NL West Notes: Padres, Hughes, Stripling, Duplantier
The Padres‘ acquisition of Phil Hughes was clearly more about acquiring the Twins‘ competitive balance draft pick than the pitcher himself, and GM A.J. Preller and scouting director Mark Conner spoke to MLB.com’s A.J Cassavell about the swap. Preller told Cassavell that he’s been calling every team that received pick in the competitive balance lottery on a near-weekly basis in an attempt to acquire an additional selection — something that’s long been a priority but was magnified in 2018 after San Diego surrendered a pick to sign Eric Hosmer. “The game now is about making your money work for you,” said Preller. “…You have to figure out what’s the best bang for your buck. Having the extra pick gives you more options.”
The move was met by excitement from Conner and his scouts, who’ll now not only have an extra pick (No. 74 overall) but an additional $812,200 in their draft pool. The Padres, of course, spent considerably more than that to obtain the pick, relieving the Twins of just over $7.6MM of Hughes’ salary. While it seems a shrewd (albeit expensive) pickup of a resource with limited availability, not every organization agrees; one exec from another club told FanRag’s Jon Heyman last week that the Padres were “insane” for taking on that much of the remaining contract to obtain the pick.
More from the division…
- Ross Stripling, who looks to be in the midst of a breakout season with the Dodgers, spoke to Pedro Moura of The Athletic about the role that data and analytics have played in his emergence (subscription required). The 28-year-old righty has turned in a ridiculous 1.68 ERA with 11.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.56 HR/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate in 48 1/3 innings for the Dodgers so far in 2018. Stripling’s success is derived in large part from advance scouting of opposing lineups and taking deep dives into hitters’ strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, Stripling discusses the importance of knowing the quality of contact a hitter will make against pitch types in various portions of the strike zone. “I don’t care about average,” said Stripling. “I just want to know where he pulls the ball at 100 mph. I’m a believer in limiting slug, which is basically limiting exit velocity.” Moura’s column takes a long look not only at Stripling’s sudden success, but also his amateur days, his childhood fascination with baseball statistics and his path to professional baseball.
- The D-backs have had rotten luck with injuries at the big league level in 2018, and it’s apparently extending to the farm system as well. Zach Buchanan of The Athletic tweets that the team’s top prospect, right-hander Jon Duplantier, is dealing with biceps tendinitis and has been shut down from throwing for at least a week. The 23-year-old Duplantier has dominated in Double-A this year, working to a 2.52 ERA with 10.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9 and a 59.8 percent ground-ball rate in 35 2/3 innings. He’s currently ranked as the game’s No. 50 overall prospect over at Baseball America and No. 65 overall at MLB.com.
Dodgers To Select Caleb Ferguson
The Dodgers are set to select the contract of left-handed pitching prospect Caleb Ferguson, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. The news first got out, it seems, when Ferguson’s mother announced it on Facebook (though Hoornsta notes that he’s confirmed the promotion himself as well). The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move to add him to the roster.
[Related: Los Angeles Dodgers depth chart]
Ferguson, 21, entered the season ranked 15th among Dodgers farmhands, per Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com. Tommy John surgery in high school caused him to drop to the 38th round of the draft, but he’s steadily risen through the Dodgers’ minor league ranks as he’s mended and rebuilt his arm strength. After dominating Double-A opponents with a 1.38 ERA, 40 strikeouts and 10 walks through 39 innings, Ferguson was moved up to Triple-A for a brief eight-inning stint before now ascending to the game’s highest level.
The addition of Ferguson will give Los Angeles an option to start on Wednesday this week. The Dodgers currently have an entire rotation’s worth of talent on the DL (and a very good rotation, at that) with Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Julio Urias all on the shelf at at the moment. As such, if Ferguson is indeed called upon to start, he’ll step into the rotation alongside Alex Wood, Ross Stripling and fellow rookies Walker Buehler and Dennis Santana. It could be a simple spot start regardless, as the Dodgers have a pair of off-days next week that’ll allow them to skip the fifth spot in the rotation.
