Pirates Notes: Archer, Polanco, Koehler
The latest on a few injured Pirates, courtesy of Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
- The season has gone down the drain for the Pirates, whose 56-77 record is among the worst in the majors, but they’re still hoping to see right-hander Chris Archer take the hill again this year. Archer went to the injured list a week ago on account of shoulder inflammation, though he has made good progress since then, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk explained Wednesday. Archer still hasn’t thrown a baseball since he landed on the IL, though, so it’s hardly a foregone conclusion that he’ll return to the mound in 2019. Regardless, the Pirates seem likely to exercise Archer’s $9MM club option (in lieu of a $1.75MM buyout) once the offseason arrives. While Archer was a highly regarded starter when he joined the Pirates last summer in a major trade with the Rays, the current campaign has been an injury-limited disaster for the 30-year-old. Archer has given Pittsburgh 119 2/3 innings of 5.19 ERA/5.01 FIP ball this season.
- As with Archer, it’s uncertain whether outfielder Gregory Polanco will suit up for the Bucs again in ’19. Polanco’s shoulder has been a problem for about a year now – he underwent surgery in mid-September of 2018, sat out until late April this season and then went back to the IL in the middle of June. Although Polanco’s rehab in Bradenton, Fla., is going well at the moment, there may not be enough time left in the Double-A or Triple-A seasons for him to play with those affiliates before a potential return to the majors. Indeed, Tomcyzyk admitted that Pittsburgh’s “running up against the clock” with Polanco. The 27-year-old has been a rather valuable piece for the Pirates in the past, especially in 2018, but his shoulder troubles have helped hold him to an ineffective .242/.301/.425 line in 167 plate appearances this season. Next year will be the penultimate guaranteed season of the $35MM extension Polanco signed back in 2016. He’ll earn $8MM in 2020.
- The Pirates have shut righty Tom Koehler down for the year after he suffered a setback in his recovery from shoulder surgery. Koehler underwent the procedure last July as a member of the Dodgers, for whom he didn’t pitch at all in 2018, and has thrown just four innings at the minor league level this season. The 33-year-old signed with the Pirates on a minors pact last winter. Also a former Marlin and Blue Jay, Koehler has recorded a 4.39 ERA/4.49 FIP with 6.93 K/9 and 3.69 BB/9 in 784 1/3 frames in the majors.
Pirates To Prioritize Catcher Position In Offseason
After he endured a concussion-marred few months, the Pirates released veteran catcher Francisco Cervelli last week. Including Cervelli’s numbers prior to his Pittsburgh exit, he and the Pirates’ current catchers – Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings – have combined to record some of the lowliest production of any group of backstops in the league this year. Their minus-0.6 fWAR and 65 wRC+ each rank just 26th in the majors. With that in mind, general manager Neal Huntington will enter the offseason seeking help behind the plate, though he realizes it’s going to be difficult to find a solution.
Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (subscription) that “catching is the hardest position to come by,” adding: “We’ll take a look at what’s available in a trade and the free agent markets this offseason. And, hopefully, we’ll continue to push the guys who are here forward.”
Cervelli’s slated to hit the open market again after a few months with his new team, the Braves. The Pirates will “keep the door open” to re-signing him, according to Huntington, but Biertempfel points out that a reunion looks unlikely. Indeed, Pittsburgh would be hard-pressed to count on Cervelli again considering his meek 2019 output and extensive concussion history.
Turning to other free-agent possibilities, the small-budget Pirates don’t seem likely to pursue current Brewer Yasmani Grandal – who’s a strong bet to rake in the largest contract among available catchers over the winter. There will be some other potentially appealing choices who could come at affordable prices, though, with Jason Castro (Twins), Travis d’Arnaud (Rays) and Robinson Chirinos (Astros) among them. At least offensively, all three have logged better-than-average numbers this year with their present teams. As noted earlier, that hasn’t been the case for Diaz and Stallings.
It’s all the more damning for Diaz that he hasn’t made up for his subpar offense (64 wRC+) with stellar work behind the plate. While Diaz has caught a league-average 27 percent of would-be base-stealers, he ranks dead last out of 104 catchers in Baseball Prospectus Fielding Runs Above Average metric and has accounted for minus-18 Defensive Runs Saved. Stallings has been vastly superior in those categories (54% CS, 17th in FRAA, 8 DRS), not to mention with the bat (85 wRC+).
