Padres Release Chase Headley
May 19th: The Padres have made an official announcement of Headley’s release.
May 18th: The Padres have released Chase Headley following this past weekend’s DFA, tweets Dennis Lin of The Athletic. The veteran third baseman is now a free agent. San Diego has yet to make a formal announcement, though the move is listed both on the MLB.com transactions log and on the Padres’ transaction log at their official web site.
It’s hardly an unexpected outcome for the 34-year-old Headley, who opened the season with a dismal .115/.233/.135 performance through 60 trips to the plate and is earning $13MM in the final season of a four-year, $52MM contract that he initially signed with the Yankees. Any team to claim Headley off waivers would’ve been on the hook for the remaining $9.5MM of that figure. San Diego technically could’ve absorbed a notable chunk of that salary in a trade, but Headley’s performance this season surely didn’t drum up much interest from rival clubs in that regard.
Headley is now available to any club that wishes to sign him to a minor league contract, and he’ll only be owed the pro-rated portion of the league minimum under a new deal. That sum, subsequently, would be subtracted from the $9.5MM the Padres still owe him, so they could save at least a small portion of that money if he latches on elsewhere.
It’s unlikely that any team would plug Headley straight into its MLB roster, but he’d make sense for a club in need of some depth at the infield corners in Triple-A. While there seems to be a perception that Headley didn’t provide much of any value to the Yankees in 2017, that’s not really the case. In 586 plate appearances last year, Headley slashed .273/.352/.406 with a dozen homers, 30 doubles and a triple. That’s hardly elite production, but his overall output rated average or slightly better, after adjusting for park and league, per OPS+ (99) and wRC+ (104). Both Fangraphs (1.9) and Baseball-Reference (1.8) felt that he was worth roughly two wins above replacement.
For the Padres, the trade that brought Headley back to San Diego has provided poor results all around in the early going. The trade, of course, was never about acquiring Headley but rather acquiring right-hander Bryan Mitchell from the Yankees. In taking on the remainder of Headley’s contract, the Padres effectively purchased four years of control over Mitchell for $13MM.
Mitchell, though, hasn’t panned out whatsoever in San Diego and has already lost his rotation spot. The 27-year-old came to the Padres with a terrific minor league track record and had shown potential at times in the Majors as well, but he’s been rocked for a 6.21 ERA in 37 1/3 innings with his new organization. While early-season ERA numbers can often be misleading, Mitchell’s struggles aren’t merely the product of poor luck, though. He’s issued 29 walks in 37 1/3 frames — a considerably higher total than the meager 18 strikeouts he’s managed. Mitchell has also surrendered six home runs and yielded a 39.4 percent hard-contact rate to opposing batters, as well (30th-highest among 132 MLB pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched).
Because Mitchell is out of minor league options, the Padres weren’t able to send him to Triple-A to straighten out and were instead forced to move him into the bullpen. He logged a starter’s workload in his lone appearance out of the ‘pen thus far, totaling 5 2/3 innings of long relief and allowing three runs — again with more walks (three) than strikeouts (two).
Certainly, there’s ample time for him to improve his performance and to even make the trade a worthwhile one. The Padres, after all, can afford to be patient with him in a long relief role given their 17-28 start to the season, but he’ll eventually need to display better control, as the Friars will become more serious about contending in 2019 and beyond.
Cardinals Place Paul DeJong On 10-Day DL With Fractured Hand
May 19th, 12:06pm: DeJong’s surgery was successful, MLB.com’s Joe Trezza reports, though a timetable for his return has yet to be shared.
May 18th, 4:24pm: Unfortunately, it does not seem that DeJong has suffered a run-of-the-mill fracture. The injury is to his pinky, per MLB.com’s Joe Trezza (via Twitter). DeJong will undergo surgery this evening to insert a plate, per president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter), with the expectations being that there’ll be a “significant” layoff.
3:05pm: The Cardinals have announced that shortstop Paul DeJong is heading to the 10-day DL after he was diagnosed with a fractured left hand suffered on a hit-by-pitch. Also headed to the DL is righty Matt Bowman, who’s dealing with blisters.
To fill the two openings on the roster, the Cards have called up infielder Yairo Munoz and outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Both players are already on the 40-man roster.
