AL Notes: Rangers, Sandoval, Indians, Keuchel
Rangers GM Jon Daniels said in an appearance on 105.3 FM The Fan that his club has not made an effort to trade for an impact catcher since Robinson Chirinos‘ injury (transcript via the Dallas Morning News). To this point, Daniels says that other clubs haven’t called and marketed potentially available catchers: “No, nobody has really … the guys we’ve heard from the most are the agents who have either free agent catching guys that got released out of camp, or maybe they have a catcher at Triple-A with somebody where maybe they’ve got an out or want us to trade for them.” Daniels said that the Rangers have looked into adding some more organizational depth — defense-first, quality makeup catchers — but is more focused on getting Chirinos healthy than acquiring a potential replacement.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com wonders if some time away from the Red Sox will create the opportunity for Pablo Sandoval to follow the route of former Sox pitcher John Lackey, who was a largely unpopular figure in Boston after the first few seasons of his five-year deal but won his way back into the hearts of Red Sox fans with a very strong 2013 in his return from Tommy John surgery. Bradford notes that it won’t be easy for Sandoval, though right-hander Clay Buchholz tells Bradford that Sandoval’s teammates are all behind him. “We all know what Panda can do,” said Buchholz. “He’s an elite player. He’s battled through some pretty tough criticism and now with this … I hope it’s not anything like it sounds.” Sandoval is currently on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time after visiting Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his ailing shoulder.
- The Indians will activate right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall from the disabled list on Wednesday this week, writes Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com, which means a roster move is forthcoming. Of the team’s four outfielders — Rajai Davis, Collin Cowgill, Marlon Byrd and Tyler Naquin — only Naquin has options and can be sent down without being exposed to waivers. Looking at the pitching staff, Hoynes lists a number of arms that are safe but doesn’t apply that designation to Joba Chamberlain, Ross Detwiler or Dan Otero. Chamberlain and Otero have been strong thus far in the young season, whereas Detwiler has surrendered runs in two of his four appearances on the year.
- While he’s only made three starts this season, Astros ace and reigning Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel has displayed some notable red flags, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs points out (notably, Cameron’s piece was written prior to Keuchel’s most recent start, though the velocity issues he mentions persisted in that outing). Chief among them is diminished velocity in Keuchel’s sinker, cutter and slider. Velocity peaks in the middle of a season for a pitcher, of course, but Cameron notes that even when comparing Keuchel’s velocity to his velocity last April, there’s a significant dip. Beyond that, Keuchel isn’t commanding the bottom of the strike zone as well as he did last season (or, alternatively, umpires are not being as generous on the bottom of the zone after learning from Statcast data that Keuchel received more favorable bottom-of-the-zone calls than nearly any other pitcher in the league). Cameron stresses that the sample being studied is small, but each is a concerning trend for an Astros club that very much needs Keuchel to approximate his 2015 value to make a run at the top of the division.
Quick Hits: Plouffe, Fernandez, Hunter, Cuddyer, BoSox
Here’s the latest from around baseball as we head into the new week…
- Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe will be out of action for at least a couple of days after suffering a right intercostal muscle strain during Sunday’s game. Plouffe hurt himself during a swing in the sixth inning but remained in the extra-inning contest until he appeared to aggravate the injury while running the bases at the end of the 10th. While Plouffe doesn’t think the injury is too serious, manager Paul Molitor told reporters (including Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that Plouffe will be held out of action and re-evaluated after a couple of games to see if he can avoid a DL stint. The third baseman entered Sunday’s game hitting .256/.275/.487 in 40 plate appearances.
- Cuban second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez will participate in an open showcase for “likely hundreds of scouts” on May 2 and 3, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. Fernandez was declared a free agent earlier this month and isn’t subject to international bonus pool limits due to his age (28 next week) and eight seasons of experience in Cuba’s Serie Nacional. Badler’s piece also contains a new video of a Fernandez workout, and Badler observes that the second baseman has lost quite a bit of weight. This is perhaps an indication that Fernandez has been working out to get into game shape given that he has been sidelined for almost 18 months due to a suspension for a previous attempt to escape Cuba and then his successful departure from the country.