The soon-to-be 29-year-old Diaz and Stallings (30 in December) are without minor league options, making it eminently possible at least one won’t be with the Pittsburgh organization in 2020. However, in an ideal world, the Pirates will possess “three or four” viable backstops next year, Huntington said. The club does have two Triple-A catchers, Steven Baron and Christian Kelley, but the two of them have posted horrid numbers in the minors this season. That should further put the onus on Huntington to find outside help at the position in the coming months. Huntington suggested it’ll be a challenge, but the woeful production of the Pirates’ 2019 catchers means he won’t have a high bar to clear when it comes to landing an upgrade.
Pirates Likely To Exercise 2020 Option On Chris Archer
Pirates GM Neal Huntington discussed Chris Archer‘s future with the team both during his Sunday morning radio show and in conversations with reporters today (including Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and MLB.com’s Adam Berry), and strongly implied that the Bucs were going to pick up their $9MM club option on the righty for the 2020 season. Though Archer is currently on the IL with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, Huntington said that Archer’s current health status didn’t impact the Pirates’ decision on his option, and spoke as though he expects Archer to be part of Pittsburgh’s rotation mix next season.
“There’s a lot to like with Chris Archer. We want to make sure that we do the right thing by him,” Huntington said. “We don’t want him to feel like he has to come back out to earn his spot. We see some really positive signs. We recognize the issues and challenges, but we see some really positive signs and expect Chris is going to be a really good major league pitcher again next year.”
Archer has posted subpar numbers since coming to the Bucs at the 2018 trade deadline, posting a 4.92 ERA, 2.78 K/BB rate, 1.7 HR/9, and 10.6 K/9 over 172 innings in the black-and-gold. It’s a far cry from the controllable, front-of-the-rotation arm the club felt it was getting from the Rays, especially given that the Pirates gave up a collection of young talent that now looks like an absolute steal. Austin Meadows has developed into a very good everyday player for Tampa, Tyler Glasnow was pitching like an ace before being sidelined with injuries, and even Shane Baz (the somewhat overlooked third member of the prospect package) is rated by MLB.com as the sixth-best prospect in the Rays’ farm system.
In part because letting Archer go for nothing would make this trade seem even more lopsided, there was little question the Pirates would be picking up that $9MM option, regardless of his struggles. It was Archer’s controllable years that made him such an attractive trade commodity in the first place. The original six-year, $25.5MM extension Archer signed with Tampa Bay in March 2014 also contained the $9MM option for 2020 (with a $1.75MM buyout) and an $11MM club option for 2021 ($250K buyout).
The Pirates’ rotation will already miss Jameson Taillon next season since Taillon will be recovering from Tommy John surgery, so beyond hoping that at least a couple of their younger arms emerge, Pittsburgh will likely be on the lookout to add at least one more veteran arm to the pitching mix this offseason. $9MM for one season is a decent price for a league-average starter, so if Archer’s salary isn’t exorbitant if he can pitch to even an adequate level next year.
As to whether Archer will pitch again in 2019, Huntington said the right-hander will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days after receiving a second opinion about his shoulder. While Archer is out, Dario Agrazal will continue to fill his spot in the rotation, with Huntington noting that the rookie right-hander is one of many young players who have an opportunity to show their wares as the Pirates play out the stretch. “Dario is going to do everything in his power to earn a rotation spot going forward,” the GM said, adding that he sees Agrazal as a starting pitcher rather than a reliever.
Braves Reportedly Expected To Sign Francisco Cervelli
Just-released Pirates backstop Francisco Cervelli evidently won’t spend much time on the open market. He is slated to ink a deal with the Braves, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). Whether it’s of the major or minor-league variety isn’t known.
Cervelli still must clear release waivers before he’ll be able to sign a new deal. But that’s really just a formality, given that he’s still owed the balance of his $11.5MM salary — about $2.4MM. The Braves will only owe him the league minimum rate for any time spent on the MLB roster, with the Bucs paying the rest.
While it seemed at one point earlier this year that Cervelli would not attempt to return to catching duties, he emphatically quashed that concept and has donned the mask on a rehab assignment. Now, he’ll help the Braves cover for the recent loss of Brian McCann. Whether Cervelli will immediately join Tyler Flowers on the MLB roster isn’t known. It’s also possible that the club will tap John Ryan Murphy for that job and then bring up Cervelli once rosters expand.
