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Brent Honeywell

Athletics Select Five Players, Designate Sam Selman

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The A’s announced their Opening Day roster this afternoon, and five non-roster invitees were selected to make the big league club. Pitchers Justin Grimm, Dany Jiménez, Zach Jackson and Jake Lemoine were all added to the MLB roster, as was corner outfielder Billy McKinney.

Grimm, Jiménez and McKinney each have previous big league experience. All three were signed from other organizations this offseason. Grimm is up for his ninth MLB season, his first since a four-game stint with the Brewers in 2020. The right-hander had a nice showing in the middle of the last decade with the Cubs, posting a 3.36 ERA in 171 1/3 innings between 2014-16. He hasn’t found much major league success in the past five years, but he punched out an excellent 33.6% of opponents with the Mariners Triple-A affiliate last season.

Jiménez’s big league time consists of two appearances with the Giants in 2020. The righty has been of interest to the Oakland front office for some time, as they selected him in the Rule 5 draft at the end of that season. He didn’t stick on the active roster, though, and the 28-year-old spent last season at Triple-A in the Blue Jays system. Jiménez pitched to a 2.22 ERA with an incredible 39% strikeout rate there, although he also walked 13.4% of batters faced.

McKinney is a former A’s first-rounder. Traded to the Cubs before he made his MLB debut, he’s suited up with five different teams over the past four years. The left-handed hitting outfielder owns a .215/.286/.404 line in a bit more than 700 plate appearances. McKinney has flashed some power potential, but he’s punched out in 26% of his trips to the dish. The 27-year-old joins Stephen Piscotty, Seth Brown and Chad Pinder in the corner outfield mix for skipper Mark Kotsay.

Jackson, 27, was a third-round pick by the Blue Jays out of the University of Arkansas in 2016. The 6’4″ righty — who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen as a pro — was selected by the A’s in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. He split last season between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, working 28 innings of 2.57 ERA ball across the two levels. The Tulsa native remarkably fanned 41.2% of opponents, albeit with an 11.4% walk rate.

Lemoine was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2015 out of the University of Houston. The right-hander has also worked solely in relief as a pro, pitching his way up to Triple-A in the Texas system. Lemoine hit minor league free agency at the end of the season and signed with the A’s. He owns a 4.81 ERA with an underwhelming 18.9% strikeout percentage in that time, but Lemoine has induced grounders on over the half the balls in play against him in each of his Triple-A seasons.

To create 40-man roster space, the A’s needed to free three spots. They’ve designated southpaw Sam Selman for assignment, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The other two spots, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com, were freed by placing pitchers Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. on the 60-day injured list.

Selman just landed in Oakland last month when he was claimed off waivers from the Angels. The 31-year-old southpaw has pitched with the Giants and Anaheim over the past three seasons, combining for a 4.77 ERA in 54 2/3 frames. Selman doesn’t have particularly strong strikeout, walk or ground-ball numbers, but he’s been a nightmare for left-handed hitters. Same-handed batters have just a .171/.307/.329 line in 102 plate appearances against Selman. He has a minor league option remaining.

Guerra’s and Honeywell’s absences were expected. The former recently underwent surgery after experiencing forearm tightness this spring. The latter was shut down from throwing indefinitely after suffering an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow.

A’s Notes: Honeywell, Guerra, Kaprielian

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A’s right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. has an olecranon stress reaction in his throwing elbow, the team informed reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). He is being shut down indefinitely as the club determines next steps.

It’s the latest in a brutal series of injuries for the 26-year-old, whom Oakland acquired from the Rays over the winter. A former fourth-round pick, Honeywell dominated at the lower levels of the Tampa Bay system and quickly emerged as one of the sport’s most promising pitching prospects. Baseball America slotted him among their Top 100 overall farmhands heading into the 2016 campaign, the first of five straight years in which he’d hold a place on that list.