- The Twins‘ 3-9 record and the slow starts from some young stars could be attributed to Torii Hunter‘s retirement, an AL scout tells TodaysKnuckleball.com’s John Perrotto. “You see some of their kids like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano and they’re really talented but they’ve been trying to do way too much at the plate….That’s where they miss Torii,” the scout said. “He has that great personality where he keeps everything loose but he also had such a great track record that he could talk to those kids, calm them down, and they knew that he knew what he was talking about. Sometimes you need to hear things from a fellow teammate rather than a manager or coach. It just carries more clout.” While Hunter didn’t contribute much on the field in 2015 (0.5 fWAR), his clubhouse leadership was widely considered to be a factor in Minnesota’s surprising 83-79 record.
- Michael Cuddyer is enjoying his post-playing life, the retired outfielder tells Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, as he relishes spending time with his kids and getting to watch baseball simply as a fan for the first time in decades. Cuddyer rather surprisingly retired in December, receiving a buyout of around $2MM-$3MM on the $12.5MM he was owed in the final year of his contract with the Mets. “Usually when I get to the end of the season, I’m pretty beat up, but I still love the game, still love playing,” Cuddyer said. “This time, that was gone. And I didn’t want to hang on if I didn’t love it.”
- If the Red Sox rotation continues to struggle, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald suggests some fixes to get the staff on track later in the season. These include internal solutions (Eduardo Rodriguez making a strong return from the DL, or Henry Owens or Brian Johnson stepping up to deliver solid innings) or possible trade answers, though acquiring a top-tier arm could be difficult. Rival teams asked for the likes of Xander Bogaerts or Mookie Betts when the Sox asked about pitching over the winter, and Boston isn’t too keen on trading even less-established young talent after already unloading several prospects in the Craig Kimbrel deal.
NL West Notes: Reyes, Padres, Norris, Giants
Here’s the latest from around the NL West…
- There’s a good chance Jose Reyes has played his last game for the Rockies, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes as part of a reader mailbag piece. Saunders postulates that the team will wait until Reyes completes his probable suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy and then release him outright. The suspension will erase some of the $46.25MM still owed to Reyes through the 2017 season (counting the $4MM buyout of his club option for 2018) and Saunders believes the Rockies will simply then eat the rest of the money in order to sever ties with the troubled shortstop.
- Of the veteran Padres most often cited in trade rumors, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune opines that catcher Derek Norris is the most likely to be dealt. Following Norris are, in order, Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, James Shields and Matt Kemp. Sanders covers several other Padres topics as part of this online chat with Union-Tribune readers.
- With Mac Williamson not getting regular at-bats while sitting on the Giants bench, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks the team could make another roster move this week to recall a shortstop and more directly fill the spot of injured infielder Ehire Adrianza. The Giants didn’t want to be “hasty” with a 40-man roster spot to address Adrianza’s loss, though if Ian Gardeck is shifted to the 60-man DL, the team could add an experienced shortstop like Hak-Ju Lee and send Williamson back to everyday duty at Triple-A.
- The Diamondbacks could be in for a few days’ worth of roster shuffles after using nine pitchers in Saturday’s 14-inning loss to the Padres, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. “It could be one of those things where this whole week is flip-flopping people. [We] might have to go down to 12 position players, too, at some point,” manager Chip Hale said. Shelby Miller had to leave Saturday’s start after just 1 2/3 innings under odd circumstances, as he twice banged his throwing hand against the mound and scraped his knuckles after extending his follow-through on pitches. The D’Backs entered Sunday’s action with a league-high 47 1/3 bullpen innings, though Patrick Corbin gave the staff some breathing room by tossing 6 2/3 frames in today’s win.
Offseason In Review Series
Check out all of our Offseason In Review posts at the links below. We’ll update this post as more are published.
