Chase Whitley To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Yankees right-hander Chase Whitley will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Whitley had previously been diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, but the team was said at the time to be weighing its options.
Other injuries on the Yankees roster led the 25-year-old Whitley to the team’s rotation, and he pitched reasonably well in four starts, tallying a 4.19 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 19 1/3 innings before succumbing to the injury. Whitley reportedly did not speak up about the pain in his elbow after initially feeling it, and the stats seem to bear that out. He allowed just one run in 12 innings in his first two starts before being torched for eight runs over his next 7 1/3 innings. Whitley’s final outing last just 1 2/3 innings. Surgery will likely keep him on the shelf through mid-summer 2016.
The Yankees are known to be thin on pitching depth as is, with Ivan Nova currently rehabbing from his own Tommy John (which he underwent in 2014) and Masahiro Tanaka currently on the DL, trying to avoid the same fate. Michael Pineda looks the part of a true No. 1 starter this season, but he’s had significant shoulder injuries in the past, so it remains to be seen if he can handle a full season’s worth of innings. CC Sabathia has been better than 2014 but still sports a 4.67 ERA, while trade acquisition Nathan Eovaldi has been serviceable, though not spectacular. Adam Warren has also struggled to an extent, and Chris Capuano‘s first start after opening the year on the disabled list did not go well.
The Yankees, then, may miss Whitley more than most would assume based on his limited track record. If nothing else, his absence thins out the teams depth and leaves them much more susceptible to additional injuries in the rotation, as the club’s Triple-A rotation is lacking in high-upside arms.
Minor Moves: Nick Masset, Astros, Omar Duran
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Marlins announced that they’ve outrighted Nick Masset to Triple-A New Orleans. The 33-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment over the weekend in order to clear a spot on the roster for Henderson Alvarez‘s activation from the 15-day disabled list. Masset has actually delivered strong results in 9 2/3 innings for the Marlins — a 1.86 ERA with six strikeouts against one walk. However, he’s also seen his fastball velocity drop by more than a mile per hour this season, as it’s now averaging 91.5 mph. Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Masset eventually earn another crack at the Marlins’ big league roster, assuming he accepts the outright assignment.
- The Astros have placed right-hander Sam Deduno on the 15-day DL and transferred Jed Lowrie to the 60-day DL in order to clear space for right-hander Lance McCullers, Jr. on both the 25-man and 40-man rosters, the club announced. McCullers’ contact has officially been selected from Triple-A, and he will start tonight’s game against the A’s. Houston selected McCullers with the 41st pick in the 2012 draft — 40 picks after they picked Carlos Correa with the No. 1 overall selection.
- Left-hander Omar Duran signed a minor league deal to return to the Athletics organization, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Duran spent his entire career in Oakland’s minor league ranks prior to the 2015 season but signed with Detroit this past winter. After being released, Duran signed on and was assigned to Class-A Advanced Stockton, where he made his debut last night. The 25-year-old has a career 3.28 ERA with 12.1 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 through 288 minor league innings, but he’s thrown just 22 2/3 innings at Double-A and has not advanced beyond that level.
Red Sox Outright Allen Craig
The Red Sox announced this afternoon that first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, meaning that he is no longer on the club’s 40-man roster.
That Craig cleared waivers unclaimed isn’t necessarily a surprise, given the lack of production he’s experienced in the past two seasons and the significant amount of money that remains on his contract. Had any team claimed the 30-year-old Craig on waivers, they would have been required to assume the remaining $25.2MM that he is owed through the end of the 2017 season. The outright does put an exclamation point on what has been an exceptionally sudden fall for Craig, who as recently as 2013 was one of the Cardinals’ most productive bats.
Craig suffered a lisfranc fracture in his foot at the end of the 2013 season and was never himself in 2014 before reaggravating his left foot following a trade to Boston. (Craig, along with Joe Kelly, joined the Sox in exchange for John Lackey.) Over his past 564 Major League plate appearances, Craig is hitting just .207/.275/.302. The Sox had already optioned him to Triple-A earlier this month, but the outright removes him from the 40-man roster, which is now at 37.
