Pitcher Notes: C. Martinez, Giles, Reds, Heaney
The Cardinals gave right-hander Carlos Martinez permission to leave the team Friday because of a civil lawsuit he’s facing in South Florida, ESPN reported (link via Dan O’Neill of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), though he is now back with the club. “We are just learning of this matter. I was notified by Carlos’ agent the other night,” general manager John Mozeliak told ESPN. “We will not be in a position to act until we have more information.” Major League Baseball has not informed the Cardinals of any pending disciplinary action, according to Mozeliak. The club is in the process of determining whether the allegations made by the woman who filed the lawsuit will lead to a league investigation under its domestic violence rules, per O’Neill. Martinez, who has put up a 1.93 ERA, 6.43 K/9 and 2.57 BB/9 in four starts (28 innings) this season, is scheduled to take the mound for the Cardinals on Sunday.
More of the latest pitcher-related news from around the league:
- Hard-throwing reliever Ken Giles hasn’t come as advertised this year after the Astros gave up a Vincent Velasquez-headlined haul for the ex-Phillie during the offseason, and he told Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle that his issues are related to mechanics. “I’m not the guy I was the past two seasons. I’m somebody completely different on the mound, and I don’t feel comfortable up there. It’s just mechanical work,” he said. Giles was an elite reliever for the Phillies from 2014-15, combining for a 1.56 ERA with an 11.75 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 115 2/3 innings, but this season has been a nightmare for the 25-year-old. Though Giles’ strikeout and walk rates look fine (12.6 and 3.6, respectively), as does his velocity, he has already surrendered four home runs and 10 earned runs in 10 innings. Giles yielded a combined three homers and 20 earned runs during the previous two seasons. Thanks to his struggles, the Astros will “ease the burden of the eighth inning off of him a little bit,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
- Two prospective long-term cogs in the Reds’ rotation, right-handers Raisel Iglesias and Anthony DeSclafani, are dealing with injuries, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Iglesias, who’s scheduled to pitch Sunday, felt a “pinch” in his throwing shoulder Friday and underwent an examination today. The Reds will know more about his status later in the day, manager Bryan Price said. This isn’t the first time Iglesias’ shoulder has acted up: The 26-year-old dealt with fatigue last season and began his throwing program later in the spring as a result, Rosecrans notes. Iglesias has been stellar early this year, having tossed 28 1/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball (9.21 K/9 and 2.22 BB/9) in five starts. DeSclafani, meanwhile, has been out all season with a left oblique strain and felt a “sensation” in his side during a 77-pitch rehab start Friday. “We’re really doing everything we can to avoid a setback. He was good until the last inning or so, and then it was an issue,” Price stated.
- Angels lefty Andrew Heaney won’t need surgery on the forearm strain that has kept him out for nearly all of April, but he still hasn’t been cleared to throw, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (Twitter links). Heaney will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection in his left arm, which will keep him out for six to 12 more weeks, GM Billy Eppler said (Twitter link via Fletcher). Heaney started for the Halos on April 5 and put up a decent line against the Cubs (six innings, seven strikeouts, no walks, seven hits, four runs), but he complained of left forearm tightness afterward and landed on the disabled list the next day.
Quick Hits: Robinson, PEDs, Harvey
Angels outfielder Shane Robinson has an upcoming opt-out, MLBTR has learned. On Monday, Robinson can request his release, and the Angels have to either promote to the big leagues or grant his request. Robinson was in camp this season with the Indians, but exercised an opt-out from his minor-league deal and signed with the Angels in late March. Since then, he’s hit .306/.348/.371 with Triple-A Salt Lake. The 31-year-old is a veteran of six big-league seasons, most recently hitting .250/.299/.322 while playing all three outfield positions for the Twins in 2015. Here’s more from around the league.
- On FOX Sports today, Ken Rosenthal discussed players’ feelings on PEDs in the wake of the 80-game suspension to the Marlins’ Dee Gordon (video link). Rosenthal believes it is at least fairly likely that the next collective bargaining agreement will include stiffer PED penalties. He suggests, however, that it’s not likely those penalties will include voiding contracts, since the possibility of voided deals could raise suspicions about teams tampering with players who have albatross contracts — by, for example, putting something in a player’s drink to ensure he tests positive for PEDs.
