AL East Notes: Travis, Sox Pen, Sanchez
Second baseman Devon Travis is on his way back up to the Blue Jays, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He’ll finally make it back from shoulder issues that have kept him away from the club since late last July. Travis impressed in his first 239 big league plate appearances, putting up a .304/.361/.498 slash with eight home runs. Even if he can’t keep up that pace, there’s every hope that he’ll significantly upgrade a unit that owns one of the league’s least productive batting lines.
Here are a few more notes from the AL East:
- The loss of Carson Smith leaves the Red Sox in need of an additional quality pen arm, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. That’s not to say there’s any particular rush to the trade market, which president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made clear would not be the case. But Drellich argues that the organization needs to begin lining up targets for the summer. Meanwhile, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford takes a look at a few possibilities who could be available.
- Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez suffered what GM Brian Cashman is calling a “cracked thumb” in last night’s action, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat writer Shane Hennigan tweets. The 23-year-old is one of the game’s most highly-regarded backstop prospects, and seemed ready for a full shot at the majors after opening the year with a .290/.333/.529 slash in 147 plate appearances. Of course, the Yankees are all set at the big league level for the time being. The club will hope that the injury won’t take too big a chunk out of Sanchez’s season, but his outlook remains unclear at present.
Angels Designate Lucas Luetge, Recall Kaleb Cowart
The Angels have announced that southpaw Lucas Luetge was designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to third baseman Kaleb Cowart.
Luetge, 29, did not appear for the Halos upon his recent call-up. He’s been pitching at Triple-A for most of the year, contributing 19 1/3 innings of 2.33 ERA ball with 7.9 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. The lefty has previously spent time in the Mariners pen and owns a 4.35 earned run average in 89 total big league frames.
As for Cowart, this represents the second big league stint for a former top prospect. He didn’t do much with his first opportunity, though it was short-lived. Over his 166 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, Cowart owns a .303/.352/.454 batting line with a pair of home runs and three stolen bases.
Cardinals Acquire Jose Martinez
The Cardinals have acquired outfielder Jose Martinez from the Royals, per an announcement from the St. Louis club. Cash considerations will go back to Kansas City in the deal.
Martinez, 27, was designated recently. He’s a ten-year minor-league veteran who has yet to crack the majors. In parts of two seasons at Triple-A, Martinez owns a productive .359/.431/.525 batting line over 556 plate appearances. He hasn’t quite maintained the pace he set last year at Omaha, but will nevertheless provide the Cards some outfield depth in the upper levels of their system.
Alexei Bell, Yordanis Linares Declared Free Agents
Two interesting Cuban free agents, outfielders Alexei Bell and Yordanis Linares, have officially been declared free agents, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). They’ll be able to sign at any point, though Linares will be subject to international signing restrictions.
Bell, 32, has opened play in Mexico with one long ball, six hits, and three walks against a lone strikeout in 23 plate appearances. He’s put up strong numbers in a lengthy career in Cuba, and put on several recent showcases, but his market outlook remains unclear. While Bell has shown home run power at times, Ben Badler of Baseball America says that his calling card is impeccable plate discipline and a big arm.
Linares, meanwhile, is 27 years of age but has a minimal track record in Serie Nacional. That being said, it’s a pretty good one: he’s slashed .312/.387/.452 with 15 home runs over 767 plate appearances. As Badler explains, Linares is a small-framed player who is capable of playing center field. He’s expected to need time in the minors upon signing.
The pair of outfielders are part of an increasingly varied class of Cuban players in various stages of moving toward the majors. In particular, numerous younger talents have departed the island nation in search of big league opportunity, throwing yet more intrigue into an already complicated set of July 2 signing period factors. While Bell can sign just like any other free agent, teams considering Linares will need to weigh his impact on their other international spending.
Poll: What Should The Mets Do With Matt Harvey?
Matt Harvey showed improved velocity early in his outing last night, but his fastball faded and he was again hammered as batters got second and third looks. The Mets now face a tough call on their former ace.
Many columnists are calling for Harvey to be removed from the rotation, at least temporarily. (See, for example, here and here.) With Logan Verrett on hand, the club certainly has a viable fill-in.
Indeed, the Mets appear to be considering some kind of move, even if they aren’t ready to reach a decision. “Right now we’ve got to think what’s not just best for Matt, but what’s best for us moving forward at the moment,” said skipper Terry Collins (via ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin). “There’s a lot of things to consider.”