Craig, technically, has the right to refuse his outright assignment, but doing so would mean forfeiting the money remaining on his contract, so he’ll remain with Triple-A Pawtucket in hopes of rediscovering his stroke. Boston’s offense has struggled of late and has been anemic all season long when facing left-handed pitching, so a productive Craig would go a long ways toward boosting the team’s overall outlook. In 25 plate appearances at Pawtucket thus far, Craig is hitting .261/.320/.391 with three doubles.
AL East Notes: Tanaka, Rays, Red Sox, Orioles, Everth
The Yankees announced today that injured ace Masahiro Tanaka threw a 29-pitch bullpen session at Nationals Park. The bullpen session was the third for Tanaka, who has been on the disabled list for about three weeks with a forearm strain. The Yankees continue to be hopeful that Tanaka, who suffered a small tear in his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament last year, will be able to avoid Tommy John surgery (or any other serious operation). Tanaka made two starts at the end of the 2014 season after coming back from the injury and pitched well in four starts prior to his injury in 2015.
Elsewhere in the AL East…
- Rays manager Kevin Cash won’t name a closer now that Jake McGee is back from the disabled list, writes Troy Provost-Heron of MLB.com. Cash maintains that he’ll use Brad Boxberger (who has closed in McGee’s absence) and McGee in save situations, depending on matchups. Boxberger tells Provost-Heron that he’s ok with not being the team’s sole closer, as McGee helps deepen the bullpen and take pressure of the rotation. However, I’ll note that given Boxberger’s early dominance in the ninth inning, being downgraded to a timeshare or even back to a setup role could have significant impact on his arbitration earnings following the 2016 season. Were Boxberger to have amassed a pair of dominant seasons at the back end of the game, he’d have been in line for a hefty payday. Greg Holland, for instance, landed a $4.65MM payday in his first trip through the arb process. The usage of both McGee and Boxberger will have a strong bearing on how affordable they are for the cost-conscious Rays in the years to come, making their closer situation of particular interest. (As a side note to fantasy players, remember that you can follow MLBTR’s @closernews account on Twitter for consistent updates on closer/setup situations throughout the season.)
- Just as the Red Sox‘ rotation has begun to show signs of improvement, the team’s offense has gone into the tank, observes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Lauber feels that the team needs to drop Mookie Betts from the leadoff spot as the 22-year-old sorts out his struggles and, perhaps more importantly, call up the hot-hitting Rusney Castillo from Triple-A. Lauber opines that Castillo could deliver more consistently competitive at-bats against right-handed pitching than Shane Victorino, adding that additional rest for Victorino is the best way to keep him healthy at this point. The Red Sox, who lost 5-0 to James Paxton and the Mariners yesterday, have been particularly feeble against left-handed pitching.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com looks at a number of Orioles-related topics in his latest notebook. Kubatko notes that GM Dan Duquette told his colleague, MASN’s Steve Melewski, that there’s a “distinct possibility” that the team will select Chris Parmelee‘s contract from Triple-A, though as Kubatko notes, there’s no clear spot for the corner outfielder/first baseman on the roster. He also notes that catcher Steve Clevenger‘s defense has drawn rave reviews from Triple-A manager Ron Johnson. Baltimore optioned Clevenger to Triple-A, citing a need to improve his defense, and Clevenger has caught 12 of 34 base stealers (35%) this season.
- Lastly, Kubatko wonders what will come of Everth Cabrera when he’s eligible to be activated from the disabled list. The team can clear a roster spot by optioning Rey Navarro, but they’ll also need a spot in the infield for Ryan Flaherty. Cabrera is out of options and can refuse his outright assignment but still collect his $2.4MM salary if the Orioles pass him through waivers, lending the possibility that a situation similar to that of Ryan Webb could come up in the near future.
