Johnny Cueto Makes First Rehab Appearance
As anticipated, veteran Giants hurler Johnny Cueto officially embarked upon a rehab assignment over the weekend. Journalist Alex Simon had the details (Twitter link; hat tip to Andrew Baggarly.)
Cueto’s return to a competitive pitching environment came almost exactly one year to the day of his 2018 Tommy John surgery. The 33-year-old has obviously made significant progress in his recovery and is now firmly on track to return to the MLB mound late this season.
The results were rather impressive for an initial showing, even if it came against rookie ball competition. Of his 21 pitches, Cueto threw 19 for strikes — seven of them of the swinging variety — while racking up five strikeouts in a pair of hitless innings. He was already sitting in the same range with his fastball that he did last year (90.5 mph). While that was a low point for the veteran, it seems promising that his arm speed is already at least to that level.
Unconvinced? Want to see it with your own eyes? Well, Cueto has you covered. He thoughtfully posted every pitch of his outing to his Instagram account.
Cueto is obviously excited about the prospect of a return, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. The plan is for him to make another rookie ball outing before moving to the High-A level for several additional outings. Cueto will ultimately need at least two full tune-ups at the highest level of the minors before he makes it back to the MLB mound.
The Giants altered their trade deadline approach after a winning streak brought them back into the Wild Card picture, so Cueto could provide a nice boost this year. Regardless of how the standings look when he’s ready to return, Cueto will be looking to reesteablish his form before shutting things down for the offseason. The Giants owe him $21MM annually through 2021, along with a $5MM buyout on a 2022 club option.
Tim Beckham Receives 80-Game PED Suspension
Mariners infielder Tim Beckham has been suspended for eighty games under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, according to a league announcement. The league says that Beckham tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Stanozolol.
The 29-year-old Beckham was the first overall pick of the 2008 draft. He joined the Seattle organization on a one-year, $1.75MM contract over the winter after struggling last season with the Orioles.
In a statement, Beckham places the blame on a “tainted” substance he was given by “a trusted source.” (Twitter link via MLBPA.) But his appeal to the league was already considered and rejected.
Beckham had been in the midst of a solid bounceback season. He has continued to struggle to reach base consistently, but made up for that with sufficient pop to produce at a league-average rate. Over 328 plate appearances in Seattle, he owns a .237/.293/.461 slash with 15 home runs.
It had seemed that Beckham was a candidate to be traded at the deadline — or, perhaps, to move via waiver claim this month. Instead, he’ll spend the rest of the year on the restricted list and seek a new chance next year. Beckham will still have to sit out for 32 games to begin the 2020 season.
MLBTR Poll: Will The Mets Make A Wild Run?
An optimist might point out that the Mets now have the best record in baseball since they sent rookie slugger Pete Alonso out for an All-Star tater-mashing bonanza. A pessimist might counter that the club has mostly feasted on sub-par teams in doing so.
And a realist? He or she would focus on what’s truly notable about the New York club’s recent run: the fact that it puts the Mets back to within clear shouting distance of Wild Card position. These twenty-some-odd games didn’t really tell us much about the talent level of this team. They did change the math of the postseason picture.
Fangraphs’ projection-based postseason odds take a fairly favorable view of the Mets, valuing them as a .546 winning-percentage true-talent outfit. It is decidedly less enthused with the Cardinals, Phillies, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Reds, and Rockies … yet projects all of those clubs in the vicinity of .500. The view is notably dimmer on the Giants, but even in that case, we’re looking at a ~fifty game sample in which all kinds of good and bad fortune (run distribution, injuries, high-leverage happenstance, bad hops, missed calls, etc.) can and will intervene.
When reasonable go-forward expectations are so tightly clustered, the starting point in the standings matters quite a bit. That’s why the Mets and Phillies have near the same odds, by Fangraphs’ reckoning, with the former’s estimated true-talent advantage offset by the latter’s existing lead. The Mets have reeled in the pace-setters in the Wild Card race (less so the division), to the point that they’re one of the more plausible teams to land in the play-in game. (Per Fangraphs, the Citi Field denizens rank third among the five non-division-leaders that project to a 20%+ likelihood. 538 and especially B-Ref are less bullish on the Mets.)
