Giants Claim Burch Smith, Designate Ryan Dull
The Giants have claimed right-hander Burch Smith off waivers from the Brewers, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. Smith had been in limbo since the Brewers designated him for assignment Friday. The Giants opened up a spot for Smith by designating fellow righty Ryan Dull for assignment, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group reports.
Smith’s the second waiver claim since Friday for the Giants, who took Kyle Barraclough from the Nationals then. Smith, like Barraclough, will report to Triple-A Sacramento. The 29-year-old Smith has pitched to an ugly 7.82 ERA/6.69 FIP with 9.95 K/9 against 7.11 BB/9 in 12 2/3 major league innings this season. He has been much better over 77 1/3 Triple-A frames, however, with a 2.33 ERA/4.29 FIP, 9.89 K/9 and 4.31 BB/9.
The 29-year-old Dull lasted only a week on the Giants’ 40-man – they claimed him from the Bay Area rival Athletics last Monday. Dull didn’t throw a pitch for the Giants, instead tossing three frames of three-run ball with their Triple-A affiliate. The once-promising major leaguer has spent the majority of the past two seasons in the minors.
Reds Claim Freddy Galvis
The Reds have claimed shortstop Freddy Galvis off waivers from the Blue Jays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.
This is the second notable waiver claim in the past week for the Reds, who are taking advantage of a system now devoid of an August trade deadline in an attempt to bolster their roster. The Reds grabbed right-hander Kevin Gausman off waivers from the Braves last Monday.
Gausman and Galvis could boost the Reds’ playoff chances this year – they’re five games back of a wild-card spot right now – and will be able to contribute to the club in 2020. In Galvis’ case, he’s on a $4MM salary this year, which the Reds will have to assume the rest of, and can be controlled with a $5.5MM club option (or a $1MM buyout) next season.
Also a former Phillie and Padre, the durable, switch-hitting Galvis, 29, has slashed a respectable .267/.299/.444 (93 wRC+) with 18 home runs and 1.4 fWAR in 473 plate appearances this year. He was expendable to the Blue Jays, who have seen youngsters Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio come up from the minors this season to grab a stranglehold on their middle infield spots.
The Reds’ middle infield doesn’t boast the type of promise the Blue Jays’ does, on the other hand. Free agent-to-be Jose Iglesias has been dealing with a biceps injury, which has left shortstop of late to the struggling Jose Peraza, and the light-hitting Iglesias’ offensive numbers have largely cratered since a decent start over the season’s first couple months. Meanwhile, having traded Scooter Gennett to the Giants at last month’s deadline, the Reds have turned to a combination of Peraza, Josh VanMeter, Kyle Farmer and Derek Dietrich at the keystone in the past couple weeks. Perhaps Galvis will also factor in at second, though he has spent almost all of his career at short since debuting in 2012.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Red Sox, Mets, Diaz, Rays, Jays
The Red Sox are going to have to “be creative” in the near future when it comes to drawing up a plan for their floundering rotation, manager Alex Cora said Sunday (via Chad Jennings of The Athletic; subscription required). The club has six days off in the next three weeks, which will enable it to skip certain starters, but there’s no denying Boston’s in trouble. The reigning world champions are what could be an insurmountable 7 1/2 games back of an American League wild-card spot, in part because their rotation has endured a Murphy’s Law year. Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez have arguably been the Red Sox’s best starters, but the former hasn’t been the dominant ace we’ve grown accustomed to watching, and the latter has been more good than great. Meantime, David Price is on the injured list (and went through a horrid stretch before hitting the shelf Aug. 8), former Cy Young winner Rick Porcello has been horrid, and the pre-trade deadline acquisition of Andrew Cashner has blown up in the team’s face.
Here’s more from the East Coast…
- Despite his ongoing struggles, the sizzling Mets aren’t considering demoting reliever Edwin Diaz to the minors, according to Andy Martino of SNY. The hyped offseason acquisition has surrendered at least one earned run in five of his past six outings, contributing to a horrendous 5.60 ERA in 45 innings on the season. That’s almost four runs higher than the 1.96 ERA the hard-throwing Diaz posted in his final season as a Mariner last year. Most of Diaz’s other numbers have also gone way downhill, though he has still struck out 14.6 batters per nine.
