Sean Doolittle Drawing Interest; Giants Looking At Josh Reddick
The Athletics have fallen 11 games under .500 and seem in position to sell, with several appealing pieces to shop. Among them are lefty reliever Sean Doolittle and outfielder Josh Reddick, both of whom have drawn interest according to recent reports.
Doolittle is getting hits from around the game, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who also argues in the linked post that the team should hold its core pieces. That’s no surprise given Doolittle’s blistering heater, not to mention the cheap contract he’s playing under. With many contenders in need of power relievers, he’d surely be one of the more actively-pursued players on the market. In MLBTR’s latest list of the top trade candidates in baseball, Doolittle rated 9th.
Meanwhile, Reddick has received at least some internal consideration from the Giants, according to Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area. The possibility of a cross-bay match was raised earlier today by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, citing a scout. It’s not entirely clear how focused the club is on the veteran outfielder, as Stiglich says only that he’s “on a lengthy preliminary list of … potential trade targets.” San Francisco has been rumored to have interest in upgrades at a number of positions, with the corner outfield one such area.
Reddick, of course, is still working his way back from a fractured thumb, but he’s set to be activated tomorrow, per MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter). He’ll be looking to continue an impressive start to the year, in which he slashed .322/.394/.466 over 165 plate appearances. We’ve also heard ongoing talk that an extension could still be considered between the sides, though, and that would obviously take him out of trade consideration.
It remains to be seen what approach Oakland will take at the deadline. While there are signals that the organization is holding out hope for a bounceback, time is getting short. Even in a sale scenario, though, it’s possible to imagine a variety of approaches. As Rosenthal argues, a limited sell-off might see a few short-term veterans depart — Rich Hill and Danny Valencia are, perhaps, the prime candidates — with players such as Doolittle, Sonny Gray, Stephen Vogt, and even Reddick staying put. But it’s certainly possible to imagine a more dramatic rebuild.
Steve Delabar To Sign With Japan’s Hiroshima Carp
Right-hander Steve Delabar is headed to Japan and will sign with the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Delabar was released by the Reds over the weekend.
Cincinnati cut bait on the 32-year-old veteran after he turned in eight rough innings for the club this year. He did strike out ten batters, but also walked the same number while allowing six earned runs. Delabar did show somewhat better in his 24 Triple-A frames, posting a 2.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 but a still-troubling 6.0 BB/9.
Delabar has long shown impressive strikeout ability, as he has racked up 11.2 per nine innings in his 194 2/3 career MLB frames. And he still works at about 93 mph with his average fastball. When he keeps the walks in check, he has been a reasonably effective reliever, but Delabar last posted a sub-4.00 ERA in 2013.
Athletics Claim Nick Tepesch, Designate Eric Surkamp
The Athletics have claimed righty Nick Tepesch off waivers from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. Oakland designated lefty Eric Surkamp to clear a roster spot.
Tepesch made a spot start for Los Angeles, marking his first major league outing since 2014. He was far from dominant, but obviously showed enough for Oakland to desire his services. Tepesch has battled through injury issues, but provided the Rangers with some good innings over 2013-14 and was carrying a 3.66 ERA at the Triple-A level on the year.
As for Surkamp, 28, it’s a been a tough go thus far in 2016. He has contributed 38 2/3 innings in nine starts, surrendering thirty earned runs on 55 hits (including eight home runs) while posting an ugly 22:21 K/BB ratio. Surkamp has been rather effective at the Triple-A level — he owns a 3.56 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 293 1/3 career innings — but has never been able to translate that consistently to the big leagues.
Angels Option A.J. Achter
5:51pm: Achter has been optioned, not designated, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter).
5:26pm: The Angels have designated righty A.J. Achter for assignment, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. His roster spot will go to fellow right-hander J.C. Ramirez, who was claimed off waivers from the Reds.
Knocking Down The Door: Bell, Berrios, Hedges, Judge, Stewart
This week’s installment of “Knocking Down The Door” includes five homegrown players—two first-round picks, two second-round picks and one sixth-round pick—who are close to reaching the majors with the team that drafted and signed them to professional contracts.
Josh Bell, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): Chad Kuhl‘s solid MLB debut on Sunday should ease the calls for top pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow (13 IP, 0 R, 0 H over last two starts) to join the big league rotation, at least for this week. I’m not sure John Jaso‘s doing enough (.619 OPS since May 29th) to hold off Bell much longer, though.
The 23-year-old first baseman has been a hitting machine during his ascent through the minors, and 2016 has been no different. Well, there has been one difference. He’s finally starting to show off some in-game home run power (11 HR in 74 games in 2016; 30 HR in 373 games from 2012-15) to go along with the high average (.321) and on-base percentage (.405), which should get the attention of a Pirates front office that isn’t known for quickly moving prospects up the ladder.