Emerging from this jam-packed field will be a matter of exploiting small advantages, squeezing value from the dusty corners of the roster, making correct decisions and performing in the key moments. Do the Mets have an advantage with a loaded rotation? Or are they doomed by a leaky pen? Will their spunky young leaders continued to drive the bus, or struggle when they encounter late-season adjustments from newly attentive pitching staffs? Will GM Brodie Van Wagenen and manager Mickey Callaway pull the right levers and push the right buttons?
There are too many considerations to even begin listing them all. How do you think it’ll turn out? (Poll link for app users.)
Will The Mets Make The Postseason?
-
No 52% (6,184)
-
Yes 48% (5,605)
Total votes: 11,789
White Sox Purchase Contract Of Hector Santiago
The White Sox announced today that they have purchased the contract of lefty Hector Santiago. He’ll take the 40-man spot of fellow southpaw swingman Manny Banuelos, who was moved to the 60-day IL to make way.
In other news, backstop Welington Castillo was reinstated from the family medical emergency leave list. He’ll technically serve as the 26th man in today’s doubleheader, meaning that the team will have to make a further active roster move thereafter.
Santiago, 31, is in his third stint with the Chicago organization. He opened his career on the South Side and also pitched there last year. Santiago struggled in a brief MLB stint earlier this year with the Mets. In eighty total frames at Triple-A in 2019, he carries a 4.50 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 32 walks.
Latest On Garrett Richards Rehab
Last winter, the Padres placed a limited but still-significant bet on the still-healing right arm of Garrett Richards. The expectation was that the Tommy John rehabber would be at full strength for the 2020 campaign and might even be ready in time to make a late contribution in 2019.
As of early July, it seemed things were proceeding well. Richards was ultimately sent out to begin a rehab assignment in mid-July, starting a thirty-day clock for potential MLB activation. That wasn’t a hard timeline — MLB rules allow the commissioner to grant up to three, ten-day rehab extensions for pitchers returning from TJS — but the 31-year-old would not have been put in a competitive pitching environment had he not been deemed ready to begin his march back to the MLB mound in earnest.
Richards started off gingerly, making two brief appearances with the Friars’ rookie ball Arizona League affiliate. His rehab work was placed in a higher gear in late July, when he joined the San Diego High-A outfit at Lake Elsinore. Richards didn’t exactly dominate in his first start: he allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks, while generating just one strikeout, over 57 pitches in 2 1/3 innings.
It was encouraging, then, to see Richards come out of the gates in better form yesterday. He ran up five strikeouts against two walks and two base hits over 2 2/3 innings. Richards had only thrown 51 pitches to that point, thirty of them for strikes, so he surely was slated to remain on the hill at least to record his ninth out — if not also to begin the fourth inning.
Unfortunately, Richards ended up departing the mound at that point. The official word (Twitter link) is that the veteran righty was pulled with “apparent discomfort in his right shoulder.” The Mad Friars Twitter account indicates that trainers were looking at Richards’s shoulder rather than his recently repaired (and long problematic) elbow. While that’s not necessarily comforting in and of itself, it’s good to hear that the decision to pull him from the mound was deemed precautionary and that there’s no current expectation that Richards will miss a start.
Even if this proves to be a blip, it seems we’re still at least a few weeks away from potentially seeing Richards in the majors. Given its place in the standings, the San Diego club has no reason to proceed with anything but the utmost caution with the hard-throwing right-hander. He’ll still need to build his pitch count up and also spend some time fine-tuning against higher-level competition. And the organization will ultimately need to clear 40-man roster space to accommodate Richards (as will be required regardless once the season ends and the 60-day injured list goes dormant).
2018 Rule 5 Draft Update
Let’s check in on the players chosen in the 2018 Rule 5 draft …
On Active MLB Roster
Richie Martin, SS, Orioles (from Athletics): While most Rule 5 draftees have been shipped back to their original organizations or shelved on the injured list, Martin is sill grinding on the Orioles’ roster. It hasn’t been pretty, as Martin has struck out in 29.2% of his 240 plate appearances while maintaining an ice-cold 81.0 mph average exit velocity. He carries paltry .191/.249/.300 batting line and grades out as a distinct negative at shortstop. He has simply been one of the worst players in baseball. But the rebuilding O’s can take the pain and obviously feel it’s worth the while for the toolsy 24-year-old.
Brandon Brennan, RHP, Mariners (from Rockies): There have been some ups and downs over the course of the season. Brennan has a 55.4% ground-ball rate and has compiled 9.3 K/9 on a 13.7% swinging-strike rate. Unfortunately, he is also dishing out too many free passes (5.3 BB/9) and carries a 5.56 ERA. A strained shoulder offered a respite, but Brennan was activated from the injured list today. With the M’s continuing to churn through pitching to keep their staff afloat, it’s likely Brennan will be afforded further opportunity to establish himself in the majors.
