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Heyman’s Latest: Machado, Yanks, Tribe, Harper, Realmuto, Braves, Mauer

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Dodgers pending free agent Manny Machado has made it known he prefers shortstop, but the former Baltimore third baseman would return to the hot corner “for the right team,” Jon Heyman of Fancred writes. A willingness to play third certainly won’t hurt Machado on the open market, where he’s expected to sign one of the richest contracts ever, as it could encourage more teams to get involved in the bidding. Machado prefers to sign with the Yankees, Heyman relays, which jibes with a previous report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Yankees already have an excellent shortstop in Didi Gregorius and a big-hitting rookie third basemen in Miguel Andujar, but their presences didn’t prevent the team from pursuing Machado at this year’s non-waiver trade deadline. Gregorius is only under contract for another year, moreover, while Machado is a much better defender at third than Andujar. Speculatively, if the Yankees sign Machado and extend Gregorius, perhaps they’d move Andujar to first base (where they haven’t gotten much production this year) or use him as trade bait to acquire pitching.

More rumblings from Heyman…

  • The Indians were the most aggressive pursuers of Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper at the non-waiver trade deadline in July, according to Heyman. However, the Indians were unwilling to trade high-end pitching prospect Triston McKenzie for Harper – who’ll be a free agent at season’s end – and general manager Mike Rizzo didn’t want to deal Harper anyhow. Expectations are that the Rizzo-led Nats will do their best to re-sign Harper, Heyman suggests.
  • There isn’t much optimism around baseball that the Marlins will be able to extend star catcher J.T. Realmuto, reports Heyman, who writes that he “apparently remains a target” of the NL East rival Braves. Atlanta extended catcher Tyler Flowers earlier this week, but only for a guaranteed $6MM over two years. Realmuto is also controllable for the next two seasons, and given that the Marlins won’t contend during that span, it seems like a strong bet that they’ll trade the 27-year-old if they’re unable to extend him.
  • Twins icon and pending free agent Joe Mauer is uninterested in playing elsewhere, per Heyman, who adds that it’s believed Minnesota would welcome the first baseman back in 2019. The question is whether the St. Paul native will choose to play next year, which would be his age-36 season. Mauer’s now in the final weeks of the franchise-record eight-year, $184MM extension he signed as a superstar catcher in 2010. The deal hasn’t quite worked out as hoped, though, thanks in part to injuries and a decline in production. Mauer has posted league-average offensive numbers over 444 PAs this year, with a .278/.350/.379 line (99 wRC+).
  • The Brewers finished second to the NL Central rival Cardinals in the race to sign then-free agent Miles Mikolas last winter, Heyman reports. A former Ranger and Padre, Mikolas returned stateside after a couple seasons in Japan, joining the Cardinals on a two-year, $15.5MM guarantee. That contract has been a steal for St. Louis, which has seen the 30-year-old Mikolas turn in 167 innings of 2.96 ERA/3.43 FIP ball this season.

Jorge Soler May Be Done For Season

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Royals outfielder Jorge Soler suffered a setback in his rehab from a foot injury, and the team will shut him down for an undisclosed period of time, manager Ned Yost told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com and other reporters on Sunday. With only a few weeks left on the schedule, it’s possible Soler’s season is over, Flanagan notes.

Soler last played in the majors on June 15, when he incurred a left foot fracture, though the Royals’ hope was that he’d return in August. Instead, the 26-year-old’s big league campaign may conclude with 257 plate appearances and a terrific .265/.354/.466 batting line. Soler also chipped in nine home runs and a .202 ISO while cutting his strikeout rate to 26.8 percent (compared to 32.7 in 2017). Statcast data suggests Soler’s success this season hasn’t been a fluke, as there’s little difference between his expected weighted on-base average (.359) and his real wOBA (.355).