Orioles Claim D.J. Snelten
The Orioles announced that they’ve claimed left-hander D.J. Snelten off waivers from the Giants. Baltimore had an open spot on its 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary. Snelten has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk for the time being.
[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles depth chart]
The 26-year-old Snelten is listed at a towering 6’7″ and 245 pounds, and he entered the season ranked as the Giants’ ninth-best prospect, per Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs. While he doesn’t throw especially hard, Snelten possesses an above-average changeup and has performed reasonably well in the upper minors. He allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his MLB debut this season but comes to the Orioles organization with a career 2.84 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 69 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Longenhagen’s scouting report notes that Snelten’s size and unorthodox delivery help him succeed against same-handed batters, while the changeup gives him a viable weapon to use against right-handed opponents.
Snelten was only just selected to the 40-man roster this past offseason, so he has two option years remaining beyond the 2018 campaign. He can be shuttled between Norfolk and Baltimore to lend some depth to the Orioles’ staff, and with several trade candidates in the Baltimore ‘pen, it’s possible that a spot will eventually open for Snelten to receive a lengthier look.
Tigers Re-Sign Gerson Moreno, Outright Pete Kozma
The Tigers announced today that they’ve re-signed right-hander Gerson Moreno to a minor league contract and sent Pete Kozma outright to Triple-A after he cleared waivers.
Detroit released the 22-year-old Moreno last week to open a spot on the 40-man roster, and it was later revealed by GM Al Avila that the promising young pitching prospect required Tommy John surgery. By releasing him, Detroit was able to create a needed 40-man vacancy but keep him in the organization. Both MLB.com and Fangraphs ranked him among the organization’s top 30 prospects entering the season, with Eric Longenhagen calling him a potential setup man whose fastball can touch 99 mph. Moreno has averaged better than 11 strikeouts per nine innings over the past two seasons, but he struggled to a 5.29 ERA and averaged 7.4 walks per nine innings in 2018 before undergoing season-ending surgery.
Kozma, meanwhile, was designated for assignment last week when the Tigers activated Miguel Cabrera from the disabled list. He’d been serving in a utility role for Detroit, but the Tigers have since called up 26-year-old Ronny Rodriguez, who’d been hitting quite well in Triple-A Toledo and can fill that same utility role on their roster. The 30-year-old Kozma hit .175/.195/.300 in 41 plate appearances for the Tigers this season before being cut from the 40-man roster. He has the ability to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, though Detroit’s announcement gave no indication that the former Cardinals shortstop has any plans to do so.
Tigers Sign Junichi Tazawa To Minor League Deal
The Tigers have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa, per a club announcement. (The move was first noted on Twitter by Roster Roundup.) The righty was released by the Marlins after being designated for assignment last month.
Tazawa, who’ll turn 32 later this week, signed what proved to be an ill-fated two-year, $12MM deal with Miami in the 2016-17 offseason. The former Red Sox setup man struggled enough with the Fish that he couldn’t hold his roster spot through the life of that deal, however. After posting a 5.69 ERA in 55 1/3 innings last season, he opened the 2018 campaign by allowing 20 earned runs in 20 inning of work.
After averaging better than a strikeout per inning with the Red Sox from 2009-16, Tazawa’s strikeout numbers fell off sharply in 2017. He posted a 6.2 K/9 mark and 16 percent overall strikeout rate — each the lowest full-season levels of his MLB career. His strikeouts returned in 2018 — 24 in 20 innings — but he also issued 13 walks and served up six homers with the Marlins. Beyond that, his average fastball velocity sat at a career-low 91.5 mph, and his swinging-strike rate (7.8 percent) and chase rate (28.4 percent) were also career-worsts.
Despite Tazawa’s considerable struggles over the past two seasons, adding him to their Triple-A ranks is a no-risk proposition for the Tigers. The balance of his $7MM salary for the 2018 season will be paid out by the Marlins, so Detroit will only be on the hook for the pro-rated league minimum for any time he spends at the big league level. (That sum would subsequently be subtracted from what the Marlins owe Tazawa.) If he’s able to rebound to any extent, he’ll step up to the big league level to help out a Tigers bullpen that currently ranks 25th in the Majors with a 4.66 ERA.