That Honeywell was a top prospect for half a decade spoke both to his talent and to the injuries that kept him from exhausting his rookie eligibility. He didn’t throw a single pitch in an affiliated game from 2018-20, undergoing a staggering four elbow surgeries in that time. He required Tommy John surgery in February 2018; during his rehab, he fractured his elbow the following June. Honeywell then underwent an ulnar nerve decompression procedure in May 2020 before requiring an arthroscopic procedure at the end of that season.

Honeywell returned to make 31 appearances with the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham last season, and he saw action in his first three big league outings. His strikeout rate was way down, though, and the Rays moved him to the A’s for cash to clear a roster spot in advance of Rule 5 protection day. When Honeywell will next take the ball isn’t clear, but it’s a virtual lock he’ll begin the year on the injured list and it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s in for another lengthy absence.

In another bit of ominous injury news for the A’s, reliever Deolis Guerra paused his throwing program after feeling some tightness in his forearm (Kawahara link). Forearm tightness is a fairly common precursor to UCL injuries, although it won’t be known whether he’s dealing with a notable structural issue until he goes for further testing tomorrow. Guerra, 33 next month, threw a career-high 65 2/3 innings over 53 appearances last year. He posted a 4.11 ERA with decent strikeout and walk rates (23% and 7.4%, respectively).

In a positive development, righty James Kaprielian responded well to a weekend bullpen session (via Kawahara). He has been dealing with irritation in the AC joint in his throwing shoulder this spring. With a little more than a week until Opening Day, Kaprielian still seems likely to begin the season on the IL, but the former first-rounder should have a key role on the starting staff whenever he’s ready to go. He made 24 appearances (including 21 starts) in 2021, pitching to a 4.07 ERA with a 24.2% strikeout percentage.

Needs Align For Rays, A’s In Honeywell Trade

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As you may have noticed during the 40-man roster hubbub, former top prospect Brent Honeywell Jr. was traded from the Rays to the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations. For the Rays, losing Honeywell was simply a roster crunch issue, as well as a desire to give him more opportunities, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. “We wanted more than anything to give him an opportunity to go somewhere and get a chance to pitch on a regular basis,” said Kevin Ibach, Rays senior director of pro personnel and pro scouting, per Topkin.

Honeywell made his way back from multiple arm injuries to make his Major League debut in 2021, but his future is simply too uncertain for the Rays, who are looking to maximize their competitive window in a tightly-contested AL East. The A’s, on the contrary, are looking to scale back their payroll. Honeywell, therefore, fits the bill for them as a high-ceiling, high-risk arm who bring a touch of intrigue to the roster.

The 26-year-old is out of options, so he’ll need to make the team out of spring training to avoid being exposed to waivers. He’s likely to pitch a swing role out of the bullpen, though much depends on what how many players the A’s ultimately end up dealing this winter.

The Rays have been typically proactive in clearing 40-man roster space this winter, dealing away Mike Brosseau, Louis Head, and prospect Tobias Myers in addition to Honeywell and southpaw Ryan Sherriff, who was claimed off waivers, and Adam Conley, who elected free agency after being designated for assignment. The Rays are not coy about trading prospects like Honeywell and Myers, especially as a means of “paying it forward,” or acquiring younger prospects for players that need to be on the 40-man roster.

A’s To Acquire Brent Honeywell From Rays

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The A’s are acquiring right-hander Brent Honeywell from the Rays, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). Tampa Bay will receive cash in return, reports Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).

It’s a notable low-cost pickup for the A’s. Honeywell, 26, was considered one of the game’s most promising pitching prospects on his way up the minor league ladder. He appeared on Baseball America’s top 100 list entering a staggering five consecutive seasons from 2016-20. That speaks both to Honeywell’s talent and the repeated injury troubles that have kept him from making a major league impact to this point.

For all his acclaim from evaluators, Honeywell’s big league resume consists of just 4 1/3 innings across three outings this past season. He spent the bulk of the season working in a swing role with Triple-A Durham, tossing 81 2/3 innings of 3.97 ERA ball but only fanning 20% of opponents. That’s a far cry from the near-30% strikeout percentages he’d run for a good chunk of his early minor league career.