In terms of bottom-line results, this has been a rough year for the rebuilding Royals, who own the majors’ second-worst record (44-91). Soler’s production counts as a rare bright spot, especially after he endured a difficult first year with the organization in 2017. Soler – whom the Royals acquired from the Cubs for closer Wade Davis in December 2016 – spent the majority of last year in the minors, playing just 35 games in Kansas City. But Soler worked diligently over the winter to improve, as Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star detailed in February, and that effort did yield positive results prior to his injury.

With his season potentially over, Soler will have to make a key financial decision during the winter.  While the Cuba native is still on the nine-year, $30MM deal he signed in 2012 with the Cubs, he’ll have a chance to opt into arbitration in the offseason. Soler’s currently slated to make $4MM in 2019, and thanks to his injury, he may be better served taking that guaranteed sum than testing arbitration.

Brewers Recall Two, Outright Nick Franklin

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The Brewers announced that they’ve recalled a pair of pitchers – right-handers Zach Davies and Corey Knebel – and reinstated infielder/outfielder Nick Franklin from the 60-day disabled list. The team subsequently outrighted Franklin to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Davies, whom the Brewers recalled from Single-A Wisconsin, is back after missing upward of three months with shoulder problems. The 25-year-old hasn’t taken a major league mound since May 29, which was both his eighth appearance and eighth start of the season. Davies opened the year in rough fashion when he was healthy, as he notched a 5.23 ERA/5.29 FIP across 43 innings. Going back to his major league debut in 2015, all 75 of Davies’ appearances have been starts, but it’s unclear whether he’ll finish the year in Milwaukee’s rotation. The club just did acquire the more established Gio Gonzalez, after all, and it has four other set starters in Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra and Wade Miley.

Knebel’s absence from the Brewers was much shorter than Davies’, as the team optioned the former to Colorado Springs on Aug. 23. On the surface, it was a surprising demotion for Knebel – who was a lights-out closer in 2017 – but the 26-year-old has taken multiple steps backward this season. While Knebel’s still bringing high-90s heat, he has only managed a 5.08 ERA/4.28 FIP through 39 major league innings in 2018. Knebel has seen his strikeout and swinging-strike rates drop since 2017, while his home run-to-fly ball percentage has skyrocketed.

Franklin, an offseason minor league signing, only totaled two PAs with the Brewers this season. The 27-year-old suffered a quad injury May 8, the same day the Brewers selected his contract from Colorado Springs, and he hasn’t played since. Franklin was formerly a well-regarded prospect with the Mariners, who chose him 27th in the 2009 draft, but he hasn’t experienced much success since debuting in the majors in 2013. Because Franklin has already been outrighted in the past, he’ll be able to choose whether to reject the Brewers’ assignment in favor of free agency.

AL Notes: Twins, Buxton, White Sox, Yankees, Boone

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The Twins won’t recall center fielder Byron Buxton from Triple-A Rochester this season, in part because the left wrist issue he has been dealing with throughout the summer is “still lingering,” general manager Thad Levine said Saturday (via Dan Hayes of The Athletic; subscription required). But the decision to not bring the 24-year-old Buxton back to the majors this season is likely more related to his service time, suggests Hayes, who notes they’re now in position to control him through 2022 instead of 2021. Levine did acknowledge the service time as a factor, saying: “We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t at least aware of service-time impacts on decisions we make.” Levine added Buxton’s agent is “displeased, disappointed for sure,” though the GM would like to “make amends” with Buxton at some point so as not to damage the sides’ relationship. At this time in 2017, Buxton was a cornerstone player for the playoff-bound Twins, potentially setting himself up for a lucrative extension.  A year later, he and the Twins have endured a year to forget. Injuries helped limit Buxton to a .156/.183/.200 line with no home runs and 28 strikeouts against three walks in 94 major league plate appearances. He was much better at Triple-A, hitting .272/.331/.456 with four HRs in 148 PAs, though he did post a 28.4 percent strikeout rate.