Cervelli has hit well on his recent rehab stint, but that’s a limited sample against minor-league pitching. He was far from his peak form to begin the season, turning in 123 plate appearances of .193/.279/.248 hitting before he hit the injured list. With a rising chase rate and swinging-strike rate, declining average exit velocity, and worsening strikeout-to-walk numbers (25.2% K vs. 7.3% BB), the poor output was well-deserved.
The Braves will have to hope there’s more left in the tank. Cervelli has been a solid-two-way catcher for quite some time. Just last year, he was able to turn in a healthy .259/.378/.431 slash line with a dozen home runs. Regardless of the outlook with the bat in hand, the Atlanta organization is obviously interested in adding some veteran depth behind the dish. Better options aren’t likely to present themselves over the next week — after which time it will not be possible to acquire a postseason-eligible player. By picking up Cervelli, the club will add another layer of protection in the event that McCann is slow to return.
Pirates Release Francisco Cervelli
The Pirates announced today that they have released catcher Francisco Cervelli. The 33-year-old had been attempting to work his way back from a concussion.
Today’s move represents a disappointing end to to Cervelli’s generally excellent tenure in Pittsburgh. He has been with the organization since 2015, blossoming from a former Yankees reserve into a high-quality full-time backstop.
GM Neal Huntington issued a statement on the matter, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry covers on Twitter. The club’s top baseball operations decisionmaker explained:
“Out of respect and appreciation for Francisco, we have chosen to honor his request to be released in order for him to pursue an opportunity that potentially gives him a chance at more playing time, as well as an opportunity this season to compete in the postseason.”
Cervelli is owed $11.5MM this season — far too much to make him an appealing waiver-claim target. Instead, the Bucs will continue to pay the remainder, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum for whatever portion of the season he spends on another MLB roster.
That deal didn’t always seem like dead weight. At the time the three-year, $31MM extension was signed — thus keeping Cervelli from testing free agency before the 2017 season — it looked to be an excellent value for the club. Cervelli ended up missing much more time due to injury than anticipated, but was still able to turn in 404 plate appearances of .259/.378/.431 hitting last year. Over his five total seasons in Pittsburgh, he carried a 100 OPS+ — making him a precisely league average hitter, which is a nice rate of production for a well-regarded defensive catcher.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pirates Place Chris Archer, Clay Holmes On Injured List
The Pirates have placed right-handers Chris Archer and Clay Holmes on the 10-day injured list, the team announced. Archer has been sidelined with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, while Holmes is suffering from left quad discomfort. Right-handers Dario Agrazal and Parker Markel have been called up from Triple-A to fill the two 25-man roster spots.
Some type of IL placement seemed likely for Archer following his abbreviated outing last night, when he left the game after just one inning following an off-target warm-up prior to his second frame of work. This is the first noteworthy arm issue of Archer’s career and only the third IL stint of his eight-year career, though they have all happened within the last two seasons — Archer missed a month due to an abdominal strain in 2018, and right thumb inflammation cost him around three weeks earlier this year.
The seriousness of the shoulder issue isn’t yet known, though if it lingers, the Pirates could just decide to shut Archer down for the remainder of the season. It would bring an early end to what has been a discouraging campaign for Archer, with a career-high 5.19 ERA over 119 2/3 frames. That innings total would mark a new career low for Archer in his seven full MLB seasons, while also posting career worsts in walk rate (4.14 BB/9), grounder rate (36.3%), home run rate (20.2%), xwOBA (.346), and hard-hit ball rate (40.1%).
All in all, it has been a very unmemorable stint in Pittsburgh since Archer was acquired in a trade deadline deal in July 2018. The deal raised eyebrows at the time, and given that Austin Meadows and (pre-injury) Tyler Glasnow both emerged as key contributors for the Rays, the trade is now looking like a significant misfire for the Pirates’ front office.
Archer still has as many as two seasons to turn things around in the Steel City, as the Bucs hold club options on his services for 2020 ($9MM, $1.75MM buyout) and 2021 ($11MM, $250K buyout). Despite his struggles, it still seems very likely that the Pirates will exercise that 2020 option, given the uncertainty in the team’s 2020 rotation. Jameson Taillon will miss all of next season recovering from Tommy John surgery, leaving the Pirates with Archer in all likelihood, as well as some combination of Trevor Williams, Joe Musgrove, Mitch Keller, Steven Brault, and others all in the mix. Since the Bucs are likely to pursue a veteran starter anyway this winter, keeping Archer at a relatively inexpensive price seems like a logical move, especially if Archer can recapture any of his past form.