- 2013 Orioles first-round pick Hunter Harvey will see a specialist next week after having a setback in his recovery from a groin injury, according to reporters, including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. The injury isn’t healing as expected, and the team is concerned that there’s more going on than just groin discomfort — according to Dan Connolly of Baltimore Baseball, the specialist will try to determine whether Harvey actually has a sports hernia, in which case he will miss four to six weeks. Manager Buck Showalter does express optimism that Harvey will pitch this season. The 21-year-old Harvey hasn’t pitched since the middle of the 2014 campaign, when he was sidetracked by a strained flexor mass and then a fractured fibula. His pro career had previously been off to a terrific start, with a 2.87 ERA, 11.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in his first 113 innings in the low minors.
Diamondbacks Designate Keith Hessler, Promote Zac Curtis
The Diamondbacks have announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Zac Curtis and designated fellow lefty Keith Hessler for assignment. Hessler began the season pitching out of the Double-A Mobile bullpen but was promoted last week. He pitched two scoreless innings against the Cardinals on Tuesday but gave up three runs in an inning against the Rockies yesterday. Hessler also struggled in 12 1/3 innings in the big leagues last season.
Curtis’ promotion is the more unusual of the pair of corresponding moves — it’s not often a team promotes a player to the big leagues who has a 5.23 ERA at Class A+ and no experience above that level. Beyond those superficial numbers, it’s easy to understand the Snakes’ interest in Curtis. He struck out 75 batters in 54 innings at Class A last season and has 22 punchouts against just five walks in 10 1/3 innings thus far this season, and it’s not impossible to imagine a player having big-league success despite a lack of minor-league development if he only has to face batters once per outing. Still, Curtis’ promotion stands out as yet another surprising decision for an Arizona front office that continues to march to the beat of its own drummer.
Chris Bassitt Has Partially Torn UCL, Could Require TJ Surgery
Athletics righty Chris Bassitt has a partially torn UCL and is getting a second opinion as to whether he’ll need Tommy John surgery, according to various reporters on Twitter, including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser. Bassitt will meet with Dr. Timothy Kremchek in Cincinnati on Thursday. Regardless of the outcome, Bassitt doesn’t seem likely to return from the DL, where he was recently placed with an elbow strain, anytime soon.
Bassitt’s velocity has been inconsistent this season, notably dipping several miles per hour in a start against Toronto last week, and (via MLB.com’s Jane Lee) he has also recently complained about his struggles to throw good breaking pitches. “I can’t throw offspeed. I literally can’t throw offspeed,” he said after his last start. “My curveball was nothing, my slider was straight. My best pitch honestly out of every pitch I threw was my changeup.”
Bassitt has pitched 114 innings in parts of two seasons with the A’s since arriving from the White Sox in the Jeff Samardzija trade, with a 4.18 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in that time frame while pitching both in the rotation and in relief. With Bassitt on the DL, the suddenly-jumbled Athletics rotation now includes Sonny Gray, Rich Hill, Kendall Graveman and the newly-promoted Sean Manaea and Jesse Hahn.
Giants Place Ian Gardeck On Waivers
The Giants have placed pitching prospect Ian Gardeck on waivers, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. The move clears roster space for fellow righty Vin Mazzaro, who the Giants have added to their 40-man roster. The team also optioned righty Mike Broadway to the minors.
Gardeck will miss the 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery in March. Last year, the 25-year-old earned a spot on the Giants’ 40-man after posting a 3.54 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings of relief with Class A+ San Jose.
Broadway struggled after being promoted less than two weeks ago, allowing seven runs in 5 1/3 innings spread over four outings. Mazzaro, meanwhile, performed well for Triple-A Sacramento (albeit with his usual underwhelming peripheral numbers), allowing just one run while striking out nine and walking four in 14 innings. The 29-year-old has appeared in parts of seven big-league seasons, suiting up for the Athletics, Royals, Pirates and Marlins, generally faring well when given opportunities to pitch in relief. He’ll provide the Giants with an extra bullpen arm.
NL Notes: Braves, Hughes, Cardinals, Votto
Two top Braves prospects are inching closer to the Majors, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. The team has promoted Ozzie Albies from Double-A Mississippi to Triple-A Gwinnett and fellow shortstop Dansby Swanson from Class A+ Carolina to Mississippi. Albies was already a highly-regarded prospect heading into the season, but he’s surpassed expectations by skipping over Class A+ and batting .369/.442/.512 at Mississippi at the ridiculously young age of 19. Swanson, meanwhile, has hit brilliantly in his first full pro season, batting .333/.441/.526. The former Vanderbilt infielder and top overall 2015 draft pick appears to be on the fast track to the big leagues, where he could eventually pair with Albies in the Braves middle infield, likely with one of them moving from shortstop to second. Here’s more from the National League.
