Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
Red Sox Place Brian Johnson On DL, Select Contract Of Austin Maddox
The Red Sox announcedthat they’ve placed left-hander Brian Johnson on the 10-day disabled list due to a left shoulder impingement and selected the contract of right-hander Austin Maddox from Triple-A Pawtucket. Southpaw Roenis Elias has been shifted from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Maddox.
[Related: Updated Boston Red Sox depth chart]
Johnson, 26, tossed a complete game shutout back on May 27 but has coughed up six runs over seven innings in his two starts since that time. Yesterday’s outing lasted just 2 2/3 innings before he was lifted from the game. He joins Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez and Elias as rotation options for the Sox that are currently on the disabled list. With that quartet on the disabled list, the Sox have David Price, Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and Drew Pomeranz lined up in the rotation. Henry Owens and Kyle Kendrick are both on the 40-man roster in Triple-A and could step into the starting five next week, speculatively speaking.
Maddox, also 26, will make his MLB debut the first time he steps on the mound for Boston. The 2012 third-rounder has pitched to a pristine 1.33 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 11 walks through 27 innings between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket this season. He won’t be an option to make a start for the Sox, as all but 13 of his 124 professional appearances have come in relief, and he’s made just two starts in the past four years.
Draft Notes: Lewis, McKay, Day 2, Gore, Greene, Wright, Beck
No. 1 overall draft pick Royce Lewis will take his physical with the Twins soon, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. There aren’t expected to be any hangups in negotiations, per Berardino, who notes that the industry expectation is for Lewis to receive a bonus north of Dansby Swanson’s $6.5MM bonus from the 2015 draft. The top pick in the draft came with a slot value of $7.7MM, and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger wrote this week that Lewis could sign for around $1MM less than that sum. That’d put his bonus in the $6.5MM to $6.7MM range, saving the Twins anywhere from $1MM to $1.2MM from the slot value. FanRag’s Jon Heyman pegs the expected value at “just a tick over” $6.7MM. Rays top pick Brendan McKay, meanwhile, is expected to sign for somewhere between $7MM and $7.2MM, according to Berardino. That’d be the largest bonus ever given to a college player under the current draft structure, surpassing Kris Bryant’s $6.7MM sum.
More notes on the draft…
- The Twins “crushed” Day 2 of the draft, MLB.com’s Jim Callis opines. Adding high school right-hander Blayne Enlow, a potential first-round talent that dropped due to a strong commitment to LSU, kicked off a day in which Minnesota selected five players that ranked inside MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospects. Enlow, Callis writes, has the best curveball in the draft as well as a fastball that has touched 94 mph and has room to grow as his projectable frame grows. Callis also lauds the White Sox, Dodgers, Red Sox and Brewers for the talent they secured in rounds three through 10. ESPN’s Keith Law agrees that the Twins did quite well to land Enlow with the No. 76 pick and also gives quite a bit of praise to the Athletics, who landed a first-round talent (in his estimation) with the 81st pick by taking shortstop Nick Allen. Law opines that the undersized Allen, who is listed at 5’8″, would’ve been a top 10 pick if he were three inches taller.
- FanRag’s Jon Heyman provides some insight into the progress being made with the top five picks in the draft. The Padres, according to Heyman, are expected to sign No. 3 overall pick MacKenzie Gore, a high school left-hander, for the full slot value of $6,668,100. Reds top pick Hunter Greene, meanwhile, is expected to sign for a deal “close” to the $7,193,200 slot value of his No. 2 overall selection, per Heyman. (Also of note for Reds fans: Heyman spoke to a rival exec who heaped praise on the Reds’ draft, opining that they “won the draft by far.”) And the Braves look to be going well over slot to sign Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright, as Heyman reports that they’re discussing a deal worth close to $7MM, while the No. 5 slot carries a value of $5,707,300. Of course, Wright was long rumored to be a potential No. 1 overall pick, so it stands to reason that he’d come with a fairly sizable price tag.