As Collins hints, the devil is often in the details. In this case, the particular move to be made isn’t clear. Harvey has maintained that he is healthy, and no apparent injury issues have been reported. But to send him to the minors otherwise would require passing him through optional assignment waivers. They are revocable, and usually are easy to secure, but teams also don’t generally seek to send down assets like Harvey. Keeping him at the major league level while he’s figuring things out, though, would mean either using him out of the bullpen or wasting a valuable roster spot.
*Note: since this post was published, Collins has stated that Harvey will make his next starter, as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to tweet.
It’s always interesting to take the temperature of MLBTR readers on matters like this one. If you were sitting in Sandy Alderson’s GM seat, how would you handle Harvey? (Link for mobile users.)
How Should The Mets Handle Matt Harvey?
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Skip a start ... see if a little time off helps 26% (2,987)
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15-day DL ... even if it requires some creativity 22% (2,517)
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Keep him in the rotation ... quit overreacting! 18% (2,088)
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Option him ... and hope he doesn't take it too hard 13% (1,448)
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Trade him ... for whatever you can get? 12% (1,414)
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Move him to the bullpen ... he's good first time through 9% (1,060)
Total votes: 11,514
Carson Smith Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
10:50pm: Smith had the operation earlier today, tweets Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.
9:21am: Red Sox reliever Carson Smith will require season-ending Tommy John surgery, the club has announced. It’s a big blow for Boston and the young reliever, who was acquired from the Mariners over the winter.
Smith, 26, had missed the start of the season with what was diagnosed as a flexor strain, but returned to throw 2 2/3 scoreless frames for the club. That was all, though, as he experienced elbow discomfort and was soon forced back to the disabled list. Things ultimately turned out worse than had been hoped, as a visit to Dr. David Altchek resulted in a decision to replace Smith’s ulnar collateral ligament.
Boston shipped sturdy left-handed starter Wade Miley and right-hander Jonathan Aro to Seattle to add Smith and fellow southpaw Roenis Elias, in hopes that Smith provide another high-end option at the back of the ‘pen after a breakout 2015 campaign. At the time, there was no particular reason to believe that he was at much greater risk than any other pitcher. The recent study of MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum put Smith at only a slightly above-average statistical risk of needing a TJ procedure.
Losing Smith for the duration of this season, and at least a good portion of next, is obviously disappointing. But it’s still quite possible for Boston to redeem value on the swap. Smith entered this season with just over one year of MLB service, so he can be kept at the league minimum next year, will cost just a shade more in 2018, and can be controlled through 2020.
Smith was supposed to join Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, and Junichi Tazawa at the back of a stacked Red Sox pen. The unit still looks like a good one, and that late-inning trio is better than most, but it’s certainly possible to imagine Boston looking at relief options as the trade deadline rolls around.
Dodgers Notes: Lazarito, Fernandez, Urias, Van Slyke, Guerrero
The Dodgers had a “big crew” on hand today for a showcase in the Dominican Republic where second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez and outfielder Lazaro Armenteros auditioned for teams, tweets Ben Badler of Baseball America. The Dodgers, of course, have been the most prominent presence on the international market during the current signing period. If there’s any genuine interest in “Lazarito,” they’d need to get a deal with him completed prior to June 15, as that date signals the end of the current international signing period, and the Dodgers won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $300K in the 2016-17 period (which begins on July 2) due to their lavish expenditures over the past 10 months. Fernandez, however, is exempt from bonus pools and, as such, can sign for any amount. Both players have been prominently linked to the division-rival Padres in recent months, with Badler reporting in early March that San Diego was the favorite to sign Lazarito. It should be noted as well, though, that Badler also downplayed the 16-year-old’s upside, writing that he’s been the beneficiary of “extreme sensationalism” in some media reports. As of that writing, Badler rated Armenteros 11th among Cuban prospects available to MLB clubs.
A few more notes on the Dodgers…
- While many Dodgers fans are wondering when Julio Urias will arrive on the scene, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times writes that Urias’ agent, Scott Boras, is surprisingly supportive of the Dodgers’ decision not to rush him to the Majors. Boras says that he is “aligned” with the Dodgers in terms of Urias’ timeline. “We understand we have a great young talent,” said Boras. Hernandez writes that the plan for Urias is to only see a “modest” increase from his career-high of 87 1/3 innings this season. Hernandez opines that rather than rush Urias to the big league bullpen, the Dodgers would be better served to allow him to continue to develop as a starter, with an eye towards next year’s rotation. Never one to pass up the opportunity to make some form of statement, Boras used Urias as an example of why the upcoming wave of CBA negotiations should result in rosters expanding to 26 players. “You ideally want to bring a guy to the big leagues and have him throw 120, 130 or 140 innings, but then you have to make up 50 or 60 innings,” he said. “Having that extra pitcher throughout that whole year would allow them to do that.”
