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Josh Donaldson To Begin Rehab Assignment Tuesday

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Aug. 27: Donaldson will set out on a rehab assignment tomorrow, tweets Nightengale. The Jays could pass him through waivers within 48 hours and have time to trade him before Friday’s deadline for postseason eligibility.

Nonetheless, it seems like a long shot that a club would be convinced of Donaldson’s health to the point it’d surrender enough prospect value to outweigh the value Toronto could receive from issuing a qualifying offer at season’s end. But, if the Blue Jays themselves consider Donaldson too great a risk to receive a QO, then they every reason to shop him aggressively in the limited window with which they’ll be presented.

Aug. 26: Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson will start a rehab assignment at the Single-A level within the next 48 hours, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. This is a key development because it could help pave the way for the Blue Jays to deal Donaldson this month, as he’ll be eligible to go on revocable trade waivers when he begins his rehab stint.

Donaldson has been on the disabled list since May 29 because of a strained left calf, which has killed the Blue Jays’ chances of trading the pending free agent. However, if Donaldson shows he’s healthy during his rehab stint, the Jays may be able to make a buzzer-beating deal involving the 32-year-old before the month concludes.

Even if Donaldson looks physically fine over the next few days, there’s no guarantee Toronto will find a return to its liking, given that Donaldson’s stock has declined this season. After starring from 2013-17, including his AL MVP-winning season in 2015, Donaldson has spent most of this year on the DL and hasn’t performed nearly as well as expected when he has taken the field. All told, Donaldson has slashed an underwhelming .234/.333/.423 in 159 plate appearances.

Beyond the injury and performance issues that have defined his season, Donaldson doesn’t come with a team-friendly salary. He’s owed the balance of $23MM (around $5MM), which figures to drive down his trade value if Toronto doesn’t eat a significant portion of the money. In the event those factors combine to preclude the Jays from trading Donaldson in August, they’ll still have a chance to receive compensation for him in the offseason. They’d need to issue Donaldson a qualifying offer (worth $17.4MM last offseason), which he’d have to reject before signing elsewhere.

Whether Donaldson finishes the season in Toronto or another city, the fact that he’s seemingly on the brink of a return is an encouraging development as he nears free agency. While this has been a nightmarish year for the three-time All-Star, it appears he’ll have a chance to rebuild some of his stock over the next few weeks.

AL East Notes: Orioles Prospects, Yankees, Estrada

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Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, the prospect who headlined last month’s Manny Machado trade, has struggled since being dealt to the Orioles but is beginning to show signs of life in Double-A, writes Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles have made some alterations to Diaz’s stance at the plate that they feel will be beneficial in the long run, even if the early returns have been lackluster. Manager Gary Kendall spoke to Meoli about Diaz’s impressive tools even as he fights through a slump (perhaps partially due to a paltry .234 BABIP, Meoli notes), and the column is filled with quotes from Kendall on his overall impressions of the 21-year-old Diaz. Meoli also checks in on the progress of all four other players involved in the Machado trade.

A few more notes from the division…

  • Didi Gregorius swung a bat Sunday for the first time since hitting the DL, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. The Yankees are optimistic about the outlook for both Gregorius and catcher Gary Sanchez, King writes, adding that Sanchez will head out on a Triple-A rehab assignment today. Sanchez will step right back into the lineup for regular work once healthy, manager Aaron Boone tells King. Boone wouldn’t commit to Gregorius being ready for activation when eligible but said he’s “optimistic.” Meanwhile, King notes that there’s still no meaningful update on Aaron Judge, who has yet to resume swinging as he waits for a chip fracture in his wrist to mend.
  • Trade candidate Marco Estrada didn’t do much to impress other clubs with a short start this weekend, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. After Estrada failed to complete three innings against the Phillies, the Blue Jays righty acknowledged to Nicholson-Smith and others that he’s been pitching through ongoing back discomfort over the past couple of weeks. That’s hardly a new issue for Estrada, who has struggled with a herniated disk in his back in the past and spent time on the DL due to back issues. He’s allowed at least three runs in five of his past six starts, including four starts with either four or five runs allowed in that time.

