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Added To The 40-Man Roster: Arano, Moya

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A couple of 40-man additions to kick things off Tuesday morning…

  • The Phillies will add not only Henderson Alvarez to the 40-man roster — as was reported yesterday — but also right-hander Victor Arano, according to CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury (Twitter link). The hard-throwing 22-year-old, who ranks 27th on MLB.com’s list of the Phillies’ top 30 prospects, spent the season pitching against older competition with Double-A Reading and posted a 4.19 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 38.9 percent ground-ball rate. MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo note in their free report on him that a move to the bullpen in 2017 and a focus on his slider as his primary breaking pitch have both allowed Arano’s stuff to play up in the bullpen. Arano needed to be added to the 40-man this winter anyhow in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so the Phils will add him a bit earlier and take a few looks at him against MLB pitching down the stretch. He opened the year with an arm injury — reportedly a sprained UCL — but made his way back to toss 38 2/3 innings this season.
  • The Twins look set to add lefty reliever Gabriel Moya to their 40-man roster. Venezuelan journalist Dessiree Castro tweeted that Moya was promoted to the Majors, and Moya’s former pitching coach in the D-backs’ minor league system did the same. Moya rated at the back-end of the Twins’ top 30 at MLB.com before the trades of Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler added a couple of new names to that list. The 22-year-old has posted video-game numbers in Double-A this year, working to a combined 0.77 ERA with 13.4 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 with a ground-ball rate of about 41 percent through 58 1/3 innings. Acquired from Arizona in late July for catcher John Ryan Murphy, Moya would have been added to the 40-man this winter as well, so this move will just give Minnesota an earlier chance to evaluate him for a future role.

Rangers To Promote Willie Calhoun

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The Rangers have given notice to prospect Willie Calhoun that he will be called up, as his brother and girlfriend announced on Twitter and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News confirms in a tweet. Calhoun came to Texas as the headliner in the deadline blockbuster that sent ace Yu Darvish to the Dodgers.

Calhoun, 22, entered the season as a top-100 prospect leaguewide and has steadily raised his stock throughout the year. He’s carrying a .300/.355/.572 batting line with 31 home runs over 534 plate appearances at Triple-A in his first attempt at the highest level of the minors. While he doesn’t draw all that many walks, Calhoun has struck out only 61 times all season.

Predominantly a second baseman in the Los Angeles system, Calhoun has shifted to the outfield since arriving at Round Rock. It seems reasonably likely that he’ll line up there at the MLB level both now and into the future, though that’ll be determined by his play on the field.

It’s not immediately clear how Calhoun will be used over the next couple of weeks, but he could provide instant offense with his potent left-handed bat. As Grant explains, the Rangers have recently lots several key players to injury. While there’s plenty of depth around with rosters having expanded, none of the team’s fill-in options possess Calhoun’s potential as a hitter.

Despite selling at the deadline, the Rangers have held on in a messy race race for the second AL Wild Card that still features seven clubs (including Texas) within three and a half games of the berth. Beyond the need to create room on the 40-man roster, there’s little downside to calling upon Calhoun, who likely would’ve forced his way into the MLB picture in 2018 regardless.

At this stage of the season, of course, the youngster won’t have much opportunity to build up MLB service time (just 18 days, in fact). But he could well find himself in a position to force his way into the team’s plans for early next season — and might well be a strong possibility to appear on a postseason roster if the Rangers can sneak in.

NL East Notes: Stanton, Familia, Braves

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In the course of discussing his mammoth home run output this year — and the importance of reaching 61 — Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton also addressed his future with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Even if the organization wants to and can work out a deal involving Stanton, he’ll have veto power over any deals. But he says that’s not on his mind at the moment. “I’m literally just worried about tomorrow, the next hour,” says Stanton. “I know how everything works around here, so I’m not surprised, and not worried about two months from now or the offseason.”

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • While he’s now back on the mound for the Mets after rehabbing from shoulder surgery, righty Jeurys Familia has yet to re-take the team’s closer job, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. In fact, he has allowed seven earned runs through eight innings since his return from the DL, with just five strikeouts and six walks. As DiComo notes, Familia’s velocity is well off its usual levels, he’s not yet comfortable working back-to-back days, and he says he’s still working to get to full health. The Mets will obviously have to hope that Familia can rediscover his form after several months of rest over the offseason. Familia, 27, will earn at least a modest raise on his $7.425MM salary in his final season of arbitration eligibility.
  • The Braves have made a pair of front office hires, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Adam Fisher will come over from the Mets to become Atlanta’s assistant GM, while Perry Minasian is moving from the Blue Jays to take a role as director of player personnel.
  • Meanwhile, the Braves appear to be moving in on a deal with young Korean shortstop Jihwan Bae. Sung Min Kim of River Avenue Blues tweeted the news (from Naver, in Korean) that Bae had evidently reached agreement with a MLB team shortly before the KBO draft, while David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Atlanta is indeed nearing a deal. The signing — which O’Brien pegs in the $300K range — will count against the Braves’ international pool allocation. Not much is known of the 18-year-old Bae, though O’Brien suggests he’s known for his speed and contact abilities at the plate.

