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NL Notes: Velasquez, Fernandez, Posey, Peralta, Masterson

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Phillies righty Vincent Velasquez was pulled from his start today after just two pitches — neither of which clocked in over 87 mph, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links). That’s an ominous sign for Velasquez, who just turned 24 yesterday. He has shown both immense promise and some inconsistency, but overall has looked like an important piece of the organization’s future by throwing 61 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with 10.7 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. The team is calling it right biceps soreness for now, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki tweets, but that doesn’t necessarily reduce any concern. It’s too early for a full assessment, of course, but the fact that the former Tommy John patient has a problem in the elbow area is troubling.

Here’s some other news form the National League:

  • The Marlins are “pessimistic” about their chances of inking ace Jose Fernandez to a long-term pact, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He has been at peak form since returning from his Tommy John surgery, especially of late, and the club appears to think he wouldn’t bite at the $25MM AAV put on future free agent seasons in Stephen Strasburg’s recent extension.
  • Superstar Giants catcher Buster Posey is dealing with an irritate nerve in his right thumb, but he suggests it’s an injury that can be managed (video link via KNBR). Posey, 29, is hitting well below his career rate over his first 212 plate appearances, though he’s still humming along at a productive /.257/.316/.450 clip.
  • Cardinals infielder Jhonny Peralta sees his move to third base as more than just a temporary switch, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Soon to turn 34, Peralta says that he could find a home at the hot corner. “I know I am getting older and you have Diaz being younger,” he said, “so third base might be my future. I have a future there. Hopefully, I’ll play it as well as I need to play it. It could be my fit.” As Goold notes, the front-loaded structure of Peralta’s contract leaves the team on the hook for just $10MM next year. Peralta will hit the open market again thereafter. He has maintained his offensive production since signing with St. Louis, posting a .269/.336/.429 batting line over 1,272 plate appearances.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that the organization has seen some promising signs from veteran righty Justin Masterson, MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports, though there’s still work to be done. “You still see the life in the fastball,” said Huntington, “but it’s not the mid-90s power-sink that Justin had when he was so successful. We’re still working to get him back … to get the mechanics to where he’s comfortable with them and build the arm strength. We’re still in that phase.”

NL Notes: Taillon, Masterson, Bryant, Phillies, McCarthy

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Jameson Taillon’s much-anticipated Major League debut will come tomorrow, as the Pirates announced earlier today, but GM Neal Huntington implied that the young right-hander’s promotion may be rather short-lived in nature. Via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link), Huntington said: “This may be a spot start for Jameson. A lot of that decision will be beyond his control.” Taillon has utterly dominated Triple-A Indianapolis this season, posting a 2.04 ERA with a 61-to-6 K/BB ratio in 61 2/3 innings, spanning 10 starts. One has to imagine that innings are a concern for the Pirates when it comes to Taillon, as injuries prevented the former No. 2 overall pick from pitching in both 2014 and 2015.

Here’s the latest from the National League:

  • Right-hander Justin Masterson will take Taillon’s spot on the roster at Indianapolis, tweets the team’s media communications coordinator, Ryan Sheets. Masterson sat down recently with Charlie Wilmoth of MLBTR and SB Nation’s Bucs Dugout to discuss his rehab from shoulder surgery, his decision to sign with the Pirates and the long-term talks he had with Cleveland prior to hitting the open market in the 2014-15 offseason. Masterson acknowledged that his shoulder hasn’t been in great shape for quite some time and implied that it could’ve derailed an agreement in Cleveland even if one had been reached. He also praised the Pirates organization as an appealing landing spot and added that the location of the club’s Triple-A affiliate, in Indianapolis where he makes his home, was alluring as well.
  • Service time considerations played an oft-noted role in the promotional timeline of young Cubs star Kris Bryant, leading to a still-pending grievance. As Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports, though, Bryant calls the matter a thing of the past. While the actual grievance proceeding has yet to reach a hearing, with all involved seemingly waiting for the new CBA to be negotiated, Bryant says it “never even crossed [his] mind” entering the season. “For me it’s just important to continue to go out there and do what I do, so that I can help the team in any way possible in where we’re at today,” Bryant said. “It’s just important for me to not even worry about it right now because it takes away from so much of what we have going this year. And that was last year’s news.”
  • Phillies manager Pete Mackanin says that he’s nearing a resolution of the team’s first-base situation, as Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com reports. It seems quite possible that Tommy Joseph will receive the official designation as the starting first bagger, which is essentially the way things have been trending anyway. That would put Ryan Howard in a tenuous position, though it’s not at all clear whether Philadelphia has any intentions of cutting him loose. The 24-year-old Joseph is off to a nice .311/.313/.590 start over his first 64 MLB plate appearances, while the 36-year-old Howard is mired in a .150/.210/.333 opening to the year. In years past, we’ve talked about the former star slugger as a possible trade chip who might allow the Phillies to save some cash. Now, however, it seems he’ll either finish out the season in a limited role or end up hunting for another team on the open market.
  • Dodgers right-hander Brandon McCarthy will begin a minor league rehab assignment within a week, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). McCarthy had Tommy John surgery just weeks into the first season of a four-year, $48MM contract with the Dodgers and has been rehabbing since undergoing the operation late last April. A return to health would be a nice boost to a Dodgers rotation that has been ravaged by injuries, though he’ll of course need some time to build up innings in the minors. As for another of the Dodgers’ injured starters, Hyun-jin Ryu, Roberts said the team still doesn’t know when the left-hander will appear in a game at any level. Shoulder problems have sidelined Ryu for much of the past two years.