AL East
AL Central
AL West
NL East
NL Central
NL West
This Date In Transactions History: April 17
April 17 is an important day for firsts in baseball history. Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson and Don Drysdale all made their MLB debuts in games played on April 17, while Alexander Cartwright (the man often considered to be the creator of baseball’s modern rules) was born on April 17, 1820. It could also be said that pro baseball itself has an April 17th birthday, as the very first professional game was played on this day in 1869. The Cincinnati Red Stockings defeated the Cincinnati Amateurs by a 24-15 score, and in case you’re wondering, Bartolo Colon didn’t pitch. Here are some notable early-season transactions that have taken place on April 17th…
2013: The Brewers signed Francisco Rodriguez to a minor league deal that ended up paying him more than $2MM thanks to his time on their MLB roster. K-Rod’s stint in Milwaukee is almost worth a Transactions History post unto itself, as he was dealt to the Brewers from the Mets in July 2011, rather surprisingly accepted a one-year, $8MM arbitration offer from the club for the 2012 season, then returned on this minor league deal after posting only decent numbers in 2012. Rodriguez posted a 1.09 ERA over 24 2/3 innings for the Crew before being traded to Baltimore in a July deal for Nick Delmonico, and the veteran reliever then re-signed with the Brewers in February 2014 on a one-year, Major League contract. All told, Rodriguez signed four different contracts over his four-plus years in Milwaukee — accepting the arb offer, a one-year minors deal, a one-year Major League deal and a two-year, $13MM contract.
2012: Johnny Damon signed a minor league deal with the Indians (with a $1.25MM base salary in the majors), ending a rather unexpectedly long stint on the open market for the veteran. Though Damon was entering his age-38 season, he hit 16 homers and slashed a respectable .261/.326/.418 over 647 PA with the Rays in 2011, yet was unable to land a Major League contract. Cleveland may have only been interested in Damon as a fill-in for Grady Sizemore, who was recovering from back surgery. As it happened, 2012 ended up being Damon’s last season, as he managed just a .610 OPS over 224 PA with the Tribe and was released in August.
2000: Not a player transaction but rather a franchise transaction, as Major League owners approved the sale of the Kansas City Royals to David Glass from Ewing Kauffman’s estate for $96MM. This wasn’t the largest bid made for the team, though Glass’ bid was considered to be the most stable and he was the only one committed to keeping the Royals in Kansas City. Many Royals fans have criticized Glass for the team’s small payrolls and lack of success over much of his ownership reign, yet obviously that general opinion has begun to change in the wake of the team’s World Series win and back-to-back AL pennants. The Royals began this season with a payroll of just under $131.5MM, easily the highest in club history.
1960: It’s very rare to see a blockbuster deal take place so early in the season, yet the Tigers and Indians collaborated on a headline-grabbing trade on April 17, 1960. Detroit sent reigning batting champion Harvey Kuenn to the Tribe for Rocky Colavito, who led the league with 42 homers in 1959. Cleveland fans were upset at losing the popular Colavito, especially after Kuenn only lasted one (All-Star) year with the Tribe before being dealt again, this time to San Francisco. Colavito, meanwhile, hit .272/.364/.502 with 173 homers over the next five seasons before returning for another stint with the Indians in 1965. Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested in a 1994 book that the so-called “Curse Of Rocky Colavito” may have been behind the Indians’ mostly-terrible play from 1960 until the mid-1990’s.
Texas Notes: Rangers, Beltre, Gallo, Astros, Giles
Here’s the latest from the Lone Star State’s two MLB clubs…
- The Rangers‘ decision to extend Adrian Beltre was “probably one of the easiest” of Jon Daniels’ tenure with the club, the GM told reporters (including T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com) yesterday during the official press conference to announce Beltre’s new two-year, $36MM contract. There was a great deal of speculation and, in fact, assumption that the two sides would work out a new deal this offseason, and Beltre joked that the negotiations weren’t settled until two weeks into the season since “I wanted Giancarlo Stanton money, 13 years and $400MM.”
- Keeping Beltre through the 2018 season won’t have any impact on top prospect Joey Gallo‘s future with the Rangers, Daniels said, aside from a probable position shift. “Joey has a ton of talent and a ton of ability. He has played the outfield and played first base. Those may be options down the line. We’re not making that decision today,” Daniels said. Mitch Moreland is a free agent this winter, so first base could be Gallo’s best option given that Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo look to have the corner outfield spots spoken for in 2017 and beyond. It’s also not out of the question that Gallo could play around the diamond until Beltre’s extension is up, and then take over as the regular third baseman.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram likes the Beltre extension for the Rangers, as Beltre is still producing at a high level despite just turning 37 years old. The $18MM average annual value is the cost of doing business, in terms of keeping Beltre off the open market and keeping his contract status from becoming a greater distraction throughout the rest of the year.