Marlins Release Jacob Turner
The Marlins have released right-hander Jacob Turner from their Triple-A affiliate, as was first noted on the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. He’d opened the year on the team’s active roster but previously been designated for assignment and outrighted.
Turner, 27, appeared in four games for the Marlins’ big league club this season and surrendered 10 runs in 5 2/3 innings while tallying more walks (five) than strikeouts (two). Since being outrighted to New Orleans in early April, the former No. 9 overall pick (2009, Tigers) and top prospect has gone through a rough stretch in Triple-A as well. In 21 2/3 innings, he’s logged a 5.82 ERA with a 17-to-8 K/BB ratio, four home runs allowed and a 48 percent ground-ball rate.
Of course, even including that ugly run, Turner has a career 4.24 ERA in 357 innings at the Triple-A level, and he’s made a total of 55 Major League starts (plus 56 relief appearances) between the Marlins, Tigers, Nationals, Cubs and White Sox. As such, he’ll likely have other opportunities to latch on with another organization as a depth option in the upper minors.
Quick Hits: Hanley, Trumbo, Bellinger, Peavy, Red Sox, Draft
Hanley Ramirez is getting interest from “multiple teams” since officially becoming a free agent, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo tweets. It isn’t any surprise that the veteran slugger is drawing some attention, particularly since he’d be available at a prorated minimum salary while the Red Sox cover the approximately $14.5MM remaining on Ramirez’s contract. Considering the low price tag, any number of teams could have interest — consider that the Orioles, who are already loaded with first base/DH candidates, have already been linked to Ramirez. It was only weeks ago that Ramirez was one of the league’s hottest hitters (posting a .330/.400/.474 slash line over 110 plate appearances in March and April) before he fell into a deep slump that led to his release from the Sox.
Some more from around the baseball world…
- Last winter, the Orioles “checked on” any trade interest in Mark Trumbo, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports. It isn’t stated how much interest existed, though one can imagine it was a pretty thin market, given that Trumbo was coming off a rough 2017 season and is owed $26MM in 2018-19. Trumbo has a decent .292/.320/.427 slash line over 100 PA, though he has only two homers and missed all of April recovering from a quad strain. The O’s seem primed to be deadline sellers, though they’d likely have to eat some money to facilitate a Trumbo deal. (Incidentally, he also has a seven-team no-trade clause.)
- The slumping Cody Bellinger hasn’t started two of the Dodgers‘ last three games, as manager Dave Roberts talked to reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) about how the reigning NL Rookie Of The Year is trying to adjust to being pitched differently as well as some bad breaks at the plate. “He’s doing everything right as far as the preparation. The results just haven’t been there,” Roberts said. “So as a young player, he’s constantly trying to make adjustments. You get to a point where you wonder if you’re ever going to get a hit. All players go through that at some point in time.” Roberts wasn’t ready to say that a brief minor league stint might eventually be in the cards for Bellinger, who is hitting only .225/.298/.413 with eight homers over his first 238 plate appearances.
- In the latest on Jake Peavy‘s comeback attempt, the veteran righty will hold a private workout for teams sometime in June, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. After sitting out the 2017 season to deal with personal issues, Peavy had been working out and planning to have a showcase in early May, though he said a few weeks ago that he wanted to consult with his children before deciding on a comeback.
- Also from Cafardo’s piece, he notes that tomorrow’s amateur draft carries particular import for a Red Sox farm system that has been thinned out by trades in recent years. Between those losses, Jay Groome‘s Tommy John surgery and Michael Chavis‘ PED suspension, Boston doesn’t seem to have enough young trade chips to make a splash at the deadline. “Let me put it this way, there isn’t anyone in their farm system that a team would say, ‘I have to have that guy.’ Not saying they don’t have anything to make a deal, but they don’t have enough to make a major deal,” one AL scout tells Cafardo. Of course, it remains to see if the Sox will necessarily be looking for a blockbuster upgrade given that the roster is already in very good shape and cruising towards a postseason berth.