Injured List
Travis Bergen, LHP, Giants (from Blue Jays): The southpaw was mostly solid for the first month and a half of the season, getting knocked around twice for multiple runs but putting up zeroes in fifteen of his sixteen other appearances. Through 17 innings, he carried a 4.24 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks. His 6.7% swinging-strike rate wasn’t exactly cause for excitement, and he’d have faced a tough path to keep his roster foothold over the ensuing months, but a shoulder injury put Bergen on ice. Now well into his rehab, where he owns a 3.63 ERA and 18:10 K/BB ratio in 17 1/3 innings, Bergen could be sent packing if the surprisingly competitive Giants don’t want to clear active and 40-man roster space when he’s ready.
Elvis Luciano, RHP, Blue Jays (from Royals): Still 19, Luciano has been completely overmatched in the bigs. In 27 2/3 innings over twenty appearances, he carries a 6.51 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 23 walks. But the Jays are committed to earning full rights over the live-armed youngster. Now that he’s on ice for an elbow strain, the roster pressures are eased. If Luciano makes it back this year, he’ll likely continue to see sparing action while running out the clock. If not, the team will simply need to put him on the active roster for at least 14 days in order to acquire his rights permanently. (To be kept, a player must be kept on the MLB roster for an entire season, with at least ninety days spent on the active roster. Luciano spent 76 days with the Jays this year before hitting the IL.)
Returned After Start Of Season
Kyle Dowdy, RHP, returned to Indians by Rangers (via Mets): The 26-year-old never found a groove in Texas, allowing more walks (18) than he generated strikeouts (17) in his 22 1/3 innings while pitching to a 7.25 ERA. He hasn’t thrown well in the minors, either, though most of his innings came in a rehab stint with the Rangers. We’ll see whether the Cleveland organization can help him unlock the talent that led to his initial selection.
Riley Ferrell, RHP, returned to Astros by Marlins: Not only did Ferrell endure the tumult of the Rule 5 process, but he failed even to get a single MLB appearance out of the whole affair. An ill-timed, late-spring injury cut off his chance at earning an Opening Day job and the Marlins decided against creating roster space after watching Ferrell’s rehab work. Now back in the Houston organization, he has thrown 7 1/3 solid frames in the upper minors, allowing just one earned run while recording nine strikeouts against four walks.
Reed Garrett, RHP, returned to Rangers by Tigers: It seemed Garrett had a real shot at staking out a bullpen role in Detroit, but he couldn’t keep his edge. Through 15 1/3 MLB innings, he was tagged for 14 earned runs and managed only an ugly 10:13 K/BB ratio. Things haven’t gone all that much better since Garrett landed back at Triple-A with the Rangers org. He’s sporting a 6.03 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 31 1/3 innings there.
Connor Joe, INF/OF, returned to Dodgers by Giants (via Reds): Soon to turn 27, Joe didn’t impress in a 16-plate appearance sample with San Francisco to hang onto his roster spot. But he’s turning in strong work at Triple-A now that he’s back with the Dodgers. Joe owns a .300/.427/.526 slash with 14 home runs and a healthy combination of sixty walks and 68 strikeouts.
Drew Jackson, INF, returned to Dodgers by Orioles (via Phillies): The 26-year-old barely got a look in the majors, striding to the plate four times but failing to record his first hit. Unfortunately, he has not followed up on a promising 2018 campaign now that he’s back in the Dodgers system. In 251 plate appearances at Triple-A, Jackson is slashing just .223/.328/.340.
Chris Ellis, RHP, returned to Cardinals by Royals (via Rangers): Ellis has gone backwards since going back to the St. Louis organization after just one MLB outing in Kansas City. He has been tagged for 7.49 earned runs per nine in 57 2/3 innings. Ellis’s walk total, 37, matches the number he gave out last year — in 132 2/3 frames.
Returned Before Start Of Season
Sam McWilliams, RHP, returned to Rays by Royals: The tall right-hander has taken his licks since being promoted to the hitter-friendly International League, but earned the bump up with a strong run at the Double-A level to begin the season back with the Tampa Bay organization (2.05 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 87 2/3 innings).