Recent struggles notwithstanding, there’s little harm for Oakland in taking a flier on Honeywell. The A’s have one of the league’s thinner farm systems, giving them space on the 40-man roster. With the Rays seemingly in a perennial state of roster crunch, there was an opportunity for Oakland to squeeze an affordable, big league ready starter with pedigree out of a deeper organization.

Honeywell is out of minor league option years, so he’s a good bet to break camp with the A’s in 2022. Otherwise, Oakland would have to designate him for assignment and make him available to other clubs themselves.

Injury Notes: Wacha, Widener, Arroyo, Wood, Engel

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Michael Wacha will return from the 10-day injured list to start the Rays’ game against the Blue Jays today.  As noted by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the plan is for Wacha and Josh Fleming to essentially work in a piggyback capacity today, with Wacha handling the first couple of innings before Fleming takes over for a longer stint.  Brent Honeywell Jr. was already optioned to Triple-A yesterday to create roster room for Wacha’s return.

Wacha has been out of action since May 4 due to right hamstring tightness.  After signing a one-year, $3MM free agent deal with Tampa this winter, Wacha’s first 28 1/3 innings with the Rays has resulted in a 4.76 ERA/4.06 SIERA.  An above-average 6.9% walk rate is just about the only good news for Wacha advanced metric-wise, as his Statcast numbers have been quite underwhelming.

More injury updates from around baseball…

  • Taylor Widener has been activated off the 10-day injured list, the Diamondbacks announced.  The right-hander will get the start today’s game against the Rockies, and he will take the roster spot left open when Josh VanMeter was optioned to Triple-A yesterday.  Widener hasn’t pitched since April 22 due to a right groin strain, after posting some solid bottom-line numbers (a 2.82 ERA in 22 1/3 innings) in four starts for the D’Backs, though Statcast indicates Widener had quite a bit of good fortune in managing that quality ERA.  Arizona’s rotation will get a bit closer to full health with Widener back, as Zac Gallen and Luke Weaver are still on the injured list.
  • Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo will likely be activated from the injured list on Tuesday, manager Alex Cora told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other reporters.  A left hand contusion sent Arroyo to the 10-day IL on May 9 (retroactive to May 7) after he was hit by a pitch.  Arroyo cooled down after a strong start to the season, but he still has a respectable .275/.333/.377 slash line in 76 PA, serving as Boston’s regular second baseman.
  • Hunter Wood was removed from last night’s game due to what the Rangers termed as right elbow tightness.  Wood recorded two outs and issued a walk after entering last night’s game in the seventh inning, but then departed in the midst of an Alex Bregman plate appearance.  Wood has a 3.60 ERA in five innings out of the Texas bullpen this season, after signing a minor league deal with the team during the offseason.
  • Adam Engel told The Athletic’s James Fegan (Twitter links) and other reporters that his minor league rehab assignment will begin tomorrow.  The White Sox outfielder has yet to play this season due to a hamstring strain, as Engel explained that his rehab was slowed by a further injury that tore the muscle off his tendon, increasing his strain from a Grade 2 to a Grade 3.

Rays Option Brent Honeywell

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11:37AM: The Rays officially announced the move, with right-hander Trevor Richards called up to take Honeywell’s roster spot.

8:08AM: Brent Honeywell Jr. checked his Major League debut off his bucket list on Sunday: two perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts against the Yankees. The Rays would ultimately lose the game, but it was a strong showing from the 26-year-old Georgian.

Regardless, the plan was never for Honeywell to claim a rotation spot at this time. In classic Rays fashion, this was a spot start for Honeywell, a strategic call-up to share the innings load and progress a young arm in baby steps. He has been optioned back the minors, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). For Honeywell in particular, there may be added benefit to the short-stint call-up in that he gets to overcome the mental and physical hurdle of making his debut after so many setbacks.

This was Honeywell’s first game action since 2017 when he tossed 123 2/3 innings with a 3.64 ERA at the Triple-A level. At that point, Honeywell appeared on the verge of stardom. Instead of making his debut in 2018, however, Honeywell was set on a Sisyphean cycle of surgery and rehab that included three surgeries.

