Click here to view the transcript for MLBTR Chat With Jason Martinez: July 11, 2018
Mets Release Marcos Molina
The Mets have released right-hander Marcos Molina in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for the previously announced selection of outfielder Matt den Dekker, tweets Tim Britton of The Athletic. He’d recently been placed on the disabled list in Double-A, which prevents the Mets from placing him on outright waivers or designating him. The organization could yet try to re-sign Molina to a new minor league pact to keep him in the organization while clearing some 40-man space; such moves are fairly common practice throughout the league.
Molina, 23, has battled arm injuries throughout his career, most notably missing the bulk of the 2015-16 seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned with a solid effort in 2017, pitching to a 3.21 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and 0.5 HR/9 to go along with a 46 percent ground-ball rate through 106 2/3 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A.
Heading into the 2018 season, in fact, Molina ranked seventh among Mets farmhands, per Baseball America, and eighth per MLB.com. But he’s struggled through a disastrous year between Double-A and Triple-A, as opponents have hammered him for a combined 6.94 ERA (with the vast majority of that work coming at the lower of those two levels). Molina had never averaged higher than 2.4 BB/9 prior to the 2018 season, but he’s issuing 3.7 walks per nine frames in the minors in 2018 (15) than he had in his entire professional career combined prior to this season (13). There’s been no announcement as to exactly what injury had landed Molina on the DL, though his results are certainly indicative of a pitcher who hasn’t been fully healthy.
Diamondbacks Release Fernando Salas
The Diamondbacks have released veteran right-hander Fernando Salas, the team announced. The 33-year-old was designated for assignment last week when fellow righty Randall Delgado returned from the disabled list.
Salas got off to a strong start in 2018 after making the D-backs’ roster as a non-roster invitee in Spring Training. The former Cardinals/Angels reliever posted a 1.56 ERA and 3.30 FIP through the end of April and possessed solid season-long numbers through the end of June. To that point, Salas had a 3.58 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 0.96 HR/9 to go along with a 43.2 percent ground-ball rate. ERA alternatives weren’t quite as bullish but felt he’d pitched reasonably well (3.85 FIP, 4.29 xFIP, 4.06 SIERA).
Salas, though, was tagged for runs in each of his three appearances in July, ultimately yielding five runs in 2 1/3 innings to balloon his ERA up to 4.50. Generally, while he hasn’t exactly pitched poorly in 2018, he’s taken a step back in a few key areas, most notably in his overall strikeout percentage (21.3 percent in 2017 compared to 17.7 percent in 2018), his swinging-strike rate (12.9 percent to 9.3 percent) and in his average fastball velocity (91.1 mph to 90.5 mph).
He’ll now be available to latch on with any club on a new contract, and given his 3.90 ERA over the life of 487 big league innings dating back to 2010, Salas should at the very least find an opportunity to report to a new organization’s Triple-A affiliate and attempt to work his way back up to the MLB roster.
Twins Place Addison Reed On 10-Day DL
4:20pm: An MRI revealed an impingement in Reed’s right elbow, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links). The Twins don’t believe there to be any structural damage in the elbow, but it’s not clear just when they expect Reed will be recovered and return to the bullpen.
10:09am: The Twins announced that they have placed righty Addison Reed on the 10-day disabled list. He’ll be replaced by Alan Busenitz, who has been recalled from Triple-A.
Reed is said to be dealing with right triceps tightness. It’s not clear at this point whether this is a worrying injury for the veteran reliever. He certainly has not been himself of late.
It seemed entering the season that the Twins had done quite nicely to land Reed for only a $16.75MM guarantee over two seasons. And through the month of May, he had more than held up his end of the bargain, despite disappointing overall results for the team.
Since the calendar flipped to June, though, Reed’s numbers are well off their typical levels. In ten outings that month, he allowed nine earned runs and recorded just four strikeouts against four walks. He made two solid appearances to open July but has surrendered four more runs — including a pair of long balls — in his two most recent outings. Along the way, he has exhibited some worrying velocity trends.