Holmes has a 6.05 ERA, 1.54 K/BB rate, and 10.0 K/9 over 38 2/3 relief innings for Pittsburgh this season. Control has been a major concern for Holmes over his brief Major League career, as he has a 7.1 BB/9 over 65 frames for the Bucs in 2018-19. This is Holmes’ second trip to the IL in less than a month, as he only recently returned from an absence due to right triceps inflammation.
Chris Archer Leaves Start With Shoulder Discomfort
In a worrisome moment for the Pirates, starter Chris Archer left his start against the Nationals after throwing an errant warm-up pitch before the second inning. Per Mark Zuckerman of MASN, the Pirates are calling it right shoulder discomfort for Archer.
Archer made it through the first inning of Tuesday’s game without issue, striking out the final two batters to work around a pair of singles. However, while warming up prior to the second inning, Archer threw high to catcher Jacob Stallings, shook his head, and walked off the field after meeting with the Pittsburgh training staff.
Of course, the seriousness of Archer’s soreness is yet unknown and will be monitored as details emerge. Regardless, it’s an unpleasant situation for a Pirates team that has already seen its top starter undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery this year. Any significant injury to Archer would only weaken an already-thin pitching staff that entered the season looking like the Pirates’ strength.
The Pirates hold a club option worth $9MM to retain Archer for the 2020 season, a decision that could be complicated by the introduction of a health issue. His Pittsburgh tenure has been a tumultuous one, with Archer’s underwhelming performance only amplified by the hefty return that the Pirates sent to Tampa Bay in return. This season, the 30-year-old has struggled to a 5.23 ERA, made worse only by the fact that peripheral markers don’t paint a much better picture, giving Archer credit for a 5.07 FIP.
While those numbers alone may challenge whether Archer is worth the $9MM option, an underlying health question might motivate the Pirates to prematurely cut ties with the former ace. However, given how heavily the Pirates invested in him at last season’s trade deadline, it would seem unwise to jump ship so quickly on a pitcher with Archer’s pure talent. To be sure, $9MM, while certainly not a bargain, is an affordable mark for even a middling starter—Matt Harvey, for example, signed with the Angels for $11MM prior to 2019.
Pirates Announce Series Of Roster Moves
In a grab bag of roster moves, the Pirates have announced the activation of reliever Richard Rodriguez from the injured list, the optioning of pitcher Montana DuRapau to Triple-A, the reinstatement of infielder Jose Osuna from suspension, and the long-delayed placement of pitcher Kyle Crick on the suspended list.
Rodriguez, 29, has been on the IL since August 12th due to a shoulder issue. When healthy, the right-hander has mounted a 3.72 ERA in 48.1 innings in 2019–his second full-year in Pittsburgh. His last outing was an August 9th appearance against the Cardinals in which Rodriguez allowed 3 earned runs in just one-third of an inning. His K/9 rate is just 7.63 this year–a stark drop from the 11.42 rate he displayed in 2018. Fielding independent metrics have been summarily unimpressed with his work this year (5.51 FIP).
DuRapau will return to Triple-A Indianapolis after receiving another run up from the Pirates taxi squad. In 2019, his first taste of the big league environment, DuRapau has logged a 7.56 ERA in 16.2 innings.
As for the suspension movements involving Osuna and Crick, yes, the Pirates are still dealing with the fallout from their unforgettable July 30th fracas with the Cinncinatti Reds. Though it may seem like that high-intensity dustup occurred a lifetime ago, Osuna just began serving his five-game suspension on August 14th, and Crick had been fighting his suspension since it was issued. Osuna returns with a healthy 147 wRC+ in 135 at-bats this year, while Crick has logged a 4.43 ERA, 10.88 K/9, and 6.45 BB/9 in 44.2 innings in 2019.
Pirates Season Marked By Conflict On-Field And Off
Last night’s walkoff victory against the reeling Cubs aside, the Pirates are mired in a deep funk. They started the second half in free fall, going 6-25 as they’ve dipped from the fringes of the playoff race to (at one point) twenty games under .500. The Pirates have been involved in multiple on-field conflicts, with manager Clint Hurdle stealing focus as he spars with other managers within the NL Central. Hurdle has a well-known strategic proclivity towards pitching up and in – with which certain managers haven taken issue when Pirates hurlers struggle with their command. As a team, they rank 24th out of 30 in BB/9 with a team average of 3.58 BB/9.
