MLBTR Chat Transcript: Allen, Jones, McCutchen, Posey
Click here to view the transcript for MLBTR Chat With Jason Martinez: August 22, 2018
Leonys Martin Will Not Return In 2018
The Indians officially announced today that outfielder Leonys Martin will not return to the playing field in 2018. Manager Terry Francona delivered the news to reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) but indicated that Martin is recovering well from a life-threatening bacterial infection and has not experienced any type of setback. Doctors have instructed him to focus on his immediate health rather than getting back into baseball shape, however.
Martin’s recovery is a welcome sight for his current and former teammates alike, as well as fans throughout the game. And while that’s clearly the most important element of this story, his absence does leave the Cleveland organization with a rather thin outfield mix — especially after placing Rajai Davis on the 10-day disabled list earlier today. The reasoning behind Davis’ placement on the disabled list is curious in its own right, as the team attributed it to a non-baseball medical condition without going into further detail. Bastian, though, tweets that Davis is expected to return to the team in early September.
With Davis sidelined in the short term and Martin unable to return at all this year, Cleveland’s outfield currently consists of Michael Brantley in left field, Greg Allen in center and Melky Cabrera in right. Brandon Guyer is on hand as a fourth outfield option, but the rest of the roster has sparing outfield experience at best. Jason Kipnis, Yandy Diaz and Erik Gonzalez have all appeared in the outfield in recent seasons, though that group has combined for a total of just 108 innings there. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote last night that the Indians are still on the hunt for outfield upgrades on the August trade market, so it’s possible that Cleveland will still supplement that group.
Looking down the line, Martin’s season-ending illness doesn’t necessarily bring his time with the Indians organization to an end. He’ll have five-plus years of big league service at the end of the year but won’t reach six full years, so Cleveland will have the opportunity to retain him via arbitration. Martin was earning an affordable $1.75MM base salary this season and posted a solid .255/.323/.425 slash with considerably above-average defensive marks in the outfield. Given that level of play, the Indians should have plenty of interest in retaining Martin barring any setbacks in his recovery that would cloud his outlook for the 2019 season.
Yankees Place Aroldis Chapman On DL, Claim Chris Rabago From Rockies
The Yankees announced that they’ve placed closer Aroldis Chapman on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his left knee and recalled righty Chance Adams from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees also claimed minor league catcher Chris Rabago off waivers from the Rockies and optioned him to Double-A Trenton.
Chapman exited last night’s game with a trainer after throwing his sixth pitch. He’d been displaying diminished velocity prior to that, sitting at about 96 mph with his heater. He’s headed to see a doctor on Friday, tweets Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, though the hope is that he’ll only require a minimal 10-day stint on the shelf. With Chapman sidelined, the Yankees will likely to turn to either Zach Britton or David Robertson to finish off games in save situations, though manager Aaron Boone has not yet tipped his hand as to who’ll be his primary stopper.
As for Rabago, he’ll join the Yankees organization after struggling through a down season in Double-A this year. A 13th-round selection by the Rockies back in 2014, Rabago played his way onto the 40-man roster when he batted .272/.350/.393 through 358 plate appearances in Class-A Advanced last season. In 2018, however, he’s managed just a .213/.292/.361 slash through 229 plate appearances. Rabago, who turned 25 back in April, has thrown out 34 percent of would-be base thieves in his minor league career.
Braves Select Chris Stewart
The Braves announced today that they’ve selected the contract of veteran backstop Chris Stewart. Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first indicated that the veteran backstop was returning to the Majors (via Twitter). Stewart has been playing at Triple-A since being outrighted earlier this season.
The reason for the promotion seems to be an injury to catcher Kurt Suzuki, which he sustained last night upon being hit on the elbow/triceps area by a fastball from Pirates righty Clay Holmes. Fortunately, the Atlanta organization announced earlier today that Suzuki was cleared of a fracture and has been diagnosed only with a left triceps contusion. Whether a stint on the DL will be required is not yet known, but if one is deemed necessary, it doesn’t seem that it’ll come today. Outfielder Michael Reed was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to open roster space for Stewart’s return.