More from Minnesota and two other AL cities…

  • The White Sox have reinstated catcher Welington Castillo from the 10-day disabled list, putting him in position to play for the first time since May 23. Castillo landed on the DL with shoulder inflammation on Aug. 23, which came after he served an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Castillo, whom the White Sox signed to a two-year, $15MM contract last winter, began his season well before the suspension, as he hit .267/.309/.466 with six HRs in 123 PAs. While he was out, Chicago primarily turned to Omar Narvaez behind the plate, and he has quietly been among the game’s best offensive backstops this season (.284/.374/.432 in 264 PAs).
  • Major League Baseball has suspended Yankees manager Aaron Boone one game and issued  him an undisclosed fine stemming from his ejection on Friday, David Lennon of Newsday was among those to report. Boone, livid with home plate umpire Nic Lentz’s strike zone, was thrown out after a tirade in which the bill of his cap made contact with Lentz’s (video here). He’ll sit out Sunday’s game against Detroit, while bench coach Josh Bard will manage the Yankees.
  • With help from his family, just-acquired Twins catcher Chris Gimenez will decide in the offseason whether to continue his career, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. The 35-year-old journeyman has racked up 1,033 major league PAs since debuting in 2009, including 225 with Minnesota last season, though he has spent the majority of this season with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Nimmo, Angels, Marlins, NL Cy Young, Trades

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

NL Notes: Rockies, Ottavino, Cubs, Dodgers

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Here’s the latest on a few National League teams:

  • Pending free-agent reliever Adam Ottavino hopes to stay with the Rockies, but the two sides have not discussed a new contract, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. Ottavino has been a solid reliever for most of his Rockies tenure, which began in 2012, but he has especially effective in 2018. Playing his age-32 season, Ottavino has logged a superb 2.08 ERA with 13.15 K/9 against 4.15 BB/9 across 65 innings, and that production may price him out of Colorado. With Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee and Mike Dunn set to make a combined $42MM in 2019, the Rockies already have significant money tied up next year’s bullpen. Unfortunately for the Rockies, that big-money quartet has been a colossal disappointment this season.
  • The Cubs placed outfielder Jason Heyward (right hamstring) on the disabled list Friday, and his absence appears likely to affect their infield picture, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times explains. Given that third baseman Kris Bryant is capable of playing the outfield, he may see quite a bit of time in the grass during Heyward’s absence, per Wittenmyer. That would open up the hot corner for middle infielder Javier Baez, while Addison Russell would handle shortstop and Daniel Murphy would stay at second base. Heyward, meanwhile, may miss the majority of September, Wittenmyer suggests. After a rough stretch from 2016-17, Heyward has posted something of a bounce-back season this year, having hit .275/.342/.399 (100 wRC+) with 2.2 fWAR in 451 plate appearances.
  • Dodgers reliever Erik Goeddel is done for the season, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Goeddel was only able to take the mound twice last month, most recently on Aug. 15, because of right elbow issues. A late-May waiver pickup from Seattle, Goeddel did good work over 29 1/3 innings with LA this year, recording a 3.38 ERA ball with 35 strikeouts against 15 walks.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/1/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Angels have selected right-handed reliever Junichi Tazawa’s contract from Triple-A Salt Lake, the team announced. The 32-year-old Tazawa is finally in position to make his Halos debut nearly two months after signing a minor league deal with the organization. Tazawa has been an effective major leaguer at times dating back to his 2009 debut with the Red Sox, but his career has hit the skids since he signed a two-year, $12MM deal with the Marlins entering 2017. He ended up tossing 75 1/3 innings in Miami from 2017-18 and logging an ugly 6.57 ERA/5.40 FIP, leading the team to release him in late May.
  • The Pirates announced that they’ve selected infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes from Triple-A Indianapolis and reinstated righty Nick Burdi from the 60-day DL. The club has also released veteran infielder/outfielder Sean Rodriguez, whom it designated for assignment Wednesday. A Pirate since they signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, the 24-year-old Reyes saw his first Triple-A action this season and slashed .289/.341/.435 with eight home runs and 13 stolen bases over 398 plate appearances. Burdi, whom the Pirates acquired via trade from the Phillies at the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, has rebounded nicely after multiple arm injuries slowed his development. The hard-throwing reliever missed most of 2016 with elbow issues and then underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, keeping him out for the majority of that season and the current campaign. Despite his injury woes, Burdi – originally a second-round selection of the Twins in the 2014 amateur draft – still ranks as the Pirates’ 20th-best prospect, per MLB.com. Now that he’s healthy, the former Rule 5 choice will have to spend 90 days on the Pirates’ active roster in order to avoid going on waivers.
  • The Brewers have released infielder Eric Sogard for the second time this season. Milwaukee parted with Sogard on July 12, only to re-sign him to a minor league deal two weeks later. The 32-year-old hasn’t produced at either the Triple-A level or in the majors this year, however, after offering respectable production in 2017 with the Brewers.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Sale, Devers, Yankees, Judge, Chapman