Perhaps more worrying to the organization, in-fighting has become a hallmark of this Pirates squad, per The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel. Mercurial reliever Keone Kela is the source of at least some of the conflict. Kela not only inspired the trade deadline fracas with the Reds by throwing behind Derek Dietrich, but he also took a two-game suspension earlier this season for his part in a clubhouse altercation with performance coach Hector Morales. The Buccos explored trading Kela, but ultimately failed to find a suitable deal, and it’s safe to wonder whether his trade worth took a hit, either from recent suspensions, injury history, or a reputation as a difficult clubhouse personality.
On the field, Kela missed too much time to raise his stock, returning from the injured list for just four appearances before the deadline. That put him at 18 appearances on the season with a 3.45 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 15 2/3 innings. Fine numbers not far off from Kela’s career norms, but clearly not compelling enough to drive significant trade interest.
Only a week after Kela’s incident, bullpen coach Euclides Rojas drove a pre-game on-field dust-up with reliever Kyle Crick. The incident nearly turned physical before the two men were pulled apart. Crick had been publicly bemoaning perceived preferential treatment given to closer Felipe Vazquez by the coaching staff.
Birtempfel notes that the clubhouse lacks the veteran leadership provided over the years by vets like A.J. Burnett, David Freese, Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen, or more recently from Jameson Taillon and Francisco Cervelli, who have been absent due to injuries.
It’s not all doom-and-gloom for the Pirates, however, as Crick insists there’s a growing camaraderie among this exceptionally young group of Pirates players.
The depth of conflict reported here certainly pulls back the curtain a touch further than usual. Not necessarily evidenced here, however, is the Pirates clubhouse being any more or less destructive than a typical clubhouse enduring a tough stretch on the field. Fangraphs Ben Clemens recently wrote this of the 5-24 stretch that opened the Pirates’ second half:
“Think of it this way: the worst team in baseball since World War II, by winning percentage, was the expansion New York Mets of 1962. They were cover-your-eyes awful, going 40-120, a .250 winning percentage. Let’s assume, despite its absurdity, that the Pirates suddenly transformed to a team with a .250 winning percentage overnight. Their odds of going 5-24 or worse over a 29-game stretch would still only be 23%. Even the worst team in baseball history, in other words, would be unlikely to look this bad over a month of play.”
Any clubhouse might struggle with a degree of in-fighting while losing at that rate. Still, the Pirates seem more combative than your average team. Hurdle seems to set the tone there, and though the team could very well emerge from this season more galvanized as a unit, it’s a troubling environment in which to see the indoctrination of young stars like Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller.
Pirates Release Tyler Lyons
The Pirates released left-hander Tyler Lyons from their Triple-A club over the weekend, as first indicated on the Triple-A International League transactions log.
Lyons, 30, was briefly with the Pirates’ big league club earlier this season after having his contract selected from Triple-A Indianapolis, but he lasted just five days on the Major League roster before being designated for assignment. The former Cardinals reliever has enjoyed a strong season with the Bucs’ top minor league affiliate, though, pitching to a 3.55 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.79 HR/9 and a 39.8 percent ground-ball rate in 45 2/3 innings. Between those 45 2/3 innings and another four in the Majors, Lyons has limited opposing lefties to an awful .141/.205/.282 batting line. Right-handers have give him trouble, though, hitting him at a .278/.361/.444 clip.
It wasn’t that long ago that Lyons was a solid member of the bullpen with the division-rival Cardinals. From 2015-17, he totaled 162 innings with a 3.33 ERA and a 174-to-49 K/BB ratio (9.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9). That strong three-year run was highlighted by a 2017 campaign in which Lyons logged a 2.83 ERA and a near-identical 2.86 FIP to go along with a career-best 30.9 percent strikeout rate (11.33 K/9).
Back and elbow issues hampered Lyons early in the 2018 season, and the Cardinals somewhat surprisingly jettisoned him in the midst of a summer bullpen shakeup that July. Lyons ultimately went unclaimed on waivers, though, and had to settle for a minor league deal this past offseason despite a respectable showing in Triple-A Memphis following that DFA. He’s now thrown just 20 MLB innings since that standout 2017 campaign, but clubs in need of some left-handed bullpen depth could certainly do worse than to take a flier on Lyons based on his track record and solid Triple-A numbers over the past two seasons.