NL East Notes: Turner, Phillies, Mets, Walker

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The Nationals optioned top prospect Trea Turner back to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday as the team activated Ryan Zimmerman from the paternity list, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier writes. Manager Dusty Baker contends that “right now there’s no room” for Turner on the big league roster when everyone is healthy, though the struggles of Danny Espinosa certainly seem to create such a spot. Collier writes that the Nats value Espinosa’s glove over a potential offensive upgrade from Turner, though I personally can’t help but wonder how much longer the team will stick with Espinosa, who is hitting just .196/.291/.346 even after homering five times in his past 10 games. While the power surge is nice, Espinosa is hitting just .182 with a .250 OBP in that 10-game stretch, so his overall offensive contributions aren’t as impressive as the power would otherwise indicate. Nats shortstops, as a collective unit, are hitting a dismal .195/.261/.337 on the season. Turner, meanwhile, is batting .312/.365/.452 at Triple-A and went 3-for-3 with a walk and a double in his brief call-up this weekend. Espinosa’s glove is solid, to be sure, but he isn’t Andrelton Simmons on defense, and the Nats rank ninth in NL in runs scored.

More from the NL East…

  • The Phillies hosted a workout for potential No. 1 overall pick Kyle Lewis today, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Lewis, a slugging outfielder out of Mercer University, is batting .395/.535/.731 with 20 homers, 11 doubles, two triples and more walks (66) than strikeouts (48) on the season. The 6’4″, 210-pound NCAA superstar spoke with MLBTR’s Chuck Wasserstrom back in late April as part of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series. The Phillies have been linked to a number of names atop the draft, with Florida lefty A.J. Puk also being connected to them prominently in recent weeks.
  • Though the Mets currently have David Wright, Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud on the disabled list, the team isn’t keen on parting with prospects or significantly adding to its $135MM payroll to bring in a bat from outside the organization via trade, reports Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. Ackert spoke to two sources within the organization who “absolutely” expect Wright to return this season, and both said they don’t believe that Wright’s neck problem was caused by or even exacerbated by his spinal stenosis. The Mets will receive a 75 percent refund on Wright’s salary for each day he is on the disabled list beyond 60 days.
  • Mets second baseman Neil Walker spoke with Newsday’s Marc Carig about the trade that sent him from his hometown Pirates to New York. A native of Pittsburgh, Walker admitted that while he didn’t feel angry toward the Bucs, he did feel slighted: “I thought, ’Wow, they don’t want me around here anymore.’ … But when that got through, I was like this is an unbelievable opportunity. I just want to make sure I’m prepared to come here and help this team win.” Walker, as Carig writes, was underwhelmed by the Pirates’ attempts at signing him to a long-term deal. “It’s hard to say I feel like I deserve the Andrew McCutchen treatment because Andrew is a better player than I am, you know what I mean?” he said. Walker added that he didn’t feel disrespected but rather that the two sides simply could have had “a little bit more legitimate conversation” about the matter when it was time to talk. Of course, his new environs are treating him just fine; the free-agent-to-be is hitting an outstanding .279/.348/.505 with 13 homers thus far and is well-positioned to land a significant multiyear pact on the open market this winter.