- With the first round of the draft less than 24 hours away, Baseball America has released its latest mock draft of the first 35 picks. Auburn right-hander Casey Mize is still seen as the favorite to go to the Tigers with the first overall pick, with Mize unlikely to fall beyond the Giants (at the No. 2 pick) if Detroit goes go in another direction. Interestingly, Baseball America’s executive editor JJ Cooper (Twitter link) hears from multiple sources that “it is more likely now than it was any time up to now” that the top three picks will be Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart (Tigers), California high schooler Cole Winn (Giants) and then Mize to the Phillies third overall. Still, there is “only a small chance” of this scenario playing out, and the likeliest scenario is still Mize going to the Tigers.
NL East Notes: Marlins, Hill, Hellickson, Swarzak, Phillies
Many of the free agent mistakes that have plagued the Marlins in recent years weren’t the fault of president of baseball operations Michael Hill, a source tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “People without full accountability had more power under Jeffrey [Loria]” than Hill did, the source said, and Jackson’s piece details some of the thought process that led to the Marlins’ ill-fated signings of Wei-Yin Chen, Martin Prado, Edinson Volquez, Jeff Locke, Brad Ziegler, and Junichi Tazawa. Hill’s lack of culpability in these signings could explain why he kept his job once the Derek Jeter/Bruce Sherman ownership group took over the team last year, amidst a general housecleaning of former front office staff. Hill was already under contract through 2020, though that doesn’t appear to have been a major factor in his retention, since the team has eaten quite a bit of salary in letting go of other executives. According to Jackson, roughly $18MM in total salary was owed to departed front office members Mike Berger, Jeff McAvoy, Marc DelPiano, and Jim Benedict through the 2020 season.
Here’s some more from the NL East…
- Jeremy Hellickson left during the first inning of today’s game due to a right hamstring strain. MLB.com’s Jamal Collier was among those to report that Hellickson would undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury. Signed to a minor league deal last offseason, Hellickson has delivered tremendous results over his first 43 1/3 innings, posting a 2.28 ERA, 7.06 K/9 and 5.67 K/BB rate. The Nationals don’t need a fifth starter until June 19 thanks to multiple off-days in the schedule, though Hellickson is hopeful of avoiding a DL stint since he noted that his current injury isn’t as painful as another hamstring strain he suffered a few years ago.
- The Mets are expected to activate reliever Anthony Swarzak from the disabled list on Tuesday, Newsday’s Tim Healey reports. Swarzak, who signed a two-year/$14MM free agent deal last winter, made just two appearances for the team before hitting the DL due to an oblique injury in early April.
- In a chat with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury and other reporters, Phillies scouting director Johnny Almaraz implied that the team will look to take a college player with the third overall pick in tomorrow’s amateur draft. Alvarez agreed with the general outlook that the draft is deep in quality college talent, noting “I see a lot of clubs moving in that direction where we’re going to try and get on these college players pretty quickly.” Oregon State infielder Nick Madrigal, Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm, and Florida pitcher Brady Singer have all been noted as potential picks for the Phils, and Salisbury believes one of the trio will be the choice, barring an unexpected development (like the Tigers passing on Casey Mize as the first overall pick).
Red Sox Links: Pedroia, Swihart, Hanley
Some news and notes out of Boston…
- Dustin Pedroia‘s return from left knee surgery lasted just three games before the Red Sox second baseman returned to the disabled list with inflammation in that same knee. Speaking with reporters (including the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato) about the latest injury, Pedroia noted that he was feeling discomfort in a different part of the knee than the area that was operated on back in October. He is scheduled to meet with the doctor who performed the original surgery on Tuesday “and see what he has to say. It could be just normal or scar tissue or something, but that’s it.” Pedroia didn’t feel he came back from his first DL stint too quickly, or that he or the team did “anything wrong” during his rehab process to incur this new issue. The current absence is somewhat being viewed as part of the overall recovery from last fall’s surgery and the knee problems that had bothered Pedroia for some time. “It just might take a little time,” Pedroia said. “Last year, if I didn’t have surgery, it wasn’t going to get any better. It’s going to get better. So, just stinks going through it.”
