Pirates Shut Down Gerrit Cole For Remainder Of Year
The Pirates have shut down star right-hander Gerrit Cole for the rest of the season, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review first suggested on Twitter. It does not seem as if there is any concern about a significant injury, with the team likely deciding that it isn’t worth continuing to press a critical piece of the team’s future rotation.
Cole is continuing to deal with discomfort and inflammation in his right elbow, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Specifically, per a club announcement, “posterior inflammation” is the reason that Cole will end his year on the 60-day DL.
Things didn’t go well for Cole in his recent outing, as he tried to return from brief rest. While the big righty was working in the mid-to-upper nineties, he surrendered five earned runs on four hits and four walks in just two innings of work.
Pirates Acquire Wade LeBlanc
The Pirates have acquired southpaw Wade LeBlanc from the Mariners, the teams announced. Seattle will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations in the deal.
LeBlanc, 32, was outrighted after his fifty-inning big league run for the M’s this year. He worked to a 4.50 ERA in that span, with a useful 7.4 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9.
Pirates Activate Gerrit Cole
The Pirates have activated righty Gerrit Cole to take the ball tonight, per a team announcement. That certainly represents the best case scenario for the staff ace, who hit the shelf about two weeks ago.
Unfortunately, the tide has turned quite a bit in the mean time. Pittsburgh sat just a half game out of Wild Card position when Cole went on the DL, but is now buried a full six games out of the postseason picture.
Even if the playoffs are no longer particularly realistic, there’s still plenty for Cole to pitch for. The righty, who turned 26 during his DL stint, is filling out a stat sheet before his first trip through arbitration this winter.
The 2016 hasn’t been as productive as the one before it, though Cole still carries a 3.55 ERA. From an arb perspective, his 114 frames to date will limit his earnings. Of greater concern from an on-field perspective is the decline in Cole’s strikeout ability (from about 10% swinging strike rate to 8.4%). Cole has received mixed reviews from ERA estimators, with a 3.16 FIP but only a 3.94 xFIP and 4.16 SIERA.
Josh Harrison Out Remainder Of Season Due To Groin Strain
The Pirates have issued a press release announcing that infielder Josh Harrison has suffered a right groin strain and is projected to require four to six weeks in order to recover, thus ruling him out for the remainder of the regular season. Should the Pirates make a last-minute surge and find themselves in the postseason, Harrison could potentially return in mid-October if his recovery period proves to be on the shorter end of the spectrum provided by the team. Harrison tells MLB.com’s Adam Berry that he’ll perform his rehab with the team and continue to travel with the club (Twitter link).
Harrison, 29, will see his regular season come to a close with a .283/.311/.388 batting line, four homers and a career-high 19 stolen bases on the year. Though he’s capable of playing all over the diamond, Harrison has served as Pittsburgh’s primary second baseman this season, with David Freese manning third base in the lengthy absences of Jung Ho Kang, Jordy Mercer handling shortstop and Sean Rodriguez filling in at three infield spots and both corner outfield positions.
Harrison is in the second season of a four-year, $27.3MM contract extension that was signed early in the 2015 season and called for him to earn a reasonable $5MM in 2016. He’s guaranteed salaries of $7.5MM and $10MM in each of the next two seasons, and the Bucs have club options that are worth $10.5MM and $11MM, respectively, for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While Harrison hasn’t played up to the standard that earned him that contract — he batted .315/.347/.490 with a career-best 13 homers in 2014 — he’s been a useful piece for the Pirates in each of the past two seasons and figures to continue to operate as such moving forward. The power he displayed in 2014 always seemed a bit dubious — six of his homers that year were of the “just enough” variety, and he’d never topped seven homers in a previous professional season — but Harrison has maintained his excellent contact skills (14.6 percent strikeout rate this year), delivered consistently above-average value on the basepaths and provided perennially above-average defense at second base.
