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AL Notes: Manaea, Red Sox, Bogaerts, Rays, Twins

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The Red Sox entered play Saturday with the majors’ best record (17-2), the majors’ most runs (123) and the majors’ top triple-slash line (.293/.361/.497). None of that fazed Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea, who no-hit the Red Sox over nine innings of 10-strikeout, two-walk ball to become the first hurler to accomplish the feat this year. It’s the seventh no-hitter in Athletics history and the first for the franchise since Dallas Braden tossed a perfect game against Tampa Bay in May 2010. And remarkably, it occurred on nearly the 25th-year anniversary of the last time the Red Sox were on the wrong end of a no-hitter. Back on April 22, 1993, Chris Bosio of the Mariners held the Sox out of the hit column.

  • In better news for the Red Sox, shortstop Xander Bogaerts could return as early as Friday, Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com was among those to report (Twitter link). Bogaerts, who went on the disabled list April 9 with a cracked bone in his left ankle, is set to play a pair of rehab games with Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Red Sox have won nine of 11 without Bogaerts, which is all the more impressive when considering he got off to an otherworldly start (.368/.400/.711 in 40 plate appearances) before landing on the DL.
  • Meanwhile, teammate Tyler Thornburg is “still a ways away from the majors,” Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. But the reliever, who has been pitching in extended spring training, will rejoin the Red Sox during their upcoming homestand (beginning April 27) and could throw batting practice, per Abraham. Thornburg remains on the mend from the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he underwent last summer. The righty hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016, when he was among the game’s premier relievers as a member of the Brewers.
  • Rays righty Yonny Chirinos is now a full-fledged member of their rotation, manager Kevin Cash told Bill Chastain of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday. Tampa Bay opened the season with an unconventional three-man starting staff (Chris Archer, Blake Snell and Jake Faria), with Chirinos among those working as a “Bullpen Day” starter, but it saw enough from him during his first few outings to officially make it a four-man group. The 24-year-old has tallied 20 innings of 2.70 ERA/3.49 FIP ball in four appearances thus far. After throwing 50-some pitches in each of his first two games, Chiirnos racked up 75 and 89, respectively, in the previous two. He’s now stretched out enough to get into the 100 range, per Cash, and will start Sunday against Minnesota.
  • Chirinos will face Twins righty Phil Hughes, whom the team has reinstated from the disabled list. The Twins optioned pitcher Gabriel Moya to Triple-A to make room for Hughes, who had been on the shelf with a strained oblique. The 31-year-old Hughes hasn’t pitched in a big league game since July 14, 2017, thanks to the thoracic outlet syndrome revision surgery he underwent in August. At $13.2MM per year through next season, Hughes is one of the Twins’ highest-paid players, though he has struggled mightily since a sensational 2014 with the team. When he was healthy enough to pitch last season, Hughes logged a 5.87 ERA with a meager 30.7 percent groundball rate over 53 2/3 innings (14 appearances, seven starts).

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Stanton, Machado, Swanson, Dodgers, Phils, Brewers

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

NL West Notes: Desmond, Turner, Renfroe, Giants

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Although we’re only three weeks into the season, it’s nonetheless discouraging that Rockies first baseman/outfielder Ian Desmond is off to a horrific start after such a disappointing 2017. Desmond, whom the Rockies signed to a five-year, $70MM deal in December 2016, has batted an unsightly .153/.184/.333 and posted minus-0.5 fWAR over 76 plate appearances this month. The 32-year-old’s not panicking, however. “Even though it’s bad right now, I know (my process) works, I know it’s worked in the past, and I believe it,” said Desmond (via Kyle Newman of the Denver Post) “When you’re going through something like this right now is when you really have to believe it, because you can really get sideways if you don’t.” Desmond has the support of manager Bud Black, who stated that “He’ll find his timing, and when he does, he’ll be the Ian Desmond that we’ve seen for eight-plus seasons.” While Desmond has recorded an unappealing 73.1 percent groundball rate this season on the heels of logging a 62.7 percent figure last year, he’s not necessarily aiming to hit more balls in the air. “Looking at it throughout the course of my career, I’m a groundball hitter, I’m a line drive hitter — I don’t think I’m ever going to lead the league in launch angle,” said Desmond, even though he acknowledged that the altitude at Coors Field makes it an especially friendly place for fly ball hitters.