- Blake Swihart‘s first start at catcher this season is likely to come this week, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo and other media. Swihart has been behind the plate twice this season as a sub, though he has yet to actually start at catcher since April 2016 due to injuries and trials at different positions, due to concerns about Swihart’s defensive capability as a backstop. Opposing scouts are greatly interested in whether Swihart can handle catching, Cafardo writes, and showcasing Swihart behind the plate would help the Sox in their efforts to trade the former top prospect. There’s even a possibility that Swihart could stick in Boston in regular catching duty, as Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon have provided little offense this season.
- The Red Sox have already been quite public with their reasons for releasing Hanley Ramirez, though in a video report for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal adds that the some with the club felt that Ramirez’s departure would allow for new voices to take a leadership role in the clubhouse. Rosenthal mentioned J.D. Martinez as a potential veteran leader, particularly as he is the most experienced member of the position player roster with Pedroia out of action.
Rays Notes: Archer, Banda, Pitching, Mariners, Trades
Here’s the latest from Tropicana Field…
- Chris Archer will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his injured groin, he told MLB.com’s Erik Erickson and other reporters. The injury cropped up during Archer’s start on Saturday, and the Rays ace said the problem was still bothering him today. Given the timeline, Archer said it was “questionable” whether he’d make his next scheduled start. Losing Archer would be another blow to a Rays team that has been scrambling for arms due to injuries and their unique usage of regular bullpen days, not to mention the potential impact it could have on Archer’s value as a potential trade chip at the deadline.
- In further ominous injury news, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports (Twitter link) that southpaw Anthony Banda will visit with team doctors after being placed on the Triple-A disabled list due to a forearm strain. Acquired as the primary piece in the three-team trade that sent Steven Souza to the Diamondbacks last offseason, Banda has posted solid numbers at Triple-A this season and also made three MLB appearances for the Rays (one official start and two relief outings behind “openers” Sergio Romo and Ryne Stanek). Forearm injuries are always cause for concern, particularly since Tampa Bay has already lost youngsters Jose De Leon and Brent Honeywell to Tommy John surgery within the last few months.
- Rays senior VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom recently spoke with The Athletic’s Juan Toribio (subscription required) about the team’s controversial “bullpen day” strategy and the usage of relievers to “start” games by pitching an inning before turning things over to a multi-inning pitcher. Bloom said the front office has been “encouraged” by the results thus far, and very pleased with how the players and coaching staff have bought into the idea. Despite the relative success thus far, however, Bloom said the Rays won’t necessarily stick with the pitching strategy going forward. “I think time will tell, but we don’t want to shoehorn a group of players into a certain model just to say that we’re doing it….I think potentially if you have a different group of players with different strengths and weaknesses, you might do something different,” Bloom said. “But what we wanted to get away from was kind of doing the opposite, where I think previously the mindset was that no matter what the strength and weaknesses are of our player group, we’re going to force them to be in the so-called traditional model. We wanted to take an approach of, let’s assess the strengths and weaknesses of our group, and then try and figure out a way to build this in a way that gives them the best chance.”
- The recent deal that sent Denard Span and Alex Colome to Seattle stands out as perhaps the biggest of the nine trades between the Rays and Mariners since Jerry Dipoto became Seattle’s GM in September 2015. The close relationship between Dipoto and Rays GM Erik Neander plays a large role, though Topkin expands on that topic as part of a larger piece about how Tampa Bay approaches trades in general. For instance, the Rays send several scouts to analyze another team’s player (or players) to get a variety of opinions before targeting someone in talks. The club also puts a particular focus on scouting the lower levels of the minors to find hidden gems; several players acquired from the Mariners, in fact, have been unheralded names who eventually cracked the big leagues.