- The Pirates have announced that righty Jared Hughes has been reinstated from the 15-day DL, and that they’ve cleared space for him on the active roster by optioning fellow Rob Scahill to Triple-A Indianapolis. Hughes had missed the entire season to this point with a lat strain. The return of the ground-ball specialist should provide a boost to a Bucs bullpen that has struggled to this point, posting a 4.48 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and an ugly 4.5 BB/9 thus far and ranking as below replacement level as a unit.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who had thumb surgery in March, could be set to begin a rehab assignment in about three weeks, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. That timetable means Peralta might return to the team early in June. Mozeliak notes, though, that the team will still find ways to use rookie Aledmys Diaz, who’s batting a remarkable .420/.452/.739 while playing mostly shortstop so far this season.
- Reds first baseman Joey Votto is in the midst of the worst offensive month of his career, as FanGraphs’ Owen Watson notes. Votto is batting just .238/.330/.325, with an unusually high strikeout rate (23.4%) and low walk rate (11.7%). He’s also been very pull-happy at the plate, an approach Watson suggests might not work for him. He’s been pulling the ball so much in part because opposing pitchers are throwing inside against him, trying to get him to hit into defensive shifts. Votto likely needs to adjust to that strategy, and Watson seems confident that he will.
Reactions To The Dee Gordon Suspension
Here’s a roundup of reactions to Marlins star Dee Gordon‘s shocking 80-game PED suspension.
- That a speedy player like Gordon would get busted for PED use might seem surprising, but PED use isn’t just about power, it’s about endurance and maximizing small edges, ESPN’s Doug Glanville writes. Glanville relates that, as a former player, he felt exhausted at the end of a long season, and he adds that other players do as well. A fast singles hitter might feel the temptation to take PEDs in order to get through the grind, according to Glanville.
- That written, some within the game were shocked by Gordon’s suspension, as Glanville’s colleague Jayson Stark notes. The news was particularly surprising given that Gordon had already signed a long-term deal. “This is the single most bizarre case I’ve ever come across, because he tested positive after signing a $50 million contract,” says one team exec. “He could have hit .220 and never stolen another base, and he still would have gotten paid for the next five years.” Stark further notes that the proliferation of PED busts so far this year — Chris Colabello, Abraham Almonte, Jenrry Mejia, and so on — shows that testing is improving.
- Gordon isn’t to be pitied for his actions, but MLB’s culture is perhaps too forgiving of PED users, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Gordon will still receive the bulk of the money his contract promises him. Other players accused of PED use, like Nelson Cruz, have received lengthy contracts later, while still others, like Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, have returned as coaches. And — as Stark and Sherman both note — MLB’s brutal, travel-heavy schedules motivate players to take PEDs as well.
- Members of the players union are considering increasing penalties for players who test positive for PEDs, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gordon and Colabello “are established guys,” says Athletics closer and player rep Sean Doolittle. “These aren’t guys fighting for a spot or going up and down. These are guys who are hitting over .300. We thought we ratcheted (the drug policy) up enough, and apparently we haven’t.” Doolittle adds that the players are considering ways to steepen the financial penalties for busted players — a player who tests positive might lose his salary for an entire year, for example. Doolittle notes, though, that voiding an entire contract might be problematic, in that such a steep penalty could suddenly give a player’s team an immense amount of money to spend, effectively hurting other teams competing for free agent talent.
- MLB and the players union will have “no choice” but to increase PED penalties in the next collective bargaining agreement, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. Perhaps the penalty for a first offense could increase to a full-season ban, with the second offense earning a lifetime ban, Nightengale suggests.
AL Pitcher Notes: Wilson, Skaggs, Greene
While the Tigers picked up left-hander Justin Wilson in a trade this offseason with the Yankees, they weren’t the only AL Central club to attempt to acquire him. The Twins, too, made what they considered to be an aggressive offer to acquire Wilson and were surprised that their proposal was rejected in favor of Detroit’s package of right-handers Chad Green and Luis Cessa, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Twins GM Terry Ryan wouldn’t offer any details into his club’s pursuit, though he did confirm that he was well aware that Wilson was available prior to his trade. Of course, the Twins’ alternative has worked out quite well for them to date, Berardino notes. Minnesota picked up Fernando Abad on a minor league deal, and an improved changeup (Abad terms it a “super changeup,” as he’ll throw it as slow as 65 mph) has yielded dominant results: zero earned runs, four hits, three walks, 12 strikeouts and a 55 percent ground-ball rate in 9 2/3 innings. Here are more notes on American League pitchers.