Indians Will Try Jason Kipnis In Outfield; Andrew Miller Nearing Return

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After reeling off eighteen-straight wins — soon to be 19– the Indians now possess the best record in the American League. But Cleveland is still working through some injury-related roster issues as the postseason approaches.

In particular, with Bradley Zimmer joining Michael Brantley on the DL, the club is experimenting with utilizing longtime second baseman Jason Kipnis on the outfield grass, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. Kipnis is nearing his own return from a hamstring injury, but Jose Ramirez now stands in his way at second with Giovanny Urshela settling in at third. While Urshela doesn’t offer much with the bat, he is regarded as a quality defender at the hot corner.

Given the team’s current needs, then, Kipnis can perhaps be of greater function on the grass. And he won’t exactly be hidden as he attempts the move: manager Terry Francona noted that Kipnis will receive a look in center field. Though the skipper also made clear that the team isn’t exactly committed to the move, and isn’t necessarily giving up on a return from Zimmer, it does seem the experiment will be given some run. It’s worth bearing in mind that Kipnis did features as an outfielder in college (and briefly as a professional), so he does have some background to draw from.

Kipnis says he’s happy to contribute any way he can at this juncture. It has been a tough season for him thus far. In between injuries, he carries a .228/.285/.409 batting line with 11 home runs. Defensive metrics have also soured on Kipnis’s glove, which had rated as a positive over the prior two seasons. If the move sticks in the short term, it’ll be interesting to see if it has any impact on Cleveland’s offseason plans. Kipnis is under contract through at least 2019 for a guaranteed $30.5MM, so he’ll return in some capacity barring a surprising trade.

In other news, also covered by Bastian, lefty relief star Andrew Miller seems to be on the mend from his recent knee problems. A plan for his return to the major-league hill has yet to be nailed down, but it seems that could happen in relatively short order so long as Miller responds well to a live bullpen session that took place today. With the division already all but secured, the Indians will surely be in no rush to get Miller back. Rather, the overarching concern will be ensuring that he’s at full speed for the postseason.

Alex Meyer To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Angels righty Alex Meyer is set to undergo surgery to repair a torn shoulder labrum, the club announced. He is expected to be sidelined for approximately twelve months, making it unlikely that he’ll be able to pitch in the 2018 season.

Needless to say, the Halos continue to endure miserable luck when it comes to pitching injuries. A variety of other promising young hurlers have required major surgeries in recent years, too. While most of the earlier injuries are now resolved, Meyer joins Matt Shoemaker and JC Ramirez in going down for the remainder of the 2017 season.

Unfortunately, Meyer’s injury also appears to be the most serious. Labral tears can be overcome, but frequently aren’t. While the anticipated time off makes Meyer’s procedure seem something like Tommy John surgery, the odds that he’ll make a full return aren’t nearly as high as those of a typical TJ patient. Of course, there’s also an immense amount that we don’t known (and likely wouldn’t fully understand) about the nature of Meyer’s particular case.

Ultimately, it’s far too soon to know how this’ll all turn out, but it’s awful news for the 6’9 righty. Meyer has long dealt with problems with his shoulder, even while struggling to iron out a repeatable delivery that would allow him to harness his compelling raw stuff. The Angels acquired him in an interesting, four-player swap at last year’s trade deadline in hopes that Meyer could still make good on his talent.

Though he had largely struggled in the majors in prior action with the Twins, Meyer finally put together a run of success this year in Los Angeles. Over 67 1/3 innings across 13 starts, he worked to a 3.74 ERA. While he still dealt with control problems, handing out 42 free passes, he also racked up 75 strikeouts and limited opposing hitters to just 48 base knocks and six long balls.

There were plenty of encouraging signs for the former top prospect before he was knocked out with what was then described as shoulder inflammation. Meyer worked at his typical 96.5 mph average four-seam velocity and boosted his swinging-strike rate to a solid 10.7%. He also carried slightly above-average groundball (46.5%) and infield-fly (11.3%) rates. Meyer was never better than in his last outing, a one-hit gem against the Nationals — the team that originally drafted him out of the University of Kentucky.