Marlins Name GM Dan Jennings Manager
After the decision to fire manager Mike Redmond last night, the Marlins have officially announced that general manager Dan Jennings will succeed Redmond as the team’s new manager. Advance scout and former Mariners first base coach/bench coach Mike Goff will be the club’s new bench coach, while VP/assistant GM Mike Berger will assume Jennings’ former front office roles.
The decision was announced at an 11am ET press conference today in which Jennings, president of baseball operation Michael Hill and team president David Samson addressed the media. Owner Jeffrey Loria was not present for the press conference. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has a plethora of quotes from Jennings, Hill and Samson alike.
According to Hill, Jennings “is our manager for the remainder of the season. As we do with everything, we re-evaluate at the end of the season.” For the time being, the GM role with the Marlins will be considered vacant, but Jennings could return to that position at season’s end, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. Hill will head the baseball operations department, Jackson notes, and Samson acknowledged at the presser that Jennings is actually under contract through the 2018 season. Previously, Jennings was only known to be under contract through the 2015 campaign.
Samson said that the idea of Jennings taking the managerial reins was first generated on a conference call and then presented to Loria, who was amenable to the idea. Said Jennings of the hire, “It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to lead this team that I had a hand in putting together.” Jennings was, however, quick to recognize that he would need some help from someone with more experience. “I said the only way I would consider it is if Mike Goff was removed from advanced scouting position and moved to bench coach,” said Jennings. Goff has also served as a manager in the minor league systems of the Reds and Giants.
There’s little precedent for such a move, although the Brewers just made at least a somewhat similar move by shifting Craig Counsell from special assistant to GM Doug Melvin to the role of manager. The D-Backs took a comparable course in 2009 when the moved A.J. Hinch from the front office — he was the team’s director of player development — to the managerial role after dismissing Bob Melvin. Going further back, in 1989 the Indians named John Hart manager for a brief 19-game stretch to close out the season before transitioning him to president of baseball operations the following year.
The move to hire Jennings continues a recent trend of managerial hires despite zero prior experience, but those hires have all been of former players. In addition to Counsell, the Rays’ Kevin Cash, the Twins’ Paul Molitor, the White Sox’ Robin Ventura, the Tigers’ Brad Ausmus and the Cardinals’ Mike Matheny are just a few examples of current managers whose first experience in the role is coming at the big league level. Those managers, however, had at least spent significant time in the dugout as players and, in many cases, as coaches of varying capacity as well.
Jennings has no dugout experience, so while he is a respected baseball mind throughout the industry, he’s certainly stepping into uncharted territory here. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal speculates that Jennings is taking the job at least somewhat out of a sense of obligation. Loria trusts Jennings a great deal and gave him an eight-year contract with the club’s front office following the 2007 season, Rosenthal notes, creating a strong sense of loyalty to Loria in Jennings.
The Marlins are currently still paying Jennings’ GM predecessor, Larry Beinfest, and they’ll also pay Redmond through the 2017 season and pay former manager Ozzie Guillen through the end of the current season. As such, the move from GM to manager for Jennings will prevent the team from taking on a financial commitment to a third manager, though it’s not directly clear how large a role that factor played in the decision.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported the decision (Twitter link) after suggesting it as a possibility on Sunday evening. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported that Goff would be the bench coach and Berger would assume Jennings’ previous front office roles (Twitter links).