- Baseball America’s John Manuel reported yesterday that Stanford right-hander Tristan Beck, a potential first-round talent that missed the 2017 season due to a stress fracture in his lower back, will not sign and plans to head back to Stanford (Twitter link). That didn’t stop the Yankees from drafting him late (29th round), though New York would obviously need to give him a massive bonus in order to convince him to forgo a return to college, as a healthy Beck would do quite well in next year’s draft. The Yankees may not have the leftover money even to make a legitimate effort to sign Beck, though he makes for a nice contingency plan if the team unexpectedly finds itself with some extra pool money to play with.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/15/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Twins released left-hander Kevin Chapman and re-signed right-hander Drew Rucinski to a new minor league contract, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). The 29-year-old Chapman was acquired from the Braves in exchange for Danny Santana following Santana’s DFA and tossed 11 1/3 innings of 5.56 ERA ball in Triple-A prior to his release. He has a career 4.09 ERA in parts of four big league seasons — all coming with the Astros. As for Rucinski, the 28-year-old posted solid numbers in 23 1/3 Triple-A innings before being hit hard in his small sample of work in the Majors. Despite a career 5.50 ERA in Triple-A, he’s pitched 23 1/3 innings of 2.13 ERA ball with a 25-to-3 K/BB ratio as a member of Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate in 2017.
- The Royals picked up infielder/outfielder Zach Walters on a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link). Walters, 27, was hitting well for the independent Kansas City T-Bones before returning to affiliated ball. He’s seen time with the Nats, Indians and Dodgers in the Majors and has shown power but struggled to get on base. In 181 Major League plate appearances, he’s a .176/.227/.382 hitter with 10 home runs. He’s been better in his Triple-A career, hitting .262/.309/.475 through 1711 plate appearances in parts of six seasons.
- Former Orioles outfielder Henry Urrutia has landed with the Red Sox, as Double-A Portland broadcasting and media director Mike Antonellis tweets. Urrutia, a former Cuban star, had struggled in his brief MLB opportunities with the O’s and was released late in May after losing his 40-man spot last summer. Through over a thousand trips to the plate at Triple-A in his career, Urrutia carries a mediocre .277/.327/.374 slash.
Injury Notes: Shields, Walker, Harvey, Johnson, Zobrist, Skaggs, Hamels, Cosart, Urias
The White Sox will activate righty James Shields to make a start on Sunday, as JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago reports (Twitter links). That’ll leave plenty of time for the veteran to show not only that he’s back from a lat strain, but also that he still has some gas left in the tank. Shields, 35, turned in three solid starts to open the year after a terrible 2016 season. Possible trade suitors will be looking to see whether he can manage extended productivity between now and the deadline.
Here’s more on the injury front:
- Mets second baseman Neil Walker appeared to suffer a left hamstring injury while trying to leg out a bunt single in tonight’s game. The club did not reveal any details in an official announcement, though the team did state that Walker is already slated to undergo an MRI tomorrow. Not coincidentally, perhaps, infielder Gavin Cecchini was removed from the Triple-A Las Vegas lineup, as Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal tweets.
- There were also some fresh concerns on the pitching side of the equation for the Mets. Matt Harvey was hooked after four innings and 58 pitches, as David Lennon of Newsday reports (Twitter links). He’ll head in for a medical check tomorrow after what he called a “fatigued” outing in which his fastball velocity dropped as low as 87 mph — a level that, per Harvey, he hadn’t visited since he was a freshman in high school. Also, before the game, the Mets placed lefty Josh Smoker on the DL with a left shoulder strain. New York was forced to lean on the reliever for four innings and 81 pitches last night. Righty Rafael Montero will return to the majors in his stead.
- The Red Sox saw another starter leave with an injury tonight, as southpaw Brian Johnson exited with what the team is calling left shoulder discomfort, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. While all involved expressed hope that the issue wouldn’t turn out to be anything significant, Johnson will be given a full checkup in Boston tomorrow to be sure.