From this point forward, Meyer faces a long road. Beyond the immediate surgery and rehab, he’ll be battling against a longer trend of health problems. Indeed, Meyer hasn’t thrown more than a hundred innings in a season (at all levels) since 2014. At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether Meyer will even look to return as a starter, or instead move into a relief role once he’s back to health.

In the end, though, there’s still hope that Meyer can return — and do so with the Halos. He will enter the 2019 season with just over two full years of MLB service, so Los Angeles can wait and see how things go without making any financial commitments. And if Meyer can indeed make it back, he’ll still have at least four years of team control remaining.

Jarrod Dyson Out For Remainder Of Season

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Mariners outfielder Jarrod Dyson will miss the remainder of the season, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). He is slated to undergo surgery for “something similar to a sports hernia,” per the report.

That’s a tough blow for a Seattle organization that had leaned rather heavily on Dyson this year. The 33-year-old’s speed and glovework are of particular value when it comes time to matching up and trying to squeeze out victories late in the year, but the M’s will need to look to alternatives the rest of the way. Divish notes that Guillermo Heredia will likely take the lion’s share of the work in center, with just-claimed newcomer Jacob Hannemann also figuring into the mix.

Dyson has already passed his prior career high in plate appearances, picking up the bat 390 times this season for the Mariners. His .251/.324/.350 slash is closer to his career average than his strong 2016 season. The left-handed hitter struggling badly in limited exposure to same-handed pitching, managing just eight hits, all singles, in 63 trips to the plate.

On the positive side, Dyson did nearly double his career output by hitting five home runs. But that’s obviously not where the value lies. Dyson has continued to provide big value on the bases and in the outfield grass, ranking in the top twenty in both areas by Fangraphs’ measure (see here and here) despite not even being a full-time player. In spite of his limitations, Dyson has posted 2.0 fWAR on the year.

Seattle had shipped out righty Nate Karns to acquire Dyson over the offseason. The veteran outfielder came with just one final year of arbitration control, so he’s slated to hit the open market for the first time at season’s end. Dyson earned just $2.8MM in his last season of arb eligibility, but he’ll surely enter free agency looking for more.

The injury likely won’t hurt Dyson’s market too badly. He’s a known quantity after 661 MLB games and there’s no reason to expect the injury will drag into next year. Dyson ought to be one of the most appealing platoon/reserve outfielders available, particularly since he bats from the left side and can be used as a late-inning replacement even when he doesn’t start.

Michael Fulmer To Undergo Ulnar Nerve Transposition Surgery

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Top Tigers starter Michael Fulmer will undergo ulnar nerve transposition surgery in his right elbow tomorrow, manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (Twitter link via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press). Katie Stang of the Athletic reported earlier today that the procedure was a possibility for Fulmer (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that the procedure comes with a three- to four-month recovery period, which should put Fulmer on track to be back up to strength prior to Spring Training 2018.

Fulmer, 24, won American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 on the heels of a tremendous 3.03 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 49.1 percent ground-ball rate in 159 innings out of the Tigers’ rotation. The former Mets farmhand — Fulmer was acquired in the 2015 Yoenis Cespedes swap with New York — largely replicated that success to open the 2017 campaign. However, over his final seven starts of the season, Fulmer allowed five or more runs on five occasions, causing his earned run average to balloon from to 3.06 to its now season-ending mark of 3.83. The injury certainly explains that rough stretch, as Fulmer himself has recently cited numbness and tingling in his fingers when describing the reasons for a DL placement.

While an arm-related surgical procedure for a top young starter always carries a certain level of concern, there’s no indication at present that there’s a significant level of worry moving forward. Fulmer has time to get ready for Spring Training, and the Tigers certainly aren’t playing for much in 2017 after trading away the majority of their veteran core over the past year. For comparison, Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom also had surgery to re-position the ulnar nerve in his right arm last September and has returned to toss 188 1/3 innings thus far in 2018 (though certainly every injury situation has its own intricacies).

Fulmer had been a speculative trade piece for the rebuilding Tigers, though the chances of that have long seemed somewhat slim. News of an arm operation seems to further dampen that possibility, as Detroit is unlikely to sell a player that it controls for another five seasons when his value is at a relatively diminished level. Fulmer won’t be eligible for arbitration this winter, though he’ll very likely qualify as a Super Two player following the 2018 campaign.

Phillies To Promote Henderson Alvarez

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The Phillies are set to promote right-handed starter Henderson Alvarez to the major-league level, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The Phillies have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so the organization will not need to make a corresponding roster move.

It’s been a complicated road back to the majors for Alvarez, who last appeared at the MLB level with the Marlins in 2015. His season was cut short that year due to right shoulder surgery in July, and the Marlins non-tendered him in the offseason. The Athletics signed him to a major-league deal in that December, but he never made the major-league club and ended up back on the disabled list, ultimately undergoing a second shoulder surgery in September of 2016.

