Jon Niese To Undergo Knee Surgery
Jon Niese‘s season looks to be over, as the left-hander will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The injury likely brings to an end Niese’s second stint with the Mets — one that will be remembered as considerably less successful than his first tenure.
Since being acquired from the Pirates in a one-for-one trade that sent struggling lefty Antonio Bastardo to Pittsburgh, Niese has yielded 14 runs on 13 hits and nine walks with 12 strikeouts. That 11.45 earned run average continued what was a dreadful season for Niese with the Bucs, and his 2016 campaign looks like it will come to a close with a 5.50 ERA over the life of 121 innings between the two teams. Per DiComo, Niese has been dealing with discomfort in his knee since June but has attempted to pitch through the pain he felt. The Mets project a recovery timeline of at least four weeks, which would seem to make it quite unlikely (though not impossible) that Niese is able to rejoin the club in late September.
Niese’s career-worst season comes at a poor time, as the 29-year-old lefty has a $10MM club option on his contract, but the Mets will assuredly elect to pay him a $500K buyout rather than lock in that salary. Niese will enter the offseason, then, as a buy-low candidate for clubs in need of pitching. Despite this season’s poor results, he worked to a 3.65 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 50.4 percent ground-ball rate in 697 2/3 innings from 2012-15. With that type of track record under his belt, Niese should draw interest on incentive-laden one-year deals as he looks to re-establish himself as a useful mid-rotation piece. If he’s able to do so, he could once again test the open market the following winter prior to his age-31 season.
Marlins Acquire Jeff Francoeur In Three-Team Deal With Braves, Rangers
The Marlins announced tonight that they have acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur and cash considerations from the Braves in a three-team deal that also involves the Rangers. The Braves will acquire minor league shortstop Dylan Moore from the Rangers and minor league catcher/first baseman Matt Foley from the Marlins. The Rangers, meanwhile, will receive three international bonus slots — two from the Marlins and one from the Braves — that total $860K in value.
Francoeur will give the Marlins a right-handed bat to play in right field in the wake of Giancarlo Stanton‘s injury, possibly sharing time with the left-handed-hitting Oswaldo Arcia (whom Miami claimed off waivers from the Rays earlier this week) and veteran Ichiro Suzuki.
While the veteran Francoeur’s overall .249/.290/.381 batting line isn’t especially impressive, his .273/.313/.431 line against lefties is much more palatable, and he regularly draws positive reviews for his presence in the clubhouse. Any alignment featuring regular time from Francoeur and/or Arcia figures to be sub-par from a defensive standpoint, but the pair’s platoon stats (Arcia is a .244/.317/.468 hitter vs. righties) complement each other nicely, and Ichiro still profiles as a useful defender in right even at 42 years of age.
The 32-year-old Francoeur is a free agent at season’s end, making this is a short-term pickup for the Fish. Francoeur inked a minor league pact with Atlanta this offseason that came with a $1MM base salary and another $1MM available via incentives. Presumably, the cash considerations headed to Miami will help cover the remaining $213K on Francoeur’s deal plus any incentives he may have already reached. (The specific nature of his performance bonuses was not reported at the time of his signing.)
As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News points out (Twitter link), the $860K total value of the international slots in this deal, when paired with the $210K the Rangers acquired in the trade that sent outfielder Ryan Strausborger to the Mariners, mean that Texas has acquired the maximum $1.07MM they were allowed to add to their international signing pool. Per the league’s stipulations, a team can only acquire up to 50 percent of its original bonus pool, and Texas entered the current signing period with a pool of $2,157,400 (per Baseball America).
Neither Moore nor Foley ranked within the top 30 prospects of their respective organizations. The 24-year-old Moore, though, has enjoyed a nice season split between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, hitting .263/.377/.440 with 14 homers and 40 stolen bases. While it should be pointed out that the 2015 seventh-round pick spent most of the season playing at Class-A, where he was a good bit older than the average player in the league, his production didn’t really take off until he was moved up to High-A, where he has slashed .351/.400/.649 with five homers in just 17 games. He’s a bit old for that level as well, but his quick adaptation could prompt further promotion. Beyond that, he’s a jack of all trades in the field, as pointed out by David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Moore has played every position on the field except catcher, and that includes pitcher (though the seven hits he allowed in his lone inning of work probably mean he won’t be spending much time on the mound in the future).
Foley, meanwhile, has spent the season with the Marlins’ Rookie-level affiliate in Arizona before recently being bumped up to short-season Class-A. The 2015 40th-rounder has totaled just 44 plate appearances and batted .257/.386/.257 and caught one of four runners that have attempted to steal against him.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that a trade between the Braves and Rangers had been agreed to (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that it was a three-team deal that would send Francoeur to Miami (links to Twitter). Rosenthal tweeted that international bonus money would go to Texas, and Sherman tweeted that the Braves would send one slot while the Marlins would send two. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted that Foley was in the trade, and
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yoenis Cespedes Discusses Opt-Out
7:55pm: Cespedes has already walked back his comments somewhat, as Mike Puma of the New York Post writes. Asked about his earlier comments, Cespedes replied (through a translator): “I’ve said it before: My intentions, of course, are to be here for three years and if I can spend the rest of my career with the Mets I would.” Cespedes, though, said he hasn’t made a final decision as to whether he’ll opt out. “My focus is just to play baseball and help the team win, hopefully make it to the playoffs. I let my agents worry about all that.”
Certainly, it’d be fairly stunning if Cespedes passed up the opportunity to hit the open market, though the possibility of course remains that his agents could work out an extension or that he could simply opt out and re-sign for a considerably larger sum than the $47.5MM he’d be guaranteed through 2018 under his current contract.
1:33pm: Mets star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes says that he still intends to stay for the final two years of his contract with the Mets, as Bob Klapisch and Matt Ehalt of the Bergen Record report. Of course, there’s still time to go before he has to decide on his opt-out clause, which still looks like the better financial decision from his perspective.
Cespedes landed in New York via trade, but seemingly prioritized a return when he hit the open market last winter. He spurned larger guarantees from other organizations to stick with the Mets for a three-year, $75MM commitment with the opt-out opportunity coming after just one season. (It’s important to note that the other reported contracts on the table had lower average annual values and lacked the opportunity to re-enter the market.)
Though he has long maintained that he was signing on for the full three years that the contract could cover, Cespedes has done nothing but improve his market thus far in 2016. While he has missed a bit of time due to injury, the 30-year-old has compiled a robust .295/.365/.570 batting line that nearly matches the overall output he gave the Mets last year down the stretch.
That could spell big dollars if Cespedes does end up changing his mind and declining what amounts to a two-year, $47.5MM player option. Though he’ll surely come with a qualifying offer attached this time around, and is obviously a year older, the Cuban star also now has two consecutive years of stellar play to support his case. There other other top power bats and other outfielders available, but Cespedes currently holds the top spot in the free agent power rankings of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes.
Whether or not New York would make another push to retain Cespedes remain unclear. It’s theoretically possible the club could weigh an extension offer, or pursue the veteran slugger if he triggers the clause. But it’s largely beyond question that the organization would be overjoyed if he decides to stay. Even with both Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce under contract for another year (the former via guarantee, the latter an option), Juan Lagares set to return from injury, and younger players like Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo on hand, the remaining commitment to Cespedes represents a reasonably-priced route to top-line production that would be hard to count on from other sources.
Knocking Down The Door: Brugman, Hader, Murphy, Slater, Smith
This week’s installment of Knocking Down the Door features a pair of lefty starters who are very close to graduating from the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, a strong contender for the Rockies’ catching job in 2017 and a couple of outfielders hoping for a chance to prove that their recent hitting success isn’t an aberration.
Jaycob Brugman, OF, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Nashville)
It’s fair to say that the A’s could have two, if not three outfield spots up for grabs when the offseason begins (depending on the usage of Khris Davis, who is presently splitting time between left field and DH). And, while there’s no shortage of talented prospects closing in on the Athletics’ big league roster, it’s possible that those outfield spots are occupied next April by players not currently in the organization. August and September can be considered an early audition period for Jake Smolinski and Brett Eibner, who are getting a close look right now. Jaycob Brugman is currently on the outside looking in but doing everything possible to get an invitation.
The left-handed hitting Brugman, who has played mostly in center field this season, has a .393/.456/.539 slash line in August, including 13 hits in his last 22 at-bats. With Coco Crisp and Danny Valencia each potential August trade candidates—the A’s would just need to find a taker for Crisp; Valencia might not pass through waivers—there’s a chance that Brugman could jump right in to an everyday spot in the near future. If that doesn’t happen, the 24-year-old should still be able to take some September at-bats away from Crisp, who will be a free agent after the season.
Josh Hader, SP, Milwaukee Brewers (Triple-A Colorado Springs)
When the Brewers needed a pitcher to make a spot start last week, they turned to a highly-deserving 26-year-old named Brent Suter, who they drafted in the 31st round back in 2012. Suter became the first left-hander to start a game for the Brewers in almost three years. Now in the bullpen after getting knocked around in his MLB debut, Suter might only be around to watch the next time a lefty makes a start for the Brewers.
After Josh Hader‘s last Triple-A start—two-hit ball over six shutout innings with 12 strikeouts—it could be time to give the 22-year-old lefty a taste of the Major Leagues before he has to shut it down for the year. While his first taste of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League hasn’t been a walk in the park (4.79 ERA in 12 Triple-A starts; 0.95 ERA in 11 Double-A starts), Hader continues to rack up a ton of strikeouts (11.8 K/9) while keeping the ball out of the stands (0.4 HR/9). Both stats indicate a bright future for Hader, who should crack the Brewers’ rotation in 2017.
Tom Murphy, C, Colorado Rockies (Triple-A Albuquerque)
With Nick Hundley headed for free agency after the season, the Rockies will need to determine if they’ll be able to replace him in-house. They can do that now by starting to give defensive standout Tony Wolters more playing time to find out if he can hit enough—he has 11 hits in his last 20 at-bats, but has only started 12 games since the All-Star break—and/or calling up Tom Murphy, who is slashing .421/.461/.804 over his last 28 Triple-A games, to find out if he is good enough defensively.
In all likelihood, that duo should be able to more than make up for the loss of the veteran Hundley, who has subpar offensive numbers on the road and versus right-handed pitching this season. A call-up of Murphy, who didn’t embarrass himself during a September call-up last year (.876 OPS, 3 HR in 39 plate appearances), could result in a heated competition with Wolters that won’t end until Opening Day 2017.
Austin Slater, OF, San Francisco Giants (Triple-A Sacramento)
Riding a 13-for-18 hot streak coming into Tuesday, Austin Slater was, probably unknowingly, as close as he had ever been to the big leagues when the Giants placed backup outfielder Gregor Blanco on the disabled list. But it was journeyman Gorkys Hernandez who got the call, mostly due to his speed and defensive ability, although he’s also having a good season at the plate and has 78 games of MLB experience under his belt.
While the 23-year-old Slater’s amazing second-half numbers (.353/.439/.640; 10 HR, 21 BB, 23 K in 37 games) have undoubtedly opened some eyes in the organization, he likely helped his cause further with two hits, including a three-run homer, on the day he was passed over for what would’ve been a well-earned promotion. Slater could get the call in September and has an outside chance to play a bigger role if the oft-injured Angel Pagan is unable to stay on the field.
Nate Smith, SP, Los Angeles Angels (Triple-A Salt Lake)
No team in baseball could use some good news from down on the farm more than the Angels. With their pitching staff decimated by injuries, they should be delighted with the the recent work of lefty Nate Smith, who allowed just one single over seven shutout innings on Tuesday against a stacked El Paso lineup (see Margot, Asuaje, Renfroe, Hedges).
While the 24-year-old Smith has had an up-and-down season in a tough league for pitchers, he’s likely done enough (4.62 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 7.1 K/9) to warrant serious consideration for a 2017 rotation spot. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt for the Angels to get an early look. With his innings total up to 142 1/3 after 137 2/3 in 2015, it should happen in the next week or two.
Angels Depth Chart
“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of tonight’s MLBTR chat With Jason Martinez.
Byung Ho Park To Undergo Wrist Surgery
Twins designated hitter Byung Ho Park will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist, the team announced to reporters, including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link). The operation will repair a subluxation of the tendon on the back of Park’s right hand, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Park, 30, signed a four-year, $12MM contract with the Twins this offseason after Minnesota secured the rights to negotiate with him by submitting a blind bid of $12.85MM. The former KBO superstar looked to be a shrewd pickup through the first six weeks of the season, but his production quickly went into the tank. Park would ultimately be demoted to Triple-A, where it was revealed that he’d been playing through a wrist ailment. While he didn’t want to cite the injury as the source of his big league struggles, it does seem as though the balky wrist may have impacted his performance; Park batted a very strong .257/.342/.581 with nine homers through his first 120 plate appearances with the Twins but followed that up with a dismal .127/.210/.245 over his next 124 PAs. Most telling of all, perhaps, is the fact that Park punched out in 47 percent of his plate appearances over his final dozen games before being sent down. Park fared better with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate but still struggled, hitting .224/.297/.526 with 10 homers in 31 games with Rochester.
While Park’s first season didn’t go as the team had hoped, the fact that he was able to slug 22 homers in a combined 93 games between Minnesota and Rochester suggests that the power that made him such a desirable free agent could eventually play at the Major League level. He’ll take the offseason to rehab the wrist and look to work his way back onto the big league roster next season, though the Twins have a glut of corner options that muddies the exact alignment for the 2017 campaign.
Joe Mauer is entrenched at first base/designated hitter and won’t be going anywhere thanks to a $23MM annual salary and a full no-trade clause. And while there’s a common refrain suggesting that Mauer get back behind the plate, the personal dangers of him doing so in the wake of concussion issues that lingered for years beyond his move to first base make that an unrealistic and decidedly unsafe course of action that won’t be considered. Miguel Sano‘s brief trial in right field yielded poor results, so he’ll be in the picture back over at third base and designated hitter. The Twins also still have Trevor Plouffe as an alternative at third base, with Jorge Polanco and Eduardo Escobar both serving as options to see time at shortstop and also at the hot corner. Max Kepler‘s emergence and a resurgent Eddie Rosario make it unlikely that any of Plouffe, Polanco or Escobar would move to a corner outfield spot. Switch-hitting slugger Kennys Vargas, too, adds to the Twins’ options as a potential DH.
The Twins were faced with a similar crunch last winter and elected to hang onto all of their corner options, prompting the ill-fated Sano-to-right-field attempt. Some form of offseason move to create roster flexibility seems possible, if not likely, especially considering the fact that the Twins are widely expected to hire a new general manager from outside the organization following Terry Ryan’s dismissal.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/24/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Outfielder Ramon Flores has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Colorado Springs, according to an announcement from the Brewers. Milwaukee designated the 24-year-old for assignment last week after he struggled to a .205/.294/.261 batting line in 289 trips to the plate. The Brewers picked up Flores in an offseason swap that sent Luis Sardinas to the Mariners, and with Sardinas having been designated for assignment and traded himself, it’s safe to say that neither club has extracted the value it had hoped to achieve in the deal. Flores, at least, remains with the Brewers organization, though he can become a free agent this winter unless he’s placed back on the 40-man roster next month. The Venezuela native is a career .282/.376/.449 hitter in 655 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard Clear Revocable Waivers
Phillies veterans Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard have both cleared revocable waivers, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). Both can now be freely traded without restriction, though only one week remains for players to be dealt while remaining eligible for the post-season rosters of their new clubs.
The news is hardly surprising, and it’s not altogether clear that either player holds much chance of being moved. The pair constitutes the last remaining players from the organization’s recent golden years, and neither has ever played for another major league team. Both are obviously well past their prime but remain expensive, and each possesses full no-trade protection via ten-and-five rights.
Two teams, however, are said to be “mulling” a move to add Ruiz, who is earning $8.5MM and is owed a $500K buyout on a $4.5MM club option next year. He is actually playing fairly well this year — particularly given that it is his age-37 season — in reserve action. In 193 plate appearances, Ruiz has put up a crafty .261/.368/.352 batting line, making up for his lack of power with a rather remarkable ratio of 28 strikeouts against 24 walks.
Meanwhile, says Stark, there’s no indication whatsoever that Howard will be moved — as had been previously reported. He is not only playing on a $25MM salary this year, but will still take home a $10MM buyout on a 2017 club option. The 36-year-old slugger is a limited player at this stage, though he is still capable of hitting right-handed pitching and has popped 19 long balls in 286 plate appearances. Howard is putting on a Philly swan song at the moment, as he has banged out five home runs and delivered a .378/.425/.838 slash in the month of August.
Orioles Place Chris Tillman On Disabled List
TODAY: Baltimore announced the move, sending Tillman to the shelf and adding righty Mike Wright to take his place on the active roster. Tillman is said to be dealing with bursitis in his shoulder.
[RELATED: Updated Orioles Depth Chart]
YESTERDAY: The Orioles will likely place top starter Chris Tillman on the disabled list due to discomfort in his right shoulder, manager Buck Showalter revealed to reporters following tonight’s win over the Nationals (Twitter link via Rich Dubroff of CSN Mid Atlantic). Earlier this afternoon, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko wrote that Showalter gave an ominous message regarding Tillman, stating that the right-hander “did not have a good work day today” following a bullpen session that “did not go well.” The O’s are hopeful that because they’re able to backdate the DL trip to three days ago, Tillman will be able to be activated as soon as he is eligible, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.
The loss of Tillman is a huge blow to an Orioles staff that already had a thin rotation. In 26 starts this year, Tillman has 3.76 ERA and tallied 153 innings of work. Tillman and fellow righty Kevin Gausman are the only qualified starters with an ERA south of 4.00 on the team (Gausman’s strong outing tonight just pushed him underneath that mark). Remaining starters Ubaldo Jimenez, Yovani Gallardo, Wade Miley, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Vance Worley and Dylan Bundy have combined to log a 5.70 ERA on the season. Bundy has actually pitched quite well since moving into the rotation, but innings concerns make it difficult to pencil him in for regular starts down the stretch after he was scarcely able to pitch due to injury in 2014-15.
Dombrowski: Red Sox Still “Open” To Adding Papelbon, Await His Decision
The Red Sox are still amenable to reaching a deal with free agent reliever Jonathan Papelbon, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested in comments to MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).
Last we checked in, a return of Papelbon to Boston — where he made his name as a big leaguer — seemed unlikely. And that may still be the case, especially since the longer Papelbon goes without joining an organization, the more time (and less opportunity) he’ll have to ramp up.
[Related: Up-to-Date Red Sox Depth Chart]
It seems that the ball remains in Papelbon’s court to move his career forward, as at least the Red Sox, and possibly other organizations, remain interested in signing him. As Dombrowski put it, “he has to decide what he wants to do.” If he has any hopes of throwing in the playoffs, moreover, Papelbon will need to sign within the next week, as post-season rosters cannot include players that joined an organization after the end of August.
Whether Papelbon and his representatives are holding out for more favorable terms, or have other considerations in mind, isn’t really known. But the long-time closer doesn’t seem to have much leverage. Teams may not be willing to give him assurances of how often he’ll pitch or in what role, if they are even willing to commit a major league deal to a hurler who had turned in a career-worst 4.37 ERA and hasn’t pitched in nearly three weeks.
Barring a string of injuries, it’s not clear that the offers will improve, at least from the Red Sox. As Dombrowski characterized things, there doesn’t appear to be much room for negotiation: “We are open, we did call, he has to decide.”