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Rays Designate Hank Conger For Assignment

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The Rays announced on Monday that they have designated catcher Hank Conger for assignment. His roster spot goes to 28-year-old lefty Justin Marks, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Durham. The Rays also announced that they’ll recall Mikie Mahtook, Richie Shaffer and Steve Geltz as part of their latest wave of September call-ups.

Conger, 28, was acquired from the Astros this winter in exchange for cash considerations but struggled tremendously at the plate in his lone season with Tampa Bay, hitting just .194/.265/.306 in 137 plate appearances. That’s a significant departure, at least in terms of OBP and slugging, from a 2015 season that saw Conger slash .229/.311/.448 with 11 homers in 229 plate appearances for the Astros. Houston deemed Conger expendable after he developed an alarming issue in throwing out baserunners, as he halted just one of 43 attempts against him in 2015. Conger was much better in that regard this year (albeit still below average), throwing out 19 percent of potential thieves. He’s also long graded out as an above-average pitch framer behind the dish, per Baseball Prospectus.

Marks will be entering just the second big league stint of his career. He tossed two innings for the 2014 Royals but has otherwise spent the bulk of the past four seasons in Triple-A between the Royals, Rangers, A’s, D-backs and Rays. In 419 innings at that level, Marks has a lackluster 4.83 ERA, but he’s been considerably better in 2016, posting a 3.79 ERA in a career-high 145 innings. Marks has averaged 8.1 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9, and lefties have batted just .185/.253/.348 against him this season.

Matt Shoemaker Undergoes Surgery After Being Struck In Head By Line Drive

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Right-hander Matt Shoemaker was involved in a frightening play on Sunday in which he was struck in the head by a 105 mph line drive off the bat of Kyle Seager. While he walked off the field with minimal assistance from the Angels’ training staff, Shoemaker was diagnosed with a small skull fracture and a hematoma and underwent surgery to stop the bleeding in his skull, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Grave as that procedure sounds, Angels GM Billy Eppler downplayed the severity, calling the procedure “fairly routine” and telling Fletcher that Shoemaker is resting comfortably.

The Angels and Shoemaker’s doctors expect a full recovery for Shoemaker, though he almost certainly will not pitch again this year. Eppler told Fletcher that the team is counting on Shoemaker to be able to reclaim his spot in the rotation next season. With a 3.88 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 39.8 percent ground-ball rate through 160 innings, Shoemaker joins Ricky Nolasco and Tyler Skaggs as perhaps the only locks to slot into manager Mike Scioscia’s 2017 rotation (assuming a full recovery).

In the meantime, Tim Lincecum, Jhoulys Chacin and Brett Oberholtzer are the top candidates to step into the rotation for the remainder of the 2016 campaign. While that’s very much a secondary storyline to the overall health and well-being of Shoemaker, it’ll be interesting to see how his replacement ultimately fares — whichever of the three it might be. Lincecum and Chacin are both free agents at season’s end that would benefit from strong finishes, while Oberholtzer is out of minor league options and would undoubtedly like to improve his standing within the organization.

Brewers Acquire Ryan Cordell To Complete Jonathan Lucroy Trade

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The Brewers announced on Monday that they have acquired minor league third baseman/outfielder Ryan Cordell from the Rangers as the player to be named later in the Jonathan Lucroy/Jeremy Jeffress deadline blockbuster. In total, then, the Brewers will acquire outfielder Lewis Brinson, right-hander Luis Ortiz and Cordell for the pair of Lucroy and Jeffress.

Ryan Cordell

The 24-year-old Cordell is rated as the Rangers’ No. 6 prospect, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo. Baseball America rated him as the team’s No. 9 prospect in their own midseason update (Brinson and Ortiz were ranked second and third, respectively, on that same list). Cordell has played exclusively in the outfield this season (seeing time at all three positions) but also has 300+ innings of experience at third base and saw some time at shortstop last season as well. He’s spent the entire year with Texas’ Double-A affiliate and batted .264/.319/.484 with 19 homers, 22 doubles, five triples and 12 stolen bases.