NL Notes: Pirates, Rockies, Phillies, Reds
Since the Pirates acquired Ivan Nova from the Yankees prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, the right-hander has unexpectedly performed like a top-of-the-rotation starter. In seven starts and 46 1/3 innings with the Bucs, Nova has recorded a 2.54 ERA while tossing two complete games and amassing 32 strikeouts against a paltry two walks. Part of the reason for Nova’s success is the Pirates’ stadium, PNC Park, he told Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “It’s not like pitching in Baltimore or Boston, Toronto, where the ball flies, or New York. A fly ball, (and) it’s a homer,” said Nova, whose new venue has the largest left field in the majors, per Sawchik. Yankee Stadium, on the other hand, has the league’s shallowest right field and is among its most home run-friendly venues. The change in parks has been timely for Nova, a free agent-to-be who is likely pitching his way to an appreciable raise over his current salary of $4.1MM.
More from the National League:
- Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich will face several important decisions during the offseason, observes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. In addition to the fate of manager Walt Weiss, whose contract expires at season’s end, Bridich will have to address a few areas on the diamond – including the bullpen and outfield. While the Rockies have a glut of capable outfielders, which might open the door for a trade, they could use more quality relievers to complement the likes of Adam Ottavino and perhaps Boone Logan, who’s an impending free agent. Saunders wonders whether the Rockies will pursue Nationals closer Mark Melancon, a free agent-to-be who’s a Colorado native, but he concedes that the team is unlikely to spend big money on anyone. That should rule out Melancon as a possibility.
- The Phillies called up two of their top prospects, catcher Jorge Alfaro and outfielder Roman Quinn, before Sunday’s game against the Nationals. Alfaro, whom Baseball America rates as the game’s 67th-best prospect, earned his first promotion in late August, but the Phillies quickly returned him to Double-A Reading before he could debut on the field. The 23-year-old is in his first full season with the Phillies organization after the Rangers traded him in the Cole Hamels deal last summer. He hit .285/.325/.458 with 15 home runs in 435 plate appearances with Reading this year. Also 23, Quinn was in the lineup Sunday. He ranks as the Phillies’ eighth-best prospect, per MLBPipeline.com, and also hadn’t gotten past the Double-A level previously. Quinn batted .287/.361/.441 with six homers and 31 stolen bases in 322 PAs with Reading this season.
- Reds righty Alfredo Simon will undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery Tuesday, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. That ends a miserable campaign for Simon, who posted a 9.36 ERA, 5.98 K/9 and 4.76 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings. Simon was a highly productive member of the Reds’ pitching staff from 2012-14, when he combined for a 3.16 ERA, 6.16 K/9 and 2.71 BB/9 in 345 frames and even earned an All-Star appearance, but he began falling off last year with the Tigers. The Reds, who acquired infielder Eugenio Suarez from Detroit for Simon in December 2014, brought the 35-year-old back in March on a $2MM salary. He’ll once again hit free agency during the upcoming offseason.
Rosenthal On Astros, Rangers, Nova, CBA
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports.
- Some members of the Astros are frustrated that the team didn’t deal for a top starter at the August 1 trade deadline, but GM Jeff Luhnow says the team ultimately didn’t make a big acquisition because teams were requesting big hauls in return, including players already contributing at the big-league level. Rosenthal notes that the Astros had previously had a surplus of starters, leading them to deal Dan Straily and then, months later, Scott Feldman for minimal returns (or perhaps seemingly minimal returns, since it’s way too early to get a clear read on Lupe Chavez, the very young pitcher the Astros got from the Blue Jays for Feldman). With Lance McCullers and Dallas Keuchel now hurt, though, the Astros might not have enough top starting pitching.
- The Rangers attempted to acquire Ivan Nova from the Yankees last month, with the talks occurring very close to the deadline. The Yankees, of course, sent Nova to the Pirates, where he has had tremendous success in their rotation. Nova has posted a 2.53 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and a remarkable 0.4 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh. It’s impossible to say, of course, whether Nova would have had similar success in Texas, which is a completely different context in which to pitch, perhaps especially for someone like Nova, who struggled with allowing home runs in New York. But he might well have been able to help a team that has seen A.J. Griffin and Lucas Harrell struggle at the back of its rotation over the past month.
- MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is due to expire at the beginning of December, but the two sides would prefer to have a new agreement in place by the beginning of November. The free agent market could unfold slowly without a new labor deal, with teams reluctant to commit to free agents without a clear idea of the rules going forward.
NL Notes: Jay, Campos, Gutierrez, Feliz
Padres outfielder Jon Jay officially returned to action last night, making his first plate appearance since the 19th of June. As Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune explains, the 31-year-old stayed busy during his rehab from a fractured forearm. While he says his focus remains on “going out and proving to everyone that I’m healthy and I can still play at a high level,” Jay also spent time focusing on other aspects of the game. “I love this game of baseball, and in the future you never know what’s going to happen,” said Jay. “I would maybe want to coach or be involved in the game still with player development or whatever it might be. I’m kind of working on those things now so that if an opportunity does come in the future, I’m ready for it.” First things first, though: Jay will be playing to help set up his next contract, as he’ll reach the open market this fall. Mutual interest in a return to San Diego won’t be explored further until that time, both he and manager Andy Green noted.
More from the National League:
- The Diamondbacks received unfortunate news about righty Vicente Campos, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Not long after making his MLB debut, the 24-year-old has been diagnosed with an ulnar fracture that will require surgery and an eight-month recovery timeline. That seems to suggest that a mid-season return in 2017 may be possible, at least, but the fracture obviously represents a highly disappointing development. Campos was acquired in July in the Tyler Clippard swap.
- Just-signed righty Vladimir Gutierrez was also pursued by several other clubs before agreeing with the Reds, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter links). The Rangers and Astros were the two primary pursuers who were willing to strike a deal right now, but three other organizations tried to convince the Cuban youngster to wait until the following July 2 signing period to put pen to paper. Meanwhile, Cinci GM Dick Williams says that the club likely won’t be making any other big-dollar signings in the near term.
- Pirates righty Neftali Feliz left action on Saturday, leading to some concern about his health, but it appears to be a minor issue. As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday, there is no elbow or shoulder concern. Feliz still hasn’t returned to the bump, but is expected to be ready in short order, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a solid campaign in Pittsburgh, posting a 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 53 2/3 innings, though some good batted ball fortune (.240 BABIP despite allowing 37.0% hard contact) may be helping. He’ll return to the open market this fall.
Pirates Designate Kelvin Marte, Curtis Partch
The Pirates have designated both lefty Kelvin Marte and righty Curtis Partch, the team announced. Their 40-man spots were needed to accommodate the organization’s latest wave of call-ups, which includes Tyler Glasnow, Pedro Florimon, Drew Hutchison, and Trevor Williams.
The 28-year-old Marte made his major league debut this year, throwing three and one-third scoreless innings but allowing two walks and five hits in that span while recording only a lone strikeout. He has converted to a relief role at Triple-A after previously working mostly as a starter, and carries a 3.67 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 73 2/3 frames there.
Partch, 29, was bombed in his two MLB appearances this year. But he was rather effective in his own stint at Indianapolis, compiling a 2.24 ERA in 60 1/3 frames. Partch notched sixty strikeouts in that span, though he also racked up thirty free passes.
The group of call-ups certainly holds some interest. Glasnow is the team’s highest-rated prospect, and he’ll return after making his debut earlier in the year. Trevor Williams has impressed at Triple-A despite lacking gaudy strikeout numbers. Florimon always seems to play a role somewhere in September, given his versatile glove.
And then there’s Hutchison, who was picked up in the somewhat controversial trade that sent Francisco Liriano (plus his contract) and two prospects to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. The 26-year-old, who will be arbitration-eligible again next year, has worked to a 4.50 ERA in his 36 frames with Indy, with peripherals (7.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9) that fall shy of his work earlier this year at Buffalo.