NL Central Notes: Gennett, Holliday, Kang
A season’s worth of struggles at the plate have led to a Triple-A demotion for Scooter Gennett, who has made the bulk of the starts at second base for the Brewers over the past two seasons, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). Gennett has never been able to handle left-handed pitching, but he’s a career .313/.345/.470 hitter against righties (even including this year’s struggles). The 2015 season has not been kind to Gennett, however, who is 0-for-11 in 12 plate appearances against left-handed pitching and has produced just a .192/.236/.250 slash line against right-handed pitching. Gennett’s struggles aren’t mere early-season BABIP woes either (though some of that has been at play); the 25-year-old has 19 strikeouts in 65 plate appearances, and that 27.5 percent clip is an alarming increase for a hitter who carried a career 15.5 percent strikeout rate into the season. As Haudricourt notes, promising relief prospect Corey Knebel, acquired in the offseason trade that sent Yovani Gallardo to Texas, has been recalled from Triple-A.
More from the NL Central…
- Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday spoke with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about how he’s been able to survive the constant grind of 162-game seasons and perform as durably as he has throughout his career. As Goold writes, that durability is why chairman Bill Dewitt Jr. sees Holliday as a pillar of the club. Per Goold, both team and player expect Holliday’s 2017 option to be exercised, if not rolled into a lengthier extension. Said Holliday of the matter: “I’d like to play as long as I can at a high level. I’d love to play here until I’m just not ready to play. I want this to be my last spot.”
- Jung Ho Kang made his fourth consecutive start on Sunday — his third at the shortstop position, writes Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Jordy Mercer‘s struggles have led the Pirates to give more playing time to Kang, who signed a four-year deal as the first position player to successfully jump from the Korea Baseball Organization to Major League Baseball this offseason. Kang is hitting a robust .300/.367/.457, and while some have expressed concern about his defense, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle seemed confident in his abilities. Hurdles likened Kang to Jhonny Peralta, noting that while he doesn’t have the lateral range of Mercer, he is sure-handed and accurate with his throws. Brink notes that the Pirates have been translating their infield positioning notes into Korean for Kang. “Jordy’s got more experience within this league for positioning,” said Hurdle. “The only way Jung Ho’s going to get it is to continue to get out there and get those reps.”
GM Dan Jennings Could Become Marlins Manager
Current Marlins GM Dan Jennings could become their next manager, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Heyman further notes that Ivan Rodriguez does not currently appear to be a candidate.
Heyman previously reported that the Marlins’ managerial choice would be “outside the box,” and Jennings would be an outside-the-box choice indeed. He coached high school baseball in Alabama before becoming a scout in the 1980s. He has since worked in a variety of scouting and front office roles and does not seem to have coached since then, having joined the Marlins front office in 2002.
There would be limited recent precedent for a team hiring its own GM as manager, particularly when that GM does not have experience in that role. (It is unclear whether Jennings would continue to serve as the Marlins’ GM if he were made manager, a possibility Heyman mentions; there would be similarly little recent precedent for such an arrangement.) One could also note an irony in Jennings replacing Mike Redmond as manager, given that Jennings himself bears responsibility for some of the player personnel moves that have led to the Marlins’ disappointing start this season, such as his trade for Mat Latos and signing of Michael Morse.
Jennings does, however, seem to have the ear of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who promoted Jennings when he fired president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest late in the 2013 season. Jennings’ hire as manager would also be consistent with Joe Frisaro of MLB.com’s recent tweet indicating that the Marlins’ new manager would be a surprising hire from within the organization.
Ivan Rodriguez A Rumored Candidate For Marlins Job
12:13am: Rodriguez does not seem to be a candidate, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.
12:11am: There are industry whispers about former star catcher Ivan Rodriguez as a potential candidate for the Marlins managerial job, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. The Marlins, of course, fired another former catcher, Mike Redmond, from the job on Sunday and will announce a replacement Monday morning.
The idea of Rodriguez as a candidate is consistent with Jon Heyman of CBS Sports’ recent tweet that the job will go to an “outside the box” candidate. Rodriguez retired in 2012 and is now a special assistant to Rangers GM Jon Daniels. He has no managerial experience, although former catchers like Mike Matheny and Brad Ausmus have won managerial jobs in recent seasons despite similarly thin resumés as coaches.