- The Angels are having Tyler Skaggs fly back to Los Angeles to evaluate his shoulder, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. Skaggs, who is recovering after having Tommy John surgery late in the 2014 season, made three rehab starts with Triple-A Salt Lake this month before being scratched last week due to what was initially described as “fatigue” but now appears to be shoulder tightness — a problem that would seem to be at least somewhat distinct from the elbow trouble that initially ailed him. Before his elbow injury, Skaggs was establishing himself as a solid young starting pitching option. It sounds like it might be a bit longer, at least, before he returns to where he was.
- Yesterday, the Tigers placed righty Shane Greene on the 15-day DL with a blister on his right middle finger, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. In four appearances this year, the 27-year-old Greene has continued to struggle as he did throughout much of the 2015 season, and he now has a 6.80 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 98 career innings since the Tigers acquired him in the three-team Didi Gregorius / Robbie Ray trade in the 2014-15 offseason. Top prospect Michael Fulmer started in Greene’s place yesterday.
Week In Review: 4/23/16 – 4/29/16
Here’s a look back at the past week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- Marlins star Dee Gordon received an 80-game PED suspension.
Top Prospect Promotions
- Tigers – P Michael Fulmer (link)
- Athletics – P Sean Manaea (link)
- Twins – P Jose Berrios (link)
- Braves – P Aaron Blair (link)
Claimed
- Diamondbacks – P Edwin Escobar (from Red Sox)
- Orioles – P David Hale (from Rockies)
Designated For Assignment
- Diamondbacks – P Matt Buschmann (link)
- Indians – P Ross Detwiler (link)
- Padres – P Cory Mazzoni (link)
Outrighted
- Braves – P Danny Burawa (link)
- Marlins – P Chris Narveson (link)
- Phillies – OF Cedric Hunter (link)
- Reds – P Tim Melville (link)
Released
- Rangers – P Burke Badenhop (link)
- Reds – P Ryan Mattheus (link)
Retired
- P Grant Balfour (link)
- OF David Murphy (link)
Key Minor League Signings
- Orioles – P Wandy Rodriguez (link)
- Twins – P Andrew Albers (link)
AL East Notes: Mirabelli, Bautista, Kiermaier, Lohse
Tim Healey of The Hardball Times paints a fascinating portrait of an oddball deal in a deep look at the Red Sox’ 2006 re-acquisition of catcher Doug Mirabelli from the Padres. Truth be told, I don’t have any observations on the piece other than that it demands to be read and is well worth your time.
Here are a few notes from the AL East:
- MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that while he believes Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista would take less than his reported asking price of more than $150MM over five to six years, he doesn’t believe Bautista would entertain any offers for less than $100MM. Bautista’s alleged asking price was the source of a great deal of controversy in Spring Training, and while $150MM+ doesn’t seem particularly realistic, he would probably have a strong case for $100MM on the open market this winter. Bautista may be 35, but he’s been remarkably consistent since his 2010 breakout and is off to a strong start, batting .247/.394/.519 with four homers and an AL-leading 20 walks drawn.
- In other extension-related news, the Rays have not seriously engaged with center fielder Kevin Kiermaier about a deal over the last several months, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). Nevertheless, Tampa Bay has given some indication of interest at some point. The 26-year-old seems like the type of player the Rays would target for a bargain contract, as he had only accumulated 1.131 years of service entering the season and is a glove-first player whose on-field value may not translate particularly well into arbitration earnings. Even if he can’t replicate last year’s magical season in the field, he seems like a good bet to continue as a solid asset for years to come. While it seems unlikely that the sides will get anything started in the near term, last year’s Juan Lagares extension looks like as good a comp as one could hope for. Lagares was the same age and featured a similar profile, though he was much more certain at the time to reach Super Two status (and, it’s fair to note, has done less with the bat in his career).
- Even after adding veteran Wandy Rodriguez, the Orioles continue to stay in touch with righty Kyle Lohse, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports. As we’ve heard previously, Baltimore has made an offer to Lohse but, obviously, has yet to reach agreement. It’s still not clear what the 37-year-old is prioritizing in deciding upon a club with which to attempt a bounceback, but the O’s rotation certainly seems to offer a reasonable likelihood of opportunity over the coming months.