NL East Notes: Prado, Mets, Wright, Phillies

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Here’s the latest from around the NL East…

  • The Marlins are undecided about trying to re-sign Martin Prado in the offseason since Derek Dietrich could become their third baseman of the future, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson writes.  Dietrich entered today’s action with a .303/.392/.479 slash line over 166 PA while playing mostly second base in place of the suspended Dee Gordon.  The 26-year-old Dietrich is under team control through the 2020 season while Prado is a free agent this winter.  Prado is himself having a solid year from an average and OBP perspective and the Fish have long valued his clubhouse leadership skills, to the point of demanding a huge return in trade discussions last year.  It’s also worth noting that Dietrich has played only 49 games at third in his entire pro career, so he’s not exactly a seasoned option at the hot corner.
  • The Mets should be planning for life without David Wright, Newsday’s David Lennon writes, as it’s quite possible the veteran third baseman will miss the rest of the season recovering from a herniated disk in his neck.  Even the best-case scenarios have Wright not returning until late August at the earliest, so Lennon figures the Mets need to obtain another third baseman if Wilmer Flores isn’t able to step up as an everyday option.  Lennon notes that up to 75% of the roughly $81MM owed on Wright’s contract through the 2020 season could be recouped by insurance if Wright is too injured to play, which creates some financial leeway for the Mets.
  • The Mets are again struggling to score runs and may not have the prospect depth to correct the problem as they did at last year’s deadline, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.  The Mets held onto their position player depth over the offseason to guard against another offensive slide, yet they’re still one of the league’s lowest-scoring teams.
  • The Phillies have a league-high spending pool (just under $5.62MM) for the upcoming July international signing period, and Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports that the club is planning to spread out its money on several players.  Badler profiles five young Venezuelan players the Phillies have been linked to in the July 2 class, including 16-year-old Francisco Morales, a 6’5″ right-hander whose fastball has already hit 96mph.  One scout tells Badler that Morales is “probably the No. 1 pitcher in the class.”
  • The Braves’ 23 homers is easily the lowest of any team in baseball, and Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required) notes that the team also doesn’t have any burgeoning slugging prospects in the farm system.  This lack of power is why Bradley feels the Braves will keep Hector Olivera once his domestic violence suspension is up, as Olivera at least displayed some home run-hitting ability in Cuba (though not yet in his brief MLB career).

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/4/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Dodgers have outrighted James Ramsey to Triple-A Oklahoma after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Los Angeles designated the outfielder for assignment a week ago. The 26-year-old has slashed just .222/.285/.429 with five home runs in 138 minor league plate appearances this season.
  • Mets right-hander Jeff Walters cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas, the team announced. New York designated Walters for assignment earlier this week to make room for James Loney. Walters, 28, has a 9.27 ERA in 22 1/3 innings with Las Vegas this season.
  • Right-hander Nick Tepesch has requested and been granted his release from his minor league contract with the Rangers, according to the team’s executive vice president of communications, John Blake (Twitter link). Tepesch appeared in 42 games — 39 of them starts — for the Rangers from 2013-14, logging a 4.56 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 219 innings. The 27-year-old missed the 2015 season and underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in August.
  • The White Sox have signed free agent catcher Janigson Villalobos to a minor league contract, the team announced. Villalobos, 19, is a native of Venezuela.

Earlier updates:

  • The Angels have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Deolis Guerra and placed fellow righty Nick Tropeano on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tightness. Guerra has been a fixture on the transactions lists recently — the Angels designated him for assignment and then outrighted him just this week. He’s allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings in the big leagues this season. As for Tropeano, the Angels scratched him yesterday from his start today. Jhoulys Chacin will start in his place.
  • The Dodgers have released lefty reliever Joe Thatcher, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Thatcher had previously exercised an opt-out clause in his minor-league deal, opening a brief window in which the Dodgers could add him to their active roster or let him go, and it appears they’ve chosen the latter option. The 34-year-old pitched reasonably well with the Astros last season and had a 3.60 ERA, 12.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 15 innings with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year.
  • The White Sox have announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jason Coats from Triple-A Charlotte. He’ll take the 25-man roster spot of righty Tommy Kahnle, who was optioned last night; Kahnle himself had briefly taken the spot of corner outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was placed on the family emergency leave list yesterday. The 26-year-old Coats looked like a fringe prospect heading into the 2016 season, but he’s had a breakout year at Charlotte, batting .335/.399/.567 with 22 extra-base hits. He’s starting in left field and batting seventh for the Sox today against the Tigers.
  • The Pirates announced a variety of moves related to their bullpen — they’ve selected the contract of righty Curtis Partch, recalled lefty Cory Luebke from Triple-A Indianapolis, optioned righties Wilfredo Boscan and Rob Scahill to Indianapolis, and moved righty Ryan Vogelsong (facial fractures) to the 60-day DL. The moves provide the Bucs with fresh relief options after Boscan and Scahill each pitched multiple innings last night. The hard-throwing Partch last pitched in the big leagues in 2014 with the Reds. He’s gotten great results so far this season for Indianapolis, with a 1.30 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 27 2/3 innings.
  • Utilityman Emmanuel Burriss has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Phillies have announced. The Phillies designated Burriss for assignment on Wednesday after he struggled in brief duty in the big leagues this season.