- Though the season is only two weeks old, the early returns on the Ken Giles trade aren’t great from the Astros‘ perspective, CBSSports.com’s R.J. Anderson writes. Houston dealt a hefty package of prospects and young players to the Phillies for Giles and Jonathan Arauz in December, and one of those five players (Vincent Velasquez) has already emerged as an early star of the 2016 season. Giles, meanwhile, has a 9.64 ERA through 4 2/3 innings and has already allowed as many homers (three) as he did in the entire 2014-15 seasons combined. As Anderson notes, however, Giles has maintained his velocity and is actually striking batters out at a higher rate, so his early-season homer issues could simply be a fluke.
- In other Astros news from earlier today, Lance McCullers got through a throwing session with no problems.
AL Notes: Brantley, Heaney, A’s
A few notes from the American League…
- Standout Indians left fielder Michael Brantley will soon make his 2016 debut, according to manager Terry Francona. “He’s getting pretty close,” Francona said (link via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). Brantley is likely to play consecutive games at Double-A Akron sometime during the upcoming week, per Bastian, as he works his way back from a right shoulder injury. Brantley emerged as one of the league’s most dangerous offensive threats during the previous two seasons, slashing a combined .319/.384/.494 with 35 homers and 38 steals, before undergoing shoulder surgery last November.
- Angels southpaw Andrew Heaney still has a ways to go to return from a left flexor muscle strain, manager Mike Scioscia told reporters, including Brian Hall of MLB.com. 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 his velocity dropped precipitously from the beginning of his outing to the end and he complained of left forearm tightness. The 24-year-old then landed on the disabled list the next day.
- The Athletics will continue using both right-hander Ryan Madson and lefty Sean Doolittle to close games, manager Bob Melvin told Willie Bans of MLB.com. “We’re just trying to do the best we can with, number one, matchups and, number two, with how guys are pitching,” he said. Madson has fared well this year (six innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts, one walk) while going 3 for 3 on save chances. On the other hand, Doolittle – one of the game’s top relievers from 2012-14 – has not bounced back nicely this season after missing nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury. Although Doolittle’s velocity has stayed in line with his career averages, the 29-year-old has yielded four earned runs and three homers in 5 2/3 innings this season.
NL Notes: Story, Pirates, Reds
Rockies shortstop Trevor Story has torched opposing pitchers this year with a .300/.321/.820 line and a league-high seven home runs in 54 plate appearances, but his propensity for striking out makes him a candidate for a severe decline in production. Though Story has posted a bloated 38.9 percent strikeout rate so far, manager Walt Weiss isn’t worried, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. “I still think Trevor is competing really well, and he’s still a dangerous bat at the top of our lineup,” Weiss said. “That’s why I’ve continued to run him out there.” Since last hitting a homer a week ago, Story has looked mortal during a 6-for-24 slide. Alarmingly, he has struck out 12 times and walked only twice in that stretch.
More from the National League:
- Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Sunday that he hopes first baseman/outfielder Mike Morse is able to find a major league opportunity after the team designated him for assignment earlier this week. However, he expects the Bucs would “have to take back a significant amount of money,” tweets Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Morse, 34, is owed $8MM this year and coming off a season in which he hit just .231/.313/.336 in 256 PAs. That obviously won’t cut it for a bat-only player like Morse, though he was a standout offensive performer as recently as 2014. Then a member of the Giants, he batted .279/.336/.475 with 16 homers in 482 PAs.
- Reds right-hander Homer Bailey is making progress in his recovery from May 2015 Tommy John surgery and is poised to begin a rehab assignment. Bailey will start at least three minor league games before potentially rejoining the Reds next month, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Injuries have befallen Bailey over the last two seasons, but he put up back-to-back 200-inning campaigns from 2012-13 and combined for a 3.58 ERA to accompany a 7.92 K/9 and 2.29 BB/9. Bailey inked a six-year, $105MM contract in 2014 with the Reds, and his career has taken an injury-influenced turn for the worse since. The Reds could certainly use a healthy Bailey, as their rotation has been disastrous this season aside from Raisel Iglesias and Brandon Finnegan.