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Red Sox ace Chris Sale is progressing in his recovery from left shoulder inflammation and could return in time to make multiple starts before the playoffs begin, per Max Gelman of MLB.com. Sale has been on the disabled list since Aug. 18 (retroactive to the 15th), his second DL stint on account of shoulder inflammation since July. Sale had been enjoying a Cy Young-caliber campaign before landing on the shelf, and it’s certainly possible he’ll still end up with the award. While Sale has only thrown 146 innings, he leads the AL in ERA (1.97), K/9 (13.5), rWAR (6.5) and fWAR (6.1).

Here’s more on Boston and its chief rival:

  • The Yankees are “very optimistic” injured right fielder Aaron Judge will return this season, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Friday (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). The hulking slugger suffered a chip fracture in his right wrist on July 26, and the team only expected Judge to miss three weeks at the time. Instead, Judge has been out upward of a month, and there’s still “no set date for him to resume swinging a bat,” Hoch writes. In the event Judge is unable to return this year, the Yankees have a nice fallback option in Andrew McCutchen, whom they acquired from the Giants on Friday. McCutchen made his Yankees debut on Saturday, starting in right and going 0-for-3 from the leadoff spot.
  • The Yankees are also without closer Aroldis Chapman, who went on the DL on Aug. 22 with left knee inflammation. Chapman’s status for the rest of the season is now in question, general manager Brian Cashman suggested. Regarding a potential Chapman return, Cashman said (via Hoch): “I can’t tell you with a level of confidence or not. I know he’s going through the motions now of getting the treatment necessary and until we see him out there doing what he’s done in the past like he’s capable of doing it, it’s probably best for me to be cautious on that.” Even without Chapman, the Yankees still boast a set of quality relievers, including fill-in closer Dellin Betances. But having to go into the playoffs without the flamethrowing Chapman would still be an unfortunate development for the Yankees, considering the elite left-hander had been in the midst of another dominant season before going on the DL.
  • Back to Boston, which has been without third baseman Rafael Devers since Aug. 17 with a hamstring injury. Devers has been playing with Triple-A Pawtucket of late, and the Red Sox don’t appear to be in a hurry to recall him, Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com tweets. “One thing’s for sure, Raffy’s got to play better,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That’s the bottom line. We’re here to win games and whoever’s playing best is going to play.” To Devers’ credit, he did homer at the Triple-A level on Saturday. The 21-year-old has fallen flat in the majors this season after an encouraging rookie campaign in 2017, however, having hit just .242/.298/.422 in 423 plate appearances. Third base has been a disappointment in general for Boston, which has gotten subpar production from both Devers and Eduardo Nunez.

Shohei Ohtani Will Start For Angels On Sunday; Matt Shoemaker To Start Monday

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SEPT. 1: Shoemaker will start Monday in Texas, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports.

AUG. 30: The Angels announced today that Shohei Ohtani will return to the mound on Sunday, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to report on Twitter. He had not thrown in the majors since being diagnosed with a grade 2 UCL sprain in early June.