It’s not yet known whether DeJong is a candidate for surgery, let alone what kind of rehabilitation timeline will be required. But his absence will tell, even if it’s for a relatively short period of time.
The major difficulty for the Cardinals is that, while they feature quite a few infield options, none really profile as regular options at short. Greg Garcia has the most experience at the position in the majors; Jedd Gyorko has lined up at short, but not very often and not for some time. It seems Munoz might also be viewed as an option, as he has spent much of his minor-league career at shortstop.
Clearly, those players aren’t likely to account for the missing productivity of DeJong, who’s not only a quality fielder but carries a .260/.351/.473 slash through 171 plate appearances on the year. With much of the Cards offense still working to round into form, the loss of DeJong will leave the team without one of its best bats to this point of the season.
East Notes: Yankees, Eickhoff, Smith, Garcia
Aaron Boone recently offered some words of encouragement regarding the imminent return of first baseman Greg Bird to the lineup (h/t Marc Carig of The Athletic). But while Bird’s activation appears to be “around the corner”, news surrounding fellow Yankees hitter Jacoby Ellsbury is not as promising. Ellsbury is reportedly dealing with a minor back injury and as such is not participating in baseball activities at this time. The outfielder made just 406 plate appearances last season and has yet to make his 2018 debut. Unfortunately, Ellsbury’s absence is not the end of the bad news for the Yankees this week, as it turns out hard-hitting outfield prospect Estevan Florial will require surgery on a broken hamate bone (according to a tweet from George A. King III of the New York Post). The injury will keep him sidelined until at least August. Florial was off to somewhat of a slow start at the High-A level, posting a .246/.353/.343 slash line across 156 plate appearances.
More out of the East…
- Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff is set to begin a rehab assignment, according to Matt Breen of the Philly Enquirer. He’ll kick it off at Triple-A LeHigh Valley. Eickhoff has been sidelined since spring training due to a lat strain, and at this time it’s not clear how he’d fit into a suddenly crowded Phillies rotation that includes Aaron Nola, Nick Pivetta, Jake Arrieta, Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin.
- The Red Sox haven’t gotten any particularly good news about Carson Smith in recent days. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, manager Alex Cora says the club can’t determine at this time whether or not the righty will pitch again this season. Smith was off to a serviceable start this season, posting a 3.77 ERA and 11.30 K/9 in his first 14 1/3 innings before going down with a shoulder subluxation.
- The Blue Jays are describing left-hander Jaime Garcia‘s injury as “left shoulder inflammation”. He’s been placed on the DL retroactive to May 16th. The Jays brought Garcia into the fold this past offseason on a one-year deal worth a guarantee of $10MM, but he’s disappointed thus far with a 6.28 ERA across his first 38 2/3 innings. In a related move, the club has recalled righty Deck McGuire from Triple-A Buffalo.
Braves Activate Dansby Swanson, Option Matt Wisler
The Braves have activated shortstop Dansby Swanson from the 10-day disabled list. In a corresponding move, they’ve optioned Matt Wisler to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Swanson hit the DL earlier this month due to left wrist inflammation. He was off to a solid start, hitting .289/.336/.430 prior to the injury, and the Braves will surely be hoping he can build on those numbers after a somewhat up-and-down start to his major league career. The former number one overall pick produced at about replacement level last season (according to fWAR) after a hot debut at the tail end of the 2016 season.
Swanson’s activation is likely to impact the playing time of Johan Camargo, Jose Bautista or both. Bautista has certainly been unimpressive to this point, posting a .143/.250/.343 slash line and serving as a defensive liability, but it’s fair to think he might get a longer look in the Braves’ lineup. Perhaps, then, Johan Camargo could slide into a utility role while the club waits to see if Bautista can heat up to his career norms.
Wisler has been shuttled back and forth multiple times already this season, most recently pitching 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball while striking out five Marlins. Once highly regarded enough to serve as the key return piece in the Craig Kimbrel trade, Wisler hasn’t lived up to expectations and now appears to be little more than a depth piece as multiple young starters have seemingly leapfrogged him on the depth chart.