Stewart, 36, rarely strikes out but has never hit much in the majors and has struggled in particular since the start of the 2016 season. He’s slashing only .209/.287/.269 this year in 152 Triple-A plate appearances with Gwinnett. Still, Stewart is regarded as a sturdy, defensive-minded reserve option to have on hand and will be trusted to support Tyler Flowers as needed while Suzuki is unavailable. He’s gone 10-for-27 (37 percent) in halting stolen bases at the Triple-A level this season and has a solid track record in terms of pitch framing.
Nationals Activate Stephen Strasburg
The Nationals have activated righty Stephen Strasburg from the 10-day disabled list, per a club announcement. He’ll start for the organization tonight.
Strasburg had been sidelined with a cervical nerve impingement. This’ll be the second time that he has attempted to return; previously, he made it back only for one outing. He last pitched in the majors one month ago.
The hope had long been that Strasburg would provide a jolt as the Nats continued to chase down the division-leading Braves and Phillies. But the club has failed to gain ground as it expected, leading to the decision yesterday to trade away quality left-handed hitters Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams.
Of course, the returns of Strasburg and reliever Kelvin Herrera (activated yesterday) will still improve the D.C. roster. But the 7.5-game advantage held by Atlanta represents quite an obstacle, particularly with Murphy and Adams now suiting up for rival National League ballclubs.
Whatever happens in the standings, these next five weeks will afford Strasburg a chance to finish another injury-limited season on a high note. The 30-year-old has thrown 85 1/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball this year, though he does carry typically strong K/BB numbers (101:21). Strasburg is under contract through 2023, at a total cost of $135MM over the next five seasons, but may elect to opt out after 2019 or 2020.
Twins Release Taylor Motter
The Twins organization announced today that it has released utilityman Taylor Motter. He had been playing at Triple-A Rochester.
Motter, 28, has only seen 16 games of major-league action this year but has taken 411 MLB plate appearances since the start of 2016. He’s capable of playing all over the field, but hasn’t distinguished himself at the plate. Motter is a .191/.263/.312 hitter in that span, with ten home runs and 13 steals.
Since he was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in late May, Motter has spent most of his time in the upper minors. On the year, he carries a meager .187/.277/.352 batting line in 364 plate appearances in the Seattle and Minnesota systems.
Mariners Designate Ross Detwiler
It was a short-lived return to the majors for Ross Detwiler, who was designated for assignment today by the Mariners, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by righty Nick Rumbelow.
Seattle had called up the 32-year-old Detwiler only recently and ended up asking him to provide six innings of relief last night. While he only allowed three earned runs and helped preserve some other pen arms, the extended appearance also ensured he’d be removed from the roster since it rendered him unavailable for several days to come.
Detwiler opened the year in the indy ball ranks before landing with the Seattle organization. The southpaw worked to a 5.15 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in his 71 2/3 innings at Triple-A before seeing action in the majors for his tenth season.
Phillies Acquire Luis Avilan
The Phillies announced that they have acquired lefty Luis Avilan from the White Sox. Righty Felix Paulino will go to Chicago in return.
The Philadelphia organization designated righty Jose Taveras to create 40-man roster space for the move. An active roster spot was already open with Yacksel Rios being optioned after last night’s game.
On the other side, the White Sox also announced some corresponding moves. The club purchased the contract of righty Ryan Burr to take Avilan’s spot. Additionally, first baseman Jose Abreu was placed on the DL (as expected) and infielder Jose Rondon was recalled.
Avilan will be tasked with helping the Phillies retire tough lefty hitters down the stretch. His solid work this year earned him the #15 spot on MLBTR’s recently released list of the top 20 remaining August trade candidates.
Though his 3.86 ERA doesn’t jump off the page, earned-run numbers aren’t the most relevant statistic for him. The 29-year-old has thrown only 39 2/3 innings in 58 appearances, a reflection of his specialist usage. He has also been hurt by a .352 BABIP-against that seems in line for some regression.