With a .356/.422/.644 slash line in June, the switch-hitting Bell has done more than enough to earn a spot with the Pirates and push Jaso into a bench role.
Jose Berrios, SP, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): It wasn’t a big surprise that Berrios earned an early promotion to the Majors in 2016. He dominated in Triple-A last season (2.85 ERA, 1.7 BB/9, 9. K/9 in 12 starts) and is considered to be one of the best pitching prospects in the game. It also shouldn’t have been a surprise, however, that a 21-year-old struggled in the big leagues and was sent to Triple-A after four starts.
Now a 22-year-old with two more months of Triple-A experience under his belt, Berrios is making a strong case to rejoin the Twins’ rotation after tossing three-hit ball over eight shutout innings in his last start. It was the eighth time in 10 starts that he’s allowed two earned runs or less and seventh time he’s allowed three hits or less.
Left-hander Tommy Milone did not fare well in his return to the rotation last week, and Tyler Duffey was on the brink of a demotion before dominating the Yankees in his last start. I’m guessing we’ll see Berrios if either Milone or Duffey has a bad start this week.
Austin Hedges, C, San Diego Padres (Triple-A El Paso): It doesn’t matter if Hedges homers in 10 straight games — he’s actually halfway there right now — there isn’t a spot for him on the Major League roster until the Padres can trade Derek Norris, who has an .828 OPS in June and is under team control through 2018. Those numbers are attractive on the trade market.
Norris also has value to the Padres, but Hedges’ recent power surge (seven homers in nine games) is a reminder that they have a big league ready catcher down in Triple-A who many think can be an elite defender and is healthy after surgery in late April to repair a fractured hamate bone.
The Austin Hedges era should begin in San Diego very soon — no, last year’s big league stint when he sat on the bench and watched Norris play almost every day doesn’t count. It just won’t happen until the Derek Norris era ends.
Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre): If a hitter’s walk-to-strikeout ratio is an indicator of his readiness for the majors, then maybe Judge is getting very close.
After walking 16 times and striking out 56 times in April and May, the 24-year-old Judge must be unrecognizable at the plate with his June performance—he’s walked 17 times and struck out only 21 times. While some hitters sacrifice power with a more patient approach, Judge’s power has also increased (8 homers in June; 7 homers in April/May).
Right fielder Carlos Beltran has been the Yankees’ most productive hitter in June, but he’s also 39 years old and needs to start getting off his feet and into the designated hitter spot more often. That designated hitter spot is currently being occupied by 40-year-old Alex Rodriguez, who is not having a productive season. Add those two things up and Judge has a chance to be patrolling the Bronx outfield in the near future.
Brock Stewart, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): The Dodgers currently have an opening in their rotation and there is a chance that they go with a guy who started the season in High-A and hadn’t been considered much of a prospect.
Crazy, right? Not as crazy at how deserving the guy is. (Note: Apparently the Dodgers agree, as Stewart tweets that he has been called up.)
A 6th Round draft pick in 2014, Stewart had the misfortune of spending most of his first full pro season in the very hitter-friendly California League, where he posted a 5.43 ERA. He returned there to start 2016 and was rewarded/saved with a promotion after two good starts. The 24-year-old has not stopped dominating hitters since.
After cruising through Double-A with 1.12 ERA, 1.6 BB/9 and 9.9 K/9 in nine starts, the right-hander has been brilliant in three Triple-A starts (2.89 ERA, 18.2 IP, 2 BB 27 K), including back-to-back 10-strikeout games. His next start could come in the majors on Wednesday.
“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.
Nationals To Promote Lucas Giolito
The Nationals will promote right-hander Lucas Giolito to make tomorrow’s start against the division-rival Mets, manager Dusty Baker told reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The promotion of the 21-year-old Giolito, who entered the season rated as the game’s No. 5 overall prospect according to Baseball America and currently rates as the No. 1 prospect in baseball according to updated prospect lists from MLB.com and ESPN, means that injured ace Stephen Strasburg will be replaced, for the time being, by arguably the most interesting arm in all of minor league baseball.
MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel wrote about the possibility of a Giolito promotion earlier today, noting that it was likely to be either him or Triple-A righty Austin Voth replacing Strasburg for now. Giolito, who had Tommy John surgery the year he was drafted, is on an innings limit after throwing just 117 innings last year as his workload is slowly ramped up. Per Kerzel in his morning piece on Giolito and Voth, the Nats typically try to keep year-to-year innings increases to 20, so Giolito may not be allowed to go more than 140 or so innings this season. He’s already pitched 71 frames this year, working to a 3.17 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. And, as the Nats have demonstrated in the past with Strasburg, they’re not afraid to adhere to strict innings limits even in amid the spotlight of a postseason race.