- The sprained right hand Rays outfielder Tommy Pham is “something he’s going to have to manage” through the end of the season, skipper Kevin Cash said Sunday (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). The Rays don’t expect Pham to land on the injured list, but it seems the sprain has negatively affected his production. He’s just 5 for 30 since suffering the injury, though Pham’s still batting a strong .266/.365/.440 with 16 home runs and 13 steals in 485 plate appearances on the season.
- Blue Jays executive vice president, business operations Andrew Miller has joined the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings as their chief operating officer, Adam Schefter of ESPN tweets. Miller had been with the Blue Jays since 2016. His familiarity with Jays president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins dates back to their time in Cleveland’s front office. For more on the Vikings and the NFL, visit ProFootballRumors.com.
Latest On Yankees’ Voit, Severino, Betances, Sabathia
Surgery has seemed like a strong possibility for Yankees first baseman Luke Voit since he landed on the injured list with a sports hernia on July 31. Fortunately for New York, however, Voit’s “very optimistic” he’ll be able to avoid going under the knife, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic tweets. Voit will hit Tuesday for the first time he went to the IL.
Core problems have derailed Voit’s season dating back to the start of July, when an abdominal strain forced him to the shelf. This has nonetheless been a strong season for the 28-year-old Voit, who has slashed .278/.392/.493 with 19 home runs in 416 plate appearances. Voit has been one of the top offensive performers in a New York offense that has survived one major injury after another this year en route to a first-place tie for the American League’s best record. With him and DH/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion currently among wounded Yankees, the club has been deploying a combination of utilityman extraordinaire DJ LeMahieu and Mike Ford at 1B. A large cast, including Ford, has been sharing DH duties of late.
Like New York’s offense, its pitching staff has faced notable injuries throughout 2019. The Yankees’ top starter, Luis Severino, and their No. 1 setup man, Dellin Betances, haven’t pitched at all because of shoulder and lat problems. But both right-handers got through their bullpen sessions Monday without issues, per Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network (Twitter links). Expectations are that Severino will throw one more bullpen before he graduates to facing live hitters. There’s optimism he’ll be able to help the Yankees’ rotation by mid-September, David Lennon of Newsday observes. Betances will toss another bullpen Wednesday.
Meanwhile, left-hander CC Sabathia is progressing in his recovery from right knee inflammation and could rejoin the Yankees’ rotation for their series against Cleveland this weekend, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Sabathia has been on the IL since July 28.
Drew Steckenrider Done For Season
When we previously checked in on injured Marlins reliever Drew Steckenrider in mid-June, there was optimism he’d return in early August. Steckenrider’s flexor strain has continued to shelve him, though, and there’s no end in sight. The right-hander will miss the rest of the season, Glenn Sattell of MLB.com was recently among those to report. Steckenrider underwent a scope on his pitching elbow Friday, though the Marlins are optimistic he’ll be fine by spring training next year.
This was a season to forget for Steckenrider – not only thanks to the injury, but because he fell flat over the 14 1/3 innings he did pitch. Steckenrider coughed up 10 earned runs on nine hits, including six home runs, in that span. He did total 14 strikeouts against five walks, but that decent ratio couldn’t help the 28-year-old overcome his sudden gopher ball issues.
Steckenrider entered the season as a potential trade chip for the Marlins, with whom he notched much better production over the previous two years. As a rookie in 2017, Steckenrider fired 34 2/3 innings of 2.34 ERA/3.10 FIP pitching and posted a sky-high 14.02 strikeouts per nine (against 4.67 walks). Steckenrider wasn’t as crisp last year across a larger sample of 64 2/3 frames, yet he still put up a useful 3.90 ERA/3.62 FIP with 10.3 K/9 and 3.76 BB/9. Notably, Steckenrider surrendered just one HR for every nine innings during his initial two seasons. That number soared to 3.77 this year.