Here’s more from the NL West:

  • Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner told reporters Saturday that he still hasn’t swung a bat since suffering a broken left wrist in late March (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, on Twitter). As such, there’s still no timetable for Turner’s return, which is unfortunate for an LA team that has felt his absence during a slow start. Dodgers third basemen have only managed a .208/.274/.338 line in 84 PAs this season.
  • Prior to their game Saturday, the Padres activated center fielder Manuel Margot from the disabled list and sent right fielder Hunter Renfroe to the DL (retroactive to April 18) with elbow inflammation. Margot, who suffered bruised ribs when he took a pitch to the chest, returned quickly after going on the DL on April 11. Renfroe, meanwhile, “played with one arm for about a week and a half,” manager Andy Green told Justin Toscano of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday. The 26-year-old power hitter got off to a .200/.281/.440 start with two home runs in 57 PAs before going on the shelf.
  • The Giants expect left-handed reliever Will Smith back by May 1, manager Bruce Bochy announced Saturday (per Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group, via Twitter). Smith underwent Tommy John surgery prior to last season, meaning he hasn’t pitched in a major league game since the Giants’ NLDS loss to the Cubs in October 2016. The 28-year-old was a well-regarded reliever before his injury, which led the Giants to trade a couple of prospects to Milwaukee for him in August 2016.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/21/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • Outfielder Ryan Kalish has retired, Peter Gammons tweets. Kalish, who played the final game of his career on Friday with New Britain of the independent Atlantic League, is stepping away because of knee issues, per Gammons. Now 30, Kalish was once a promising prospect with the Red Sox, who grabbed him in the ninth round of the 2006 draft. Injuries were problematic throughout Kalish’s career, though, which helps to explain why he only amassed 422 major league plate appearances with the BoSox and Cubs between 2010-16. Kalish was a .245/.297/.349 hitter with four homers and 16 stolen bases in the majors.
  • The Indians have acquired utility player Jon Berti from the Blue Jays for cash considerations, according to announcements from both teams. Berti will join Triple-A Columbus with Cleveland, which will be his second organization since Toronto chose him in the 18th round of the 2011 draft. The 28-year-old Berti ascended to Triple-A in 2015 and has since hit .212/.282/.314 in 433 PAs at the minors’ highest level.
  • The Rays outrighted outfielder Brandon Snyder to Triple-A Durham after he cleared waivers, the team announced. Snyder, whom the Rays designated Friday, could decline the assignment because he has been outrighted in the past. He totaled six PAs with the Rays before they cut him from their 40-man roster, giving him 211 since he debuted with Baltimore in 2011. Snyder has batted .240/.276/.455 with nine long balls in the bigs.

Angels Designate Luke Bard

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The Angels have designated right-hander Luke Bard for assignment, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bard’s roster spot will go to fellow righty Eduardo Paredes, whom the team recalled from Triple-A, per Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

The 27-year-old Bard joined the Angels last December as a Rule 5 pick from the Twins, who will have a chance to get Bard back for $50K if he goes through waivers unclaimed. If a team does claim Bard, it’ll need to keep him on its 25-man roster or risk losing him to waivers.

Bard, whom Minnesota chose in the first round of the 2012 draft, brings both an impressive minor league track record and an intriguing fastball to the table. He hasn’t yet pitched at the Triple-A level, though he carries a 3.09 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in 67 Double-A innings. Bard wasn’t able to replicate that success with the Angels early this season, though, as he pitched to a 5.40 ERA despite solid strikeout and walk rates (10.03 K/9, 3.86 BB/9) across 11 2/3 frames.

Quick Hits: Farquhar, Machado, Cardinals, Duffy

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White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar has been placed on the 10-day disabled list after passing out in the club’s dugout. According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the sudden collapse was caused by a brain aneurysm. He was immediately hospitalized following the incident, and is currently in stable but critical condition. We at MLBTR will be keeping Farquhar in our thoughts during what is certainly a scary situation.