As for how Giolito currently fits into the Nationals’ plans, the organization itself remains a bit unclear on that front. MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman tweets that Baker told the media it’s “impossible” to know how long Giolito will remain in the rotation, and the decision will be handled on a start-by-start basis. Certainly, one would imagine that the health of Strasburg plays into the decision. That piece of information remains an unknown, though, as Baker informed reporters that Strasburg underwent an MRI today, and the team is awaiting the results of the examination. Even if it proves to be a short-term absence for Strasburg, it’s plausible that a strong performance from Giolito could unseat the struggling Gio Gonzalez in the starting five.
Washington selected Giolito with the 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft. He’d previously been considered one of the favorites to go with the No. 1 overall pick that year, but an elbow injury caused his stock to drop. The injury concerns proved valid when Giolito underwent Tommy John surgery, but he’s made a strong recovery and blossomed into the top-shelf prospect that most scouts expected him to become even after that injury.
Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com write in their free scouting report on the 6’6″. 255-pound Giolito that he has the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the minors thanks to an elite fastball, a power 12-to-6 curveball and a changeup that has steadily improved over his minor league career. ESPN’s Keith Law noted that some delivery tweaks in Spring Training actually set Giolito back a ways, but he appears to be back on track at this juncture. BA rated him only behind Corey Seager, Byron Buxton, Yoan Moncada and Julio Urias entering the season, noting that he had some room to improve the command of his secondary pitches as well as other facets of his game like holding runners and fielding his position. Across the board, Giolito is regarded as an elite talent and a player with ace upside if everything clicks at the big league level.
The timing of Giolito’s promotion means that even if he’s in the Majors to stay, he’ll avoid Super Two designation. The most service time he could accrue through season’s end would be 97 days, which would leave him well shy of a fourth trip through the arbitration process. If he is indeed a big leaguer from this point forth, Giolito won’t be eligible for free agency until following the 2022 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rays Designate Ryan Webb For Assignment
The Rays have designated right-hander Ryan Webb for assignment, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). His roster spot will go to previously designated Danny Farquhar, who will return to the big league club after having been sent outright to Triple-A.
Webb, 30, inked a one-year deal that guaranteed him a million dollars this offseason with the Rays. He totaled 17 1/3 innings out of the Tampa Bay bullpen and posted an uninspiring 5.19 ERA, though with 11 walks against just a pair of unintentional walks and an above-average 48.4 percent ground-ball rate, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Webb can right the ship and contribute later this season, be it with the Rays or another organization. Webb entered the 2016 season with a lifetime 3.35 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 376 innings at the Major League level.
Braves Designate Alexi Ogando For Assignment
The Braves have designated right-hander Alexi Ogando for assignment and recalled right-hander Mauricio Cabrera from Double-A Mississippi, the team announced this afternoon.
Ogando, 32, currently has a respectable 3.94 ERA through 32 innings of work out of the Atlanta bullpen, but he’s registered that mark in spite of averaging a whopping 6.5 walks per nine innings. He’s been particularly ineffective over his past 10 outings, yielding nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and nine walks across just seven innings. The 8.2 K/9 rate he’s posted this season is his best since 2012, and he’s still averaging 94 mph on his fastball, but ERA estimators such as FIP (4.38), xFIP (5.45) and SIERA (5.13) all feel that there’s some significant regression in store for the former Rangers and Red Sox hurler.
Ogando has been the subject of some trade chatter over the past month, so perhaps Atlanta will be able to find a taker for him. However, if the team ultimately outrights him, Ogando has enough service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency without forfeiting the remainder of his $2MM salary. He’s still owed about $1.06MM of that sum through season’s end, and the Braves will be on the hook for the majority of that unless they can find a trade partner. If he does become a free agent and latch on with another Major League club, he’ll earn the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on a new team’s Major League roster, and that money will be subtracted from the sum still owed to him by Atlanta. In parts of seven big league seasons, Ogando has a career 3.47 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate across 503 1/3 innings.
As for Cabrera, the 22-year-old will be making his Major League debut when he first takes the hill. He’s worked to a 3.21 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings at Double-A this season, though he’s endured similar control problems to the ones displayed by Ogando in the Majors; Cabrera has walked 22 batters (two intentional) and hit three men during that brief stint at Double-A. Both Baseball America and MLB.com rated Cabrera 27th in a very deep Braves farm system. The Dominican-born flamethrower averages 100 mph on his heater and has topped out at 103 mph, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, though he struggles to command the pitch. Cabrera also features a ridiculous-sounding 92 mph changeup, though BA notes that it needs work. The two scouting reports are split on whether his change or his slider is Cabrera’s best secondary offering, indicating that he’s not especially consistent with either pitch.