Jordan Romano, RHP, returned to Blue Jays by Rangers (via White Sox): As it turns out, Romano got his first look at the majors the old-fashioned way, via mid-season call-up. That only lasted four appearances, but Romano is now on the Toronto 40-man. He has struggled to deliver consistent results, but does have 58 strikeouts in 39 1/3 total innings between the majors and Triple-A.
Nick Green, RHP, returned to Yankees by Diamondbacks: Green still hasn’t really found his footing since going back to the New York organization. After missing time with a shoulder injury, he has posted an ugly 7.91 ERA in 46 2/3 Double-A innings.
Drew Ferguson, OF, returned to Astros by Giants: Ferguson certainly earned his return trip to the Houston organization with a lowly showing in spring camp, but he has equally earned his keep since. Through 382 plate appearances at Triple-A, Ferguson is slashing .290/.398/.449 with nine long balls. If he’s not dealt or added to the 40-man roster over the offseason, he could again be a possible Rule 5 target.
AL Injury Notes: Dyson, Rangers, Luzardo, Zimmermann
Newly acquired Twins reliever Sam Dyson went to the injured list Sunday with right biceps tendinitis. It turns out the issue has been bothering him since mid-July, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com tweets. Dyson let Twins general manager Thad Levine know about the discomfort “a few days ago,” per Park, who reports the club decided to shut him down thereafter. It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Dyson, who had been enjoying a great year before Minnesota acquired him from San Francisco at the trade deadline, and for a Twins team that made him its headlining July pickup. Dyson pitched twice for the Twins before going on the IL and put up calamitous numbers in both outings, yielding six earned runs on six hits and retiring just two hitters.
- The Rangers have shut left-handed prospect Taylor Hearn down for the season because of renewed irritation in his pitching elbow, though doctors don’t believe it’s related to his ulnar collateral ligament, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Hearn originally suffered the injury during a nightmare of a major league debut against the Mariners on April 25. The 24-year-old Hearn started the game, but he ultimately recorded only one out and gave up five runs (four earned) on four walks and three hits. MLB.com ranked Hearn as the Rangers’ 11th-best prospect the day of his first promotion. He’s now 26th on the list.
- Better news from Grant, who reports injured Rangers righties Edinson Volquez and Shawn Kelley are progressing toward returns. Volquez, who’s set to retire after the season, will start a rehab assignment Wednesday as he works back from an elbow strain that has shelved him for almost the whole year. Biceps soreness has kept Kelley out since July 12, though the Rangers could activate him Tuesday. The 35-year-old has served as the Rangers’ closer at times this season, saving 11 of 15 chances, and has posted an effective 3.00 ERA/4.10 FIP with 8.73 K/9, 1.36 BB/9 and a 30.1 percent groundball rate in 33 innings.
- Athletics lefty Jesus Luzardo got through a two-inning rehab appearance unscathed Monday, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Luzardo will now move from the rookie level to Single-A ball, where he’ll make a three-inning start Saturday. The prized 21-year-old hasn’t been able to make his much-anticipated major league debut this season on account of shoulder and lat injuries. Luzardo could, however, serve as a late-season reinforcement for the wild card hopefuls.
- The Tigers placed righty Jordan Zimmermann on the IL on Monday with a right cervical spasm, the team announced. It’s the latest setback in an ugly Detroit tenure for Zimmermann, whose five-year, $110MM contract has been a bad investment for the club from the get-go. This season, Year 4 of the deal, Zimmermann has logged a 7.13 ERA (with a better, albeit unspectacular, 4.80 FIP) in 72 innings.
Seunghwan Oh Signs With KBO’s Samsung Lions
Reliever Seunghwan Oh is returning to his homeland to sign with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization, Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News reports (Twitter links). Oh has inked a one-year, $490K deal to join the Lions, with whom he began his professional career in 2005.
Oh isn’t going to pitch again this year, as he’s set to undergo season-ending elbow surgery. The Rockies released Oh last month after finding out he’d need the procedure, and that parting of ways may go down as the 37-year-old’s final major league transaction. If it does, the right-hander will conclude his big league tenure with a 3.31 ERA, 10.05 K/9 against 2.23 BB/9, 45 holds and 42 saves in 225 2/3 innings divided among the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Rockies.
Oh signed with the Cardinals prior to the 2016 season after a resoundingly successful run in Asia. He pitched with Samsung from 2005-13, during which he saved a KBO-record 277 games, logged a sparkling 1.69 ERA in 510 1/3 innings and earned the nickname the “Final Boss.” Oh then had a highly productive two-year tenure with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan before he headed to the majors.