- Outfielder Scott Van Slyke, who has appeared in just four games with the Dodgers this season due to a lower back injury, could return to the team by June 3-4, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (via MLB.com’s Chad Thornburg). In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to continue carrying an extra reliever and going with a short, four-man bench. As Roberts explained, maintaining “flexibility of different guys in the ‘pen is more of a priority” than having an additional bat off the bench at this time.
- Infielder/outfielder Alex Guerrero is currently on a minor league rehab assignment, and he told J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. Daily News last week that he thinks he can help the Dodgers at the big league level once healthy. That type of talk is expected from most players, but it’s particularly notable in the case of Guerrero, who has a clause in his contract that allows him to refuse to be optioned to the minors. Guerrero entered tonight’s contest hitting just .152/.188/.239 on said rehab assignment (he did pick up his first hit with the team’s Double-A affiliate tonight), and he’ll give the Dodgers’ front office a decision when his rehab window is up. Guerrero has a $5MM salary this season (the $10MM signing bonus on his $28MM contract was reportedly paid up front) and will earn the same in 2017, though a clause in his deal allows him to become a free agent at the end of a season in which he’s traded. The 29-year-old has been a disappointment thus far in the contract, hitting just .224/.251/.414 in 243 plate appearances while displaying questionable defensive skills.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/24/2016
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Angels announced tonight that right-handers A.J. Achter and Al Alburquerque, each of whom was designated for assignment recently, have cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. Achter was an offseason waiver claim from the Twins, whereas Alburquerque inked a one-year deal as a free agent. The 27-year-old Achter has allowed six runs on 15 hits and three walks in 11 1/3 innings while striking out just four. Alburquerque, 29, hasn’t appeared in a big league game for the Halos this season, though he was recently brought up from Triple-A. He posted a 2.40 ERA with Salt Lake and fanned 15 batters in 15 innings, though he also walked nine in that time and threw three wild pitches. Control has long been an issue for Alburquerque.
- The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Ashur Tolliver from Double-A Bowie today. The 28-year-old has seen his career slowed by injuries but has enjoyed a very strong season at Double-A thus far, recording a 2.42 ERA with a 25-to-8 K/BB ratio in 26 innings of work. Tolliver will step into the lefty relief role on the Orioles’ roster that was vacated by yesterday’s trade of Brian Matusz to the Braves.
Earlier Moves
- First baseman/outfielder Travis Ishikawa is on the market again after being released by the White Sox Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. He scuffled to a .201/.277/.344 batting line in 175 plate appearances at Triple-A Charlotte. The eight-year MLB veteran, now 32 years of age, owns a lifetime .255/.321/.391 batting line in 1,050 trips to the plate at the major league level.
- The Phillies have announced the signing of Cuban outfielder Osmel Aguila to a minor league deal, the club announced. The 27-year-old hasn’t played in the Serie Nacional since 2014. Overall, he owns a .280/.384/.447 batting line over 1,310 in the top Cuban domestic league.
- Angels righty Danny Reynolds has been assigned to Triple-A after clearing outright waivers, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports on Twitter. That ends the DFA carousel for the 24-year-old, at least for the time being. He’ll need to show improved command to earn a shot in the L.A. pen.
- The Orioles released infielder Steve Tolleson, David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot tweets. The 32-year-old has spent time with the O’s and Jays in recent years, and owns a .245/.299/.372 slash in his 363 career plate appearances at the major league level. He has dealt with injuries early in 2016 and has only appeared in eight games to date.
- First baseman Cody Decker was released by the Rockies, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, who rounded up several transactions of note that have yet to appear here at MLBTR. Decker had solid power numbers, as usual, at Triple-A but he also received only 78 plate appearances and struck out in thirty of them.
- The Tigers have cut ties with several minor league veterans, including catcher Humberto Quintero, via Eddy. Now 36, Quintero failed to crack the bigs last year after a dozen consecutive years in which he spet at least some time in the show. He was hitting .250/.297/.333 at Triple-A over 65 pate appearances.