After being unable to find a major-league deal for the 2017 season, he decided to showcase his talents by pitching for the Long Island Ducks in independent ball. The Phillies elected to sign him to a minor-league contract, assigning him to Triple-A LeHigh Valley to pitch for the Iron Pigs. It’s unclear when he will pitch for the Phillies, but with Mark Leiter Jr., Jake Thompson and Nick Pivetta struggling of late, it seems likely that he will get a chance to start at some point before the season is over.

Alvarez’s greatest success came with the Marlins between the 2013 and 2014 seasons. During that time, he pitched to a sparkling 2.98 ERA with a 3.71 xFIP and 53.7% ground ball rate across 289 2/3 innings. He etched his place in history on September 29th, 2013 when he threw a no-hitter against the Tigers. Alvarez even made the NL All-Star team in 2014.

Alvarez will fall short of the service time required to be a free agent, so if he pitches well, the Phillies will be able to retain him for another year through arbitration.

Ryan Vogelsong To Retire As Member Of Giants

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Veteran right-hander Ryan Vogelsong will formally retire as a member of the Giants this coming Sunday, the team announced via press release.

“We are so excited to honor Ryan and touched that as one of our home grown players his career will officially end where it all began for him,” said Giants GM Bobby Evans in a statement within the release. “Ryan’s journey in this game has been marked by highs and lows, successes and challenges, but through it all he has always been a person of great integrity, strong character and a fierce competitor.  He is a World Series Champion and a forever Giant.”

Ryan Vogelsong | John Rieger-USA TODAY SportsThe 40-year-old Vogelsong was in camp with the Twins back in Spring Training but didn’t make the big league club out of camp and hasn’t appeared in the Majors or minors during the 2017 regular season. While his final season the Majors came as a member of the Pirates — one of two big league teams for which Vogelsong ever played in parts of 12 big league campaigns — he’ll be most remembered as a San Francisco Giant.

Vogelsong was San Francisco’s fifth-round pick back in 1998 and ultimately went on to debut as a 22-year-old with the Giants back in 2000. He struggled through half of the 2001 season before being traded to the Pirates as part of that season’s Jason Schmidt trade. Vogelsong was ultimately unable to cement himself as a consistent member of the Pirates’ staff, and the Bucs cut him loose in 2006.

Vogelsong went on to spend parts of the next three seasons pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and found enough success to get a look with the Phillies and Angels at the Triple-A level in 2010. However, neither club saw fit to bring him to the Majors, setting the stage for an improbable rise to prominence as a member of the team that first gave Vogelsong a chance in that 1998 draft.

In the 2010-11 offseason, Vogelsong rejoined the Giants on a minor league deal, and while few would’ve expected him to even surface in the Majors, he took things one step further by establishing himself as a key member of the Giants’ rotation. Vogelsong returned to the Majors with a flourish, tossing 179 2/3 innings with a 2.71 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 en route to a few rogue Cy Young votes (11th place) and his lone All-Star nomination.

Vogelsong went on to play an instrumental role in the Giants’ 2012 and 2014 playoff rotations, and when all was said and done, his second tenure with the team resulted in 792 2/3 innings of 3.89 ERA ball with 7.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 and two World Series rings.

All told, Vogelsong’s career will come to a close with a 61-75 record, a 4.48 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over the life of 1190 Major League innings. Those numbers don’t include another 37 innings of 2.92 ERA with a 29-to-16 K/BB ratio for the Giants in the postseason. Vogelsong banked more than $20MM over the course of his 12-year playing career. Best wishes to him in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Claim Zac Curtis

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The Mariners have announced that recently-designated left-hander Zac Curtis has been claimed by the Phillies. The Mariners also announced that right-hander Ryan Weber has been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.

Curtis, 25, is best known for being part of the package the Diamondbacks sent along with shortstop Jean Segura in order to land Taijuan Walker from the Mariners. He did not allow an earned run in 4 2/3 innings at the major-league level this year and enjoyed some success with the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate, pitching to a 10.52 K/9 and 3.33 BB/9 with a 3.51 ERA in 51 1/3 innings. With two options and plenty of team control remaining, Curtis could be a nice cog in Philadelphia’s current rebuild.

Weber was recently set to come off the 60-day DL. He’ll remain with the organization for now, but will have to work his way back to the majors. Before missing the past three months with a right biceps strain, Weber had pitched to a 0.85 ERA spanning five starts with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Though he didn’t show a penchant for strikeouts with the Rainiers (5.40 K/9), he showed excellent ground ball-inducing skills (72.5 GB%).

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