More notes from around MLB…

  • Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports suggests that the White Sox could be a team to watch in the upcoming Manny Machado sweepstakes this offseason. A rival GM tells Heyman that the Sox could be a “dark horse” to sign the superstar shortstop. Concurrent with this rumor, via Heyman, is the pattern of owner Jerry Reinsdorf being occasionally willing to make a big splash in the free agent market (though I’d like to point out that they’ve never made a splash of anything close to this size).
  • A pair of Cardinals relievers are making progress in their returns from injury, which would provide a welcome cavalry to the club’s bullpen. Left-hander Ryan Sherriff is scheduled to throw a live bullpen session on Wednesday at Triple-A Memphis, according to Joe Trezza of MLB.com. He’s currently still wearing a metal shank in his shoe under the fractured toe in order to protect it. Meanwhile, Trezza adds, righty Sam Tuivailala threw two bullpen sessions this week, and will throw a third one tomorrow. The downside of these imminent returns is that the Cardinals will be facing a difficult roster decision when they decide to activate these two relievers.
  • Bill Chastain of MLB.com tweets that Rays third baseman Matt Duffy is “cautiously optimistic” that he’ll be able to be activated from the 10-day disabled list when he’s first eligible on April 27th. He did some soft-toss hitting yesterday along with a few throwing drills, and is progressing nicely in an attempt to return quickly from a hamstring injury suffered in Monday’s game.

Mets To Move Matt Harvey To Bullpen

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Mets manager Mickey Callaway has told reporters that the club plans to move longtime starter and former ace Matt Harvey to the bullpen (h/t Mike Puma of the New York Post). He’ll reportedly be available as a reliever beginning on Tuesday.

Obviously, the move is by no means permanent. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com shared a video tweet of Callaway discussing the topic. “I think he’s motivated to go out there and show everyone that he can start again at some point,” he told reporters. “And Dave and I are going to take the approach that we’re gonna do everything we can to help him do that.”

It’s worth noting right off the bat that this isn’t just a fluff statement. As Callaway himself says in the video (which is well worth watching in its entirety), he’s seen pitchers go to the bullpen and “come out of it better than they were before.” Most notably, Callaway oversaw the transition of talented Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco from a starter role to the bullpen and back to the rotation. That transition period ultimately jumpstarted Carrasco’s career, and was no doubt a significant contributing factor in his development into a pitcher who ranks seventh in MLB in fWAR since the start of the 2015 season. Callaway was also present for fellow Cleveland hurler Mike Clevinger’s transition to the bullpen and back, so it’s perfectly fair to think this may just be a temporary measure to help Harvey work on things with the ultimate plan of converting him back to a hopefully improved starting pitcher.

Regardless of any of that, it certainly isn’t a pleasing development for the 29-year-old Harvey (he certainly didn’t seem happy in this video). Just yesterday, he candidly told reporters that he sees himself as a starting pitcher. “I’m a starting pitcher,” he said at the time. “I’ve always been a starting pitcher, and I think I showed in the fifth and sixth inning that I could get people out still in the fifth and sixth inning when my pitch count gets up, so I am a starting pitcher.” As I noted in a poll just hours ago, though, that’s not up to Harvey; it’s up to Mets management. Speaking of which, over 80% of you believed at that time that New York should move Harvey to the ’pen.

In regards to Harvey’s impending free agency, the position change certainly doesn’t help his earning power. Relievers make significantly fewer dollars on the open market than starters, and if Harvey can’t turn his performance around he’s unlikely to make even eight figures if he enters that market as a bullpen arm. Although it seems worth mentioning that Harvey’s free agent stock was already at an all-time low, so if he develops into any semblance of a useful reliever, he could still out-earn what he was likely to make on the open market had he continued to pitch the way he was pitching as a starter.

This situation will be well worth monitoring across the next few weeks. Harvey could certainly figure something out that helps his game, and merit a return to the rotation sooner than later. And even amidst all the hoopla about his position change, it’s easily possible that an injury to one of Jason Vargas, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz could necessitate Harvey’s return to the starting five. For the time being, though, it will be interesting to see how Callaway utilizes Harvey in his new role with the club.

Braves Designate Josh Ravin

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The Braves have designated righty reliever Josh Ravin for assignment, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Correspondingly, the club has elected to purchase the contract of fellow right-hander Miguel Socolovich from Triple-A Gwinnett.

The Braves acquired Ravin from the Dodgers last November in exchange for cash considerations after. Ravin pitched just three innings for the Braves across two appearances. In between those two appearances, he was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster, purchased again from Triple-A, and spent time on the DL with an illness.

Last night’s game saw Ravin allow two earned runs in two innings of relief during the 12-inning marathon against the Mets; the club likely made the move in order to get a fresh arm in the bullpen. It’s worth noting, though, that Ravin’s fastball velocity (in a limited sample size) was down nearly two miles per hour from where it sat a year ago with the Dodgers. He’ll give way to Socolovich, who was also recently outrighted from the club’s 40-man roster.