Draft Notes: Puk, Phillies, Top 500, Groome

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We’re five days from the start of the 2016 MLB Draft, and ESPN’s Keith Law’s latest mock draft (Insider only) has the Phillies taking Florida lefty A.J. Puk with the first overall pick. He notes, however, that the Phillies still haven’t settled on anyone. The selection of another player (like Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis, Louisville outfielder Corey Ray, or California high school outfielder Mickey Moniak, all of whom Law mentions as possibilities) could cause uncertainty elsewhere in the draft. Here’s more on what to expect this week.

  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak himself says the Phillies are debating who to select but have whittled their list of possibilities down to “a small handful,” writes Philly.com’s Matt Breen. In addition to Puk, Lewis and Moniak, Breen also names Tennessee third baseman Nick Senzel and California high school outfielder Blake Rutherford as possibilities.
  • Baseball America’s list of the top 500 draft prospects currently features Puk at the top, with Lewis, Moniak, Senzel and Ray at Nos. 4 through 7, respectively. Between them are Kansas high school righty Riley Pint and New Jersey high school lefty Jason Groome. In the subscriber-only scouting reports, BA praises Groome’s mid-90s fastball and biting curveball, noting that he’s at least as physically gifted as any other player available this year.
  • Many of this week’s high school draftees will face tough decisions about whether to go to college or turn pro, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani explains that he turned down a bonus of about $600K from the Red Sox out of high school so that he could head to the University of Florida. He got a smaller bonus after the Blue Jays selected him three years later. “You go from not making decisions that matter through high school – you decide to do your homework or something, or what you’re going to eat – and then you decide whether to go play professional baseball or go to college,” says DeSclafani. “That can be a life-changing thing.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/3/16

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Here are the most notable minor transactions from the past day…

  • Southpaw Andy Oliver has opted out of his contract with the Orioles, as Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com tweets. The 28-year-old has received seven major league starts, all coming in 2010-11 with the Tigers. Over 34 2/3 frames at Triple-A Norfolk this year, Oliver had worked to a 2.08 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. That represents a big step forward for the former top prospect, who has issued 5.7 free passes per nine innings over his seven seasons in the minors.
  • The Braves have acquired left-hander Jed Bradley from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Brewers announced. Bradley, soon to turn 26, was the 15th overall pick in the 2011 draft but has never seen his career take off in the minors. He posted a 5.83 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015 and has struggled to a 6.20 ERA in 24 2/3 innings of work at the Double-A level this season. The Georgia Tech product was one of the game’s top 100 prospects heading into the 2012 season (per Baseball America and MLB.com), but it’s been quite some time since he’s been held in high regard as a prospect.
  • The Twins inked outfielder Logan Schafer to a minor league contract, per MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter). Schafer, not to be confused with former Twins outfielder Jordan Schafer (no relation), has spent his entire career prior to this season in the Brewers organization. He’s a lifetime .281/.338/.431 hitter in 277 games at the Triple-A level, but he’s struggled to a .212/.286/.319 batting line in 646 big league plate appearances. The 29-year-old recently took to the independent circuit after being cut loose by the Nationals in Spring Training and enjoyed a successful 17-game stint with the Atlantic League’s Lancaster BarnStormers. He’s already reported to Triple-A Rochester and will provide Minnesota with some organizational depth in the outfield, where he can play all three positions.
  • Right-hander Deolis Guerra was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake by the Angels after clearing waivers, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter).  The 27-year-old Guerra yielded four runs in 5 1/3 innings of relief for the Halos before being designated for assignment. Guerra doesn’t have much of a track record in the Majors, but he’s been dominant at the Triple-A level from 2015-16 between the Halos and Pirates, pitching to a 1.08 ERA in 41 2/3 innings of relief.
  • Veteran left-hander Brian Duensing’s contract was selected by the Orioles yesterday, and he made his Baltimore debut last night, though the two runs he surrendered in an inning of work probably weren’t how he’d hoped to make his first impression. Duensing, 33, posted a 3.84 ERA in 190 innings of relief from 2013-15 with the Twins upon being moved to the bullpen on a full-time basis, but his strikeout rate fell off a cliff in his final season with Minnesota. He signed a minor league deal with Kansas City this winter but opted out of the deal after a strong showing with their Triple-A affiliate and quickly signed with Baltimore. With Brian Matusz out of the picture, Duensing could have a chance to lock down a spot as a lefty specialist in the Baltimore ’pen.
  • The Phillies have released southpaw Bobby LaFromboise, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The 29-year-old had been pitching for Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate but limped to a 5.94 ERA in 16 2/3 innings of work there. That’s a noted departure from LaFromboise’s typically excellent work at the Triple-A level, and it’s worth noting that he’s pitched well in limited Major League action over the past two seasons with the Pirates, yielding just two runs on eight hits and a walk with a dozen strikeouts in a combined 11 2/3 innings of work.

