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Padres Promote Luis Urias

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Aug. 28: The Padres have formally announced Urias’ promotion to the Majors. Asuaje has been optioned to Triple-A to open a spot on the active roster. San Diego has also placed lefty Clayton Richard on the 10-day disabled due to inflammation in his left knee and activated right-hander Colten Brewer from the disabled list in his place.

Aug. 27: The Padres are set to promote highly regarded infield prospect Luis Urias, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He is expected to debut tomorrow.

Urias, 21, is widely considered one of the crown jewels of a Padres system that, the organization has long hoped, will usher in a golden age of baseball in San Diego. There’s a clear consensus that he’s one of the most promising young players in baseball, with outlets such as Fangraphs (#22), MLB.com (#22), and Baseball America (#29) rating him among the game’s thirty or so best prospects.

There’s a lot to like about Urias’s potential as a hitter. He features a rare combination of plate discipline and contact ability that has allowed him to hit over .300 while carrying nearly a .400 OBP over his five minor-league seasons. Power isn’t a strong suit, though Urias has increased his home-run output over recent campaigns and this year has put the ball over the fence eight times in 533 plate appearances.

It seems fair to note, too, that Urias has the kind of underlying skills that could allow him to come into more power at the game’s highest level. In recent years, we’ve seen several players — Jose Altuve, Francisco Lindor, and Jose Ramirez among them, to take a few famous examples — develop surprising pop after reaching the bigs. Whether or not Urias is destined for that kind of outcome obviously isn’t yet known, but it seems notable that MLB.com credits him with more raw power than his outcomes indicate while BA cites Urias’s impressive exit velocity.

To be sure, Urias would likely generate even greater excitement if he was considered a future shortstop. Still, he is also valued for his defensive potential. Most evaluators indicate that he’ll likely be a high-quality defender at second base. It doesn’t hurt that he’s considered at least capable of playing shortstop as well; indeed, Acee says that Urias will get some time there upon his arrival.

For the Padres, this promotion offers an opportunity to get a look at a player who’s expected to hold down an important role for years to come. Urias will not accrue enough service time this year to put himself on track for future Super Two status. If he stays in the majors from here on out, he won’t be eligible for free agency until at least 2025. Picking up thirty-plus days of MLB action will make it a bit harder for the Friars to hold Urias down to open the 2019 season in hopes of extending the team’s control rights.

If he shows well upon his arrival, Urias will likely enter camp next year as the odds-on favorite to open the season as the regular second baseman. San Diego has not received much production from its options at the position thus far in 2018, after all, so the organization is no doubt anxious to plug in a permanent piece. Jose Pirela, Carlos Asuaje, and Cory Spangenberg have all failed to take advantage of opportunities at second this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mariners Select Shawn Armstrong

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Shawn Armstrong from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned fellow right-hander Nick Rumbelow to Double-A Arkansas to open a spot on the active roster. Seattle already had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no further moves were necessary to accommodate Armstrong’s return to the big leagues.

Armstrong, 27, saw time in the Majors with the Indians across the 2015-17 seasons but was traded to Seattle in exchange for international bonus pool space this past offseason. The Mariners exposed Armstrong to outright waivers just three months later when a need for roster space arose in Spring Training. He’d go on to clear and remain in the organization, which could prove fortuitous for the Mariners.

Through 56 innings out of the Rainiers’ bullpen in Triple-A, Armstrong has been nothing short of overpowering. He’s posted a sterling 1.77 ERA while averaging 13.2 strikeouts, 4.2 walks and 0.48 homers per nine innings pitched, collecting 15 saves along the way. It should be noted that Armstrong is no stranger to gaudy Triple-A numbers, but he’s done a better job of limiting walks this year than in recent seasons while still maintaining a hefty strikeout rate.