He was added to the roster at this time because of an injury to Chris Archer. Archer suffered right lateral forearm tightness, but the Rays expect Archer to return after only a short time off. Given that Archer went on the 10-day injured list on April 11th, however, the Rays will need to bring in another arm when Archer’s rotation spot comes back around on Thursday against the Rangers.

Rays Place Chris Archer On Injured List, Call Up Brent Honeywell

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The Rays placed Chris Archer on the injured list after he left today’s ballgame. Brent Honeywell will be called up, and he will make his Major League debut opening Sunday’s game, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).

It wasn’t clear at the time of the injury what exactly happened to Archer, but the injury was apparently severe enough to act quickly in placing him on the injured list. Today was just the second outing of the year for the 32-year-old. Archer suffered right lateral forearm tightness, per ESPN’s Marly Rivera (via Twitter), who adds that the Rays hope Archer will miss just one start.

Honeywell has long been a top prospect for the Rays, but injuries have slowed his path to the Majors. Baseball America had him ranked among the Rays’ top prospects in every season since 2015. He landed in their top-100 prospects in baseball from 2016 to 2020, peaking at No. 14 overall before the 2018 season. Tomorrow will mark an incredible achievement for Honeywell, even if he is unable to become the star hurler the Rays once hoped. Still, expectations are high, and if Honeywell can stay healthy, he still is projected to become a capable piece of the rotation. That said, chances are he’s not on the roster to stay. The Rays will understandably watch his inning count closely.

AL East Notes: Bradley, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Honeywell

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Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom met with reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe) this afternoon and confirmed that the club remains in contact with the representatives for free agent center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. They will stay in touch until the situation “resolves” itself, Bloom added. Bradley is unquestionably the top position player remaining in free agency at this point. In addition to their involvement in the Bradley market, Bloom noted (via Speier) the Sox could discuss contract extensions with players already on the roster in spring training.

Elsewhere in the AL East:

  • Even after agreeing to terms with Brett Gardner, the Yankees expect to hand the primary left field job to Clint Frazier, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (via Marly Rivera of ESPN). Frazier, a former top prospect, took hold of the job with a stellar .267/.394/.511 slash line with eight home runs over 160 plate appearances in 2020. The 26-year-old has still only played 162 MLB games and has had some ups and downs defensively, so a reunion with the reliable Gardner provides something of a safety net for New York.
  • Rays pitching prospect Brent Honeywell has been knocked off course by a series of arm injuries, undergoing four elbow surgeries since his last minor-league action in September 2017. The 25-year-old is now back in major league camp and feeling better than he has in years. “I’m excited. I’m healthy. … Everything is good. After this last one, it was a big-time help for me, and it was a big-time relief of my elbow. Everything is so-called ‘on track,’ and we’re moving in the right direction,” Honeywell told reporters (including Adam Berry of MLB.com). There’s no specific timetable for the 25-year-old’s return to game action but there seems to be a general sense of optimism regarding Honeywell’s ability to contribute at the big league level in 2021.

AL Notes: Gallo, Rays, Angels

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Rangers slugger Joey Gallo has been “available” since last summer’s trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes. It’s unknown what it would cost to pry Gallo out of Texas, though Rosenthal notes that he’s popular among teams that value some combination of home runs, walks, athleticism and tools. The 27-year-old Gallo had a terrible year at the plate during the shortened 2020 season, in which he hit .181/.301/.378 with 10 home runs in 226 plate appearances, but he did earn a Gold Glove for his work in right field. Gallo’s also not far removed from a premier showing at the plate in 2019, and he comes with two affordable years of team control.