Looking Ahead To Cole Hamels’ 2019 Option

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When the Cubs traded for Cole Hamels just days prior to the non-waiver deadline, he was largely viewed as a rental. The discrepancy between his performance at Globe Life Park in Arlington (6.41 ERA, 6.16 FIP, 16 of his 23 homers allowed) and his performance on the road (2.93 ERA, 4.17 FIP, seven homers) led to some speculation that he could at the very least make the Cubs think. However, few could’ve predicted this level of dominance to open his stint with the Cubs.

Through 34 innings, Hamels is sporting a masterful 0.79 ERA with a 30-to-8 K/BB ratio, no homers allowed and a 54.2 percent ground-ball rate that would be the best of his career over a full season. The 34-year-old allowed a whopping 44.9 percent hard-contact rate with the Rangers but has seen that mark plummet to 27.9 percent with the Cubs. A sub-1.00 ERA surely isn’t sustainable for the lefty, but fielding-independent metrics — 2.36 FIP, 3.19 xFIP, 3.41 SIERA — all feel he’s very legitimately improved his performance. He’s leaned far more heavily on his fastball, shying away from cutters/two-seamers and (to a lesser extent) his breaking offerings since switching uniforms.

The rapid turnaround considerably enhances the possibility that the Cubs would want to retain Hamels for the 2019 season, though as Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports in his latest 10 Degrees column, the finances aren’t exactly straightforward. Per Passan, at the time of the trade, the Rangers agreed to pay the $6MM buyout on Hamels’ option. That money, however, wouldn’t go to the Cubs in the event that Chicago decides to exercise the option. So while some may have previously looked at Hamels as a $14MM decision for the Cubs, it’s a costlier one than that: either let the Rangers buy out the option or pay the full $20MM with no financial assistance from the left-hander’s former team.

It’s a small but dominant sample for Hamels, but if the improvements in his performance are as legitimate as they prove to be, a one-year deal worth $20MM for the Cubs would hardly be a stretch. Chicago already has plenty of starters under control for the 2019 season in Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, Drew Smyly and Mike Montgomery, though the front office could conceivably look to dump Chatwood in a swap of bad contracts and/or look at Montgomery and Smyly in long relief/sixth starter roles. Creating that level of depth in the rotation would hardly be a bad thing for the Cubs — especially with so much uncertainty surrounding Darvish, Chatwood and Smyly.

Conversely, if the Cubs opt not to pay Hamels at a premium rate for the 2019 season, the veteran’s free-agent stock will be fascinating to monitor. Much has been made of Hamels already regaining the velocity he appeared to have lost early in the season, and his recent work with the Cubs has potentially set the stage for a multi-year deal in free agency. Even one month ago, that would’ve seemed a long shot at best.

A month ago, Hamels looked like a back-of-the-rotation rental destined for a one-year deal in free agency. Now, the final month of the season and any potential postseason appearances, will prove pivotal for both Hamels and the Cubs in terms of each party’s future — to say nothing of the Rangers, who’d apparently be absolved of a $6MM commitment if Hamels remains with the Cubs.

With the caveat that things can once again change dramatically in a month, let’s see where readers stand on the issue at the moment (link to poll for Trade Rumors mobile app users)…

Quick Hits: Morales, Relievers, Archer, Leon

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Kendrys Morales set a new Blue Jays team record Sunday by homering in his seventh consecutive game.  With one more long ball on Monday against the Orioles, Morales will tie the MLB record of an eight-game homer streak, shared by Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, and Dale Long.  The streak highlights a rather remarkable turnaround to Morales’ season, one that seems directly tied to his decision to stop wearing the glasses he donned for the first six weeks of the 2018 campaign.  After posting a .499 OPS over his first 109 plate appearances, Morales has quietly been one of baseball’s hottest hitters, with a .308/.380/.560 slash line over his next 284 PA.  There aren’t any AL contenders with a glaring need for a DH-only player like Morales at the moment, so while a trade before the end of August is unlikely, Morales’ revival could give Toronto at least some hope of moving him in the offseason, even if the Jays have to eat some of his $12MM 2019 salary.

Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up Players’ Weekend…

  • Relievers were the only position group that seemed immune to last offseason’s stalled free agent market, as several bullpen arms scored lucrative multi-year contracts.  Looking ahead to this winter, however, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman wonders if the bullpen market could also begin to suffer, in no small because so many of the relievers who signed those big contracts last offseason have struggled in the first year of their deals.  This year’s free agent is headlined by such names as Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, and Cody Allen, though the latter three have seen their value diminish due to injuries or ineffectiveness.
  • Chris Archer allowed six runs in four innings in the Pirates’ loss to the Brewers today, and the right-hander now has a 6.45 ERA over five starts in a Pittsburgh uniform.  Needless to say, this isn’t what the Bucs were hoping for after landing Archer for a hefty prospect package at the trade deadline, though Archer himself doesn’t feel he’s that far off his usual form.  Archer told reporters, including The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel, that he thinks his struggles are “based on some minor things here and there that are easily adjustable.”  Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage feels Archer needs to pitch inside more often and move his fastball around the strike zone, though the bottom line is, as Archer said, “I just have to be better, period.”
  • As of Saturday, Red Sox pitchers had a 3.08 ERA when Sandy Leon was catching, compared to a 3.84 ERA with another catcher.  Leon’s game-calling and defensive abilities have made him a favorite of the Sox rotation, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes, and the team hasn’t lost a beat with Leon taking the bulk of playing time with Christian Vazquez on the DL.  Mastrodonato’s piece also delves into Leon’s early development as a player, and how his quick grasp of English helped him easily learn how to work with pitchers.

MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Manaea, Posey, Sanchez, Schebler, Smith

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(August 25th-August 26th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS | Depth Chart
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: C Buster Posey (hip impingement)
      • Posey will undergo season-ending surgery on Monday. His recovery time is expected to be 6-8 months.
    • Promoted: C Aramis Garcia

—

AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • BALTIMORE ORIOLES | Depth Chart
    • Promoted: SP Jimmy Yacabonis
      • Yacabonis was the 26th man for Saturday’s double-header. He started Game 1.
  • NEW YORK YANKEES | Depth Chart
    • Promoted: RP Luis Cessa
      • Cessa was the 26th man for Saturday’s double-header.

—

FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Giants Notes: Samardzija, Posey, Bart, Catching

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The latest from San Francisco…

  • Jeff Samardzija will get a second opinion on his bothersome throwing shoulder, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reports (Twitter link).  Samardzija has been out of action since mid-July with shoulder inflammation, and he most recently suffered a setback in his rehab process.  Shoulder issues also required Samardzija to serve another DL stint earlier in the year, and given the lack of time remaining in the season, the Giants could very well decide to simply shut the right-hander down.  The injuries have surely contributed to Samardzija’s poor numbers (6.25 ERA over 44 2/3 IP) in what has become a lost season for the veteran.
  • There aren’t many past instances of a catcher undergoing hip labrum surgery, as Fangraphs’ Jay Jaffe explores, so the Giants can’t really be sure of what to expect from Buster Posey going forward after the longtime star returns from his imminent procedure.  Undergoing this surgery could certainly help Posey regain some of his power, though since he’s entering his age-32 season, Posey might be due for something of a natural decline in any case.  The Giants can’t explore a full-time move to first base for Posey due to Brandon Belt’s presence, and because Posey’s defense behind the plate is such a big plus for the team, Jaffe explains.
  • The long-term answer for the Giants at catcher, of course, looks to be second overall pick Joey Bart.  In a subscription-only piece for The Athletic, Baggarly looks at the prospect’s first pro season, which has already been an impactful one.  Bart has already been promoted to low-A ball, and has a combined .306/.367/.589 slash line over 199 PA at the rookie league and low-A levels.  It wouldn’t be a shock to see San Francisco aggressively promote Bart in 2019, given that Posey himself took a quick route to the majors (drafted fifth overall in 2008, made his big league debut in 2009).  If Bart keeps up his progress, it will be interesting to see how the Giants manage the situation, given that Posey and Belt are both signed to big-money contracts through the 2021 campaign.