Armstrong will join the Mariners with 43 1/3 innings of Major League experience already under his belt from his time with the Cleveland organization. In that time, he’s pitched to a 3.53 ERA but hasn’t matched his minor league strikeout tendencies, averaging 7.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Cardinals Extend Mike Schildt

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4:08pm: The three-year term on Shildt’s contract includes the current season, as Shildt’s new contract runs through the 2020 campaign, per Jen Langosch of MLB.com (on Twitter). The Cardinals have formally announced that Shildt has shed the “interim” label on his title and is now the full-time manager.

2:35pm: The Cardinals will make official today what had increasingly become obvious: interim manager Mike Shildt is going to stay in the job beyond the present season. He’s slated to receive a three-year contract in addition to having the interim label removed. Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter) and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) had the news.

Since taking the helm of a club that was sitting just one game over .500 just past the season’s halfway point, Shildt has guided the Cards to a 26-12 record. The club is now firmly back in contention. Of course, numerous roster moves came along with the firing of Mike Matheny, and it’s always hard to allocate praise and blame for managerial performance, but the organization obviously had cause to be pleased with the early returns on the new skipper.

Shildt opened the year as the Cards’ bench coach, which in and of itself represented a remarkable rise in the game. He never played professionally and was first came to the St. Louis organization as a scout. Shildt rose steadily from there, ultimately becoming a manager in the lower minors and climbing the ranks to run the team’s top affiliate. He came to the MLB staff in 2017 as a quality control and then third base coach.

The Cardinals know Shildt well and are clearly impressed with his work to this point, though it’s nonetheless a bit surprising to see them remove the “interim” label from Shildt after just 38 games. Typically, even when organization have hired an interim manager on a full-time basis, he’s but one of many candidates amid a larger search at season’s end. That won’t be the case with Shildt, who has already overwhelmingly captured the hearts of many Cardinals fans and drawn praise from both his players and fellow coaches.

Michael Pineda Has Torn Meniscus, Won’t Pitch In Majors This Season

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Right-hander Michael Pineda has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee and will not pitch in the Majors this season, Twins manager Paul Molitor revealed to reporters (Twitter links via Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Lefty Adalberto Mejia is also done for the season due a nerve issue in his left arm that’ll require more than the remaining five weeks to sufficiently heal.

The knee injury for Pineda is a discouraging one, as the right-hander had all but worked his way back to health following 2017 Tommy John surgery and had been expected to make a few starts for the Twins in September. The silver lining is that Pineda’s arm is seemingly fine, and he should be ready for Spring Training without any real health restrictions.

Minnesota’s signing of Pineda to a two-year, $10MM contract was never about the 2018 season anyhow. While the club would’ve considered it a bonus had the big right-hander been able to pitch out of the ’pen or make a few starts in September, the real goal of the signing was to acquire a talented arm to insert into the 2019 rotation.

Pineda has struggled to find consistency in the Majors, but he’s averaged 9.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 while racking up grounders at a roughly league-average clip. That’s a favorable combination of skills for any pitcher, and Pineda will be viewed as an important piece in what the Twins hope will be a considerably better 2019 season.

As for Mejia, he could also be a part of the rotation picture next season, though the lack of a September platform to make his case for that role is disheartening for him in its own right. Minnesota acquired the now-25-year-old lefty from the Giants in the July 2016 trade that sent Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco, and he went on to make 21 starts for the Twins in 2017, working to a 4.50 ERA through 98 innings. Mejia notched a 3.32 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 62 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2018, and he’s posted a 2.01 ERA in 24 1/3 innings in the Majors this year.

The Twins’ rotation in 2019 currently projects to feature Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi. Pineda should be favored to hold down one of the two vacancies, and there’ll be several candidates to take the fifth starter’s job, including Mejia, Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart, Zack Littell and perhaps Trevor May. Minnesota could also look to either free-agent market or trade market this offseason for further rotation help, perhaps looking to condense some of those depth options into a more definitive upgrade to bolster the starting staff.

Athletics Place Brett Anderson On 10-Day DL

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The Athletics’ recent pitching injury woes continue, as the club announced today that lefty Brett Anderson has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a forearm strain. He joins fellow southpaw starter Sean Manaea on the shelf at an inopportune moment.