NL Central Notes: Maddon, Nathan, Bruce, Nova
Some items from around the NL Central…
- Joe Maddon is hardly the first manager to embrace his players’ versatility, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that though few have done it to the sheer extent of the Cubs‘ skipper. Chicago’s dominant lead in the standings has given Maddon some leeway to experiment, though it could also be argued that the Cubs are enjoying such a great season because Maddon has been so canny about pursuing every possible advantage to help his team win. Sherman feels that other teams could use the Cubs as a blueprint for future roster construction, as having multi-positional players around can solve many issues.
- Joe Nathan was understandably let down about being released by the Cubs last month, the veteran reliever tells ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. Nathan signed with Chicago in May and eventually pitched in three games for the Cubs after completing his rehab from Tommy John surgery. “In their defense I don’t think they foresaw picking up [Aroldis] Chapman, picking up Joe Smith, and their bullpen shaping up the way it was,” Nathan said. “On that side of it I completely understand. Still, it was a disappointing turn of events. Things went from ‘this is the plan’ to ‘now what?’ ” Nathan said that Cubs president Theo Epstein personally informed him about the release, and the veteran reliever didn’t have any hard feelings towards his former club. Of course, Nathan’s disappointment has been mitigated by the fact that he signed on with another contender in the Giants.
- When Jay Bruce learned he was going to be dealt, the outfielder asked the Reds to trade him “anywhere but New York,” Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News writes. No specific reason was given for Bruce’s reported misgivings about joining the Mets. Bruce has, in fact, badly struggled since joining the Mets in a deadline deal, entering today with only a .198/.270/.327 slash line and three homers over 111 plate appearances.
- With Ivan Nova pitching well since joining the Pirates in July, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review thinks the Bucs could “consider being aggressive in approaching Nova with an extension” before the righty hits free agency in the offseason. As MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently noted in a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, a strong finish from Nova could line him up for as much as a three-year deal this winter; he’ll stand out in a very thin pitching market and teams could see him as a new J.A. Happ, who blossomed after going to Pittsburgh last season and has continued to pitch well in Toronto. Extending Nova now would save the Bucs some money, since it’s possible his market could grow to the point that he is priced out of the Pirates’ comfort zone. That said, my guess would be that Nova will forego an extension to at least test the open market, given that he’s so close to free agency.
Injury Updates: Strasburg, Shoemaker, Pirates, Hamilton
Here’s the latest health updates on some key names from around baseball…
- Stephen Strasburg could “possibly” start for the Nationals on Wednesday, manager Dusty Baker told reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Strasburg was placed on the DL with a sore right elbow on August 21, so he would have only missed slightly beyond the 15-day minimum should he indeed return on Wednesday. Baker said Strasburg threw well in a bullpen session today but the club will see how the star righty is feeling tomorrow before any decisions are made.
- Angels righty Matt Shoemaker was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of Kyle Seager today. Shoemaker didn’t lose consciousness during the scary incident, and the Halos announced that he had suffered a laceration but was alert and responsive. A CT scan revealed that Shoemaker suffered a small skull fracture and a hematoma, and he’ll stay in hospital overnight and visit a neurologist (as per Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times).
- The struggling Pirates could get some reinforcements in the form of Jung Ho Kang and Gerrit Cole, skipper Clint Hurdle told reporters (including Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Kang, who went on the DL with a left shoulder injury on August 20, could return to the active roster as early as Monday. Cole’s DL placement due to right elbow inflammation was retroactive to August 25, and the Pirates have him tentatively scheduled to start on September 12 against Philadelphia. Cole threw a 30-pitch bullpen session yesterday and has to get through two more side sessions scheduled for next week before the Bucs give him the green light to return.
- Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton exited today’s game with the Cardinals after suffering a left oblique strain during the third inning. The severity of the injury isn’t known, as while Reds manager Bryan Price told reporters (including Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Hamilton will likely be out of action for a few games, oblique injuries generally take much longer to heal. Jose Peraza is the Reds’ top center field option while Hamilton recovers. It’s not out of the question that Hamilton will miss the rest of the season, which would bring a disappointing end to a campaign that saw Hamilton (.260/.321/.343) post career highs in batting average and OBP over 460 plate appearances, while stealing a league-leading 58 bases.