AL West Notes: Springer, Iwakuma, Meyer

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Some injury updates from around the AL West…

  • George Springer will be in the Astros’ starting lineup tomorrow, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).  The outfielder made his return to the field today with a pinch-hit appearance, marking Springer’s first action after missing Houston’s previous six games due to an injury to his left quad.  Between the quad problem and a DL stint due to a left thumb sprain, Springer has only appeared in four games since August 5, one of several injury absences that has contributed to the Astros’ narrowed lead over Oakland in the AL West race.  Even before the injuries, however, Springer was stuck in a protracted slump; he has only a .201/.304/.346 slash line over his last 272 plate appearances.
  • Hisashi Iwakuma pitched his first inning of the 2018 season, allowing one run on two hits during the frame as he began an A-ball rehab assignment (hat tip to MLB.com’s Jake Rill).  It was Iwakuma’s first action of any kind since a minor league start in June 2017, as shoulder problems limited him to six Major League starts in 2017 and have continued to keep him sidelined all of this year, despite his undergoing arthroscopic surgery last September.  If Iwakuma can stay healthy, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has suggested that the veteran righty could see some action in Seattle’s bullpen before the season is out.
  • Angels right-hander Alex Meyer recently received a cortisone shot in his bothersome throwing shoulder, GM Billy Eppler told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters.  Despite this setback in Meyer’s lengthy recovery from shoulder surgery, he is expected to resume throwing in a few days’ time.  Meyer underwent the procedure to fix his torn shoulder labrum last September, and wasn’t expected to return until the 2019 season, so this setback doesn’t necessarily hint at larger problems for the 28-year-old as he tries to resume his career.

Athletics Place Sean Manaea On DL

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6:50PM: Manaea’s problem only arose today while the southpaw was playing catch, manager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser and other media.  Manaea will undergo an MRI, and has already left the A’s on their road trip to head back to Oakland for further examination.

12:41PM: The Athletics have placed left-hander Sean Manaea on the 10-day disabled list with a shoulder impingement and recalled reliever Emilio Pagan from Triple-A Nashville, per a team announcement.

It’s unknown if Manaea will miss any time beyond the 10-day window, though it’s clear the location of the injury is alarming, and it likely helps explain his recent dip in velocity. This development is all the more troubling for the Athletics given both Manaea’s importance to their rotation and the fact that they’re fighting for a playoff spot. Oakland will enter play Sunday four games up on AL West rival Seattle for the league’s second wild-card spot and just 1 1/2 behind the division-leading Astros.

A good portion of the A’s unexpected success this season has come thanks to the 26-year-old Manaea, who easily leads the team in starts (27) and innings (161 2/3). Along the way, Manaea has pitched to a 3.59 ERA/4.25 FIP with 6.05 K/9, 1.79 BB/9 and a 44 percent groundball rate. His DL placement continues a run of poor injury luck in the A’s starting staff, which is also without Jharel Cotton, A.J. Puk, Andrew Triggs, Kendall Graveman and Paul Blackburn and has seen Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson miss extended periods of time. As a result of that slew of injuries, Manaea had been the last man standing from Oakland’s season-opening staff, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle points out.

Despite its myriad injuries, the A’s patchwork rotation – which currently includes Cahill, Anderson, Mike Fiers, Edwin Jackson and Chris Bassitt – has fared decently this year. Oakland’s starters have managed to bridge the gap to a quality bullpen, ranking 16th in the majors in both ERA (4.04) and fWAR (7.7). Fiers has made positive contributions to those numbers since the A’s added him in a trade with the Tigers on Aug. 6, and his acquisition now looks all the more timely in the wake of Manaea’s injury.

Nationals Notes: Herrera, Harper, Trades

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Kelvin Herrera had to be removed from the field on a cart after suffering a potentially serious left foot injury in the ninth inning of the Nationals’ 15-0 win over the Mets today.  Herrera took a bad step while fielding a ground ball, and fell down on the ground after completing the out at first base.  Manager Davey Martinez told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other reporters that Herrera’s foot was the issue, not the right-hander’s Achilles.  Results aren’t yet known from x-rays taken on Herrera after the game, though he was seen in the clubhouse on crutches and wearing a protective boot.  Herrera ranked sixth on MLBTR’s recent list of the top 20 August trade candidates, though today’s unfortunate news may make it unlikely that Herrera returns to the field at all this season.  [UPDATE: X-rays were negative, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports.  Herrera will undergo further tests tomorrow to check for any ligament damage.)