With his value way down, Steckenrider doesn’t figure to be an offseason trade candidate for rebuilding Miami. However, he could end up on the block next summer if he bounces back in the season’s first few months. Steckenrider’s not on track to become eligible for arbitration until after next year or hit free agency until the conclusion of the 2023 campaign.
AL Central Notes: Soler, Tigers, Ross, Twins
Seven years after leaving Cuba for a $30MM guarantee with the Cubs, former star prospect Jorge Soler is enjoying his best major league season yet. Now a member of the Royals, Soler has smashed seven home runs in nine games this month, giving him 35 on the season. Soler, the owner of an overall .259/.344/.555 line in 498 plate appearances, spoke about his 2019 success Sunday, saying (via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com): “The only thing I have thought about was I was traded for a big-time pitcher and I wanted to live up to those expectations. I didn’t do it at the beginning. But I want to thank the organization for believing in me, for trading for me with and giving up that caliber of a player [in Davis]. There’s a weight off my shoulders now because I’ve finally lived up to those expectations.”
Then-standout closer Wade Davis was the “big-time pitcher” the Royals traded to the Cubs for Soler in a December 2016 swap. Soler then endured a miserable first year with the Royals, who kept him in the minors most of the season, but has logged quality offensive production since. Consequently, as Flanagan notes, the 27-year-old is sure to opt into arbitration after the season. Doing so will enable Soler to collect a raise over the $4MM salary he’s currently slated to earn in 2020. That’ll be the ninth and final season of his contract.
More from the AL Central…
- There’s still no timetable for the return of Tigers right-hander Tyson Ross, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Ross hasn’t pitched since May 10 because of a nerve issue in his neck. He’s continuing to deal with “tightness” there, Tigers head athletic trainer Doug Teter said Sunday. In Teter’s estimation, there’s a connection between Ross’ neck problems and the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he underwent as a Padre in 2016. “According to the doctors, these aren’t Thoracic Outlet symptoms,” Teter said. “But that is a large surgery, a huge process, and it makes you wonder. I am going under the assumption that, yes, it does have something to do with it.” Ross’ TOS procedure helped knock what was an impressive career off the rails. The 32-year-old bounced back somewhat between San Diego and St. Louis in 2018, leading Detroit to hand him a $5.75MM guarantee in free agency last winter. Ross has given the Tigers just 35 1/3 innings of 6.11 ERA/5.99 FIP ball, though.
- Twins utilityman Willians Astudillo won’t return from an oblique strain until September, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. This will go down as a nightmarish regular season for Astudillo, who has been out since June 27 and saw his numbers nosedive before he went on the injured list. The versatile Astudillo became a fan favorite in Minnesota last year, when he burst on the scene with a .355/.371/.516 slash in a 97-plate appearance debut, but he’s only carrying a .263/.282/.383 line in 142 attempts this season. Astudillo does, however, own rather interesting strikeout and walk percentages (3.5 K, 1.4 BB).
- The Tigers have halted concussed outfielder Christin Stewart‘s rehab assignment as a result of “another setback,” according to manager Ron Gardenhire (via McCosky). Stewart, already down since July 29, will have to restart the concussion protocol. This adds to a tough rookie season for the 25-year-old Stewart, who has batted .239/.321/.393 with minus-0.6 fWAR in 327 trips to the plate.
Latest On Jake Arrieta
Phillies right-hander Jake Arrieta has spent a large portion of the season trying to pitch through a bone spur in his elbow. Now, though, the pain could force him to the operating table.
After the Phillies’ loss to the Giants on Sunday, Arrieta told Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia and other reporters that his elbow “hurts every day.” On whether he’ll continue working through the issue, Arrieta said: “I don’t necessarily want to make a decision right now. We’ll have the off day Monday and maybe have a conversation on Tuesday.”
Arrieta’s elbow problems would seem to at least partially explain the former Cy Young winner’s severe drop-off this season. The 33-year-old turned in another poor performance Sunday, yielding five earned runs on seven hits in three frames, and hasn’t recorded the definition of a quality start (at least six innings, three earned runs or fewer) since June 19. Arrieta’s struggles have led to a 4.64 ERA/4.89 FIP over 135 2/3 innings in a season that has become increasingly disappointing for the Phillies.