That poor run may already have taken Reed out of trade consideration, though his track record is good enough that teams surely would have considered him if he had bounced back. Now, even if Reed is able to return to action before the end of July, he’ll be carrying quite a bit more uncertainty.
Braves Release Mauricio Cabrera
The Braves have released right-hander Mauricio Cabrera from the organization, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cabrera, 24, made a big impression with the 2016 Braves, tossing 38 1/3 innings of 2.82 ERA ball and showing a blistering fastball that averaged 100.1 mph and would routinely touch 102 mph. However, Cabrera didn’t post the strikeout rates one might expect to go along with that heat, averaging just 7.5 K/9 with a solid but not overpowering 11.7 swinging-strike rate. He also walked 19 batters in those 38 1/3 frames (4.5 BB/9), hit another and threw a pair of wild pitches.
Shaky control and lack of missed bats weren’t necessarily catastrophic red flags considering the fact that Cabrera was a 22-year-old rookie. But Cabrera had some elbow soreness in Spring Training the following season, and his control in the minors in 2017 proved to be disastrous. Cabrera didn’t return to the Majors last season and ultimately walked 46 batters in 45 innings across four minor league levels.
Things haven’t improved for Cabrera in 2018. To the contrary, his startling inability to locate the ball has worsened, as he’s tossed 31 innings but yielded a staggering 41 walks while spending the entire season in Class-A Advanced.
Given Cabrera’s youth and velocity, it’s certainly possible that other clubs will have interest in trying to chip away at the young flamethrower’s control issues. Then again, Cabrera also went unclaimed on waivers back in Spring Training, and that was before he averaged nearly 12 walks per nine innings pitched in A-ball this season. Given the alarming extent of his control issues, it’s not surprising to see the Braves move on from the once-promising right-hander.
Astros Option Ken Giles To Triple-A
The Astros have optioned righty Ken Giles to Triple-A, per a club announcement. Southpaw Cionel Perez will take his place on the active roster.
Giles, 27, was originally acquired to be the Astros’ closer in a 2016 blockbuster that sent Vince Velasquez, Mark Appel, Tom Eshelman, Brett Oberholtzer and Harold Arauz to the Phillies. After an up-and-down first season in Houston, Giles looked to be emerging as the dynamic late-inning weapon the ’Stros had hoped to acquire in 2017, tossing 62 2/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball with 14 strikeouts per nine innings against 3.4 BB/9.
The postseason, however, proved to be another story, as Giles yielded runs in all but one of his seven playoff appearances and eventually fell behind both Lance McCullers Jr. and Charlie Morton when manager A.J. Hinch was looking for late-inning relief options late in Houston’s eventual World Series run. The inconsistencies have carried over to 2018, as Giles had already largely ceded ninth-inning duties to Hector Rondon and will now carry a 4.99 ERA through 30 2/3 innings with him to Triple-A Fresno.
To his credit, Giles owns a superlative 31-to-3 K/BB ratio so far in 2018 and has allowed only two home runs on the season. But he’s also seen his hard-contact rate rise by roughly 10 percent and been generally more hittable, averaging 10.6 hits per nine innings pitched against last year’s mark of 6.3. Giles’ .368 BABIP undoubtedly has played a role in those struggles, but a spike in that regard should be expected when surrendering considerably more hard contact to opponents.
The tipping point for Giles may well have come last night. Given a three-run lead in the ninth inning, Giles allowed three consecutive singles to open the frame before being pulled by manager A.J. Hinch. A frustrated Giles visibly appeared to cuss as he left the mound, potentially at Hinch, though there’s been no confirmation of that. After the game, Hinch told reporters (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle): “That stuff happens in the heat of battle. I didn’t hear anything. He can let me know if it was directed at me. … If it turns out it was at me, we’ll talk about it.”