- Here’s an interesting tidbit: Pirates manager Clint Hurdle expects a woman to break into the major leagues as a player at some point. “I still believe firmly there is going to be a day where there is a female player in the big leagues. I got that. Where it goes, I don’t know. I don’t believe I’ll be in the dugout to see it,” he said (link via Matt Eisenberg of espnW).
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/17/16
Here are Sunday’s minor transactions from around baseball:
- The Diamondbacks announced that they recalled right-handed pitchers Archie Bradley and Evan Marshall and optioned righties Jake Barrett and Matt Buschmann to Triple-A. Arizona needed fresh arms after its 14-inning marathon loss to San Diego on Saturday night, when Barrett and Buschmann combined to throw 4 1/3 innings. If Bradley doesn’t pitch in relief today, the D-backs could start him Monday in place of Rubby De La Rosa, manager Chip Hale said (Twitter link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). De La Rosa came out of the bullpen Saturday and got two outs before allowing a walk-off home run to Melvin Upton Jr.
- Pirates shortstop Pedro Florimon accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis, general manager Neal Huntington said (Twitter link via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The Pirates outrighted Florimon on Wednesday and he had 72 hours to decide whether to accept the assignment or reject it and become a free agent. The defense-first Florimon has hit a career .199/.262/.295 batting line in 717 plate appearances. He batted .245/.315/.367 for Indianapolis last season.
- The Reds have optioned right-hander Keyvius Sampson to Triple-A Louisville and activated righty Jon Moscot (intercostal) from the disabled list, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Moscot, who owns a 3.67 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 404 1/3 minor league innings, will start the Reds’ game against the Cardinals on Sunday. He got his first taste of the big leagues with the Reds last year, allowing six earned runs in three starts (11 1/3 innings) while totaling six strikeouts and five walks. MLBPipeline.com ranks Moscot as the Reds’ No. 24 prospect. Sampson, meanwhile, got off to a rough start this season for the Reds in surrendering four hits and four earned runs in three innings. In 13 appearances (12 starts) with the Reds last season, he tossed 52 1/3 frames of 6.54 ERA ball.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: 42, Tulo, Masterson, Jansen
Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere:
- The Runner Sports salutes Jackie Robinson and offers some interesting facts about No. 42.
- FantasyPros takes a look at some players who have surprisingly thrived to start the season.
- Jays From The Couch explores Troy Tulowitzki‘s offensive woes.
- Pirates Breakdown wonders if Justin Masterson will become the Bucs’ latest scrapheap pickup to become a valuable member of their pitching staff.
- LA Dodger Report gives an interesting take on manager Dave Roberts’ use of closer Kenley Jansen.
- The Point Of Pittsburgh thinks catching prospect Elias Diaz‘s injury issues could necessitate a Francisco Cervelli extension.
- Philliedelphia compares the early season performances of this year’s Phillies rotation, which is improbably off to a great start, and the loaded 2011 group.
- Super Two Sports focuses on the first week of the Yankees’ season and names the most surprising player for the Bombers so far.
- Chin Music Baseball writes about the seemingly revived Yasiel Puig.
- Dynasty Digest offers its first mock draft of the year as June’s amateur draft draws nearer.
- Big Three Sports dives into the degree in which the Orioles’ hot start has improved their playoff odds.
- The Wayniac Nation makes a case for Whitey Ford as the greatest living Yankee.
- Notes From The Sally scouts Rangers pitching prospect Dillon Tate.
- Inside the ‘Zona ponders whether Brad Ziegler is too valuable to serve as the Diamondbacks’ closer.
- Jays Journal updates how Toronto’s pitching prospects are faring this year.
- Same Page Team has an in-depth recap of the recent Pitch Talks event in Toronto.
- Chris Zantow revisits an April 2007 series between the Indians and Angels that was played in Milwaukee because of snow in Cleveland.
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