Baseball America noted in their write-up on him that he’s made strides in his plate discipline, chasing fewer out-of-zone pitches in his second trip through Double-A, and that bears out in his strikeout rate; Cordell walked in just 4.9 percent of his plate appearances in Double-A last season, compared to a woeful 30.2 percent strikeout rate. This year, however, he’s walked at a 7.1 percent clip and cut his strikeout rate to 21.8 percent. In MLB.com’s scouting report, Callis and Mayo write that Cordell has “some of the best all-around tools” in the Rangers minor league system and could eventually have average-or-better tools across the board. His best tool right now is his speed, but he also has the bat speed to hit for power as well.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy points out (via Twitter) that Cordell’s season ended this year due to an Aug. 2 knee injury, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the injury was sustained when Cordell crashed into the outfield wall. However, the Brewers clearly aren’t overly concerned about the long-term implications of that collision and will count on a full season from Cordell in 2017. Given his production and experience at the Double-A level, it’s not far-fetched to think that Cordell could either open the season with Triple-A Colorado Springs or, at the very least, be promoted to that level early in the 2017 campaign.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News first reported that Cordell was the player to be named later (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Athletics Claim Donn Roach From Tigers

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The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Donn Roach, whom they had designated for assignment over the weekend, has been claimed off waivers by the Athletics.

Roach, 26, has a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 18 walks in 39 career innings at the Major League level, but his massive ground-ball tendencies continue to intrigue teams enough to land on 40-man rosters. Roach posted a 3.03 ERA in his Triple-A run with the Tigers, fanning 21 batters against just five walks in 29 innings of work. He’s posted a gaudy 67.1 percent ground-ball rate in his big league career and has a 59 percent ground-ball rate in Triple-A this year. He’ll add some depth to the Athletics’ Triple-A team on the eve of the playoffs, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), who points out that recent promotions have depleted the Athletics’ Triple-A roster.

Roach has bounced all over the league in the past two years, spending time on the 40-man roster with the Padres, Cubs, Blue Jays, Reds, Mariners, Tigers and now Athletics.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLBTR Mailbag

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Last week’s edition of the MLBTR Mailbag took a look back at some historical waiver claims, examined J.D. Martinez’s chances at a mega-contract following the 2017 season, looked at the Tigers’ chances of upgrading the rotation and discussed Josh Hamilton’s release from the Rangers (as well as his likely minor league signing this winter).

If you have a question on the upcoming offseason, free agency, the playoff race, postseason awards or anything else and would like to hear MLBTR’s take, let us know: mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com. We can’t get to every question, of course, but will try to diversify the teams/subject matter as best we can. If you miss out on having your question answered, remember that you can always ask during one of our three weekly live chats — Tuesday afternoons with myself, Wednesday evening with Jason Martinez and/or Thursday afternoons with Jeff Todd. Mailbag questions are welcome throughout the week, so feel free to send them in at any time.

Orioles Designate Odrisamer Despaigne For Assignment

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The Orioles announced today that they’ve designated right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for lefty reliever Brian Duensing, who has been activated from the 60-day disabled list.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Despaigne was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Class-A righty Jean Cosme to the Padres. Despaigne totaled just 27 1/3 innings for the Orioles at the big league level, pitching to a 5.60 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 38.2 percent ground-ball rate. His work at the Triple-A level was considerably better, as the Cuban-born righty tossed 88 1/3 innings with 3.87 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. In total, Despaigne has a 4.84 ERA in 249 1/3 innings between the Orioles and Padres as a Major Leaguer.

Duensing, 33, hasn’t pitched since June 19 due to inflammation in his left elbow. The longtime Twin signed a minors pact with the O’s earlier this season and pitched just 6 2/3 innings before going down with his elbow ailment. Duensing will give manager Buck Showalter four lefties to choose from in his bullpen, as he’ll join brilliant closer Zach Britton, rookie Donnie Hart and Jayson Aquino in the relief corps. The former third-round pick carries a significant platoon split in his career, so he’s best deployed as a situational lefty. He’s held same-handed opponents to a .238/.289/.329 slash in 935 career plate appearances.

Bartolo Colon Hopes To Pitch For Mets In 2017

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Bartolo Colon may be 43 years of age (44 next May), but the right-hander has no intention of calling it a career after the season and tells ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin that his ideal scenario would be to re-sign with the Mets as a free agent. “If they gave me the opportunity, I would be delighted to come back,” Colon said though his interpreter.

At one point, the notion of Colon returning to the Mets might’ve seemed like a stretch, as New York had built up a vaunted stockpile of enticing young arms. Entering the season, as Rubin reminds, Colon was only supposed to work out of the rotation until Zack Wheeler had recovered from 2015 Tommy John surgery. However, Wheeler won’t pitch in the Majors this season, Matt Harvey has undergone surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, Steven Matz is dealing with a bone spur in his left elbow and now a shoulder impingement, and Noah Syndergaard is also dealing with a more minor spur in his right elbow. Jacob deGrom, meanwhile, is set to miss multiple starts due to forearm soreness.