As has long been the case, Avilan has been stingy against opposing lefty batters in 2018. Through 77 plate appearances this year, they’re hitting just .214/.276/.286 against him without a single home run. Hitters with the platoon advantage carry a .785 OPS against Avilan, though that’s a palatable enough number and he has been quite solid against righties (.678 OPS-against) in his career.
The Phillies will presumably take over the balance of Avilan’s manageable $2.45MM salary, though that has not yet been made clear. He’ll be eligible for arbitration one final time this coming offseason, so the Phils will have an opportunity to keep him around if they so choose.
In return, the South Siders will add a 23-year-old hurler who has reached the Double-A level this year. Paulino has split his time this year between High-A and Double-A and between the rotation and bullpen. All told, he carries a 3.91 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. Paulino will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if he is not added to the Chicago 40-man roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/22/18
We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves …
- The Pirates announced that right-hander Casey Sadler has been outrighted after clearing waivers. He lost his roster spot recently as the organization called up prospect Kevin Newman, bringing a close to a brief return to the majors for the 28-year-old. Sadler had turned in a useful showing at Triple-A to earn his way back to the big leagues. In 76 frames over eight starts and 18 relief appearances at the highest level of the minors this year, he carries a 3.43 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and a 44.2% groundball rate.
Nationals Notes In Wake Of Murphy & Adams Trades
Yesterday provided a notable turning point for the Nationals, who’ve struggled to build momentum all season long. The organization shipped out a pair of big lefty bats — Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals — though it decided to keep another in Bryce Harper. While it’s still not impossible to imagine a late-season run, the organization obviously decided it would no longer forego cost savings and prospects in order to maximize its chances.
Here are some notes on the disappointing ballclub:
- Principal owner Mark Lerner penned a letter to fans in which he characterized August 21st as the point at which the time came for the organization “to make decisions that will bolster our roster for next season and beyond.” With an eye to the future, he says, the Nats moved Murphy and Adams to achieve “roster flexibility” and audition younger players. Still, Lerner emphasized, “this is not a rebuilding effort.”
- It’s not surprising to hear that the D.C. organization intends to re-tool and make another run in 2019, of course. The roster is still loaded with high-end talent, with some promising players rising up through the system. But there are many needs to be accounted for in the coming winter, and Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post takes an early look. It’s not a short list, though the club will have plenty of payroll space to work with. As Svrluga notes, Nationals president of baseball ops Mike Rizzo emphasized that the club would reinvest the money it has saved through its dealing into baseball ops, saying: “The money that we are making from the cash considerations goes directly into procuring talent for us to compete in the future.”
- In his other comments yesterday, Rizzo struck a tone suggesting confidence in the future but disappointment in the present, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. Unsurprisingly, that seems to be the prevailing sentiment around the organization. In terms of the nuts and bolts of the deals that were and weren’t made, Rizzo explained that the financial savings won’t necessarily allow the club to dip below the luxury-tax line. (Additional moves later this month could do so, perhaps, though there’s no clear indication as of yet whether any will occur.) Dealing Harper would have helped, to be sure, but Rizzo says “you have to get a deal that makes sense to trade one of the elite players in the game.” Evidently, that was not forthcoming. (Indeed, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets, the Dodgers placed the claim to block other NL contenders from possibly working out a swap.)
- Most of the above discussion is forward-looking, but there’s certainly cause and opportunity to look back at what went wrong. Injuries were unquestionably a factor, as Lerner noted in his letter, but that hardly explains the disappointment in full. Notably, the Nats have drastically underperformed their expected outcomes by measure of Pythagorean W/L and BaseRuns. Failing to capture wins is a complicated area to address, but the Nationals’ bullpen woes surely are a prime factor. Before yesterday’s roster reckoning, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post documented the collapse of that unit over the course of the season. It’s a fascinating read that includes a detailed explication of the team’s decisionmaking and colorful accounts of the recent departures of Brandon Kintzler and Shawn Kelley. The piece is highly recommended, particularly for Nats fans.