Marlins To Sign Jeremy Guthrie
The Marlins are in agreement with right-hander Jeremy Guthrie on a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He’ll head to Triple-A New Orleans for the time being and hope to emerge as an option for the Miami rotation down the line. Guthrie, a client of Excel Sports, had opted out of a minor league contract with the Padres earlier this month.
Miami has been on the lookout for rotation help as of late, and while Guthrie is no lock to immediately strengthen the Marlins’ starting staff, he’ll give them an experienced arm to add to the depth chart. Guthrie has never been mistaken for a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, but he was a highly dependable mid-rotation piece from 2007-14 when he pitched to a 4.18 ERA with 5.3 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 1579 1/3 innings for the Orioles, Rockies and Royals. While his brief half-season with the Rockies was unsightly, Guthrie was otherwise a durable and useful rotation cog prior to a down season in 2015. While he won a World Series ring with Kansas City last year, he lost his rotation spot partway through the season and ultimately turned in a career-worst 5.95 ERA in 148 1/3 innings.
Guthrie went to Spring Training with the Rangers this season but didn’t make the club and wound up signing the aforementioned minors pact with the Padres. However, he struggled considerably with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate in the hitter-friendly PCL, recording a 6.60 ERA in 60 innings of work. He’ll hope for better results with the Marlins, who currently deploy Jose Fernandez, Wei-Yin Chen, Adam Conley and Tom Koehler in the rotation. Paul Clemens is currently in the fifth spot, though that’s been somewhat of a revolving door for the Fish, who have also given starts to struggling former top prospects Justin Nicolino and Jarred Cosart — each of whom is currently at Triple-A.
NL Notes: Nationals, Cardinals, Phillies, Marlins
With Stephen Strasburg‘s recent placement on the disabled list, the Nationals need a starter for Tuesday, and Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com writes that it looks like Triple-A right-hander Austin Voth and Double-A righty Lucas Giolito (the game’s top prospect according to MLB.com and ESPN) are the likeliest candidates. Neither pitcher is on the 40-man, though Kerzel points out that the Nationals can create room simply by transferring Taylor Jordan, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day disabled list. Kerzel notes that Giolito could potentially force his way into the rotation in place of the struggling Gio Gonzalez even when Strasburg returns, but he also notes that Giolito is on an innings limit and figures to be capped just shy of 140 innings. He’s already tossed 71 frames this season, so turning to him for three full months of starts may not be an option. Kerzel runs down the cases for and against a Giolito promotion, and the analysis is well worth a look for Nats fans or prospect chasers in fantasy leagues.
More from the Senior Circuit…
- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny called backup catcher Eric Fryer a “pleasant surprise” and heaped praise onto the veteran backstop when speaking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, as Goold notes, today’s expected return of Brayan Pena could spell the end of Fryer’s time on the big league roster, as the team hasn’t expressed a willingness to carry three catchers. Matheny called Fryer “an asset to our organization” and said he’s happy to have Fryer in whatever role possible, so it seems that even if he’s designated for assignment, the Cards will hope to retain him via an outright assignment.
- Goold also notes that the Cardinals had right-hander Seung-hwan Oh warming up in advance of a potential save opportunity in yesterday’s contest, but he took a seat once the Redbirds scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth, thus erasing the save situation. The Cardinals, who over the weekend removed the struggling Trevor Rosenthal from the ninth inning, have an undetermined situation at the back of the bullpen. However as Goold points out, the fact that Oh was seemingly first in line could be telling of Matheny’s ninth-inning intentions. Oh has been brilliant this season, working to a 1.66 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 38 innings. Those chasing saves in fantasy leagues can follow MLBTR’s @closernews Twitter account for updates on ninth-inning situations around the league.
- The Phillies activated Vince Velasquez from the disabled list today and will insert him into the rotation, with lefty Adam Morgan shifting to the ‘pen, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We’re going to get a look at him in that role for the time being, which doesn’t mean he’s never going to start again for us,” said manager Pete Mackanin of Morgan. In 57 2/3 innings out of the rotation this season, Morgan has a 6.55 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. However, he’s also an extreme fly-ball pitcher that has been highly homer-prone this season, which has negated his otherwise solid K/BB numbers.
- The Marlins continue to search for starting pitching on the trade market, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, but the organization also believes that there are better days ahead for lefty Justin Nicolino now that they’ve convinced him to stop throwing his cutter. Nicolino has limped to a 5.17 ERA in 10 starts this season, and while his cutter has indeed graded out as a negative pitch, so too has his four-seamer. From my vantage point, it seems optimistic to expect that change to alleviate the need for rotation help in a significant fashion. Over the past week or so, Miami has been connected to controllable arms Jake Odorizzi and Drew Pomeranz on the trade market in addition to a more short-term fix such as Bud Norris.