Latest On Mariners’ Plans At Second Base
In his latest piece for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal suggests that the suspension of second baseman Robinson Cano has implications that could ripple beyond the 2018 season. Dee Gordon is expected to move from center field to second base in the interim, but could remain there even when Cano comes back, according to Rosenthal. At 35, Cano would soon be tabbed for at least part-time DH duties under normal circumstances. However, one thing that’s reportedly been staving off that possibility thus far is Cano’s goal to break Jeff Kent’s all-time record of 377 homers by a second baseman (he’s 73 bombs shy), while yet another factor is the presence of Nelson Cruz in the team’s full-time designated hitter role.
Both of those factors may not be of such significant impact next season, Rosenthal writes. Cruz has the potential to depart as a free agent after 2018, and the Mariners may not be so inclined to give Cano room in dictating his position following his violation of MLB’s Joint Drug Program. Cano, as readers probably know by now, received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a diuretic used to mask another performance-enhancing drug. That suspension will also prevent him from taking part in the postseason, which is a significant blow to a contending Mariners club.
Ideally, then, the Mariners’ objective should be to find a full-time center fielder or left fielder they can retain for multiple seasons, says Rosenthal. Such a player would effectively lock Gordon into second base for the foreseeable future, while pushing the aging Cano into a first base/designated hitter role in the latter years of his contract. Rosenthal lists Adam Duvall as a possible target for Seattle, but adds the disclaimer that the club has one of the worst farm systems in baseball and might have a difficult time acquiring the young left-fielder from Cincinnati.
On the other hand, as Bob Dutton of klay1180.com points out, it might be in the Mariners’ interests as a contender to keep Gordon in center field for the time being, unless the team can find a way to keep him at second even after Cano returns this season; a scenario that seems highly implausible with the presence of Cruz and Ryon Healy on the roster. Still, it’s hard to tell what the Mariners will do after half a season’s worth of games. From my perspective, it’s worth noting that the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline will have already come and gone by the time Cano is eligible to take the field again.
Following a series of disclaimers (including that guessing GM Jerry Dipoto’s potential targets is a “fool’s game”), Dutton lists some players who might be available at this year’s deadline, according to his sources. One obvious name is Adam Jones, who’s in the final year of his contract with an Orioles club that’s off to a disastrous 14-30 start. Other center fielders mentioned in Dutton’s blog entry include Billy Hamilton, Jon Jay and Denard Span, though on the surface none of those additions would seem worthy of forcing Cano into a role with reduced playing time.
More interesting is the pair of second baseman mentioned by Dutton. Scooter Gennett looks primed to repeat the surprise power numbers he put up with Cincinnati last season, and is controllable through 2019. Whit Merrifield, who can also play in the outfield, would be a longer-term piece and undoubtedly more difficult to acquire. In fact, I’d add that either target seems far fetched considering the Mariners’ lack of impact talent in the minor leagues.
Whatever the situation, it will certainly be interesting to see how Cano and the Mariners are impacted in 2018 and beyond. The club’s interest in contending this year and questions surrounding the roles of Gordon and Cano moving forward create an interesting juxtaposition, and it will be fascinating to watch Dipoto and co. attempt to solve the puzzle.
Injury Notes: Anderson, Lamb, Giants, Shoemaker
The A’s announced this morning that Brett Anderson has been placed on the 10-day DL with a left shoulder strain. Anderson was removed from yesterday’s game before the second inning even began. He’d had an ugly showing so far this season at the MLB level, pitching to a 7.63 ERA with just eight strikeouts across four starts. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes, it’s the 11th time in the 30-year-old lefty’s career that he’s gone on the disabled list. Anderson has only pitched more than 100 innings once in the past eight seasons; it was a 2015 campaign with the Dodgers in which he worked to a 3.69 ERA and 3.94 FIP. In a corresponding move, the A’s have recalled Ryan Dull, who was technically optioned to Triple-A Nashville yesterday but never left Toronto.
Other injury notes from around baseball…
- Yesterday, the Diamondbacks officially announced the activation of slugging third baseman Jake Lamb from the disabled list. After hitting the 10-day DL with a sprained right AC joint and subsequently having his return delayed by elbow tendinitis, has finally completed a rehab assignment and is ready to return. It’s a welcome sight for the Diamondbacks, who recently lost team WAR leader A.J. Pollock to the DL. They’ll hope Lamb can repeat the 30-homer power he showed last year and help propel an offense that currently ranks 27th of 30 MLB teams with a wRC+ of just 83.
- Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports provides a pair Giants injury updates via Twitter. Joe Panik is reportedly doing well in his recovery from left thumb surgery, and could begin a rehab assignment as soon as the end of this month. Meanwhile, Mac Williamson served as a DH in Triple-A last night. None of the rehabbing Giants, however, will be called upon at the major league level for at least another week, a group that includes rookie Alen Hanson and veteran outfielder Hunter Pence.
- There’s still no real answer to the nerve issue in Matt Shoemaker‘s forearm, according to Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. The Angels right-hander reportedly visited a specialist in St. Louis earlier this week, and the next move in his recovery isn’t quite clear at this time. The oft-injured Shoemaker landed on the DL after just one start this season; he allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while striking out four.
White Sox Lose Nicky Delmonico To Fractured Hand, Option Carson Fulmer
White Sox outfielder Nicky Delmonico has been diagnosed with a fracture to the third metacarpal on his right hand, the club announced. Additionally, the team has elected to option righty Carson Fulmer after another rough outing tonight, as James Fegan of The Athletic was among those to tweet.
Delmonico is expected to miss approximately four to six weeks of action. The 25-year-old had turned in quite a promising debut effort in 2017. But he was struggling along with most of the rest of his team in the current campaign. Through 133 plate appearances, he carries only a .226/.331/.304 slash with 133 plate appearances.
That’ll put the organization’s outfield depth to the test, with Avisail Garcia already sidelined. Daniel Palka and Trayce Thompson could function in a platoon. The other options on the 40-man roster are Charlie Tilson and Ryan Cordell, though neither has hit well at all this year at Triple-A.
As for Fulmer, his outing today — which included eight earned runs and five walks in two innings — was just the latest sign of trouble. The former first-round pick has now allowed 29 earned runs with an unsightly 29:24 K/BB ratio in 32 1/3 innings on the year. He’s allowing home runs in bunches and generating a mediocre 6.7% swinging-strike rate, so there’s really not much in the way of positives at this point. Of course, he’s still just 24 years of age, so the Sox will hope he can still tap into his promise after some time at Triple-A.
MLB Daily Roster Roundup: DeJong, Lamb, Marte, Meadows
ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 18th)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
- ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: 3B Jake Lamb, P Braden Shipley
- Lamb played 3B and batted 3rd in Friday’s game.
- Shipley was optioned to Triple-A.
- Optioned: 1B/OF Christian Walker
- Activated from 10-Day DL: 3B Jake Lamb, P Braden Shipley
- ATLANTA BRAVES | Depth Chart
- Promoted: SP Matt Wisler
- Wisler started Friday’s game versus the Marlins.
- Optioned: SP Max Fried
- Promoted: SP Matt Wisler
- CHICAGO CUBS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: OF Jason Heyward
- Heyward was not in Friday’s lineup.
- Optioned: RP Randy Rosario
- Activated from 10-Day DL: OF Jason Heyward
- LOS ANGELES DODGERS | Depth Chart
- Acquisition: RP Erik Goeddel (claimed off waivers from Mariners)
- Corresponding 25-man roster move is TBD.
- Designated for assignment: P Henry Owens
- Acquisition: RP Erik Goeddel (claimed off waivers from Mariners)
- MIAMI MARLINS | Depth Chart
- Designated for assignment: RP Junichi Tazawa
- Tazawa signed a two-year, $12MM contract prior to the 2017 season.
- Optioned: RP Tyler Cloyd
- Promoted: P Dillon Peters, P Adam Conley
- Designated for assignment: RP Junichi Tazawa
- MILWAUKEE BREWERS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF/1B Ryan Braun (mid-back tightness)
- Jesus Aguilar has been playing 1B and batting 3rd during Braun’s absence.
- Promoted: 1B/OF Ji-Man Choi
- Choi was the designated hitter and batted 6th on Friday.