- The Cubs are weighing a DL move for Ben Zobrist, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. His left wrist isn’t healing up as hoped, so Zobrist will be looked at more closely tomorrow. If he’s not able to suit up, then a DL placement seems likely.
- There’s some positive news on Angels southpaw Tyler Skaggs. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, the 25-year-old is heading to the team’s spring complex with an eye on making back to the majors by early July. Hell be hoping to finally put an end to the string of injuries that have slowed his promising career. Skaggs is currently working back from an oblique strain.
- Also now looking toward a return is Rangers lefty Cole Hamels. As Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, Hamels could take a rehab start on Friday — the same day that Tyson Ross is set to make his Rangers debut. That could potentially line Hamels up to return to the majors before month’s end. That’s promising news for a Texas team that is off to a middling start to the season. The Rangers are also likely to welcome back first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Carlos Gomez in the coming days.
- Things aren’t looking as promising for Padres righty Jarred Cosart. According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, on Twitter, Cosart has been diagnosed with a flexor strain. He’s not yet ready to begin throwing and will partake in some rehab efforts at the club’s spring facility.
- Finally, the Dodgers are holding their breath as prized young lefty Julio Urias reports to Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a look at his shoulder. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links), soreness in the joint has forced the 20-year-old to the DL at Triple-A. Things haven’t gone as hoped this year for Urias, who showed immense promise in 2016. He largely struggled in five MLB starts and was carrying higher-than-usual walk totals at Triple-A.
CC Sabathia Diagnosed With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain
The Yankees have announced that lefty CC Sabathia has been diagnosed with a grade 2 strain of his hamstring after undergoing an MRI, as WFAN’s Sweeny Murti tweets. While no official move has been made, it seems clear that Sabathia will require a DL stint.
An expected timetable isn’t yet known, but in all likelihood the Yankees will need to cover at least a handful of starts. As you might expect, a grade 2 strain falls in the middle of the severity chart, representing a partial tear of the muscle. Many other details of the injury, along with the individual’s actual progress, will obviously bear on the amount of rest that’s required.
It’s obviously unfortunate news for Sabathia, who was off to a rather impressive start to the year even as he closes in on his 37th birthday. Through 75 1/3 innings, he owns a 3.46 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, including a stellar 0.99 ERA over his past six trips to the hill. While he’s obviously not likely to return to his former dominance, the veteran has shown himself more than capable of being a productive rotation member while preparing to re-enter the open market at season’s end.
The injury comes at an interesting time for the Yankees, who currently pace the AL East by three games. While the organization has emphasized its desire to build for the long run, it’d be hard to pass up entirely on a chance to capitalize on that kind of position. Generally, then, the Yanks are lining up as deadline buyers, even if they shouldn’t be expected to push in significant chips for rental players.
Though the staff has been a rather pleasant surprise, the depth has always been somewhat in question. The club has used just five pitchers for all but one start thus far, but that’ll soon change. With questions also hanging over the struggling Masahiro Tanaka, and long-term rotation openings also factoring into the equation, it’ll be interesting to see whether New York ends up wading into the starting pitching market this summer.
It’s not yet clear who’ll take over for Sabathia in the meantime, though at least that’ll give the club a chance to take a closer look at another arm. Chad Green has already made one start this year and could move over from the bullpen. Luis Cessa and Domingo German are other 40-man members with MLB experience.
Nationals Sign Alejandro De Aza
The Nationals have signed veteran outfielder Alejandro De Aza to a minor-league deal, as Triple-A Syracuse radio man Kevin Brown first tweeted. He has joined the organization’s top affiliated.
De Aza, 33, spent the spring with the Athletics. But he opted out of the deal late in camp when it became apparent that he wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster. De Aza has yet to sign with another organization since.