Phillies Designate David Lough For Assignment

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The Phillies announced today that they’ve activated Cody Asche from the 15-day disabled list and designated outfielder David Lough for assignment to clear a spot for Asche on the active roster. Additionally, the team activated southpaw Mario Hollands, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2015, from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Lough, 30, inked a minor league contract with the Phils this offseason, and while he didn’t make the team out of Spring Training, he had his contract selected to the big league roster in mid-April Since April 18, Lough has appeared in 30 games for Philadelphia, batting .239/.342/.313 in 79 plate appearances. He’s long graded out as a defensively sound corner outfielder, and that was again the case in this season’s limited sample of innings.

The Phillies will have 10 days to trade, release or outright Lough, although if he clears outright waivers he’d have the option to reject an assignment to the minors in favor of free agency due to the fact that he’s been outrighted in the past. Lough is a career .254/.300/.371 hitter whose best seasons came in 2013-14 while serving as a platoon outfielder for the Royals and Orioles. He batted a combined .272/.310/.403 during that time, with the vast majority of his at-bats coming against right-handed pitching.

Phillies Designate Emmanuel Burris

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The Phillies have designated utilityman Emmanuel Burriss for assignment, the team announced. His roster spot will go to the just-acquired Jimmy Paredes.

Burriss, 31, got his first substantial crack at the majors since 2012 this year with the Phils. (He did appear briefly last year with the Nationals.) Previously, he played a significant reserve role over a five-year span with the Giants.

Despite plenty of opportunity to go around on the current Phillies roster, Burries only managed to pick up 36 plate appearances over 27 games. He owns a meager .121/.194/.212 batting line on the year.

Phillies Acquire Jimmy Paredes

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The Phillies have acquired utilityman Jimmy Paredes from the Blue Jays, Philadelphia announced. Toronto will receive cash considerations in return for Paredes, who had been designated for assignment recently by the Jays.

The 27-year-old Paredes is capable of playing second, third, and the corner outfield. Plus, he swings from both sides of the plate, making him a flexible addition for a Phillies club that’s struggled to score runs. Clearly, the Phillies are intrigued by Paredes, as the club reportedly placed a waiver claim on him after he was designated for assignment and waived by the Orioles. However, the Blue Jays had waiver priority over the Phils at that point. This time around, the Phillies circumvented the waiver process by simply acquiring him in a trade.

Paredes certainly could help in the offensive department if he can keep up or improve upon his recent results. Since the start of 2014, he owns a roughly league-average .277/.311/.424 batting line with 13 home run and eight steals over 466 plate appearances.

Of course, Paredes isn’t very highly regarded with the glove, and he’s generally been much more successful against right-handed pitching. That limits his function for Philadelphia, but it’s not hard to see how he could be deployed to add some punch to a lineup that has received sub-par production from second base (Cesar Hernandez) and the corner outfield (Peter Bourjos, Tyler Goeddel, David Lough).

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