Oakland has turned in a remarkable surge, in no small part due to the unexpected contributions of several veteran hurlers. Anderson has certainly been among them, turning in 65 innings of 4.02 ERA pitching over 13 starts while earning just $1.5MM on the year.

The outlook for the lefty isn’t clear, but it’s always worrisome to hear of forearm problems. Anderson’s health history certainly doesn’t leave much room for optimism, though his back — not his arm — has typically been the culprit.

For the time being, righty Ryan Dull will come up to take the open spot on the roster. But the Athletics now seem to have an innings gap that will somehow need to be filled. Daniel Mengden is perhaps the top internal option, with Frankie Monts and Chris Bassitt also representing 40-man possibilities, but there are still a few days left to look outside the organization.

Mets Notes: Wright, Alonso, Bautista

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It emerged earlier today that Mets third baseman David Wright would appear with the organization’s top affiliate as he continues his rehab assignment. That seemed a good sign after a two-day rest period for Wright, perhaps even indicating that he would be readying for a return to the majors late this year.

In comments this afternoon, however, assistant GM John Ricco suggested that the organization hasn’t necessarily put in an order for a fresh #5 jersey top. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo was among those to cover (all links to Twitter), Ricco also announced that the team will not promote top first base prospect Peter Alonso this fall and gave the reasoning behind the club’s decision to trade away veteran outfielder Jose Bautista.

The 35-year-old Wright last saw action in the majors in May of 2016, but has continued to try to battle through a series of significant medical impediments in hopes of making it back. He was written off by most entering the year, and still faces long odds to return to being a player truly worthy of occupying a MLB roster spot, but will now get a shot to show his form at the highest level of the minors.

As Marc Carig of The Athletic recently documented (subscription link), Wright has to endure hours of preparation just to make it onto the field. Back, neck,and shoulder problems will continue to impact the veteran even if he’s able to filter back up to the majors.

Unsurprisingly, those limitations have seemingly left the organization feeling less than optimistic about Wright’s output. Still, it’s a bit jarring to hear Ricco’s account of the long-time team leader. “We just haven’t seen that level of consistency of playing on a quantity or quality basis at this point,” says Ricco, who calls it “unrealistic to think [Wright will] be activated anytime soon.”

As Ken Davidoff of the New York Post explained at the outset of the season, this coming offseason will represent a decision point for Wright and the Mets. He’s on the 60-day DL for the time being, but will take up a 40-man spot over the offseason. With $27MM left to go on Wright’s contract, and an insurance policy looming large in the background, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how things play out.

Meanwhile, Ricco explains that the hot-hitting Alonso wouldn’t receive much opportunity at first base in the majors late this year, with time slated to be shared between Jay Bruce, Wilmer Flores, and (once recalled) Dominic Smith. Of course, it’ll also mean that the 23-year-old Alonso won’t pick up any service time this season, making it easier for the organization to delay his promotion next season while still allowing him to play for much of the year. As ever, it’s hard to discern just how heavily the varying considerations weighed.

In the case of Bautista, who was just moved for a marginal return, Ricco says the idea was to clear the deck for the team to find plate appearances for existing players (not including Alonso, obviously). Plus, the Mets preferred to “do the right thing by Jose,” allowing the veteran to join a pennant race.

Braves Extend Tyler Flowers

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1:31pm: The Atlanta organization has announced the deal.

12:36pm: The Braves have agreed to an extension with catcher Tyler Flowers, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter links). He’ll receive a $6MM guarantee, including a $4MM salary for 2019 and a $2MM buyout for a 2020 option year that will cost $6MM if exercised. Flowers is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

It’s not terribly unusual for veteran players to reach shorter-term extensions at this stage of the season, but this contract still rates as a surprise. Flowers has been a quality performer since coming to Atlanta before the 2016 season, after all, and likely would have drawn interest from a fair number of other organizations had he waited to return to the open market.