In other news, the Halos have activated outfielder Justin Upton from the DL. And the organization called up backstop Jose Briceno to take the roster spot and role vacated by the just-dealt Bobby Wilson.

Additionally, the team indicated that right-hander Matt Shoemaker is nearing his own activation, as Fletcher further tweets. That’s another good bit of injury news for an organization that needs as many as it can get.

Ohtani, 24, has been active on the MLB roster in the meantime, of course. He was cleared to resume performing his services as a designated hitter prior to being ready to return to the hill. While continuing to post impressive numbers with the bat, the Japanese star has been building up his stamina in hopes of making it back into the rotation.

For the Halos, the late-season return of Ohtani as a pitcher won’t make up for the club’s intervening struggles. But his showing will certainly be important for the future. If the right-hander can return to full strength this year without issue, then he and the organization can go into the offseason feeling reasonably confident that he’ll be able to ramp up next spring and turn in a full 2019 season. If things go south, then more drastic scenarios may need to be considered.

It’s not an altogether different scenario for Shoemaker, who has only made one start to this point of the season and was limited to 14 outings last year. The 31-year-old, who’ll be eligible for his third of four potential trips through the arbitration process this fall, had been a solid rotation presence for the club in the prior three campaigns.

Braves Promote Kyle Wright

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The Braves announced several roster moves Saturday, including the promotion of right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Wright, whom they selected from Triple-A Gwinnett. The club also transferred closer Arodys Vizcaino to the 60-day disabled list and selected outfielder Lane Adams’ contract from Triple-A. Meanwhile, injured righty Brandon McCarthy re-aggravated his right knee during a rehab assignment and did not come off the 60-day DL, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

There’s a lot to unpack here, though the most exciting news for Atlanta is the addition of Wright. The ex-Vanderbilt standout entered the 2017 draft as a potential No. 1 pick, but he fell to No. 5, leading the Braves to scoop Wright up and sign him to a then-record bonus worth $7MM. Wright has made good on that pick by emerging as one of the majors’ elite pitching prospects, evidenced in part by MLB.com ranking him as the game’s 24th-best farmhand. The 22-year-old is set to become the latest highly promising Braves hurler to debut in 2018, joining the now-injured Mike Soroka, Touki Toussaint and Kolby Allard.

While Wright has a chance to eventually emerge as a high-end starter, he’ll work out of the playoff-contending Braves’ bullpen down the stretch, per Burns. Wright did make three relief appearances out of seven at the Triple-A level this year, but he has primarily served as a starter in 2018. Across 27 appearances and 24 starts between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Wright pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.

Elsewhere in the Braves’ bullpen, Vizcaino’s move to the 60-day DL looks discouraging on the surface, but he’s still likely to make it back in 2018, manager Brian Snitker told Burns and other reporters on Saturday. Vizcaino had been on the 10-day DL since July 14 with right shoulder troubles, so he’s now ineligible to return until mid-September. His absence has paved the way for lefty A.J. Minter to close for the Braves, and the latter has converted 11 of 13 saves while notching a 3.12 ERA with 10.21 K/9 against 2.94 BB/9 in 52 innings this season.

While the the latest development regarding Vizcaino isn’t ideal, McCarthy’s setback is downright discouraging, as it’s now possible he has thrown his last major league pitch. McCarthy, who hasn’t taken a major league mound since June 24, announced earlier this month that he plans to retire at the end of the season. The 35-year-old has started in all 15 of his appearances this season, but he was set to finish the year as a reliever upon his return.

Adams, whom the Braves signed to a minors pact in mid-July, saw action with them earlier season and last year, totaling 143 plate appearances and batting a respectable .270/.345/.460. The 28-year-old was out of the Atlanta organization for a brief period in 2018, though, as he elected free agency in late April and then latched on with the Cubs. But Adams struggled with Chicago’s top minor league affiliate before rejoining Gwinnett, with which he hit an unappealing .191/.238/.266 with no home runs in 101 PAs this season.

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