Here’s more D.C. baseball chatter…

  • Reports indicated that the Dodgers’ claim of Bryce Harper was meant to block other NL contenders from obtaining the star outfielder, though ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Dodgers “also placed some expensive veterans on the waiver wire” when they put in their claim for Harper.  Clearly, L.A. had to prepare itself for the possibility, however remote, that the Nationals might’ve simply let Harper go on waivers without a trade, which would’ve left the Dodgers over the luxury tax threshold.  Since the Nats seemingly had no intention of parting ways with Harper, though, it ended up being a moot point.  While it isn’t unusual for teams to put most, or even all, of their players on waivers as a matter of procedure in August, it is interesting to speculate who the Dodgers could’ve tried to deal or simply let walk on a waiver claim if they had been forced to make room for Harper — Yasiel Puig or the slumping Matt Kemp come to mind, given that Harper would’ve stepped into an everyday outfield role.
  • Also from Olney’s column, he takes a broader look at the Nationals’ disappointing season, and speculates about the club’s unusual transaction strategy over the last month.  If the Nats weren’t going to sell at the trade deadline, it would’ve made more sense for Washington to buy, particularly to address a bullpen that has been a season-long issue.  When the team did decide to sell (i.e. the trades of Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams), rival executives were reportedly curious about the timing, since there’s still time before August 31 and the Nationals aren’t totally out of the race.  Beyond the past month, however, Olney also believes the Nats have a bigger-picture issue to solve, as “it would be helpful if they work to figure out why so many players have left the organization speaking of an unusual and sometimes counterproductive clubhouse culture.”

AL Notes: McCullers, Yanks, Sheffield, Tulo, Mallex

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Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. has been out for three weeks because of a forearm strain, and his return isn’t imminent. Manager A.J. Hinch told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters Sunday that McCullers won’t throw a bullpen “any time soon,” and if the 24-year-old returns this season, he’s unlikely to rejoin the Astros’ rotation. “It would be hard to get him built back up as a starter,” Hinch said, alluding to the lack of time remaining in the regular season, while general manager Jeff Luhnow added (via Rome) that he expects McCullers “to be back and ready for postseason in a relief role.” Fortunately for Houston, it does have the starting depth to survive McCullers’ absence from its rotation, and it’s worth noting he worked as a reliever at times during the team’s run to a World Series title last fall. In one of the most memorable performances of the 2017 playoffs, the curve-throwing McCullers closed out the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS with four scoreless innings.

  • Speaking of the Yankees, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News talked to a scout about their top pitching prospect, lefty Justus Sheffield. The Yankees have recently been using the 22-year-old Sheffield in relief at the Triple-A level to get him ready to work out of the big league bullpen in the coming weeks, though the scout expressed doubt that he’s poised to make a sizable impact in that role right now. “His pitches/approach were same as when starting, they didn’t play up at all,” the scout said after seeing Sheffield pitch in relief. “Lefties weren’t fooled at all, meaning everything was squared up, including a long home run by the eight-hole hitter.” Sheffield will face “an adjustment period” when he does come to the majors, continued the scout. Widely regarded as one of the game’s best pitching prospects, Sheffield has logged an impressive 2.66 ERA/3.21 FIP in 84 2/3 Triple-A innings this season, though he has done so without posting dominant strikeout and walk numbers (8.5 K/9, 3.83 BB/9).
  • This will go down as a lost year for Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who will miss the entire season on account of heel issues. Tulowitzki spoke about his status for 2019 on Sunday, telling Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters that he expects to be Toronto’s starting shortstop. The soon-to-be 34-year-old seems unwilling to consider a position change, stating: “I just said I’m a shortstop. If someone’s better than me, I’ll pack my bags and go home.” Unfortunately for the once-elite Tulowitzki, the Jays arguably do have someone better in the fold now in Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The 22-year-old has been terrific as a rookie this season and looks as if he could be part of the long-term solution for the club. On the other hand, the injury-prone Tulowitzki was subpar when he last took the field, as he hit just .249/.300/.378 in 260 plate appearances in 2017.
  • Rays outfielder Mallex Smith has been hospitalized with a viral infection, but manager Kevin Cash issued an encouraging update Sunday, informing reporters that he’s “doing considerably better” and could be released from the hospital today (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Cash added that the Rays are hopeful Smith won’t stay on the disabled list for much longer than the minimum of 10 days. Prior to this weekend’s scare, the fleet-of-foot Smith had quietly been enjoying an outstanding season. The 25-year-old leads qualified Rays hitters in OPS (.810) and has totaled 27 steals and 3.1 fWAR over 426 PAs.

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