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF/1B Ryan Braun (mid-back tightness)
- NEW YORK METS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Juan Lagares (toe injury)
- Lagares is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
- Reinstated from Paternity List: RP Jerry Blevins
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Juan Lagares (toe injury)
- PITTSBURGH PIRATES | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Starling Marte (strained oblique)
- Promoted: OF Austin Meadows
- Meadows played CF and batted 7th in his MLB debut on Friday.
- SAN DIEGO PADRES | Depth Chart
- Role change: P Robbie Erlin will move from the bullpen to start on Monday.
- ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SS Paul DeJong (fractured hand), RP Matt Bowman (blisters on fingers)
- Jedd Gyorko played SS and batted 5th on Friday. He is expected to be the primary SS while DeJong is out.
- Promoted: INF/OF Yairo Muñoz, OF Tyler O’Neill
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SS Paul DeJong (fractured hand), RP Matt Bowman (blisters on fingers)
—
AMERICAN LEAGUE
- DETROIT TIGERS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: OF Leonys Martin
- Martin played CF and batted 1st on Friday.
- Optioned: SP Ryan Carpenter
- Activated from 10-Day DL: OF Leonys Martin
- HOUSTON ASTROS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: OF/2B Tony Kemp
- Moncada played LF and batted 9th on Wednesday.
- Optioned: OF Jake Marisnick
- Promoted: OF/2B Tony Kemp
- OAKLAND ATHLETICS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Andrew Triggs (arm nerve irritation)
- A rotation replacement has been announced.
- Promoted: RP Josh Lucas, RP Emilio Pagan
- Optioned: RP Ryan Dull
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Andrew Triggs (arm nerve irritation)
- SEATTLE MARINERS | Depth Chart
- Role change: Dee Gordon played 2B on Friday. Guillermo Heredia played center field.
- TORONTO BLUE JAYS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Jaime Garcia (shoulder inflammation)
- Sam Gaviglio will move into the rotation on Saturday.
- Promoted: RP Deck McGuire
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Jaime Garcia (shoulder inflammation)
—
FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES
- ARZ: SP Clay Buchholz will start versus the Mets on Sunday May 20th, according to Nick Piecoro of AZCentral. He will have his contract purchased from the minors. He signed a Minor League contract earlier this month.
- ATL: SS Dansby Swanson will likely be activated from the 10-Day DL on Saturday May 19th, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
- CWS: OF Nicky Delmonico fractured the third metacarpal on his right hand and will miss 4-6 weeks, according to the team. He will be placed on the 10-Day DL.
- MIL: SP Chase Anderson is expected to return from the disabled list on Monday May 21st, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Mets To Sign Christian Colon, Ezequiel Carrera
The Mets have agreed to minor-league deals with infielder Christian Colon and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Colon’s signing has been acknowledged on the team’s transactions page.
Both Colon and Carrera were released recently by the Braves. Neither will likely be seen as an immediate MLB asset, but both could certainly push toward the top of the team’s depth chart. With a variety of injuries currently weighing on the Mets’ roster, these veterans will fill in the ranks at Triple-A and increase the overall depth on hand.
The 29-year-old Colon has rarely shown much with the bat, with a .252/.315/.315 slash over his 386 MLB plate appearances. And he has limped to a .204/.278/.204 slash in his first 55 plate appearances this year at Triple-A. But he’s regarded as a quality defender and has been graded that way by defensive metrics.
As for Carrera, 30, he was a useful player for the Blue Jays in recent years, including a .266/.340/.382 slash with 14 home runs and 17 steals over 635 plate appearances. He was cut loose by the Toronto organization despite agreeing to an arb salary for the current campaign. It was tough to see a path for Carrera to reach the majors with the Braves, though, particularly after he ran up a terribly .146/.228/.220 batting line in 93 plate appearances at Gwinnett.
David Hale Elects Free Agency
Righty David Hale has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, the Yankees announced today. He had recently been designated for assignment.
Roster churn is nothing new for Hale, who has had multiple stints in New York and one with the Twins this year, in addition to the time he has spent at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 30-year-old has allowed 15 earned runs in his 22 2/3 innings at all stops on the year.
This is the most extensive action that Hale has seen at the game’s highest level since the 2015 season. All told, he carries a 4.58 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 over 186 2/3 MLB innings.