Flowers, 32, carries a strong .264/.365/.409 batting line with the Braves. While he has trended south in terms of output in 2018, he’s also walking at a much-improved 13.5% rate. And batted-ball measures suggest he’s still capable of doing plenty of damage.

True, Flowers was somewhat fortunate to carry batting averages on balls in play of .366 and .342 in his first two seasons with the Atlanta organization. This year, he’s back down to .286 while carrying only a .110 isolated slugging mark. While it’s tempting to label that regression to the mean, it may well be that he’s actually experience markedly poor fortunate in 2018. Indeed, Statcast credits him with a strong .368 xwOBA, in contrast to the .317 wOBA that has actually resulted.

Notably, too, Flowers has graded consistently as one of the best pitch framers in all of baseball over the past several seasons. That’s a skill that the market would have valued. Flowers is generally regarded as at least a solid backstop in other regards, leaving him as an overall positive on the defensive side of the equation.

Given the always-limited supply of quality backstops, it seemed Flowers was well-placed to have his pick of opportunities. He’d likely be viewed as a possible starter or heavily-used timeshare candidate by a variety of organizations. It’s certainly arguable he’d be seen as a more desirable player than some or all of last winter’s highest-paid backstops, including Welington Castillo (two years, $15MM), Jonathan Lucroy (one year, $6.5MM), and Chris Iannetta (two years, $8.5MM).

Certainly, there were no guarantees that Flowers would have done significantly better in free agency. This winter’s market will certainly include some high-quality alternatives. And it’s reasonable to assume that the deal works out for Flowers. No doubt, the fact that he’s a Georgia native played into the decisionmaking.

Nevertheless, the signing leaves the Braves with a high-quality player at an appealing price for next year, with an extra season of flexible control to boot. That the organization was able to get a head start on its 2019 checklist even while trying to finish out an exceedingly exciting 2018 season represents a positive outcome for the club.

With Flowers on the books, the Braves now have a major box checked without breaking the bank. The club will likely pursue another backstop, which could (but need not) be a significant player, depending upon the other opportunities available.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Designate Mark Leiter

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The Phillies have designated right Mark Leiter, per a club announcement. That move will open the door for the acquisition of Jose Bautista, which is also now official.

Leiter, 27, has appeared in each of the past two major-league seasons. But he has yet to find much in the way of success at the game’s highest level. Through 107 1/3 MLB innings, most of them in 2017, he carries a 5.03 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.

A 22nd-round pick in 2013, Leiter put himself in contention for a MLB look with a strong 2016 season at Double-A. He hasn’t actually spent much time at the highest level of the minors, but has shown a bit more strikeout potential there than at his other stops. In 58 1/3 total frames at Triple-A, Leiter carries a 4.01 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Phillies Acquire Jose Bautista

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The Phillies have officially worked out a deal with the Mets to acquire veteran outfielder/third baseman Jose Bautista, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Philadelphia had claimed the veteran on revocable trade waivers.

New York will receive a player to be named later or cash to complete the deal, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (via Twitter). Bautista is only earning the league-minimum salary, so he won’t cost the Phils much in dollars.

The Phillies have already managed to squeeze in one defensively-limited slugger onto their roster, acquiring Justin Bour earlier in the summer. Now, they’ll shoehorn Bautista into the mix.

Of course, active roster space won’t be an issue in a few days’ time, as rosters are set to expand on Saturday. The Phillies will need to tie up a 40-man spot in order to carry Bautista, though.

Bautista is no longer the feared slugger of yore, and owns a sub-Mendoza batting average, though he can still drive the ball out of the park and draw a walk. His overall output on the season — .196/.339/.364 with 11 home runs in 342 plate appearances — translates to roughly league-average productivity (98 OPS+; 99 wRC+).

Perhaps there’s an argument to be made, though, that Bautista’s exceptional plate discipline and remaining pop make him a particularly interesting late-game pinch-hitting option. And the organization no doubt knows that it’s infusing a fiery competitor into its clubhouse at a moment when the team seemingly needs a jolt.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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