Right-hander Seth Lugo has stepped up and been a godsend for the Mets recently, pitching to a 2.38 ERA in 41 1/3 innings (four starts, nine relief appearances), and if he can finish out the season with anywhere near that level of success, he’ll enter the 2017 campaign as an excellent safety net. However, given the plethora of injuries facing the Mets’ ballyhooed young starters, adding another insurance policy in the form of the veteran Colon, who is beloved among fans and teammates alike, certainly carries some merit.

The timeless Colon hasn’t pitched like a man whose years are beginning to catch up to him in 2016. His age-43 campaign, in fact, has been his best season yet with the Mets. In 158 2/3 innings, Colon is sporting a 3.35 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent ground-ball rate. His four-seamer’s velocity is down from 90.3 mph to 89.7 mph, but there’s little difference in the velocity of the two-seam fastball upon which he relies so heavily (87.2 mph in 2015; 87.0 mph in 2016). While some detractors might point out that Colon is averaging just 5.8 innings per start after averaging 6.2 and 6.5 per start, respectively, in 2015 and 2014, his 2016 number is weighed down by a June 21 outing in which he exited after one batter after being hit on the hand by a line drive. Subtracting that appearance from the equation, Colon is averaging a hair over six innings per outing — once again demonstrating an ability to work reasonably deep into games on a regular basis.

The 2017 season would represent the 20th season in Colon’s storied Major League career and, as Rubin notes, bring him within arm’s reach of Juan Marichal’s 243 wins — a record among Dominican-born hurlers — as well as Dennis Martinez’s 245 wins — the all-time record for a Latin American pitcher. “…if I caught up to either of those, it would be very meaningful,” said Colon.

Quick Hits: Murphy, Volquez, Yankees, Fernandez, Ruiz, Morneau

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The Mets felt comfortable in letting Daniel Murphy go in free agency for several reasons, a decision that ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin notes is certainly worth second-guessing given Murphy’s huge season with the Nationals.  Perhaps the biggest factor for the Mets was their belief that Murphy could deliver a good average but little else.  Murphy, of course, has contributed 25 homers and a .340/.383/.593 slash line, pretty resounding the Mets’ criticisms about his lack of power or plate discipline.  (He has also been above average on the basepaths, as per Fangraphs’ baserunning metric.)  Murphy is looking like a bargain signing for the Nats while second base is a question mark for the Mets heading into 2017.

Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • For now, “the most logical scenario” between the Royals and Edinson Volquez is that the club will issue Volquez a qualifying offer that the righty will decline in search of a multi-year contract elsewhere, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes as part of a reader mailbag piece.  It may seem odd that the Royals would risk issuing a one-year, $16.7MM deal to a 33-year-old with a 5.02 ERA through 166 2/3 innings, though the starting pitching market is so thin that Volquez may indeed be able to find a longer-term commitment.  If Volquez leaves, Dodd figures K.C. will pursue inexpensive free agent starters, or possibly look for a higher-caliber arm by trading one of its core roster players.
  • The Yankees heavily reloaded on blue chip minor leaguers with their deadline trades, and John Harper of the New York Daily News wonders if the club will try to deal from this newfound prospect depth to acquire a frontline starter this winter.  Jose Fernandez may be the most available ace on the market, given that the Marlins may not have the money to keep him before he hits free agency after the 2018 season.  Landing Fernandez would likely cost the Yankees Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, one of Jorge Mateo or Gleyber Torres and probably one more pitching prospect.  It might take an even biggest prospect package than that to acquire Chris Sale given Sale’s club-friendly contract, while the Athletics’ Sonny Gray or the Rays’ Chris Archer are coming off down years and may be too risky for the Yankees given the prospect cost it would take to acquire them.
  • Cuban second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez and righty Norge Ruiz will play for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican League this winter, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports.  It will present both players with a valuable opportunity to perform in front of MLB scouts, particularly Fernandez since the infielder hasn’t in competitive games for almost two full years.  That long layoff may have contributed to Fernandez still being unsigned despite being declared a free agent in April, though Badler notes other factors like teams being pretty set at second base and scouts having questions about Fernandez’s power, fielding and speed.  Ruiz left Cuba in May 2015 but has yet to be officially declared a free agent, which Badler finds curious given how several Cuban players have been cleared by the league in far less time.
  • Justin Morneau hopes to play some first base if he plays in 2017, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes writes.  Morneau has only served as a DH since joining the White Sox, thanks to his rehab from elbow surgery and his lack of a Spring Training.  With a proper spring under his belt next season, Morneau feels he can return to his old position at least a couple of times per week.  It should also be noted that Morneau’s free agent value will obviously increase if he is able to play a position rather than be limited to a designated hitter role.

Rockies Notes: Parra, Bullpen, Weiss

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Here’s the latest out of the Mile High City…

  • Gerardo Parra has been getting time at first base for the Rockies, and manager Walt Weiss hinted to reporters (including MLB.com’s Ben Weinrib) that Parra could remain at the position for the rest of the season.  Parra had never played first base at the professional level prior to August 24, though if the Rox are comfortable with him as a first base option going forward, it could solve their outfield logjam.  Trade rumors have long swirled around Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon, given the presence of both Parra (who is signed through the 2018 season) and promising rookie David Dahl.
  • The bullpen has to be GM Jeff Bridich’s “top offseason priority” given how the relief corps has struggled in 2016, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes.  Colorado ranks near the bottom of the league in blown saves, bullpen K/9 and bullpen ERA, though some misfortune has been involved, as the advanced metrics indicate (4.20 FIP, 4.29 xFIP, 4.02 SIERA) that the Rockies’ relievers should have better results than their actual 5.03 ERA indicates.  Of course, the bullpen was a major focus last winter for Colorado, but acquisitions like Jake McGee, Chad Qualls and Jason Motte simply haven’t panned out.
  • In another piece from Saunders, he thinks Walt Weiss will keep his job through the rest of the season “but then the decision could come quickly.”  The Rockies are 65-71 this year, which actually represents their best winning percentage (.478) in their four seasons under Weiss.  The skipper is in the last year of his contract, and his future in Denver could hinge on “how much [Bridich] wants to clean house.”  FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal also recently suggested that Weiss could be a managerial candidate with the Diamondbacks, given Weiss’ shared history with Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart.  (Assuming, of course, that La Russa and Stewart still have their own jobs in Arizona.)

NL Central Notes: Maddon, Nathan, Bruce, Nova

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Some items from around the NL Central…

  • Joe Maddon is hardly the first manager to embrace his players’ versatility, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that though few have done it to the sheer extent of the Cubs’ skipper.  Chicago’s dominant lead in the standings has given Maddon some leeway to experiment, though it could also be argued that the Cubs are enjoying such a great season because Maddon has been so canny about pursuing every possible advantage to help his team win.  Sherman feels that other teams could use the Cubs as a blueprint for future roster construction, as having multi-positional players around can solve many issues.
  • Joe Nathan was understandably let down about being released by the Cubs last month, the veteran reliever tells ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers.  Nathan signed with Chicago in May and eventually pitched in three games for the Cubs after completing his rehab from Tommy John surgery.  “In their defense I don’t think they foresaw picking up [Aroldis] Chapman, picking up Joe Smith, and their bullpen shaping up the way it was,” Nathan said. “On that side of it I completely understand.  Still, it was a disappointing turn of events. Things went from ’this is the plan’ to ’now what?’ ”  Nathan said that Cubs president Theo Epstein personally informed him about the release, and the veteran reliever didn’t have any hard feelings towards his former club.  Of course, Nathan’s disappointment has been mitigated by the fact that he signed on with another contender in the Giants.
  • When Jay Bruce learned he was going to be dealt, the outfielder asked the Reds to trade him “anywhere but New York,” Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News writes.  No specific reason was given for Bruce’s reported misgivings about joining the Mets.  Bruce has, in fact, badly struggled since joining the Mets in a deadline deal, entering today with only a .198/.270/.327 slash line and three homers over 111 plate appearances.
  • With Ivan Nova pitching well since joining the Pirates in July, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review thinks the Bucs could “consider being aggressive in approaching Nova with an extension” before the righty hits free agency in the offseason.  As MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently noted in a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, a strong finish from Nova could line him up for as much as a three-year deal this winter; he’ll stand out in a very thin pitching market and teams could see him as a new J.A. Happ, who blossomed after going to Pittsburgh last season and has continued to pitch well in Toronto.  Extending Nova now would save the Bucs some money, since it’s possible his market could grow to the point that he is priced out of the Pirates’ comfort zone.  That said, my guess would be that Nova will forego an extension to at least test the open market, given that he’s so close to free agency.

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