On the heels of an ultra-aggressive winter, Philadelphia opened the campaign with National League East title aspirations. The club delivered early, sitting nine games over .500 as recently as June 9, but it’s now a mediocre 60-58. While the Phillies are still a manageable two games behind a wild-card spot, they’re nine back in the NL East, where they sit in fourth place.
It’s clear the Phillies’ starting staff is among the primary reasons they’ve essentially tread water to this point. Aside from Aaron Nola, no starter they’ve consistently trotted out has been all that effective. Even Nola’s aggregate production has fallen off from 2017-18. But there’s no bigger letdown in the bunch than Arrieta, whose days as a front-end starter have appeared over throughout his time with the Phillies.
Since inking a three-year, $75MM contract entering 2018, Arrieta has given the Phillies 308 1/3 innings of 4.26 ERA/4.53 FIP ball. The ex-Cub’s deal gives him the ability to opt out after this season, but thanks to his middling output and injury situation, that isn’t going to happen. Likewise, the Phillies aren’t going to exercise an option that would add two years and $40MM to the pact. As a result, Arrieta will earn $20MM in 2020, which seems likely to wind up as his last season with the Phillies.
West Notes: Hill, Mariners, Martes, Panda
There was already speculation that Rich Hill would be used as a reliever when he returns from the injured list, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed it today, telling reporters (including The Athletic’s Pedro Moura) that there isn’t enough time left in the season for Hill to properly prepare for a starter’s workload. A flexor tendon strain has sidelined Hill since June 20, and while he is making progress in his rehab, it seems like he is still some weeks away from getting back on a big league mound.
In terms of the postseason rotation, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw is an awfully enviable top three, though as Moura notes, the battle for the fourth starter’s job is up for grabs. Kenta Maeda, Dustin May, Julio Urias, and Tony Gonsolin are all candidates, or Moura says the club could pick more than one of these arms in “a piggy-back combination.” With a big lead in the NL West, L.A. has plenty of time to experiment for the remainder of the regular season.
Here’s more from both the NL and AL West…
- Mariners outfielders Mitch Haniger and Braden Bishop are both set to begin rehab assignments at Class-A Modesto on Tuesday, MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes. Both players have been out of action for almost two months due to frightening injuries — Haniger underwent surgery to fix a ruptured testicle, while Bishop suffered a lacerated spleen just prior to his call-up to the big leagues in early June. In other Mariners injury news, Felix Hernandez will make a rehab start for Seattle’s Class-A affiliate in Everett this week. Johns figures after that outing, Hernandez will still need to put in a rehab outing at Triple-A (which would be the veteran right-hander’s fourth rehab start overall) “before there’ll be any consideration of rejoining the Mariners.”
- The Astros are close to adding Francis Martes back to their 40-man roster, the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome writes. The right-hander was issued an 80-game PED suspension back in March, and his stint on the restricted list was extended due to a visa issue that has now been resolved. Martes still isn’t any closer to pitching, however, since he underwent Tommy John surgery almost exactly one year ago and won’t be ready until Spring Training. Martes posted a 5.80 ERA over 54 1/3 innings for the Astros in 2017, which marked his only Major League appearance. Martes was a consensus top-30 prospect prior to the 2017 campaign, though even before his TJ surgery and suspension, his stock had already begun to drop due to shaky Triple-A numbers in 2017 and 2018.
- Pablo Sandoval has loose bodies in his elbow that could require offseason surgery to correct, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman and other reporters. For now, Sandoval is being rested as he deals with elbow inflammation. If Sandoval does go under the knife, such surgeries are usually relatively minor procedures, though any sort of injury red flag is of note for a pending free agent, especially given how the market has been so unfriendly to veteran corner-infield types like Sandoval in recent years. The Panda celebrated his 33rd birthday on Sunday, and the longtime Giants fan favorite is enjoying his best season in years, hitting .269/.314/.509 over 295 PA as a part-time player in San Francisco.