Now that he’s back with the Lions, Oh will have to overcome a couple obstacles before taking the mound again. Not only will he have to recover from his surgery, but Oh will be required to serve a 72-game suspension for a gambling conviction in Korea, according to Yoo. He’ll sit 42 games this season and the other 30 next year.
NL Injury Notes: Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Brewers
Dodgers southpaw Rich Hill has made just one appearance in relief since he revived his career in 2015, but it’s possible he’ll finish the season in bullpen when he comes off the injured list, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register relays. Hill has been out since June 20 with a flexor tendon strain, and while his recovery’s going well, he may not have enough time to build up his arm strength for a return to the Dodgers’ rotation. “Ideally, starting is the priority,” said Hill, but he’s just eager to “get back to pitching” in some capacity. Meanwhile, utilityman Chris Taylor – who fractured his left forearm July 14 – remains hopeful he’ll come back at the low end of the four- to six-week period the Dodgers said he would miss. Taylor will first have to embark on a rehab assignment, though, and he hasn’t progressed to that point yet.
More from the NL…
- Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler is dealing with pectoral discomfort, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report. The Cubs will have more information on Kintzler on Tuesday, but a stint on the injured list would be another unwelcome development for a bullpen that just lost closer Craig Kimbrel to the IL. Kintzler has rebounded from a rocky 2018 to serve as one of the Cubs’ go-to bullpen arms this season. The 35-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 2.33 ERA/3.45 FIP with 7.77 K/9, 1.94 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent groundball rate in 46 1/3 innings.
- The Phillies are “optimistic” injured lefty reliever Adam Morgan will pitch again this year, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. A second opinion confirmed Morgan won’t need surgery after a flexor strain forced him to the IL on Aug. 2. He won’t return to throwing for two weeks, however, and that’s assuming he gets through that time frame without pain. Morgan owns a 3.94 ERA/4.33 FIP with 8.8 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 across 29 2/3 frames. Lefties have hit a horrid .143/.250/.204 against him.
- The Brewers sent one of their top starters, righty Zach Davies, to the IL with a back issue on Monday. Davies discussed the problem with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters, saying he’s “not concerned” it’ll lead to a lengthy absence. Davies has fallen flat over his most three most recent outings, though the wild card-contending Brewers can ill afford to go without another starter for a long period. They were already sans their No. 1, Brandon Woodruff, as well as Jhoulys Chacin before Davies hit the shelf. To this point, Davies has defied underwhelming peripherals to post a solid 3.74 ERA in 122 2/3 innings.
Cubs Have Reportedly Shown Interest In Jonathan Lucroy
The NL Central-leading Cubs are suddenly in an unfavorable position behind the plate, where they’ll go without injured star Willson Contreras for about a month. With the trade deadline having passed and short-lived Cubs reserve Martin Maldonado now a member of the Astros, Chicago’s lacking avenues to bolster its depth at catcher. The Angels are set to release veteran Jonathan Lucroy, though, and the Cubs have shown interest in the two-time All-Star, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Although Lucroy has gone through a rough couple years since his halcyon days with the Brewers and Rangers, the Cubs aren’t in position to be choosy at his spot. Victor Caratini, who has taken over for Contreras, has performed well this season and may have what it takes to hold the position down for the next few weeks. But the Cubs are without a remotely established backup for Caratini, who only has the untested Taylor Davis behind him on the team’s 40- and 25-man rosters. The 29-year-old Davis has picked up a meager 36 plate appearances at the major league level since he debuted in 2017, and he hasn’t provided much offense in the minors over the past couple seasons.
While Davis may not be the answer behind Caratini, the same could apply to Lucroy. Now 33 years old, Lucroy’s once-excellent hitting and formerly pristine pitch-framing skills have experienced severe drop-offs of late. After Lucroy struggled mightily with the Athletics in 2018, he joined the Angels over the winter on a $3.35MM guarantee in free agency. However, the Angels cut the cord on Lucroy after 268 trips to the plate and a gruesome injury he has since recovered from.
Although Lucroy’s 2019 offensive numbers (.242/.310/.371 – good for an 84 wRC+) are presentable for a catcher, he has declined into one of the game’s worst defenders behind the plate. The catcher-needy Cubs could nonetheless take a low-risk flier on Lucroy in hopes he’ll give them a better backup than Davis.