- The Brewers released righty Jim Miller, the Baseball America report provides. He was off to a 7.41 ERA in 17 innings at Triple-A, with 19 punch-outs but also 11 walks. Miller, 34, had a solid campaign for the A’s back in 2012 but hasn’t done much at the major league level before or since.
- Yankees release outfielder Jared Mitchell, Eddy adds. The 27-year-old, a former first-round pick, was off to a .250/.337/.361 start in 83 plate appearances at Double-A. He’s never managed to develop any consistency at the plate in a seven-year minor league career.
- The Phillies released outfielder Alfredo Marte, Eddy reports. Hes seen minimal action in parts of three MLB seasons, and was acquired by the Phils as the team sought to build out its outfield depth. But Marte has recorded just five hits and a single walk over 37 plate appearances on the year at the highest level of the minors.
Injury Notes: Pagan, Chirinos, Athletics, Mets
The Giants announced today that left fielder Angel Pagan has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a left hamstring strain — the same issue which already cost him nearly two weeks of action earlier this season. In his place, the team has recalled outfielder Jarrett Parker from Triple-A. Pagan has had a productive start to the season, batting .275/.338/.383 with a pair of homers and five stolen bases. That’s a notable improvement over last year’s production in 133 games, though this also marks the fourth DL stint for Pagan since 2013 — the start of his current four-year, $40MM contract. The 27-year-old Parker is hitting .281/.366/.615 with 13 homers at the Triple-A level this season and slashed an impressive .347/.407/.755 in a brief 54-plate-appearance promotion last September, with the bulk of that damage coming in a three-homer game in Oakland on Sept. 26.
A few more notable injury updates from around the league…
- Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos is ahead of schedule in his rehab and could beat his initial timeline of 10-12 weeks, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). Chirinos, on the disabled list due to a fractured forearm, could return the first day that he is eligible, on June 9, according to Wilson. Of course, catcher has been a surprisingly productive position for Texas even in the absence of their starting backstop; the trio of Bryan Holaday, Bobby Wilson and the since-traded Chris Gimenez have batted .260/.323/.473 with six homers entering play tonight.
- The Athletics received good news on a pair of injured players on Monday, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Right-hander Henderson Alvarez has been cleared to resume playing catch after previously giving the team a scare when some discomfort in his rehabbing right shoulder led the club to order an MRI. His timeline to return has certainly been slowed a bit by the setback, but it would appear that he’s avoided a more significant injury. Beyond that, right fielder Josh Reddick won’t require surgery to repair his fractured left thumb, meaning he’ll be able to return to the club within five to six weeks as opposed to seven or eight weeks.
- ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes that Travis d’Arnaud began throwing yesterday at his home in California and is expected to report to the Mets‘ Spring Training facility this week, where he’ll ramp up his rehab. The 27-year-old d’Arnaud has played in only 13 games this season, and Kevin Plawecki has struggled in his absence, batting .193/.287/.277. Mets catchers have been among the least productive in baseball this season, making d’Arnaud’s return to the club particularly important for the Mets. Rubin also writes that Zack Wheeler has resumed throwing off a mound and is targeting a July 1 return from Tommy John surgery.
Astros Release Erik Kratz
MAY 24: Kratz has cleared waivers and been released, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.
MAY 23: The Astros have placed Kratz on release waivers, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. If he clears tomorrow, he’ll be a free agent.
MAY 16: The Astros announced today that they have designated catcher Erik Kratz for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Houston has also optioned outfielder Preston Tucker to Triple-A, recalled Evan Gattis from Double-A Corpus Christi and selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp. Gattis will serve as the team’s new backup catcher.
Kratz, 35, came to the Astros late in Spring Training in exchange for right-hander Dan Straily. The veteran backstop appeared in 15 games for Houston, totaling 30 plate appearances, but went just 2-for-29 at the dish before today’s DFA. He also pitched an inning to save the Houston bullpen in an 11-1 loss suffered at the hands of the Mariners on April 26. The former Phillies/Royals/Blue Jays backstop is a career .210/.261/.381 hitter at the Major League level and has caught 33 percent of opposing base-stealers in his big league career.
Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle first reported Kemp’s promotion. The 24-year-old entered the season rated 14th and 15th, respectively, by MLB.com and Baseball America on their lists of Houston’s top 30 prospects. He has a lengthy track record of getting on base and swiped 76 bases from 2014-15, but his defense has drawn some question marks (particularly from BA), and he lacks power, as evidenced by the 14 homers he’s hit in 1644 minor league plate appearances.