Rodriguez was widely credited for his veteran leadership for the Marlins in 2003, when they won their second World Series, although that was his only season with the team. He spent the rest of his 21-year big-league career with the Rangers, Tigers, Yankees, Astros and Nationals, generally putting up strong offensive numbers while winning ample praise for his work behind the plate (and particularly his arm). He holds the MLB record for games caught, with 2,427.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Montreal, Moncada, Hamilton
Thanks in part to revenue sharing, the Marlins remain profitable, and Jeffrey Loria’s fellow owners might take issue with his indecisive and costly approach to building a team, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The Marlins are now paying two former managers who are still under contract (Mike Redmond and Ozzie Guillen), plus former executives Larry Beinfest and Jim Fleming. They’re also paying former catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia through next season. Meanwhile, their attendance remains poor despite the recent opening of Marlins Park. Here’s more from throughout the game.
- Redmond’s firing demonstrates the Marlins’ inability to follow a steady course, Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports writes. The manager the Marlins hire tomorrow will be their eighth in the last decade, the others being Jack McKeon, Joe Girardi, Fredi Gonzalez, Edwin Rodriguez, McKeon again, Guillen and Redmond.
- Montreal mayor Denis Coderre will meet with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on May 28, and he plans to convey to Manfred the city’s love for baseball, the Associated Press reports. Montreal, of course, hasn’t had a team since the Expos were moved to Washington following the 2004 season. Coderre would like for big-league baseball to return, but it sounds like he expects it will be awhile before that can happen. “I don’t want to negotiate openly, but we’ll clearly talk about Montreal,” he says. “We need a step-by-step approach. You don’t pull the flower to make it grow faster.”
- The Greenville Drive, the Red Sox‘ Class A affiliate, have announced that Yoan Moncada will make his professional debut Monday night, playing second base. The 19-year-old Cuban phenom had been in extended spring training. Red Sox fans will surely be paying close attention to tomorrow’s box score, hoping for hints as to what to expect from Moncada, who officially signed for a $31.5MM bonus in mid-March.
- Josh Hamilton hasn’t yet joined the Rangers, but he’s happy to be back in the Dallas area on a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco, Ryan Gerbosi of the Dallas Morning News writes. “It’s been a good reception,” says Hamilton. “It’s been good to hear a little twang in people’s voices and just go out there and it’s just a good feeling.” Hamilton, who has also played a handful of games for Triple-A Round Rock, doubled today in his second game with the RoughRiders and appears close to a return from his shoulder injury.
- 19-year-old lefty Cionel Perez has left Cuba in search of a deal with a big-league team, but MLB’s registration rules will be an obstacle, Ben Badler of Baseball America writes. (Perez’s departure from Cuba was originally reported by MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez.) Badler notes that Perez isn’t a top-tier prospect, but he has improved his standing lately and had become one of the better pitchers in Cuba before his departure. (Badler notes in a subscriber-only scouting report that Perez is small, at 5-foot-10, but has added velocity lately and is now throwing in the low 90s.) Because Perez was born after September 1, 1995, though, and has not yet registered with the commissioner’s office, he will not be eligible to sign until the international signing period that begins next July. Once he’s eligible, he will be subject to rules regarding international bonus pools.
Blue Jays Designate Jeff Francis For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated veteran lefty Jeff Francis for assignment and selected the contract of righty Todd Redmond, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The 34-year-old Francis pitched 12 innings in relief for the Jays, striking out 15 batters and walking five but allowing ten runs, nine of them earned. He also gave up at least one run in three of his last four appearances. The 11-year veteran has now been designated for assignment by four teams since the start of the 2014 season.
The Jays designated and then outrighted Redmond last month after he struggled in two relief appearances, and since then he’s pitched 14 innings for Triple-A Buffalo, posting a 4.50 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9. He also hasn’t pitched since last Tuesday, so he should give the Jays’ bullpen a fresh arm.