a strong minor-league track record and brings some right-handed power, but has mustered only a .220/.288/.451 line in 556 career MLB plate appearances thanks to untenable strikeout rates.
- Top Astros prospect Kyle Tucker isn’t up yet, but he will be shortly, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Houston’s additional reinforcements will be announced tomorrow, Rome adds. The 22 year-old corner outfielder has again laid waste to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and has nothing left to prove at the minor-league level, but opportunities have been few and far between in the Astros’ loaded lineup.
- Just-acquired first baseman Ryan McBroom will be selected to the Royals‘ active roster shortly, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. As Flanagan notes, the 27 year-old was likely to be added to the 40-man this offseason to protect him from the Rule V draft regardless, so there’s little harm in giving him his first taste of MLB action in the meantime. The former 15th-rounder has put up strong offensive numbers throughout his minor-league career, culminating in a .315/.402/.574 line in the Triple-A International League this season.
Phillies Announce Roster Moves
5:26PM: In other roster moves, the Phillies activated Jay Bruce from the 10-day injured list and called up left-hander Cole Irvin from Triple-A. The club also selected the contracts of infielder Phil Gosselin, righty Nick Vincent, and catcher Deivy Grullon from Triple-A. This will mark the 23-year-old Grullon’s first taste of MLB action, after a seven-year stint in Philadelphia’s minor league system that includes an impressive .283/.354/.496 slash line over 457 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
3:38PM: The Phillies have designated right-handed pitcher Drew Anderson for assignment, according to an official team announcement. He’ll be dropped from the team’s 40-man roster, along with Adam Morgan and Jerad Eickhoff, who were transferred to the 60-day injured list.
The 25-year-old Anderson has only managed to get into two games for the Phillies this year, tossing six innings in his third big-league season. It hasn’t been a promising showing for Anderson, who surrendered five runs in those six innings, walking as many batters as he struck out. Unfortunately, those numbers represented a continuation of his struggles in his first two trials in Philadelphia. For his career, Anderson is sporting an unsightly 7.71 ERA over 21 innings of work.
What’s more, the minor-league numbers for Anderson haven’t been much more encouraging. While he’s excelled at Double-A, it seems that Triple-A has represented a significant barrier; across three seasons at the level, Anderson owns a 4.34 ERA while striking out only 7.4 batters per nine innings. If he clears waivers, he could accept an outright assignment and remain within the Philly organization — if he isn’t released. Otherwise, another team could take a chance on him and hope to turn him into a viable reliever.
Dodgers’ Scott Alexander, Tyler White Won’t Return This Year
A pair of injured Dodgers have been ruled out to return this season, manager Dave Roberts told reporters including Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, who reports that neither Tyler White nor Scott Alexander will suit up for the Dodgers in September.
White landed on the injured list more than two weeks ago owing to a right trapezius strain. The 28-year-old joined the Dodgers in a late-July trade when the Astros could no longer justify holding onto him and his .612 OPS. Unfortunately, his performance was even worse in the brief showing he got as a Dodger. By Fangraphs’ WAR, White has been one of the least valuable hitters in baseball this year, though he won’t have a chance to reverse his fortune over the last month of the season.
Alexander, meanwhile, has tallied only 17 1/3 innings pitched this year thanks to injuries and his deployment largely as a lefty-specialist. He excelled in that role last season—his first with the Dodgers—though his performance has taken a hit in 2019. He’s managed to strike out just 4.9 batters per nine innings, which is made that much worse when compared to the 3.6 walks he concedes per nine innings. He has been on the injured list since mid-June while dealing with forearm inflammation. He’s already spent 60 days on the shelf, so he is eligible to be activated, though evidently he isn’t ready to return to game action.
Neither White nor Alexander seemed likely to crack the Dodgers postseason roster, and either could be a candidate to be designated for assignment. Alexander will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, while White remains in his pre-arb years. Even with years of team control, neither has made an especially strong case to remain on the team beyond this season, though it wouldn’t be costly to keep the duo around in hopes that they can return to form. Alexander, in particular, has a strong track record as a groundball-inducing lefty, though the Dodgers’ need in that department has been filled by Adam Kolarek.
Twins, Marlins Complete Sergio Romo Trade
TODAY: Per Craig Mish of FNTSY Radio, the trade has been finalized with the Marlins sending cash considerations to the Twins. It had been previously reported that Minnesota would receive a player to be named later in addition to Romo and Vallimont.
JULY 27, 8:21pm: Both teams have announced the trade.
7:48pm: Righty Chris Vallimont is the minor league pitcher going to Minnesota, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. They’re also getting a player to be named later, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports.
7:33pm: Romo is indeed going to the Twins, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The Twins are also getting a minor league pitcher, Joel Sherman of the New York Post relays. The Marlins will acquire first base prospect Lewin Diaz, according to Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press.
7:28pm: The Twins are “deep into talks” to acquire Marlins reliever Sergio Romo, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. A deal’s likely to be completed.
The 36-year-old Romo served his purpose for the rebuilding Marlins, who signed him for $2.5MM in free agency last winter with the intent of eventually trading him. A former Giant, Dodger and Ray, the three-time world champion continued his effectiveness in Miami, where he notched a 3.58 ERA/3.88 FIP with 7.88 K/9 against 3.11 BB/9 in 37 2/3 innings. Romo also converted 17 of 18 save attempts.
Romo’s velocity maxes out in the mid-80s, making him one of the game’s least imposing hurlers, and he only induces ground balls at a 36.4 percent clip. However, Romo has long shown a penchant for forcing a boatload of infield pop-ups, having done so 14 percent of the time this season, and generating a large amount of soft contact. Romo ranks near the top of the league in hard-hit rate and exit velocity against, according to Statcast, which credits him with an even better expected weighted on-base average against (.276) than the .282 wOBA hitters have mustered off him this year.
Based on his career production and the numbers he has totaled this season, Romo should be a welcome pickup for the Twins, who’ve been in the market for bullpen help for weeks. And his addition shouldn’t preclude them from finding more late-game aid in the coming days. The Twins’ bullpen entered play Saturday ranking better than average in K/BB ratio (ninth) and FIP (11th), but the unit’s closer to middle of the pack in ERA (14th). Moreover, the Twins have jettisoned a handful of notable relievers – Mike Morin, Matt Magill, Adalberto Mejia and Blake Parker – since last week. Those four combined for just over 100 innings of work as part of Minnesota’s relief corps this season. Of their remaining arms, only closer Taylor Rogers and setup man Ryne Harper have recorded easily above-average numbers over a large sample of work.
In Diaz, 22, the Twins are parting with a player they originally signed out of the Dominican Republic for $1.4MM in 2013. Baseball America (subscription required) just ranked Diaz as the Twins’ 10th-best prospect earlier this month. BA lauds Diaz’s defensive ability at first, though it’s worth pointing out he has also excelled on the offensive side in 2019. After opening the season on a tear at the High-A level, Diaz advanced to Double-A for the first time and has since slashed .309/.348/.602 (165 wRC+) with six home runs in 135 plate appearances.
Also 22, Vallimont joined the Marlins as a fifth-round pick just last year. Back then, BA highlighted Vallimont’s fastball – which can hit 96 mph – and “wipeout slider.” More recently, the outlet rated as him as Miami’s 27th overall prospect. Vallimont has produced terrific results this year between the Single-A and High-A levels, where he has combined for a 3.16 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 105 1/3 innings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.