The 2016 season was a bit of an odd one for the veteran outfielder. He landed a $5.75MM guarantee from the Mets, but never really fit after the team re-signed Yoenis Cespedes. He ultimately slashed just .205/.297/.321 over 267 plate appearances, his least activity since he establishes himself as a regular back in 2012. But De Aza has mostly been a slightly above-average hitter in the majors.
For the time being, De Aza will function as depth. But it’s possible to imagine him factoring in at the major league level for the Nats. He’s capable of playing center field and would offer a left-handed-hitting alternative to the (currently hot-hitting) Brian Goodwin in a reserve role. The righty swinging Michael Taylor is currently standing in at center for the injured Adam Eaton, who is likely to miss the rest of the season. Optimally, Taylor would be paired with a platoon partner, though that’s not currently possible with the organization also dealing with an injury to Jayson Werth.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to view the transcript for MLBTR Chat With Jason Martinez: June 14, 2017
Athletics To Promote Matt Chapman
The Athletics are set to promote third base prospect Matt Chapman, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He is expected to join the team for tomorrow’s game.
Chapman, 24, was taken 25th overall in the 2014 draft out of Cal State Fullerton. He has steadily marched up the ranks for the A’s, and will now reach Oakland after hitting well in his second stint at Triple-A.
Through 203 plate appearances at Nashville this year, Chapman carries a .259/.350/.592 triple-slash with 16 home runs. Though he has also racked up 63 strikeouts, Chapman has also drawn 25 walks, so he is at least able to take some free passes despite the swing-and-miss in his game.
Chapman is regarded as a quality defender at the hot corner, which helps boost his profile quite a bit. He drew consideration at the back end of the top-100 prospect lists of both Baseball America and MLB.com entering the season.
As MLBTR’s Jason Martinez wrote earlier this week, a promotion seemed imminent with Chapman upping his performance throughout the year. As Slusser notes, Trevor Plouffe’s struggles at the plate and Ryon Healy’s iffy glovework make for an opening. It’s unclear just what the team will do with Plouffe, though Healy will presumably stay in the lineup at first or DH.
As ever, service time remains a key consideration. Per Slusser, the A’s believe they are not at risk of allowing Chapman an added year of arbitration eligibility. Because he can only achieve 110 days of service through the end of the season, Chapman is more or less assured of failing to reach Super Two status after the 2019 campaign. Regardless, he won’t have enough service to reach the open market until at least 2024.
Taking Inventory: Chicago White Sox
This is the fifth entry in MLBTR’s Taking Inventory series. Click for entries on the Royals, Phillies, Pirates and Giants.
It’s obviously no surprise to see the White Sox lining up as sellers as the trade deadline approaches. Chicago dealt away two of its three best assets over the winter in Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, and has fallen into the AL Central basement after a decent start to the year.
Rival teams have had plenty of time to peruse the White Sox roster in anticipation of summer dealmaking. Here’s how it looks at present:
Rentals
Todd Frazier, 3B | Salary: $12MM
Though his overall output hasn’t been great this year (or last), Frazier has hit much better of late (.256/.368/.533 in his last 106 plate appearances). His ultimate trade value will hinge upon his performance over the next month and a half, as well as the shape of the market. Demand at third base remains an open question, and there could be some competition if players like Mike Moustakas and David Freese are marketed.
Melky Cabrera, OF/DH | Salary: $15MM
The Melk Man is also trending up after a poor start to the season, and he is also playing on the backdrop of a strong 2016 campaign at the plate. Of course, he’s also earning at a very healthy rate and is rather a poor baserunner and fielder, so there are very real limits to the levels of interest that might be anticipated even if the bat keeps producing.
Anthony Swarzak, RP | Salary: $900K
Plenty of pitchers end up with surprisingly good earned run averages over short samples, but Swarzak was also showing impressive peripherals early on. That has all come to a halt more recently, but that’s not to say that Swarzak won’t still hold some appeal at the trade deadline — especially if he can turn it back on a bit (and particularly for organizations that don’t want to take on salary).