Now the latest on two other American League teams…

  • The Rays are among the teams with interest in free-agent right-hander Ryne Stanek, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Stanek began his career with the Rays, who chose him 29th overall in the 2013 draft, and had his best seasons with the club. He was a regular opener with the Rays from 2018-19, during which he pitched to a 3.17 ERA/3.64 FIP and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine across 122 innings, but has fallen off of late. Stanek had difficulty in Miami, which acquired him from the Rays before the 2019 trade deadline, and the Marlins non-tendered him as a result. However, the 29-year-old hasn’t had trouble garnering interest from other teams this winter.
  • Rays righty Brent Honeywell was given a fourth option because of the substantial amount of time he has missed on account of injuries, general manager Erik Neander told Topkin and other reporters. The 25-year-old Honeywell was once an elite pitching prospect, but he hasn’t thrown a professional inning since 2017 – which he divided between Double-A and Triple-A – because of health issues. Since then, Honeywell has undergone four elbow surgeries, most recently an arthroscopic procedure. The good news is that Honeywell seems as if he’ll return in 2021.
  • The Angels have made a couple of additions to new general manager Perry Minasian’s front office. The team’s hiring Brewers vice president/assistant to the GM Ray Montgomery and Dodgers international crosschecker Brian Parker, per reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Jim Callis of MLB.com. It’s unclear which roles the two will take on as part of the Angels’ staff.
  • More on the Angels, who are unsurprisingly looking for help in their rotation. Manager Joe Maddon told MLB Network Radio on Friday that “we do need to attract probably two starting pitchers to come to us.” Maddon expects there to be an increase in six-man rotations throughout the league next year; if the Angels go that route – which is something Maddon expects to do (via Maria Torres of the LA Times) – it could benefit Shohei Ohtani, who’s returning from injury and who was part of a six-man staff in Japan before immigrating to the majors prior to the 2018 campaign. Ohtani, Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning should amass plenty of starts for the Angels in 2021, though the rest of their rotation doesn’t appear etched in stone.

Health Notes: Honeywell, Chapman, Bellinger, Elias

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Rays prospect recently Brent Honeywell underwent a staggering fourth elbow surgery since his last in-game appearance back in 2017, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The latest operation, however, was an arthroscopic procedure to alleviate some mild discomfort and is not expected to impact Honeywell’s readiness for the upcoming 2021 season. Optimistic prognosis notwithstanding, the mounting number of arm injuries for Honeywell, once touted as one of he game’s premier pitching, is increasingly troubling. Honeywell has previously undergone Tommy John surgery, had surgery to repair a fracture in his elbow and undergone an ulnar nerve decompression procedure. He’s still just 25 years old (26 in March) and has a career 2.88 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 416 professional innings.

Some more health/injury updates from around the game…

  • Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman is “full speed ahead” after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip ended his 2020 season prematurely, manager Bob Melvin told reporters Thursday (Twitter link via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). He’s expected to be a full participant in Spring Training. Chapman’s agent, Scott Boras, indicated this week that he’d likely be ready for Spring Training, but it’s all the more encouraging to hear prominent members of the A’s organization making similar declarations. Chapman belted 10 homers in 152 plate appearances this past season, but he was clearly dogged by the injury, as evidenced by a career-worst 35.5 percent strikeout rate (up from 21.9 percent in 2019).
  • Cody Bellinger’s rehab from last month’s shoulder surgery is ahead of schedule, Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts said in a Zoom call with reporters Thursday (Twitter link via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times). At the time of the surgery, it was reported that he’d need about 10 weeks to recover, although Roberts stopped short of proclaiming Bellinger ready for Spring Training, instead merely stating that the team hoped he could be “somewhat active” early in camp. Bellinger is expected to serve as the Dodgers’ primary center fielder again in 2020, which shouldn’t come as a surprise after he was named a Gold Glove finalist in 2020.
  • Free-agent left-hander Roenis Elias will throw for teams this Sunday in Texas as he looks to show that he’s put his a season-ending flexor strain behind him. The 32-year-old Elias didn’t pitch in 2020 after he opened the season on the Covid-19 list and then sustained that flexor strain when ramping back up. Sent from Seattle to D.C. at the 2019 trade deadline, Elias only pitched three innings for the Nats due to a hamstring injury. He was sharp with the Mariners from 2018-19, however, working to a 3.12 ERA and 3.84 FIP with 7.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 0.83 HR/9 in 98 innings of relief.
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