From a service time vantage point, there’s little implication for Giles’ long-term future. He entered the season with three years, 113 days of service time and has already been in the Majors long enough to have surpassed the four-year mark. As such, he’ll still be eligible for arbitration twice more before qualifying as a free agent following the 2020 season, regardless of how long he spends in Triple-A.
Dodgers Claim Zac Rosscup, Designate Edward Paredes
The Dodgers announced today that they have claimed lefty Zac Rosscup off waivers from the Rockies. In a corresponding move, the club designated fellow southpaw Edward Paredes for assignment.
Rosscup, 30, racked up ten strikeouts without a walk in seven frames last year in Colorado, but had yet to reach the majors this year while working back from finger troubles. He has been effective in limited action at Triple-A, allowing just one earned run on four hits while registering nine strikeouts against three walks in 8 1/3 innings.
The 31-year-old Paredes, meanwhile, managed an 8:2 K/BB ratio but also allowed five runs in his 7 2/3 frames in the majors this year. He has also experienced some walk problems at the Triple-A level, however, issuing 15 free passes in 18 frames.
Twins Release Cameron Rupp
The Twins have released backstop Cameron Rupp, per an announcement from the team’s top affiliate. He had been playing at Triple-A Rochester after agreeing to a minor-league deal with the organization.
Rupp had an opt-out opportunity coming up on the 15th, so that may well have been a factor in the timing of the decision. Evidently, the Twins remain content with their current MLB pairing of Mitch Garver and Bobby Wilson. The club also currently features a utility piece in Willians Astudillo who can get behind the dish, though he has yet to do so in the majors.
The 29-year-old Rupp has struggled at the plate since arriving at Rochester. Through 76 plate appearances there, he owns only a .141/.263/.281 slash, though he was swinging the stick much better earlier in the year at Triple-A with the Rangers. Over five MLB campaigns, all with the Phillies, Rupp owns a .234/.298/.407 slash.
Mets Select Matt den Dekker
The Mets have selected the contract of outfielder Matt den Dekker, per a club announcement. The club also recalled righty Jacob Rhame while optioning outfielder Kevin Kaczmarski and righty Drew Gagnon.
It’s a homecoming for den Dekker, who’ll soon turn 31 years of age. A 2010 fifth-round pick, den Dekker broke into the majors with the Mets in 2013. He was shipped out in the early-2015 deal that brought Jerry Blevins to New York but rejoined the organization on a minor-league deal this winter.
Thus far on the season, through 249 plate appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas, den Dekker has turned in a .286/.336/.524 slash line with 11 long balls. He’ll line up in center field and bat sixth for the Mets tonight.
Indians Designate Marc Rzepczynski, Activate Tyler Olson
The Indians have designated lefty Marc Rzepczynski, per a club announcement. That move will open a roster spot for the return of fellow southpaw Tyler Olson.
The 32-year-old Rzepczynski ended up making only five appearances in his second stint with the Cleveland organization. He threw 2 2/3 scoreless frames, but managed only one strikeout to go with one free pass.
Rzepczynski had struggled to open the year with the Mariners, then landed with the Indians after being cut loose by Seattle. Since the start of the 2017 season, he carries a 4.75 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 over 41 2/3 innings in 87 appearances. The lefty specialist will likely end up heading back to the open market in search of another opportunity, with the M’s still on the hook for the balance of his $5.5MM salary.
As for Olson, he’ll be looking to return from both a lat injury and a rough opening to the season. Though he compiled 23 strikeouts (to go with eight walks) in his 17 1/3 innings to open the year, the 28-year-old coughed up 14 earned runs. Olson held opposing lefty hitters to a .216/.275/.378 batting line in that span, but surrendered a whopping 1.083 OPS to the 39 right-handed hitters that stepped into the box against him. Last year, when he turned in twenty scoreless frames in a breakout performance, he dominated hitters of all varieties.