Miguel Gonzalez, SP | Salary: $5.9MM
Gonzalez has allowed a dozen home runs in as many starts and has only managed 5.1 K/9 on the year. Perhaps it’s more likely at this point that he ends up holding down the fort for the rest of the year in Chicago, which may have some innings to account for if other pitchers are dealt.
Derek Holland, SP | Salary: $6MM
While Holland has fared rather well in the earned-run department, allowing 3.79 per nine innings through 73 2/3 frames on the year, there’s also quite a lot of reason for skepticism. ERA estimators are not buying it — 5.35 FIP; 5.08 xFIP; 4.87 SIERA — but perhaps another organization could see cause to add Holland for rotation depth down the stretch.
Mike Pelfrey, SP | Salary: $535K (balance of $8MM salary owed by Tigers)
Like Holland, a palatable (3.88) ERA is masking some bigger issues. The veteran carries just 5.4 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 on the year and has benefited from a .260 batting average on balls in play.
Controlled Through 2018
David Robertson, RP | Salary: $12MM in 2017; $13MM in 2018
The dollars seem increasingly palatable for Robertson, who may end up being the best-performing closer available at the deadline. He has managed to tamp down on last year’s walk issues while running at a career-best 16.6% swinging strike rate. The Sox will likely be willing to hang onto some salary in order to increase the prospect return, which could result in some interesting trade possibilities.
James Shields, SP | Salary: $10MM in 2017; $10MM in 2018 (remainder of $44MM guarantee through 2019 owed by Padres)
The veteran righty proved an ill-advised early trade acquisition last summer for the South Siders. Though he managed a 1.62 ERA through his first three starts of the current season, Shields’s growing control problems worsened and he was clearly benefiting from some good fortune (.150 BABIP; 100% strand rate). Since then, he has been shelved with a lat strain. Shields will return this weekend, though, so he’ll have some time to show off for possible suitors.
Longer-Term Assets
Jose Quintana, SP; Jose Abreu, 1B; Avisail Garcia, OF; Tommy Kahnle, RP; Leury Garcia, OF
This is where things get really interesting for Chicago. Quintana has long been discussed as a significant trade piece, but the White Sox held off on making a deal over the winter in hopes of finding a better return this summer. A rather poor start to the season from Quintana may have scuttled those hopes, though it’s still possible to imagine something coming together if he returns to form over the next six weeks.
It’s tough to gauge the outlook for Abreu, a 30-year-old slugger who’s controlled through 2019. He isn’t going to be particularly cheap now that he has opted into arbitration, and it’s not clear that there’ll be a ton of demand for non-premier first basemen. Abreu is hitting well — .289/.343/.472 with ten home runs through 268 plate appearances — but that’s not the kind of top-end output that would motivate a team to give up significant young assets when more affordable rental players can likely be found.
Garcia, meanwhile, has played himself into an interesting situation. He’s owed just $3MM this year with two more years of control remaining and only just turned 26. While the deeper track record is filled with question marks, he’s slashing /333/.373/.551 through 249 trips to the plate. Of course, Garcia is walking less than ever (3.6%) and is benefiting from a .402 BABIP, so rival organizations will maintain some healthy skepticism.
It’s more likely that the Sox will retain the cheap and controllable Kahnle, who has broken out with a 1.42 ERA and ridiculous 17.2% swinging-strike rate this year, though it’s always possible that the opportunity to cash in on a reliever would be taken. (Fellow setup man Nate Jones looked like a possible trade chip, though he has been out long enough with an elbow injury that it no longer seems very likely.) As for Garcia, who will reach arbitration eligibility next year, it’s questionable whether he can sustain anything like his current .300/.349/.461 output. But he is a solid all-around player who has rated well in center this year and can also play the middle infield, so he could be quite a useful piece for a contender.