2020 Vesting Options Update
With over two-thirds of the 2019 season in the books, let’s check in to see how seven players are progressing towards possible vesting options in their contracts. For those unfamiliar with the term, a vesting option is an agreed-upon threshold within a player’s contract (usually based on health and/or playing time) that, if achieved, allows the player to alter the terms of the contract for the next season, and perhaps beyond in some cases.
Some vesting options aren’t reported, so it could be that more players beyond this septet could also be playing towards gaining more guaranteed money or contractual freedom for the 2020 season. For now, let’s examine just these seven names…
Yonder Alonso, Rockies: Under the terms of the two-year, $16MM deal Alonso signed with the Indians in the 2017-18 offseason, his $9MM club option (with a $1MM buyout) for 2020 becomes guaranteed if the first baseman first passes a physical, and then hit plate-appearance benchmarks. Unfortunately for Alonso, he has only 287 PA this season, so he’s on pace to fall well short of reaching either 550 PA in 2019 or 1100 total PA in 2018-19 — either of which would’ve caused his option to vest.
Andrew Cashner, Red Sox: Having struggled through six starts since coming to Boston in a trade from the Orioles, the Sox have a legitimate performance-related reason for moving Cashner out of their rotation. There would also be a financial motive involved, as Cashner’s $10MM club option for 2020 would become guaranteed if he amasses 340 total innings in 2018-19. After today’s abbreviated outing against the Angels, Cashner now has 279 2/3 IP over the last two seasons, putting him within distant range of causing his option to vest if he keeps receiving starts. (Incidentally, the option could also vest into a player option if Cashner hits the 360-inning threshold.)
Sean Doolittle, Nationals: The closer finished his league-high 47th game of the season today, giving him 82 games finished since the start of the 2018 season. Should Doolittle reach 100 games finished, the Nationals’ $6.5MM club option ($500K buyout) on Doolittle for 2020 would vest into a mutual option, giving him the opportunity to opt out of his contract and enter into free agency. This is definitely one to watch down the stretch, since with the Nats in a postseason race and the rest of their bullpen struggling, D.C. won’t hesitate to use their closer for every save situation possible. Manager Davey Martinez has used Doolittle in a traditional late-game role, so shifting him into high-leverage situations outside of the ninth inning to cut down on his games-finished numbers would be a risky (and controversial) tactic, to say the least.
Chris Iannetta, Rockies: With 110 starts at catcher since the beginning of the 2018 season, Iannetta won’t reach the 220 catching starts he needed to convert the Rockies’ $4.25MM club option on his services for 2020 into a guarantee.
Wade LeBlanc, Mariners: The unique extension signed by LeBlanc in July 2018 carried three $5MM club option years for 2020-22 that can all vest into guarantees. That 2020 option turns into guaranteed money if LeBlanc throws 160 innings in 2019 and doesn’t have a left arm injury at season’s end. A month-long IL stint due to an oblique strain earlier this season almost certainly ended LeBlanc’s chance at the 160-inning plateau, as he has only 98 IP thus far. While he’s still eating a good share of innings as a “bulk pitcher” behind an opener in most outings, it seems likely that LeBlanc won’t reach his vesting threshold.
Brandon Morrow, Cubs: Morrow’s two-year, $21MM deal carried a 2020 vesting option worth $12MM, or a $3MM buyout. It wasn’t actually known what the terms were of this option, though since injuries have kept Morrow from pitching since July 15, 2018, it’s safe to assume the option won’t vest, and Morrow will be a free agent this winter.
Oliver Perez, Indians: The veteran southpaw appeared in his 49th game of the season today, so barring injury, he’s a lock to hit the 55 appearances required to guarantee his $2.75MM club option for 2020. He also seems like a pretty safe bet to lock in even more money, as that option will be guaranteed at $3MM if Perez pitches in 60 games. The Tribe likely won’t at all mind having Perez back for another season, as the reliever continues to dominate left-handed batters.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Mets, Maddon, Cole, Holland
Click here to read the transcript of Sunday’s baseball chat, moderated by MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk