David Peralta To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery
Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist Thursday, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (Twitter link). Peralta’s right wrist has been an issue since he first injured it last year, when he was informed that he may have irritated a ligament, and he has endured two different stints on the disabled list this season because of it. Arizona sent him to the DL on Sunday, and now his 2016 will come to a premature end.
As has been the case with his last-place team, 2016 has been an enormous disappointment for Peralta. After combining to hit .301/.351/.492 with 25 home runs in 865 plate appearances from 2014-15, Peralta’s offensive output dipped to .251/.295/.433 with four HRs in 183 trips to the plate this season.
Injuries obviously didn’t help matters for Peralta, who also spent time on the DL with a lower back strain, nor have the lengthy absences of him and star center fielder A.J. Pollock aided a 47-66 club that entered the season with playoff aspirations. Pollock has missed the entire year because of elbow surgery, though he is working his way back and could return sometime this season. In the meantime, the D-backs will have to rely on the underwhelming group of Michael Bourn, Yasmany Tomas, Socrates Brito, Brandon Drury and Rickie Weeks Jr. in the outfield, as their depth chart indicates. With little contribution from Peralta and none from Pollock, Arizona’s outfield ranks last in the majors in fWAR (minus-1.9).
Going forward, the ultra-cheap Peralta ($529,600) won’t be arbitration eligible until after next season, so the Diamondbacks will get another inexpensive year from him. They also control his rights through the 2020 campaign.
Quick Hits: Astros, Dodgers, Mariners, Cubs
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow spoke about his decision to end the failed, short-lived Houston tenure of center fielder Carlos Gomez, whom the team designated for assignment Wednesday (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). “Carlos has put in 100 percent. We all see how much he enjoys playing the game and how much he cares about what happens,” said Luhnow, who traded a haul to Milwaukee for Gomez and right-hander Mike Fiers last July. “It’s one of those situations where for whatever reason it didn’t work out the way here he wanted to and we wanted to, and we felt it was the best interest of the organization and the team to move on and potentially get a fresh start somewhere else.”
Elsewhere around the majors…
- The Dodgers are “disappointed” in Triple-A outfielder Yasiel Puig, team president Andrew Friedman said Tuesday, after the 25-year-old posted videos on Snapchat that included him and some of his Oklahoma City teammates drinking alcohol and shouting curse words into the camera (via Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times). It’s a minor incident – and one the Dodgers “will address internally,” stated Friedman – but not one the team wanted to deal with after demoting the polarizing Puig earlier this month. As McCullough notes, Puig remains a trade candidate.
- Unfortunately for Friedman and the Dodgers, left-hander Rich Hill‘s long-awaited return from finger blisters could be at least another week away, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Hill, whom Friedman acquired from Oakland at the non-waiver trade deadline, has now had his LA debut pushed back twice. He was initially supposed to take the mound last Sunday, which the team moved to Friday. But Hill won’t be able to go then, either, which means righty Ross Stripling will take his place. Further, considering he hasn’t faced hitters in a while, Hill might have to make a rehab start, per Gurnick. The 36-year-old hasn’t recorded a legitimate start since July 7. On July 17, which was his final outing with the A’s, Hill had to exit after five pitches because of his blister troubles. Thanks to both that issue and a groin strain, Hill has amassed only 12 innings since the beginning of June.
- Mariners southpaw reliever Charlie Furbush will undergo surgery on the partially torn rotator cuff in his left arm Tuesday, writes Maddie Lee of MLB.com. Recovery time is expected to range from 12 to 18 months for Furbush, who told Lee, “Right now, I think, for me, a realistic goal would be Spring Training of 2018. But anything earlier than that and I’m on board.” Furbush, 30, was diagnosed with the injury last August and hasn’t taken a major league mound since last July. He was a dependable bullpen weapon for the Mariners until then, logging a 3.23 ERA, 10.32 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 in 175 1/3 innings since 2012. Furbush also held left-handed hitters to a woeful .172/.243/.228 batting line during that span.
- Major League Baseball has suspended Cubs right-handed prospect Luiz Escanio for 144 games without pay after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s the second positive test for the 24-year-old Escanio, to whom the league handed a 72-game ban last summer after he was found to have used the anabolic steroid Stanozolol. Prior to his latest suspension, Escanio compiled a 1.45 ERA, 13.5 K/9 and 4.33 BB/9 in 18 2/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League.
Yankees Notes: A-Rod, Eovaldi, Severino
Yankees manager Joe Girardi got defensive Wednesday in explaining to reporters why he chose not to start soon-to-be released designated hitter Alex Rodriguez in either of the first two games of the team’s series in Boston, writes Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. “I’m putting out what I feel is the best lineup as we sit around and talk about it as coaches. That’s my job. That’s in my job description. My job description does not entail a farewell tour,” said Girardi, who was the Yankees’ manager during shortstop Derek Jeter‘s season-long farewell tour in 2014. Despite hitting a paltry .256/.304/.313 with four home runs in 634 plate appearances that year, Jeter was a mainstay atop the Yankees’ lineup, which reporters pointed out Wednesday. In response, Girardi stated, “I didn’t really have a replacement, in a sense. This year, we have people that we want to try. We have replacements, and that’s the biggest difference.” The Yankees, who are amid a youth movement, started highly touted catcher prospect Gary Sanchez at DH on Wednesday. Rodriguez entered the game with a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning and flied out to right field, dropping his season batting line to .203/.251/.355. The 41-year-old will conclude his polarizing and productive Yankees career with starts on Thursday and Friday.
More on the Bombers:
- Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi exited his Wednesday start with inflammation in his pitching elbow after just one inning, Kuty was among those to report. Eovaldi will undergo tests in New York to determine the severity of the injury, and he and the Yankees are obviously hoping it won’t require Tommy John surgery. Eovaldi underwent the procedure as a high schooler, per Kuty, who also notes that right elbow inflammation kept the hard-throwing 26-year-old out for the final month of the 2015 season. Despite trailing only Mets ace Noah Syndergaard in average four-seam fastball velocity, Eovaldi has recorded a 5.12 ERA to pair with an underwhelming K/9 (7.11) in 116 innings as a starter this season.
- After an ineffective Tuesday start, one in which he surrendered five earned runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 5-3 loss to Boston, the Yankees sent right-hander Luis Severino back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Severino, 22, has been among the Yankees’ biggest letdowns last year, having compiled a 7.78 ERA, 6.93 K/9 and 2.34 BB/9 in 39 1/3 innings as a starter. While Severino has limited walks and thrown heat, his ERA as a starter is nearly five runs worse than it was last year (2.89) across his 62 1/3-inning debut, and his strikeout rate has experienced a notable drop from the 8.09 he recorded in 2015. To his credit, Severino has fared well in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings (3.25 ERA, 8.06 K/9, 2.12 BB/9).
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/10/16
Wednesday’s minor transactions from around baseball:
- The Orioles have released right-hander Sam Deduno, reports FanGraphs’ Brad Johnson, who adds that the 33-year-old is now healthy after rehabbing from a hip injury (Twitter links). Deduno, whom the Orioles signed to a minor league deal in February, hasn’t gotten past Rookie ball this year because of his hip ailment. That issue limited Deduno to just 22 combined innings with the Astros and their Triple-A affiliate in 2015. Prior to posting a 6.86 ERA in 21 major league frames last season, Deduno combined for 287 2/3 innings between the Twins and Astros from 2012-14. In that time, he logged a 4.22 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and an excellent 57.2 percent ground-ball rate.
- The Braves have signed free agent left-hander Brian Moran to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. Moran’s entire pitching resume with major league organizations has come as a member of the Mariners, though the Blue Jays selected the reliever in the fifth round of the 2013 Rule 5 draft and then traded him to the Angels for an international bonus slot. However, the Halos returned Moran to the Mariners a few months later after learning that he needed Tommy John surgery. Moran missed all of 2014 while recovering from the procedure, but he returned last year to log a total of 33 1/3 minor league innings with the Mariners. Most of those innings (30 1/3) came at the Double-A level, where Moran recorded a 3.56 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 5.04 BB/9. The 27-year-old (and the brother of Astros third baseman Colin Moran) has pitched this season with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.
- The Angels have announced the release of shortstop Ryan Jackson, who has divided his season between their Triple-A affiliate and Philadelphia’s. Jackson, a Cardinals fifth-round pick in 2009, debuted briefly in the majors with St. Louis in 2012 and reentered the big leagues last year with the Angels. The 28-year-old garnered just 39 combined plate appearances in those two call-ups, however. In 1,809 Triple-A PAs, Jackson has hit .274/.352/.356.
Braves Claim Wilfredo Boscan From Pirates
The Braves have claimed right-hander Wilfredo Boscan off waivers from the Pirates, who released the 26-year-old last Thursday. Boscan joins Chaz Roe as the second righty Atlanta has plucked from the waiver wire since Sunday.
After spending parts of nine seasons in the minor leagues with the Rangers, Padres, Red Sox and Pirates, Boscan finally cracked the majors this year in Pittsburgh and tossed 15 1/3 innings in six appearances (one start), yielding 11 earned runs on 15 hits and seven walks. While those numbers are unsightly, Boscan has shown promise in the upper minors, including a 3.07 ERA in 126 Triple-A innings last year. Boscan has been effective in 84 Triple-A frames this year, too, with a 3.75 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. Overall, he has amassed 58 Triple-A appearances (45 starts) and registered a 3.86 ERA, 5.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
Rangers Designate Kyle Kubitza For Assignment
The Rangers have announced third baseman Kyle Kubitza‘s designation for assignment. Texas acquired Kubitza from the AL West rival Angels for cash considerations on June 21.
In his nearly two-month stint with the Rangers organization, Kubitza has logged 187 plate appearances at Triple-A Round Rock and batted .182/.290/.340 with four home runs. He fared better with Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, Salt Lake, with whom he hit .253/.349/.366 in 215 PAs. Kubitza also spent last year with the Angels organization and saw his only major league action with them, albeit over just 39 trips to the plate. The 26-year-old was previously with the Braves, who picked him in the third round of the 2011 draft.
Athletics Designate Patrick Schuster For Assignment
The Athletics have designated left-hander Patrick Schuster for assignment, per a club announcement.
Schuster joined the A’s on a minor league contract during the offseason and has spent the majority of the year with their Triple-A affiliate, Nashville. As a member of the Sounds, the 25-year-old has recorded tremendous numbers (1.16 ERA, 9.08 K/9, 2.79 BB/9) over 32 appearances and 38 2/3 innings. Schuster wasn’t nearly as successful this season in his 6 2/3 big league innings, though, with eight earned runs allowed on nine hits and six walks. That stint represents the only major league time for Schuster, who was previously with the Diamondbacks and Reds organizations. In 446 2/3 minor league innings, Schuster has put up a 3.26 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
Royals Release Edward Mujica
The Royals have released right-handed reliever Edward Mujica, according to a team announcement. Mujica joined the Royals organization less than a month ago, signing a minor league deal July 15. Notably, that pact included an Aug. 7 opt-out.
The 32-year-old Mujica threw 12 innings and struck out an impressive 14 batters for the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate in Omaha, but he proved eminently hittable, yielding 11 earned runs on 17 hits. Mujica was previously far stingier as a member of the Phillies’ Triple-A club earlier this season, logging a 3.04 ERA and .92 BB/9 during a 39-inning stint with Lehigh Valley.
Mujica, who has pitched in each of the prior 10 major league campaigns, has compiled a 3.85 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 over 546 2/3 big league innings. However, the well-traveled veteran scuffled to a combined 4.75 ERA with the Red Sox and Athletics in 47 1/3 frames in 2015 and hasn’t gotten back to the majors since.
Mets “Open” To Adding Carlos Gomez
The Mets nearly acquired center fielder Carlos Gomez from the Brewers prior to last summer’s trade deadline, but New York backed out thanks to concerns over Gomez’s hip. Gomez ended up with the Astros, who designated him for assignment Wednesday after he hit a shockingly ineffective .221/.277/.342 with nine home runs in 486 plate appearances dating back to last year’s trade.
Now that Gomez will likely be available for the prorated league minimum soon, the Mets could once again have interest in the services of a player whose professional career began when they signed him as a 16-year-old in 2002.
“We always have an open mind,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told Howie Kussoy of the New York Post.
Despite his woes at the plate, the 30-year-old Gomez remains a threat on the bases and would add some speed to the Mets, who have the third-fewest steals in the majors (27) and have been among the worst base-running teams in the sport this year, according to FanGraphs. He’d also provide another option in center field to a club in need of one at the moment. With Juan Lagares recovering from thumb surgery, the Mets’ primary choices in center are Yoenis Cespedes, Alejandro De Aza, Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson. Those are all less-than-ideal fits, as Cespedes – who has spent the lion’s share of the season in center – would much rather play left field; De Aza is amid a miserable year; Conforto has little experience in center; and Granderson, 35, is a defensive liability. Unfortunately, Gomez has endured an uncharacteristically subpar season in the field, posting negative figures in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-6) and UZR/150 (minus-4.7).
Offensively, the right-handed hitting Gomez could conceivably serve in a platoon with the lefty-swinging Conforto, who has hit a terrible .133/.185/.150 against southpaws since his promotion to the majors last season. That’s over an admittedly microscopic sample size of 65 plate appearances, though, and the only way the 23-year-old Conforto will eventually become an everyday player is by adjusting to same-handed pitchers. For his part, Gomez (.221/.275/.326 in 95 PAs) hasn’t inspired versus lefties this year, either. Nevertheless, at 57-55 and two games out of a Wild Card spot, the reigning National League Champions haven’t ruled out reuniting with Gomez.
Yankees Release Ike Davis
The Yankees have announced the release of first baseman Ike Davis, who inked a major league deal with the organization June 12 after opting out of his minor league contract with the Rangers.
Upon signing with the Yankees – with whom his father, Ron Davis, pitched from 1978-81 – the lefty-swinging Davis hoped to provide a first base solution to a team that was without starter Mark Teixeira because of a knee injury. Instead, Davis racked up just three hits – all singles – in a mere 15 plate appearances with New York, which outrighted him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 27. As a member of the RailRiders, Davis batted .217/.318/.391 with five home runs in 107 trips to the plate. Previously in 2016, he registered a .268/.350/.437 line with four long balls in 163 PAs as part of the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate.
Davis saw extensive major league action as recently as last year, when he logged a subpar .229/.301/.350 showing with three HRs in 239 PAs as a member of the Athletics. Davis’ best seasons came as a Met, with whom he swatted a career-best 32 homers in 2012 and combined to bat an above-average .241/.334/.433 with 68 HRs in 1,741 PAs from 2010-14.