Injury Notes: Warren, Farquhar, Mancini, Rodon

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The Yankees announced today that they’ve placed right-hander Adam Warren on the 10-day disabled list with a back strain. The move comes in conjunction with the promotion of fellow righty Jonathan Holder, who’s being called upon to reinforce the bullpen. It’s yet another unfortunate development for a Yankees team that’s seeing its disabled list grow larger and larger; notable players among that number already include Tommy Kahnle, Greg Bird, Brandon Drury, Clint Frazier and Jacoby Ellsbury. The club is already facing harsh criticism from its fans and the city’s media outlets for its mediocre start, particularly in comparison to the division rival Red Sox, who are off to a historically hot 17-2 start. The growing list of injuries certainly won’t help their situation.

More injury-related items from around baseball…

  • In a still-developing situation, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar has been hospitalized and is undergoing a series of tests. According to Nightengale, there’s a possibility that Farquhar has a serious injury following passing out in the club’s dugout. We’ll have more in this unfortunate and scary situation as it continues to develop.
  • James Fegan of The Athletic notes in his latest piece that White Sox right-hander Carlos Rodon is set to begin pitching some games in extended spring training soon. Rodon hasn’t pitched since undergoing an arthroscopic shoulder surgery late last year, but he’s reportedly set to throw a sideline session with pitching coach Don Cooper at some point this weekend before heading back to Arizona. His presence will certainly be a boost to a largely-inexperienced White Sox rotation that’s posted a 5.99 ERA so far this season.
  • According to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun, Orioles slugger Trey Mancini’s knee is still “really swollen” after colliding with the wall in foul ground during yesterday’s game. X-rays and a CT scan came back negative, so Mancini and the Orioles are hopeful that he can avoid a DL stint and return to the lineup in a few days’ time. He’ll sit out today’s contest against the Indians, however.

Poll: What Should The Mets Do With Matt Harvey?

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Since allowing just one hit across five innings of work against the Phillies in his season debut, Matt Harvey has seemingly reverted back to his 2017 form. He’s allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last three starts, lasting just five innings in two of them. While it’s a good sign that Harvey’s walk rate is down, he’s been prone to the long ball (four homers allowed so far) and hasn’t been particularly impressive in the strikeouts department (7.29 K/9).

It’s an unfortunate extension of Harvey’s recent track record. Since coming off the disabled list in September of last season, the righty sports a cataclysmic 8.72 ERA, and there aren’t any real reasons for optimism surrounding the 29-year-old’s performance. He’s struck out just 30 batters across 43 1/3 innings of work since that time, and he’s allowed at least four runs in six of his nine starts while lasting more than five innings just once. For those interested in pitcher records, Harvey is 1-6 during that time.

It’s becoming more and more clear with each outing that Harvey seems unlikely to turn things around. He was once among the games elite arms and seemed likely to earn nine figures in his then-distant free agent foray, and although a late-2013 Tommy John surgery put that in serious question, he managed to bounce back with an outstanding 4.4 fWAR campaign in 2015. 2016, however, was the start of a tailspin, and Harvey managed to pitch just 92 2/3 innings in both 2016 and 2017 with just 143 total strikeouts and 119 earned runs allowed. With this season’s terrible start, we’re almost to the point where it’s worth asking the question, “Will Harvey pitch himself out of the majors this season?”

While that seems a bit extreme, the subject of bumping Harvey from the rotation has certainly been broached. Jason Vargas is set to return to the rotation soon, and Harvey’s the obvious candidate to give up his spot if performance is the determining factor. Reporters recently asked Harvey if he’d give his consent to be optioned to the minors (he can’t be optioned without his permission due to his five-year MLB tenure), but he wouldn’t comment on the subject.

A more likely scenario would be for the 14-5 Mets to make Harvey a reliever. For his part, Harvey isn’t thinking about a move to a bullpen, and recently told reporters that he considers himself a starting pitcher. In reality, what Harvey considers himself to be doesn’t really matter if he can’t get outs, so the Mets will have a big decision in the impending days.

Many struggling starters have benefitted greatly from a move to the bullpen, and it doesn’t seem likely at this point that Harvey will revive his career as a starter. However, a miraculous return to his 2013/2015 form would provide the Mets with a huge boost to their seemingly strong playoff chances. What do you think New York should do in regards to their former ace? (Poll link for app users)

Should The Mets Move Matt Harvey To The Bullpen?
Yes 82.97% (4,771 votes)
No 17.03% (979 votes)
Total Votes: 5,750

 

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